My 1st Dr's appointment

Well I am now 12 weeks along so had my first OB appointment on Friday, and the Dr said I was measuring somewhat small (which was surprising to hear since it seems like I already have a baby bump) but the heartbeat sounded good. She did go ahead and order a sonogram though to determine the due date since I have no idea because I have not had a period since before we got pregnant with Aiden (nearly 2 years!!!). Not that I'm complaining. Anyways, I was thankful that she ordered a sonogram because like I mentioned before this pregnancy has been much more difficult than Aiden's, and seeing a picture of the little guy or gal will be very reassuring. Speaking of guy or gal, the Dr said that if I was carrying another boy we may be able to tell by the sonogram next Thursday!!! But it will be very early so all the little boy parts may not yet be developed so if they are not present that doesn't mean we'll have a girl either. Regardless we'll have another one done at 20 weeks. I'm very excited about the sonogram, unfortunately Nathen has to work, but Aiden and Nana will be there with me. I'm excited to see how Aiden will react when he sees the little guy or girl on the screen. We'll post pictures next week of the sonogram. We hope you all are having a nice weekend.

Aiden is growing up...

In the last few weeks it seems that Aiden has really matured and grown up in respects to his play, language and sleep. He is able to play more independently for longer periods, Wednesday I was able to dust the living room while he played, something I usually cant do when he's awake. His language has seemed to really take off as well, he's not talking in complete sentences yet(nor should he:) but his receptive language (what he understands) is amazing. For example, last week we were at the park and he was watching the leaving blowing at the park, and I asked him "if he was watching the leaves dancing", he then started dancing!!! He loves music and dances everytime he hears it, and now he dances when he hears just the word dance. Other words he understands is outside (he'll point to the door when anyone mentions outside), and of course no, and amazingly he usually listens when he tell him no. He is also down to one nap a day, just as I thought I had the 2 nap schedule down, but now he'll sleep for longer periods during the day. I thought he'd be taking 2 naps for at least another 3-6 months, but he started taking only 1 about 2 weeks ago. Like I said he'll sleep longer (usually between 1.5-2.5 hours), he's also started sleeping better at night. We always start him in his crib, he usually ends up in our bed a few hours he lays down, and will sleep through the night. So..the last few nights I've gotten a full 8 hours of sleep, something I have not had for about a year.

Aiden's measurements and.....

Well Aiden did not do a lot of growing this past month, he is still about 24lbs and 30 inches long. But we do have some pretty big news to report. Aiden is going to be a big brother!!!! Yep thats right we are expecting again. I am 11 weeks along, and we heard little peanut's heart beat this morning, so that was pretty cool to share the moment with Aiden. This pregnancy has been much different than Aiden, so I wanted to hear the heart beat before I made the announcment. I've known since Feb. 13th when I had a positive home pregnancy test. Its been a long 11 weeks with constant nausea, fatigue, and just not feeling 100% but in the last few weeks I've started feeling much better. This one was a total surprise but we are still really excited, I'm still trying to get my head around having 2 under the age of 2. But I'm sure my little sis (whose girls are 15 months apart) will be a great support on tricks of the trade of raising 2 so close together. Well here are a few pics from the last few weeks.

Aiden loves pushing his Lion around. He almost runs through the house with it. I'm sure soon he'll be walking without support.

Aiden loves helping with dishes, he hands me all the silverware (of course I make sure there are no shart knifes) to put away. HE also likes to shut all the cabinet doors once I'm all done. He truely is a great little helper.

HEre he's found a couple of bagels, apparently they make pretty good teething rings!!:) Aiden still enjoys daddy reading to him; I think he was telling me how much fun he was having.

Aiden is 11 months!!

I know I know I've not posted for a month now. We've been extremely busy the past month, looking back I think we spent most of it at the Dr's office. Aiden had an extremely bad diaper rash (that spread over his whole body)so bad that his Dr could not figure out how to treat it, so we were referred to a dermatologist, and they were able to quickly make appropriate diagnosis, and treatment recommendations and now he is back to his normal self. One of the recommendations was to put up all of our calming lotions, baby bath, and shampoos that have all the pretty smells, and dyes and switch to non fragrant non bubbly stuff--amazingly though Aiden seems to enjoy his bathtime just the same without the bubbles or the pretty lavender smell. Nathen was happy to see all of it put away, he feared the lavender scent may threatened Aiden's masculinity:) Anyways, around the same time Aiden had the diaper rash he got a the stomach flu that his Dr. said WASN'T contagious....well we love Aiden's Dr but he was wrong on that as both Nathen and I got it, and it was not fun!!! Thank goodness for family though, my sister and mom really helped out with Aiden while I was sick, and being the well adjusted little guy he is he really enjoyed hanging out with his Nana and Aunt Sheldi(I think he knew mommy wasnt too much fun to be with having no energy). Today Aiden is 11 months old and its hard to believe that in 1 short month he'll be 1 year!!! I'm not sure where the time had gone, but it sure has been fun. I'm not sure of Aiden's measurements his appointment is next week, but I do think he's gotten taller, he know bumps his head when he's cruising under the dinner table. He has took his first steps this weekend walking between me and Nathen, but we think he's still trying to perfect his walking and when he does we are afraid he'll be running, since that seems to be what happened with the crawling thing. Stay tuned for next week's post for Aiden's measurements, and more!

Our Baby is 10 months old!!

Yes that is correct Aiden is 10 months today, I'm hoping the next 2 months will pass slowly but I'm sure they'll fly by just as the last 10 have. But we are definately going to enjoy them. Aiden had is 10 month Family Connections appointment today with the nurse and he weighs 23.5 lbs (95th percentile) and is still 30 inches long (90th percentile) and his little noggin is at the 25th percentile at 17.75 inches. Here are a few pictures from the last couple of weeks.

Aiden loves hanging with Daddy... Friday Nathen had the day off and I had a long day of work:( But Aiden was in good hands, and Nathen said he was a good little boy until about a half hour before I got home and he was saying "mama mama mama", but he was all smiles when I walked in the door. Not mention Nathen had washed laundry and dishes, which was a nice way to start the weekendWe had Nathen's folks over for dinner and his Brother Brian, and his fiance Melissa on Saturday evening. Brian and Melissa are planning a July beach wedding in Cancun. We cannot wait...I'm really looking forward to hitting the beach after such a long and cold winter, and it will be a fun family vacation and of course it will be wonderful to see Brian and Melissa wed. Aiden looks at a card with his cousin Elizabeth's picture on it. Amazingly he didnt put it in his mouth or attempt to rip it into shreds once. He loves all his neices, and seem to look at their pictures often.

Aiden loves to grab the camera when I try to get pics. He's so fast I barely got this one taken before he attacked it

As Promised....some pics!!!

Hello finally I'm posting some pictures from last month, which flew by. Enjoy:)

Now that Aiden is so mobile, I've had to put him in his crib so he's safe when I run to the bathroom, shower or check the mail (it was too darn cold last month to take him out too much). He does really well, but this pic he looks like he has had enough of independent play time in his crib, I of course took him out right after I took the pic:)

Aiden tries out his new carseat at the start of January. He loves it, he probably has the best seat in the car!!! We joke that it is his recliner!

Just hanging around...Aiden loves it when Daddy hangs him upside down, he giggles uncontrollably. Aiden loves playing with my workout clothes and takes them out and I let him do that since they are not harmful to him and he's not hurting them any....sometone might as well get some use out of them since our elliptical is broken!!!

Aiden attempted to help me dust last week by unraveling a roll of papertowles. They entertained him for quite awhile. I'm thinking of getting him some for his birthday!!! JustKidding:)

WE had our friends over last weekend, who has a daughter that is 2 weeks older than Aiden. We had a nice time, but our evening ended at 8:00 when our little ones were ready for bed, this pic is right before they left(notice both babes are in their sleepers) Aiden loves all the kitchen appliances...he gets that from Daddy, not me!

Finding a Balance

As with most parents, it has been a difficult but exciting journey trying to figure out how to balance work, home, baby, hubby, and often last self needs. But after 9+ months I think I have peace with the balancing act. Over the last week I've done a lot of reflecting, not sure why really, maybe the new year, or the pasat week's activities. As you may recall, Nathen got me a spa package for Christmas including a massage, manicure, pedicure, and haircut/style, well I cashed that in on Saturday and spent about 4 hours at the salon, while Nathen got some special daddy time with Aiden. On Tuesday some girl friends from work had planned a girl night out of dinner and a movie, something I have not done since I got married. I debated with myself over and over whether I "should" go or not, after much discussion with Nathen who thought it would be a good opportunity for me (and get him out of taking me to 27 Dresses, a great flick by the way:) I decided to go, and while I pulled into dinner a lightbulb went off..."I have a great life", my son is spending quality time with Grandma and then Daddy (when he gets home from work), and I was able to spend all day with them the previous day and the following day, my coworkers value me as both a professional and a friend, I enjoy my job, and I have a wonderful husband, and adorable baby. While this lightbulb went off a sense of relief came over me that I should not feel guilty about attending the girls night out. Although I did feel somewhat guilty about not feeling guilty...but remembered the facts that Aiden was in good hands and I get to spend quality time with him most days/nights of the week. Along with this balancing act and having a life outside of home is the ongoing concern about raising a child. I've been very caught up on developmental milestones, from when will he walk to why cant he figure out a sippy cup, or wave bye bye. I think as a mom its natural to worry about your child, but recently I've been thinking in the big picture of life does it really matter when he walks, drinks out of a sippy cup, or sleeps through the night...absolutely NOT what matters most is is my child happy, and that is a resounding YES, even perfect strangers have commented on what a well behaved happy baby he is and he has brought joy to so many people. Nathen and I were just talking about how the "newness" of parenthood has not worn off yet, I find myself talking about Aiden just as much or more so than I did when he was only days old. I know I'm rambling a bit, but I just thought it was my duty to all the other moms out there to share this ah-ha moment as I think we as moms are too hard on ourselves. So in closing I leave 2 things with you 1) dont feel guilty about doing things for yourself and 2)dont worry so much, look at your child's smile and your worries will pass quickly. Alright that is my philisophical blog entry for the year, I promise the next blog will have some pics of Aiden:)

Aiden is 9 months old!!!

Aiden is now 9 months old and really on the move. He moves so quickly that it has been quite difficult to take his picture...I've tried but they've all been pretty blurry. Needless to say this post will be short and sweet with no pictures, but I'll try to capture some in the coming weeks. His stats from his appointment confirm what I thought was happening, he's growing!!! He gained 5 lbs since his 6 month appointment putting him at 21 lbs 3 oz coming in at the 50th percentile. And he is now 30 inches long (yes 2.5 feet!!!) which is 90th percentile and his head is catching up with the rest of him at 50th percentile. We are still trying to introduce more textured food to Aiden, but he has a pretty sensitive gag reflex so the Dr reassured us that there is no rush and to just try different food textures every so often. Oh and I think I forgot to mention in previous posts that he now has 2 teeth (front), getting one around Thankgiving and one right before Christmas. And I think he's trying to cut a few more as he's been drooling like crazy, putting everything in his mouth, and needing a bit more snuggle time. Well that is all for now, have a great and relaxing weekend!

A new year....

A new year is apon us and its hard to believe that our little guy will be 1 in just 3 months, where has the time gone??--everyone says that it goes by fast with a children but I have a new appreciation for that statement having our own. Anyways, the past few weeks have been a flurry of activity with celebrating 3 Christmas (one with my folks, Nathen folks, and of course one with just the 3 of us), celebrating the new year all of which spending lots of time with family that we dont see often enough. Aiden really enjoyed opening up gifts, and playing with his new toys (many of them making noise and driving mommy and daddy crazy, but Aiden likes them so thats what matters).

Aiden closed out the new year by perfecting his crawling--he's been getting around on his belly for awhile, and I'm convinced is somewhat of a perfectionist because he did not really start crawling until last week and at that time he was doing laps around the house--I'm not exagerating!!! I was beginning to worry about when he would crawl, and now am glad he is but also thinking I should have appreciated the non-mobile Aiden while I had him!!!

We hope everyone had a nice Holiday and enjoyed their time with family as much as we did. Here are a few pictures.

Aiden opens his first Christmas present, a toy skidloader, that Daddy got for him at his company Christmas Party. We celebrated Christmas on the 22nd because Aiden began opening this present!!! Originally we were going to open our gifts on Christmas day, but who can deny a cute 8 month old??:)

Nathen got me a spa package to include a massage, manicure, pedicure, and haircut and style--I cant wait to cash it in. I'm really in need of all of it, what a great gift to get from my hubby!:)

Nathen finally get to view 300! This was a movie that came out while I was pregnant and although I continued to encourage the idea of going we never got around to it. According to Nathen it was worth the wait, he really enjoyed watching it (I think he's viewed it 3 times already), I have not and dont really want to I've heard its pretty violent.

Christmas at my folks house, this was the first time that all the grandchildren had been together. Cousin Elizabeth is 3 months, Cousin Susanna 18 months, Cousin Hannah 34 months, and Aiden at 8 months. We all had so much fun watching all of the cousins play and interact with one another.

Christmas with Nathen's family at our house, this was the first Holiday dinner we have ever hosted, and it went off without a hitch. Aiden really enjoyed playing with his cousin Ian age 5 (Nathen's brother's son). Ian was throwing soft blocks off his head which Aiden found really funny. Everyone including me was in tears from laughing so hard at Aiden's laugh--I'd never heard him laugh so hard, I tried doing the same thing with the blocks but he didnt find it as amuzing as when his cousin did it

Aiden is 8 months old!!!

Okay he's actually 8 months and 1 day, but our electricity was off much of the day yesterday due to the wonderful ice storm. Aiden hasn't had a Dr appointment so I'm not sure what his measurements are but I'm certain he's gained a few pounds!!! He is getting around a lot more than he was just a month ago, he's not crawling (in the traditional way) but he scoots while sitting up, squirms on his tummy, and of course loves walking while holding onto our hands. We made it back from Iowa Sunday evening and I've nicknamed Aiden "Our little Road Tripper". He did great during the 6 hour car ride. He slept most of the way up Friday evening, and then wanted to tell us all about his dreams once we checked into the hotel, he wasnt fussy at all just talking for about 2 hours (until 1:30 am) before falling asleep. Saturday, he enjoyed swimming in the pool, eating out, and doing some Christmas shopping, and finally attending Daddy's Christmas Party where he was a hit!!!

We've had a pretty laid back week with the weather being so cold and icy we have not gotten out of the house much, I'm hoping to take him to the library today. I think he's getting a little cabin fever as am I. One good thing about the weather is that Nathen didnt have to work yesterday or today so we are soaking up some time with him. Nathen turned 30 on Monday so the two days off were a nice Birthday present.

Enjoy the pics

Aiden gets some practice opening Christmas presents by opening Daddy's birthday gift, he didnt need any help at all!!

This picture captures that our Little Guy is on the move and pretty happy about it "Mom why are taking my picture, cant you see I'm trying to eat here?!!!" Aiden continues to love eating, although we had a bit of a scare over the weekend when he choked, but he coughed everything up and wasnt scared by the event, but it sure did scare Mommy and Daddy. I think he liked our reaction or something because ever since then he'll do a fake choking thing and then smile at us after we pick him up (to start patting his back). He's an onery little guy!! "Mom, this is a pretty cool toy!!"Aiden and I purchased a new printer Thursday and Aiden had fun playing with the box.