I Still Think It's May...

If I could capture time in a bottle I would...I bet I could sell it for some good money! Aiden is 1 week away from his 8 month birthday, and I swear we just brought that kid home from the hospital. Long gone are the days of him contently sitting in his bouncer looking around and dozing off every hour or so...I wish I knew how true the words would be when everybody said you will wish these days were back when he is crawling. Well, damn you people, you were all right!! Aiden has been 5th gear crawling for the past month, and as much as I chase him around, you think I would have lost 10 pounds. I have started wearing a pedometer (the most accurate I could find on Amazon.com), and on an average day that I am home with him, I take about 7,000 steps, as I am constantly walking/running to get him out of something he shouldn't be in. The cords behind the t.v., the cords behind the end table, the hutch, the garbage in the bathroom, the garbage in his room, you name it, the kid has some sort of magnet for everything he is not supposed to be in to! I think he has knocked the fake tree in our office over about 37 times in the last 2 weeks. I wish Catholics had a word like Jewish folk have Oiy...I would use it, A LOT!! Complaining I am not, drinking I could do a lot more of, thankful I am very. I guess this is just the territory that comes along with having a boy. Yes, I know, you all told me so.

For your viewing pleasure, we had Aiden's first professional pictures taken today. And, if you ask me, those lovely teenie-boppers at the picture place in the mall could use a lesson or two in how to make a kid laugh...but that's a whole separate blog post, as is those teenie-boppers seeing two suckers named Andy and Liz walking through the door.

Yikes

Andy watched Aiden on Friday afternoon so I could run errands and get a pedicure. When I left, Aiden was asleep in his carseat, as putting him in it and then in his stroller is sometimes the only way he will take a nap. Andy left the room to do some work on the laptop, and he heard some noise and went to check on the kiddo and this is what he saw...

Homeboy had climed out of his carseat, and he doesn't even crawl or walk yet!!
I think we are in for it...

Aiden's First Hike...A Photo Essay

This last weekend to escape the heat, Aiden and I went to the beach with my mom and dad on Wednesday night...oh, it was so much cooler over there!! At their house in Waldport, to the west is the ocean, and to the east, between their house and highway 101, are a bunch of little lakes, with a trail that runs along side them. I use the word "trail" very loosly, as this path doesn't see much traffic, or much trimming. Instead, the only people it sees are my parents, who vow to take a weed eater and chainsaw to it very, very soon! So, on Thursday, with Aiden in his baby bjorn with my dad, followed by my mom and I, we blazed the trail!

On our way...We saw some wildlife...

A snail on the trail...

In the puckerbrush...

He really wanted to eat the plants!

Yes, Aiden was still strapped to my dad

An old redwood

Let's do it again!

I can't wait for this coming weekend when we head to the beach again and Andy can scale logs with Aiden! Cheers!

Baby Food

Today I made my first attempt at making homemade baby food! After doing a little research, I decided that I am not too keen on all the stuff besides food that is in the jarred stuff from the store, so I am going to try and make my own! Even though Aiden isn't quite to the solid (if you want to call it that) food stage, I wanted to take advantage of the fresh vegetables we have now, and get a head start. So, today with some green beans from my parent's garden, I got started! And, thanks to two handy appliances, the rice cooker and my 3rd love, my Cuisinart food processor (after Andy and Aiden of course), it was pretty slick!

And wallah, I now have 16 servings of green beans in the freezer! And Aiden can work on eating his vegetables instead of his fingers and plants!

Life in Fast Forward

Incase anyone out there still has faith in my blogging promise, I am finally getting back to writing! It has almost been 4 months since Aiden was born, and this evening, as I found some time to look through some pictures from this last winter and just after Aiden's arrival, it really hit home how fast the time has gone and how different everything is...

This picture was taken about 1 week before I was due...these from scratch brownies had peanut butter ganache and chocolate ganache in them (stinking good recipe, email me and I will send it too you), and they probably took me close to 2 hours of prep time (no baking time in there) to make them. I think about that now and laugh...the closest I have come to brownies since then is straight out of a box made like a frantic maniac between Aiden eating and pooping!!

About 1 month ago I went back to work 3 days a week...it was probably the hardest thing I have ever had to do. Thankfully, we are blessed with 2 grandmas and and 2 aunties to watch Aiden, we couldn't be luckier to have people watching him that practically love him more than we do. I remember the first day that I was home with Aiden by myself I thought, how am I going to survive these 3 months, I am going to be so bored...how quickly that though changed, and the time went by so much faster than I could have ever imagined, or appreciated. Being able to watch him grow and change in just 3 months was miraculous, and the love that I have for him is overwhelming.

Now, just 6 days short of his 4 month birthday, Aiden, to me, is no longer a baby, but already a little boy. He has such a curious personality (definitely dad), but also a stubborn streak (definitely mom). He has really started to chat and giggle a lot in the last few weeks, and we are close to being able to roll over from back to front! I can't believe that in just a couple of months he could be crawling and will be eating "real" food.

Amazing what can change in the span of a year...last year at this time we didn't even know that I was pregnant, and now we are parents to a little miracle.

Shameless Plug...

A quick, friendly reminder, that this weekend is the Oregon AgFest!!

This is a fantastic, 2-day event to teach kids (and adults too!) all about

Oregon Agriculture!!

Did you know that the majority of Oregonians are 4 generations removed from the farm? For me, that is hard to imagine, but I am always amazed

(and dumbfounded) how many people don't know that everything that they eat, and almost everything that they wear, comes from a farm!

So, if you are looking for a fun, educational, and FREE (for kids under 12) adventure this weekend, come to AgFest!!

www.oragfest.com

Happy Almost 2 Month Birthday!

I could not have ever ever ever imagined how fast the time with Aiden is going!! Next Thursday, he will be 2 months old already, and I think if I blink too long, he will be in kindergarten! He is growing so stinking fast- on Easter Sunday Grandpa Pat did an "unofficial" weighing...you know, get on the scale with Aiden and then on without him, and we think he weighs about 11 pounds, what a little porker!! Kind of nice though, because at least he fits into some of his clothes now!! In the last couple of weeks he has started to smile a ton more (besides the smiles he was giving us while farting!), and has found his toungue and his voice!! It is very, very cute, and Andy and I are so excited to see him grow and change, even though it is bittersweet as the time is flying by!

A few weeks ago Andy and I did manage to get out all by ourselves for a few hours!! My mom and dad (Grammy and Papa) called on a sunday and said they would come over and babysit so we could go on a date! So, we went to lunch at this nifty little restaurant at the Salem Airport, and then went for a nice, "sunday drive". It was so weird to not have Aiden with us, but relaxing at the same time. This coming weekend I will be busy with AgFest, and will be away from Aiden for 2 full days while setting up...wish me luck!

If anyone has any tips on getting kiddos to sleep longer at night, I would welcome them with open arms...and possibly cash!! We seemed to be maxed out at about 3 hour stretches at night, and although I am used to it, 4 or 5 or 6 hour stretches would be glorious!!

Hope everyone enjoys the beautiful weekend!