A few cute pictures...

I wanted to share some recent pictures of Aiden, who just happened to turn 19 months last week!!!! Time is flying, but we have so much fun together:)

Loves to play with the hose

Say Cheese, getting ready to walk the puppies early in the morning. Can you tell he has bedhead?

A Fashion No-No: a too big swimsuit with cowboy boots:)

Getting ready to go for a run! It's quite a chore to be almost 22 weeks pregnant and push this thing around. Our runs are turning more and more into walks!

Playing on the porch

Playing in Daddy's closet-one of his socks and one of his shoes

Having fun at the park

My silly boy!

It's A BOY!!!

Last Friday, we had an ultrasound for baby #2 and are so excited to have another baby boy on the way!!!!! Here is an ultrasound from 21 weeks of the little one. Isn't he cute?:

Life is keeping us VERY BUSY right now, but we are excited for all the changes that lie ahead!

Off to Camp:)

Aiden had his first experience as a camper, at the age of 19 months! This past Monday, Aiden and I headed up to Point O Pines camp in the Adirondack Mountains in New York. My sister, her husband, and Clem work up there in the summer months. I can't believe it, but it has been six years since I have been there. I spent all four summers of my college years working at this awesome camp. It's crazy to think that the girls that I was in charge when they were 7 and 8 are now 14 and 15-the oldest campers at camp! It was amazing to see them all grown up:) It was fun to relive memories, see some familiar faces, and live camp life with a toddler!

Here's Aiden getting ready for his first day at camp:

Aiden and Clem taking a walk out at the farmhouse:

Playing in the gymnastics room:

Enjoying the waterfront:

We had some great fun days at camp: enjoying the sand, walking around the camp, playing in their new playroom, spending time with Clem, Jen, and Paul, wandering Main Lawn, staying up too late and not getting great sleep!, and eating some not-so-delicious camp food and some delicious non-camp food! We finally arrived home last night and are savoring a few quiet moments before we head back out of town tomorrow:)

Water, Water, Water!

Our days have been spent playing in the baby pool, the only way to cool off in this incredible heat that we have had:) Here are some pictures:

YEAH, It's pool time!

Look who loves to slide into the pool:)

YEAH!

After a long day of playing, it's time for a bubble bath:

BUBBLES!

Do you like my new hairstyle?

Finally, Chris has returned!

We are very excited around here to finally have Chris home!!! He headed back to Iowa for his uncle's funeral the past few days. I really wish that we could have all made it back to be with family, but Chris and I decided it would be best for Aiden and I to stay back because an unexpected trip with a very energetic strong-willed 18 month old would not be easy for any of us, plus Aiden has been running a slight fever, having a few sleep issues, and traveling for several days with a non-enthusiastic car rider may put us at the end of the rope. So Chris headed back for 5 days, while we held down the fort here in CT.

Right now, with Chris starting a new assignment in the city, his total commute door to door is about two hours each way-which totals FOUR hours a day! This includes getting to the train station, taking the train to the city, taking the subway down to the Financial District, and walking to his office. Usually he is gone by 5:30-5:45 and home around 8:00, sometimes earlier and sometimes later. NOT FUN! Therefore, on many days during the week, Aiden doesn't get to see him at all. It has been a struggle for Chris because he TOTALLY misses the time with his little boy. I miss having extra assistance during the week and thrive to be the best parent for Aiden all day long, even when I would love just a little break that other moms get when their husbands arrive home or have family nearby. I also miss having dinners together and enjoying some family time together at night. Being 5 months pregnant while taking care of Aiden full-time, keeping up on chores and errands, and trying to get out and about with Aiden is about all I can manage right now. I have many hobbies that have been sidelined right now-working on Aiden's quilt, scrapbooking, reading, and even trying to get a daily workout in is a constant battle for me:) Let's just say that I am completely exhausted by the end of the day. Aiden misses his daddy SO much. He often carries around one of our broken cell phones talking to Da-Da. He waits by the window on days that Chris will get home earlier, looking for Da-Da and just lights up as soon as he sees his Daddy's car and runs to the top of the stairs waiting for Daddy to come in. It's been a hard past couple months for all of us, but we know that it is just temporary and are trying our best to stay optimistic and supportive of one another. We are looking to move closer to the city to cut the time on the commute and are hoping to get some resolution to our crazy lives soon, especially before baby #2 comes!

The good thing about this past weekend as we were blessed with Grandpa Ruff's (my dad) visit here. He showed up on Friday night and stayed all the way until Wednesday afternoon-THANKS Dad for keeping us company. On Saturday, my dad, Aiden, and I headed up to my cousin Bill's wedding in New Hampshire. They got married right near the coast of NH and it was beautiful there. I would love to head back that way sometime to vacation-it looked gorgeous. We had a great time and I really enjoyed seeing the Ruff side of the family. Aiden loved the wedding festivities-dancing, running around, and enjoying all the extra attention. Here are some pictures from the weekend:

Congratulations Bill and Christine!

Aiden and I before the wedding.

My little boy:)

Dancing to music!

All tired out the next morning. Let's just say that we didn't get the best sleep in the hotel that night. Aiden was not enjoying that pack and play so he finally fell asleep with Mommy at 11:30 and woke up super early-before 6 am:) I think he was overtired from one busy day of traveling and wedding time! Good thing we headed home not long after.

We arrived back late Sunday night and spent the next few days enjoying some time around home. We ventured to Stew Leonards, downtown Fairfield for some book and t-shirt shopping, and did some errands with Grandpa.

Enjoying a snack of grapes and Goldfish!

Loving his tractor dumper

LOVES, LOVES, LOVES the phone

Lately, Aiden has been running away when I try to get him dressed. Somedays, instead of fighting the battle, I give in and let him run around the house with just a diaper:) You can see who won this contest today!

Thanks Grandpa for visiting! We love you:)

One Minute with Aiden!

So I haven't put up too many videos of Aiden, as he usually races towards the Flip camera as soon as I pull it out:) But here is a shot of our technology-crazed child and Aiden getting ready to walk the dogs in his cowboy boots. ENJOY!

Getting together:)

Yesterday, we were fortunate to have a special visit from one of our high school friends, Elizabeth, and her three kiddos:) It's not often when you live 1000 miles from where you graduated high school to be able to see friends from the past. She lives in Washington, DC with family not too far away from us so we were lucky that we have got to see her twice in the past 6 months and HOPE to continue these get-togethers!

The kids loved playing around the house, although we were stuck inside with the dangerous heat! Liz and I got to catch up on the past, talk about life as stay at home moms and being parents now, and took a few moments to just chill on the couch!

Here is a picture of all the kids-Jackson, Lia, and Lindsay Amorino and Aiden:)

A Fun-Filled Fourth!

We had a fabulous weekend here in CT-appreciating the holiday festivities, extra time off, and beautiful sunshine! The weekend started out early as Chris worked a half day from home on Thursday, allowing us to enjoy some extra time as a family. Aiden and I met up with some friends in the park, then we met Chris for a special weekday lunch at one of my favorite spots downtown. After naptime, we headed to Stew Leonards, which is only the best grocery store on Earth. Aiden LOVES all the dancing characters and samples while I LOVE all the fresh produce and meat! It's a win-win way to grocery shop with a 18 month old. Here are some pictures of Aiden just playing around the house during the day:

Reading his books

Enjoying the water table

Going for a ride

On Friday, we headed to the beach in the morning-one of my favorite things about living on the CT shoreline! Aiden spent almost the whole time munching on food, even enjoying a very messy Kit-Kat bar (Thanks Grammy for leaving a few!). After exhausting our time at the beach, we headed to the playground right across from it to wear Aiden out before naptime! He LOVED all the climbing and crawling he could do. That night, we headed out for dinner at a brewing company. Aiden LOVES to go out to eat because he meets so many new people...usually by the time we leave restaurants we have officially greeted every person in the entire place:)

Enjoying the beach

Mommy and Aiden

Daddy and Aiden

Going down the slides

Cheese!

We spent Saturday getting things done around the house and then headed over to our neighbors for one of Aiden's closest friends, Emilie, 2nd birthday party! We had a great time relaxing and ate some very delicious food!!

Sunday-we headed to church in the morning, rested a bit in the afternoon, and headed to a friend's house for a bbq get-together. Aiden loved splashing in the baby pool and we enjoyed some great company and food. We headed down with our friends to the beach to watch the fireworks and even though it was way past his bedtime, Aiden LOVED them!!

Look how busy the beach gets!

Getting ready for the fireworks show:)

We enjoyed another extra day of vacation on Monday and will be bummed to have Chris back at work for the rest of the week:) Hope you all had a great Fourth of July weekend!!!

A QUICK Update...

I hear the little bug waking up, so I just have enough time to post these pictures. As you can see, I am still behind on loading and posting pictures-these are all pre-haircut:) ENJOY!

Do you think I can vacuum the porch too?:

I think my great-grandparents are going to be jealous of these cowboy boots:

So joyful:

Learning to walk the doggies:

We brought out the Bumbo when the cousins were around and Aiden loved it! Here he is with his favorite toy, a computer:

Having fun at the water table: