A Day at the Museum

As part of a Christmas gift, Nana recently took Aiden and I to the Oregon Children's Museum for an afternoon of fun. Despite the large crowds and being a bit shy around so many other kids at first, Aiden has a wonderful time. He was wide-eyed and curious about everything he saw. He wasted no time experiencing what each room had to offer!

A few of the hightlights included digging dirt, climbing tree forts, crawling through tunnels, reading a book with Nana, shopping in the grocery store, taste testing a muffin, picking flowers, building in the building room, sitting in the water fountain, playing with the huge light bright, the light table and driving the bus with a big steering wheel. Unfortunately the day ended with a big fall from the bus drivers seat which left Aiden's head smashed into the wall and produced a few tears. But overall is was a wonderful afternoon full of much discovery and many laughs. Thanks Nana!

A Grandy Afternoon

During our trip to Eugene we stopped in to visit Grandy and celebrate Christmas. The highlight of Aiden's visit was meeting the chickens. Once he entered the chicken coup and realized he was on their territory he had to look back at us to be sure this was cool.

In no time he was running after the chickens and the chickens were running from him!



After some quality chicken coup time Aiden was thrilled to be back inside and roaming around Grandy's house looking for trouble. :)

Christmas at Mima's

Christmas Town!

Last night we joined forces with Aunt Megan, Uncle Steve, Cousin Alex and Nana to stroll down Peacock Lane where every house is decorated to the nines for Christmas! It was such a festive night and the fact that it was chilly out and we were all bundled up made it feel extra Christmas-y. Aiden was quiet (can you say Christmas miracle?!) and wide-eyed trying to take in all the lights. Cousin Alex feel asleep. But they were both decked out in their Christmas best outfits--red,white and green with reindeer on the feet and butt! Here's a few highlights from the night:

Growing like a Weed

Aiden had his 1 year doctor check up today. He was shy at first but by the end of the appointment he was dancing on the table--the sound of crinkly paper under foot was too fun to resist. He didn't like laying down for his weight and height to be measured, and he really didn't like getting his three immunization shots but he was a brave boy through it all.

Here's the numbers round-up:
Weight: 20.75lbs |  39th percentile
Length: 31.25"  |  92nd percentile
Head: 18.5"  |  75th percentile
Weight-Length: 12th percentile

Aiden's 1st Birthday

One year ago today was the most magical day of my life. David and I welcomed our little baby boy into the world and into our lives. He filled up our hearts with more love than we ever imagined was possible and changed our lives forever.

Over the past year we have watched Aiden grow and start to become his own little person. Somewhere along the line crawling turned into walking and walking turned into running. Sitting turned into standing and standing turned into climbing. Nursing turned into grazing and grazing turned into (major) eating. Cries turned into coos and coos turned into screams. But no matter how big our little man gets, I will always see my little newborn snuggled up in papa's arms when I look at him.

Aiden was born the day before Thanksgiving last year, I will always remember eating Thanksgiving dinner at the hospital with my mom and sister. Having so much to be thankful for, the three of us shared what will undoubtedly be my favorite Thanksgiving meal ever.

This year Aiden's birthday fell on Thanksgiving which made him our Thanksbirthday Boy! He got his very own cupcake and was quite bewildered when we all started singing to him. Equally bewildering was the flame burning atop his "1" candle. After we sang the birthday song twice (we missed video taping it the first time and the second time around the recording came out blurry = FAIL) and blew out the candle, his fascination with the candle didn't end. He was more into trying to eat it than the cupcake. When he got around to trying the cream cheese frosting he was not sure about it...

After a few pensive moments, he decided frosting was delicious!! He had a grand old time dipping the candle in the frosting and licking it off.

After the frosting was all gone (he wanted nothing to do with the actual cupcake), it was time for presents. Great Grandma Berggren delivered the big thrill of the day in the form of a bright, red fire engine! Aiden was content to play with the wheels and bell but when Papa showed him how to ride it, he was the happiest kid on Earth!

The big day seemed to end as quickly as the past year has gone by and before I knew it, I was tucking my one year old son into bed. Happy First Birthday Adien! We love you so very much!

Happy First Halloween from Dino-Baby

Aiden was a big, green dinosaur for his first Halloween.

We met up with some of Aiden's friends for a Halloween-inspired All-Baby Birthday Bash. Since the kids are all within a few months of each other one party with a book exchange served as a birthday party for all. But Aiden wasn't the only dinosaur that showed up that day....one of his friends arrived with the same costume! Too cute. :)

Fall has arrived...

...and so has a certain green froggie. We love him and think he's the cutest. :)

Pumpkin Patch

There has been quite a lot going on in our world lately. Aiden started walking. David and I got married. We've been camping--twice. We finished our previously unfinished basement. I have, literally, thousands of photos to go through and countless posts to bring you up to speed. Until then...

Aiden, cousin Alex, Aunt Megan and I took a trip out to Sauvie Island Farms today to spend some time in the pumpkin patch! We all had so much fun visiting with the farm animals, trying to climb the hay pyramid, playing with pumpkins and shopping for gourds. Here's a few shots from the day:

It is no secret Aiden loves wheels. He'd rather play with the wheels on the stroller than his toys most of the time. I've never seen his eyes light up as much as they did when he saw this tractor--it was love at first sight. Aiden certainly has country boy blood running through his veins. His first instinct was to pick his teeth with a corn stalk.

This was one staircase Aiden could not master.

Picking out pumpkins was pretty serious business for Aiden.
No pumpkin could live up to the cool factor of that tractor.

Cousin Alex got really sleepy!

Aiden was NOT a fan of the cow whose loud moos brought tears to his eyes more than once. But if I was holding him and the cow was quiet, Aiden was intrigued enough to not cry for a few minutes.

Aiden searched for just the right gourd and picked it up. But the gourd was tricky to hold.
And eventually the gourd took Aiden down with it.

Aiden was all about the mini-gourds and had no time to look at the camera.

 

 

Aiden, cousin Alex and I :)

Sun, Swing and A Smile

What more does a boy need?

9 months in and 9 months out

Today marks the day that Aiden has been out in the real world as long as he was curled up in my belly. Now that I've spent 9 months getting to know him it's hard to remember a day when I only knew 'of' my little boy.

Aiden and I woke up early today and spent a few moments with papa before he left for work. During this short time Aiden took one step, twice. Our jaws hit the floor. When they say babies grow up over night, sometimes it's literally true. Aiden's days as a bear-crawler are very numbered. So are his days of having only two teeth--he's been teething and digging in his mouth like crazy!

Aiden's favorite things right now are:
- Anything that involves the cat, Poof!
- Cruising around with his cow wheely bug
- Eating Puff crackers
- Bear-Crawling at an alarmingly fast speed
- Eating dirt

While we spent some time on the porch basking in the morning sun, I captured 'Aiden: The Nine Month Old' in all his glory.

Tiny Friends

I've had major technical difficulties uploading videos from my phone lately, but I just had to post these two videos of Aiden in San Diego last month with his best buddies, Fiona and Ian. I just love all these little guys!

Lazy Sunday at the Lake

Despite the never-ending list of basement remodel projects and the ever-growing list of wedding preparation tasks, we managed to squeeze in a few hours of quality lake time today.



David and I enjoyed some much needed relaxation time. Aiden couldn't spare time for relaxing. He was busy catching bubbles....

being tossed high in the air by papa...

and tasting lime-aid for the first time (not a fan).

 
Aiden was so excited to be at the lake he skipped his afternoon nap in leu of the aforementioned activities. As time went on he had to work to keep himself awake. He would stop for a few seconds to rest his head on the floaties our neighbors so kindly shared with him, but didn't have the heart to let himself fall asleep. As we pulled away from the lake there was one very sleepy boy who was out like a light before we had even left the parking lot.

Aiden meets Playground

Aiden and I walk to a park almost every day and have recently discovered a great small park just a few blocks from our house. Up until now we have spent more of our time on the swings and in the grass. Today we were the only ones at the park and with no other kids to stand in his way, Aiden ventured over to the 'bog boy' play structure--uncharted territory.

He started off very serious about the whole experience. He stood under the stairs for quite a while, looked around and took it all in.

Once Aiden felt comfortable enough with the situation, he b-lined it for the green post and got down to business...

After the taste and texture of the post was established, Aiden only had eyes for the big, shiny slide. He was memorized by the reflection of his image and thrilled by the really loud it made when pounded on.

And then it hit him. There was more to this slide that first met the eye. He didn't skip a beat as he climbed on up and headed straight for the top! It was his official first ride on the slide. Most kids go down, but Aiden prefers the up-route! :)

A special message

Aiden wanted to send his love to two of his favorite people in the world, Nana and Jane (Godmother Dearest). Miss you and love you!


It probably goes without saying that the above photo was not the first shot. Here's a few outtakes:

Eight Months and Two Teeth later...

Our little monkey of a man, Aiden, is 8 months old today and shows no signs of slowing down. He's crawling, crab-walking, walking with the aid of something to hold on to, climbing stairs, and using all these moves to chase the cat any chance he gets. His babbles sound more like words every day. His dark baby hair has given way to blonde surfer locks. He is eating baby food at an alarming rate (probably takes after his mom on this one). And, drum roll please, Aiden finally got his first two teeth after months of hard teething work. I managed to get a shot of him sitting still this morning which is an increasingly rare occurrence.

Aiden's First Camping Adventure!

Aiden's first camping trip, 3 days over 4th of July at  Cape Lookout State Park, was a HUGE success. He was smiling ear to ear from the moment we arrived until the moment we left (minus a few tear-fests in between).

He ate dirt, sand, sticks and rocks. He learned all about campfires, camp stoves and camping chairs. He saw the ocean for the first time. He hiked to a beautiful waterfalls called Munsen Creek Falls, and took a nap on the way back to the car. He sat in big boy chairs and made friends with all the doggies at camp. He wrapped Ms. Yvette around his little finger. He hung out with his friend Mikey as they took in the sights and sounds of the beach. He watched the big kids run, fly kites and ride bikes. He snuggled with mamma and pappa when the air got crisp and crawled around in just his diaper when the sun was out. Here's a few snapshots of the trip from various cameras and fellow campers:

We borrowed a HUGE 8-person tent from our friends which allowed for lots of 'indoor' space to hang out in. If I was forced to pick a highlight of the trip, it would be Aiden in the 'morning time' as the song we sing in the mornings goes. "Wake up my sleepy head, Let's get up get out of bed. Get up, Wake up, It's morning time!". He starts smiling about half way through the song, and it's a sure-fire way to beat any morning grumples which he often has. But, not while we were camping! Aiden would rise bright and early with the sun (when we were still quite sleepy) so we'd put him down and let him loose. He would cruise around the tent in his cozy bear pajamas (a hand-me-down from cousin Lawson) glowing with happiness to still be camping. David and I would lift our heads to check on him if things got to quiet (or too loud) and this is what we'd see...the happiest little baby with bear ears peaking up at us.

 
I realize the following montage is overkill of the bear outfit. But someday when this post is buried behind many other posts, I will be so glad to remember the many faces of our happy, morning bear.

After three days and three nights of camping bliss, we were ready to head home. Aiden's hair was frizzy, greasy and full of sand. His face and mouth were full of dirt, soot and sand. But Aiden was still all (dirty) smiles, determined to figure out how all those big kids made this bike go so fast!

Aiden certainly made the most of his first camping trip, and we look forward to sharing many more with our little ourtdoorsman.