Aiden and Clemmers:)

These are some photographs that my dad took of a trip to the park with cousin Clem.  I will let the very cute pictures tell the story:

Two cousins hanging out on a hot, sunny day at the park...

Here I Come, Clem...

Gotcha:)...

I'm sorry, did that hurt?  Will a kiss help you forgive me?

And here are just some random shots that my dad took while he us was up to visit:

Playing at my activity table

Mama let me go down the slide with just a little help!

But I thought it was more fun to try and crawl down:)

Other updates from the week:

1.  On Sunday, Aiden and Chris were playing together on the couch when Aiden grabbed Daddy's face to give him a kiss.  "Ouch, that hurt," Chris yelped in reaction to the bite on his nose and discovered...the FIRST tooth!!  So our toothless wonder has his first bud and we are thinking another one will be showing up soon!  I will try and post a picture, but Aiden is very shy of his new tooth so it hasn't been easy to get a picture!

2.  Aiden and I arrived in Sedona, AZ yesterday for a very close friend's wedding.  I have been looking forward to coming for so long, but yet, SOO nervous about flying across the country by myself with Aiden.  I have to say that someone was watching over me yesterday because Aiden was AWESOME!  Here's a short summary of yesterday:  wake up at 3:30 am and prepare to leave, depart our house at 4:30 am, arrive at airport/check in/board for 6 am flight, fly a 2 hour stretch from White Plains, NY to Detroit, change gates/go to bathroom/get snacks/board 9 am flight, fly a 4 hour stretch from Detroit to Phoenix, arrive at airport/get baggage, meet my dad/get rental car, start drive to Sedona/stop at In and Out for lunch, finish 2 hour drive to Sedona, drive around Sedona/check in hotel, go shopping with my brother and friends, go out to dinner with my dad, and FINALLY collapse in bed at 8:30 pm.  Through all of these new adventures and huge changes in our daily schedule, Aiden remained full of smiles, friendlier than ever (we make so many friends when we travel with the little bug), and a HUGE blessing for his Mama!  Let's just hope all goes well on the way back, please!!!!!  

So this blog entry is written from our hotel porch in Sedona and what a beautiful place it is...I am soaking in the view of red rock formations while Aiden is napping this morning.  We are looking forward to some hiking, sunshine, spending time with my parents and Uncle Andy, and a very special wedding.  Pictures to come in the future!

The 8 Month video is here!!!  What has Aiden been up this month???

-Aiden continues to be one of the happiest babies!  He smiles all the time...and everyone just LOVES those dimples:)  He really knows how to make friends when we are out and about. 

-Aiden continues to be a super crawler, often moving so fast that he drags one of his legs while pushing forward with the other one!  He has even mastered how to crawl up the stairs...YIKES!  He is VERY active and continues to pull up on everything and cruise around on the furniture, toys, anything that he can get his hands on.  He wants to make sure that his mama pays attention to him or he may pull over the plant, knock things off the fridge, or grab the centerpiece off of the coffee table!  

-Aiden's favorite place to play is the entertainment center.  There's nothing more fun to him than pulling off the DVDs, books, and pushing the buttons on the cable box.  Other things that he loves are his activity table, the piano, chasing balls around the house, the mail center, playing in the kitchen, books, and chewing on his squirters!

-Aiden also loves to be outside...we spent a lot of time this month in his pool, going for walks/jogs, and pushing the little bug in his new swing!    

-One of Aiden's favorite things to do is chase the doggies around the house and pulling up on their dog crate!  Now, if only we can get the dogs to like him as much as he likes them??

-Aiden has become quite the babbler this past week...his favorite place to talk is when he is waiting to eat in his highchair.  He also likes to make yummy sounds while he is chomping on his food!

-Speaking of food, Aiden has decided that he likes textured foods...no more purees.  So we are trying hard to introduce him to real foods...blueberries, peaches, squash, carrots, cottage cheese, bananas!  So far, his favorites are blueberries and peaches and...Puffs.  I have learned quickly to always have Puffs on hand just in case we need a quick snack while we are out and about!

-We traveled to Iowa this past month to visit family and friends...what a great time we had:)

-Once we returned from our trip, we worked very hard to get Aiden back to a routine and to get better sleep at night.  And our hard work paid off-Aiden usually goes to bed around 7:30-7:45 and wakes up at 6:15-6:30 (getting up usually once a night to nurse!).  A few nights this month, we were even lucky to have him sleep through the night!!!!  He takes two naps a day...usually about 9 am and again at 1:30 pm.  

-Aiden loves his bath time before he goes to bed.  He loves to splash and play and tries SOO hard to pull up and climb out of the tub.  Giving Aiden a bath is a workout at the end of the day:)  He loves to get dried off, play in the mirror, and then crawl around before having to put his pajamas on.  What a wonderful way to end the day!

-Aiden continues to be a lovebug as he gives kisses and adores so many things!  We are so in love with our little boy.  Happy 8 Months!

Happy 8 Months Aiden!

Wow, we can't believe that Aiden is 8 months!  What a great month we have had:)  I will post the video and some updates on his 8th month of life within the next few days.

We have had an exciting week.  We were lucky enough to have Grandpa Ruff, Aunt Jen, and little cousin Clemmers to visit for a couple of days!  We had some nice meals out, a trip to the park, and of course a little sister shopping.  Aiden, of course, showed his love for Clem by giving some biting "kisses"!   

The rest of the week was spent around home...playing with toys, going for jogs (even in the massive heat wave), playing in the pool, running errands, etc.:)  Aiden has decided this week that he is done with pureed foods-only real food for this boy now.  So we are trying to attempt more finger foods for our toothless little boy.  I found out today that this makes an even bigger mess...I think he tries to store food in his bib and highchair for later.  And the dogs are loving this new phase of foods as they are there to collect whatever is dropped...which makes it easier for me...no need to vacumn or sweep.  Aiden has become a babbling machine this week and does this new thing with smacking his lips...it's hilarious!  Here are some pictures from the week:

Do I eat or play with my toys, Mama?

Little Aiden sleeping with his giraffey!

Daddy makes me laugh when we play with my mailbox:)

Welcome Home Daddy!

I love to chew on everything!

Playing at the entertainment center in my gerbil slippers...in honor of Stripey, the guinea pig that we are babysitting:)

I love to help Mama do the laundry!

These monthly pictures are getting so hard to take:)  Mama can't even contain my crazy self!

Just saying hello!

Happy 8 Months, Aiden!  We love you!

Too cute for words...

Pictures of Aiden...

We have enjoyed a fabulous and HOT weekend here in Connecticut!  We spent a lot of time around the house-walking the dogs, playing with toys, going to the farmer's market, grilling out, Sunday morning church, swimming in the pool, and just enjoying some nice family time!  Here are some shots from the past week that Aiden wanted to post for his readers:

I love my activity table!!

Here I come...watch out!

Mama, please let me play in the pool again...it's my favorite part of the day!

I check for mail about five times a day, at least;)

I love chilling with my Daddy (and his glasses)!

Look, I can still pet the dogs even when they are in the crate!

Check me out:)

Thought these were cute...

One of my closest friends, Ashley, sent these pictures from our get-together with our little boys when we were back in Iowa!  Her little one (or, I guess, very tall one), is just over three years old!  

Maybe we will play toys with each other...

Or maybe it is more fun to crawl on Jonathan...

All tired out:)

If only we could live closer so this could happen more often than a couple times a year...are you sure you don't want to move this direction, Ashley?  

A Week Back at Home...

We had a great week relaxing and enjoying home sweet home.  Chris went out of town for a few days, so I endured life as a lone parent...it's not easy!  Let's just say that we were ready for him to return and give this mama a break.  Luckily, he took off on Friday so we could have an extra day with him around.  Thankfully, Aiden is starting to return to a normal routine and give his parents a little more rest.  Yes, he does continue to wake up once at night (and occasionally twice), but nothing like it was even a week ago.  Now, if only we could fix the 6 am wakeup calls:)  Here are some pictures from last week:

Mr. Active is crawling everywhere!

We were in the pool almost everyday this week...our little boy is a fish!

Pulling up on the wall-thank goodness we put some safety plugs in the outlet.  He was very curious about them!

And his favorite place to play:  the entertainment center!  It's so much fun to pull down the DVD's:)

Looking at his books before bathtime:)

Look at the new swing that Daddy put up!

Stop and smell the flowers!

How could you not love this face?

Happy Belated Seven Months!

Aiden turned 7 months on July 19th and he keeps me so busy that I am just now posting his 7 month video!  What a great month that we had:)

-Aiden continues to be an active and playful baby.  He sits up like a champ now and loves to play with all sorts of toys-including his activity desk, his little people sets, and looking at books.  But his favorite toys are also Mama's favorite toys:  the computer, cell phone, and camera.  He is always fighting for his turn on each one of these:)  

-Aiden was not content with just sitting up...this month he also decided that pulling up on furniture, Mama, or anything else that he could get his hands on was one of his favorite things to do.  Thank goodness Grammy helped us babyproof while she was here to visit...goodbye to all the little cute knick-knacks on our bookshelves~  

-Aiden also found a new way to get around besides his parents' arms...he mastered crawling on all fours and has taken off.  He loves crawling to Mama, Daddy, and the puppies.  

-Soaking in the warm and sunny weather, we spent some days in the baby pool where Aiden loves to splash around as well as taking some exhausting runs with Mama.  

-We were lucky enough to have Grammy here to visit for a week before we started our three week vacation around the country.  While she was here, we enjoyed some nice walks, a trip to the park, and shopping!

-We started our vacation with a trip to York, PA to visit my sister's family...which includes baby Jackson!  Aiden had a hey-day playing with all of Jackson's toys and watching his baby cousin. 

-From there, we drove to North Carolina and Aiden did great in the car...Mama and Grammy had to take turns sitting in the back keeping Aiden entertained by reading, singing, and playing peek-a-boo with you.  

-We enjoyed seeing several family members in North Carolina and enjoyed Aiden's first trip to the Emerald Isle beach.  He loved playing in the raft on the shore and some special family time.

-Aiden started giving "kisses" this month by biting noses...it's so cute and thank goodness that he doesn't have teeth.

-With all of the traveling, Aiden has been a "wakeful" baby with two very exhausted parents.  Some nights the only way that we all got sleep on our vacation was cuddling with our little boy in bed!

-Aiden is fascinated with the outdoors, especially the ground.  Yum, yum...nothing more tasty than grass and sand:)

Aiden tried some new foods this month.  Since we were traveling, Aiden got his first taste of store-bought baby food.  His favorite meal was Vanilla Apple Whole Grain...couldn't get enough of this stuff.  He also is fascinated with straws and playing with one is a great way to keep you entertained when we go out to eat! 

Happy Seven Months, Aiden!  We love you:)  And we can't wait to update soon about our fabulous eighth month that we have had...a trip to Iowa, visits with family and friends, and refreshing summer days in CT!

  

  

A Few Shots from the Weekend...

We SO enjoyed a weekend with ALL three of us at home...finally!  Most of the weekend was spent trying to catch up on sleep and getting chores done around the house.  We did enjoy an afternoon of blueberry picking...now what to do with the massive amount of blueberries that we have.  I am thinking of making blueberry crisp tomorrow, but am going to look at some other recipes online later tonight.  Anyone have some tasty suggestions?

Chris and I had our third wedding anniversary last week...time is flying!  We haven't had much time to celebrate, but I think just being together in the same place is all that we needed.  Aiden is enjoying home...he gets to play with all of his toys, walk the puppies again, and we are working on getting him to sleep better at night (this has not been an easy task...keep your fingers crossed that something magical happens soon)!

Here are some weekend photos:

Yummy for fresh blueberries:)

I loved riding on the berry ferry!

There's nothing better to entertain a baby than old magazines and newspapers.

Back with the puppies, Cobi and Sheffy!

Hello from my garden house!

We Are Back!

After a long break from blogging due to vacation, we have returned!  We arrived back a couple days ago from our very long, but fun, 3 weeks of vacation:)  Although we had a great time on our travels, I don't think that you will be seeing me again take a baby for three weeks of adventuring around the country.  If you have ever tried it, you know what I mean!

We had a great time in Iowa enjoying good company and summer relaxation.  Our trip in Iowa started with a visit to Iowa City, our old stomping ground, to have lunch at the Vine with Uncle Jason.  Once we arrived in Cedar Falls, we enjoyed lots of relaxation and family time.  Aiden charmed his grandparents with his smiles and activity level.  We also were lucky that Uncle Nate came to visit for a few days and had another brief visit from Uncle Jason.  Grandma and Grandpa Rogers enjoyed their time with Aiden:  playing around the house, pushing him in their cozy coupe, going to the park, and attempting baths in the big tub!

We enjoyed seeing some of my very good friends while we were back in Iowa.  Our first visit was to see my friend Jill and her cute baby girl Anna.  The babies enjoyed playing with Tupperware while the mamas caught up on life.  Our second visit was to see my friend Ashley and her three year old Jonathan.  I forgot my camera battery, so I don't have any pictures...but again I love spending time with them and I can't wait to meet her baby girl that is due this fall.  We also enjoyed a morning of garage sales...if only she could live closer so we could do that every week!  Aiden and I headed to the Des Moines area for an overnight stay with one of my best friends, April.  She just had a baby girl that was born on July 3rd...who is SOO adorable.  I was reminded how much peaceful the newborn stage is, but I also was reminded how much I don't miss the every two hour feedings.  Once we returned from Des Moines, Aiden and I met up with my AWESOME college friends:  Adrienne, Carrie, Erica, and Molly.  We had a fabulous two day reunion where it was so good to hear all the great things that are going on in each one of their lives.

Even with our crazy vacation schedule, Aiden continued to grow in the week that we were there.  He has totally mastered crawling on all fours and is pulling up on everything.  He LOVES to stand and move around, which makes any snuggle moments with our little boy that much more special:) 

Enjoying the Iowa grass

Meeting up with our friends, Jill and Anna-so much fun!

Hanging with the girls:)

I am a wild man when I have no clothes on!

Aiden and Great Grandma Rogers

Meeting little Camryn...she is only 3 weeks old!!

Saying good-bye to Grandma and Grandpa Rogers

Trying to drink Great Grandma Lunn's water:)

I love swinging at the park!

I enjoyed my cozy coupe rides at Grandma's house:)

Now that we have returned, we will be updating more often with pictures and updates of our daily life so check back soon!  I am hoping to finish the 7 month video soon and will post that up this week:)