Aiden:

You’re 7 months old! You’re growing and changing so much every day! Here are the latest stats:

weight: 21.5 lbs (75th percentile)
height: 28 inches (75th percentile
clothes: 6-9 months and some 12 month shirts
shoes: size 3
diapers: size 3
eating/drinking: 6 oz bottles every 3-4 hours and 1 jar of Stage 2 baby food at breakfast (with cereal), lunch, and dinner. You LOVE to eat and your favorite baby food is vegetable beef dumpling dinner (sounds disgusting but you inhale it every time!)
sleeping: no changes to report here….still waking up twice a night to eat. You go to bed very easily (hoping that this lasts!). Just give you the paci and a blankie for each hand and turn on your music and you’re good to go!
development: you’re personality is really exploding. You are so jolly and funny and you just love to watch your brother run and play. You’ve figured out that you can move around more so you’ve started scooting around on your back and rolling to get where you want to go. You love to jump in your jumpie and just crack us up with how serious you look when you’re jumping nonstop!

We love you Aiden!

We’re experiencing a record breaking heat wave. What better way to beat the heat than head to the lake! We took a day trip to Lake DeGray and had a great time staying cool in the water.

We had a great time relaxing in the water. We’ll definitely make one more trip before September!

Our travels continued this summer as we loaded up and went to Myrtle Beach for a week with Chris’ family. The weather was great and we had such a good time getting to spend more time with everyone.

A rare picture with me in it!

Owen testing out his new water gun

When on the road and you don’t have the infant tub….improvise with the laundry basket!

Aiden is in a phase of waking up early in the morning ready to play. Chris took him into the living area to keep him from waking Owen up and snapped some cute pictures of him on the couch

Aiden experiencing the ocean for the first time

Owen and Jacob sharing a laugh

Aiden and his penguin in the pool

Owen and his beloved shark

beach bum

Owen checking out the water

the beach

Owen and Grammy enjoying the water

a cute shot of Jacob and Aiden

Chris, Nathan, and Michael riding the waves

Chris, Aiden, and Papa enjoying the pool

We had a great week at the beach! Thanks Grammy and Papa for another fun vacation!

When we got back home, we had a birthday party for Owen with our family and friends. He insisted on a Spiderman birthday and I think it turned out great!

the cake

the food

Mr. Reed

Grandpa and Aiden

the birthday boy blowing out his candles

Kasey playing in the playroom

opening presents

he insisted on “reading” every card

Aiden enjoying the party

Since his birthday was drug out over the course of a month, he thinks every day is his birthday now and still asks me for birthday cake and presents!

Owen definitely keeps us on our toes. He’s got such a big personality and is creativity and imagination are really blossoming. Here are some of his latest antics:

He loves to play with Gary the Giraffe (a gift from our sweet neighbors). Gary is European and usually wears this scarf and hat. Owen decided one day to wear the hat and use the scarf as reigns and ride Gary into the kitchen. Too cute!

One afternoon Owen was in his room for naptime and had gotten quiet so I went to check on him. I panicked a little when he wasn’t in his bed so I looked in his usually hiding places but still couldn’t find him. I finally noticed the closet doors were cracked and I saw something out of place on the floor…

He slept in there for an hour and a half! We never know what he’ll do next….

We had a nice relaxing 4th of July spent with family at our house. The next day we decided to get a few fireworks and see how Owen reacted. He loved the sparklers and had a great time waving them around.

Aiden wasn’t too amused

All in all it was a fun weekend!

As I mentioned, Owen had a birthday extravaganza this year. We spent his actual birthday with Grammy, Papa, Stacy, Jacob, and Ashleigh. Grammy and Papa rented a bounce house for the backyard for his birthday weekend. Owen and Jacob jumped nonstop for two days and had the best time!

Owen asked for an ice cream cake for his birthday so we all enjoyed this little one from a local grocery store

Owen with all of his Toy Story loot

The next day we all enjoyed a party with the entire family. Here’s Aiden with his great-grandmother and Aunt Patricia

Grammy put the chips/dip in a perfect spot for Owen. No one was really paying close attention so he managed to devour most of this by himself!

Owen received more gifts and enjoyed unwrapping things with a little help from Aunt Lizzie

after 2 days of jumping in the bounce house…no naps…and way too much birthday cake…someone was a little tired and cranky by the time we sang Happy Birthday again

everyone gathered outside for cake and ice cream

We enjoyed spending so much time with family and are so glad we could celebrate Owen’s birthday with all of you!

Owen – you’re 3 years old! You had a birthday extravaganza this year with all of our traveling. You celebrated your actual birthday with mommy, daddy, brudder, Grammy, Papa, Stacy, Jacob, and Ashleigh and then had a party with the extended family the next day. Once we got home, you had a 3rd celebration with friends and family.

Your stats: you weigh 36 lbs and have really grown taller in the past year. You wore 2T shorts last summer and a lot of those fit you again this summer because you’ve grown taller and slimmer in the past 6 months. You now wear 3 and 4T tops and 2 and 3T shorts and size 8 shoes.

Your faves: you love Spiderman and we’re still not sure where you learned all about Spiderman but that’s all you talk about and want these days. You love pretending to be a horse, sheep, monster, dinosaur, etc. You like to pretend lots of things these days. Your vocabulary has really exploded and you’re so funny trying to put together more complex sentences. You’re constantly asking questions these days: “how are you?”, “what happened?”, “what’s your name?”, etc. You say new words and phrases all the time (“that’s amazing!”) and constantly crack us up. You love to dance and pose and just be silly.

You’re still not a good eater and pretty much eat: cereal, toast, sandwiches, pizza, hot dogs, fruit, lots of cheese, crackers, yogurt, applesauce….and that’s about it!

You’re all boy and love to run, swing, climb, jump, ride your bike, play in the dirt, etc. You like to imitate daddy and are pretty much his shadow these days. You still call daddy “Chris” a lot but we’re working on it.

You’re making friends and are a great big brother. You’re so helpful and loving and Aiden adores you.

You’re starting preschool this fall and we’re looking forward to seeing you continue to grow and develop.

We’re seeing some of the terrible two behavior fade but a little attitude is starting to creep in as your personality and preferences continue to develop.

We love you Owen!

I’m so far behind on my posting that Aiden is closing in on 8 months old. I’m doing my best to catch up….so here it goes!

Aiden – you’re six months old!

You turned 6 months old while we were in Canada so you were surrounded by family and lots of love and attention. Here’s your latest stats:

weight: close to 20 lbs….not the little shrimp any more!
eating: still taking 6 oz every 3-4 hours (even at night..sigh!) You don’t like to miss a meal! You’ve started on baby foods and you love everything except green beans. When I gave you the first bite of baby food, you looked at me like it was the best thing you’d ever tasted in your entire life.
sleeping: you’ve teased me and slept through the night once or twice but that was it…so I guess we’ll be getting up every 3-4 hours for awhile longer
development: you’re really coming into your personality and still so sweet and laid back. You’ve started sitting up pretty well and seem to enjoy being able to look around and observe everyone. You’ve decided the pacifier isn’t so bad after all so you seem to need that and your soft blanket at bedtime and naptime. You love to be in the exersaucer or swing. I think we’re in the beginning stages of teething because you’re really drooling and chewing on everything.

We learned…the hard way….that you’re allergic to feathers. Just like with everything else, you took that in stride. You’re a good car rider and did exceptionally well on the long drive to Canada. You adore your big brother and he can make you smile and laugh better than anyone else!

We love our sweet Aiden and are enjoying watching you grow!

I’m throwing in the towel for the night but stay tuned for more pictures from our trip to Canada plus pictures from Myrtle Beach and here at home. There are quite a few more posts I’ve got in the works!

While we were in Canada, we went to a family gathering at Aunt Leanne and Uncle Raymond’s house. They have a great house on Lake Ontario with the best view! The weather was perfect and we had a great time.

Uncle Raymond in the backyard

their incredible view from their backyard

Owen “working”

Chris’ grandparents

love this picture of Owen!

Owen and Papa enjoying the view

Owen and Nolan playing in the sandbox

Perfect weather and a great time with family…what could be better!?!