first REAL snow experience

From what I can recall, this is Aiden's first REAL snow experience. Last year he was too little to enjoy the snow and didn't even want to touch it. This year as soon as he saw the white stuff coming down he was begging to go outside.

I dressed him in his snow suite, stocking hat (daddy just picked up at the mall) and boots and he was ready for the winter wonderland. He couldn't believe how the snow covered everything. He was very concerned about the snow covering our cars. He helped me clean my car off.


Adam made a snowball and threw it our house. The snowball happened to hit the window and that concerned Aiden very much. He was talking about it for a long time.



Oh yeah and he was very concerned about his playing ground being covered with snow.


So much to discover in life...your boots leave prints when you walk through the snow..

starting solids

Sky turned six (6) months on the 11th this month so I started her on solids. Her first solid food was avocado. She wasn't crazy about it but she also didn't refuse it. Her second food was rice cereal and as expected she loved it. With each spoonful she'd smack her little lips. I plan on staying with green vegetables for the first two weeks, then yellow vegetables (sweet potato, carrots and squash) then on to fruits. I am determined to make sure she is a fan of vegitables. Aiden loves fruit but is not so crazy about vegetables. I think it may be because we started him on fruit first, vegetable second. Anyway...another parenting experiment.

my classroom

Here is Aiden showing off his classroom. He loves to walk me around his classroom and show me where certain activities take place. It's very sweet because he seems so proud of his classroom.

brother and sister

Aiden loves to lay with Sky and Sky likes to have Aiden's attention. I laid Sky down on the ground to take a picture and immediately Aiden laid down next to her. He is very gentle with her and takes care not to bump into her too hard.

Exersaucer

Sky loves her Exersaucer. She gets to be upright, independent, and feels a part of the group when she's in her Exersaucer. She can also put pressure on her legs and stand, bouncy, turn 360 degrees, and play with the noisy, colorful toys. This is a great infant toy and I highly recommend it to all. I've also gotten a lot of mileage out of it. It was also Aiden's favorite toy too. They are also handy in the bathroom. When I'm taking a shower when no one else is home (and Sky is awake) I just put her in the Exersaucer and talk to her while I shower.


Just by the way she bounces in this thing, I can already tell she is going to be a very active girl. Once she starts crawling we won't be able to catch up to her...well, perhaps Aiden will catch her for us because he too moves at 100 mph.

Christmas 2007!

We had a great Christmas. We hosted Christmas at our house this year and everyone came up for a few days - Nana Beth, Babba, Ben, Jo Ann, Nora and of course Caleb and Meghan who already live in the area.



We all had a great time but I really enjoyed looking at things from Aiden's perspective. He loved loved loved waking up every morning and coming downstairs to a houseful of people. He and Nora would have breakfast together then off to the playroom then maybe an uncle or aunt would take them outside. They went ice skating at the Reston Town Center, they built forts, they flew helicopters, they took turns jumping on the trampoline, they colored, they played with play-doh...and the list goes on. Christmas is really all about the kids. I'm really looking forward to next year when little Sky "Tyse" (as Aiden says) joins in on the activities.
Aiden had a lot of fun opening presents it seemed like he was opening one every minute. By the time all the presents were opened, there was a huge pile of wrapping paper all over the living room.


I sat Sky in her exersaucer while we opened presents. That gave her a good vantage point and made her feel involved in the activity. Just think, next Christmas she'll be opening presents from Santa too.

Aiden hunting around for another present to open.


Adam and I treated our family to Christmas dinner at the Tower Club in Tysons Corner. Dinner was great and we had our own private room so the kids didn't disturb anyone. I brought Sky's boucey seat with us so that she could have a good place to sit while we ate. Here's Aiden and Nora taking turns kissing little Sky.


Okay, this last one is a terrible shot but its still pretty funny. Caleb and Adam made this fort for Aiden and Nora to play with.

my favorite photographer

Some professional pictures of Aiden and Sky taken in November 2007.

she serenades us

Sky has started to serenade us while we sleep. Unlike other babies that wake up for their middle-of-the-night-feeding by crying or grunting (Aiden), Sky gently wakes us up by serenading us. No joke. Once or twice a night, I wake up to very sweet and soft "deedle deedle deedel.....deeeeeeeeedle deedle deedle...deeeeeeeedle deedle deedle (this can go on for ten or more minutes). When I finally go to pick her up she smiles really big and starts waving her arms and kicking her legs in excitement. Then immediately after her feeding she falls back asleep. What did I do to deserve such a sweet kid???

Aiden turns two

On December 2nd, Aiden turned two years old. For his second birthday we took Aiden to his first "rock concert" with his old buddy Champ Mitchell and new friend Zander. He went to see the "Sippy Cups" perform at a local music spot. The Sippy Cups are a San Francisco-based rock band that plays music for toddlers. But instead of the usual kid stuff, they play classic rock like Pink Floyd, The Who, and The Ramones with one slight twist - like instead of "I wanna Be Sedated" its "I wanna be elated". It didn't actually matter what the words were...the toddlers were going nuts anyway. Right under the stage was the "mosh pit" were Aiden and about 30 other toddlers bounced up and down dancing and trying to grab silly string and bounce balloons on their heads. My boy rocked the pit the entire show. When the show was over his hair was a mess, his cheeks were bright red, his shirt was untucked, and his adrenaline was pumping.

After the show we had cake and presents at home. Aiden knew just what to do when the candles were lit. He even clapped for himself and yelled "Hooo raaaaaaay" after we sang "happy birthday".



Happy Birthday, little man!

Aiden's 24 month well check

Height 34.5 inches (50th percentile)
Weight: 26 lbs 4 oz (25th percentile)
HC: 19.5 inches (75th percentile)

bringing home the Christmas tree

This morning we went to a Christmas tree farm with some friends to get our tree. It was a perfect day and the farm was beautiful. Honestly, it was nice just to be outside....we don't have much time for that these days! Aiden had a great time. He ran through the trees like he's a cross country runner. When we finally found the perfect tree he helped Adam take the tree down. It was very cute.
Since it was so cold out and since she has an ear infection, we had left Sky home with Kelsey (our nanny). Can't wait 'til next year when Sky can join in the activities!