Aaden and Alivia Exchange Gifts

These two are so cute and fun together!  Aaden was all about helping Livie open her presents (while "ooooh"-ing the whole time) and he tore into his like he's an old pro.  And of course Livie had fun helping Aaden out.  Actual Christmas is going to be a blast for these two!
Aaden got Alivia some pink and purple legos (that Aaden was extremely excited about) and a Melissa & Doug puzzle.  Alivia got Aaden a Melissa & Doug train and a cute book.  Love these babies!

Fahy Christmas 2011

Fahy Christmas was up in Martinez this year at my cousin Brigid's house.  Aaden did great in the car and slept pretty much the whole way up there.  When we first got there he was a little shy around the adults and older cousins.  But he started to open up as time passed.  A little later some younger kids came  (between ages 3-13) and we got to see just how much Aaden loves them (other kids).  He turns into a whole new person trying to show off in front of them and he's always so interested in what they are doing.  With these kids, he was going up to them and in the sweetest voice saying, "Aye"  (his way of saying "hi"), dancing, running back and forth, throwing his blankie in the air, handing his blankie to them and my favorite, trying to push the couch to impress them with his strength.  It was hysterical!  And sooo cute!  There were some points that I felt sorry for him though because he wants SOO much to be a part of them and to entertain them and sometimes they were too busy doing other things than to entertain a 1 y/o.  I don't think Aaden really noticed that he was being brushed off though so it's all fine - just a stupid little thing that would only pang a mother's heart.

 

Aaden did great with Pappy dressed as Santa.  He actually grabbed the gifts as Santa was handing them to him and even opened them himself.  He loved his wooden train from Santa and his John Deere tractor from Pappy!  He played with them for a bit, making "vroom" noises the whole time.



Pappy also got him some overalls with a cute long sleeve onesie that has trucks and trains and planes all over it.  Perfect for Aaden!  All-in-all it was a good day and I'm glad we made the trip up there.  We got to visit with a lot of family that we don't get to see very often.

Santa! And Christmas Tree Hunting

We went out to Spring Grove to see Santa at their Breakfast with Santa Holiday Faire - I wasn't sure what the Santa would look like and of course, I wasn't sure how Aaden would react.  Well - we were pleasantly surprised at how real Santa looked and how great the picture set was.  Aaden was not as thrilled.  He didn't really cry though but he definitely looked worried!  Couldn't even be bribed with candy canes.

This is a picture of the actual picture (and yes, that is Lovie you see Aaden holding)



Of course, the next day we go to pick out our Christmas tree at Barone's and there is a totally fake looking Santa there and Aaden really liked him! He was a sweet guy and also gave Aaden candy canes. 

Aaden & Santa

Aaden was such a ham when we were picking out our tree with Emmy & Papa.

 

Aaden & Papa

Waiting to checkout

Umm, yum?



 

And our little tree - we got a 4' to put on top of the buffet in our front room, because well, frankly - I was a little worried about Aaden & the tree!  He did great though.  We decorated it a little differently this year - very simple but some bright colors and butterflies!



 This picture makes it look really lopsided but it wasn't.

 

Our Attempt at a Christmas Card Photo

So we went out to Bourdet's Christmas Tree Farm the day after Thanksgiving to try to snap some photos of Aaden to use on our Christmas card.  I borrowed Kenny's nice camera and thought for sure I'd be able to get a shot or two.  Well, if there is one thing I've learned in the last 15 months - I am NOT a photographer - I suck at it.  Big time.  Oh well - looks like I didn't miss my calling.  Aaden had fun anyway playing in all the trees - and having his first candy cane.

Here were a few shots that I thought we could use:



He looks like quite the "mama's boy" in this one. LOL.

After literally hours of stewing over which picture to use and which card to order - I decided on this one:

When they came in I was not happy with them at.all.  The picture was really red.  I contacted Shutterfly and they let me reorder for free.  Back to decision-making...

 After another few hours - we decided to use a picture from his 1-year photo shoot with the Lovejoys!  I let Aaron pick the card - I was done trying to decide.  It came out nice and we got a lot of compliments on it.

Needless to say, we have 125 extra Christmas cards now...

15 months!

Oh 15 months - what a fun age!  But it's challenging too.  Aaden is learning so much right now - and along with that he's testing the waters quite a bit.  So far he seems to be a pretty good listener but he is starting to throw minor tantrums - he gets upset when we pull him away from something.  We're trying to figure out our best discipline strategies and that's definitely hard.  I don't want my child to be a brat but I don't want to be overly strict either - finding the balance is tough and letting him be a kid is really important to me.

Here are some things that are going on with our little boy ~

He eats just about anything under the sun - but we avoid things that are choking hazards such as peanuts and now we are avoiding mango because it gives him a rash on his face.  He goes through phases where he doesn't like a certain vegetable or meat but if we try it again at another time, he likes it.  He seems to like a lot of the same things I like, pastas and casserole dishes (you know, the good fattening stuff) and he dances in his seat or happily kicks his feet or hums/sings when he is eating something good - just like Mommy.  As snacks, he loves grapes, blueberries, pears, goldfish, cheerios, graham crackers and especially cheese sticks.

He has 4 teeth on top, 3 on the bottom, his 4th on the bottom is finally coming in and he has 3 molars coming in and possibly one of his eye teeth.  I can't tell for sure because he won't let me look in his mouth for very long.  But these teeth are giving us some trouble - he's been whiny, tired, clingy, his sleep is all out of whack and they are causing some pickiness when it comes to food..  Plus they are causing him to be majorly attached to the pacifier!  I'm dreading taking it away but I know it needs to be done sooner rather than later!

Knows where his tongue, belly, hair, eyes, nose and ears are - but rarely will he point to his nose or ears.  He likes pointing out his tongue and hair the most.  He knows how to show us "gentle" by rubbing our faces softly with his hand - something he was taught after trying to hit Mommy in the face :-/

He now runs and it's just about the cutest thing ever - seriously, this is probably my favorite thing to watch!  He hops when he's naked just out of the bath because he's a goofball like that.

His vocabulary consists of hi (that sounds like "aye"), mama, dadda, bah (for ball), nana (for food or pacifier), app (for apple), up, OoooOOhh when he sees something that he likes or is pretty, and also says "moo" when we ask what a cow says.  Well, actually it's more like "booooo" but he's getting it.  And I know he understands a lot more than he can say.  He will pick things up if asked and throw things away - he threw his diaper away in his diaper genie (on his own without prompting and without us even teaching him)!  And he will run to the bathroom when we say it's time for a bath or run to his room when we say it's time to put pajama's on.  I never know what he pays attention to or picks up on until he does things like this out of no where.

His favorite book is Moo by Matthew Van Fleet.  He has torn the book apart!  We may need to get some similar ones for Christmas.  He loves the dish washer and will come running when he hears it open.  He loves dancing and going outside.  He has fun throwing things up in the air - usually it's his Lovie that he throws up and backwards, especially when he's showing off.  And of course he loves playing peek-a-boo with his Lovie, especially with Pappy.  He likes riding on his little sit and go cars.  And climbing - oh the climbing.  I honestly see a trip to the ER in our future :-/

He is obsessed with my keys.  We have to hide the keys now because he'll cry and whine until we hand them to him - and now he knows that if he pushes the top button on the Pilot key that it will honk in the driveway.  I'm sure the neighbors love us.

At his 15 month appointment he was 26.5 lbs (75th %) and 31.5" (30th%).  And it seems he's on track with everything!

This ottoman is behind the couch and he knows how to climb up on it now. 

He likes to pop his head up over the couch and surprise us.

Lights On Parade!

Every year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Hollister Downtown Association holds the Annual Lights On Parade.  It's a fun tradition and we were excited to take Aaden this year.  We didn't go last year because he was only 3 months old and it was really cold and it was my 10 year high school reunion that night anyway so we skipped it.

Aaden was such a good boy!  He sat on my lap or my mom's lap the entire time watching the floats go by and hardly making a peep.  The parade was a good hour long and it was great.  Very entertaining, in my opinion.  I thought Aaden would be excited about the lights and the music on the floats but nope, the only thing he was excited about was the horses!

Sitting with Mommy watching the parade
 
 

  
 A family shot - Aaden still watching the parade go by

Still watching the tail end of the parade

Hangin' out in the middle of Main St after the parade!

 

Thanksgiving 2011

We spent Thanksgiving at Mom and Kenny's this year.  Aaden got to sit at the table like a big boy (in a booster seat). He was so excited and proud of himself! 

Emmy, Me and Aaden



He was obsessed with my mom's fruit bowl that was on the coffee table

(aka within reach) for the day. 

 He pulled out a few pears and apples and took some bites out of them. 

 He was nice enough to put them back in the bowl after he was finished with them ;) 

(I'm sure my parents found partially eaten fruit in there for a week afterwards!)

This is his new favorite thing to do at Emmy and Papa's -

pull up on this bar and also crawl under and sit in the little space. 

You can see the front of his shirt is soaked with pear and slobber. 

Complete with chunks of pear from his fruit stealing excursion

Eating Thanksgiving Dinner

Sweet Boy...at Aunt Krissie and Uncle Danny's later.

More eating...

Still hungry?  Going after gourds the next morning...

Oh and the turkey hat he made at daycare!

(I about died at how cute he was with this on!)