Aidan and Santa's Helper (Grandpa)

Grandpa showing Aidan that he is just a helper.

A little distraction always helps.

I love Santa!

So Brian and I went to see how to do this sitting on Santa's lap thing at the mall and holy joke! I am a brat I know. But the lines at the mall are a joke, the cost of pictures on Santa's lap are outrageous. So I was venting to Grandpa and Grandma and come to find out Grandpa still had his costume from when he would be a Santa's helper. The pictures aren't as professional as the mall's but hey, Aidan got to sit on Santa's lap and I am not broke. Maybe when he gets older and makes a fuss about telling Santa's helper what he wants for Christmas I will open my wallet and let the moths out. Plus, I think that Grandpa enjoyed being Santa, even if it was for five minutes.

Just make it happen

So I should have taken Stephanie's advice a little while ago and just followed my gut. In my defense, I know when the Holy Ghost is giving me a strong prompting to say something, but sometimes I just don't get a clear signal. Its my fault, I know. I allowed my life to be cluttered and unorganized. Tonight I vow to get my house in order and be a better mother and wife, daughter, sister, niece, and friend. I feel so bad about promptings that I have blown off. Know now that there will be no more passive Katie. From this point forward if I am told to go visit someone in the middle of the night, I will do it. So don't be surprised if I am banging on your door waking up your dog and husband. I know better.... I love you. If you feel that you need to talk to me, anyone, call me. Family and friends are my top priorities. I will be a listener for you.

O Tannenbaum...

And so it begins. Here I was thinking that I was smart by telling Brian to put the tree up high so that the young one wont be tempted. About three hours after we were finished (Aidan was asleep while we did the tree) Aidan noticed something new. He took off in full crawl mode and found the three dangling lights. He only did it the once but if he does it again we will be putting the tree on the kitchen table. :) We also have a bunch of presents that I wanted to put around the tree but decided against it. I don't want to re-wrap anything, if you know what I am saying?

Baby's First Haircut

Look closely and you can see
the hair coming over his ears.

Cousin Brandi ready to go....

Look at the finished work.
Thanks Brandi! It looks
so good.

According to my grandmother (Aidan's great grandmother) I should have waited until it was much longer to have it cut. I thought about her advice and decided that I am the mommy and it was driving me crazy! Everyone from the theater called me the haircut Nazi. I admit that I hate it when people have shaggy haircuts. I don't mind long hair, but I hate having to watch someone grow their hair out. Especially if they don't keep it well groomed. Washing your hair to fling it around so that it is out of your eyes is not well groomed, in my opinion. When I would wash Aidan's hair it would go down past his little neck and lay on his back. Gross! I love short hair. I love men who part their hair. I love men would do their hair. I want to help Aidan understand this concept early. So I asked Brandi to help me. I held Aidan while she did his hair. He never cried, he never really caused any problems. He did want to see what she was doing for the first little bit, but who wouldn't? Aidan is such a handsome looking baby. And yes, I did save what little bits I could. I think I saved a lot. Tootles until later.

Thanksgiving

The dinner table...
surrounded by family, friends and good food.

Grandpa feeding Aidan cranberries.

Aidan loved them.
Yummy!

Today was so busy and fun. We woke up around 11 AM (Aidan had another rough night) and showered and cooked the yams. Then Brian headed to his parents house to borrow a chair and Aidan and I headed to Suzie's for preparations. Gotta love Thanksgiving. You know everyone loves each other. You know everyone wants everything to be tasty and perfect. And you know there will be raised voices and arguments. I personally find it funny and entertaining, but then again, I ain't the one yelling or being yelled at. :) The meal was delicious. We had turkey, mashed potatoes, funeral potatoes, cranberries, stuffing, yams, green bean casserole, rolls, deviled eggs, olives, celery sticks with pimento cheese spread, gravy, and corn. I think that was everything. After eating and then cleaning up. Everyone just kinda hung out and visited. Everyone who came to dinner was Katie, Brian and Aidan, Bob and Virgie, Suzie, Brandi, Tim, Kristen, Charlie, and Andrew and my personal favorite guest...Daddy Kenny. Kenny is my good friend Jeremy's dad. We love spending time with both of them, but Jeremy moved to North Carolina for a spell so Aunt Suzie has been doing a good job of keeping in contact with Kenny. I love it when he comes to visit us. I think he thinks we are crazy, but we are! And Jeremy is coming home in life three weeks and his dad is over the moon excited! Some of the games that everyone played was Scrabble, bowling on the Wii (Virgie played and it was so cute!) and air hockey. That's right! Uncle Reed was able to get a hold of an air hockey table for Suzie and it is so much fun! Then we went and visited with Brian's family. I love them so much. I enjoy just visiting with them. We stopped by and visited with Grandma Wilson and chatted with the Mike Wilson family. We chatted and watched the Cardinals get there butts kicked by the Eagles. Ate pie...yummy. And then we came home. When we came home I couldn't resist. I dug out the Christmas stuff and played around all night. Before I had a family, Christmas was fun but now it is SOOO exciting. This will be Aidan's first..... So much fun. Then we went to bed. Thanks to all who helped to make Thanksgiving so fantastic! We love you!

Gobble Gobble

Just wanted to take a minute and tell everyone
Happy Turkey Day.
I hope your dinners and naps are fantastic!

My Thoughts on Twilight

Let me begin by saying that I enjoyed the books. I thought that they were fluffy vampires and very light relaxing reading. I am used to constantly reading history textbooks so to be able to read something so nice and flowing was wonderful. I don't think that I have a team that I go for. I am neither team Jacob or team Edward. They both would be good choices for Bella. My in-laws were followers of the books years ago. And during my pregnancy I was reading everything I could get my hands on. They constantly raved about these books so I borrowed them. I think that I read three of them in a week. They were good. Not pulitzer prize winners, but good all the same.

Then I heard that they were making the book into a movie. I have never been impressed by this concept but by all means try. Then they announced who they got to play Edward. I like everyone else was baffled and confused. He didn't even look like the descriptions of Edward to me. So for a year I have been skeptical to say the least. I knew I would see the movie, more out of peer pressure than anything else.

Brian, Aidan and I, amongst many many friends and family, went and saw the midnight showing.
Honestly, the movie isn't going to be winning any academy awards but it was good. I was super impressed. Maybe my going into the movie expecting nothing helped it lived up to expectations. Robert Pattinson did well. You could almost feel the pressure he was feeling from how he portrayed the character. He is a good actor. He is still young and could learn a lot but all in all it was good. I even want to see it again! I am excited for a bigger budget and more time for Robert to figure out Edward in the second and third installments. And on a side note Kristin Stewart made me a bit nervous too, but she was also a good pick. Good job cast of Twilight! You made me a believer and follower! I know deep down they needed to hear that from me, Katie Larson. :)

Playing at the park

I love that I can spend time with the Bennett's. They frequent the park and invite us often. Aidan loves the park. The other day we went and played briefly at a park in Roy and then ran errands with them and just hung out before I had to go to work. Aidan enjoys playing with other little people as much as I love to see my family. Thanks Bennett's! Let's play more often.

Babysitting the cute ones...

One of my new favorite things to do is spend time with my nephew and niece. I always wanted to before but my schedule was a joke. Can't you see me making this phone call. "Hi Kellie, I was curious if I could babysit/ play with your kids later on. Yes. Awesome. Can I come and get them after 10 PM on Tuesday? We can play all night. I will be up. What? Your kids go to sleep? Oh... they are normal children. They have bed times. Okay well maybe another day." I never did that because it is ludacris (holla!). So I take any possible opportunity to spend time with them. Aidan loves them too. He just loves to play with Maren (though she may see it as more of a torment). He loves to copy Ethan. Aidan wants to be a big boy already and do all the cool things that Ethan does. Climb up on the couch by himself, walk, jump, somersaults, etc.

On Monday I got the chance to sit with them. We watched television, played on the computer, took baths, ate dinner, and made turkeys. Hand turkeys. Remember the silly fun ones you did as a child? Those ones. The artwork is displayed proudly on my wall for all to see.

Aidan enjoying his crayon.

Ethan and Maren and lots of crayons.

Aidan copying what Ethan was doing.

The Thanksgiving wall.
All of the artwork is displayed.
My turkey.

Aidan's turkey
Maren's turkey
Ethan's turkey. I know that it is hard to
see but beyond the picture, I love that
he signed his own name!
Well, he likes to write the letter E over and
over again. Look closely to the bottom of the page.
You can see three E's connected and
laying on there side. Awesome huh!

Happy Birthday Baby!

Today was my sweetheart's 25th birthday. Yes, I married younger though it does not feel that way. He had to go to work like an adult but when he got home it was party time. We went over to his parents house and played Trivial Pursuit and had pizza and a super yummy cake from Cold Stone. Oh man! was it delicious. And honestly as I slowly ate the wonderfully rich chocolate ice cream cake I though about my sister. She would have fallen head over heels for this cake. Yummy! I hope he had a fun birthday because I know that Aidan and I did. How cool is it that I married a man that loves to play board games with me especially Trivial Pursuit. And can you believe everyone in his family enjoys Trivial Pursuit. His dad collects the different versions that they put out. I know that most of you think that I am a nerd anyway but how freaking awesome is that!

But back to the reason for this post. Happy Birthday Baby and thanks to all those that helped to make it fantastic! We love you!

Aidan Brian!!!!

So I gotta say I think that I am a good mother. I try really hard to make sure that I make sure that all the tees are crossed, if you know what I mean. I think that I am making a situation worse even though I don't mean to do so. Then Aidan figured out a new trick and every time I try and fix the situation and explain to my 9 month old son he giggles and does it again. A little background first. Our apartment is hot. On any given day, with the vent going on our swamp cooler, is about 78 to 84 degrees. I hate it and so does Brian. Aidan is totally like us and hates being hot as well. So I normally just allow him to wiggle around in just a diaper at home. He seems okay with it. Well this morning Aidan made a discovery. The velcro thing on his diaper. I am watching television and I see Aidan crawl into the hallway. I start calling him back to me and just about this time I hear him giggling like something is tickling him. I stand up to go and see what's up and he comes crawling as fast as he can into the living room, totally naked. Giggling the whole time. I had just put on a new diaper so it wasn't gross or anything but then he starts crawling in circles laughing the whole time. I tried to discipline my naked son but instead I couldn't quit laughing. So I put the diaper on and tickle my boy and then let him off on his own again. Same thing happens, this time only that much faster. Wholly cow! I don't know what to do... I hope it is just a new discovery and not because my son wants to be an exhibitionist!

Also I have been slacking on the blogging I know. My computer was acting stupid and so Brian had to fix it. Hopefully now everything is fine. I have been making mental blogs, so later today I will post and get everyone back up to speed in the fast moving, naked life of Aidan Larson.

First tooth

So I can't really take a picture yet, but Aidan is cutting his first tooth. He has been very tonight, I think that it is coming in all the way. I found this out when I was trying to feed him little tiny bites of a fruit snack this afternoon. My finger grazed the top of the tooth. I became so excited. That I took a look and sure enough you can see the top of it just slightly. When I kept trying to look at it and feel it, Aidan became agitated with me because I kept putting my finger in his mouth. I know that I am a crazy mom...but how exciting! My baby boy's first tooth. As soon as I can I will post a picture. And yes I know that I am ridiculous and lame.... but oh well. You love me despite my faults... don't deny!!

Kiddie tag....for Brian

My cousin Lindsey just did another kiddie tag and said that anyone who wants to can play. So I want to do it only for my husband. He He... he is a kid at heart after all.

10. I LOVE that Brian gets excited about small things.
9. I LOVE that Brian will eat whatever I cook and it is always "really good".
8. I LOVE that Brian and I have never had a fight.
7. I LOVE that Brian gets along with my family and doesn't mind them.
6. I LOVE that Brian is such a good dad. I was a little nervous for some things while I was pregnant, he has surpassed every worry that I ever had.
5. I LOVE that Brian is willing to help people with homework, computers, moving, and other projects. He just volunteers us to help.
4. I LOVE that Brian is close to his family.
3. I LOVE that Brian is so loving and caring and thoughtful.
2. I LOVE that Brian and I finally hooked up and became the others everything.
1. I LOVE that Brian and I love every other and have the same goals and dreams and are equally prepared to work hard for them.

I love my husband. I love that he is mine and that is wouldn't want anything any other way. I always thought than when people would say " without my significant other I don't feel complete" there were silly and too dependent. Well guess what! I thought I was complete and then Brian and I became one and now... I don't know what I was thinking... THAT was not complete. Our marriage is fantastic, loving, understanding, and loaded with open communication. I don't think that it could get any better. But then again, I have been proven wrong.....a lot by such statements.

I tag whomever....I love you all!

New tag...from Jordan

In this tag you are only supposed to answer with one word which was hard on some. Then you are supposed to tag two other people. Have fun!


1. Where is your cell phone? bedroom
2. Your significant other? working
3. Your hair? gross
4. Your mother? working
5. Your father? smart
6. Your favorite thing? toast
7. Your dream last night? weird
8 Your favorite drink? water
9. Your dream/goal? house
10. The room you’re in? kitchen
11. Your hobby? behind
12. Your fear? failure
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? FAMILY
14. What you’re not? preparing
15. Muffins? bran
16. One of your wish list items? Abigail
17. Where you grew up? Utah
18. The last thing you did? cough
19. What are you wearing? nothing....:)
20. Favorite gadget? laptop
21. Your pets? nope
22. Your computer? POS
23.Your mood? hopeful
24. Missing someone? everyone
25.Your car? Lancer
26. Something you’re not wearing? clothes
27. Favorite store? Wal-Mart
28. Like someone? tremendously
29. Your favorite color? Orange
30. When is the last time you laughed? earlier
31. Last time you cried? Monday


I tag....Megan, Lindsey, and Stephanie.

For those in St. George.... Just cause

Aidan was so tired the other night that he just kept crawling in circle in front of the television. I thought that it was so funny that I ran to find the camera. Once I found the camera and returned this is what I found. My baby boy so tired he fell asleep in mid-crawl. Too cute.

So peaceful and relaxed...

I just wanted to share little things like this for those that we love that aren't always around, not because they don't want to be but because they can't....their stuck in hell. Just kidding. We love you St. George folks! Come visit as soon as you can. We love you guys!

The Vent....Graduation

This blog is me venting. If you don't want to read it, stop now. I am currently trying to study for two tests. Psychology and Philosophy. Psych is bad, that's not the one that I am worried about. Philo is the dreading class this semester. I am not very good at Philosophy. This class is a logic class taught by the Philosophy department. Logic generally doesn't bother me. But trying to explain why something is logical is hard, much harder than I thought. This class is the class that will determine graduation. Though I did find out that my final exam is on December 11. Graduation is December 12. So I guess that I assume that I passed this class and graduate. So fingers crossed that everything works out okay.

Also speaking of graduation.... for those curious I am NOT walking during the ceremony. I am not even going to the ceremony. I have been going so long that I don't know anyone graduating with me so I don't care. And trust me I don't need closure...I just need OUT!

Those following my blog know that this semester has been crazy stressful. So with that in mind. Brian and I have devised a plan. We are still trying to buy a house. We slowed the process down a little bit so that we could both survive mid-terms. Now we are going again. We are also cheap and didn't want to spend $80 on 25 announcements. I have a lot of family and that would be freaking expensive. So the game plan is the following. About the same time that I compile our Christmas newsletter, I will include a announcement. Because I am not doing anything really big right now we want to wait until we are in a house and have a kicking, rocking, hoe down of rip roaring party. Party/ house warming get together. Trust me, this is a much better idea. This house rocks! Hopefully that is kosher with everyone, because honestly I would much rather kick it with family and friends and burgers than dressed in purple (I do have school spirit though..).

This started out as a vent about my tests, but just like normal, I get distracted and more focused on the prize. GRADUATION BABY!!!! YEAH!!! ELEVEN YEARS!!

Pancake fun with Cousins!

So the other day we got to babysit Ethan and Maren. Aidan LOVES it when they come over to play. He loves, loves, loves, loves it! For dinner I made pancakes. Aidan had never had them before and I tried to give him some. He refused to eat them. But once he realized that his super cool cousins were chowing them down, he wanted some! The silly part was that he ate all that I had and got mad when they were all gone. Silly child!

Aidan feeding himself pancakes.

Ethan and Maren eating yummy pancakes.
They ate these up so fast!
So much faster than pizza
and mac 'n' cheese.

Maren offering he pancake eating
expertise to Aidan. She also
shared. And Aidan gave her
some of his. It was too cute!

I love it when these kids come over and play with us. So far it has been often and I love it! So does Brian. Maren has recently decided that she likes Brian. She runs up to him and teases him. And giggles about it. Too cute. She also likes the fact that she found Brian's eyes. Brian always, and I mean ALWAYS wears his prescription sunglasses. Well the other day Aidan knocked them off of Brian's face and Maren was right there and saw that he had eyes and was so excited her uncle wasn't a scary man anymore. Now she has a fun Uncle. Brian loves the hugs and I think she likes to give them to him now. Come over and play more often guys...we love you.

There goes a big truck

Aidan is currently on a schedule. It was a little to easy. I think that we have had help from our neighbor that connects with Aidan's bedroom wall. That man is up at 6AM every morning. I think he is military...coming back to the story. Every morning now at 6 AM Aidan is awake and ready for the day. I am still trying to be as happy and playful as he is in the morning. But one of the things that entertains him (besides Blue's Clues, Elmo, and Barney) is the freeway. The other morning a diesel was on the freeway and used his engine brakes. Aidan just had to see what was going on outside. Now here is the funny part. Brian usually gets up for work around 730 AM. Brian's head is directly under the window. Aidan has no problem climbing and crawling and fighting his way to the window. We have learned to put the blinds up so he doesn't play with them or the string. Brian has just learned to turn onto his back and let Aidan sit on his neck or stand up around Brian's neck and watch the cars go by. He likes to do this early in the morning, I think because the cars use headlights. As the sun comes up, then he demands more interactive playtime. Not just entertainment by zombie parents.

For those of you concerned with the safety of this activity. Brian is always holding on to his legs, at the ankles to prevent anything bad. I would die if he fell out of the window, so that window is never open as well.

Kiddie Tag

So I was just Kiddie tagged. Come up with ten things about your child and share.

10. Aidan loves to scare me. He is constantly proving that he can be independent. he can crawl, stand, fall over and not cry, and attempt to walk.
9. I love when we wants to cuddle. He usually only wants to cuddle and its with Brian at bedtime. But sometimes I get too. I love it. I love the burrowing that he does. When I hold him and he has burrowed he giggles in his sleep. It melts my heart.
8. Uses words. He may only be nine months old. But I hate whiney babies. I know its not there fault, but it makes me want to lash out. Aidan has a few words that he can try and say. I know it's just me being the mommy that I can hear them but he does use them. When we is sad he calls for Ma Ma. When the X box is turned on Da Da. When we pull into Grandma and Grandpa's house its Pa Pa. He also says Woah. He will crawl towards something and look at me for help. I always tell him to use his words with me and he does.
7. Aidan giggles. Everything is so new to him. Everything new and different makes him giggle.
6. Aidan's thinking. When he wants to figure something out, he makes this face of squinting eyes or tilts his head or even sucks on a finger or thumb and then tries playing with it again.
5. Aidan's personality. It is just like Brian and my personality. Chill and laid back. He likes going places and visiting people and doing things. But he also likes just to be alone and play by himself.
4. Time outs. Some have told me that he is too young for time outs. I disagree. I also love that he understands them. We have this cupboard under the sink with chemicals and stuff. We can't modify them because the lease says no. So I just watch him like a hawk. He has started to crawl around the cupboard trying to will it open. Only if he sees me open it does he try to do it again. P.S. his timeouts last about 30 seconds. Long enough for him to forget about the cupboard and understand...open that cupboard and you go to the crib.
3. That he is mine. I always wanted to have a baby want me instead of anyone else. Ethan used to let me hold him and play with him but if something happened he always ran to Kellie for comfort or for praise.
2. Aidan's need to be acknowledged. Whenever he figures something out he claps. If you don't clap with him he gets mad. He wants to share his experiences with you.
1. Aidan. I waited so long to do everything that I didn't think that I would ever be a mommy. I really didn't. Sometimes it is surreal that I am a mommy. But I look at him everyday and thank Heavenly Father for letting me have all of the blessings that mothers have. Maybe that's why I don't ever want my children in day care. I don't want to miss anything. My heart is so full when I start to think of Aidan and all that he does for me. I love Aidan. He is my first born child. And will always be my angel.

I tag Megan, Kellie, Kelsie, and Erin

100 Things That I Am Grateful....

Tis' the season. I decided to make up a list of things that I am grateful for. I decided 100 was plenty for such a list though I could keep going. I hope you enjoy.

1. Brian—my love, my best friend, my provider, my protector, my rock…I love you
2. Aidan—my beautiful first born. Always learning, going, smiling and melting my heart.
3. Virgie— my beloved Grandma who leaves me unnecessary voice mails. She is so loving and tender-hearted
4. Bob—always going and doing. He needs to slow down. He has taught me to be patriotic and believe in volunteering.
5. Mom—she is true to herself, strong, independent, loving, non- judgmental, hard working, intelligent, and very neurotic…I love you
6. Dad—quiet and strong. My go-to-man for questions about anything and everything. Seriously. He knows everything.
7. Kellie—my sister. Through thick and thin will be one of my best friends. I aspire to her level of Mommy hood.
8. Dustin—being my brother in law. Making my sister happy. And for my nephew and niece.
9. Ethan—so cute and growing so fast. Full of energy and stuff to tell you. He is the go to man if you want to know about elephants.
10. Maren—her beauty is second only to her mother’s. Always a big helper for me and when Aidan needs her.
11. Jacob—so brave and strong. My hero. I admire his dedication and sacrifice.
12. Courtney—for making my Jacob blissful and happy
13. Harrison—you are my big little brother. So grateful I can call you my brother.
14. Jordan—talented and creative. Thanks for helping to take care of my family in the south.
15. Baby Armga—another baby to love….who wouldn’t be grateful for such a blessing!
16. Sexy Suzie—my beloved Aunt. Always there when I need her. She is fabulous and talented. Your selfless acts don’t go unnoticed.
17. Patricia (mom-in-law)—so amazing. Only my mother is more admired for her talents and strengths.
18. Jeff (dad-in-law)—always making me laugh. Jokes come easily to him and he loves to share them.
19. Ann- always there to help and save my sanity. Thank you for everything. We love and appreciate you!
20. Lorraine—your wit and talents are wonderful. Always willing to help with Aidan. Thank you.
21. Matt—whenever you are around you make my Brian happy. Thank you.
22. Grandma Wilson- so cute and sweet. We love you.
23. LuAnn- thank you for everything. For being there, for your advice and thoughts.
24. Ivan— thank you for so many special memories.
25. Stephanie—amazing good times! The memories and the conversations and the secrets…shhh…there still safe. J
26. Blythe—so beautiful and lovely. Always willing to help with Aidan. And your diaper changing is SOOO appreciated when we visit.
27. Amy—such talent! I admire you in so many ways. Thank you for sharing your talents and helping with the wedding. You are still a life saver!
28. Uncle Reed and family—your wit and visits are precious and few. We love you!
29. Uncle Danny and family—far and super far—We love you!
30. Holly and Gary—for letting us into your lives. Gary for helping me understand sports. Especially football.
31. Larry Armga and family—precious memories!
32. Charles Armga and family—for being around and letting us get to know you and your family.
33. Cheryl Roth and family—the visits, the memories, the road trips….everything!
34. Carol—your knowledge, drive and the visits.
35. Pat—your humor and visits
36. Bruce Armga and family—the memories, the conversations, the counsel, the gifts, and the road trips. Thank you!!!
37. Brian’s job
38. My job
39. Health
40. Shelter
41. Warmth
42. The holidays
43. The government
44. Patriotism
45. The troops
46. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
47. repentance
48. the plan of salvation
49. second chances
50. temples
51. families forever
52. answers and knowledge
53. airplanes and jets….the sound of freedom
54. Holy Ghost
55. missionary work
56. Chile
57. Aidan’s giggle
58. mission friends
59. people I taught and members in Chile
60. lessons learned in Chile
61. Testimony gained in Chile
62. gift of tongues
63. Food network
64. Red Vines
65. transportation
66. clean drinkable water
67. health care
68. science and technological advances
69. good movies
70. board games…scrabble and trivial pursuit
71. Sudoku
72. Elmo
73. WSU
74. Good teachers
75. honest authority figures
76. old friends
77. memories
78. good music
79. history classes
80. travel
81. the mountains
82. ability to think and have thoughts
83. public education
84. priesthood holders
85. dreams, aspirations and goals
86. Redfish Lake
87. good books
88. HOUSE M.D. (with Hugh Laurie…I love him)
89. Jon and Kate plus 8
90. Modern Marvels
91. Iron Chef America
92. blogspot
93. face book
94. genealogy
95. email
96. Steven, Megan and Zoe--- our swimming buddies
97. Jeremy—my NASCAR buddy.
98. those who cared to read this
99. those who I missed but love for all you do, have done, and will do.
100. the theater—the memories, the people, and the friends I have made.

I am Addicted!!

So apparently I am addicted! I love this blogging thing. I love that I can connect with family, friends and long lost friends. So I decided to give myself another outlet....a recipe blog. I have invited family to be contributors to the recipe sharing site. If you, those that are my friends, would like to participate let me know (give me your email address) and I will add you. I hope that this can be a success. Yum!! Food!! Recipes!! I mean we gotta eat right, why not eat good things more often. Why not get away from the same 14 things you cook... you know what I am talking about.

Playing in the Leaves Fall 08

Doctor's Check Up 9 Months

Aidan had his 9 month doctor's appointment today. What a trooper he is! We found out that he weighs 20.13 pounds. His height is 29.50 inches. And his head is 42 centimeters (I think). He is in the 50th percentile for his weight, the 75th for his height and the 25th for his head. Doctor said everything looked good and that he is advancing phenomenally. Dr. Wallin also wanted to check to see if he was anemic, so our good friend Pam K. got to draw some blood. I thought, "No! You promised no blood on this visit!" But Pam said that it was just a little prick on the finger and that was it. Me, being the mother, was still a little concerned but Aidan was fantastic! He just giggled and watched what she was doing. When she was all done little Aidan gave her a big smile. The only down side to the problem was that Aidan wouldn't sit still for the blood to clot. He squirmed and got it all over his mommy! Aidan is such a delight. We love him so much. He is going to be such a little problem solver just like his daddy. He is going to keep me on my toes and keep me running. Which probably isn't a bad thing!

Escaped!!!

So Aidan thinks that he has outsmarted his mother!! My brilliant plan of containment has been foiled!! I will revised my containment plan and try again. I don't think that I will allow myself to give up...not after a fight to end...of wits!!

Trapped!!

So aside from the dirty living room.... this is how I have managed to keep sane. Aidan is so quick on his hands and knees that I have had to get clever about containing him so that I can sweep, cook, do dishes, etc. etc. I was putting him up into his high chair but he thinks that it is fun to rock it back and forth. He has knocked it over once on me and I caught him before he hit the ground but all the same that idea is out unless I can sit down and wrap my feet around the feet of the chair to keep it steady and sturdy. I hope this doesn't make me a bad mom.... Notice what is on in the back ground? Go NASCAR!!



See he likes it. He is trying to figure out how to climb up the rails of the chair backs. But I think I have at least another week of cooking freedom....

Recipes

A lot of times I tend to play or experiment in the kitchen. And thankfully I have a husband who, not only funds my experiments but enjoys eating my concoctions. Many times I comment on a recipe that I saw on the food channel or had a recipe that I tweaked and many people have wanted the recipe. Would it be silly to to start another blog that chronicles the recipes that I have made, tweaked or invented? What if I allowed everyone to be a contributor and share there recipes with us? If its silly let me know. Any kind of feed back would be nice. Thanks.

A baby or a monkey? And the Bennett's!!!

My baby boy is no longer a baby. This is am learning the hard way. Aidan is so strong and learning so much so fast it is unnerving. Aidan's newest tricks are standing up all by himself. He is almost daring himself to walk. He wants to be just like all of his other little friends and cousins. He also wants to climb on everything. He climbs up into his little vibrating chair and jumps around on it like its his little horse. He then stands up without holding on to anything and then he claps at his accomplishment. It is scary for a mom to watch this. I have tried so many times to remove him from the situation but he is determined. I told Brian maybe I just need to let him fall on his head so that he can learn that I am not just being paranoid. But I can't do it, I just constantly remove him from the chair and everything else that he climbs up on. In his crib he has learned to use his glow worm as a step to make him that much higher. Isn't he too young to be using deductive reasoning and problem solving skills? Trust me, these incidents are not isolated nor are they flukes. I watch his face and how he works through the situations. Any way that is Aidan this week. Anytime he is going to look at me and take off running to university....I just know it! He is growing up so fast!

Also the last couple of days we have been able to play with our cousins and Kellie. Aidan loves his cousins. Maybe because they are other little short people or because he just loves them. Last night it was cute to watch him interact with Maren and Ethan. He kept trying to get Ethan's attention to play. He would crawl onto Ethan's back (Ethan was lying on his stomach watching TV) and then start laughing. Ethan would try and reason with him, Aidan isn't that advanced. He would just keep playing until Ethan would roll over and Aidan would giggle and do it all over again. Today we went and visited Ethan and Maren over at their house. Aidan would chase after Maren and her little stroller. Maren didn't like it much, she doesn't like anyone to play with her stroller. But Aidan was persistent. He would crawl as fast as he could to get her and the stroller. Maren became very distressed but Aidan kept going. Aidan is already teasing his cute cousin.

On the way home from their house Aidan fell asleep. When he woke up he crawled around to every room very concerned and distraught. He would cry and then do it again. He has never done this before. I am convinced he was looking for his cousins to play with. Too cute.

Just thought I would share these cute little experiences with you all. Aidan loves everything and wants to learn and know so much. We have enjoyed visiting with the Bennett's this week. Hopefully now that the mommy's have similar schedules it can happen more often than not.
We love the Bennett's!!!!!

An Historic Day

As I sit here and watch the election coverage and the concession speech of John McCain I feel that, personal opinion aside, that this day has been important and historic. I hope that people realize that this is just the beginning of a much more difficult situation not only for Obama but for us as Americans. If the country wants change I struggle to see how that can be true. Obama may be the answer for many but with the Senate being so divided, not much will happen in the way of change. The best way to see change is to have both the majority of the Senate and the President in the same political party. Maybe I don't know much (which is very possible), but this is the beginning of much struggle and hardship for everyone. Hopefully Obama can bring about the change he has been talking about, but I don't see it happening. And sadly even if McCain won, I don't see that situation in a better light either.

I hope that one day Aidan will be able to realize what happened today. Many barriers have been broken today, whether it is for the better only time can tell.

Money Money Money

So sometimes I try and be creative. Sometimes it works other times...well they are horrible disasters. I recently decided that Aidan needed a money holder. A penny bank if you will. We had this rocking cool plastic container and I decided to make it his money holder. It is of pretty decent size. Brian and I decided that once it is full he will get his own bank account. This bank account will be used for the basic necessities that a man will need. Mission money, car money, university money. It already has a good deal of pennies inside. Brian and I cleaned house on Saturday and all the coins I could find went into his container. Our loose change has become his future. How precious is that thought! He He. Aidan says to feel free to donate to the fund of adulthood when you come over.

I hope this isn't too silly of an idea. I know he is still little but any kind of cash when he is older is but a good thing, right? Any thoughts from cyberland? Let me know.

4 AM....that's in the morning...or the middle of the night!

I am a little confused. Did I do this or is Aidan just trying to be funny? At 4 AM Aidan woke up, wide awake and wanting to play kind of awake. Is this what I get for wanting a normal schedule? 4 AM is too early to be normal right? I am wide awake now too. Brian and I went to be about 10 PM and fell asleep about 11 PM. So I have had a good five hours of sleep but wow. I don't know if I can do this all the time. I just turned on the television to see if that will help Aidan get tired. But I found Elmo. Aidan may only be nine months old but he knows what he likes and he LOVES Elmo. He talks back to Elmo. It is the cutest thing ever. I hope he stays entertained by this kind of television. I will not watch things like Sponge Bob and those singing goof ball men on Disney... I don't even know who they are. I think they are foreign nut jobs. Well not in my house....for as long as I can, I will keep them away from Aidan.

I thought I would make Brian some fresh cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Thank you Pillsbury for helping me to become so fabulously domestic! I hope everyone else gets more sleep than I do.

I've been tagged....

This is my first time being tagged. So the rules are go to your photos pick the 4th folder and pick the 4th picture. So here goes..

This is a picture of Mommy and Aidan at his first baseball game. The Bees played. This was on Father's Day 2008. Aidan was about 4 months old and wasn't really into the photo op. But I sure was. How cute! So my turn to tag people, Stephanie, Mom, Jordan and Debbie. Have fun!

More about Halloween

Happy Halloween again! Just thought that I would add some more pictures of Aidan's first Halloween.

This was Aidan's trick or treat bucket.

This was Aidan's loot at the end of the night.
Did you know babies aren't
supposed to have chocolate until
they are 12 months old?
Too bad for Aidan.
Mom and Dad will enjoy it all...

We hope everyone had a good day. We did. Aidan fell asleep about midnight and slept until whenever he woke up. I woke up at ten thirty this morning and he was playing with his blanket, very happy. What a sweet baby boy I have. We sure do love him.

Until next time...