7/31 - In Vegas!

We safely made it to Vegas after a 3 hr delay. Aiden slept most of the way on the plane but was awake for the last 1.5 hours (it was a 5.5 hr flight). We got in at 1am west coast time and didn't put Aiden in his crib until 1:45 (4:45am east coast time). He was a trooper and did so good for being so tired. He still woke up at 6:30am but had to have two naps yesterday. He's exhausted today still but I'm determined to get him back on schedule and holding off a bit longer to put him down for a single nap today. The video above was taken at the BWI airport. Aiden was having fun playing in the air vent and glass section that overlooked our plane.

Yesterday Aiden and I went to the MGM Grand in the morning. He found cool toys to play with and we walked around for a bit. In the afternoon we went to the pool for a bit before his second nap. When Brad came home around 5:00/5:30ish, we played in the room for a bit. We finally decided to go to the NASCAR cafe. It was located in the Sahara casino/hotel. We let Aiden play $1 worth of slots. He had fun pushing the buttons as you can see below.

He loved the cars on display as the picture below demonstrates. He was up late because service was a little slow at the restaurant. We didn't get home until 8:15 and he was in bed by 8:30pm.

Unfortunately, he still decided to get up by about 6am today!! We get to eat breakfast with Brad downstairs which is nice. The picture above was taken on our way up from breakfast. He loves this exit sign by our room and stops at it everytime we pass it.

Aiden loves playing with all of Brad's shoes while he's gone so I took this video this morning. We went to the Mirage this morning and walked around for a while. We are back at the room now and Aiden will have lunch soon and then it's nap time. We want to go to a children's museum up here and the Carter's outlet before I leave. Hopefully Brad really will have a half day today. His boss said he could take the day off but ... Brad loves work and I think he needed to be there for what they were doing. Hopefully I can update Sunday before we leave or Saturday night.

7/29 - Leaving for Vegas

The picture above is Aiden getting out of the bath a few day ago. He's really started to like playing in the bath and sometimes I have to drag him out. Yesterday he stayed with our friend Cindy all day. Aiden's regular babysitter took a 3 week vacation so he'll be bouncing around for a while. Hopefully he'll adapt okay and stay on his schedule for the most part. Cindy and Aiden had fun yesterday.
The picture above is from when Cindy took him to the park near her house. He didn't nap too well for her but hopefully he'll do better next Tuesday.
The picture above is from this morning when Aiden was helping me packing by trying to compact everything for me. The picture below is from this morning when I gave Aiden a bottle with a lid and he's been trying to screw it on. We went on a bike ride this morning to try and wear out Bronco some. We are meeting a friend for lunch and then it will be Aiden's nap time. After his nap we'll hit the road to the airport. I should be able to update the blog from Vegas and Aiden and I head back on Sunday.

7/26 - NJ trip

If looks good kill, I'd be dead according to the picture above. I had to include both of these pictures from breakfast the other day because there is a difference of about 30 seconds between them and they convey completely different messages. I mainly took the picture because Aiden was eating his french toast sticks over his blueberries and I was shocked.
Today Aiden and I went to New Jersey to see Jess, Jeremy, and their son, Liam. Liam was baptized today! Below is a picture of Aiden trying to help Jeremy put his car seat on this new toy that I got for the airport on Wednesday. I couldn't figure out how to do it so Jeremy helped (and figured it out) me.
Below is Jess holding Liam and me holding Aiden. Jess and I went to grad school together and she also introduced Brad and I (her father eventually married us). Liam was adorable in his baptism outfit (I don't have a picture of that) and is such a smiley little boy. I can't wait till they can play together one day.
On the way to NJ, Aiden pulled his head rest over his head and cried for 15 min because I couldn't help him get it off. The little booger did it on the way home again but he enjoyed it this time. I think he was trying to cover up the headlights and street lights so he could sleep.
It was a very long ride home because the roads were so backed up in Delaware to pay tolls and then it started raining pretty bad. It took us 4.5 hours (minus a 30 food break to feed Aiden) to get home. Aiden did so well in the car. I am exhausted and am going to bed. Tomorrow we have a morning date with our friend Cindy who will be watching Aiden on Tuesday since his regular daycare provider will be gone for 3 weeks. Hopefully Aiden can get back on schedule tomorrow ... he was so tired today but didn't want to nap and didn't fall asleep until about 8:45pm. He should be exhausted tomorrow (or maybe I'll get lucky and he'll sleep in)!

7/24 - Bath Video & Aiden update

Aiden has been extremely grumpy the past few days. I think he is teething again (some molars this time maybe) and it's really hurting him. He has been fussy, clingy, and a very picky eater for me, and has had a fever for 2 days. Yesterday I worked all day and then came home hung out with Aiden for a bit. He wouldn't even let me make dinner for the animals or him. He cried and hung on to my leg the entire time. It was cute for about 10 seconds then really annoying.

Today we went to Wal-Mart and found a cheap stroller with a canopy for him to take to Vegas. Our TV decided to completely die today and we haven't been able to find the remote that came with the TV for weeks so I can't change the mode and watch a DVD or play Wii. I might try and bring up the TV from downstairs tonight. Tomorrow is the last leg of the Tour De France ... it should be awesome and I have to watch it. I'm also going ti attempt taking Aiden to base and working out (it hasn't worked yet).

Today I took him down to the neighbors pool after he took a 3 hr nap (which I ended at 3 hrs). We didn't stay long because it started to rain a little. I haven't taken any pictures in the past couple days so I have nothing new to post except this video that I was debating on posting before. I didn't want to get arrested for posting it but Brad said I should be ok after I described it to him. Aiden learned how to pull the bath mat up off the tub floor but he doesn't understand it won't come all the way up because he is standing on it. I ran and got the camera to try and show this but then he got distracted and starting playing and putting things away.

The last exciting news I have it that we are in the process of picking out new baby furniture and I finally decided on a theme for Eli's room. I tried to insert a picture to show you put it wouldn't work. If you want to see it you can go to www.babiesrus.com and look at our registry (I made it last night) or just type in 'Nojo Jungle Tales.' I think it's cute and different from Aiden's (although still jungle stuff). I love animals, what can I say.

One more update: Brad is doing well in Vegas. His conference went well this week and they accomplished everything they needed to. He's got to play golf 3 times so far in 1.5 weeks so he's enjoyed that. I hate him being on west coast time because it makes it hard for us to talk but we were able to Skype yesterday which was fun. Aiden was having fun with Brad in the computer. I think I'm gonna take a weekend and do something when Brad gets back to see what it's like to not have Aiden all the time. I hate doing that because that also means I miss time with Brad but I need a break. I need to see what it's like to be able to do whatever I want (haircut, movie, etc., and not be on such a schedule and not have to wake up by 6:30/7:00am everyday).

7/22 - Aiden sitting in his chair

So after Brad pointed out that I didn't have any pictures of Aiden sitting in his new chair, I was on a mission. There are a lot of pictures here and this is actually the order that I took them in. I wasn't giving up!!
Ta Daaaa ... We finally have a picture of Aiden sitting in his chair being happy.
Today Arin came over and watched Aiden while I had to go to a meeting for work. She brought Moe's over (yummy) and I enjoyed getting to talk for a bit when I came back from work. Tonight Aiden was pretty fussy. He has 3 very red bug bites and was running a fever. I drugged him and that seemed to help. I think he might be teething again. Tomorrow I go to work and am hoping to stop by Burlington Coat Factory Baby Depot on my way home to see if they sell furniture. We need to start thinking about the new nursery for Eli. It's Brad and I's anniversary tomorrow. Can't wait to celebrate with him in Vegas in a week.

The video above I took tonight when Aiden and Pouncer were playing hide and go seek. Aiden eventually scared Pouncer out of the bag. I also took a cute video of Aiden in the bath but there were a couple butt shots in there and I wasn't sure if that was legal!! :) He was trying to put all his toys up tonight (helping me) and it was so cute. He even put his dirty laundry away tonight.

7/20 - A few more pics

So Brad pointed out that there were no pictures of Aiden actually sitting in his chair and I told him I took some tonight so I downloaded the most recent pictures. The pictures above and below are from today. Aiden now has a box that he can climb on to get on the couch. He's trying to climb on everything so I figure I'll give him one box to climb on and that's it. We'll see how that strategy pans out. Above is Aiden stuffing his face this morning before we took my mom to the airport.

I was wrong about the pictures. He wouldn't sit still long enough for me to take a picture of him sitting. He's doing his downward dog yoga pose in the first picture and using it as a pillow in the second picture. He also tried using it to climb onto his book chest next to the chair so he could see out the window. That is off limits. He can stand on his chair and see outside and I think I'll allow that.
When my mom was here, she showed Aiden how to turn on/off his singing bunny he got from Aunt Pat for Easter and he's very excited about it lately. Below is a video of him playing with it.

7/20 - Mom's gone :(

My mom left today. It was sad to see her go. We had a lot of fun and she helped out a ton with stuff around the house, cooking, and playing with Aiden. Some of these pictures are from her visit but were taken with her camera and I just downloaded the pictures last night. The picture below is Aiden trying to put his lego box on my head.

This picture below was taken when we went to the playground one day. We go to some kind of playground at least 3 times a week and he loves it.
Aiden is starting to be able to "help out." I was going through receipts the other day and crumbling up the ones I didn't need. Mom got a bowl for him and he was throwing them all in the bowl. In the picture below, he decided to take taste one (he didn't like it) before he threw it in. You can see Pouncer in the background. He loves paper!! Aiden can put his dirty diapers in the diaper genie now and he can also put his clothes in the hamper. I like him being able to help out some.

The pictures above and below are Aiden playing on his chair. He LOVES his new chair. He kneels on it and looks out the window, he sits in it, and he uses the seat cushion as a pillow. He is especially funny with it at night. He loves to just roll around on the dog bed and couch at night with pillows and burp clothes.
The picture is from the water park. He was practicing drinking water like a big boy out of a water bottle and then decided to play with it.
The video below is Aiden playing on his chair next to grandma. We took it last night.

Aiden slept for about 45 min on the way to the airport and then was awake the rest of the time. I stopped after we dropped my mom off and fed him some lunch. I was hoping he would go back to sleep but instead he watched Clifford on the DVD player. We stopped in Prince Frederick (about 30 min from home) and did a diaper change and he could walk around for a bit. He did a great job. I was very thankful. After we got home, he played for a bit and eventually took an hour nap. I had to wake him up at 5:00 because I wanted him to sleep tonight. He went down with no problem tonight. Thank you Lord for such a good day (except mom having to go back).

7/19 - Mom leaves tomorrow :(

Today is mom's last full day here. I'm sad she will be leaving (and I'm sure Aiden is sad as well). We went to church this morning and am waiting for Aiden to wake up (although he can take his time) from his nap now so we can do some grocery shopping. The picture above is Aiden playing with his truck the other day.
The picture above is after we came home with Aiden's new toy the other day. We bought him some more lego blocks with his birthday money (thanks papa) and he LOVES them. He's getting really good with them. He also loves the container they came in (see picture below).
Yesterday we went to the splash park. I'll post pictures from that in the next day or so. Aiden didn't have a ton of fun but it was different. He started to get more comfortable as we were there longer but wasn't into playing in the water. We'll try again one other time to see if he likes it.

When we were at the store, mom bought Aiden a new laptop. It's a bit of an older toy but it looks like a real laptop so Aiden likes it.
We have to go to the grocery store now so I have some groceries for the week. Aiden took a good nap and we are trying to chase a groundhog away from the house at the moment. I might have to take Aiden with me to the airport tomorrow which should be interesting. Aiden doesn't really like the car and it's 3-4 hour round trip to the airport. I'll update you how that goes.

7/15 - Brad's gone

Yesterday was a regular day for us. Brad and I both went to work, Aiden went to daycare, and mom worked around the house. We did get to eat dinner together on Tuesday night. Mom fixed some awesome meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and steamed veggies. It was great. The picture above was taken for my mom to take back to her church for a bulletin board for service members.

The video above was taken yesterday when I got a new diaper bag I ordered. Aiden inspected it for a while and then decided to carry it around. It's pretty big. I was shocked to see he knew how to carry a bag though so I grabbed the camera and recorded for a few minutes. The picture below is from us trying to put away dishes and Aiden finding a new toy by using a mixing bowl on his head. He is so much fun right now!!

Today, Aiden helped Brad pack for his trip to Las Vegas. He was in Brad's closet and thought it was fun to try and close himself in it. We did have to make an emergency dr appointment for Aiden this afternoon. It turns out he has a yeast infection and it's VERY painful for him. He screams when we try and change his diaper. After the doctor visit, we decided to get his blood taken (I was supposed to do that over a month ago). Needless to say, he didn't like that. They took it from his arm (I was told they would probably do a heel prick) and had a bit of a hard time finding the vein.
He recovered pretty quickly after the blood draw but was kinda fussy this evening. Hopefully a good night sleep will do him some good. I need to get ready for work tomorrow. Brad is successfully on his plane and will land about 1am east coast time. We will miss him but I'm glad my mom is still here!!

7/13 - Visit with Grandma

After a long trip to the airport on Friday, I finally picked up my mom and had just as long of a trip on the way back. Lots of track, all red lights, and slow drivers make for a frustrating 2 hour commute to the airport (each way). Thankfully she arrived safely and we got home on Friday evening. We have been having fun since Grandma came. Aiden and my mom played with blocks the first night they were here and got to know each other again.

We haven't slowed down much since she arrived. On Saturday we went to Wal-Mart, our friend Arin's so she could give me my weekly shot, and base for some groceries. We got home just in time to feed Aiden and put him down for a nap. When he woke up, we went to watch Brad play softball. It was his final game since he'll be gone for a month and it was actually in the afternoon this time so Aiden and I could go too. We all went and had fun. The picture below is from grandma and Aiden playing on the playground. Our church actually won their first game and did a great job. Aiden was very interested in watching which was a first.
Sunday we went to church, came home for a nap, then went to a BBQ for a while. It was another busy day. Today, Brad went to work and my mom and I did took Aiden to the playground and then did an errand this morning. After Aiden's pathetic attempt at a nap, he got up and played outside in the yard with his new dump truck that grandma got him. They picked up sticks and then he handed them off to Bronco who had fun chewing on them. In the meantime, I got to work on my van for a bit trying to get all the dead bugs off the front.
The picture below is Aiden giving Bronco the sticks he collected.

Overall, it's been a great visit so far. Brad and I got to have date night last night!!! We were so tired though after a long day that we only went to the movies to see Transformers 2. We were gonna do dinner too but just ate lots of popcorn and decided to call that dinner. My mom put Aiden to bed and held down the fort while we were gone. We have just another 1.5 days until Brad leaves so we'll be making the most out of that time. I go to work tomorrow and my mom is going to cook a yummy dinner for us.

7/9 - Post Birthday

How cute is that child in the picture above? I've had a pretty good past 2 days. My birthday was fun. I had lunch with friends from church (Arin and Brigit) and then went to Brigit's house for dinner. She made some awesome dinner and a chocolate birthday cake. She made a birthday cake for me last year too because Brad was gone then too. The morning of my birthday Aiden and I stopped by my work at the Leonardtown campus to see a co-worker. He found a whistle and calculator and thought they were the greatest toys ever. The student working at the desk put these sunglasses on Aiden and he thought that was funny. I then wanted him to wear himself out so I put him on the stairmaster. Just kidding about the wearing out part ... he is actually on the stairmaster though but it wasn't turned on.
The picture below is from tonight when Aiden and I were playing around. He took my squishy pink pillow and decided to carry it around everywhere and then use it as a chair.
In the picture below you can see he still has ahold of the pillow and we were playing hide and go seek around the cat gym. He is loving that came right now.
I'm very excited that Brad is coming home sometime soon (his plane keeps getting delayed and he's in Dallas right now ... he won't be getting in until 12:30am and that's if his plane leaves very soon). I get to go pick up my mom tomorrow at the airport and she'll be with us/me for 10 days. I'm so excited!! We may even stop at a store on the way home to look at some new diaper bags. I plan on taking Aiden to the park tomorrow morning so Brad can make up for some sleep that he's not going to get because he's driving 1.5 hrs from the airport. We really have to live closer to an airport at the next duty station!

7/5 - Brad's leaving tomorrow

The picture above was taken yesterday at our friends BBQ. We had fun and Aiden got to play with another little girl a few months older than him. They had fun playing and chasing each other. Today we went to church and then came home to put Aiden down for a nap. He took a solid 2.5 hr nap!! He's doing a little better everyday although today he was really tired because he didn't get to lay down until late.
Brad went to softball after lunch and I was at the house with Aiden. He woke up so late that I was scared he wasn't going to sleep and thought we needed to wear him out. Brad came home at about 4:15pm and we went to the park with Aiden and Bronco. The picture above and all the pictures below are from the park.
Everyone had fun and Aiden is starting to venture out and discover things. He needs a little encouragement in the beginning but then he wants to explore which is great.
Brad is packing up right now to leave tomorrow morning for Fallon, NV for 4 days. He'll come back on Fri morning at about 2am or so. The video below is Aiden pushing the merry go round. He loved to ride it and we took him off a couple times to go explore other things but he kept coming back to it. Finally he realized he could push it around and that was the end ... he just wanted to push the merry go round.