Week 14: Wading, Women and Wardrobe

Week 14 started out with a bang! On Friday night we went out to dinner with a very special visitor from Seattle, Jen (of Buck and Jen). And we got to see Jen's friends Heather and Justin and their little girl, Harper! Well, Harper is a few months older than you...and was verrrrrrrrrrry interested in you.

At first you seemed okay with Harper...in that you pretty much ignored her. But she only grew more and more interested with (and the kid at the table behind us).But, she was a persistent little lady...and found the outer limits of your baby bubble. Then you deployed your best defensive stink eye. Or is that an "I'm scared" look!

Yeah. That's definitely a 'scared' look. Either way, we will have to hang out with Heather, Justin and Harper more often! And beg Jen and Buck to visit from Seattle more often!

And guess what? On Friday night YOU SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!! We put you to bed at around 9 and you slept until 8:30 am!!

On Saturday morning we went to hang out with Josh and went to the bird store to check out a Mccaw parrot. You got to see all the beautiful birds hopping around and chirping while. You were pretty much amazed by all the activity, noise and color in that store.

The bird looked like this. Josh and Amy may name her "Roscoe"
Then on Saturday night we had a BBQ with your Aunts and Uncles, but you slept through the whole thing! Another great night's sleep for Aidan!

Another cool part of being 14 weeks old is that you got a whole new wardrobe! Well, not new. But we were finally able to crack open the storage box of clothes for 3 - 6 month old babies because your 0-3 month supply was too small!

Finally you were able to wear the Yellow Submarine onesie that Aunt Sham got for you before you were born!!
Well, you can smile about it, Mr. Serious!

To lighten the mood, we had a little daddy and me time. And we got some good smiles out of you!


What a handsome boy in your Yellow Submarine shirt!

And, since you're 14 weeks old, you have to do your exercises too! You and Mommy did more and more tummy time too! And you got so good at holding your head up and even practiced standing on your tippy toes!



That's right-- that's a new play mat! We saw it on a friend's blog and decided that we were tired of letting you play on the floor on a pile of blankets and yoga mats. So we headed off to Buy Buy Baby and got you this cool multicolored mat, which will also be a puzzle for you to put together once you get older. But for now, it just makes Tummy Time that much more fun (and more successful).

As if Tummy Time weren't fun enough already, we decided that - since it was such a hot weekend, and since we were already getting invitations to go swimming and people's pools- that we had to test the waters...literally.

So I blew up the old inflatable pool and we suited you up and hoped for the best.
We looked the part...now to do the old toe test.

One toe in the water...pretty good...Let's try two feet in the water! Hmmm...still considering it...
But not hating it. So, that gave me the courage to try a little more:

Not too bad, this pool thing...Not too bad at all!

Up above the waist and we're still a thumbs up! Now for the whole submerge!
Success! You LOVED swimming! You and I swam in the pool for a good 30 minutes...splashing and floating and letting it all hang out!






You absolutely loved Swimming time!

In fact, you loved it so much that before dumping out the water the next day, we went for another swim, which went over just as well! (Except that you peed all over your swimsuit and threw up in the pool-- but, hey, we're still figuring this whole thing out!)

And the rest of the week was a success too! You slept through the night two more times, had dinner with Mimi and Pops and again with Nanneh and Baba.

You got to wear a whole lot more big boy outfits and play with some new big boy toys that we unearthed from storage for you, including the one-man-band Turtle you love and the Eric Carle froggy!

Sorry that you kind of blend in there!

and...tomorrow... you're taking your very first road trip all the way down to Houston, TX to see your Uncles, Aunts and Cousins!

We'll definitely have some stories to tell for week 15! But, for now, it's bath time on a Thursday night! Oh, by the way, you also are taking big boy baths...no more hammock in the bath tub! What a monumental week!

Week 13: The Great Nipple in the Sky, Uncle Jerkface and Auntie M's Wedding, Naked Tummy Time and and other tales

Week 13, your first full week of being 3 months old, was full of great fun and adventures:

First of all, on Saturday, you and Mommy and Daddy went to the rehearsal dinner for Uncle Jerkface (he named himself that!) and Auntie M's wedding!

You were a big hit! All of Michelle's sisters loved you and wanted to hold you. And all of Michelle's brothers in law were a little fake-mad at me for letting their wives/fiance's hold you...because then they wanted to have babies just like you! Even Michelle's Dad thanked us publicly for 'spreading the good baby vibes around..." and then he said he hoped that soon Auntie M's sisters would start families of their own! We think it's a great idea!

Uncle Jeremy's family loved you too!

We barely got to hold you the whole night because everyone wanted their turn holding you! And you were such a well-behaved baby boy: You slept for a good long while on me, and Auntie M's sister Nicole and Auntie M! But then Uncle Jeremy woke you up (accidentally) and you were bright eyed and bushy tailed for everyone else to hold you!

Aunt Kari held you!

Auntie M's sister Kristen waited all night to hold you!

See...you were the superstar! (Besides Jeremy and Michelle, of course!)

Even Auntie M's Mommy got to hold you too!

Mommy had some Aidan time too! (And so did I..in fact, you scarfed down a huge bottle of milk in my arms!)

You got Uncle Jeremy back for waking you up by chewing on his arm the whole night. It was a bit hairier than what you're used to, and Uncle Jeremy said his hair was matted down for the rest of the night. Good thing you don't have any teeth, or you might have gotten hair stuck in them.

But this whole arm-chewing business was another new thing for Week 13.


We knew that last week you really fell in love with your own hands and chewed on them all week, even though you hadn't quite figured out that putting your whole hand in your mouth can kind of make you gag a little.

But in week 13, you discovered that you can chew on other people's hands too! In fact, any time you held someone else's hands, you pulled them to your mouth to give them a nice chew!



You spent a good part of yesterday afternoon eating your Mom's hands (and enjoying it !)

All that hand chewing sure can make you tired, though. And you slept a lot this week. I think you brought sleeping to an all knew art form with this move:

Awake in Mommy's arms:

And....two seconds later:

So you may be a narcoleptic baby, but you are such a cute sleeper that we don't mind! (We don't actually think you're narcoleptic...but while you're out, don't blame me for taking incredibly cute pictures of you!)

And when you're sleeping, I'm pretty sure I know what you're dreaming about. We noticed this week that not only do you love to flirt and giggle and smile at the ceiling fans, but you smile and giggle and flirt with the ceiling fixture directly above your crib too! It took us a few days to figure out what the attraction was, but then your Mom figured out what you must see in it...and now we can't help but laugh whenever you make googly eyes up at your light fixture above your crib!

Now, even though week 13 was big for sleep it was also big for exercise too!

You continued to do your baby sit-ups and love them! (excuse how lame my narration is here)

And then your Mommy really pushed for more Tummy Time because when she took you to the Doctors (more on that later), Dr. Accordion complimented how high you could raise your head up...we'd been doing tummy time on a blanket which is slippery...but the Doctor's table had more grip. So we swapped out the blanket for a yoga mat and some receiving blankets and...voila..you're the tummy time head lifting master!

Look how high you're lifting your head up!

There are different types of tummy time.

First up is interrupted tummy time, in which Preston tries to 'help'.

Then there's uninterrupted tummy time, in which Preston has given up and just wants to lay down next to you.

And then, of course, there's NAKED TUMMY TIME! The books (and grandmas) all recommend that you be naked more often, because it's more freeing, and you're more comfortable. So, we got you naked and did some tummy time! You're almost able to roll over on your own!

We couldn't be more proud of you!

Oh yeah, I almost forgot to tell you...the reason Preston is now submissive to you is that we think you weigh more than him now! At your doctor's appointment they weighed you and determined that you weigh 12 POUNDS and 13 OUNCES! That's like 12.8 pounds...so in week 13, you're almost 13 pounds! Pretty impressive, buddy boy!

So, you were a party animal, a hands-on baby, a cute sleeper and a naked exerciser this week. That's not too bad for a 13-week old!

And that's all she wrote for this week's story. So, I gracefully say...the end.

Week 12- 3 MONTHS OLD! and Hands (Across America)

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Week 12 was pretty awesome, if I do say so myself!

Tummy time continued to go quite well!You continued to fall in love with your hands, and discover them anew every morning (Oh my gosh! Are those my hands? Wait, wait, wait! Can I suck on these? These are awesome!)

and you continued to hold our hands too...and try to suck on those as well!


And we got to meet some world-weary travelers. Your Great Uncle Zev and Cousin Johanna were driving cross country from Virginia to California and made a special stop in Dallas just to meet you! And you guys were fast friends!




They were so happy to meet you and hold you! How cool is that?

And, since we're totally new at this, we didn't think to start this earlier, but we are going to take a picture of you once a month in the same chair, in the same outfit to see your growth!

Here's the pose from Thursday:
Why did we start this on Thursday, your might ask... well.. it's because you turned THREE MONTHS OLD!

We can't believe it either! We don't remember life before you buddy, and these three months have been challenging, uplifting, incredible, touching and...a bit smelly. We would trade it for the world!

We can't believe you've grown from this at zero months:


To this at one month:

To this at two months:
To this fine young man who, at three months, can hold his head up and smile and giggle and say things like 'agha'!


and kick...


and reach...

and grow and grow and grow!


Happy 3 Month-iversary, Aidan!

Week 11: ceiling fans, exercises and close friends

Week 11 was a pretty monumental week for you.

• First of all, you made a new friend: the ceiling fan
  

You would spend good chunks of your days staring up at any ceiling fan in the house, smiling and laughing and flirting with the ceiling fan. I was almost even jealous of the ceiling fan, because you were such a fan! But, then I realized that I'm slightly better looking, and I can get just as good smiles and giggles with a rousing round of "He's got the whole world in his hands" or "Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes"

• You definitely found your hands

You also spent a good chunk of this week touching your face, rubbing your face, putting your whole fist, your wrist and sometimes just a good finger in your mouth! So, let's give you a hand...for finding your hands!

• Baby Exercises!

Your Mom discovered that you really like doing "baby sit ups!" It's where you lie on your back, we hold on to your arms count 1....2 ... 3!!!!!!! and roll you up to a sitting position. You LOVE baby sit ups. How can we tell? Well, it's quite easy to tell! The judges (below) give that sit up a "10!"
We took that show on the road, and did more baby exercise outside!

• We discovered that even though you don't know the words to "Uptown Girl," but you still seem to really like the song (just like your Mommy!)

• You and Preston have a very special relationship.

He makes you giggle, we swear!

• As seen above, you look really good in hats:

• The whole family had a really fun time playing outside with you

But, our outside party, just like week 11 of your life, came to an end all too fast.

But the good news is that you had Mommy and Daddy (and Preston) to clean you up last week, and that we've moved on to bigger and better things: namely, week 12 (which we're already in the middle of, and it's going swimmingly!)

How you got here!

Well, buddy, you are 11 weeks old now, and it's high time you saw the whole truth about how you got here. Well maybe not that whole truth...but I mean the nine month journey of how you grew from a few cells big to our big baby boy!

During our pregnancy with you your Mom and I took a picture of her belly from week 8 all the way to week 39... the last picture we took was on the Friday night that your Mom was having contractions with you! We were running around trying to get everything ready to roll to go to the hospital, and we had the peace of mind to grab one final belly shot before you made your debut!

I finally finished putting this animation together. Here's the bare bones version:


And Here's the cinematic piece de resistance!

So, sit back and relax and watch how you grew from a belly to a baby, condensed down into 16 seconds! (The video's a bit too big to fit here on our tiny blog, so I recommend double clicking on it again and viewing it in its big time full size glory on you tube!)




It's hard to believe that you were even ever inside your Mommy. 11 weeks later and pregnancy seems like a distant memory for your Mom and Me. She misses being pregnant, she says, but having you here with is by far the much cooler, more exciting and incredible adventure!

So, no matter where you go in life, you can look at this video and see how grew! You'll know that for 9 months it was just the two of you, your Mommy and you! But now that you're out here for good, we are a family! I can't wait for the times when the "Two of us" can do all those fun things the Beatles sings about, but I also love every minute of it being the three of us, or the five of us, if you count the mutts.

(And..don't forget...one day you'll hopefully have a sibling or two too!)

We love you and we can't imagine our home or our lives without you. It's hard to remember a time when "the two of us" was just your Mom and Me. And though those times were fun, we wouldn't trade you for the world, young man!