The big 1 & 1/2 year old!

I'd love to know how 18 months just flies right by.  I guess time flies when you're having fun, eh?

We had Aiden's 18 month check up yesterday and things are looking great! He's 25 lbs 8 oz, 32.5 inches tall and his head is 19.5 inches around. Respectively putting him in the 50th, 55th, and 93rd percentiles!  I'm having more trouble finding pants that fit his waist that aren't high-waters on him. :)

He got one shot and took it like a champ.  Right before the nurse came in he asked for a Graham cracker...and I kind of hid it while he got his shot so he wouldn't continue to eat and choke if he got upset.  And when she administered the shot, he grunted, held his leg and then was back to looking for his cracker.  Goofball.

His vocabulary is exploding.  Yesterday I asked him if he wanted to go outside...and he repeated "side...side...side" over and over again until his shoes and jacket were on.  Then he came inside to his slide and said something like "slide, slide, slide" while he climbed up and down.  He calls Shandy "see dee" and chases after he screaming it.  I did get him to say "pickle" last week and "apple" (bapple) is still my favorite word of his.  It's just crazy how much of a little person he is now!  No more babies in this house!

He's done really well with all the changes thus far.  Ben does come and go alot but he absolutely makes the most of the time he's got here.  We got quite a bit of snow (by VA standards) last weekend so we bundled Aiden up like Randy and took him out.  Ben showed him how to eat snow, make snow angels and stomp his shoes off.  Aiden didn't seem to mind how cold it was outside!  Even though it's almost all melted, he still finds patches of snow on our walks just to stomp in them. :) 

There's tons more pictures over here:http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=62986&id=688629603&l=b2deb for your viewing pleasure.  Hope the link works for you! 

Moving along on the road of life.

Aiden has been so much fun lately (minus the occasional attitude and aversion to the word "no").  He's picking up more and more every day and his love of exploring and figuring things out is amazing to watch.  We've noticed he's now at a stage (or the beginning stages of OCD) where he wants to sort, stack and arrange things.  The other day I cleaned out the pantry and took a few cans out and put them on the floor.  The next thing I knew, they were stacked in various spots in the hallway...we left them there and he was entertained for quite some time.  Given crayons, he takes them in and out and in and out of the container over and over again (he'll occasionally put a few marks on a piece of paper...but so far sorting ranks higher on the priority scale).  He loves taking all of the tupperware containers out of the cabinet and figures out which tops go to which containers.  

We have a few new consistently weekly events now.  We signed up for a music class that he absolutely loves (so far) on Mondays.  It's a small group of similar age toddlers and we sing, dance and roll around all over.  He giggles the most during "She'll Be Coming 'Round The Mountain" because we "woooooah" backwards.  We got the urge to sign up after some friends in our Friday playgroup told us about it.  After our first trip to music, the one Mommy said "Aiden sure does love music class, huh!?".  We're very excited to have him involved in something and he has NO problem being the center of attention.  During the "Hello, Hello" song in the beginning, his teacher says hello to each kid with a movement.  Most of the kids sit on their grown-up's lap while the teacher sings and waves/claps/pats hello to them.  Aiden?  Well he got up and stood in the center of the room with his hands on his hips, smiling from ear to ear while Mrs. C. clapped for him.  He totally gets it from his father!!! :) 

We've also started finger-painting once a week.  We've had a lot of fun making a giant, colorful mess!  The first time we finger-painted Aiden came out with green hair, blue arms, and few other mixed colors all over his body.  Thankfully a nice, warm bubble bath afterward erased his body canvas for the next week's masterpiece.

And, as I mentioned earlier, we now have a consistent playgroup that meets on Friday mornings.  We usually just gather together at one house or, if it's nice enough, in Colonial Williamsburg.  Aiden's the stud of the group, being the only boy so far, but it's been a lot of fun.  The best part is him having that consistent social interaction that he desperately needs!  

Other than that, we've just been having a lot of fun together as a family.  Ben has done a lot of traveling with work so we make certain to make the most of the time we have together.  Our weekends are spent at the park (when it's not bitter cold), up at the tennis courts running around with the dogs, exploring Williamsburg/surrounding areas, etc.  Aiden sure does love his Daddy...and even though I don't get as warm a welcome when I come home from being away...there's NOTHING like the smile on Aiden's face when he sees his Daddy for the first time in awhile....even just at the end of a long day he gets so excited to see him!  I love it. :) 

His new favorite activity- slides!

Oh my word...where to start?

I thought to myself this morning, "It feels like forever since I've done an update...", only to check and see that indeed, it has been forever!!!

It has really felt like life has been a whirlwind since Thanksgiving, as Aiden was quite sick just as the holiday was winding down.  He had some virus that worked it's way out of his body in rash form.  Luckily, despite his congestion and all that fun that comes with it, no ear infections ensued afterward.  I took him to the doctor twice convinced he had an ear infection, but luckily Mommy was wrong!!!

MiMi (Grandma Graham) came to Virginia to check out our place and do some holiday shopping shortly after Thanksgiving.  We had a great time entertaining her and enjoying all of the shopping Williamsburg has to offer.  This is obviously one of the main reasons I love it here...there's not only a lot of shopping, but there's so much to do.  So much history, landmarks, sights, etc that it never gets old.  I hope wherever we decide to make a permanent home is not far from here!

It's amazing how fast December came and went...and here we are now already into January 2009.  Our holiday season was nothing short of busy, but very enjoyable.  We spent Christmas in North Carolina with the Buzek side...eating good food, sharing fun stories, and creating lots of lasting memories.  Christmas itself was enjoyed by all.  Aiden made out like a bandit (although came home only to play with the broom and dustpan!).  The week spent there flew by and ended with a bon voyage to Aiden's Aunt Brei.  Freshley graduated from college she's off to Colorado to pursue her Olympic swimming dream.  We are all going to miss her dearly, but know she's off doing great things out there! :) 

Back in Virginia, our little family enjoyed some uninterrupted quality time together.  It's been a very long time since we've actually had this much time together.  There were some instances where we really didn't know what to do with ourselves.  

Aiden had his 15 months check up in mid-December.  He checked out like a champ.  He's growing, learning and talking just as much as he should for his age.  The Dr. was impressed by his handsome charm and his signing skills.  By now I'm sure he's on the verge of 25 lbs. and is 32 inches tall.  For some reason I was convinced he was short for his age, but every now and then someone will comment on how 'big' he is.  I think our initial predictions are going to pan out, that he'll be tall and skinny like his Daddy.  Lately he's been eating like a horse and it's finally tapering off again.  Now I think we're beginning the battle of the molars as we've had several rough nights this past week.  He just can't seem to get comfortable and is grumpy, grumpy grumpy!!  He's also learning interesting ways to test his boundaries and find out what he can/can't get away with.  I'm pretty sure he's got Ben and I figured out, and knows who he can push farther!  (You're probably right in guessing who that might be!)  All that less than fun stuff being said, it's been incredible watching him grow.  Now at 16 months, he's just soaking everything in this world in around him and spits it back out even faster than we can.  It's so funny to watch him imitate things that we do, manipulate things/situations and have a grand old time learning about his world.  Things he couldn't do a month ago now come to him with ease.  He's putting 'puzzles' together, picking up more and more sign language and verbal language, and just finds some of the things he does absolutely hysterical.  Who knew a 16 month old could entertain himself so joyfully?

As for the other two kids, Oscar and Shandy checked out well at their check up,  too.  They don't take kindly to strangers, though, and the whole exam was absolutely traumatic for them.  Shandy was tolerable, but Oscar ended up with a muzzle (a first!).  He never actually snapped at the vet/tech, but didn't hesitate to let them know he would!  Thankfully, we're done with all that chaos for another year!

That brings us to 2009.  Somehow it came upon us like rapid fire!  Nothing new is happening in my little world for now.  I'm going to continue staying home with Aiden and will hopefully pick back up with play dates and friend-making (for both Aiden and I).  Ben will be very busy with work and will probably be scarce around here more than available.  And..well...that's about it!  We hope 2009 brings all of you a healthy and happy New Year to enjoy with family, friends and loved ones!

I've been terrible at updating Picasa with pictures.  When the move happened, we lost track of all the backup picture CD's...they're somewhere in the storage unit.  I'm almost out of space on Picasa and am worried to delete old albums.  If those picture discs are never found and I delete the old albums, I'll have lost the first half of what we have of Aiden's life.  So bear with me and as soon as those discs are located, I'll be posting pictures up again like crazy.  For now, you'll have to deal with what I can post up here on the blog.  He keeps me far too busy to post that many pictures these days anyway!!!

Enjoying his new climber toy from Santa...

A certain little person is obsessed with pens...and drew on a beard.

Playing at the children's Christmas Party...

"Santa's really coming!?!"

That's all for now...but I will try to post more often!! Love to all!

Why this kid has me wrapped around his finger!!!

I don't think I need to make it known that I love my son..and dearly at that.  I really don't remember what life was like before him (minus the restful nights hehe) and wouldn't trade him for anything.  Granted we have our moments, but every day he does something sweet, surprising or just damn cute to melt my heart and redeem himself.  The most recent story has to do with my monkey and a baby gorilla.

We were in the car yesterday, running a bunch of errands and trying to knock out some Christmas shopping.  After a trip into Hallmark I strapped him in the car seat, handed him a book and moved onward to Target.  I heard him babbling in the backseat and saying "dih dih dih dih dih", which is what he does to "tickle tickle tickle" himself or me.  (That, too, is adorable!)  So I look back and don't really think anything of it...but wondered what he's tickling. Then it dawned on me.  The book he was holding was "Baby Animals", with different textures and stuff the baby can feel.  Well, the very last page has a baby gorilla with the caption that reads "Tickle the furry baby gorilla".  When we read this book together we always make a big deal out of it and he giggles as we tickle the baby gorilla...and that's just what he was doing! "Dih dih dih" the baby gorilla!  

Somehow, he remembered that tickling corresponds with the baby gorilla in his book!  The book has been in the car for over two weeks now...we haven't read it at all in awhile! It just amazes me that he remembered to "Tickle the furry baby gorilla" and did just that!

I love my smart little boy!

A few weeks later...

Well I guess it's been awhile, huh?  

Things in Virginia are still going well. Ben is really loving his new job and it's nice to see him come home happy from a productive day rather than stressed from a hectic day.  He hasn't made any major complaints and truly enjoys going to work and doing whatever it is that he does. ;) He has been doing quite a bit of traveling since we've been here and that won't slow down anytime soon.  I can't complain, though, because it could always be worse! 

Aiden is growing like crazy.  He's picking up on the sign language more and more and it's so much fun.  He can now sign hat, please, more, dog, potty, eat and is on the verge of drink, too.  It's so amazing to see him communicate his needs/wants without needing the oral vocabulary to do it.  He's growing into such a little boy it's crazy.  So much so that he now thinks it's funny to stick his finger up his nose...I thought that didn't come until much later!

We spent Thanksgiving (and some time beforehand) in NJ.  I always forget how cold and bitter it can get up there and never feel prepared anymore.  The day after Aiden and I arrived I found us at Kohls looking for a scarf and hat/gloves for us.  Brrr!  We did have a nice time in NJ, though.  We ended up traveling to PA to see some of my college friends.  We had an excellent time at the Dempsey house and I needed a dose of Chelle more than I knew possible!  Their little boys are simply gorgeous and some of the sweetest little guys I've ever met.  As always, Chelle made me feel so warm and welcome in her beautiful home. :)  I also stopped by another freind's on the way home from Chelle's.  Kristen's Mom, Liz, made a delicious dinner that I enjoyed eating and Aiden enjoyed slopping all over.  :)  Gotta love kids!

Thanksgiving itself was delicious as always.  Mom went above and beyond what she needed to to make the holiday special.  I am pretty sure the bloat from over-eating is just now starting to go away!  It was great to be able to spend the holiday with all of the family from my side.  We look forward to spending Christmas with the Buzek side in Raleigh! Maybe we'll get a white Christmas?  I wonder how Aiden would react to snow. :)  

Toward the end of our trip Aiden started feeling awfully crummy.  He was running fevers off & on from Friday until they broke Monday morning.  He was so unhappy and didn't eat well.  He had the typical runny nose and bubble guts.  We weren't sure what was going on...but it wasn't so severe that it warranted a trip to the ER or urgent care.  After he sat slumped in his car seat, making everyone else sad for him on the way home, I decided no matter what I'd call the ped Monday.

I ended up taking him in and once there, discovered the rash spreading across his body.  His ears were clear and throat only slightly red with a spot or two.  They did a strep test and so far, the preliminaries are negative.  The rash is likely the virus continuing to work it's way out.  He's doing much better today (Tuesday) and has been sleeping a little better and more comfortably.  Hopefully his speckles will continue to go away....

Well folks...that's really all I have to report.  We hope all of our friends/family enjoyed the holiday as well!

Rainy Day post..

It's been raining soooo much here over the past few days. It's depressing! We got a small break yesterday and got to play outside for a little bit. I discovered that the tennis courts in our complex are the best place to let Aiden roam around with his ball. While he does "great" staying on the sidewalk during our walks, his ball doesn't listen quite so well. He's starting to get more daring and adventurous, wondering what might happen if he tries to step off of the sidewalk. Yesterday we walked up to the tennis courts which are completely fenced in...so he could just roam and roam and Mommy was worry free! Another little girl joined us with her grandparents. She rode her awesome tricycle around and around. She even let Aiden go for a ride! He just liked the sparkly things hanging from her handle bars, but it was cute nonetheless. :)

Not too much has been happening here. If something exciting had happened on Halloween, I would have updated. But we opted not to take Aiden trick-or-treating this year. He just doesn't have enough teeth to rot out yet to make it worthwhile. So he got dressed up and helped Daddy build our new computer desk while Mommy gave treats to the minimal trick-or-treaters that came by.

When he got tired of helping Daddy he sat on the couch watching some Imagination Movers and eating a snack. Maybe next year we'll find trick-or-treating a little more appealing!

Pumpkin "Patch"

Aiden and I have been waiting patiently for Daddy to get home from his trip so we could go to the pumpkin patch. We were finally able to go last night. It was so COLD and windy that we didn't stay very long. But we did find a great pumpkin! There were free hayrides, but a sign said it was rather bumpy and we didn't quite feel Aiden was ready to have his brains shaken just yet. They had some other Halloween-type stuff out...including a talking mummy and a witch Aiden didn't really appreciate. We hope to get the pumpkin carved before Halloween...but we'll see!!!