Seattle Trip

With Nathan's schedule so busy, we haven't been able to do many fun family things lately, but he was able to get some time off and we headed out of town! A very good friend of mine and her family live in Bremerton, WA and we have yet to go visit them. We drove the 4 1/2 hours there and had a GREAT time!!! We came up on a Tuesday and just visited that evening, then went out for an adventure on Wednesday. Of course it was raining, but we made the best of it. We took the ferry to Seattle, visited the Seattle Aquarium (the boys loved touching the starfish and splashing in the water!), walked around Pikes Market, saw the guys that throw fish, got coffee at Starbucks (haha) then headed back to their place. Unfortunately, we were not able to stay longer and left Wednesday evening (got home at midnight but drove straight home and it only took 4 hours). Kristen's son Braydon is about a year older than Aiden but the boys played very well together and made Kristen and I laugh lots!!! We can't wait for our next mini-vacation =-)

Bad day...what's that?

My life is not all that exciting these days...I feel joy in very small accomplishments and don't have much "adult" conversation topics anymore, but I have to say, that no day is a bad day. Even when I am bummed out, Aiden is always to my rescue! Everyday he does something new that amazes me and makes me smile. Here are some of the recent Aiden moments at the Kunasek house:

- Aiden spent 10 minutes of his "quiet time" before bed running circles around his bean bag chair "singing" and clapping with only the occasional stop to show me the "dog, woof woof" on his pj's.

- About a month ago, I put Aiden down for his nap in only a diaper as we have done a number of times before...that day was special =-) He took some time before settling down for his nap so I planned to get him up promptly when he woke for lunch. When he first made noise, he seemed uneasy so I went right in his room to find him standing up NAKED with a diaper full of poop and pee all down the side of his crib! Why this made me laugh...he was freaked out by the poop in his diaper LOL!!

- When he wants to, and only then haha, he will point and tell you where your nose, ears, eyes and mouth are.

- He is working really hard at getting up from the floor with no hands. He will be on his knees, will bend one leg but can't seem to get all the way up without touching the floor but NEVER stops trying. He probably does this about 5 times a day!!

- Along with that, he is trying to get from his hands and knees to just his knees without going to his side for support...this may not make much sense, but basically he looks like a bucking horse! =-)

- I put Baby Einstien movies on for Aiden while he is eating a snack and I am showering. The other day, I asked him what he wanted for a snack and he promply signed "cereal" to me. I was pretty confused because I never all Cherrios "cereal" nor have I ever signed "cereal" to him...it didn't take me long to realize that he picked it up on his own off the movie. Crazy kid!

- Aiden mimics EVERYTHING right now! If I say "no no no" he repeats it. If Nathan coughs, Aiden covers his mouth and "coughs". He will take my phone and walk around the living room "talking" and laughing just like we would!

- I love that Aiden enjoys music. He doesn't care too much for TV but we do have cartoons on in the morning and he will always stop to dance when the songs are played. As well, we "rock out!" in the car everytime we go anywhere. He claps and kicks and "sings", it's lots of fun!!

- With football season here, Aiden is getting use to mommy yelling and jumping randomly LOL what is even better (especially since Nathan does not like sports) is that whenever football comes on (commercial, news, a game or even on the internet) Aiden will cheer "GO DUCKS!" about a hundred times =-) I LOVE IT!!!!


Being a mom is amazing and I am so lucky that Nathan and I have such a wonderful little man in our lives and that I am home to enjoy it!

Camping

I think this picture sums our camping trip to Waldo Lake this year perfectly...Aiden was completely mesmerized by the fire. He would not let this rock leave his sight. The dirt is clearly seen under his nails so you could only imagine how dirty he got! He is such a good camper and loves being outdoors. I have a ton of pictures but the best was the video of Aiden cruising around with Uncle Brian. A note, this was the first time EVER that Aiden was not afraid; of Harley (the in-laws dog)! =-)

Are you ready?!?

It has been a very busy month for us. I will sum up some of the small events and post more on the larger ones. Nathan, Aiden, Brian (Nathan's brother) and I met some friends at the sprint boat races in early September. It was a beautiful day and lots of fun! Aiden loved the boats...I was afraid he was going to be scared since they are pretty loud but instead, he would cheer, clap and yell at the end of every run. LOL Uncle Brian also thought that a popsicle would make Aiden very happy (see picture). Although his face was stained blue for the rest of the day, he did enjoy his treat =-)

We also had Aiden's 18 month check up...I KNOW, he is already 18 months old!!!!!! He only grew a 1/2 inch bringing him to 32 in but gained about 2 lbs bringing him to about 23 lbs! Developmentally, the dr is VERY happy as most of his skills are months above the expectation for his age. After his three shots, he even waived and told the nurse "bye bye" with a smile =-) We are so lucky to have such a happy little man!

Nathan has been working a lot so that has left me and Aiden home to find new ways to stay entertained...his most recent excitement has been climbing the couch. Funny thing is that he still isn't tall enough to get up without help, so I have been "helping":


He also loves this because he gets to watch daddy working outside. As well, I struggle to keep clothes on him...usually he is without pants after a diaper change. Eating is messy too, so he usually is down to a diaper during meals lol.




Don't worry, the second picture is just ketchup =-)

Congrats to Chelsea and Cody!!!!

I was so lucky to be part of one of my best friends weddings on Saturday. Chelsea is an incredible person and has found a great man to be her husband. I am so happy for the two of them!!!! The wedding was beautiful...and I cried more then I wished. I didn't get many pictures but will hopefully be able to post some or the link once they get the pictures from their photographer after they return from their honeymoon in Aruba. Congrats again Mr. and Mrs. Olson! =-)

Bed time

Every night, Aiden goes through the same bed time routine; however, the nights Nathan is home, we seem to get off track. Aiden will get through dinner, bath time, pj's and milk with no issues...but as soon as I say "time to go to bed Aiden, give daddy a kiss" we have a 10 minute delay. Aiden will instantly go to Nathan and cuddle with him or lay on his shoulder. He looks out the corner of his eye and as long as he can see me, he will not leave that position. But, if I get out of site, he will pick up his head or sit up and as soon as I come in the room, will go right back to cuddling with daddy. As frustrating as this may seem, it is actually my favorite part of Nathan being home. It shows me how much Aiden loves his daddy and what an awesome dad Nathan is to stop what he is doing and enjoy these 10 minutes of down time with Aiden. It is incredibly precious and I am slightly jealous that I don't get those moments. =-)

Speghetti, Sprinkler and Popsicles

These days it seems that Aiden loves to eat anything that gets him messy...I guess I should be grateful he is eating I guess. He has always been a good eater and still is, just as long as he can feed it to himself. So, I have given up my attempts at keeping him clean during mealtimes. He eats in just a diaper and eats anything that he enjoys (of course, leaving the messiest for dinner so he can get a bath after). And I have to say, he is LOVING IT!!



He is also SO excited for summer activities. We take walks every morning before his nap, play out in the yard or park in the afternoon, and on the especially hot days, we play in the sprinkler and eat popsicles for a special treat. He is such a good little guy too...set down a towel or blanket and he will sit and eat his treat until it is all gone before getting up. =-)