Weekend in the life

A weekend in pictures and videos of life with my boys.

AJ only gets one weekend off a month, so most of the weekends, I'm figuring out what fun things we can do.  The weekends leave me exhausted that Monday's are a welcomed sight, but only due to the amount of fun we have.

Thursday  - My weekends generally start on Thursday's, and we have become quite regulars at the water park that opened mid April.  Aidan regularly requests that we play at the water park, so and I keep swim suits and towels in the car.

Friday - Since next week I'll be in training in Florida, far away from my boys, I decided we needed a fun getaway and lots of quality fun time.  So Thursday night, I packed up the car so it would be ready for Friday.  I picked the boys up from daycare (I had a hair appointment!) around noon and we headed to Beaufort.

Love driving down Old Sheldon Church Rd

Beaufort Sunset

Chaos trying to get a photo with my boys

Private Dock to watch the sun set!

Water fountain on our walk to get pizza
in the neighborhood

My mom works in Beaufort and stays with a coworker during the week, so we met mom in town and then headed to the house.  Upon arrival, we had to help a certain toddler expend his  energy, who by the way, did not nap. Based on toddler behavior, we decided it was best to walk to the neighborhood pizza parlor for dinner.  After dinner, we explored the neighborhood and walk to the private dock to watch the sun set.  We also checked out each docked boat 100 times.  I was nervous having Aidan so close to the water since he has no fear of the water and loves to jump in, but he did really well.  We watched the sun set, and then went home to sip wine (mom and me) on the front porch while rocking the kids to sleep.

Saturday - Aidan had requested that we go to the beach, which is why I asked mom if we could visit her in Beaufort!  She had previously invited us down to spend the weekend with her, so we made the plans based on what Aidan said he wanted to do at the beginning of the week.  Mind you, he changed his mind 100 times, but I kept the original plans.

Because we had a cold front come through, and it was still in the 50's by 9 am, we decided to visit the Hunting Island Pier and the Lighthouse before going to the beach to allow the weather to warm up!  Aidan saw pelicans, several sharks, and horseshoe crabs. He also explored the nature shop where he saw turtles and snakes plus lots of preserved animals.

View from the pier

Grammy shoes Aidan the birds

Male and Female horseshoe crabs

The lighthouse Aidan wanted
to climb

After the pier and obtaining a lighthouse stamp (he wasn't tall enough to climb to the top - 44" is the requirement!), we headed to the beach.

Earlier in the week, mom and I were texting back and forth, and from that texting, we decided that we needed a beach cart and a beach tent since Owen sleeps most of the time we are on the beach or at the pool.

We also knew that we would have a longer walk to the beach since it's a rustic, rural beach.  I love Hunting Island.  It's secluded and they preserve as much as possible.  I mean, we park basically in a forest of trees, and when we walk out, bam, the beach.




Aidan immediately runs to the water while mom and I try to set up the beach area for all day fun.  In addition, we have to keep Owen from eating as much sand as possible.

He is asleep as soon as the tent is ready

The tent, which was awesome

At the end of the day, even Aidan takes a nap

We found a swimming area that the tide left for us. Aidan loved it because it was warmer, and there were no waves.  In addition, once Owen was done napping, he greatly enjoyed the little swimming area.

Aidan and Grammy walked down to the private dock after we got home (bathed and ate!) and watched the sun set again. Aidan had a great time watching the sun go to sleep.

And while Grammy and Aidan were walking about, Owen did this! For wine!

Sunday - With warmer weather returning (warmer overnight lows), we decided to head to downtown Beaufort to let Aidan play at the park, walk across the bridge, and look at the many boats. We completed our trip by having lunch on the waterfront and treated Aidan to ice cream.

The smile says it all!

Higher Mommy!

Walking back after crossing the bridge

Crazy guy on a uni cycle

`

We arrived home shortly before 5 so I could unpack, do some light errands, and repack for my work trip.  Hopefully the next few days away from by boys pass quickly so we can have another adventure.

8 Month Owen

This past month was a crazy one for Owen!  The biggest thing to occur this month was Owen receiving tubes.  Owen was still fighting constant ear infections, when we were referred to the ENT.  At his appointment, he was non responsive to all of the audiology tests and his ears were extremely swollen.  Two days later, tubes were placed in both ears, and the drainage has not stopped since.

Since receiving the tubes, Owen has pushed himself up from his stomach to his butt, has started turning over consistently from his stomach to his back, has rocked on his knees like crazy, and has been jabbering a lot.  He’s trying to crawl, though he appears to want to crawl on his feet and not his knees.  He has also pulled himself up on several occasions; the easiest place seems to be the handle to the freezer.

The biggest thing since receiving tubes is SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT.  With all the pressure relieved, he has been sleeping well, which means we are sleeping well. Happy family.

Owen also moved up from the young infant room to the older infant room, where he is now the youngest baby.  He sees the other babies crawling and eating food.  Owen is silly…he eats solids at daycare, but refuses to eat anything at home.  I keep trying, but he acts like I am poisoning him every time.  But if I take grass, mulch or dirt away from him, he acts upset and like I’m starving him.

Owen is ALL about his big brother.  He has also started enjoying the water more and learning how to splash.  Fortunately, he doesn't mind sharing his little pool with Aidan.

Hopefully Owen will be a water loving kid just like his big brother.  

7 Month Owen

Owen has really learned to balance himself while sitting up, though he still refuses to roll from his stomach to his back.  He would rather try to rock on his knees, scoot himself backward, or start to cry rather than roll over.  When he wakes in the morning, he seems to roll over to his stomach, then starts crying.  Silly boy, if only you could roll you wouldn't wake us up so early (Because it's all about the precious sleep!).

Owen is still not a fan of eating solids.  We keep trying the basics, and I even steamed some plums for him, but he shuts his mouth and turns away.  However, he did drink watered down plums from a bottle.  Perhaps he hates the spoon and is willing to eat solids through a bottle.  Weird.  

He loves to put chew toys in his mouth, along with dirt, grass, and paper.  He'll chew on whatever he can get his hands on.  

Owen is ALL about his big Brother.  Aidan can make Owen laugh (and cry).  Owen's eyes constantly follow Aidan around the room, and he seems to love the gentle hugs from his big brother.

Owen says a lot of "Bababa" especially when he sees Bo. He loves to talk on the changing table.

Poor Owen has suffered a lot with his ears.  It seems that almost the entire month from 6 to 7 has been filled with ear infections.  Between allergies and colds, the congestion has led to double and repeat ear infections, but you wouldn't know it with all the smiling he does.  At least he can smile through the pain.  

Owen has started playing in the pool since the water has warmed up.  He loves to splash around, like he does in the bath.  He also likes to watch his big brother jump and slide in his own pool.  I'm thinking I will have two water loving boys.

Two and a Half

Two and a half years old (plus one month)

I'm writing this at the urging of Lacey, and it's probably time I provided a solely Aidan update, so thanks for the nudge!

GROWTH Aidan hops onto my scale a lot, and he fluctuates somewhere between 39 and 40 lbs, depending on whether he has a real appetite and if he's wearing clothes.  He is somewhere near 39" as measured at Stride Rite. Granted, I struggled to get Aidan to stand still long enough for an accurate measurement.

Depending on the brand, Aidan is wearing 4T/5T clothes and some 5 PJ's.  I'm thinking he can wear last summer's shorts since Aidan isn't wearing a diaper anymore...sure would be a nice savings to get additional use out of his summer clothes.

Speaking of Stride Rite, Aidan is wearing a 8.5 to 9 shoe, depends on the fit.  He still requires an Extra Wide shoe, so I find something cute only to be told that the shoe comes in medium and wide, not extra wide.

Aidan was a late teether (11.5 months before the first tooth popped through!), so it's no surprise to me that he does not have any of his 2 year molars.  Side note, we did take him to the dentist a few weeks back for him to observe my dental cleaning.  He has his own appointment scheduled for October!

Aidan's hair grows too fast.  He needs a hair cut at least once a month, and now he regularly likes to tell me that he needs a haircut.

SLEEP
What is this mysterious sleep others speak of?

So Aidan transitioned to the toddler bed about a year ago, and it's been a struggle ever since. Sometimes we felt that everything was going well, other times, we were pulling our hair out wondering what we could do differently so Aidan would go to bed and SLEEP.  We're still on the sleep roller coaster, only Aidan has been upgraded to a full size bed.

The full size beds allows so many more "friends" to join him.  He has two Mickey's, a Jake, Bumble, a BIG DOG stuffed animal, mimi (his penguin lovey), 7 pillows (our couch lost 4), every blanket he can sneak into his room, and hundreds of plastic toys that hurt if you roll on them.  I don't know how he sleeps without waking up with plastic toys embedded in his back.

We put Aidan to bed, and we are lucky if he doesn't get up and need something.  I need a hug (how can I say no?!), I need to go pee (okay, let's go), monsters scare me, I need (spies another toy) - grabs and runs back to his room, and the list goes on....

We tried gating Aidan in his room until he falls asleep or locking the door from the outside, but it causes Aidan to be so upset that he throws up.  That's not good, so we deal with the "I needs" and other bed time delays.

Naps are still apart of Aidan's routine.  He sleeps well at daycare, but at home, we struggle to get Aidan to nap.  He often naps two hours later than normal OR falls asleep on the way home from the grocery store, and I left him sleep in the car seat.  Some days, I give up on naps.

MILESTONES

Since Thanksgiving, Aidan has been potty trained.  We have had a few minor accidents, but not many.  He did wet himself at the park, and while he was too busy to stop playing to pee, he was too embarrassed to keep playing.  The poor guy was really upset about it. 

Aidan's newest thing is to pull down his pants and go - WHEREVER he is. The park, the zoo, our backyard (the only acceptable place).

Speaking of the park, Aidan is GREAT at climbing and scaling objects.  At first, I stood super close to him, but now I let him have his independence.  Some times, I have to help him down from the top of equipment, but otherwise, he does well.

Aidan talks A LOT.  I don't even know where he picks up phrases or words, but he absolutely surprises me or makes me laugh.

His imagination is out of control.  We play games looking for pirates (Captain Hook), chasing monsters, and riding tigers.

FAVORITES

Aidan loves being outside - playing in water, throwing sticks in the creek, meeting up with friends at the park, or chasing after Bo.  On nice days, we are outside all the time.  In fact, by the time the boys are in bed, I have tons of toys to clean up everywhere, but we have fun.  Now that it's nicer out, I fill up the pool so Aidan can splash around.

Aidan is also obsessed with Mickey and Jake (the Neverland Pirate).  Elmo is old news.

THINGS TO DO
Aidan isn't involved in any specific activities.  I wish our town had soccer for kids his age, but I think he will have to wait another year or so.  Thanks to my mom, Aidan does regularly visit the zoo and has been to the aquarium several times.  So according to Aidan, things to do would include the park, zoo, and aquarium.

At the zoo, Aidan is all about riding the train, riding the pony, and riding the carousel (gotta be the tiger).

Aidan loves to go shopping!  In fact, he asks to go to Kroger, and he runs for the "car cart" every time.  He'll say "Mommy, we go Krogering" with a high pitch excited "KroooGEEERiiing".  He also knows Walgreens really well.

FOODS
Aidan eats well....some of the time.  He was on a meat strike for quite a while, but now he really likes chicken, grilled (turkey) sausage, and turkey.  He also loves "bean bean" (green beans) and peas.  Aidan will also eat cheese until you tell him he can't have anymore.

Lately, his dessert is a Dum Dum sucker that he hardly ever finishes.  He leaves it lying around on the table, the floor, the bookshelf, or wherever he was last standing.


FRIENDS AND FAMILY
Aidan is lucky to see his grandparents often, and he usually sees my mom once a week.  He asks about them often, and sometimes he says he wants to spend the night with grammy.

Aidan will talk about his great grandparents and aunts & uncles when we are in the car.  He is OBSESSED with his Uncle Mark; I think he loves that Mark makes music.  But he also has a blast with Uncle Chris because he loves to play and run around, pick him up and hang him upside down.

Aidan talks about a lot of his friends - his daycare friends, my neighbor's kids, my work friend's kids, and my friend's kids. He is crazy for a girl named Charley - in fact, he calls a lot of other girl friends "Charley" instead of their name.  I have to correct him fifty times before he finally calls them by their real name.  Silly Aidan.

Aidan loves playing at the Park with Harper

Boys will be Boys

This is Charley, who Aidan seems to pick on,which means he really likes her, right?!

Owen - A Few Months

So I missed the 5 month update, and I fully intend to blame the ice storm. Currently, I am just over a week behind on the 6 month update.  Second kid problems

So let's see if I can remember the 5th month from the 6th month.

Owen had several ear infections leading up to his 5th month birthday.  The medicine did help alleviate the infections, but he came down with a stronger, meaner ear infection when approaching the 6th month.  Poor kid, hope he doesn't need tubes.

Some things that stick out for Owen over the past two months:

• He can sit up, but easily loses his balance when he sees something he likes
• He refuses to roll over.  It doesn't matter how much tummy time we give him, he prefers to lay on his tummy. Or Fuss. Or try to draw his knees up.
• He seemed to like oatmeal, then changed his mind.  He doesn't like avocado, banana, or peas.  He is not eating solids.
• He gnaws on anything near him
• He grabs everything - watch your coffee and hot foods!
• He loves to pet or grab at Bo
• He discovered sand/dirt and loves it!

Owen laughs a lot, especially at his brother.  He loves to smile and flirt with strangers.  At his 6 month appointment, he was 19 lbs and 28.75" long.

We moved him out of the infant seat because it was too much weight for me to carry, especially with full hands at the daycare. We also lowered his crib to the second lowest setting.

The pediatrician suggested sleep training at Owen's 6 month appointment, and while we let Aidan cry it out, it's harder to let Owen.  Hmmm, guess that's the benefit of the second (and last) child?! He's my last baby, and I want to hold him until he falls asleep. Though at 2 am, I would prefer if Owen could soothe himself to sleep.  So far though, Owen goes to sleep watching the mobile or just laying in the crib, no crying thus far.  Hope it continues.

Surviving the Ice Storm - A Photo Dump

I had this funny story written up about Ice Storm Pax, and all I needed to do was add pictures, but I lost it. Oy. So instead of rewriting it, I'm going to do a photo dump.

A few days BEFORE this awful weather

 

We woke up to this Wednesday morning:

Thought I can enjoy this unexpected day off with boys

Aidan was bored inside and wanted to play outside

Then we lost power, and watched and listened to trees starting to fall

Look at the bottom right picture for the first fallen tree that I saw

Keeping the Milk cold

 

 Entertaining the boys (thank goodness for battery operated toys)

Layering up Owen

Baby legs and onesie then fleece jammies

 

Camping out and singing songs

Venturing out to secure a hotel room and find a hot meal

The next day...hotel room fun

Escape to Charleston

We left ice...now shorts, quality cousin time, and a Valentine day dance (Aidan LOVED IT)

More Fun in Charleston

 

Traveled back on Monday hoping for Power (and there was none)

Our Travel Bags and Gear

Tuesday, power was restored at lunch time...not pictured, but I had a BIG SMILE on my face.

Then we did this on the weekend...go figure, SC.

Losing the power was inconvenient, but there were so many people who HAD to work and risk their lives in the awful weather.  I can't thank them enough - first and foremost, the linemen - the locals and especially the ones who came out of state and stayed for over a week.  Next the emergency crews - law enforcement, nurses, doctors, and firemen.  Then the road and debris clearing crews.  And for my sanity sake's - the hotel staff, the people at CVS and Dollar Tree (and other stores that managed to open), the gas station employees, and the fast food workers.  Also, my family and friends who opened their homes and lives to us (esp the Charleston folks, thanks for letting us crash your parties). THANK YOU!  We could not have survived the power outage without you...I tried to remain optimistic, but coming home Monday with news of no power (still) was heartbreaking, thank goodness for Owen's smiles.