Clink, Clink - It's a tooth!

As Aiden grows, and becomes such a great eater, I find myself constantly sharing my dinner with him. This week he was eating tuna steak and broccoli right off my plate! I still can't get Hallie to try broccoli! Anyway, for two days I kept hearing a "clink" sound every time I put my metal fork in his mouth. I reached in and felt his bottom gums, but there was nothing there. Friday night he's sharing my ice cream with me and I hear it again. I'm sitting on the couch with Brian and told him that there has to be something in his mouth to make that sound. This time I feel his top gums and feel his sharp tooth! I'm so happy because I thought Aiden was going to be toothless forever! (Well not really) So finally at 12 months old AIden gets his first tooth - he's getting so big :)

Busy Weekends!

The last few weekends I have been so busy with the kids I feel like I haven't had any time to blog! Weekdays are impossible too since I've been running home from work and taking Hallie to ballet, or letting her have a friend come over to play. 2 weeks ago, I was very brave and took Hallie, her friend Ashley, and Aiden to Wannado City for the day. The girls had a blast! We had gone a year ago and Hallie wasn't quite old enough to really experience everything. This year she was at the perfect age. The girls were able to "be" firemen, archaeologists, veterinarians, candy shop workers, Pepsi workers, and their favorite . . . . models. There were also a few rides they went on (with Aiden too!). It was a long, exhausting day, but definitely worth it!

Last Saturday, we had tickets to see Disney on Ice with most of the kids from Hallie's ballet class. As a special treat, Hallie brought her friend Madeline with her. These things always seem like more fun when you do it with a friend. These two loved the show, and then went back to our house to play for the rest of the day. Even Aiden had fun at the show! He stood up (on my lap) watching all the pretty costumes and special effects, and clapped with the rest of the audience. It was so cute! Unfortunately, he was a little tired toward the end and fell asleep in my lap and missed the end. Sunday we went to visit Aunt Cindi and swam in her pool. Hallie is finally able to swim on her own. My dad came over for dinner since he was up in Port St. Lucie looking at houses.

Today we're taking advantage of the Smithsonian free museum day and the family is going to visit Miami Metro Zoo, and next week we have tickets to see Elmo Live! Looks like our weekends are going to stay busy for a while :)

Aiden's First Birthday

Aiden's first birthday conveniently fell over Labor Day weekend. I kept debating what to do for his birthday and then decided it was the perfect opportunity to go up to Ocala for the 3-day weekend. We left Saturday morning after stopping at Babies R Us to get Aiden a birthday crown and special outfit (which he wore for all of 30 minutes). So we got up there late Saturday and spent the evening visiting with Brian's family. Sunday we spent the afternoon at barbecue with two giant blow-up water slides for the kids. Hallie had a blast! Her cousin Pauly was there and they played together all afternoon.

After the barbecue, we headed back to Brian's mom's house for Aiden's party. His sister, Nancy, had already decorated the house with the "Spiderman" theme and made a Spiderman cake! Unfortunately, Aiden was tired from his long day and was acting a little cranky. So we decided to do the cake, and Aiden immediately got his second wind! He dug into his all chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and loved every minute of it! I think he would've worked on that cake all night if I didn't insist he needed a bath after 30 minute.

We spent the next day hanging out at Brian's Uncle Jim's house in his pool. Brian finally went swimming with Aiden (it only took a year)! We had a nice afternoon until we had to start the 4 hour drive home so I could go to work the next day. But I can't complain since I didn't have to do any of the driving. I'm so glad we were able to give Aiden a memorable first birthday!

Aiden's Ride

Some pictures from the last week

Hallie and Aiden at Fairchild Gardens Hallie's first day for PreK 4

Aiden playing with Hallie's doll house Hallie meeting Ariel and Snow White

Hallie at Dora the Explorer Live!

First Week of School!

Hallie and I both had our first week of school this week. Hallie is back at God's Little Creations preschool and she absolutely loves it!!! (and so do I) Every day this week she came home singing a new song, "Our God is an awesome God, he is!". She also had lots to tell me about what they did all day. She was very excited about their "special snack" on Friday - stoplight crackers. They were going to put cream cheese on crackers and then M&Ms for the lights! She also learned how to cut, "thumbs up to Jesus!" I'm so glad she's at a Christian school with teachers that truly care about her learning. I expect her to come a long way this year!

Hallie also started dance back up and they moved her up to the next level class. I had assumed that she would do 2 years in the lower group (as most kids do), but it turns out that one of her friend's mother is teaching this class so I think she got a little preferential treatment. It's definitely a good move for her since she is much taller than most of the other kids. I also think the older kids will be more motivational for her.

On a more unfortunate note, Hallie also had her first dentist appointment this week, and she has not one, but two cavities!!!! I am so upset since I thought I was doing a good job taking care of her teeth. So it looks like we are going to have to be a lot more careful - brushing twice a day, flossing, and doing an anti cavity rinse. I was so impressed with this dentist until I got the bad news. The hygienist was so sweet to her explaining what each tool was and what she was going to do with them. She was actually having fun until she had to get the X-rays.

Aiden has had a good week too, although he's suffering from minor separation anxiety with me back at work. He's been sleeping alone in his crib for almost 2 weeks now. Most nights he will only cry for a few minutes before he falls asleep for the night. If he wakes up in the middle of the night I fight the urge to get him and let himself cry back to sleep. It's been nice having my bed back! He's been taking the bottle pretty well too so I think we'll start weaning him this week.

That's it for now, I'll put a few pictures up from this week tomorrow!

Daddy Time!

This week Brian had his first turn watching both kids by himself for a few days while I went on a cruise to the Bahamas from Monday - Wednesday. I was a little worried that he'd have trouble with Aiden - especially at night - and I'd never be able to leave again. However, he proved me wrong and took good care of the kids while I was gone, and even got Aiden to sleep in his crib all night! I actually put him in there tonight and he only cried for about 15 minutes until he fell asleep. The trick is to turn off the baby monitor so I don't hear him when he wakes up in the middle of the night. Hopefully, he'll learn how to self-soothe and become an expert sleeper by the time I go back to work in 4 days! I know, I told myself I would get him sleeping in his crib this summer and waited until the very end to really do it! Oh well, I guess later is better than never!

Hallie and I are both going back to school this Monday the 17th. I'm so excited for her that she's returning to God's Little Creations preschool. I went in for the parent orientation last night and am very impressed with what she'll be doing. There are 4 different rooms that she'll rotate through during the day and it's all based on a Christian curriculum. Her teachers each have about 20 years experience and seem very enthusiastic. I imagine that she's going to learn a lot this year!

Sadly, all of our summer fun is over and we only have three days left to enjoy before we have to get back into the swing of things. I've been busy since returning from Pennsylvanie with my sister-in-law Nancy visiting one weekend and then my sister visiting the next and going on our cruise. It's nice having visitors though because I get to spend extra time enjoying the outdoors and the pool. I'm sure I'll work in a little more outdoor time this weekend!