Aiden is a half year old!!!

Amazingly Aiden is already 6 months old. I still can not believe how fast the time has gone. He is so much fun. He had his 6 month Dr appointment yesterday and he weighs 16lbs 6 oz (25th percentile), and is 27.75 inches long (90th percentile). I guess he's going to be tall and slender like his daddy. He of course got shots yesterday as well, and he was such a big boy about it, he only cried for a few seconds. Okay this is short I know but I want to get back to playing with my little guy.

Aiden has a new cousin!!!

Aiden has a new cousin, Elizabeth Katherine born to my big sis Cammie and her husband Bill. Elizabeth arrived 3 weeks early September 28th and weighed 7 lbs 11 oz! My mom was able to make it out to San Fransisco hospital minutes (20 to be exact) before the delivery. Aiden and I are flying out this Saturday to meet Elizabeth. We are so excited, Nathen unfortunately could not get off work so I'll be flying alone with a 6 month old!!!! Everyone I've talked to who has flown with infants have said the same thing "he'll be fine if you just feed him" sounds easy enough but we'll see. I'll definately make a post after our return with an update and of course pictures!:)

Aiden seems to be giving into baby peer pressure here of late. It's actually pretty funny, a few weeks ago we visited our friends Meltem, Travis and Taila (who is 2 weeks older than Aiden), and Taila was sucking her thumb, the next day Aiden started to suck his thumb he never did so before, and just today our neighbors Jenny and James (3 weeks younger than Aiden) stopped by and James was sucking on his lower lip, and before the end of their visit Aiden started to do the same thing!! Today Aiden and James seemed to be enjoying their conversations with each other. Babies truely are amazing---Jenny and I couldn't help but wonder if the two could understand each other using their own secret language!!

We took Aiden to church for the first time to watch my dad's baptism, and Aiden did wonderful. He just looked around and smiled at people the entire time, he didnt cry once!

Aiden enjoys some cuddle time with Granddad after church. Aiden showed Granddad how special he is by touching his face, this is something that Aiden does to those he loves and cares for (or at least thats what it seems) he touches my face when nursing and Daddy's face after he comes home from work.

"How about them 'Cats?" Well they got beat by KU this weekend--I didnt rub it in too bad though. Aiden is still all smiles in his K-State duds--he sported his KU duds today and received several compliments on them at the library and coffeeshop but of course I forgot to take pictures:(

Another milestone for Aiden!!

Aiden has been quite interested in Nathen and my food since he was about 4 months old, often pulling at our plates and snatching food off of them. I really wanted to wait to start him on solids until he was 6 months because he had quite a few tummy issues in the first few months of his life, and I wanted to make sure his digestive system was fully developed before starting him on solids, after he had taken 10 oz of breast milk a couple of times through the week---he was showing he was ready and I was worried that I would not be able to keep up with his appetite, so I finally gave in and introduced him to rice cereal (as recommended by Aiden's Dr) on Saturday. The first feeding went pretty well although I think he was a little tired, we had a pretty busy day and didnt get to feed him the cereal until about 7 pm, he spit most of it out, which is to be expected. Yesterday's feeding went much better, he seemed to become a bit more comfortable with the new textures, and tongue movements--he actually swallowed some instead of thrusting it out with his tongue--which I thought is pretty amazinging since all his mouth has been doing for the last 51/2 months is sucking and thrusting with his tongue. He's not taking much because I'm trying to read his cues and stop when he's done, not when the food is gone--luckily he's pretty easy to read he'll turn away when he's done or fuss if I dont pick up on his cues right away.

I noticed I hadnt posted any pics for a few weeks so heres a few from the last couple of weekends. Enjoy:)

Aiden hanging out on Mommy and Daddy's bed in his overalls, that no longer fit him:( "Uh mom, what am I doing with a K-State hat and a KU jacket on???" We prepare Aiden for a walk last Sunday when it was very cool, poor kid is going to be so confused as to who to cheer for!

Oops...Aiden is 5 months!!

Okay I totally forgot to include Aiden's 5 months stats in the last post(he turned 5 months on Tuesday), so here they are. He is now 16 lbs, he gained 1 lb in the last month!!! But is still at the 50th percentile for weight, he is still 26 inches long, putting him at the 75th percentile, and his little head is still coming in at the 20th percentile. To me though he is just the perfect size. We hope you all have a nice weekend!

Another Road Trip!!!

Aiden has another rode trip under his belt. We went to Hutchinson for him to meet his Great Grandparents. The trip was filled of more firsts for him. We started out the trip by meeting my sister, her girls, and my mom at the Rolling Hills Nature Center/Zoo in Salina. We had planned on going to the zoo but it was cold and rainy so we strolled through the museum, which was awesome. They had a children's room with tons of toys, and books. If anyone is ever near Salina they should definately check it out, we are hoping to visit the zoo sometime. Next we headed towards Hutchinson for the big event of meeting his Great Grandparents. Both my grandparents' faces lit up when they were met with their great grandchildren. After our visit we headed to the hotel, where Aiden got to swim in a swimming pool for the first time. As you can see from the pics below he loved it. I can't wait until our swimming lessons in October, they are Saturday mornings so Daddy will get to join us for it as well. Our trip was lots of fun, especially seeing Aiden interact with his cousins (ages 15 mo and 2.5 years). We all shared a hotel room so we didnt get much sleep, but it was well worth all the laughs and fun that was had. Here are a few of the pictures we got.

"Hi Mom, I love my Aunt Sheldi, and I think she loves me lots too, look at her big smile!"

"Mom, can I please sit by myself like a big boy with my cousins!!!" Picture in the play room at the museum. "Hannah, what you got there?" Aiden really enjoyed watching his cousin Hannah.

"Hi Susanna". Aiden really seemed to like talking to Susanna---he's quite talented he was able to "talk" with his pappy in his mouth!

Aiden with his Great Grandparents. Aiden with Great Grandma "Look mom I'm flying in the water with Nana!" Splashing around with my sister and Aiden's cousins--we were moving so much Nana had a hard time getting a picture that was centered:)

College Football has Arrived!!!

Okay for those of you who know Nathen and I know that we enjoy watching college football. Before I met Nathen I never even watched a game but he explained it so well, that he kind of created a college footballaholic--last year I think I watched more bowl games than he did. Well now with a little one around we cant watch as much as we once did--Aiden has a few years to go before he'll get the joys of watching the tube!! Anyways, this weekend was opening day for several teams including Nathen's alma manor K-State, fortunately it was a late game so we were able to watch the majority of it after Aiden went to bed. Eventhough Aiden didn't watch it that did not stop us from dressing him for the event. Below are a few pics from Saturday!

Aiden and Daddy say a little prayer before the game--unfortunately the Wildcats beat themselves--they led for all but 4 minutes but of course those were the last 4 minutes:(

Proud Daddy holds onto Aiden, while Aiden tightly squeezes his finger--amazingly its not in his mouth:)

"Huh what is football and what am I doing decked out in purple cats anyway??" Aiden's impression of Austin Powers...I think this is my favorite, he looks so darn cute!!

Some Pictures!:)

Hello, I thought I would post some pictures of the last few weeks since my last post was a bit lacking in that department. We were surprised with a visit from our nieghbors, Jenny and James. James is 3 weeks younger than Aiden, they are pretty close to the same size--we all went on a walk and someone thought they were twins! Aiden shared his excersaucer and James seemed to enjoy the toy. I've had this carrier since Aiden was born, but he never liked it much but when he turned 4 months I thought I'd give it another try, and he loves it!!!! I feel as though I have more freedom since I can get housework done and carry him with me, I was trying to do some tasks with one hand while holding him and it was not easy. Now I can do laundry, dishes, and other fun housecleaning tasks---Aiden likes to help with them, although he has drooled on some of our clean clothes:) "I've got your nose!!" Aiden enjoys grabbing at Daddy's nose.

"Life is good", Aiden enjoys playing in his excersaucer--he loves standing and this toy allows him to do a lot of that!

Aiden slept through the night!!!!

What a nice weekend we have had. Last night Nathen and I went out on a date--okay dinner, and grocery shopping. Not much of a date, but we enjoyed getting some one on one time together, meanwhile Aiden was getting some special time with Grandma Eckstein. When we got home at 7:30 (yes we are quite the party animals huh?:) Aiden had just fell asleep, he woke up at 8:30, and I thought oh no he's going to be up every few hours (he had just gone to bed at 7). I fed him, and waited for him to wake again before turning in for the night, but by 9:30 I was ready to sleep. The next time I woke up it was 3:30 am!!! At first I was scared, worried that Aiden was not okay, but after tiptoeing into the nursery he was just fine peacefully sleeping. After relieving my sore boobs by pumping(sorry about too much info)---the only down fall of nursing is even if baby sleeps through the night mommy cant. I returned to bed, thinking Aiden will probably wake up now that I have no milk left for him.....but he slept until 5 am. Not only did he sleep over 8 hours without eating, but when he woke up he wasn't crying, but woke up with a smile. After feeding him at 5, he fell back to sleep with daddy in our bed. They looked so cute there sleeping, unfortunately the battery in our camera is dead:( Then he woke up for the day at 7:40 am. And we've had a fun day thus far with us both getting a good night sleep. I'm not sure if he'll do the same tonight or not, but if he does I'll again be thankful for the sleep, and if not, I'll appreciate the extra cuddle time I get with him in the middle of the night. So either way its a win-win situation. I promise to have some pictures in the next post. Getting camera batteries is on my to-do list:) Until next time, we hope you have had as nice a weekend as we've had.

Aiden is 4 months old!!!

Hello, sorry I have not posted for awhile, we've been pretty busy at the Eckstein household! Aiden is now 4 months old (actually 4 months and 4 days!). He had his 4 month appointment today, and weighs 15 lbs 1 oz (50th percentile), 26 inches long (80th percentile), and head circumference is 41 cm (20th percentile). So our little guy has really grown a lot length wise last month he was only in the 50th percentile for length and now he's grown 2 inches in 2 months, I thought he was getting longer--he doesnt look tiny his crib anymore! The Dr commented on how strong Aiden was when he pulled his arms to have him in a sitting position and Aiden pulled himself up to a standing position--he does this all the time in one fluid motion now. Aiden was a real trooper getting his shots today, he cried as anyone would after getting poked 4 times, but he seemed to be more easily soothed and calmed down faster today than he did 2 months ago. Below are a few pictures from the last 2 weeks.

Nathen and I cleaned the basement a bit--we still have boxes that we have not unpacked the last year and a half--anyways, while we were cleaning and unpacking a few boxes he found Green Eggs and Ham which I got for him for Christmas the first year we were married. Aiden seemed to enjoy Green Eggs and Ham as much as we did as children.

"What Mom!!???Cant you see I'm playing!!!" Aiden enjoyed playing in excersaucer that Nana brought for him from her church. He's hanging out in just his diaper, something that he usually doesnt do--I love putting him in cute clothes. But given the 100 degree heat, and the constant slobbering, and spit up I gave in and let him hang out in only his diaper for a few hours this weekend.

"Humm how am I going to tackle this...daddy's fingers and hand is much bigger than mine??" Aiden still loves his hands, and now has really taken a liking to Nathen and my hands as well.

Another week gone by.....

and more changes and new skills that Aiden has learned. I knew that babies changed quickly, but I had no idea how quick they are able to master new skills. Aiden can now sit up without support, he shared this new discovery with us this past weekend, and since then he's really gotten good at it. Although I still hover and spot him just in case he tips over, he's still pretty wobbly, but can definately support himself without our help. Another change we noticed this weekend is all his drooling has paid off, he has his first tooth!!! Nathen actually discovered it first while Aiden was nawing on his thumb Saturday. Fortunately I have not noticed it when Aiden is nursing. We were also given the okay by his Dr to give him oral gel for his teeth and gum pain, because tylenol doesn't really seem to alleviate the pain. The first time we gave it to him Monday night, he was not too much of a fan of the new numbing sensation, but I tried it again today, and he seems to prefer the numbing feeling to the pain, and didn't fuss as much as he did Monday night. It's amazing to me that in almost 4 short months he's adjusted to the world so well. He came into the world with only reflexes, and now he's able to let his needs to be known by his facial expressions (pouty lip--its really cute and I'm guilty of laughing when I see it), gestures (rubbing his eyes), babbling, cooing, and laughing. Everything has become easier for him it seems. I remember the first bath being quite the task for both me and Nathen as well as Aiden, now he loves getting bathed, and its just part of our day, not a major task. And the first public bathroom diaper change, was a nerve racking experience, I was praying please Aiden don't cry, and now I know I can handle whatever he does. I guess I've become more comfortable with my new world as well. Okay sorry for the philisophical editorial. Now for the stuff you guys love so much some pictures along with my Aiden commentaries!!!:) "This sitting up thing is pretty easy mom, once you finally let go of me!!!!" "Wow that ceiling fan sure is cool, and so is hanging out and relaxing with daddy"

"I wonder how I can make this swing go by myself". Aiden at the park today, he didn't seem to enjoy the swings as much as he did last week. But we ran into someone that I knew and she was watching her neice and nephews, and Aiden really enjoyed watching them play, and and I of course had fun showing him off to my friend.

"Hey Mom, Aunt Sheldi is pretty cool, but where are my fun cousins?". My sister, Sheldi visited us this morning while Nana watched cousins Hannah and Susanna. Sheldi was able to get some good cuddle and snuggle time with Aiden, which he loved!