Rub A Dub

I know you probably thought this was a post about bath time but actually it's about a couple goofy things Aaron says to Aaden.
Aaron sings this to him "Rub a Dub Jub and a Big Ol Bub" all.the.time.  Have no idea where it came from, but it's cute and funny.
And he always says to Aaden "Daddy Loves Him" instead of just "I love you" but I think it's pretty sweet. 

(I'll have to add more once I think of them, it's escaping me right now)  

Little Weirdo

Aaden loves to play with and pinch Aaron's nipples
And whenever my lower back is exposed (if I'm sitting down or squatting down) he likes to kiss it or blow raspberries on it.

Seriously, weirdo.  (But a very cute, very loveable weirdo!)

Blowing Kisses

Every new thing that Aaden does, I think to myself, "can anything be cuter?" and then he shows me that there is!
Somewhere he learned to blow kisses unbeknownst to me and Aaron.  My mom was leaving our house tonight and she asked him "Can you blow kisses?" and she did it and then he promptly did it right after!  We were all amazed!  Where the heck did he learn that?!?  It's too cute though, he puts his whole hand in his mouth, waits for a second and then goes "muah".  He's been doing it all night now!  Absolutely heart-melting!

Daddy's Home

Aaron started working at HSBC (the bank) back in November of last year.  We were excited about him working there because they had great benefits and it was a steady paycheck - not an easy find in this economy.  Life slowly got harder while he was working there because his schedule changed and it did not allow for him to be home with us very much.  He was working Friday-Tuesday from 11:30am-8:05pm in Salinas.  So I was home alone with Aaden on most evenings and all weekend long. And Aaron and I didn't have any time off together - which meant no weekend trips to visit friends, housework was hard to keep up with and no time just to hang out together as a family.  It was tough.  Aaron missed out on Aaden's first Christmas, first Easter, my first Mother's Day and his first Father's Day.  It was really crappy to see him leave on those days when he should have been spending the day with us.  I was up in arms when they denied his time off for Aaden's First Birthday Party.

So - we decided that he should leave HSBC.  He has gone back to substitute teaching and is also taking over Alec and Nicole's tutoring business since they are in Korea.  He will be home in the evenings and on the weekends and most importantly, holidays!  And he will probably make more money doing this than he did at the bank.  It is very exciting - although I'm afraid we'll get sick of each other after the first week ;)

12 month appt

Aaden had his 12 month appointment today - we had to do it a little early since we are switching insurance as of Sept 1st.

Aaden is a very healthy boy.  He weighs 23 lbs 10oz which is the 60th percentile.  And he is 28" tall - only the 5th percentile!  At first they measured him incorrectly and had him down as a month older and he didn't even register on the chart but then once it was corrected and he was remeasured he made it to the 5th percentile.  His head circumference is 46cm - which I'm not sure what percentile that is.  The doctor did not have any concerns about Aaden and saw how well he's walking and interacting with everyone.

The most notable thing about the appointment was Aaden's flirting.  When we came out of the exam room there was a little black girl sitting in the lobby - she was probably about 12 years old.  Aaden LOVED her!  He walked right up to her like he knew who she was and put his arms up for her to pick him up.  And then when I was scheduling our next appointment he kept walking back and forth in front of her all while smiling at her and making sure she was looking.  He also kept trying to run for her to show off - only downfall - he can't run yet so he kept biffing it.  The young girl, the receptionist and I were watching him and laughing and we were all so amused by his antics.  Silly little boy!

A New Yard for Aaden

Well, it wasn't really done just for Aaden but he will definitely get use out of it!

My Mom and Kenny are getting married in our backyard on Oct 1st so they put new sod in for us.  We couldn't be more excited!  We've been wanting to re-do the lawn for such a long time but have never had the opportunity to.  And now Aaden will have a nice place to play

Before (but after Aaron rotatilled)

 During

 After!

A HUGE thanks to Mom and Kenny for our yard make over!  We love it!

Walker!

I think it's safe to say that we officially have a walker!  For the last few days Aaden has preferred walking over crawling.  He's gotten pretty good and is pretty fast at some times.  I shot a few videos of him walking  this morning - the link here is just one of the videos. 

My brother says that Aaden reminds him of ET when he's walking - and that is seriously the best comparison! He totally does look like ET - it's so funny! (And cute)

Please vote if you can!

I posted about a blog a little while ago that just really touched me.  (Read the post here)

So here's a little bit of background - James loved giraffes.  A few days after he passed away there was a baby giraffe born at the Dallas Zoo.  They don't have a name for the giraffe yet so there is a contest going on - James' parents would love if people could vote to name the baby girl giraffe "Jamie" in honor of James' nickname "Jamesie". 

It's really easy to vote - just click here and print out the form.  Fill it out and drop it in the mail.

Click on the following links for more info -->
James' Story
Baby Giraffe

Thank you!

Entered a Giveaway

So some people have blogs that create a lot of traffic so companies contact them to blog about their products or services.  The blogger then is able to give away the said product or service to a lucky winner!  I have entered to win an online photography class.  I've never entered one of the giveaways before but this one caught my eye.  I would love to be able to capture better pictures of Aaden and our family.

Here is a link to the giveaway post: Crafty Nest Giveaway

Vanessa Crafty Nest's blog always has great giveaways on it along with awesome DIY tutorials.

8/16/11 UPDATE: I won the giveaway!!!!  The photography class starts at the end of the month!  YAY!

Tahoe Family Vacation/First Out of State Trip!

We spent a week up in Tahoe with Aaron's parents and Sis and Harley.  It was such a nice, relxing week and it was Aaden's first time visiting another state - ok, so it was just across the Stateline into Nevada but still...

So Sunday July 24th we got packed up and hit the road at about 1pm.  Packing for an almost one year old is no easy task.  I'm a horrible packer as it is and having to pack all the stuff for Aaden too made me worried that we would have to tie stuff to the top of the Pilot!  But alas, it all fit!  The drive up was ok - although I wasn't feeling well from celebrating with Alec and Nicole the night before at Miyako's with too much sake.  Aaden did better on the drive than I did!  We got into Tahoe around 6pm and went to our place to meet up with Ann & Allan and Sis & Harley.  We went out to dinner shortly after that at a place called 'The Brewery' good food, good beer, slow service (they were really busy though).

The condo we stayed at in Zephyr Cove was really nice and comfortable.  It was a great place to relax.  It was pretty much like a 3 bedroom apartment maybe about 1000 sq feet and had all the amenities.  We didn't have to worry too much about letting Aaden explore around our place - he spent all week practicing walking.  I think the most he got up to was about 8 steps - it seemed like every chance he got he was up and taking steps.   

We spent most of the week hangin out, playing games (Scrabble, Scattegories, Cranium), cooking and eating, going to the pool, trying different restaurants and things like that.  We walked down to the beach one of the days and tried to put Aaden's feet in the water and he hated it.  We figured it was either because the lake is so cold or that he doesn't like the little waves.  We know he's not afraid of water in general because he loves the pool.  Sis and Harley had a great time with Aaden - he was such a ham - it was hard not to enjoy him!  Every morning they would take Aaden out to the patio to let him bird watch while they drank their coffee.  It was really sweet and Aaden loved birdwatching.  He's such an animal lover already!  At one point during the trip there was a little bug crawling up his arm and instead of trying to grab it, he just watched it, followed it with his eyes while it crawled up.

About mid-week Aaron, Aaden and I went up to visit my family while they were staying in North Shore.  It was only about a 40 minute drive to their place which was just past King's Beach. (Sidenote: Gam rented a place up there for everyone to stay - Wallers, Mom, Hagins', Hodges' and any others that wanted to stay.  Michael and Jenny were up staying with Rich and Alexis and Justin and Caroline were staying at her family's place in North Star.  Kenny, Christopher, Michael Fisher, and Cory all came up on that Friday)  Anyway, that day that we visited we went to lunch at a great little place on the water called Captain Jon's with Gam, Mom, Aunt Kerry, Uncle Terry, Aunt Krissie and Uncle Danny.  The food was awesome and so was the location - and of course the company was too.  Aaden loved watching the geese in the water.

One of the days we went to a great little sports bar called Mo's Place to watch the Giants game.  We were really excited at first because we were the only people there and they had the game on all of their tv's.  Well - not too long after we arrived so did the midgets.  They had a wrestling ring set up and there was midget wrestling taking place there that night.  Fine and dandy except they decided to practice while we were there and they had really really loud clap boards set up under the ring so everytime they would body slam each other a big loud "boom" would echo through the place.  Aaden hated it.  It totally freaked him out.  We hated it too - but the upside - the food was good, the Giants won and and bunch of other Giants fans had come in to cheer them on (the Giants, not the midgets).

On Friday we went to Riva Grill in South Shore for lunch with Aaron's family.  All I can say is YUM!  Aaron and I have been there before and we really wanted to go back.  Thank god everyone else liked it too because we had been raving about it all week.  That will definitely be a place we hit up every time we go back.  Later that evening we went on the Catamaran cruise on the lake (AKA booze cruise)- which we had gone on in 2008.  We met all of my family there and all enjoyed the nice ride.  Rum Runners (their specialty drink) and all other drinks were half off!

On Saturday we packed up ALL of our crap and headed to North Shore to spend one night with my family.  That was a lot of fun.  Almost our whole family was there - minus Nat and Aaron (Hodges).  We BBQ'd and Aaden hung out in the hot tub with everyone - it was a good time.  Aaron went to the casino that night with some of my family and won $100 - Uncle Terry won $1200!  That would have been nice to come home with but I'll take $100 anyday!

Here are pics from our trip!

First day - visiting the beach.  Snow-capped mountains in the background. 

It was still about 85 degrees the whole trip though

 Checking out the sand...

 ...hated it.

 Aaden and Daddy in their Giants gear

 Swimming with Daddy in the 1 1/2' pool!  Perfect size!

 Baby Melvin.

 Swimming with Aunt Sis and Uncle Harley

 Lovin' it!

 ♥♥

 Uncle Harley trying to teach Aaden to blow bubbles under water

 Hangin with Grandma enjoying his apple slice in his mesh-feeder

Trying to kiss Grandma

Lunch at Riva Grill

 They were right in the sun so Sis wore Harley's hat and Ann wore Aaden's!

Whatever works, right?

 The best family shot we could get with wiggle-worm, Aaden.

 Getting ready to board the catamaran! 

We rented this backpack thinking we would use it on the boat -

 which we did but only to hold everyone's sweatshirts. 

Oh well - it was only $15 

 Aaden and Papa having a serious stare-down

 Emmy, Aaden and Papa

Aaden and Grandma

 Aaden hangin with Uncle Brother, Emmy, Papa, and Mike Fish

 After the boat ride and Aaden showing off his new skill -

pointing.

 In North Shore with my family. 

Aaden swimming in the hot tub with Aunt Kerry

(the water was only about 96 degrees)

 Havin' a blast!

 With Emmy in the hot tub -

Nice toy we gave to him to play with, huh?

 Cheeser

 "Mom, why do people always make my hair this way when I'm swimming???"

Blame the hair on Uncle Brother - he couldn't resist

 I see a resemblence to Einstien...

 This picture is hilarious.  Aaden farted and his expression looks like

"uh-oh, I hope no one notices that I just ripped ass"

Sorry Bud, the bubbles are hard to miss.

 Big boy!  He turned 11 months old on vacation!

 And mastered stairs - which is impressive because

he's never even tried them before this trip!

 And then when we got home, he had a present waiting for him!!

Oh - he's also starting to master climbing.

It was a very nice vacation!  It's nice to be home but we miss Sis and Harley already! :(

11 Months!

Aaden turned 11 months old today!  Aaron and I can't believe how fast it's going.  We sit here and reminisce about what we were doing at this time last year.  Let's see...I was huge pregnant, we were getting the nursery finished up, we were packing bags for the hospital, checking off lists of things to get before the baby's arrival (aka a million and a half trips to Babies R Us and Target), and I was napping all I could.  I was also getting to the point where I did not want to go to work, I was over it!  But enough about us...let's talk about Aaden. 

This is just such a fun age!  We love seeing his little personality that's emerging more and more everyday.  He is either very serious and quiet at times (usually when around a lot of people or in new surroundings) and then he is really goofy and playful other times.  He loves playing with others - right now he's into hiding behind something and then popping up and surprising people, he loves the reactions he gets from everyone. 

He is such a determined and curious little boy and you can see that by just watching him play.  He is walking more and more and getting pretty good at it and also learning how to climb things which is a little scary!  Anything that sits about 1' off the ground, he's all over it - especially the baskets we have in the house and of course his suitcases.  He's loving the outdoors - when a door is open, he speeds for it!  And we are finding it more difficult to "discipline" him or redirect him - he gets pissed when he wants something that we won't let him have.  I fear the tantrums are not too far away.

Since we have been on vacation he has learned how to point.  It amazes me that they learn this all on their own.  But I like it, it gives me a little more insight to what he's thinking or focusing on - and gives us a million more chances to teach him new things.  We are also noticing how much he loves animals - especially birds and dogs.  We keep catching him pointing at birds and when he sees a dog he gets really excited. 

And of course the sweetest thing is his kisses.  He gives them on command now (as long as he's not in too grumpy of a mood) and he gives them on his own - which is so awesome.  He always gets happy and giggles right after giving someone a kiss.

Just a few stats and facts:

• He is tipping the scales at about 24 pounds.
• He is eating pretty much anything in sight.  He loves fruit and pasta.  We now have a hard time eating because he wants anything we are having so we end up sharing our meals with him all the time.  And he doesn't care what you're eating - it could be pigs feet - doesn't matter, he wants it!  He always comes and peeps his little head over our TV trays to sneak a peak at what we're eating and then shoot those cute puppy dog eyes at us so we'll give him some.
• He is wearing size 12-18 month clothes.  But the 12 month clothes are getting a bit snug.
• We are going to be weaning him to whole milk soon and I can't wait!  We are so done buying formula (until the next one, that is)
• He still loves the bath however, he hates the bath water running.  I think the noise of it freaks him out.  He is alright with it running as long as he's not in the tub but if we put him in there while it's running he screams and cries.  He also hates the shower.  We've tried to take him in the shower a couple times to save time and he just completely freaks out.  Complete meltdown.

He's On The Move!

Yep - it's official - Aaden has started walking. He took 3 steps on two different occasions today!
The first one was with Aaron and my mom (Aaron had taken Aaden to visit my mom at work) and then he did it again out at Ann and Allan's. At the Ann and Allan's house he just got up and started walking toward his Auntie Nicole and he did it on his own, no coaxing or anything. Alec and Nicole were super excited because they are moving to Korea on Monday and they really wanted to see Aaden walk before they left - and they got to!

So proud of my Little Bubby!

Birthday Planning....

Aaden is turning One in just 6 weeks!

We are having a SF Giants themed birthday party in our backyard on the weekend before his birthday.  We are very excited and have started shopping around for things already. 

Some things we plan on doing for the party:

Hot dogs & Garlic Fries (an AT&T Park specialty!)

Peanuts in the shell

Chocolate cupcakes with orange frosting and Giants toppers

A baseball shaped smash cake for Aaden

Giants decorations and other orange and black decor

A Dodgers Piñata (BEAT L.A.!)

Giving Cracker Jacks out as favors Here are the invitations that we already sent out - people are loving them so far!  I'm really happy with how they turned out too!

We are looking forward to celebrating our Little Man's First Birthday!  (And I think he'll have fun with his smash cake - he grabbed a piece of a cupcake and shoved it in his mouth at Alivia's party!  Stinker.)