Aiden Crawls!

Aiden is officially a crawler. It is funny though because I was so worried about him crawling that I truly didn't think about all the things that go with it. Some of you told me and now that I know he can crawl I want him to stop. Not really but baby proofing sucks! He not only crawls but he can actually climb things as well. He is into everything. Cabinets, he tries to climb kitchen chairs, he gets into dogfood. Fun times. I act like it is horrible but at this point we are still having fun chasing him around. The other thing that he has started to do is try to feed himself. It makes for a rather messy meal but he insists on feeding himself any chance he gets. Things he used to prefer to eat with his fingers like small veggies, he would rather I stab it with a fork and let him put it in his own mouth. Dinnertime is a bit longer than usual now.

Easter

Easter was fun- except for the weather. Church was great- family was fun- and lunch was yum-my! Fortunately I took Aiden to the park to take Easter pictures last week. The weather was beautiful except for the flesh eating mosquitoes that got to Aiden. I think that he may be allergic to the bites. They were about the size of a dime and looked like blisters. One of them even popped. Gross- I know you didn't need that much info. The original point being that despite the bugs the park was fun.





This was one patient bunny!

Sunny Saturday!

Tallahassee (and its surounding areas) are beautiful this time of year. I love to drive down the road and look at all of the different colors that fill the streets. I also love our yard. We have azaleas everywhere and in the shady area on the side of the house we have close to 10 dogwood trees that are all in bloom. It is breathtaking. So I decided to pose Aiden in front of the flowers because who can resist a baby in front of flowers? Not me!

Aiden and I drove out to my parents house to enjoy the weather while Mark helped a friend sod his yard. Aiden had a great time riding around with Granddaddy on his tractor, and was mesmerized by the handle that made the bucket go up and down. After a while we went home and Aiden was asleep before we got out of the driveway. I enjoyed the quiet on the way home and realized Aiden is 11months old today. Yesterday he took a his first step.

Big Boy

Aiden loves to play in his room. Mostly he loves to throw his ABC blocks to see how far they will go and how loud he can make it hitting the hard wood floor. Well at least that is how I hear it down the hall.

What-chou-talkin' bout Willis?

Four- Wheelin'

We went to my parents house for my dad's birthday. While we were there I took Aiden for a ride on their four-wheeler.Although we were going about 5mph Aiden loved it and then began to rock back and forth to keep going. It was pretty cute. He had fun hanging out with his Ya-Ya, Grandaddy, and Uncle Cody. Dad likes to shy away from the camera but when I get pictures from mom I post some of all of the boys ( hint, hint, mom.)

Weekend Fun

We love the weekends so much. It is a chance for some down time from the crazy week, and a time to see our growing group of friends. This was taken last weekend at the park. Some of the guys were playing frisbee golf for Jeremy's birthday and Sandra and I braved Tallahassee's unpredictable weather with the boys. As you can see Aiden and Ranen look a bit chilly.

Later on back at the Walworth's we attempted to pose the babies for a group shot. It was an experience. Babies on the move are quick! The older kiddos were a little bit easier. Aren't they cute?

This weekend was the start of first birthday's. Aiden's good buddy Noah turned one and invited Aiden to take a stroll in his new wheels. Aiden told me he wants a wagon now. Aiden also took some pointers in cake eating form Noah. April is on its way!

At home I set up our old fish tank with some cheap-o goldfish. Aiden loves the fish! He watched them for the longest time and then got pretty upset at the thought of bedtime. What a ham!

Things I Like... by: Aiden

Thing I like
by Aiden

I like hangin' with my homey's!

I like sharing cheerios with my friend Coletrane.

I like reading my ladybug book!

I like crazy hair!

I like mermaids, hubba, hubba!

Howdy!

Happy New Year! We made it through the holidays. We had a great time with Aiden. Of course he had no idea why we kept sticking boxes with pretty paper on them in front of him. He liked the bows but that was about it. It left me wondering why in fact I had even bothered to wrap the few things that we got him.

After Christmas Aiden and I took a road trip to see a friend of mine that used to live in Tallahassee and after relocating to Ohio has moved back to Spring hill, Fl near Ocala. While we were there we decided to take Aiden and her two kids which are 2 and 6 to Weeki Wachee Springs. For those of you who don't know this is a Florida attraction where girls dressed in mermaid suits swim in the spring. You sit in this theatre where you can see under the water and watch their show. In theory it sounds fun and I am sure at one point it was but it was severely run down and not much to do. The highlight was Aiden getting to take his picture with a pretty mermaid.

He continues to grow and change each day. He wants nothing to do with crawling, but loves to stand up and hold on to his toy walker that his Nana and Grumpa got him. He used to push it without moving his feet but he will move his feet now and take steps. For those of you that are Scrubs fans that is Dr. Cox on the T.V. in the background. Mark has had a Scrubs marathon today and watched almost an entire season of episodes.

Aiden has also started to develop new facial expressions. This is his latest. This expression seems to emerge when the camera comes out. Aren't those some cute cheeks?! I could kiss all over them.

Overall we are doing well and are glad to resume a somewhat "normal" life after the holidays.

Butchy Clause

This past weekend we had our Christmas in Sarasota with Mark’s parents. Sam and baby Abigail flew down from Louisville and we got to spend time with them. Because Steve works for UPS he is banned from taking time off before Christmas so he couldn’t come. We had such a good time. Abby and Aiden were too cute together and it reminded us of how much we miss seeing them.
The big plan was to take the kids to the mall to see Santa. It was like a scene from the Christmas story. The line was wrapped around in a loop. After I went to investigate I also discovered that the cheapest Santa picture package was $20.00. So we weighed the options and quickly left. Later on Mark’s uncle showed up with a Santa outfit that he had for years. We dressed up ole Butch and made a Butchy-Clause. The pictures below paint a very clear picture of what went down.
I would also like to add just how cute my niece is. She is a hoot. Baby girl Abby has the whole package. She has the looks and definitely has a personality! I can’t wait to see her again.

Kicking off the season

This weekend we kicked off the holiday season. On Friday night we took Aiden to see Santa. It was past Aiden's bedtime so we were taking bets on how he would act. Mark walked him up to Santa, set him in his lap and Aiden smiled. It was very cute. He was feeling his red velvet suit, and looking for the jingle bells up santa's sleeve that he would occasionally ring.



Then on Saturday, we went to the Celebration of lights parade downtown with Dana. Once again Aiden had a great time and it ended up not being as cold as it was supposed to be. We came with fuzzy hats, scarves, and blankets and at one point had to take them off because we got hot.
This is Aiden in his cute hat with Dana.


Today we went to the Christmas tree farm, picked out, and cut down our own tree. Then we ventured into Walmart to try to start shopping, took a look around at all the madness and soon left to try again later.


Tonight Aiden watched as we put the lights on the tree and was completely satisfied. What a little trooper.

His father's son

Aiden continues to grow and change on a daily basis leaving me with mixed emotions of excitement in what is next to come and sadness of what has already passed. This passed week he realized just how strong his vocal cords can be. Our house is now filled with the sweet sounds of baby squeals, but at times baby screams. On a regular basis Aiden is a happy baby and very content however there are times when sweet Aiden does not get his way and you would think that the world is coming to a crashing end. It gives me glimpses of what the toddler years are going to be like with him. I have already begun praying for patience during these times.



Aiden is working on the crawling thing but has yet to get that left leg going. This is something that I am currently obsessed over and I know before I now it he will be everywhere into everything, so I am trying not to worry about it.

We recently had our first teething cookie and for a first time mom this was a very nerve racking experience. The two teeth that Aiden continues to sport are his secret weapon. The little dude can bite like you would not believe. So instead of kind of sucking on the little dissolving cookie, our Aiden bites chunks off. This results in a gagging child, a mommy with her finger in the back of a throat and cookie and slobber everywhere. We have tried this twice and are presently putting the cookie thing on hold.



He changes everyday and we are having so much fun with him!

Pre-Thanksgiving

So we decided that the Holidays started early for us this year. Friday night My Aunt and Uncle and cousin came and stayed with us. We had fun hanging out all night and just being goofy. Then on Saturday we had a big pre-Thanksgiving day bash out at our house with a bunch of our friends and family. Everyone brought food. Mark fried a turkey and my mom made ham. We ate too many starches and desserts, but it was so good! After the food settled, the kids ran around, the babies napped and the adults played kickball! It was wonderful to have everyone over and reminded us how truly thankful for all of our friends and family! We love you guys! Here are some pictures of some of the little ones. I didn’t take as many pictures as I would have liked but I was too busy enjoying myself, and at least one of the kids was always napping. For Thanksgiving we are off to Nana and Grumpa's in Sarasota. This will be Aiden's first trip there! Pray for a safe, quiet trip!

This is Aiden and his cousin Alexa. This was their first meeting.


The only picture I had of Jackson and Adah playing in the hammock.


Ranen crawled all over the place. What a little man!


Aiden and Clark having some quality tummy time!

Post Halloween

I have gotten behind on my blogger responsibilities. For Halloween we went to the Alley's house and they had a fun little fall party. All kids dressed up, and Carey dressed up like her ninja hubby Spencer. Everyone was too cute. These are pictures of most of the little ones, Aiden and sweet Libby, and Aiden and his buddy Clark.

Pumpkin Patch

This weekend we took Aiden to the Pumpkin Patch. He was really into the little pumpkins, and was amazed by all the things going on. It was a nice family outing.

Fall Fun

So… in celebration of Fall,and to amuse myself Aiden and I had a early morning costume photo shoot. Many of our friends have shared costumes with us so there are lots to choose from. Needless to say we had a great time up until Aiden stuck a fall leaf in his mouth. After that incident I decided that the photo shoot was over. I am not into sticking fingers down my child's throat to retrieve things.

Quack, Quack, mom!


Our little pumpkin.


Baby green giant



Little Bitty Kitty and Coletrane




This is such a fun age to me. Aiden is extremely interactive and loves to smile and laugh. He also loves to grab my face and kiss me. This is my favorite.

This weekend Mark’s parents came to visit. We had fun up until Sunday morning at 2am when poor Aiden was so stopped up he could not breathe. He went back to sleep at about 6am only after screaming for 4 hours off and on. The rest of the day was not much better. He was hard to console and not much made him happy. I also think that more teeth are adding to the mix.

Check out more pictures that our friend Julie took. Thanks Julie- I love them!

Now I will finish my random thoughts as I have a sick, sleeping baby in my lap. To sleep in my lap while I play blogger, and after his 3 hour nap this aftenoon lets me know that he really is tuckered out.

It's Friday!

Work is going very well. Aiden loves it and so do I. My class started this week and I have the cutest little kids. They are extremely little compared to the kids I have been teaching for the past couple of years so that has taken some getting used to. The other thing that I am used to is having maybe 2 parents show up for orientation. This is not the case at Celebration. Laura, (my co-teacher) and I had close to 40 family members in our room at one time this past Tuesday. Moms, Dads, Grandma's and they all brought their video camera's and camera's. I felt like breathing into a paper bag at one point, but it ended very well. I had 3 mom's ask to be our room mom. It is so nice to have parent involvement.
Aiden is coming home completely worn out from his day. He goes to bed at about 7:30 and I am struggling to wake him up to go to school in the morning. Mark and I usually bring him into our room in the morning and he continues to sleep with the lights on, the news on the t.v. and Mark and I calling his name to wake him up. He is his father's son.

The other thing that happened this week is that Aiden had two little teeth cut through his bottom gum. Today they were hurting him some but with a few teething tablets and baby tylenol we were on our way to smiley land. He is such a sweet boy!