"Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure"
~Oprah Winfrey




Saturday, September 24, 2011

Countdown to Disney Land & some catch up

 To start off with...look at that adorable little face covered in peas!  My baby is FIVE months old already!  I cannot believe it!  He eats rice cereal, peas and carrots.  This week we're gonna try sweet potatoes!  Yay!!

He is SUCH a big boy!  He's in 6-9 month clothes, but a lot of them are getting a little snug on him.  He's super tall too!  He has to wear 12 month PJ's because he's so tall!

Last week I was looking all over for Aiden, and couldn't find him anywhere!  I was starting to get a little worried, until I went in my room and found this....





How freaking sweet is this?!  I absolutely love my little guy!  I've heard that if you are having a hard time with your child, you should look at them when they're sleeping.  It's so true!  Look how perfect and angelic this little dude is!
 Plus, who wouldn't wanna fall asleep on my bed?!  Big marshmallow body pillows and a double pillow top mattress?  Yeah, you're jealous huh?
 Aiden is my little "art" man.  This means anything artistic, including dancing, singing, making up songs on his guitar and keyboard, taking pictures, coloring, painting, cutting, gluing...basically anything that could be considered artistic...this boy likes to do.
 So, obviously we had to make toilet paper roll binoculars!
 He LOVED these!! (and yes...Ry and I are 70 years old and watch Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy every night...)
 Classic Aiden pose
 Also...We are packing up and heading to Disney Land in T-Minus 24 days!  We are so excited and cannot wait!  To help with the excitement (and the crazy, jittery energy) we are doing a chain countdown and each link has an activity of some kind that we'll do (excuse the cinder block walls and the fire extinguisher that is a permanent piece of the kitchen...9 months...that's what I keep telling myself.)
 Anyway, today's link was making finger paint!  It was so easy, and Aiden loved it!  Best part...it cost like $.10 to make all these colors!  Just in case someone wants the recipe, it's 3 cups of water and 1 cup of cornstarch.  Boil about 2 & 1/2 cups of water, dissolve the cup of cornstarch in 1/2 cup of super hot water.  Once the water is boiling REMOVE FROM HEAT (super important step...I didn't do this and my finger paint was all lumpy...) pour in the cornstarch mixture, stirring constantly, return to hear, boil until clear and thick (about a minute) pour into multiple dishes (I suggest going to the dollar store and getting a bunch of the little containers with lids...), add food coloring...stir, get creative!  Super easy and makes for HOURS of entertainment!
 Also, we're trying a couple of new behavior modification techniques.  I haven't put together a few of them yet (I'll share those with you as soon as they're ready) but we're very excited!  This first one is the "Reward Jar".  I didn't know what else to call it...so there ya go.
 Basically it's a rewards/consequences jar based on his choices.  If he makes a good choice, is obedient, helpful, etc. etc. then he can earn a "marble".  Once he get's to a line on the inside of the tub he will get to go pick out any candy bar (I can always hope he'd go for apples and grapes, but he is a 4 year old little guy) at the store.  He has done AWESOME today!  Toward the end of the day he got quite out of control, so he had to take a bunch of his marbles out of his jar, but I think it'll be successful!
Okay...he lost A LOT of his "marbles" tonight, but it was the first day.  I think the best part of it is that HE puts his marbles in and HE has to take them out.  And we always say "I'm so happy/sorry that you made that choice!" and then he puts one in or takes one out.  There was NO arguing with him to put his toys away, getting ready for bed, eating lunch and dinner, etc.  So, I'll have to let you know how it turns out later!

Tomorrow we're painting rocks and introducing the "Time Out Jar" or as Aiden calls it..."The Angry Jar".  I hope y'all are having a great beginning of Fall!!

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Bike Ride & Messy Eating!

 This little monkey is the sweetest guy ever!  I absolutely adore him and I am truly enjoying the infant/baby stage with him completely!
 He is the messiest eater ever...and he can never seem to stay sitting up straight...ever!
 Can you tell he's eaten until he absolutely cannot eat anymore?  Where were my other 2 boys while all this cuteness was going on?
 Outside practicing how to ride a "2 wheel tricycle" haha

 What a wonderful dad Ry is!  I know he didn't wanna walk all the way down stairs (and yes it is ALL the way down stairs and around the complex...)
 But can you see how happy Aiden is?!
 Fuzzy, yes but check out the random hole in the yard haha
This picture melts my heart!  Ry is truly happy to be a dad...and Aiden is, well, Aiden haha

I am a truly blessed woman to have all of these wonderful boys/men in my life!  My life would be extremely dull without them!!

Friday, September 9, 2011

From the mouth of babes....

Today when I was at working, missing my boys, I get this exact text from Ry:

"Me and Aid were talking about how awesome mommy is and then he said but she's really mean when you try to watch her exercise huh dad? :)"

Sad thing...this is completely true!  Ry & Aiden always tries to peak in on me and I HATE it! :)  Needless to say, this really made my day and put a big smile on my face!

Spiderman or Aiden?

 First off, I cannot believe how big Aiden is getting too! 
 He totally makes his own peanut butter and honey sandwiches...and puts EVERYTHING away too!  He tries to pour his own drinks...and I try my darndest not to cry over spilt milk.

 Lately though (and I'm talking for the last 5 days...seriously) he has been wearing this Spider Man costume everywhere (yes folks...everywhere!  Walmart, post office, the park...you name it!) and, obviously, he goes by Spider Man also.  It's not "his room" it's Aiden's room.  When he talks to me, I'm "Aiden's mom" (sometimes he slips and still calls me mom haha). 
 He is the funnest little guy ever!


He's been doing...mostly better.  His attitude could still be toned down a few notches, and we are REALLY working on that.  He is FINALLY basically 100% potty trained!  THANK GOODNESS!!  

Our life would be so boring without this little guy...he keeps us on his toes for sure!

Tummy Time Blues

 First off, Aiden has been practicing his letters, and he is doing SO good!  While he's doing his "school time", Asher was supposed to be doing tummy time...
 Instead, he just lays there sucking his thumb.
 It is awful cute though!

 If he doesn't suck his thumb, instead of LIFTING his head and playing with toys...he eats his blanket...
 and cries...
 Then sucks his thumb again.  It's a vicious cycle.
 Aiden is such a great big brother!  He likes to try to show Asher what he's supposed to be doing!

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Cereal, Oh Yeah!

 This is after Asher's very first bite!  He wasn't so sure...
 But then decided he LOVED it!




 Kinda worn out from all that eating

I cannot believe how big my little guys is getting!  He's had cereal twice now and seems to like it!  In just a couple weeks we will start trying vegetables!  I cannot believe it! 

Friday, September 2, 2011

He is JUST like his dad!

When Ryan was young (infant until his young childhood) he would suck his thumb and twirl his hair...what does this look like?  Yeah, this is how he gets himself to sleep every night!
He sucks his thumb and rubs his hair/head.

Also, have you ever wondered what your brain looks like?

Now you know!
Side
Rear
 Cheese!
 Why can't I ever get service in this place?!
 Mischievous look!
 We absolutely LOVE our 2 goofball boys!

Okay, now for a quick news/life update without pictures.  We just moved back up to Logan into Student Family Housing.  So far, I'm not too impressed, but it will save us a significant amount of money every month, so we can just deal with it!  We were really worried about what we were going to do as far as work goes.  We moved back up here with NO job!  How scary is that?  Luckily, I just got a job offer and start work next Tuesday!  I'm very excited!  It's at the same clinic I was working at before I had Asher, so that'll be really nice! 

Also, I'm trying to get into shape for a really fun California trip we're going on with Ry's family.  You can see my progress (or lack thereof depending on the day) here. 

Ryan is doing good so far in his classes (by good, it means he survived his first week haha) and we live close enough that he can walk to class!  Talk about money saver...gas is SO expensive! 

Aiden is such a smart little sass!  He took a test before we moved up here, and that kid is testing in everything in the Kindergarten level...and mostly toward the end of Kindergarten.  He is so intelligent and definitely gives me a run for my money on a daily basis!  Life would be EXTREMELY boring without that sweet boy!  He's healthy, tall, skinny and just such a blessing in my life! 

Asher is such a good sweet baby!  He sleeps ALL night for TWELVE hours a night!  At least, that's what he done this week so far!  Let's hope he sticks with it!  He was 14 lbs. and 25.5 inches at his last appointment, which was almost 2 weeks ago now.  He's tall and skinny (no idea where he got that from!) 

Anyway, that's an update I guess!  I know I still have a MILLION posts to catch up on, but we need to somehow get them off of our other laptop...wish us luck!