Busy busy busy

Over the weekend, we celebrated my 31st birthday, went to Asheville to visit family, and hosted dinner and friends for the night on Sunday. A busy but great weekend.  My uncle Glenn from upstate New York was in Asheville visiting my parents so we made the 2 hour trip to see him (I mean, he drove 13 hours down here…we could at least drive 2 hours to see him, right?!).  We stayed with Granny and Granddaddy so we could see him model his Father’s Day present (see below).  Aiden was entertaining as usual and made the US soccer loss slightly more bearable to watch on Saturday. 

When we came back on Sunday, Scott’s good friend from college and a friend of mine from high school, Heather, stayed a night with us along with her two adorable kiddos, Xavier (1.5 years) and Elijah (3 years).  It was equal number kids to adults so it was a little wild but they are all such good kids, we had a blast just catching up and grilling out with Uncle Dave and Jen.  Good times all around.

Despite all the construction that is going on in Aiden’s room, he is doing very well.  We had to move him out for a week or two so they could put a roof over part of Scott’s big deck and they unexpectedly had to move A’s window a bit.  Lovely. The money pit strikes again. Anyhoo, Aiden is starting to sit up for short amounts of time (before toppling over headfirst – baby’s heads are so heavy!) and he came SO close to crawling the other day.  He, Bruno, and I were all on our bed and  Aiden was trying to get to Bruno by army crawling but he was just spinning his wheels and not going anywhere.  Hilarious to watch. Good try little man!

 

Aiden's great-granddaddy with his father's day prezzie. (In case you can't see, it is a grilling apron with a photo of Aiden! Awesome!)

Heather and her beautiful boys

 

Aiden playing with Elijah and Xavier while we prepared dinner

 

The standoff

My boys

Silly face

We’re (finally) back!

Sorry for the delay but our internet has been a little sketchy after a few brutal thunderstorms last week.  But I think we’re back for a while at least! 

When we left off last, Aiden and I were headed down to the Charleston beach house to meet the rest of the crew (Brad, Jocelyn with baby bump, Ben, Scott, and Bruno).  From what I hear, Ben had an amazing time at the beach crashing waves and crashing sand castles.  Unfortunately, we don’t have pictures of baby Ben in action because Scott was laying down on the job but you can see him in all his cuteness at his blog (Baby Ben Frederick on our blogroll).  Ben also was amazing around Bruno.  For Bruno standards, they got along fabulously which gives me hope that Aiden may grow up to keep all of his toes (I am quite certain Bruno dreams of biting those little suckers off every night).  Especially because Aiden is in a stage where he is SO curious about Bruno and he wants to grab his fur all the time.  When he does, he pulls like crazy and, of course, Bruno jumps away and comes crawling to me for affection.  I fear we are entering a grabby phase and I also fear for my hair, earrings, neck skin, etc.  His current nickname is Grabby Grabberson.  But, that’s neither here nor there.  Back to the beach… 

We made it down to the Charleston on Friday night and had a wonderful weekend of splashing in the pool, eating good food (Brad cooks! Who knew? And it’s really good too!), lazing on the beach,  swinging in the porch swing, and just generally relaxing.  The ocean was so warm that Aiden even got to play in it for the first time.  Bruno did too but I think Aiden was a little more excited about it.  Although by the time we left, everyone on the beach spoke to Bruno by name – he was a big hit with the crowd.  Unfortunately the Fredericks had to leave on Sunday so we headed back home to Charlotte.  It was so much fun to have them here – they are a constant source of entertainment for us, both hilarious and witty and just generally good fun.  They have also managed raised a smart, sweet, and loving little Ben. 

Scott’s first Father’s Day was spent mostly driving on the road but I think Aiden’s gift (a framed poster with photos of the two of them together) made up for it.  And Father’s Day spilled over into Monday as well with a massage for him to continue the relaxation of the weekend which he greatly deserved for (#1) putting up with me and (#2) being the best “Big One” Aiden (and Bruno) could ever ask for. Considering this guy had never held a child less than 6 months old prior to Aiden, he has really surprised me overall with how great of a Father he is.  

In other news, Aiden has been eating rice cereal for about 2 weeks now.  Although he started out with about 98% of the food getting eaten by his bib; he’s probably getting about 80% down into his belly now. Well done kiddo, well done.  Sippy cup skills are still tenuous at best, but hey, one thing at a time, right? 

Brad, Ben, Scott and Aiden (right before Aiden had a meltdown...but we won't show that part)

 

Loving life at the Wild Dunes pool

 

Lounging at the pool with Dylan the surfer duck

 

The whole family (Thanks for the great photos Jocelyn!!)

 

Thanks for the adorable towel Mama Mac!

 

  

He sure makes me smile!

 

A cute little duckie bum...priceless!

 

Happy first Father's Day, Scotty!

Sorry for the delay…

 

We have been having some technical difficulties with our internet around here.  So here are some photos to hold you over until I can get the Father’s Day weekend photos uploaded. 

It has been SO HOT here so Aiden has been enjoying some water time around Charlotte (both at baby camp and here at the house). He’s a water baby!!!

 

 

Every Wednesdays at baby camp is "water play day" so here is Aiden's first. They take them to the green uptown and play in the water. So fun!

 

Loving the fountain with his teacher, Ms T.

 

Aiden's friend, Graham, and his mom Dana came over to try out our little baby pool. They had so much fun splashing each other! This is a photo afterwards in their matching hoodie towels. Too cute.

Fun times

This past weekend, we went to Chapel Hill to celebrate with our college friend, Brian Bersticker, as he married his lovely Beth.  Our friends Brad, Jocelyn (with her adorable baby bump),and son, Ben, flew in for the wedding and are spending the week with us with a little side trip to the beach, of course.   Brad’s mom, Margey, came too to help babysit Ben while we were at the wedding and Coach and Bub got Aiden duty.  The wedding was fabulous – despite the downpour and the weekend in general was wonderful. We even got up way early on Saturday morning do Race for the Cure in Raleigh.  And just to round out the weekend, we tried out the pool at the Chapel Hill country club.  Good times all around. 

In other news, Aiden has started rice cereal.  We figured he popped out two teeth for a reason, so we’re practicing eating.  And I say practicing because there is very little actually being swallowed and lots being chewed and then spit back out.  He is also trying his hand at the ol’ sippy cup.  I think no water has actually been sipped out of it but he likes to hold it and chew on it all the same.  Bruno is a big fan of the whole thing because he is certain that food will be dropped very soon and he will be the sole beneficiary!  And a big thanks to Jocelyn for being photog for the first feeding!

Aiden was a little suspect of the whole pool situation but his Pops quickly convinced him that it was a safe adventure.

 

A, Coach, Brad and Ben chillin' at the pool

 

A was exhausted after all that swimming. An afternoon nap is becoming a favorite past time for Aiden and Scott.

 

Here is a photo of the family prior to leaving for the wedding. Little did we know that Aiden was gearing up to give the Grandparents a run for their money! (Sorry Coach and Bub!)

Just look at those two chompers!

 

Rice cereal.....yummy? The jury is still out.

"What am I supposed to do with all this mush the mommy keeps putting in my mouth? Oh, that's right, spit it back out at her. What a fun game!"

Gotta love a sippy cup!

3 month photo shoot

Although it is a little delayed, we recently got the photos from Aiden’s 3 month photo shoot.  Here are some of our favorites.  What a little heartbreaker!  (Okay, so I’m slightly biased, but whatever.)

 

 

 

A tooth was the culprit

Last time I posted, Aiden was a bit of a disaster.  Fever, fussy, needy, and generally just uncomfortable (and uncomfortable to be around as well!)  Luckily, Bub came in town unexpectedly and took some of the brunt of Aiden’s fussiness.  What would we do without the grandparents?!  After staying home from baby camp on Tuesday because he was still just generally feeling pretty puny, we sent him back out into the world on Wednesday after his fever had been gone about 24 hours.  Although his teachers said he wasn’t fully himself, he got along just fine.  We kept waiting for some sign or symptom of sickness to explain the fever but nothing came.  And then on Friday, I noticed that he had a bit of white just underneath his gums.  And on Saturday, he sprouted a little tooth!  His right front bottom tooth popped through.  And then this morning, we noticed that the left front bottom tooth had joined the right to complete the pair.  And man, those things are as sharp as knives!  Seriously, it is a little bit like “Jaws”  around here.  I don’t know how his fingers are still intact from all the chewing he does on them.  So we’ve been using cold teething rings and vibrating teething rings and burp cloths to control the fountains of drool that he is producing.  Luckily, he is back to being the happy little boy that we know and love.

Thanks for all the rocking, soothing, and love Bubba!

 

Now that he was feeling better, Aiden was begging to try on his new kicks. Thanks for the outfit and baby Jordan's Cooleys!

 

Scott spent all night on Saturday (along with Crazy Dave) as chaperones for the middle school youth at our church during a lock-in. What saints, right? Needless to say, he took a few naps on Sunday. Junior decided to join in as well.

 

Gotta love those baby blues

Aiden is once again a happy and wiggly little man!

Oh what a difference a day makes

On Friday night, the Williams family headed up to the mountains for a visit with Granny and Granddaddy.  On Friday and Saturday, Aiden was a happy boy.  We strapped him into the baby carrier and introduced him to the farm, tractors, porch swing, gazebo, the bridge Granddaddy just had built, and all the other beautiful things that their land in Mills River has to offer.  We also took him to the Williams’ family reunion where he was a big hit.  He was a happy little man flirting with all the ladies (except Aunt Berthie who made him cry for some reason).  A few people even said, “He is the happiest baby I have ever seen.” 

Enter Sunday morning.  At first, I thought he had just woken up on the wrong side of the pack-n-play.  He was cranky and just wanted to be held and walked around.  Scott was nice enough to wolf down his breakfast and walk him around so I could catch up with my BFF, Jess (and her baby bump), while we were at brunch at the Grovewood Cafe.  When we got back to Charlotte later that day, Aiden had a 102 temperature and was just generally mad at the world.  It’s like a light switch with this kid sometimes.  You never know when he’s going to flip on ya!  So our poor little guy is sick…and still mad at the world.

In other new, he is now 5 months old.  He was at least able to muster up a smile in his 5 month onesie for you guys. Enjoy!

Trying to hold off the paparazzi. "No photos please. I'm not dressed!" Thanks for the bath robe, Mama Mac!

 

Aiden and Uncle Charlie. A happy pre-fever photo.

Aiden cuddling with his Great-Granddaddy

 

A lovely photo of Aiden with his Great Grandparents. However, notice his expression. The fever is upon us.

 

Great food. Beautiful scenery. Wonderful people. What's not to love about the Farm of Three Sisters?!

 

June 1st marked 5 months old. We can't wait to see what new things are to come this month!