Day Three

I should really be dealt with regarding how few pictures I took over Thanksgiving week. It was Aaron's first time in Ohio and I did not memorialize it well AT ALL. There are absolutely no pictures of Grandpa Tom, Grandma Beth, Grandpa Mike, Aunt Mindy or several others. Can I have a Do Over?

On Wednesday Aaron met his Great-Grandparents for the first time. They LOVED him. It was so fun to watch them with him and he was very good at their house. You will see, however, that I did not take hardly any pictures to show how much fun was had. The picture above is Grandma Ruth pulling a train that Aaron had a ball with.

These pictures are of Aaron trying to get his hands on my Grandfather's Bible. Papa Bill asked me if he could have it. I said, "Sure. As long as you don't mind him tearing out the pages." Papa Bill hid the Bible.

The rest of these pictures are of Aaron at dinner Wednesday night with Dad and Sheri. We went to Ted's. Well, we went to a restaurant that was called Ted's 20 years ago, but I can never remember the "new" name. Aaron was great. He just ate up his vegetables and smiled so sweet.

I think that's all we did Wednesday. This was the day that Aaron took three naps and we got to spend a lot of time at my grandparents, so that was the whole day. Aaron was such a good napper on vacation. He took a lot of two hour naps. Now that we are back home he is resorting to his standard 1 hour, 15 minute nap twice a day. I had hoped that the two hour nap would follow us to Texas but it was not to be.

Aaron was definitely showing signs of getting more teeth while we were in Ohio. Since we've returned one of his top teeth has poked through and the other one does not look to be far behind. He is drooling like crazy and he's been a little cranky. I can't decide it that's the teeth or just decompressing from the big trip.

He's So Good!

I'll continue my recap of Thanksgiving Week tomorrow, but I wanted to take a moment to brag on my Sweet Baby (and show off his new McQueen jammies - how cute!)

Aaron is just sooo good! We ran errands for almost three hours today and I didn't hear a peep out of him. He was carted around Target and Walmart and he just sat quietly in the cart and smiled. People kept coming up to me and commenting on how good he is! I'm just so proud.

I was proud of him this past week, too. He was taken from restaurant to restaurant to house to store. He met so many new people and he was just such a little angel. I'm just thrilled to be his Mama!

Days One and Two

I didn't blog while we were gone over Thanksgiving, so I am catching up now so that I have a good journal of Aaron's first Thanksgiving.This picture was taken at 5am at the Tyler airport on Monday. It is actually the only picture I took that whole day. I have no idea what was wrong with me. The next several pictures are of Aaron's cousins and were taken on Tuesday night at dinner.

On Monday we flew from Tyler to Houston and Aaron slept from the moment the plane took off until the moment it landed. It was wonderful. We had a short layover in Houston and then were headed to Columbus. Aaron didn't sleep at all on the flight to Columbus. However, he was very sweet. He just sat on my lap and smiled. He was such a joy!

We got to Columbus at 11am (10am in Texas) and Aaron was very tired since he had basically skipped his morning nap. He slept all the way from Columbus to Cambridge. My mom rode in the back with him and just stared at him the whole time. She hadn't seen him since he was a week old, so she was pretty fascinated!

We stopped in at my brother's and visited with him for a little while then headed to lunch. By then Aaron was getting hungry himself, so we went to Dad's and fed Aaron and put him down for a nap. That evening we went to dinner and then Aaron's Aunt Mindy came over with Peyton, Dillon and Addy. Peyton was so excited to see Aaron! The younger two didn't care as much, but Peyton was just a doll.

These two pictures with Grandma Sheri and Little Girl are from Tuesday. We didn't do a whole lot Tuesday. We went to see Mindy at work and she gave us a very cool tour of a glass factory. Aaron let her hold him while he stared at the fire and hot glass. He was enthralled. That night we went to dinner with Doug's family and with Mom. Then we went to a pet store which was so fun for all the kids.

Aaron did a great job all week of staying on his schedule. We kept him on Texas time and he slept 10-11 hours at night and took at least two naps each day. We were blessed with such a good traveler. He did holler every time he was put down to sleep which he doesn't do here, but he slept so we could put up with the initial yelling. All in all, Aaron was so easy. I'll post pictures of the rest of the week soon.

And We're Back!

As you can imagine, today is a day of catch up - on rest, laundry and family time. But I did want to pop in and let you know that we are home safely and soundly. Aaron was a fantastic traveler. This picture was taken of him at 10:30 last night when we landed at the Tyler airport. He was such a trouper! We are so proud of him.

And this picture sums up the week. Five wonderful cousins having a fantastic time together (and Aaron wondering what on Earth is going on!). It was a great trip. We have so many pictures and stories to share this week. We hope you had a Blessed Thanksgiving!

And We're Off

Aaron is in the bed early tonight, we are packed and we are about to wind down and get ready for bed ourselves. Our flight leaves Tyler at 5:30 tomorrow morning, so we will be up in the middle of the night. But by 10am Texas Time we should be in Ohio. We are very excited. We covet your prayers regarding safe and PEACEFUL travels (pray Little Man sleeps on the plane!). We wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Sad Day

On Thursday night, Aaron woke up crying. We gave him some Motrin, calmed him down and put him back to sleep. He slept the rest of the night and woke up sweet and playful Friday. But that was SOP for an ear infection - one wake up (usually around 9 or 10) and then happy-go-lucky from there on out. And we should know. We've done this every 30 days since mid-August. It's like clock work.

So, we were off to the doctor Friday morning. Aaron (whose ears had been completely clear at a check up just four days earlier) had a double ear infection. A rather nasty one, at that. Dr. Everett very gently told me what he has been preparing me for over the last two months - if Aaron gets another infection in December we will be sent to the ENT to talk tubes.

I am so sad for Aaron and so upset that he has been plagued with these ear infections. Dr. Everett says some babies just get ear infections. It isn't anything we've done or haven't done. And tubes make me incredibly nervous though I keep being told that they shouldn't.

In any case, please continue to pray for Aaron's health. We are off to Ohio Monday with the doctor's blessing and a lot of meds. (I am glad the medicine is available to Aaron and helps him so much, but I am so upset that my Little One has had so many drugs already!)

On a happier note, the above pictures are of Aaron playing with his new Christmas Story Blocks from Kimmie. She ordered them from Lifeway and we were able to pick them up here in Tyler. Note: Aaron LOVES blocks. All blocks. And it's really fun when Daddy builds big towers with them and Aaron can crawl real fast across the floor and knock all the blocks over in one fell swoop! Big Fun!

Week in Review

We've had a very quiet week. Iron Man finally caught a cold and we have been home bound. These pictures are from Saturday (he didn't get sick until Monday morning). We were sitting outside watching our former large Post Oak being split into a LOT of logs (anyone need firewood???).

Kimmie and Papa John came in Saturday afternoon and played with Aaron for a few hours and then took Jory and I to dinner for Jory's birthday while Aaron stayed with Brooke. It was very nice.

On Monday, Aaron got to enjoy his very first fire in the fireplace. He was fascinated.

I am focused on getting Aaron well and getting packed for the Holidays! We leave Monday for Thanksgiving in Ohio! I am very excited (though a little overwhelmed at the thought of loading up Aaron and his stuff for a week-long excursion). I am also trying to get my Christmas cards done before we leave, so that's what takes up my time during Aaron's naps.

All in all, it's been a low key week and Aaron has been sweet company. Even sick, he is a sweet boy.

I love this!

This sweater outfit was a gift from Aaron's Aunt Carolyn. We are going to put him in it on Thanksgiving, but I wanted him to try it out today so he wore it to church. It fit really well, but still has room for him to grow in it, so we are good to go!

Don't you love this picture??? Serious Man.

Aaron has been 'promoted' at church. He is now in the 'Crawlers' class. He was just crawling all over those poor babies in the infants class. Everyone was concerned about moving him because he is very partial to Miss Marie. Very, very partial. But he did great! This was his second week and he just has a blast playing with all of the other kids. He is SOOO tired when he gets home, though. It is quite the exertion for him.

8 Months Old

I didn't do an update last night because it was late and I was tired - I just wanted to get Aaron's birthday pictures on here on his birthday. The reason I was tired - and Aaron was crying in his pictures - is that we had a long (but FUN!) day yesterday. Aaron and I left here at 7am and got home at 8pm. Aaron got to spend his 8 month birthday playing with Kimmie who kept him for eight hours while Mama played with her friends. He took a one hour nap and spent the rest of the time playing hard with grandma. When I put him in the car he fell asleep before we got out of Kimmie's neighborhood!!! (I think Kimmie may have been asleep by then, too! HA!)

Aaron did awesome with his grandma! He had so much fun it was just crazy. He was laughing when I left and laughing when I picked him up. It was a very nice day for everyone.

SO, as an 8-month old, Aaron is about 19 1/2 pounds and 28 1/2 inches long. We'll get exact measurements next month when he has his 9 month appointment. He is a busy and happy child. He laughs and talks a lot. He is very easy to take to the store or a restaurant. The restaurant part will probably change soon, but right now he just enjoys being in a high chair watching everyone. He pulls up on EVERYTHING and it has gotten very easy for him to pop right up with very little support. He can stand alone for several seconds and his balance is getting much better. He is extremely curious. He understands 'no', but ignores it almost always (with a smile on his face). He is a good sleeper and a good eater. We added brussels sprouts to his repertoire and he loved them! And now, he's waking from his morning nap, so I must go!

Happy 8 Month Birthday!

Daddy's Birthday

I told Aaron that today is his Daddy's birthday!At first, he was concerned because he hadn't gotten him anything.

Then he decided that he would go ahead and pee on Mama today instead of Daddy. Yes! That is the perfect gift.

Seriously. He did pee on me today. And then he laughed hysterically. But he does love his Daddy and he will be so glad to see him today! Happy Birthday, Jory!

Saturday

Here are a couple of pictures from the soccer game this morning. Aaron had such a good time. He LOVES being outside, so he was as content as he could possibly be.

Aaron is having a fun weekend, but he sure misses his Daddy. When Jory calls, Aaron fusses and reaches for the phone. When I put it up to his ear and he can hear his daddy's voice, he is all smiles! He squeals with delight! It is so cute!

It's that time of year!

Daddy went off hunting today, so Aaron and I are on our own this weekend. Today we are going to lunch with one of our favorite people, Jana. Tomorrow we are going to see two of our young friends play in a soccer game. And then Sunday we will be busy making Daddy a Welcome Home/Birthday dinner!

Our first shot at video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLuFUHL5ieg

This is a link to one of three videos clips we uploaded to YouTube. This is really just a trial run on shooting and incorporating video into the blog, but for those of you who want to watch it, go for it! The video is of Aaron eating his cereal on Halloween evening at Grandad and Mimi's. The clip is sort of long, and the last minute or so is better in terms of Aaron's facial expressions while he eats. You can turn down the audio unless you want to hear the conversation about Sara feeding Aaron on the floor and other highchairs.

Let us know if this works and if you like it- especially you Ohio grandparents!

Wordless Wednesday