Best Sellers...

Some of January's Best Sellers...

Sickness, continued.

We're still sick. I don't know how, but it looks like Alex has dodged this virus. Lucky dog.

Sickness...

Aidan and I are both sick. Achy, tired, sore throat, cough, and runny nose currently round out the list of our symptoms. We've been just "hanging out" today, trying to rest and recover.

Great Aunt Dolly's Birthday Celebration

We enjoyed some time with Great Aunt Dolly, Jim, Grandma and Grandpa May, and Great Aunt Carol this evening. We got together to celebrate Great Aunt Dolly's upcoming birthday (her actual birthday is Thursday). Aidan had a great time showing off his new walking skills. Everyone was quite impressed, much to Aidan's amusement.

Aidan was also quite helpful when it came time to open presents!

He also enjoyed playing with his (silly) Grandpa, who, apparently though a box would make a great hat!

Happy (early) birthday, Great Aunt Dolly!

Visiting our sweet Michael

He did it!

He did it! It's official!

Aidan started walking today. He took those wobbly first steps, expecting to fall (as he does so gracefully), but he didn't fall. He kept walking - from one side of the room to the other. And, then, back and forth, back and forth. It is so cute to see how proud he is of himself.

He loves to run when he's about four or five feet away from Alex or I -- he'll run right into our arms. It is, quite possibly, the sweetest thing I've ever witnessed.

I guess I can't call him my baby anymore. He's officially a toddler.

Recovery...

I realize I haven't updated the blog in a few days.

Alex's mother (Aidan's Grandma) was in the hospital for a couple of days... She was having seizures, among other things. Thankfully, she was well enough to come home yesterday. Now that she is home, she requires some assistance so we have been helping out as much as we can.

Please keep her in your prayers. We are praying for her full recovery, and soon, too! =)

Aidan is Thirteen Months Old

Aidan turned thirteen months old today. Just as I was beginning to get used to the fact that he was twelve months old, a whole year, he had to go and add yet another month to his age!

He remains my very active, very sweet, very funny little man. He's still not walking (on a regular basis). I tend to think it's because he knows that he is able to get where he needs to go, faster, by crawling.

The past couple of days have proven that he is, unfortunately, accident-prone, just like his Mom. Yesterday, he took a good fall down the stairs as Alex ran to catch him. He cut his lip and managed to scare Mommy with the amount of blood coming out of his mouth (I've never seen him bleed before!). And, today, he took not one, but TWO nasty falls off of the couch. He is always in such a hurry to get to a toy or one of the cats or the dog that he doesn't stop to think about how he's getting off of the couch. The first fall wasn't bad -- he only cried for a second and went back to playing. The second fall (this time Mommy couldn't reach him in time), he managed to cut his lip (again!) on his straw cup because he was drinking out of it when he fell.

He continues to amaze me with how smart he is. He is able to point out a number of different objects or pictures of things when we ask him. He knows where his nose is (as well as our noses and the dog's nose), he also knows where the zebra, lion, and alligator on his nursery wallpaper border are. He can correctly identify pictures of Mickey Mouse, his grandparents, his Mommy, Daddy, and Noah. He can also correctly identify where his mouth is (as well as our mouths) and "boobies." He is quite fascinated with Alex's "boobies" when he's not wearing a shirt.

He loves to eat and still has quite an appetite. He hasn't gotten any better at leaving the food he doesn't want on his highchair tray... No, that food is always thrown at (or on top of) Noah. He also loves to take baths, go for walks, and play in the snow.


And, even though he is thirteen months old, he is still my baby. My baby that I rock quietly with lullaby music in the background right before I put him to bed. My baby that hates to have his diaper changed and will resort to crawling around buck naked before I can put a diaper on him. My baby that loves to give (and get) kisses from his Mommy and Daddy. My baby that happily declares his food to be either Mmmmm or Good every time we ask. My baby that refuses to drink out of a bottle, but is still addicted to his pacifier. He is, quite simply, my baby. And, that, no matter how many days, months, or years go by, will never, ever change.

Strong Museum with Friends...

Chocolate Cake

Grandma May will be soooo proud!

The road to unassisted walking continues...

Aidan took TEN unassisted steps today!

I'm a lucky, lucky girl...

I am such a lucky girl. I have the most beautiful son in the world who does not hesitate to show his affection for me by giving me sloppy, open mouthed kisses. (Yes, AIDAN really DOES only kiss with his mouth open!) I also have the sweetest, most caring, most loving, most giving husband in the world.

Today was one of those "giving" days, according to Alex. I've had my eye on a new DSLR camera for the past six months or so... But, seeing as how they are soooo darned expensive, I always just kind of drooled over them in the stores when we "window shopped."

This afternoon, Alex told me he had a surprise for me. So when Aidan and I came back home after running our morning errands, Alex drove us to Circuit City. When he saw the puzzled look on my face, he said that he wanted to look at a new Anti-Virus program for one of our PCs. Oh, okay, I thought.

So, of course my jaw dropped when he walked over to the digital camera section and told the salesperson that he wanted to purchase the Canon Digital Rebel XT. I think I finally was able to lift my jaw back up as we were walking out the door, with a brand new Canon DSLR and a new memory card in tow.

I was so excited to get home and use the camera. I've already taken over two hundred pictures! (Talk about putting new miles on it!) These are some of my favorites so far:

I wish I could say that I'll miss our old Kodak point and shoot, but, honestly, I don't think I will. We may just keep it so Aidan can play with it or if we find someone in need, we'll give it away. It's not that it's a bad camera (it's not -- it's a 6.1 MP), it just doesn't have the manual setting capabilities that the Canon has. Oh, and the super sslllooowww shutter speed that always drove me nuts. Yeah, I won't miss that. Not at all.

The road to unassisted walking...

Aidan took four unassisted steps today!

Christmas Celebrations (again!)

Since Uncle Corey (and Hannah) were in Utah for the actual Christmas holiday, we celebrated with them today. We had a delicious turkey dinner, thanks to Grandma and Grandpa May, and we got to spend some precious time with family.

Uncle Corey and Hannah are flying back to Utah tomorrow afternoon... We'll miss you guys and we can't wait until you're back in the Spring!

Niagara Falls...

We travelled to Niagara Falls, Ontario (Canada) today with Uncle Corey, Hannah, Grandma, and Grandpa May. We had a great time at the Butterfly Conservatory - Aidan even got to touch a couple of butterflies before they flew away from him! He absolutely LOVED it!

We also enjoyed a nice lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. Aidan was mesmerized by the audio-animatronic gorillas, elephants, snakes, and birds. He was a little scared of the snake at first, but he quickly decided he liked it. I've already warned him if he EVER decides that he wants a pet snake -- DADDY is in charge of it! I really, really, really don't like snakes! =)

After lunch, while Uncle Corey, Hannah, Grandma, and Grandpa walked over to see the falls, Aidan, Alex, and I went to check out a new resort in the area - the Great Wolf Lodge. Prior to visiting today, I told Alex (and Aidan) that we probably wouldn't ever stay there because they are, well, they're ridiculously expensive. After seeing it -- I may have to take back that statement about us never staying there. Not only is it gorgeous (and fun -- they have "talking" animals in the lobby!), but there is an absolutely amazing indoor waterpark that is only accessible to resort guests. Aidan, Alex, and I took a peek at it and Aidan was ready to play as soon as he saw it! Alex and I told Aidan that we could stay there once he starts walking (on a consistent basis!)... so we'll just have to see when that is!

When we met back up with everyone, Uncle Corey, Hannah, Alex, and I spent some time in the casino. Alex won nine dollars (blackjack), I won thirteen (blackjack), and when we left, Uncle Corey and Hannah hadn't won anything yet. Alex and I were happy with our (meager) winnings! =) While we were in the casino, Grandma and Grandpa got to spend some quality time with Aidan.

Believe it or not, I forgot the camera, so we don't have much (any) pictures. Luckily, Grandma and Grandpa brought theirs, so when I can get my hands on copies of their pictures, I'll upload them to Aidan's website. I've been forgetting more and more things lately - it's horrible! Maybe I should stock up on some Ginko Biloba! (But, maybe I'd forget to take it!) =)

Strong Museum with Uncle Corey and Hannah!

above...

(Aidan had just poked Uncle Corey in the eye with a pipe cleaner!!!)

SNOW!