Dear Little Bug...An almost 4 months letter!

That's officially my nickname for you! But the little part won't be accurate for much longer! You are getting so big & chubby :) at least by your standards..grow, baby, grow!

I can't believe that you're almost four months old, little boy. You are 16 weeks today, actually! We've come a long way..I finally feel like an official 'mommy' these days. I know what you're cries mean (most of them, at least:), & I can predict your needs pretty well now...so you actually aren't crying a whole lot! Yay! You love playing with mommy & daddy better than any toy, & we absolutely love playing with you, too :) You've got the cutest chubby cheeks & little rolls around your wrists! You drool non-stop! Seriously! I thought you might be getting ready to teeth (& you might be..I'm not sure) so to check I ran my finger over your gums. You took this as an invitation to gum down on my finger & GRROOOWWWWL! It was so cute :) You also love to suck on your dad & I & on yourself...you gave yourself a hickey the other day! You've got the funniest feet: they're little chubby rectangles w/ the toes squiiished on there..I've taken pictures:

You love to stand on those chubby feet..you are SO strong! Sometimes you get mad at me when I make you sit down.

Your most favorite thing in the world is to talk. You love it when we talk to you, and you babble right back like you know exactly what we're saying.

You are growing so fast..& I love it, but it makes me sad, too. Soon you'll be a little boy, & I want to remember all this stuff: how much you love chilling in your stroller while I run, how half your naps are IN that stroller! How you love to click your tongue & cuddle with your dad & me...I could go on & on..but I won't :) I'll just post another pic to show everyone how cute you are! I love you, little bug!

Happy Birthday, Loverboy!

Jeff's Birthday was on Sunday, & man do we know how to partay! :) Once again, I didn't upload the pics in any particular order..I just don't think about that till after they're uploaded! Plus, a lot of these pics are for the grandparents, & they don't care what order they're in!!


He's destined to be a Utes' fan..which is a plus, cause I like red way better than blue!

Don't mind my weird looking smile in this pic..just focus on the cute little boy!

See? Like I said: SOOO cute!

Intense Daddy/Son convo...something along the lines of 'Dad, you look like Wolverine w/ those mutton chops!' lol

Open mouth, insert fist! It never gets old!

Yummy birthday breakfast! Blueberry French Toast...mmmmmm

Jeff's been coveting this pic for a while..

Aiden enjoyed breakfast, too! I know feeding him this 'broke' a bunch of 'rules'..but rules are made to be broken, baby! Esp if bluberry french toast is involved!

MAN, those mutton chops are HOT!

Rockin' out in his Metallica onsie..already has good taste in music! haha

He's a big fan of this octopus..we need to name him..any suggestions?

Looking quite studious in his Bumbo! He loves that he can sit up for a bit on his own :)

THE END

Where's the, um, oh, wait..crap.

This story's too funny not to tell..

So, I went to the grocery store today, list in hand. My hubby's work is having a BBQ tonight & he had two dishes he wanted to take. He kindly wrote down the list of what was needed, & off to the store I kindly went, 'cause I'm nice like that :)

Once in the store I perused over the list so I could categorize it & not have to run all over the place. Vanilla ice cream, check! Diet Mountain Dew, check! Frozen raspberries..check! Wait a sec! What's that one say? I cannot read his handwriting! Ugh! So I called him, oh, 5 or 6 times. But he was out back working on our deck, & didn't pick up. OK. Fine..I'll leave that till last & call him again. But he still didn't answer. SO I decided I'd ask someone else if they could read his handwriting, 'cause sometimes a fresh pair of eyes is all it takes..right? I figured a man would have better luck, since he was, ya know, a guy. So I searched out a nice looking dude (I made a point of making sure he a wedding ring on his finger, that way my asking couldn't be misconstrued as interest..how smart am I?:)

"Excuse me, my husband wrote this list down, & I CANNOT read what this is..can you help me?"

The gentleman kindly looked at the item I was pointing at.

"Um, I think it say croutons..yeah..I think..um....."

We both realized what it said at the exact same time. His face went bright red. "Oh, crap!!" I thought. HOW DID I NOT READ THAT????!

I'll give him credit. He did mutter what it actually said as he power walked away from me.

Hope you guys are smart & can figure it out!

haha

Shout out to my 'Home Hubby' & Chalk Art Festival!

Poor Jeff! I worked the Saturday night before Father's Day..so his first Celebration of Daddy was super lame! I was trying to sleep as much as I could since I had to be back to work that night..so...yeah. Nada. I'm sorry babe! I have to tell you guys, he is such an amazing dad! I knew this right from the start, but going back to work has made it even more apparent! I have no qualms leaving my boys at night when I go in to work, 'cause I know that Jeff has got everything under control and that our little dude will be happy, safe & loved all night :) Aiden sure loves his daddy!

Next on the agenda: Friday night we went to an awesome Chalk Art Festival hosted by Salt Lake's Foster Care Program..all these artists come & share their talent on the street that runs right down the middle of the outdoor mall! It's so fun to walk through..we went a little early in the evening, so a lot of the pieces weren't actually done, but it was still fun! We went with our friends, Mike, Shan & their little guy..we always have fun with them! Yay for good friends :)

And THAT's the father of my child...! haha


I LOVED the eyes on this one!



Cute little dude :)

Jeff invading our son's personal space!

Family pic..yay! Can I just say I love, LOVE this stroller! It makes my runs & walks SOOO great!

Aiden likes to stuff his fists in his mouth lately..even if there's a blanket in the way!

The onsie says it all! Our little boy adores his daddy..his face lights up when his pappa walks in the room :) Man, I love my boys!

Stay Awake Strategies..

So. I've gone back to work. On night shifts. Ugh. When I was pregnant, I knew this would entail sleep deprivation, but thought I'd be able to handle it pretty well. Silly me! I am SO tired! Tired isn't even an appropriate description of how exhausted I am. Exhausted isn't even a good description!! Yeah. I'm complaining :) Deal with it :) See, I thought I'd be able to nap when the little guy slept. Problem is..he DOESN'T. LIKE. TO. SLEEP! Baby's are supposed to sleep a lot, right? RIGHT??? Apparently not our child. He likes to play, & babble, & be so stinkin' cute I could eat him up! But he does not like to sleep. And that makes me sad..especially when I've worked 3 of the last 4 days & still have one more shift ahead of me...I'm in desperate need of your guys' assistance! How do you stay awake when all you want to to do is sleep?

SUGGESTIONS PLEASE!

p.s. Don't say caffeine, I already use that trick, & I can only use SO much of it, anyways, without it bugging Aiden...

Mean Girls

I've been wanting to write this post for some time now, but just haven't quite known exactly what I wanted to say..but since I just want to say it, I'm not going to bother with eloquence, and just get it out there!

Girls/Women have a bad rap: catty, gossipy, back-stabbing. And let's face it, sometimes we come by that reputation quite fairly..it's probably safe to say that at one point or another we've all done something to land us in the 'Mean Girl' category. In high school I used to say that I preferred to play soccer with the boys, 'cause they'd knock you on your butt once or twice & be done with it. Girls, though, they scratched, & pinched, & whispered nasty things about your hair the whole game through. I once had my jersey quite literally ripped off & scratch marks clawed down my back by a girl! And you better believe I tried my hardest to make life hell for that girl the rest of the game! See what I mean? Totally vengeful. Even if I do think I was justified that time!

Now, as a mom, I've noticed that there's a whole new category of 'mean-ness' when it comes to motherhood. Oh yeah. Massive judging goes on about what other moms let their kids eat, how they dress them, school them, sleep training, breastfed vs formula....Oh. My. Gosh. It's ridiculous! Here we are, doing what I think is the most difficult thing I've ever done in my life, & instead of playing nice with the other 'team members' we spend a butt load of time tearing each other down!

EXCEPT, here's where I want to set the record straight! Mom's can be wonderful to each other. And I have been especially lucky in this department. So, this is the part where I say a HUUUUUUGE THANK YOU to the women who have helped me more than words can say, with the transition into mommyhood! You guys really don't have to read the rest of this..feel free to skip to the end, but I just want to say thanks to these girls!

My sister-in-law, Heather, is an amazing mother to her two little kiddos..& she started helping me out while I was still pregnant..did my baby shower invites (they were so cute!), gave me advice, has lent me baby clothes galore, & the bassinet that's saved my life..& I'm sure some other stuff, too! Then, when everything got a little crazy, she & her husband took our dog while I was in the hospital, made us dinners, offered to clean our house..I really can't say thanks enough to her!

My friend, Cheryl, is so great..a Supermom, if I ever knew one! Went through & finished nursing school with two little boys & a husband in Afghanastan..WOW! The advice, the sanity, the phone calls..the offers to take Aiden when I'm ready to pull my hair out! The pedicures & chocolate..& lending me her glider, 'cause dang those things are pricey! My brain is intact today because of her :)

Aaaaand, my friend, Shan. We go back to when we were newly married neighbors, living next door in our townhouses..helping each other out then, too, with dogs & house sitting. She had her little boy a few months before me, so it was all fresh in her mind. And man did she go the extra mile for me! Lent me her swing, her BellaBand (highly recommend those things!)..plenty of other things, I know, but just can't remember right now (I have a list, don't worry, you'll get it all back!) She, too, has had a hand in my sanity, fielding one or two crazed phone calls about how my little boy just won't fall asleep!

I can't forget Jill..awesome mommy numero 4! Lunch & walks with her are so relaxing..something which is essential when my days feel like whirlwinds of puke & diapers! Not to mention good, sound, breastfeeding advice & all her extra diapers that don't fit her little guy anymore (that's a money saver right there!).

Last, but not least, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Amber, for her advice on reflux, & Holly, for her advice on how to navigate & survive those first couple weeks at home. Both of their advice has been absolutely priceless!

So THANK YOU girls! From the bottom of my heart! I swear I'll be returning the favor to you guys with your next kids, or your present kids, & to other new mommy's, even complete strangers at the store! Because, quite frankly, I just don't want to be a mommy- critic! It's hard enough as it is to figure this craziness out without someone telling us we're doing it wrong! So There!

Saturday Mornin' Photo Shoot for the Grandparents!

I'm actually surprised our little guy was in such a good mood this morning..he's had reflux pretty bad & it's made him miserable! We tried all the non-medicinal treatments (change mommy's diet, elevate the head of his bed, keep him upright for 30 minutes after nursing (that is super time consuming, btw, since he'd scream if I set him down!)) None of it seemed to help. So we went in to the pediatrician & got him on some Zantac. I know it'll take a few weeks to really be effective..but he already seems a bit happier! Thank goodness..'cause it sucks when your baby hurts & nothing you do helps :(



Laughin' at mom & dad :)



I love this face! I can't quite figure out what he's thinkingwhen he makes it!

The stare down w/ Daddy!