9 MONTHS

Aiden was 9 months last Wednesday.  Crazy.  He is so much fun right now and full of personality.  He was 10th percentile in weight at our checkup weighing 17 lbs. 3 oz.  His height was still 30 inches which dropped him to the 95th percentile and his head was in the 25th percentile.  Everything seemed okay.  I expressed my concern about him not wanting to sit up to Dr. Slusher and she tested his core strength which was pretty good so she said we shouldn't be worried. He can sit up he just doesn't especially like it.  He is starting to creep.  He still can't really crawl that great but if he really wants something he can get it. 

Aiden can also say 3 words now.  Mama, Dada, and Hey.  He did say Dada first and I was so upset but now all he says is Mama all the time.  He is also going through some kind of separation with me.  He will now cry when I leave and wants me to stay with him until he falls asleep.  Used to, I could just lay him down and he would fall asleep on his own.  Oh lord, hopefully this phase will not last long.  We started feeding him puffs over the weekend and he loves them.  He had eaten some mashed potatoes in the past but not alot of grown up food.  We also let him try hamburger meat and bread and he liked both of them.  I also sneaked him a bite of ice cream and am kicking myself for not videoing it because he absolutely loved it.  We aren't great as grasping with our fingers but are getting better with every meal.  Here are some other milestones.

diaper size: officially moved up to size 3
clothing size: 6-9 month
meals: every 3 hours. 7oz. formula and 2 meals day
sleep schedule: 2 hour-hour half naps and 12 hours at night
favorite activities: loves to read and swing in your outdoor swing.  you are loving little kids right now and constantly want to touch their face and interact- so precious
teeth: barely- one top and one bottom

                                          He wasn't really feeling the pictures.  Oh well!

Happy Easter

Well, unfortunately I don't have many pics to share from Easter.  The ones I do have were actually taken the day before on our way to the Squire Creek Easter egg hunt.  We didn't hunt eggs-just snapped a quick picture with the Easter Bunny.  Aiden was so intrigued by him.  We couldn't even get him to look at the camera because he was so interested in this weird "creature" holding him.  While he was taking his pictures I noticed his nose was runny but didn't think too much about it.  Later that night, he woke up screaming and had a horrible fever.  Needless to say, he didn't get to go to church Sunday.  Ben stayed home with him while I met me parents at church.  He is on the mend now but sad that our first Easter wasn't very fun.  Hopefully next year.  Btw these are probably the my fav pics of him I have taken to date.

commitment

I wanted to just briefly share what an incredible weekend I had.  For many of you, I am sure it will be no big deal,  but for someone who is so crazy about football (especially college fb and LSU) this was an opportunity of a lifetime.  Ben and I were invited to accompany KJ and the Malone family to the spring game and big recruiting weekend for LSU. The day began with a tour of the facilities and the Spring game.  We did not have any ordinary seats.  We were on the field right in the action.  After the spring game,  there was a bbq inside the indoor football facility with the players and recruits.  Then we were whisked off into the operations building to meet with Coach Miles and the other coaches on staff. 

I have to admit that I am a pretty tough critic when it comes to Les Miles and wasn't quite sure what to expect. After having met him, let me first say what an eloquent speaker he is which is very surprising considering how he fumbles his tv interviews almost weekly.  The second thing I love about him is how family oriented he is.  His wife came into his office when we were all talking and couldn't be nicer.  When Saban was there he always had a 2 hour window when family could visit ect... Miles' philosophy is family can come anytime, anywhere.  To spare the details and respect the privacy of the Malone's, I won't go into the conversation details, but I experienced firsthand while Miles is a great recruiter.  And the best part is, I firmly believe he comes from a genuine place which I respect very much.  I kept imagining how I thought Nick Saban would do it and I just can't imagine it being as sincere.  Finally, the recruitng coordinator Frank Wilson did an amazing job with a reassurance speech to bring it home. 

None of us expected a commitment out of KJ because so many other top notch schools are interested.  He had really talked about keeping his options open but LSU just swept him off his feet and rightfully so.  Everything was so amazing that I would have committed if Les had asked me.  The best part is a commitment truly means something to KJ.  I don't think there will be any going back and forth and changing his mind.  I am so proud of him and honored to have experienced such an amazing moment in his life.