{30/30} I did it!

Phew- made it 30 days. It was harder to post everyday than I thought it was going to be. It helped that I am not working. I know I wouldn't have been successful if I was working. I am sad June is over. It means I am that much closer to going back to work (August 11- not that I'm counting or anything). Although, we are completely off schedule...which has been nice in a way, but I don't get much accomplished when both of us sleep until 8:15 in the morning! I guess that's what summer break is all about.

June has definitely been an eventful month. It's amazing how much Aiden has changed in 30 days. He has gone from crawling and taking a few steps to walking full time. His new thing is carrying things all over the house (and he holds the item as high as possible).

On June 1st he was saying Mama and more as well as signing more and please. He now says bye-bye (kind of) and I heard an uh-oh today. I have also heard what I think is car and go. In the past week he started signing milk, eat and fish (for goldfish crackers). It's nice not to hear "more? more? more?" whenever he wants something.

He is such a perceptive little boy, always taking everything in. His receptive language amazes me on a daily basis. And he seems to have a small understanding of numbers. He has stopped giving high fives. Whenever someone asks for a high five (and holds up his or her hand) Aiden holds up one finger and gives a look like "dude, I'm one, not five". Cracks.me.up. Guess we need to start working on knuckle bumps.

Aiden is growing up so fast. He wants to be so independent. He often has this look of determination on his face.

Before I know it, he will be walking off with a girl on his way to prom-check out that strut (wonder if he'll let me chaperone...). Hopefully he will be a tad taller :)

Overall June was a great month. So many good times with friends, old and new. We will always remember our trip to Nashville and can't wait to go back. Lots of time at the pool and Monday night twitter parties for mommy (that Aiden sometimes attended). Looking forward to July. Tomorrow marks 7 months as a family! Hard to believe! We have a playdate on Saturday with an old friend (Aiden's brother from another mother) and next Wednesday with a new friend. I can't believe we leave for Disney in 10 days!

Thanks for reading everyday. I'll still post often, just not everyday. I have a new appreciation for my blogger friends who are posting everyday for the rest of the year- you ladies rock!

I'll leave you with a few outtakes from our group picture in Nashville that I never got around to posting. They sure bring back some great June memories!

{29/30} Me and My Shadow

Yesterday was a beautiful day. Blue skies, hardly a cloud in sight. You could even see the moon most of the day. A perfect day for Aiden to find his shadow. It was the funniest thing and I am so glad I thought to bring my camera outside.

What's this?

Anything you can do I can do better...

I can do anything better than you.
It's following me
Maybe I can run away (I can't run, but I'm gonna try)...I turned the corner- did I lose him? I love being outside with Aiden. He is helping me rediscover so many fun things in the great outdoors. I am thankful he enjoys it so much and am thankful today is another gorgeous day (without 90+ degree temperatures). As soon as he wakes up from his morning nap, we are headed out!

{28/30} Nose Dive

The latest injury- a nose dive into the sidewalk. A bit of road rash on the tip of his nose

Sidewalk: 2

Coffee table: 2 (we had another incident last night)

Stairs: 1 (ugh- don't ask)
Aiden: 0 and plenty of scrapes and bruises to prove it
Aiden doesn't seem to mind!

Even though the injury happened about 20 minutes into our morning play time outside, Aiden rebounded quickly. I am thankful for that. I am also thankful that he has gotten a bit of a break from the teething- at least for today. No excessive drooling, no meds needed- a great day! Aiden even felt well enough to play a little catch me if you can. He loves taking things, going upstairs and having me chase him. This time it was the thermometer that he found in the diaper bag. Sneaky boy!
We had a great day- beautiful weather, not too hot to hang out, go to the pool, and take a long walk after dinner. The rest of the week seems to be shaping up to be a great week of gorgeous weather. Hope everyone had a great weekend!

{27/30} A little break

I had a little break tonight and it was just what the tooth fairy ordered. These darn molars are wrecking havoc on this household and I was glad I got to sneak out for a few hours. We had a girls' night out and saw The Proposal. It was a good, light-hearted movie. Aiden went to his Auntie Dana's house. He always has fun and while I am thrilled he gets excited when I get back, I am glad (and thankful) that I he is comfortable and relaxed there. They love having him so it's a win win situation. And on Monday I will take care of Stephanie while Dana and Scott go to see the movie- it's nice to be able to trade babysitting!

Hope everyone had a great Saturday. I am off to try and get Aiden in bed. He is a bit wound up from being out until 9:00! I will leave you with a picture from bedtime yesterday. Most of the time, you wouldn't know he was teething. Of course I had just put him in that onesie for bed so the nice ring of drool hadn't formed yet!

{26/30} A Few Favorites on Friday

Just a few pics that I hadn't posted from this week that I like. Molar teething is in full force. Aiden slept over 12 hours last night but still had a rough day. He had a complete meltdown at the pool, came home, only slept for an hour and had two more meltdowns before dinner. So we drove to CVS and the car wash. Talk about Friday fun. Loading up on Motrin, Tylenol and teething tablets. I am thankful he slept well last night and hope he does it again tonight. Of course, he was bed when I started this post, and is now back downstairs. *sigh* Girl's night out tomorrow. Surely I can make it 22 more hours. Aiden is mostly happy, but when he's not, it's been extremely trying. I don't think the extreme heat and humidity helps. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Aiden's new favorite place to climb into...


Showing off his walking skills in his G & R outfit!

{25/30} My Own Little Swiper

We went to the new splash park in town. It's about 5 minutes from home. It's nice, clean, and no topless women. Desperate housewives, maybe, but definitely no one topless! I am thankful we were able to meet friends there. I am blessed that these are co-workers I can also call friends. Aiden was the youngest by about 6 months but he once again held his own.

Aiden watches some Dora and has several Dora songs on my ipod. Today, when the song came on at the start of the show, he held out his hand during the "Swiper no swiping!" part. Cracks me up! Aiden decided that he should play swiper at lunch at the splash park. Everyone else's food is always better than your own, right?

Hey ladies, those grapes sure do look good!

Whatcha got here Auntie Dana and Stephie?

Yum, cheetos My mom's been holding out! Oh, did you say goldfish? Forget the cheetos!
And just because I love this picture of my friend Jan's son...don't even think about coming over here for my food, Aiden!

{24/30} Feet

I love Aiden's feet. I love the way he crosses them whenever he is sitting. So cute. And an aside- I have only had to cut the nail on his right big toe- is that strange? His fingernails grow.like.crazy. His toe nails just seem to peel off when they get a certain length. Anyway,yesterday Aiden got his first pair of crocs. I put them on his little feet today(they are a wee big). Made those cute feet even cuter!


Aiden loves my crocs and now he loves his. When we were in Viet Nam, mine were always his toy of choice. Nasty when you consider they walked all over the streets of Ca Mau, Saigon and Hanoi (yes, I washed them, but it was still nasty). Now Aiden can play with his own crocs. Off and on. On and off. He loves them.

{23/30} It's All Fun and Games...

*If you follow my tweets (mainly my JK8 gals), the picture is at the end....wait for it ladies!

We had a great day at the zoo yesterday with our friends Amy, Madison and Hayden. It was Aiden's first trip to the zoo!

He did watch the sharks and penguins for a bit, but the rest of the time he was more interested in walking/crawling around and playing on the playground.
What big bear? I don't see the swimming bear...And forget trying to take a group picture with Mr. Independent.

Why ride in a stroller?

It was HOT so we ended the day in the splash area. It was all fun and games....

...until Aiden got sprayed in the face and his mean mommy knew it was coming but didn't move too fast to get him out of the way. You can see it wasn't a direct hit to the face, it just scared him and he was done.

And you wanna know what scared all of us? This woman who took off her top to wring out the water (and that is most definitely a bra- take my word for it). I mean, why not? It's not like the zoo is supposed to have a family atmosphere. Ahem. I was saying to Amy not 5 minutes before that Aiden was looking a bit, um, not classy with his shorts sagging inches below his diaper. I quickly took that back. And, do you think I could not take a picture of it? Really, friends, look at all of the pictures I take. I couldn't help myself. I waited until the entire family had their backs turned, discreetly held up my camera (not looking through the view finder) and got the best zoo keepsake ever (I gooified the faces on picnik, just in case)....