Playgroup at Dina's House

Aidan's Castle

We recently purchased the Little Tikes Castle Swing Along Climber for Aidan to play on this Spring and Summer. We decided to set it up in Aidan's playroom so he could enjoy it during the winter, too! He absolutely LOVES the slide and the "rock climbing" wall. He really could care less about the swing, which is surprising seeing as how he was a HUGE fan of the swings this past summer. In his defense, though, the swing doesn't really swing too high (or fast) so it may be a little boring to our little daredevil. We also purchased a toddler swing which we'll hang up on the sugar maple in the bakyard come springtime. I think Aidan will enjoy that swing much better. But, regardless of his affinity (or lack thereof) of the swing on his new "swingset," Alex and I had a ball watching him climb up and down his little "rock climbing" wall and sliding 'til his heart's content down the slide. My little boy is growing up!

"Brown Bear, Brown Bear..."

Aidan's very favorite book, currently, is Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do you see? by Eric Carle. We read it about a zillion times a day - he absolutely LOVES it! It is helping him learn, too. Just today, he correctly identified the green frog, the purple cat, and the white dog. It's amazing how quickly he picks up on things. My little genius... =)

Fun with Tupperware....

Becoming a BIG BOY!

Last night, for the first time, we decided to let Aidan eat off of his plate on the table for dinner, rather than off of his plate on his highchair tray. It brings him closer to Mommy and Daddy and seems to distract him (a little) from feeding Noah. Surprisingly, he did really well. The plate remained on the table (as opposed to being thrown on the floor or at Mommy or Daddy) and he ate almost everything off of it. We tried it again today for breakfast, lunch (pictured), and dinner. He did really well. I can't believe how fast my little man is growing up.

Fun with Daddy and Grandpa...

Aidan spent this afternoon with Daddy and Grandpa. First, they went to the RV show to look at some really big (and fancy!) RVs. Alex, Aidan, and I are definitely "tent" people, so Alex said it was fun to see what the RVs look like inside. I'm told Aidan enjoyed walking around the RVs, "testing" out the beds, and opening and closing the drawers and cupboards. Sounds like a typical day at home!

After the RV show, Grandpa treated Daddy and Aidan to pizza at Chuck E Cheeses. Aidan had a blast riding the zebra-striped jeep!

For a friend...

I received the following e-mail today and I'm asking for your help:

Dear Friends and Family,

On February 18, one of my best friends and Godmother to my children, Michelle, suffered a catastrophic pregnancy complication. While giving birth, she had an amniotic fluid embolism, and went into cardiac arrest with the baby still inside her. She underwent emergency surgery, and baby Mikey was delivered alive but not breathing. Michelle is currently in critical condition in the Intensive Care Unit, and baby Mikey is in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

An amniotic fluid embolism is one of the most dangerous and untreatable conditions in obstetrics, and 50% of patients die within the first hour. Doctors only gave Michelle less than a 5% chance of surviving through the night. It is truly a miracle that she did survive. Unfortunately, many of her major organs were severely damaged, and she's not in the clear yet. Doctors say that she'll be in the ICU for at least 3 more weeks until she can even be moved to a regular hospital room, and even then they don't know how long it will be until she or Mikey can be released.

Michelle and Mike are such good, caring people, and it breaks my heart to see them going through this. They were both right next to David and me in the hospital when we lost Alexandra, and they were the strong backs that we leaned on during our tragedy. They also shared in our joy a year later when we took home our happy and healthy Daniel. I can't wait to share in their joy when they are able to do the same with Michelle and Baby Mikey!

This is where I need your help. I'm asking you to take just a few short minutes to send Michelle and baby Mikey a get well wish.

You can send a quick note to an email address I set up. It's loveletterstomk@hotmail.com

I will personally print out all email messages and deliver them directly to Michelle, Mikey and their family.

Please, please just take a few minutes and do me this favor of sending them love and well wishes. As you all know, I am not a fan of forwarded emails, but in this case would you please forward to any caring person whom you think will also send a message?

Thank you so much!
Angel

If you could please take a few moments out of your busy schedules to send Michelle and baby Mikey a get well wish, it would be very much appreciated. Aidan and I thank you very much!

Feeling Sad Today...

This is a video of George Canyon's song My Name. I've heard it before and I think it's absolutely beautiful. Beautifully sad. Sadly beautiful. To be honest, I haven't heard it in about a year, but a good friend sent me a link to it today. It sums up my feelings for today -- Beautifully sad. Sadly beautiful.

Aidan is Fourteen Months Old

Aidan turned fourteen months old today!

Aidan is such a good little boy. He's extremely active, constantly on the go, exploring, playing, getting into trouble. His favorite things to do are wrestle the cat (especially Patches), chase the dog, flush the toilet, open and close doors, and play with the remote control, telephone, and cell phones. He also loves to cuddle with his Mommy, kiss his Daddy, and feed Noah scraps off of his highchair tray. He loves to be tickled, especially under his neck and on his tummy. His laugh is infectious -- I just can't get enough!

So, today, on Aidan's fourteen month birthday, I just want to say I am so very grateful to have him here in my life. Alex and I are so blessed to have such a beautiful, caring, loving, curious boy. I really don't know what I would do without him. When I have hard days, Aidan is always there to make me laugh and give me kisses. He happily shares his favorite treats with me (peanut butter crackers, goldfish, apple juice, graham crackers, and even chocolate cake!).

Aidan is such an extrovert, and I hope he stays that way. He loves to wave to strangers at the mall, in the grocery store, at the museum. And, he even gets a little upset when they don't acknowledge him and wave back! He loves to flirt with the pretty ladies, no matter what their age... he's an equal opportunity flirter! His dimples are so irresistable, we haven't met a girl who wasn't flattered by Aidan's flirting! I think we're going to be in trouble when it's time for Aidan to go to school!

So, on this day, Aidan's fourteen month birthday, I just wanted to say -- "Aidan, I love you more than words can say. You make my life whole. You give the best kisses and hugs and I hope that you'll continue to give me hugs and kisses even when you're a teenager and it's not cool to kiss your mother. You are so special to me, truly a miracle, and that is something that I will never, ever forget. Thanks for being my son. Love Always, Mommy"

Bath Time!

Waiting for Mommy....

I went to a five hour "scrapbooking night" tonight with some friends. It was great to be able to (finally) work on Aidan's scrapbook (I got about 12 pages done!) and to just hang out with the girls...

Aidan got to stay home and hang out with Daddy. I'm told they had a nice dinner together, wrestled and played, and then Aidan was a cranky boy when it came time for bed. Alex said he cried about a half an hour until he fell asleep. (I say it's because Aidan knows he has his Daddy wrapped around his finger and he thought he could get away with it!)

After Aidan went to bed, Alex spent some time painting the kitchen... It's coming along nicely!

Snow... lots and lots of snow!

Aidan enjoyed watching the Noah play in the snow yesterday... not only was love in the air, but snow was, too! Aidan (and his sidekick, Noah) finally talked Daddy into going outside to play for a couple of minutes... They had a great time.

Altogether, we recorded a little more than eighteen inches of snow.

Yes, that's in a twenty-four hour period!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Fun with playgroup friends... (and, Daddy, too!)

New Paint!

Here's a little preview of one of the kitchen walls, freshly painted.

We still need to do the trim, though.

Must be tax time...

(In case you're wondering... Aidan is carrying a calculator.)

(And, doesn't YOUR accountant/tax guy do your taxes with no pants on?!?!)

Update on Grandma May...

Grandma May was released from the hospital this afternoon. She is well on the road to recovery, which makes Aidan (and Mommy!) very happy. Aidan is definitely looking forward to that banana split you promised him, Grandma!

Storytime, anyone?

(Something tells me Noah's not interested in listening to a story...)

My handsome boy...

He's not a ham, is he?!?! =)

Walking and Playing...

Grandma May

Aidan's Grandma May (my mom) had back surgery this morning. Aidan got to spend the day with Daddy (and, boy, did Aidan poop his Daddy out!) while I spent the day with my father in the hospital waiting room (with the occasional visit from Aunt Terri, which was nice!)

Mom's surgery went well, now she just needs to start healing so she can take Aidan out on the date she's been promising him! (She's promised that once she is well enough, just the two of them will be going on a date (well, Grandpa can come if he wants to) to Friendly's where they'll share a banana split (with extra hot fudge, of course!).

Please keep her in your prayers as she recovers...