sleeping through the night

Sky is now sleeping through the night. We're talking from 7 pm to 7 am! Yahoooo!!! She has a very structured evening routine including bath, play/massage time, milk and a book. Once all of these things are done she will go to bed with a wink and smile...No, really, once we get through her routine, she goes down very easily.

a very long weekend

Over the past week everyone in our house has had a cold or flu with all the trimmings - sore throat, congestion, achy muscles, low grade fever, crankiness, etc. Over the weekend Aiden spiked a high fever and we were really concerned. Against our better judgment and per our pediatrician's advice, we took him to an urgent care clinic. As soon as he said he had a "tummy ache" with a high fever, they concluded that it was appendicitis. We were then transported to Fairfax ER for more test including a CT scan. I felt so sorry for Aiden. He is so active and keeping him still for blood work and an IV was just torturous. Because there was a possibility of an operation, he was not allowed to have any food or drinks. The poor kid just kept saying "mommy, apple juice pleeeeeaaase, apple juice pleeeeeeeeeasse." For hours upon hours it was like wrestling a bear while trying not to alarm the bear. After a 12 hour day of testing and waiting they finally confirmed that it was NOT appendicitis and probably just a stomach virus...UGH!! I was ready to karate chop something. Anyway, another virus he has undoubtedly brought home from day care.

As of today, things are improving. He is slowly getting better. The fever is mostly gone and he is just starting to take a nibble of food here and there. Lets hope he's better soon!

Aiden fix something

Aiden's new thing is to "fix something". He walks around the house with plastic screwdriver and a hammer looking for something to fix. He can fix the knobs on the kitchen cabinets, the legs on the chairs, the door hinge, Sky's crib, he even works on electronics such as the baby monitors, cable boxes, or you name it. If you ask him what he's doing he responds in a very serious and a don't-bother-me-right-now tone "Fixing something, uh, its broken, Aiden fix it."

Sky's first tooth!

Sky's first tooth broke through the surface today. Its her bottom, left, front tooth. I'd post a picture of it but its barely visible. She seems to be on the same schedule as Aiden. His first tooth came at 7 1/2 month and she is now 7 1/2 months. Pretty cool!

an active girl

She's starting to climb and bounce on furniture. She loves it when Aiden jumps off the couch and he is more than willing to entertain her in this capacity. So I'm guessing it won't be long before she jumps off the couch.

a soft spot for Sky

Why does he look so sad here? He was playing with Sky and he got a little rough....she cried and he felt soooo bad. He has a real soft spot for Sky.

a soft spot in his heart for Sky

Sometimes Aiden gets a little too excited and plays a little too rough with Sky. He's never intentionally hurt Sky but a couple of times he's squeezed her too hard or accidentally knocked her over while she was sitting.

Earlier this evening while I was taking pictures of both of them, Aiden knocked Sky when he got a little rough. Sky cried so I spoke sternly to Aiden. I immediately felt terrible reprimanding him because I saw that he felt very bad about what had happened to Sky. He just backed up and leaned against the couch thinking about what had just happened. I could tell he was partly confused and partly disappointed in himself (and probably me). Every time I see this picture, it breaks my heart. He is such a sweet sensitive little boy. Sky is very lucky to have him as her big brother. And I am super lucky to be his Mommy.

Sky gets cold outside

Sky loves being outdoors but because of the cold weather, she doesn't get enough outdoor play time. To appease her, we take her outside for five or ten minutes at a time....long enough for her to get some fresh air and see the sites but short enough that her slobber doesn't freeze her chin off. I guess we've been very concerned about Sky getting cold outside because the other day I asked Aiden if we should take Sky outside and here's how the conversation went:

Me: Lets go outside. Do you want to go outside for a little while?
Aiden: Aiden get jacket from closet.
Me: Great. Can you get a jacket for Sky too?
Aiden: [he stops and thinks for a little while]Sky gets TWO blankets. Sky gets cold. Brrrr. Sky gets cold!

We opened the door to go outside and a burst of cold air hit us in the face.

Aiden: No, Mommy. Too cold for Sky. No outside for Sky.
Me: But she has her TWO blankets on.
Aiden: Brrrr. Too cold for Sky. Brrr. Sky not going outside. Sky hands get cold. No outside.
Me: Then how can I take you outside? I can't leave Sky in the house alone.
Aiden: Daddy coming. Take Aiden outside later.

What a cool kid! I was ready for him to throw a fit if we didn't go outside and instead he was more understanding the me!

seven months old today!

Sky turned seven months old today...where does the time go?! Other than a little cold, she is doing very well. She is active, vocal, and very very happy. Her stats: 28.5 inches long, 23 lbs...yup, she is still off the charts!

favorite food: sweet potatoes
favorite drink: milk, milk and more milk
favorite activity: jumping/bouncing
favorite toy: anything that feels good on the gums
favorite clothing: None - she likes to be in her birthday suit
favorite pastime: watching Aiden

rice cereal rocks

one of the guys

Aiden hanging out with Daddy and Uncle Caleb over the weekend.

that explains it!

While I was brushing Aiden's teeth last night, I noticed he has his second year molars in! I guess that explains the lack of appetite, the crankiness, the middle-of-the-night fussing we've been dealing with the past two weeks. Glad that's behind us!

a hawk! a hawk!

On the ride home from school today Aiden saw a hawk.

Aiden: Mommy, Mommy - a hawk! a hawk!
Me: Really? You saw a hawk? What's he doing?
Aiden: Has mouse in his mouth.
Me: Oh my gosh! He has a mouse in his mouth? What's he going to do with the mouse?
Aiden: Hawk takes mouse home - hawk's home; not Aiden's home
Me: He's going to take the mouse to his home? What will he do there with the mouse?
Aiden: Play
Me: He's going to play with the mouse?
Aiden: (he giggles) No Mommy, he eeeeats the mouse!

baby girl

rolling around together

Sky loves spending time on the floor...


...especially if Aiden is rolling around near her. He is very cautious with her and clearly adores her.

safety patrol

I guess I nag Aiden about being careful a lot. I know this because he is starting to pickup on some of my habits. When I was driving him to school the other morning I hit a pothole. Our conversation went something like this -

Aiden: Happened, Mommy?
Me: Umm. I think there was a pothole and I must have hit it.
Aiden: Careful Mommy. Car breaks. Hole breaks Aiden's car. Careful Mommy!
Me: Ok, I'll be careful Aiden.

-- 5 minutes goes by--

Aiden: Mommy hold with two hands!
Me: Okay, I'll hold the wheel with both hands.
Aiden: Careful Mommy. Hold both hands. No more pothole, Mommy. Hole breaks Aiden's car.

sitting pretty

Sky is sitting totally independently now! She can even remain balanced when Aiden puts a stuffed animal twice her size on top of her. This new position has given her a whole new perspective on things. More than ever before she now monitors Aiden's every move. If you watch her little head from a distance she looks like she's a little radar for Aiden. Where ever he goes her head turns.