Catching up on some Aidanisms after Cabo

Between preparing for, going on, and settling back into normal life after our Mexican vacation, we haven't gotten a chance to update this for awhile! See the end of this post for some pics from our trip. But first here are some recent Aidan stories to warm the soul...

The SUV went without a radio for a month as the CD player was being replaced by Hyundai.. throughout this month, Aidan decided that I would serve as his personal radio player. Each drive would entail special requests for a "truck song", "bus song" and "jeep song." While a bus song does already exist (the wheels on the bus go round and round... all through the town), I could not come up with a clever jeep song, despite multiple requests from Aidan. I did however come up with quite the catchy truck song if I do say so myself. Aidan liked it and even does hand motions to it... But after a month of singing these 2 songs, I am spent! I need to tap into my creativity somewhere and expand our repertoire.. Though the SUV was just returned with a new radio last week, it was kind of nice just chatting and singing with Aidan with no other noise.. perhaps we'll do a combination going forward. :)

Aidan has also started to request certain shows on TV. These used to be just "Thomas the TAIN!" or Elmo, but now he asks for the "monkey show" or the "doggy show..." This is referring to any show on TV that showcases these animals! It started when Kevin was watching a Discovery channel show that featured monkeys... Aidan was mesmerized and begs for real live monkey shows ever since! When none can be found, the Animal Planet inevitably will have some kind of a show with a dog in it so that does the trick as well. I wonder if our little guy will become a veterinarian one day! That, or a circus trainer?

One of the sweetest things Aidan has started doing lately is acknowledging the "baby in my button." He knows there is a baby behind my belly button, and frequently lifts my shirt and gives the baby a kiss. He'll randomly do this throughout the day.. it is so cute how he already thinks about his little brother or sister! And when you ask him if he is excited for the baby to come, he says "Share!" He's already planning on sharing with him/her! We'll see how this actually plays out in the years to come...

We have been doing a lot of eating out lately which Aidan loves. The other night at Red Robin, he had his eyes on one of the waitresses and was quite hilarious! He kept turning around to see her and showed off by jumping up and down as high as he could in the booth, looking at her the whole time and laughing hysterically. Perhaps all the calories he burns attributes to his appetite as well.. I swear this kid could eat us out of house and home! I don't know where he puts it, but these days I feel like he eats the same portion sizes as Kev and I, and we aren't light eaters! I don't know how I'll handle it if this next baby is a fussy eater... Aidan spoils us!

In other news, we had a wonderful week in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, with our friends, Mandy and Brad. We were so grateful they invited us to join them on this trip, as we have a feeling it will be our last exotic vacation for awhile now that we're about to have 2 little ones in our family!

Aidan videos that will definitely make you smile.

Monkeying Around- Birthday Party Style

Aidan had the best 2nd birthday party this past weekend. Thanks so much to our wonderful family and friends for celebrating with us! Enjoy these highlights from the big night.

Banana Cupcakes for all the little monkeys

Favors- Monkeys with Jelly Belly Capes
"A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost."

Aidan wanted Pops to carry him around for a good part of the night.

A little stunned and/or embarrassed at the 30 person birthday serenade!
Blew out his 2nd birthday candle like a champ!

Forget the singing- I get a cupcake with cookies on it!

"Cheeeeese" with Mommy and Daddy

Happiest birthday boy ever.

Pappy looks hungry- I better share with him.

Baby Leah slept through a majority of the party, so she wins the biggest party pooper award! :o)

Riley, Jack, Aidan and Chase played us several lovely tunes throughout the evening.
Aidan loved jamming with his buddies.

Present time!

Gaga, Kathy, Erin and Elise in their front-row present seats. Aidan loves when he gets to see his family from the Lehigh Valley.
In true monkey fashion, Aidan immediately climbed his new basketball hoop.

I don't think this is exactly what Alli and Mandy had in mind when they bought it for him!
Well of course this game is supposed to be ridden like a horsey!

Checking out his super cool Pumas from John and Nicole.

The monkey theme was obviously dead on. :)
Gaga tried very hard to properly teach Aidan how to ride his new pedal hot rod from Grandma and Grandpa!

As usual, Aidan ends up at the beer cooler with his buds at the end of the night.
After everyone went home, Aidan enjoyed some late night partying with his aunts from the city that never sleeps.

No better way to end the evening than with a kiss to Mandy through his new band in the box/astronaut helmet. :O)

Happy Birthday to our baby

"Two-year-olds give the biggest hugs, flash the biggest smiles, and yes, throw the loudest, most spectacular tantrums. Because they live in the moment, their feelings are especially transparent."

This is an excerpt from a recent BabyCenter email I received on 2 year olds... and it is so true. I spend so much of my time trying to teach our young man... how to share, how to throw his binkie back in the crib, how to talk, etc. As a parent of course I feel it is my responsibility to teach him how to be a good person and live the best life he can in this crazy world. But this article made me realize how I need to take the time to actually learn from HIM. Aidan doesn't know how how to worry or stress, how NOT to live in the moment.. how not to communicate exactly what he is feeling.. In the purest and rawest sense, he practices authenticity every moment of every day.

Today is his birthday- the 2 year anniversary of when I pushed him (for 2.5 hours...) into this world! May today not only be a happy day for him, but a day where we all try to act more like 2 year olds in our own lives. :)




Birthday party post coming soon!

Concrete Jungle

Click to hear music file

..."Let's hear it for New York.. these streets will make you feel brand new, big lights will inspire you..."



We had a wonderful weekend visiting Alli and Amanda in New York City before they make their big move to the suburbs. It was bright and sunny and we enjoyed the freshest air Manhattan had to offer. :)



We started off Saturday with a brunch stop to Serendipity. I had to get another frozen hot chocolate before they no longer lived within walking distance to such a delicious treat. Because the restaurant is very tiny and does not allow strollers, we let Aidan walk like a big boy there, holding our hands of course. He LOVED walking through the city streets and pointed out every piece of trash, walked up and down every doorstep, and stopped to enjoy each "birdie" (pigeon) and doggy on our way. And for some reason, he also enjoyed kicking each enclosed tree on the sidewalks. He would stop and kick each tree multiple times with such purpose... I guess he wanted to show New York who was boss??




Anyway, needless to say, Aidan desperately wanted to share in our frozen hot chocolate, begging "peees peees!" (please) in between each sip (or 30 second gulp in his case). It was total Aidan crack and he couldn't get enough- not that I could blame him!



Later that day we strolled through Central Park and enjoyed the "duckies, horsies and geese" as well as the ice skaters and musicians. Every time I go through this park I come with a different perspective... it never gets old.



The next morning, the 3 of us went for a walk to allow Alli and Amanda to get some more sleep, and Aidan led us all around the city as if he knew where he was going. When we approached a nice fountain we stopped to admire it, and I squatted down so I could see his face as he enjoyed the fountain. Well he took my lead, and immediately got on one knee, basically genuflecting at the fountain. It was so hilarious Kevin and I just started laughing at how cute he was. Once he realized this was funny, he tried to curl his lips under to prevent his smile, and then continued to get on the other knee, in true "worship" style!

We will miss visiting our family in this great city, but are excited to visit them in their big New Jersey house very soon!

P.S. Only in New York would you see this...

It really is about the little things...

So Aidan and I got in the car this morning to go grocery shopping- it was 17 degrees. As I was about to pull out of the driveway, I heard Aidan asking "what's that" over and over again. I turned around to see him pointing to his breath, staring quizzically at the white air that was flying around his mouth. So I explained to him what he was seeing and ended my lovely explanation by asking, "isn't that neat?". He agreed, looked at his cold breath and smiled, saying "neat!". I couldn't help but start laughing as I witnessed my innocent son experiencing this for the first time, something I never think about like so many things in life. So he started laughing with me, and we sat there in the drive way for another few minutes watching his breath and laughing together. Getting to see him fascinated by this was a highlight of my week.. If only I could live in that simplistic, appreciative world every moment of every day! Words cannot express how grateful I am for getting to experience these moments through the eyes of my toddler boy...

Thank heaven for little boys!