Home Sweet Home!

So we just arrived back from our crazy, busy, and fabulous week in Iowa. We started off the week with a birthday party for Aiden (see previous post) and the excitement just continued from there. On Wednesday, I was lucky to see a couple friends-Ashley and her two cutie pies and Jill and her adorable little girl. It was so much fun catching up with both of them and only wish that I could get together with them more often. Because of the holidays, I missed seeing a couple other really close friends, but hopefully will catch up with them next trip back!!!

We started off our day on Thursday (Christmas Eve) with a trip to see Santa! And what do you think Aiden did-smile or cry??????? If you guessed cry, you are correct:) He cried and clinged to his mommy and refused to let go of his snack cup, so lucky mommy got to be in the photo with Santa just like when she was little. I do have to say that Santa was a bit scary as it looked like he only had one arm (I think it was in a cast tucked under his suit, but yes, only one sleeve had an arm!) We spent the rest of Christmas Eve preparing for the holidays by doing some baking, relaxing, and off to a Christmas Eve service.

Aiden introduced me to my many Christmas' to come by waking up at 5:45 on Christmas morning in his Christmas pjs:) We played, enjoyed some Christmas music, and both Mommy and Aiden took a morning nap all before our Christmas celebration! We enjoyed the morning with Chris' parents and brothers and Aiden enjoyed tearing open his gifts (even out of turn!). Thank you to Chris' family for all the delightful gifts and for a great Christmas morning. The rest of the day was spent relaxing, eating way too much food, and playing 5 Crowns!

We spent our last day in Iowa by doing a little shopping, getting a bit more rest in, and headed off to a wedding reception for one of our high school friends. I forgot to take any pictures, because we were having lots of fun catching up with many people that we haven't seen in awhile and hear about all the exciting things that are going on with them!!! Congratulations again, Scott and Megan!

It took over 12 hours to get back between a car ride to Minneapolis, a nice airport wait, a plane trip back to JFK, a taxi ride to our car, and our last leg of the trip was a car ride to CT. It was so nice to arrive to a home sweet home!

Here are some pictures from the week back in Iowa:

Does he look a bit like Frosty?

I'm not so sure about this Mom!

Our family:)

With Uncle Nate and Uncle Jason!!!

Grandma and Grandpa Rogers

Christmas Morning!!!

Opening more gifts...

The Best Present Ever!!!!!

We are going to spend this week with my family here in CT...should be fun!

Some Birthday Shots...

So we have finally made it to Iowa despite a cancelled flight, masses of people at LaGuardia airport, and a very late night flight with a one year old (not fun at all, especially for those around us:))!

We enjoyed our first day here with Chris' family. Aiden had his first set of professional pictures done this morning...so cute:) He was a great sport despite new surroundings, time change, and no morning nap. We enjoyed some OP taco pizza, relaxing around the house, a mini-birthday party, and a family game night.

I hadn't posted pictures from Aiden's birthday in CT, so I wanted to post a few shots and I will try to include more Iowa photos in the next few days. A nasty snow/ice storm is on the way so it looks like we will be hunkered down inside...what a great way to be welcomed back to Iowa!

Birthday Buddies sharing cake-Aiden's birthday is on December 19th and Aamie's (one of the best neighbors and overall awesome person) birthday is today, December 22nd

Reading a birthday card with Mommy

Daddy love:)

Check out this rainbow cake that I made...pretty funny!

Loves his first Tonka birthday truck

Aiden bypassed his cake for his blueberries...searching for more berries!

Signing all done...:)

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Rogers for the ice cream birthday cake:)

Happy Birthday!

Snow Day!!!

So we were supposed to be off to Iowa today, but instead we were snowed in due to a cancelled flight out of JFK airport! We made the most by relaxing and enjoying the day together around the house:)

We started off the morning by digging through our cabinets searching for some food to eat (since we have very little as we thought we were going out of town). Aiden had banana oatmeal, Chris had Cheerios, and I had some tasty hot chocolate...which was perfect with the snowy view from our windows.

After we enjoyed some relaxing around the house this morning, Chris headed out to dig us out of the massive snow. Thank goodness for a random act of kindness from a stranger with a snowplow-it made Chris' job a lot easier! Aiden woke up from his nap, had a morning snack of peas (seriously I don't understand why he loves peas so much...and that's the only veggie he seems to like), we headed out for his first play in the snow. Pictures are below! Aiden seemed to enjoy the snow as much as Mommy does-nice to look at, but who likes to be all bundled up to play in something so cold??? I am sure as he gets older, he will enjoy it more, but this year we lasted all of ten minutes!

The rest of the day was spent playing toys around the house, MarioKart action for Chris and I, and a nice dinner out at the Chinese place across the street.

Hopefully we are off to Iowa tomorrow and will post more from there (including some birthday pictures), but until then here are some pictures from our big snowstorm:

Knee Deep in Snow

This stuff is so cold!

Okay, I've had enough Mom!

All the way up to our mailbox!!!

Happy Birthday Aiden!!!!!

Wow, what a difference a year makes! Here's a picture of Aiden in his first hours of life:

And here's our precious one year old:

We love our boy SOOOO much and have had the best year of our life with him! Happy Birthday, Baby Aiden!!!

Our Almost One Year Old...:)

Officially on Saturday, Aiden will be a 1 year old!!!! It's crazy to think that this little boy has only been in our lives one year-I have loved every minute of it and am amazed at such a blessing he is to our lives.

With his new walking skills and short attention span, pictures are getting harder and harder to take, but Aiden wanted to share some of his favorites from the past week or so:

Mommy worries about my daredevil skills, but I just love the thrill of standing on the rocker!

Let's go Sheffy, I want to go for a ride!

Anybody want a spoon???

Cheese:)

I love to play toys-anyone want to play with me??

Look at me walk!

Look, it's my first snowfall!

I try to listen to Mommy when she tells me to close the dishwasher!

Hello:)

I just love the dishwasher so much-I love helping mom load and unload it! I especially love to take out measuring cups and spoons and bang them together:)

All bundled in my bear suit to take the puppies out on a walk!

Yummy juice-give me some more!

We have a walker!

So my days are starting to go by faster and faster-thanks to shorter naps and a walking baby!!!!!!!!

Here is a video that features the following clips in this order:

• A "hi" in the bathtub
• "Hi Da (Dad)!"
• Uh Oh! Look who gets upset when they cause a spill!!
• Look who is so smart! Since he can't reach the ground on the seat, Aiden decided to sit on the wheel and push himself;)
• Our walking baby, Aiden!!!!!!!
• And another clip of walking Aiden...he loves to explore the house with his new skill. (Ignore the smashed Yogurt Melt on his bottom!

We are getting excited for Aiden's first birthday in less than two weeks!!!! Hope you are all enjoying the holiday season:)

Happy December!

We had a fabulous week of our "staycation" at home:)  Instead of traveling for Thanksgiving, we decided to spend a week here in Connecticut.  Some of the highlights of the week include:

• a great Thanksgiving dinner with turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, rolls, cranberry salad, and a Paula Deen chocolate pie!!!  It was delicious and even Aiden loved it (minus the sweet potatoes-more for mommy and daddy)!!
• a visit from the Amorino family:)  Liz went to high school with Chris and me.  She was in the area visiting family and we were lucky enough to have her, her husband, and three kids come visit for a night!  We had lots of fun and it was great to catch up:)
• a very cold trip to cut down our Christmas tree-it is in the house, decorated, and all ready for the holidays!  We also added some lights outside for the first time...good job Chris:)
• Daddy's first trip to the public library!!  Too bad, he didn't quite make it through the express book that he checked out:)
• I enjoyed a little extra free time and some mornings at the gym-it was so nice to get there before 8:30 pm.  
• Most of our week was spent around the house, enjoying time as a family, and that's why I am thankful for the time that we had together!

What a mess!!  But he loves those blackberries:)

Can we say A Christmas Story?

Smiles for Daddy!

My three boys:)

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

So check this out...little Aiden is now Houdini!  He took off his diaper and removed it...all while still wearing his one piece outfit:)  

Obsessed with his chair-he loves to stand and climb in and out of it!

Helping Daddy get the lights up on the tree:)

Playing toys

Merry Christmas season!

Happy 11 Months!

Wow, I can't believe little Aiden is 11 months old!  What a fantastic month that we have had!!!!!!

Aiden is such an awesome baby and we just love watching him grow and develop.  Life is really such a miracle and so amazing:)

Tidbits from Aiden at 11 months:

• Aiden is growing, growing, growing!  Aiden continues to mostly wear 6 month clothes, but we are finally starting to fit into some 9 month clothes, although those pants are just way too long:)  Thank goodness because Mommy has found you some great deals for this winter!  It's funny when you see him everyday, you don't notice the difference of how much he changes, but several of my friends this past week just are amazed at how he is starting to look like a little boy.  
• Aiden is so active and has a small attention span!  Aiden goes from one toy to another to another to another...which leads to toy tornadoes all over the house.  Mommy has learned to just let it be throughout the day and do a massive pickup before or after bedtime-no sense picking up all the time! 
• Aiden loves to get into everything-kitchen cabinets seem to be one of his favorites.  He has discovered the magic of Tupperware and loves to spread it all over the floor.  Aiden is also OBSESSED with electronics-phones, computers, television, remotes, etc.  Mommy has started to hide her phone since we have ended up making several phone calls including Grammy, the neighbor, and to Uncle Andy (three times and while he was in China!!!)  Grammy has decided to encourage his computer skills by providing him with his own mini MacBook.  He loves to press the buttons and shake his head to the music!
• Speaking of music, Aiden loves to dance!  You would think that he listens to hard rock the way that he head bangs, but it is often Wee Sing Baby or lately, Praise Baby Christmas!   Although he does enjoy a variety of music and loves to dance and clap his hands.  It's an instant smile when the cd goes in the music box.
• Aiden is a pretty good sleeper, although when we travel he likes to let Mommy know that he still needs a little extra attention by waking up very early!!!
• Aiden has took his first steps and is walking a few steps here and there and we are anxiously awaiting to have a walker on your hands.  Aiden is still are a bit nervous to totally let go!!
• Aiden has learned the word "hi" and just recently started to say "ma" and "dada".  It melts your parents' hearts!  Although he is shy at times, he also will say "hi" to people while we are out and about.  It really makes peoples' days:)
• Aiden is becoming a good eater, although he still LOVE fruits, fruits, and more fruits!  Aiden has started to eat more bite sized veggies, but Mommy often mixes other veggies into his peas to make sure you get a variety of veggies in.  He just has a strange love for peas! Aiden often eat what we eat for dinner, such as tacos or spaghetti.  He also eats lots of yogurt, cottage cheese, puffs, graham crackers, and other small finger foods.  He loves to throw his sippy cup and food over the highchair-this makes Cobi and Sheffield's day as they eat the remnants (and then we don't have to mop!!!)!
• Aiden loves to look at books-Mommy and Aiden have a joint quiet story time before afternoon nap where you look at her books and she sneaks in a chapter of her own book.  It's divine!  We read throughout the day and right now his favorites are the peekaboo books. 
• Aiden loves to be outside-walking/jogging in the stroller, swinging, going down the slide at the park, or riding in the Cozy Coupe.  We are enjoying these breezy fall days:)
• Aiden has started to nod your head when we ask him questions-so cute!!!
•  Aiden loves to play...his favorite toys are little cars to push around, the walker (which he has finally learned to steer), a rocker that he climb on and off on, the Cozy Coupe, blocks, Laugh and Learn house, the Slinky, and other toys!  He also enjoys bath time and splashing in the tub-right now he has a slight obsession with trying to turn the water on and off!!
  
• We enjoyed a visit from Grandpa, Jen, and Clem!  We also enjoyed a special trip to North Carolina to visit some of Mommy's family:)   He was SOO well behaved on the airplane and the whole time we were there-people just love how happy our little bug is!  And he was such a good shopper for Mommy's adventures with Grammy.  We had so much fun!
• We celebrated his first Halloween and trick or treated at Deloitte!  What a cute giraffe he was:)

Happy 11 Months, Little Bug!  We Love You:)

Happy 11 Months Our Little Sick Bug!

So we celebrated Aiden's 11 month birthday yesterday and these pictures just show you how crummy our little one felt:

Yes, Aiden has a yucky cold!!!!  And it's no fun for our little boy.  On Wednesday night, Aiden repeatedly woke up through the night because his nose was all plugged and making it hard to breathe!  (It was like newborn days all over again!)  Yesterday morning, he refused to take a nap before we got together with some friends...which resulted into an afternoon nap right in mommy's arms.  I treasured having Aiden sleep there because our little active bug never sits still, much less just falls asleep in one's arms!  We spent the rest of the day laying low around the house, including lots of time to play with his new computer from Grammy:

It looks like we are on the upswing to feeling better and we are looking forward to Daddy taking the next week off and some time together as a family!!!!!

One Minute with Aiden!

We are still enjoying our time in North Carolina with family, but I wanted to share two videos of Aiden (and give Daddy a little Aiden fix!)!  Make sure to watch both as they are pretty cute, and even include some baby Aiden dancing.  Enjoy:)

Hello from Aiden!

Hello to everyone from little Aiden!  Right now, I am having such a fabulous time in North Carolina visiting my family here, including Grammy, Grandpa, and Great-Grandma Snow!!!!  I will post more about my exciting trip later, but I wanted to update with some pictures from the past week here, enjoy!!: 

 

I love my doggy hat:
Yummy, yummy...
Enjoying days at the park before it gets too cold, brrr!
Some more park time:
Daddy is such a stylist...
Look Mommy, I made such a mess.  I just love pulling things out of the cabinets:
And now I am helping you clean.  (Mommy is training me early to help around the house.  Aunt Jen, did you need a maid still?!)
My best buddies, Cobi and Sheffield
Check out this playhouse that Mommy found on the street for FREE!!!!!
Mommy and Aamie, our neighbor, carried it two blocks just for me!  I love it (and so does Mommy, isn't it every child's dream?)!
YEAH!!!!!!!
Sitting in the big kid chair at Grammy's: