Zoo Trip and Preparation for Big Brotherhood!!

We have had quite the busy week this past week. On Wednesday Aiden and I joined our Parents as Teachers group to a field trip to the Topeka Zoo. Aiden's buddy James, and my friend Jenny rode with us, so that may the trip easier for everyone involved. Aiden absolutely loved the zoo and enjoyed spending time with Nana who met us there. We saw many cool animals, but after 2 hours we decided to go to the park for a picnic lunch eventhough we didn't get through everything. Aiden also enjoyed the train ride around the park. He had so much fun and was so excited about the days adventures that he didn't take a nap that day, but you would not have known it by his mood...he was as happy as could be until he crashed that night!!! Below are some (not many, I didn't realize how few pictures I was able to take due to Aiden moving non stop!!) pictures of our fun day at the zoo and time w/ Nana.

The past several weeks we've also been trying to prepare Aiden for his Baby Brother's arrival. My belly is getting quite large, and Baby Brother is quite active so I think Aiden understands that there is a baby in my belly. Every night before he goes to bed he gives my belly a hug, waves good night, and tonight he put his pacifier in my belly button for his Baby Brother----too cute!. Nathen and I think he's going to be a great big brother. As for other preparations we don't have a whole lot to do since we are having another boy, but we have already pulled the boxes of infant clothes out of the storage room, so now I just have to organize the boys' dresser. It doesn't seem that long ago that I was boxing up newborn clothes!!!

Well that is all for now. Enjoy the photos!

The boys take a brief break (about 15 seconds) to check out the monkey on the bench. Aiden gives his buddy James some pointers on how to get the wooden girraff off the fence...they came very close to shaking the poor thing off. I'm telling you 2 15 month old boys have the strength of 2 15 year olds!!! Aiden waits patiently with Nana for some goats to come to him at the petting zoo. Okay its not a zoo pic but I just had to share it... Aiden does pull ups with daddy now every night after his bath.

Aiden is 15 months!!

Aiden is 15 months (and 3 days to be exact!). He had his 15 month appointment this morning and was a real trooper with the two shots he had to get. He cried for a few seconds and then was fine and we went to play group where had a blast. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that Aiden is good on shots until Kindergarten so no more for 4 years!!!! Aiden has grown 2 inches in the last 3 months putting him at the 75th percentile (32 inches) and his weight is 24lbs 3oz which is 42nd percentile, as always his little head is at the 25th percentile. Overall his growth seems to have slowed some since this is the first time he's not in the 80-90th percentile for both height and weight. He is a healthy little guy though, he loves lettuce--the other night we went to McDonalds and he preferred the lettuce from my sandwich to the french fries!!! We've been enjoying the mild July weather. We went to the park twice yesterday, and unfortunately forgot the camera both times. But let me tell you Aiden loves the park especially when Daddy goes with us. Daddy can take him on big slides, and help him climb walls--something I dont feel comfortable doing.

Some updates and pictures!!!

Hello all in my last post I mentioned that our nanny, Nichole would be starting, and she's watched Aiden for about 3 weeks now. After clearning up a few things (he only needs 1 nap not 2 for 4-5 hours!!) she is doing very well with Aiden and he seems to really enjoy his time with her. Fortunately she listened to my concern about how much he was sleeping and followed my instructions of keeping him up until after lunch. The first few days she watched him he took a morning and afternoon nap for about 2 hours each so he was up close to midnight those nights...but like I said that is no longer an issue. Aiden is also now running everywhere and becoming much more independent in his play especially outside, he loves exploring our backyard and picking up sticks, leaves, whatever he can get his hands on...Nathen and I have thought about getting him more play equipment but wonder if he'll use it since he seems to have more fun exploring nature. This past weekend we spent some time at Nana and Granddad's and visited with Uncle Bill, Aunt Cammie, Uncle John, and Aunt Sheldi. Aiden had a lot of fun playing with all of his cousins, Hannah, Susanna, and Elizabeth. Check out the pictures below.

I had a Dr's appointment last week and everything went well. Although I'm becoming quite nervous of how big this little boy is going to be as I gained another 10 lbs in the last 2 months, putting my total weight gain at 19 lbs!!! With Aiden I gained 30, and I have about 11 weeks to go so I'm hopeful I'll keep my weight gain within the recommended amount of 30-35 lbs. Yes that is correct I'm in my last trimester, just as I got my energy back from being sick, I felt awesome for about 2-3 weeks and now I'm tired again entering my last trimester....oh well its all worth it in the end.

"Okay take the picture!!" I thought this was a pretty cute grumpy pic of Aiden we don't have too many of those:)

Here's a picture of my sisters and their children. It was quite a challenge to get 3 toddlers, and an infant to look at the camera, but my brother in law John did a great job capturing each moment.

I think Aiden was trying to tell Daddy something pretty funny or something...:) Nana and Granddad loving their grandbabies. Aiden tried corn on the cob for the first time and loved it so much did not want to part without it for the pciture..:)

We all enjoy some good home cookin..compliments of my mom and dad.

One proud Daddy..I just love watching Nathen with Aiden, he is such a good father, and is so proud of his little boy.

Aiden is 14 months old!!!

Aiden is 14 months as of yesterday. We had quite the busy day yesterday. We went on a PAT (Parents As Teachers)field trip to a local buffalo farm. Aiden absolutely loved it. He was not afraid at all of the big hairy animals, and got very close to them (it made me a bit nervous, but he was having fun so I just made sure he was safe). I was also pretty amazed that he did not try to eat the pellets that the owner gave to us to feed to the buffalo. He threw each one out to the buffalo. We enjoyed hanging out with all the other children and their parents as well. We were not in the car 5 minutes before Aiden fell asleep and he continued to sleep for 3 hours!! After his nap his buddy James stopped by with his mommy Jenny and they enjoyed a dip in our baby pool we just got last weekend. Aiden loves the water, but everytime we go to the public baby pool he spends most of the time peering through the fence watching all the big kids in the big pool, so having a pool in our shaded back yard seems to be more fun for him. He is continuing to gain more confidence walking, and is slowly venturing away from holding our hands, and sometimes even running without us! We found nanny to provide care for Aiden which is a relief, Aiden loved her and would not let her leave without several hugs. Her first day is tomorrow so hopefully it will go well, she seems to have similar interests as I and same philosophy regarding children so I'm confident that this will be an easy change for Aiden. Well that is about all the updates I have for now, until next time take care:)

It's a boy!!!!

We had a sonogram done on Thursday and we are having another boy!!! Our boys do not seem to be very modest while in the womb, I saw it was a boy before the sono tech did, and Nathen saw it with Aiden before the sono tech did....so it's a good thing we wanted to know the gender before they were born:) We are very excited, and are trying to prepare Aiden, as much as you can for a 13.5 month old. He has really started being very gentle with his stuffed animals in the last 2 months, giving them hugs, and handing them to us to give hugs to, so we are hopeful he'll be gentle to the new little man. Unfortunately our scanner is not working so I'm unable to scan a picture of the sonogram, I'll do so once it starts working again. This little boy seems to be a bit more active in the womb than Aiden was. We can already see him move across my tummy...something Little Aiden never did. I'm thinking this little guy will weigh more than 6 lbs 5 oz he's already 15 oz!!! Aiden was 11 oz at the time of the sonogram. Well Aiden has been very patient with me while posting this and is ready for mommy to play with him so gotta go.

Some Pictures and Updates

Hello All, I hope you are enjoying your Memorial Day weekend. We've had a nice and relaxing weekend so far. I just finished cleaning (there wasn't a lot to do because Nathen did most of it this morning while Aiden and I played) and realized I've not posted any pictures for awhile and provide some updates. This past week and half has been somewhat stressful, we were informed a few Friday's ago that "Aiden wasn't ready for daycare". I was pretty shocked since the provider had been telling me that he was doing better each day, but I think the provider really had his best interest at heart she didn't feel he was happy in her care. So we decided to find a nanny to care for him in his home environment. We are fortunate to have family and a neighbor friend take care of Aiden until we can find a good nanny match for us. My neighbor friend Jenny has a son Aiden's age and has agreed to watch Aiden once a week for me, and Nathen's mom watching him twice a week. Aiden seems to enjoy spending time with his buddy James, and his mommy Jenny--he always looks like he's having fun as I leave for work; and he loves spending time with his Grandma. Thank goodness for friends and family to make this situation less stressful. Wish us luck, we are interviewing our first applicant later this afternoon (hence why we did some spring cleaning!!:)Aiden has been walking more without support. Well here are some photos of Mother's Day, and some of Aiden walking about. Enjoy:)

Nathen got us both smiling (something that is near impossible for me to capture) before taking Grandma and Grandpa out for dinner on Mother's Day. Grandma's favorite is Chinese food so Aiden had his first experience eating Asian food, and seemed to really like it, and had no belly aches afterwards!!!

Last Sunday was very warm so we tried out Aiden's Elmo sprinkler toy that he got for his birthday. He absolutely loved it thanks Meltem, Travis and Talia for the great birthday present! I'm sure we'll get a lot of use out of it this summer.

Saturday, Aiden took me for a walk through our yard, while trying to catch Nathen with the camera:)

"Mom when are you going to plan some pretty flowers?" Well probably never, but Aiden loves playing in the rocks, and mud!!:)

"I'm a cool dude!" Aiden looks much better in my sunglasses than I do:)

I hope you all have a nice Memorial Day weekend with friends and family.

Aiden is 13 Months old, and Happy Mother's Day

Aiden is 13 months old today, and I don't have any growth stats for you. But let me tell I think he's grown an inch or so, and gained a few pounds. He's really beginning to get pretty heavy. He's still working up confidence to walk on his own and enjoys all his push toys, and his favorite Mommy and/or Daddy's finger to practice walking. Last night we gave him a sippy cup instead of a bottle, and he didn't seem to mind at all, he took it with no problem, so hopefully this will be an easy change for him. He went to daycare three days this week (1 whole day, and 2 half days). He seems to becoming more familar with the routine of being somewhere else. One perk of him being in daycare is I got the cutest Mother's Day card from him:)Its has picture of a cup (that he glued on, the daycare provider said he really enjoyed hitting it to make sure it stuck..he's such a boy) anyway it says "Here's a card for Mother's Day. I'll try to be my best each day. But if you get upset with me, Relax and have a cup of tea" (there's a tea bag inside the paper cup). The first of many adorable Mother Day gifts I'm sure to get. Nathen also got me a spa package which includes a massage, hair cut w/ color. I cant wait to cash it in---I've gotten out of my monthly massage habit. I've started to feel much better, and think I'm back to normal--as normal as can be being 19 weeks pregnant!! I hope all the Mommy's out there are having a nice, relaxing, and special Mother's Day.

Some updates!!!

I know its only been a few weeks since my last post but a lot has happened in the Eckstein household. Hopefully this will all make sense as I'm still not feeling 100%--flu bug or pregnancy stuff who knows I'll get to that in a bit. Anyways, this week was quite a tough one for us. First I had to take Aiden to daycare, and he did really well when I left, hugged me and waved bye bye--but by 1:00 he had enough, and wanted mommy. The daycare provider is really awesome and tried everything she could think of to calm him and the other two kiddos (siblings age 20 months and 2.5 years)in her care that day tried as well, she said that the 2.5 year old kept trying to offer Aiden his pacifier--how sweet. Needless to say my work day was shortened so I could pick him up. Fortunately the daycare provider is very open and flexible and wants the best for Aiden just as I do, so we've worked it out that he'll go half days on Tuesdays and Thursdays and then Grandma will pick him up, and Nana will watch him Fridays for a month or so. So hopefully he'll transition well. He really seemed to enjoy the children and provider when we went last week for a few hours, and on Monday for a few hours. I think he'll do fine, it will just take a bit longer than I had originally planned. Why daycare you may be thinking...well a couple of reasons 1)we wanted Aiden to be exposed to other children on a regular basis to learn how to share, interact, ect--he really enjoys play groups that meet once a week 2) Grandma still works full time (3rd shift), and although she's amazing and can go on little sleep..I worried about her caring for Aiden all day and then going to work 3rd shift with about a 30 minute commute to work. And my mom has to drive over an hour and with gas prices it didnt seem fair to have her continue to make multiple trips every week--even though time with their grandson is priceless. Anyways, the daycare provider, Wendi, will never have more than 5 children in her care and they are all under 3. When I've visited all of the children were very well behaved and Wendi is very caring, and nurturing so I know he'll be in good hands. Okay so that was Tuesday of this week, let me back track a bit to Monday when I had my 4 month OB appointment, it went well and I was able to schedule a sonogram for May 28th but I gained 7 lbs in ONE MONTH!!! My Dr wasn't too concerned about it and said it would even out if I get some walking in daily, so I've tried to do that...but then I got sick!!! Which brings me to Wednesday of this week. I wasn't feeling very well, but thought I could manage my planned presentation for a class at K-State, which I did and it went very well, the students asked great questions and I filled the hour as I was suppose to, but as I got into my car I felt very nautious and just wanted to take a nap--which I should had done then, but instead thought I could make it home to get some zzzs. Well on my way home on Hiway 24 I began to feel light headed thought I may pass out (which I have a history of doing but never while driving or sitting). I was trying to pull over to the shoulder of the highway while a big yellow semi truck was honking his horn the next thing I know I'm on the other side of the road in the median with the truck driver knocking on my window asking if I'm okay. I remember the first thing out of mouth..."I'm 4 months pregnant", I was really scared as I had thrown up while I was passed out (something else that had never happened), not to mention the truck could have hit me and who knows what could have happened. Thanks to my guardian angel and my mom's daily prayers to keep her children safe, I came away from the incident with only throw up on my shirt, and a bit shaken emotionally. The EMT guys got to the scene very quickly and checked my vitals everything was okay but as a precautionary measure they took me to the ER in the ambulance...a bit embarrasing, but I survived. While in the ER they checked the baby's heart beat and it was good and strong--what a relief, there was no trauma or anything but I still worried that maybe the stress of the incident impacted the baby. The Dr. recommended rest for the next few days and contributed the incident to the flu. So I've been taking it easy today and yesterday, thanks to my mom and mother in law. My mom stayed with us Wednesday evening and cared for Aiden yesterday and today my mother in law is watching him. I feel bad for Aiden because he is so sensitive and knows something isn't right, usually I'm playing with him all day when I'm home, but this flu thing really has taken my energy. He's lucky to have such great grandparents that he enjoys being with. Well I'm going to try to eat a little something and take a nap. I hope you all have had a better week than we have! Take care.

Aiden is 1 year old!!!

Aiden had his birthday Friday, and poor little guy was not feeling himself at all. He had a bad cold diaper rash, and working on tooth #4. But he appreciated all the love and comforting that Nana gave him while I was at work all day (I'm trying to save up all my vacation time for the upcoming bundle of joy maternity leave). Aiden did seem to be feeling a little bit back to his normal happy self yesterday, even though he's still plagued with all of the forementioned ailments. We had a few close friends and family over for a small celebration for Aiden's birthday yesterday, and he really enjoyed playing with his two friends, their mommies and daddies, and Nana and Granddad Banker, and Grandma and Granpa Eckstein, oh yea and me and Nathen:). It's still hard to believe that he is already a year, the time has definately gone by fast. With this milestone I'm going to start trying taking away his bottle at naptime. I tried that a few months ago and he was not having the sippy cup at nap time so we'll see how it goes, if it goes well in the month or so we'll try eliminating the bedtime bottle. I know in the big picture of life it really doesn't matter if he stops his bottle now or a few months from now so I'm not going to pressure him about it. Don't we all know that life is full of stress and as a parent I think I should do everything possible to prevent stress for our little guy.

Anyways, I don't have Aiden's year measurements yet but will have them tomorrow as he has his year check up along w/ shots. He also has an appointment with the dermatologist again due to his ever present diaper rash...nothing seems to be able to remedy it. Hopefully we'll get some answers tomorrow. One thing I know for sure that we'll both probably be ready for naps tomorrow afternoon after 2 doctors appointments!!!

Here are some photos from Aiden's birthday party yesterday.

Aiden steers his Bob the Builder push toy that Daddy gave him for his birthday. It came with a hard hat as well, which is just adorable, but Aiden is not a big fan of hats.

Here's a picture of Aiden's cake along with some cupcakes, and cake for the grown ups. As well as his Bob the Builder hard hat that came in handy to weight the balloons down.

Aiden shows his buddies Talia and James his excersaucer. And it appears that they are having a great conversation about it. The three of them really got along well, it was fun to watch them play, talk and interact with one another.

It's a hug not a tackle...Aiden gave Talia a long hug and posed with a cute smile for me and Talia's mommy Meltem, but unfortunately my photography skills did not pick up the quality of cuteness that was there. Party hats for all....Aiden and his buddies sported party hats for about 2 minutes before they began pulling them off of each other!

Aiden gets some help opening his gift from Nana and Granddad from his buddy James. It looks like Aiden is very serious...I wonder if he's telling James you can play with this cool toy but it is mine.

Aiden and his friends check out the mega blocks and wagon that Nana and Granddad got for him. Nana and Granddad got an upclose picture of the toddlers approval of the toy.

Last but not least...Aiden enjoys his ymmy birthday cake...he really seemed to like the frosting.

Aiden got a lot of cool toys to include the ones mentioned previously, and a cool animal puzzle that makes animal sounds, a dump truck, and some sandbox toys. He also recieved some great summer clothes, and some cute pants he'll be able to grow into. Thanks to everyone that attended, I think Aiden had a great time and I know Nathen and I did.

Some updates and pictures

Eventhough my last post was about a week ago there has been a lot happening in the Eckstein household that I wanted to share. First, I had a sonogram on Thursday and I am 14 weeks along. Which kind of confused me since my Dr said I was measuring small, but when the sono tech checked my records she had recorded that I was measuring big...my Dr's appt was late Friday afternoon the previous week so figured she made a mistake when she told me but it was written down right--she's human just like all of us. Anyways, the little guy or gal was not cooperating very well (legs were crossed) so the sono tech could not make a determination of the gender, so we'll have to wait about 6 more weeks to find out for sure what we are having. It was still very cool to see the heart beat, all the arms, legs, and belly. I was amazed of how big the baby was the picture did not appear any smaller than when we had Aiden's at 20 weeks. The little guy or gal had the hic ups during the sonogram so that was kind of fun to watch too. I would love to post a picture of the sono but I cannot figure out how to scan it to our computer, so I'll have to wait until Nathen gets home--but I'll post a picture of it the next post..I promise.

Friday Aiden and I traveled out to Nana and Granddad's to see all of his cousins on my side, my sister and neice were in Kansas from San Fransisco. It was so much fun to see them all play together. Aiden and Elizabeth are less than 6 months apart so they seemed to entertain each other well, and of course Aiden would try to keep up with his older cousins Hannah (3) and Susanna (2 in May). Below are some pictures

Here Aiden tries to give Elizabeth some pointers on eating solids..Elizabeth started eating cereal about a week ago.

Aiden enjoys some fresh air with Nana.

Okay so I tried to get a picture of all 3 of them together but I'm too slow or they are too quick to capture it. Either way they all had fun playing in granddad's boat (dont worry it wasnt on the water:)while Elizabeth was napping.

Aiden enjoys his lunch and conversations with Granddad.

Aiden enjoys a piggy back ride from Aunt Sheldi.

Aiden plays with what he thinks is the best toy ever..an empty water jug that Grandad got for him to distract Aiden from taking everything out of their cabinets--it worked very well, I think I'll have to try it:) He also gazes at Granddad adn Elizabeth while they play together.

Finally, Saturday we went to one of our friend's daughter's 1st birthday party. Aiden had a lot of fun wathcing everyone, playing, eating, and hugging anyone and everyone. He uusually only reaches out to hug females but Saturday he found another daddy other than his own that he felt safe and secure enough to hug. Ironically he was Aiden's Uncle John's brother--I wonder if he saw some resemblance or something..Anyways, here are a few pictures from the party.