The Birthday Boy!

Aiden turned one on Wednesday and to say he loved having a birthday is an understatement.  Tuesday night Ben blew up 70 balloons and we somehow sneaked then into his room without him waking up.  When he woke up Wednesday morning his whole room was full of balloons.  He loved it! We should not even bought his presents and just gave him balloons.  We are still playing with them. 

We had a small family birthday party at 5 that afternoon.  I hurried up and rushed home from work to get everything together and when I got home, I was informed he hadn't taken an afternoon nap.  Uh-Oh!  I quickly put him down and he screamed and stood up in his crib for about 5 minutes and then just passed out.  It was perfect because it let me get everything in place.  Yes I did go a bit overboard for a family birthday but how many times in your life do you turn one?  I had a theme of "Under the Sea" and because it was summertime it was pretty easy to find decorations for.  At 5pm (party time) he was still sleeping but we woke him up and he was not happy.  As soon as he came downstairs everybody started singing "Happy Birthday" to him and he immediately cheered up.  I fixed him a plate of food and he ate every bite of it.  His favorite was chicken salad.  We then opened presents and it was too much stimulation.  He didn't know what to do.  Next year we are initiating a one present limit from family. Two great-grandmothers, two set of grandparents, mom and dad, aunt, uncle, and a cousin was way too much.  He is just plain rotten. 

After that, we had cake.  I had a small cake made especially for him so he could just destroy it.  At first, he wouldn't put his hands on it.  He wanted us to feed it to him.  Then he realized we were serious and he could make a mess and he went to town.  I'm not sure if he liked the cake or ice cream more.  We were definitely hyper after that and stayed up past our bedtime but I know he had a blast and he is so lucky to have so many people in his life that love him.  It has been a crazy year and I can't wait to see what the next year has in store!

Thursday morning we made our way to Green Clinic for our 1 year checkup.  Here are your milestones:
weight: 18lbs 7oz. (3rd percentile)
height: 30.5 inches (92 percentile)
diaper size: 3
meals: 2-3 bottles a day with 2 meals (baby and table food) along with snacks.  Unfortunately, you are not allowed to have strictly whole milk yet because your weight but I am hoping you will at least transition from Alimentum to  milk based formula and save mommy some money.
clothing size: 9-12 month. 
shoe size: mostly 1's but some 2's
sleep: morning and afternoon nap averaging around 1.5 hours.  Nighttime schedule is 7pm-7am

You cannot walk unassisted yet but spend the majority of your time cruising up and down the couch.  You try and pull up on everything.  No new words to report except for your cousin's name.  You love her and just repeat her name over and over when she's around.  You still love books and music.  You can crawl up stairs no problem and are learning how to back yourself down them.  I know it is just a matter of time before you are everywhere!

This was his first impression when he woke up and discovered the balloons!

I had several foods that went with the "sea" theme.  Thanks to pinterest for some great ideas as well as target, etsy, and hobby lobby for the decor. 

The lady who made the cake is a nurse at an office I call on.  I love that she made a special one just for Aiden to tear into.

At one point, opening presents became too much.  I think it was alot of stimulation for a one year old to handle.

I had to capture this moment.  I was trying to change his diaper and he took off. Not ashamed obviously!

Loving the cake!

The hats were almost as big of a hit as the balloons were.  I think he knew he was special when he had it on.

11 Months

Aiden was 11 months on the 18th! Every month I say how crazy it is that he is so big but I just can't help it.  This year has just flown by.  His personality is so hilarious to us.  He literally eats whatever you put in front of him but he could eat 3 bananas without stopping if we let him.  He loves them!  He definitely has my mood swings and can throw a fit on a dime (we are working on that).  If he is sad we just put him on either mine or Ben's shoulders and he is happy as a clam. He has said a couple new words in the last month.  They include: duck, Lola, book.  He will repeat them over and over again when he sees them or has them in his hand and a couple days later won't say them at all.  I have captured some of them on camera which is good.  He is still army crawling but it is pretty fast.  He can get up our stairs in our kitchen area and can pull himself up to a standing position.  Aiden also absolutely loves the pool.  He kicks and splashes til he just wares himself out.  He even loves when we take his helmet off before bath.  He just rubs his head but never complains when we put it back on.  It has been a blessing with all the falling down as we learn to stand.  More to come on his head after our appointment on Thursday.  Here are other stats:

clothing: size: 9month although he can still wear alot of 6 month shorts or pants.
feeding schedule: bottle every 4 hours and 2 big meals with snacks in between.  You are finally drinking out of some sippee cups and are liking apple juice
sleep schedule: 7pm-7am with 1-2 naps a day, depending
diaper size: 3
height and weight: unknown, although we did have to buy you a new carseat because you were too long for the chicco.
teeth: still just 2 bottom teeth but I really think any day this week one will pop out.  I can feel it trying to poke through.

First Road Trip

We took Aiden on his first road trip to the Texas Motor Speedway this weekend and I have to say it went much better than anticipated.  I was convinced that it would be a nightmare and we would never let him leave the house again but he did good.  We timed it so we could leave during his naptime and he would sleep part of the way there.  We got caught in some traffic so we didn't reach our location in Fort Worth til 5 1/2 hours after departure.  That is about all an almost 11 month old can handle.  I wasn't able to crawl in the backseat with him because traveling with a baby allows you no room to sit once you packed all their stuff.  A suburban would have definitely come in helpful at this point.  Aiden was so excited to get there and was extremely hyper.  He loved the motor home.  Although trying to figure out the sleeping situation with 4 adults and a baby was a challenge!  We bought him a small blow up pool and let him use that as his bath time-true red neck style.  Saturday, Ben's parents watched him while I went to the Speedway Club and had an amazing massage.  The therapist told me my back and neck were a complete mess and she basically used the whole hour trying to get knots out of my back. I could feel them too.  I was certainly due a massage. 

Last year when Ben and I went I was preggo and it was so hot so we opted to buy a table inside the club and watch the race from there.  It was amazing and once you've done that, you never go back.  We did the same thing this year with Aiden and we enjoyed the day of food and fun.  He took a 3 hour nap prior to the race and I think that helped him stay up til 9 o'clock that night.  Aiden is quite the social man and wanted to say hi to everyone in the room with him-especially the women!  When the cars started racing he was completely in awe and his little eyes couldn't keep up with how fast the cars were going.  He made it through 120 laps and then we had to call it quits. I returned to the motor home and put him down while everyone else stayed. We were glad to get home yesterday and am hopeful he will even do better in the car when we can turn him around.

                                                         Just woke up and very happy!

                                                                        Look at the cars!

                                                            Okay, I'm getting sleepy...

                                    We tried for a family photo but he was about to have a meltdown.

10 Months

Aiden was 10 months old last week.  It is crazy.  He has come so far in a month.  Last month I was so concerned because he didn't want to sit up and wasn't really crawling.  Now, he is everywhere!  Trying to stand, crawling, sitting up, and talking, talking, talking.  He also has both bottom teeth now and I can see the first top one about to come in.  He is so much fun to watch and definitely not as high maintenence as before.  Instead of us handing him toys and trying to entertain him all the time, he can go get what he wants and play some by himself.  I can tell he is ready for child interaction.  Whenever he gets around a big group of kids, all he does is touch them and stare.  He is ready to play!  I am unsure of his weight and height but here are a few other stats.

clothing size: 9m
diaper size: 3
sleep schedule: 2 naps a day around hour to hour and a half and 12 hours at night on average
words: still just mama, dada, and hi.  He loves to wave at everyone
food: 2 meals a day. still some baby food but alot of adult food as well.  You love everything! bottles in between 7-8 oz depending.

                                                        can you see the bottom tooth?

                                         we have a hard time staying focused if you can't tell!

Family Pics

I had some pictures taken last month because I wanted to get some made before Aiden got his helmet.  In a perfect world we would have waited to he turned 1 year old but 9 months will have to do.  The talented Kevin Beasley took them and I am very pleased with the way they turned out.  Aiden didn't care too much about the pics but as soon as we det him down by himself for a few shots, he just started performing.  So typical...Have a great week!

Dear Diary...

I recieved this email from my friend JoAnna about a week ago.  It was a rather long e-mail so I debated reading it immediately when I opened it or saving it for later.  I am so glad I took the time to read it.  I was dying out laughing.  I accidentally deleted it and had it re-send it because I wanted to send it to so many people.  Ya'll should definitely take the time to read it.  Enjoy!

Dear Diary,

For my birthday this year, I purchased a week of personal training at the local health club.

Although I am still in great shape since being a high school football cheerleader 43 years ago, I decided it would be a good idea to go ahead and give it a try.

I called the club and made my reservations with a personal trainer named Christo, who identified himself as a 26-year-old aerobics instructor and model for athletic clothing and swim wear.

Friends seemed pleased with my enthusiasm to get started! The club encouraged me to keep a diary to chart my progress.

________________________________

MONDAY:

Started my day at 6:00 a.m. Tough to get out of bed, but found it was well worth it when I arrived at the health club to find Christo waiting for me. He is something of a Greek god-- with blond hair, dancing eyes, and a dazzling white smile. Woo Hoo!!

Christo gave me a tour and showed me the machines.. I enjoyed watching the skillful way in which he conducted his aerobics class after my workout today. Very inspiring!

Christo was encouraging as I did my sit-ups, although my gut was already aching from holding it in the whole time he was around. This is going to be a FANTASTIC week!!

________________________________

TUESDAY:

I drank a whole pot of coffee, but I finally made it out the door.

Christo made me lie on my back and push a heavy iron bar into the air then he put weights on it! My legs were a little wobbly on the treadmill, but I made the full mile. His rewarding smile made it all worthwhile. I feel GREAT! It's a whole new life for me.

_______________________________

WEDNESDAY:

The only way I can brush my teeth is by laying the toothbrush on the counter and moving my mouth back and forth over it. I believe I have a hernia in both pectorals. Driving was OK as long as I didn't try to steer or stop. I parked on top of a GEO in the club parking lot.

Christo was impatient with me, insisting that my screams bothered other club members. His voice is a little too perky for that early in the morning and when he scolds, he gets this nasally whine that is VERY annoying.

My chest hurt when I got on the treadmill, so Christo put me on the stair monster. Why the hell would anyone invent a machine to simulate an activity rendered obsolete by elevators? Christo told me it would help me get in shape and enjoy life. He said some other shit too.

_____________________________

THURSDAY:

Asshole was waiting for me with his vampire-like teeth exposed as his thin, cruel lips were pulled back in a full snarl. I couldn't help being a half an hour late-- it took me that long to tie my shoes.

He took me to work out with dumbbells. When he was not looking, I ran and hid in the restroom. He sent some skinny bitch to find me.

Then, as punishment, he put me on the rowing machine-- which I sank.

_________________________________

FRIDAY:

I hate that bastard Christo more than any human being has ever hated any other human being in the history of the world. Stupid, skinny, anemic, anorexic, little aerobic instructor. If there was a part of my body I could move without unbearable pain, I would beat him with it.

Christo wanted me to work on my triceps. I don't have any triceps!

And if you don't want dents in the floor, don't hand me the damn barbells or anything that weighs more than a sandwich.

The treadmill flung me off and I landed on a health and nutrition teacher. Why couldn't it have been someone softer, like the drama coach or the choir director?

________________________________

SATURDAY:

Satan left a message on my answering machine in his grating, shrilly voice wondering why I did not show up today. Just hearing his voice made me want to smash the machine with my planner; however, I lacked the strength to even use the TV remote and ended up catching eleven straight hours of the Weather Channel..

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SUNDAY:

I'm having the Church van pick me up for services today so I can go and thank GOD that this week is over. I will also pray that next year my husband will choose a gift for me that is fun-- like a root canal or a hysterectomy. I still say if God had wanted me to bend over, he would have sprinkled the floor with diamonds!!!

Week's Worth of Appointments

I feel like the last week has been an absolute whirlwind.  It is extremely hard trying to work and attend all of Aiden's doctors appointments in 3 different towns within a week but I managed to only have to take 1 day off to get it done.  We had our 9 month check-up and then turned right around and had an appointment with Dr. King for his heart and in Shreveport for his head.

Update with Dr. King went well.  We did an echo about 6 weeks ago and there was no change in the size of his holes.  Dr. Lucus who would be the surgeon in New Orleans looked at his chart and recommended that we try and wait longer.  Dr. King concurred and we have decided since he is growing that we should let him try and get bigger before surgery.  Chances of the big hole ever closing now are very slim but possible.  We have until age 3 to make a decision if needed from what I understand.  We will not see Dr. King again for 3 months and this will be the longest we have gone.  Seems pretty good to me. 

The very next day we headed to Shreveport to get Aiden's helmet for his head.  After 2 months, we are finally getting on with this process.  I wish we could have done it 2 months ago because it is already so hot.  The good news is since we have all wood floors in our house, his little head is protected from any bumps while is is learning crawling and eventually walking.  The appointment took about an hour and a half and we learned how to clean the helmet, put it on and take it off, and look for any skin problems.  We started the first day just wearing it one hour on and one off.  Then we worked up to 2,4,and 8 hours on.  The fifth day was the full 23 hours on.  Surprisingly, Aiden did very well. He only seems bothered when we put it on or take it off.  But boy is he sweating.  At the baseball game last night, I finally just took it off.  His poor face was beat red and it looked like he had a bath his hair was so wet.  What difference is a few hours off going to make.  The consultant said it would take a few weeks for the sweating to calm down.  I am just praying his head will grow fast and we can hurry and get the helmet off before August.  The average baby wears it for 4.5 months.  We will see!  Here are some pics I snapped over the weekend.

                                                      First day of helmet...not too sure!

                                                         Day 2...feeling much better

And I just had to include these pics from our bath.  Aiden absolutely loves his bath.  He wants all his toys in the tub with him but only wants to hold his duck or turtle.  He looks so sweet and innocent here.  Literally one minute after these were taken he did number 2 in the tub.  I couldn't believed it!  I thought that only happened in the movies.  I guess I've officially been initiated into motherhood!!