From your Eyes

We love watching you watch and experience the world, and there's nothing better than a change of scenery to really get your attention.

But there's always something fascinating whether you're close to home...

or just plain home...

 It's a beautiful world.

And even more awe-inspiring watching it through your eyes.

Julia's Four Month-iversary

My my my, Miss Julia,

You've come a long way!

You're 4 months old and you're still happy, you're laughing, you're grasping, you've found your hands...

and you've found your feet.


You've certainly found your voice.

And we all are finding you charming beyond belief.

So what's new with you, you might ask. You've been smiling and laughing and grasping for a while now. Well, all those skills are getting refined and super better than before!

You're eyes are changing a bit...maybe they'll be a little hazelish? Who knows!

You're working really hard on rolling over! You can get up to your hip...and almost over!

You're sleeping in your very own crib in your very shared room with your big brother...and doing super well with it! 

And, well, you're just an all-around happy-go-lucky growing girl!

You're 4 months old now, and you basically sat up by yourself for your whole photo shoot. That's new!

Pops and Mimi were on hand to help me get the best smiles. They got some special Julia cuddles afterward too.

They certainly helped you smile...but I know the effect was mutual. You make us all smile as you giggle and laugh and beam your four-month-old little spark to the entire world.

 I see so much of me and your mother in your beautiful face. And, of course, you look like your brother too. But you are uniquely you, and you have already carved out your own unique place in this world and in our hearts.

Week 15: Adventure with the Liliputians (aka Mimi and Pops)

One day (very soon) you'll be taller than Mimi and Pops. But for now they are bigger than you and, therefore, are perfect candidates to baby sit you. Since your Mommy went back to work part time last week, we had the opportunity to send you to Summer Camp for a week...except it was at our house...but the camp counselors were your Daddy's parents: Mimi and Pops.
Now, you know the two of them quite well already, but this was really their first opportunity to spend a whole lot of time with you alone. They had a blast with you!

Mimi is hypnotizing you?

This is their story, and these are their pictures of their Week-long adventure with you, Aidan!

Just so you know, you are very, very loved (and appeal to multiple demographics, including the "CBS and Early Dinner" crowd too!)

p.s. they have succeeded where I have, thus far, failed: they got some amazing pictures of your beautiful eyes! I guess you can "Inspector Clouseau" into just about anything these days!

Mimi and Pops are our guest bloggers today, and this is what they wrote to you (please forgive them trying to be funny...that's where I get my special humor skills from as well):

Master Aidan, what a "joy" (pun intended) it has been to have this wonderful opportunity to really get to know you - not just visit for a couple of hours in an evening, at your"witching" hour, when you are quite tired from all the day's activities, but really have a daily relationship with you -

playing, reading books, singing, being the tummy time big persons, feeding you, taking "walks" on the Wii, changing your diapers even, watching all your smiles, giggles and chortles, and even putting you to sleep and watching you "dream."


Being with you every day for a week now brings back such lovely memories in our lives some 28 years ago when another little baby boy, now your Daddy, brought such happiness to our lives. Your Mommy came as a blessing into your Daddy's and our lives 13 years ago. You are already exhibiting so many of the same traits that Mommy and Daddy have - you are happy, healthy, well-adjusted, adorable, snuggly, and oh so precious.

Also watching your Mommy and Daddy every day for a week has reinforced what we already knew: they have been amazing persons their whole lives and now they are your amazing parents - comfortable in, at and with every moment.

Love you and those big guys too - and so grateful for the experience and to have such a wonderful little boy and his family live near us where we can continue to watch you grow, go for long walks, go to the library and read books, go out for ice cream, spending the night at our house, baking cookies, going to movies, working puzzles, and all the other things that we can do and will do with you, our precious ones.

Mimi & Pops love You!

First Shots and Fun at the Doc

Yesterday was your official 2 month check up with the Doctor.

There was a little pain involved (like the three immunizations you got), but the bigger pain in the butt was playing the waiting game. That's the biggest hassle about the doctor's office, waiting, waiting and waiting.

But, waiting can be a lot of fun: all you need is a camera and a really cute baby in a stinkin' cute mood. Luckily, your Mom and I had both!

You were all smiles and giggles at the doctor's office, as if you had no idea what was about to happen (which you didn't!).

When we first arrived though, we got straight to the good parts of the visit: checking your weight and height.

To put this in perspective, remember that you were born on February 27 and weighed 7 lbs, 1 ounce. Then you lost a bunch of weight and then beefed back up, much to everyone's delight.

Then, on March 11, 2010- when you were about 2.5 weeks old- you were 7 lbs, 11 ounces.

And then, yesterday, we got you nekkid, plopped you and your smiling face down on the baby scale and...

and..

Well, before I spill the beans, let me just tell you that we knew you had grown...we can just tell by the clothes that no longer fit you and the way you fill up your blue chair now. But, if I had to guess, which I did, I would have said that you weighed in at 10 lbs.

But, you surprised everyone by weighing in at 11 lbs and 3.5 ounces! Way to go!

And you grew height wise too! After starting out at 20 inches tall on your birthday, yesterday you were 22.75 inches tall!

Your height and weight put you squarely in the 50th percentile for height AND weight. As far as those two categories go, you are completely average.

But only in those two categories. I mean, could a regular smegular average baby have THIS much fun while waiting in the doc office for a series of increasingly painful shots?

You even got to lay down on the exam table and have some fun there too, chomping away on your pacifier (as long as we held it in your mouth.) I even managed to snap a picture of your eyes, which were looking mighty blue yesterday!

But the good times couldn't last forever. Finally the nurse came back in and it was time for your shots. Let me just say, that it looked pretty painful. She had to give you three shots into the muscle in your legs. Both legs got pricked...and each time the nurse thought it was good idea to tell us "This one is going to hurt him... This one is going to hurt him... This one is really going to hurt him."

And it did hurt you. You screamed your little head off, but I was right there holding your hands and looking at your uvula and trying to soothe you.

But, as soon as she was done, you got three Snoopy band-aids and I picked you up and...you stopped crying! And now you're on your way to being immune from some nasty diseases like Polio and Measles!

Your mommy was smart and waited to feed you until after the shots and you happily ate and then immediately crashed out on her shoulder.

And you stayed crashed out for a good long while. You slept as we put you in your car seat, slept as we drove to the Diagnostic place, slept as we waited for your X-ray, slept as your Mom and I got to put on led shields, woke up and screamed a little while they X-rayed your spine (to make sure everything was normal (because you had some curious-looking butt dimples), and then fell asleep in our arms immediately afterwards.

And then, low and behold, you slept in your car seat from about 4 o'clock until about 9 o'clock (except for when you woke up during dinner in a bit of pain and we gave you some baby Tylenol).Your Mom summed it up thusly: "Aidan, you had a big day today!"

A really big day for an increasingly big boy!