Better late than never...

Where do I even start. Aidan is 8 1/2 mons old now and I can't even begin to remember where that last 2 1/2 months has gone. Blogging was much easier when I wasn't back at work and when the lil guy wasn't very mobile. So what has happened over the last two months..... Well if you remember at 6 months Aidan was just starting to roll. We spent the month rolling everywhere we wanted to go. Then right at about 7 months, our lil guy started low crawling. By eight months he was full on crawling and standing.

We also went ahead and got the cranial band at 6 1/2 to 7 months to help the flat head. It was quite the pricey "accessory" but it is definitely working. The change is remarkable and we are keeping our fingers crossed that he will only have to wear until about 10-11 months at the most.

I believe the last time I posted we were just getting ready to start "solids". Well it took almost 2 months, but we made it through all the Gerber 1st foods, and now are well into the 2nd foods. Our feeding issues seem to have disappeared, but just recently we have developed and little stomach bug and so we have cut back on anything new and are just continuing the foods we already introduced.

What else, what else... well cutting back on the prevacid (for the reflux) didn't work out, so we are back to his daily dose. In the meantime we have also developed eczema and that continues to be a battle. As soon as we get one spot taken care of, another spot breaks out. And now that Aidan is mobile, getting him to sit still while we lather lotions, creams, etc on him has proven to be a two man job or it is nearly impossible. Also, while his nasal congestion has gotten better, he has continued to have chest congestion, so as of Friday we are also doing breathing treatments... which by the way he hates!!!! I hope one of these days his reflux and respiration issues get cleared up!

OK... I think that's it for the kiddo... now onto the family!

Ian's brother, Sean, his wife, Nichole, and their two children, Kaylie (5) and Evan (now 5 mons) came to visit us. It was such a fun holiday! Sean got to to do a ridealong with Ian, and Nichole and I got to take the kiddos to the mall and meet Santa! Thanksgiving dinner came out fabulous and the only thing that could have made the weekend any better would have been for all of us to live much closer to each other.

Next up... Christmas! This year we went to California to visit with my family since this was the 1st Christmas I have been home since 2002. Well, we decided to drive instead of fly.... and all I can say is.... NEVER AGAIN! Not never again to visiting... not never again to driving 12 hours with a 7 month old.... total misery. But we had a fantastic visit. We had a great first Christmas with Aidan. Our family just loved meeting him and he loved meeting his family! We went wine tasting with my brother and his wife, Christine. And here's the biggie... Ian and I got to see our first movie in the movie theater since Aidan has been born! We were very lucky to have so many family members volunteer to watch our lil guy!

Since we've been back home, we've been very busy with work and just our everyday lives. Ian has switched back to days and we are hoping this takes some of my nighttime stress off of me. It continues to be a struggle to balance teaching and being a mom, but one of these days we'll work it all out.

Well I think that is it for now. I am sure I have left out a bunch... But I'll post pictures that hopefully tell the stories I have forgotten!

6 months!!!!

Aidan turned 6 months old on Monday! He had his 6 month appt that very day and he is officially 17 lbs 15 oz and 27 1/2 in long. Despite all his feeding issues he is continuing to grow! Since his UGI came back normal, we have cut his Prevacid back to every other day (the meds for his reflux) and now we are giving him Singulair for his nasal / congestion problems. So far, not too much spit up since the Prevacid has been cut, and his breathing seems a lot easier with the introduction of the Singulair. We had a very big first this week too! Aidan has resisted tummy time from the get go, but is finally tolerating it, and he rolled over for the first time on Thursday morning. Yea Baby Aidan! Another milestone passed! He has been eating oatmeal consistently for the past couple weeks, so starting this next week, we will be introducing his next solid! I haven't decided what yet... but he'll be getting some veggies!

An Update... Finally!

Where do I even begin?? It seems like so much time has passed since my last blog update and I don't even know where to start! Life is just chugging away here in our household! Well overall things are going well. Ian is staying busy with work and military, especially since the Marines Corps Ball is next weekend and he is the Ball Coordinator this year. He has done uch a tremendous job planning everything. I have been staying busy with work. At the beginning of this year I was chosen by my school district as one of eight teachers who had students with very high achievement. I was featured on the website and here is the article if you'd like to check it out! It has been hard this year keeping up with everything, but we are doing the best we can. I also celebrated my 30th brithday... still can't believe that I'm 30! Where has all this time gone?

And now an update on the lil guy I know you are all here to read about! Well we've still been struggling with a a few issues. He still has a flat head! So we'll most likely be doing the DOC Band (otherwise known as the helmet). It will mostly depend on cost. Treatment is $3600 but we've been told that our insurance is pretty good about covering it, so we'll know more on Monday. He's still struggling with tummy time and we've been battling all kinds of issues with his nose. He's had non stop colds and sinus infections. Breathing treatments have not helped, so they did a UGI about a week ago to see if he was refluxing into his lungs. The UGI came back normal... so we'll find out the next step at his next appt on Monday which is his 6 month check up.

We've also had some eating/stomach issues. We started rice cereal a little while back and that just really upset Aidan's stomach, so we switched to oatmeal and he has just been eating that like a champ. Despite his eating issues, he was a hefty 18 1/2 pounds a few weeks ago at the Dr's office and has been wearing 9 mon clothes for a few weeks now. We had a few hairy weeks with him not sleeping through the night and waking up 6-10 times a night because of his congestion and tummy issues. We adjusted his schedule this week and have seen some great improvements since. He's still not eating much, but that could be due to his congestion or teething. Other than all of that he is doing great. He's started going in the jumperoo and loves it. He can sit up for short periods without any support, and he's slowly getting better at tummy time. He can stand with support and is getting really good at grabbing and manipulating things with his hands. On his progress report from day care he had mastered almost everything and the very few things he hadn't mastered were mostly due to him not tolerating tummy time. He loves talking and playing and he has admirers everywhere he goes! Ian and I are so blessed and cannot believe almost six months have passed since our little guy entered our lives!

4 months!

I have been a bad blogger! Me?? Can you believe it? A whole month with no posts! Well Aidan turned 4 months old today! We had his 4 month doctor's appt and it went great. We just love Dr McCleland and are going to miss her when she goes on maternity leave!! Aidan weighed in at 15 lbs 6 1/2oz and 26 1/2 in long! He is in the 92nd percentile for his height and about 50th for his weight! He is growing like a weed and his weight is finally catching up to his height. At four months old, he is almost ready to start growing out of some of his 3-6 months clothes! Can you believe it? Dr McCleland confirmed that he is teething! He is healthy and making a ton of progress. We have one area of concern and that is his flat head! We've been working on some things to help it naturally round out, but if we don't see improvement in the next 1-2 months, then at 6 months, we'll have to consider going the helmet route. If only he didn't hate being on his tummy so much!

So what have we been up to the last month??? Well right after he turned three months Aidan started the early stages of teething and I went back to work!!! No fun for those two things to coincide since it meant Aidan stopped sleeping through the night! He has had a lot of congestion since, but we seem to be working our way through it. He also rolled onto his side from his back for the very first time! Yea! When he lays on his stomach he can hold his head up off the ground, and he loves going in his exersaucer!

Grandma Rissa (Meemaw Jr), Grandpa Ralph, Great Grandma Phyllis (Meemaw Sr), and G-ma Phyllis's wonderful friend, Bob also came to visit us! They brought us a ton of furniture they had been storing for us, and we finally have furniture in our bedroom and the guest room! We had such a great time with them! And Grandpa Ralph even helped Ian fix our roof and he fixed our dryer too! They were so generous and also got us a new BBQ grill for a housewarming present. I was so proud to show off our new house since my mom hadn't seen it since she came down to help paint before it was finished and we moved in. My only regret is that our vacation with them wasn't longer! We can't to see them again this winter!

Life has been good to us... although the transition back to work has been a rough one. It might have been smoother except Aidan has been struggling with his nasal congestion and this past week he had a little stomach virus. He is doing much better now! I can't post pics currently b/c Ian has the laptop with all the pictures at work, but I'll get new pictures posted this weekend! I can hardly wait for three days off! Especially since we are getting DirectTV installed on Saturday!!

12 weeks pictures

Here's some pictures I have taken recently. Enjoy!

Mom, can't you see I'm trying to watch my show!

I love my lil monkey butt!

Watching Baby Neptune since we have been going swimming and we're going to San Diego and Sea World this weekend

1st time sitting in the Bumbo seat

Am I done with this tummy time yet?
Big boy lifting his head up!
My new sling! Aidan was trying to bust his way out of it!

All tuckered out after "swimming". Can you hear him snoring?

Enthralled with Baby Neptune. I love his expressions when he sees something he likes.

My little bobblehead sitting in his Bumbo chair for the 1st time!

11 weeks old

Well, Aidan is 11 weeks old... almost 3 months! On one hand I am so excited for his to get older, learn new things and develop his personality more... and become "Aidan". On the other hand, I have to go back to work the day after he turns 3 months... so it will be a bittersweet milestone, since I am so not looking forward to leaving my little guy. I want to go back to work; I like my job. I always said there was no way I could be a stay at home mom, that it would be too boring... that I needed to be "doing something" I never realized how much work being at home is, and how rewarding it is to watch him grow and make our home a happy one. Anyway, as the time comes nearer, I am contemplating more over how our lives are going to change and I worry about how it is all going to work out. And then I remind myself... I AM NOT Superwoman, eventhough sometimes I feel like it! And these next few months are going to be about letting go, taking a step back, and not letting work rule my life! Because now there is something else that is more important, being a good wife, and being a good mom!

And speaking of being a good mom, Aidan and I had an excellent day today. I had bought a baby pool that I finally got blown up and filled with water. And then, I had to wait, and then wait some more, for my little man to finish taking his longest nap he has probably ever taken! I think he must have known I wanted to be awake, and he was taking his sweet little time. Ironic, huh, the one time I want him to wake up is when he keeps sleeping, when usually when I want him to sleep, is when he wakes up! Finally though, he did wake up, we had a bottle, and then got suited up! He seemed to like it ok. DEfinitely a little different from his usual baths (which he loves). After about 20 mins we called it a day since we were being swarmed by grass hoppers and I was afraid it was getting too hot, eventhough we were in the shade under the patio roof. We'll try it again tomorrow and see how he likes it for the second time!

We've also had a couple notable "firsts" over the past couple days. First of all, a few nights ago, Aidan slept all the way through the night for the very first time!! He went from 9-5:30. It was such a blissful night of uninterrupted sleep! I just hope we have a few more of those nights coming up in our future! Also for the first time, Aidan did tummy time and was able to hold his head up and look around. He managed to last on tummy time for quite a bit before finally getting fussy. Normally he only lasts a few minutes! And finally, I think our lil guy is getting ready to try and get himself moving! Tonight when we were getting changed for bedtime, he managed to plant his feet into the ground, lift his tush up, and manuver himself over a bit! I think we are getting much closer to rolling over and sitting up than I would have expected!

So enough of my proud mommy ramblings, here's what most of you come to the blog for.... pictures!

While tummy time is getting more tolerable, sucking on our fingers is still our favorite thing to do!

Getting ready for the pool! "Don't forget the sunscreen, Mom!"

Hmm... not sure if we like it yet... a lil colder than our usual baths!

Hey, this might be fun afterall!

Just chilling now that we are done in the pool!

Aidan's new pool. Water flows through the yellow tubes around the outside of the pool and squirts water into the pool. Water also squirts out of various places inside the pool. I'll get a picture of it in full force the next time we go "swimming"!

Well we are moved in, and I have been trying to avoid more painting by doting on my lil man! We've been hanging out and playing to make up for all the interruptions to our routine from before we moved in. Here's some of our latest videos and pictures!

We couldn't leave Aidan behind, so we had to pack him too!

Just swinging and watching Baby Einstein

Sticking out our tongue is our new game!

We hate tummy time!

Big yawn!

Aidan's 1st 3-6 mon outfit, since he has outgrown all his 0-3 clothes

Mommy's lil froggie! "Are you done taking pictures yet?"

Happy Baby!

We love our swing!

The lil guys were hanging out playing, while the big guys did the move!

Daddy loves having Aidan "ride" Anthrax

Aidan likes it too! "Daddy can't you make him go any faster?"

Happy baby watching Baby Einstein!

Happy, then not so happy! About 2/3 of the way through it sounds like he says "I want Mommy!" Too cute! His "1st" words!

Hard work pays off!

Well over the past week, Ian and I have been busting our behinds to get the new house ready to move into. My mom flew down over the weekend to help me paint, and thank goodness she did, otherwise I would never have finished all that painting. Aidan loved seeinf his grandma again!

Aidan has been weathering all the commotion pretty well. He's been a little fussier, especially at night, but hopefully once we get moved in, we can get back into our regular routine. His exciting accomplishement for this week is holding onto a toy for the first time! He's been grabbing onto a lot of things this week, especially my hair! He's also really become quite obsessed with his hands and trying to fit his whole fist in his mouth. I think he's trying to suck his thumb, but hasn't figured out how to do that without putting all his other fingers in his mouth too! I don't have too many pictures to share, but I've had a lot of other things on my plate to get accomplished. Here's a couple from the last week.

Aidan is a "genius"! Look at him holding a toy for the first time!

Just having some fun!

Happy 4th of July! Thanks Auntie Christine for the outfit!

Aidan getting distracted from playing. Whoever knew a hand was so fascinating!

Daddy getting Aidan ready to go. Aidan decided he wanted to match with Daddy's outfit.