Things we love

This is Kate. She's been on here before. She is Aaron's future wife. I do believe in arranged marriages and I will continue to take applications, but I'm pretty stuck on Kate. Such a sweet girl from a Christian home. I adore her Mama. And, really, isn't that what matters? HA. Aaron and Kate do have such a good time together. They are very sweet with each other. Allison and I love to watch them together.

See how Aaron is lifting the blue tray on this toy? When he does that, the toy makes a noise. Aaron loves it! He just lifts and lowers, lifts and lowers. There are several different noises and he laughs at some and squeals at some and talks to some. I love watching Aaron playing with his toys. It is amazing to see him learning how things work and listening to him conversing in his way.

Aaron ate a bog boy meal yesterday. I cut up mixed vegetables. I have been pureeing everything until now. This was really a bowl of mixed vegetables just cut up into small pieces. He ate a huge bowl (I had to feed him with a spoon, though, we're still working on hand-to-mouth). This boy loves his veggies and I love that! We've tried several new foods - tomatoes, pineapple, strawberries, blackberries, cherries and blueberries. He eats everything except apples. We can't even sneak in apples!

I love this tongue! I love all of Aaron's many expressions! I just adore this baby! Today we are going to try to get out and have lunch with a friend and run some errands. I hope you are having a great day.

Deck the Halls

Wouldn't you know it? Aaron's finally feeling well enough to run around and it turns COLD. I am starting to feel awfully behind on things! We did finish decorating the house this weekend. John and Kim came after church on Sunday. John and Jory did the lights and then John and Kim played with Aaron while Jory and I finished the house decorations. When they left and Aaron went to bed Jory and I decorated the big tree by ourselves. That was a really special time.

These pictures are from when we got the Christmas tree last week. It was a nice day when we went out and we really enjoyed it. The place where we got the tree was so nice and fun and the people were amazing. It was a great family experience.

I have some pictures of our house decorations. I haven't taken any of Aaron's room because every time I think about it he's sleeping! Aaron's room is super cute. Kimmie got him a Noah's Ark Christmas Tree and I had a light up Noah's Ark display that was my grandma's that I put in there. We also have a ceramic Christmas display that was Jory's when he was little up on Aaron's shelves. The house is personalized with 'Jory'. It's super cute. We hung Aaron's First Christmas stocking in his room. I love, love, love that stocking.

Jory and I are leaving town this weekend. We are going to Jefferson for the Christmas Candlelight Tour of Homes. We are staying at a Bed & Breakfast and going to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants. We are really looking forward to it. We starting planning this trip back in September!

John and Kim are coming to keep Aaron. I hope they have as much fun as they did last time! Aaron is really in a fun stage right now. It should be a good time for all - as long as they can keep up with him! I keep wondering if he'll take off walking while we are gone. He is very close. He does this crawl-walk thing that we call the Downward Dog Walk. He pushes up from the floor and stands alone, but he hasn't tried to take a step alone. He only holds on to furniture with one or two fingers when he's walking, though, so I feel like it could be soon. Maybe not. I can wait!

I hope you are having a wonderful week. I cooked a big pot of Cowboy Chili last night and we had a fire in the fire place. So nice! Stay warm...

Tall and Skinny

Aaron had his 9 Month Doctor's Appointment today. He is 30 inches long and almost 20 pounds. He is in the 95th percentile for height and the 30th for weight. This is fairly typical for him. His weight percentile dropped slightly, but he is a lot more active now, so that's common.

Dr. Everett was very impressed with Aaron's motor skills and his social/verbal skills. He said he's a little ahead developmentally. He was also pleased with Aaron's ears. They are, for the moment, infection-free. Aaron will stay on the antibiotics through next Thursday and hopefully his tubes will be put in by then. We go to see the ENT on Monday and we will get our surgery date then. I have had so many people reassure me about the tube operation. I am so thankful for that! And I really am glad that there is a procedure that can eliminate these infections for Aaron. I feel so badly for him.

There is one thing that Aaron is not doing. He doesn't put things in his mouth. Isn't that funny? It's good that he doesn't pick stuff off the ground and automatically insert it into his mouth, but it is really slowing down his learning to eat. I'm not kidding. The boy won't put anything in his mouth. Dr. Everett said to just keep putting finger foods in front of him on his highchair tray and show him what to do and eventually he'll start doing it. We put all kinds of stuff on his tray and he loves playing with it, but he doesn't try to eat it. We put a piece of food in his mouth and he eats it and enjoys it and then goes back to playing with the other pieces!

I love this shirt. It says 'Santa's Little Helper'. Aaron looked sooo cute today. Jessica, my friend from Sunday School, brought a BUNCH of clothes over yesterday for us to borrow. This was one of the outfits. She lent us a lot of the clothes that Aaron wore his first few months. She had to get up in the attic this weekend, so she pulled down Brooks' 12 and 18 month clothes. Brooks was a VERY well-dressed little boy. We are super blessed.

Ummm...Look at this picture of Aaron with a red mouth! Kimmie let Aaron lick an M&M this weekend. It was great fun for her. Aaron seemed to enjoy it, as well. And to think I haven't wanted him to have crackers because there is added sugar in them! HA! I know that's part of the fun of getting to be a grandparent!

And here is another picture with the Barn toys. That Barn is awesome. I really can not say that enough.

Dressing for Christmas

Yesterday was the last Sunday that we will be at our church before Christmas, so we all wore red. I love this picture of Aaron and his Daddy matching! I was worried about leaving Aaron in the nursery yesterday. He hasn't been in the church nursery (on Sunday or otherwise) for two weeks for various reasons. And in the last two weeks we've had major clinginess issues. Also, he was just moved to his new class and he had only been in there twice, so he really didn't know those ladies.
It was difficult to drop him off. He was very upset, but they were going to try to give him a bottle and see if he settled down. If he didn't, I was assured that he could go back to his old class where I was optimistic that he'd be comfortable. Well, he did fine. They said he settled down as soon as he took his bottle and he didn't cry at all while I was gone. I am so relieved. You have all been so sweet and reassuring that the separation anxiety is just a phase. It sure is a tough one, though!And look who got to hold Aaron Sunday! Kimmie and Papa John came and he let both of them hold him! We were never out of his sight, but he did really, really well. It was worlds different from the kid who wouldn't let his grandma touch him a few days ago. Of course, some of the neediness could also be that Aaron hasn't felt well. Hopefully that is about to improve dramatically.Aaron is finally starting to feel better. He slept through the night for the first time in a week last night. He actually slept 12 hours and he had a very good day today. It was the first day that he seemed to be feeling well. He still cupped his right ear when he woke up this morning, but after that there wasn't any indication that he felt badly. We are back to the doctor tomorrow and should have more news then. Thank you so much for all of your kind words and prayers, we appreciate it more than you can know!And just on final note...three people came up to me today to tell me how adorable my son is! Don't you love that? He's just fantastic out in public. I had to go pick out new eyeglasses the other day and this munchkin just sat quietly on the floor while I tried on pair after pair...aren't we blessed!

And now you'll have the rest of the story

I mentioned in the last post that we had a hard time decompressing after our holiday trip and that by Wednesday I was in desperate need of time to get things done. Well, it probably wasn't so much that we were decompressing as we had a son with another ear infection. Seriously! I completely missed all of the signs, which is stupid since we've been through this five times. But I kept thinking he was off track from the trip or his teeth were bothering him or he was tired or something. On Thursday morning as Aaron was screaming on my lap after refusing to take his morning nap it all hit me. I called Jory and asked if it was possible that Aaron had an ear infection again. (It had only been two weeks since the last one was diagnosed.) He agreed that Aaron had his usual symptoms and that I'd better call the doctor. I immediately started back tracking. I'm sure he's just tired, I said. Jory said he'd rather me go to the doctor and find out nothing was wrong then wait until we were four hours away and find out something was wrong (we were supposed to leave for Houston Friday).

So I called the doctor and was told that there was only one appointment available and it was in fifteen minutes. In spite of the rough morning Aaron was having I had managed to get us both bathed, but that was it. He was in a onesie and I was in a robe with wet hair. And we live 10 minutes from the doctor. And while I was on the phone with the nurse Aaron had a massive poop. I took a deep breath and said I could be there in 15 minutes. And I was. Remember me mentioning that Thursday was a hard day?

As the nurse, who knows me way too well, was leading me back to the exam room I was apologizing for taking her time. "I'm sure it's nothing. He's probably tired. We just got back from a big trip. It's just that we're not used to him waking up in the night or being fussy in the day, so we thought we should check it out. We're leaving town tomorrow or we wouldn't bother you. I'm sure he's fine..." Really. You should have heard me. And then the doctor came in.

Yes, Aaron has a double ear infection. Dr. Everett was very kind, but he was firm with me. Aaron can not handle being off antibiotics. He must have tubes. He said that Aaron is a poster child for tubes. It is not optional. He also must have them very soon as he will more or less be on antibiotics until the tubes can be put in. We should have a date to meet with the ENT on Monday and we will see Dr. Everett again on Tuesday. Dr. Everett is a wonderful doctor. I trust him and almost everyone I trust either sees him or someone in his practice. He explained the process to me and was extremely helpful. I am still very upset about Aaron being put under no matter how simple or quick the procedure is, but I also don't want him in pain or on antibiotics all of the time.

So, Thursday started with a difficult trip to the doctor and continued with the sad and disappointing realization that our trip to Houston was not in Aaron's best interest. But things have definitely gotten better. I have some good pictures from this weekend to post. And, on a happier note, do you love this Elmo sweat suit from Kimmie??? Aaron looked so cute in it!

Isn't this the truth?!?

Would you look at this onesie Kimmie brought on Wednesday? Who needs Santa when I have Grandma? Aaron wore this to the doctor on Thursday and Doctor Everett saw him and immediately said, "That's the truth!"

Speaking of Grandmas, here is the beloved barn from Grandma Sheri and Grandpa Tom. God Bless Them! Mama had a hard day Thursday and then this barn showed up and Aaron was enthralled for a long, long time. I appreciated it more than I should have.

Here is one of the other toys that Aaron got in Ohio for Christmas. He got four toys. They are really neat. They do all kinds of different things and they are all learning toys. Aaron's favorite one is the Vtech cell phone, of course. Now he has a cell phone in one room and a Baby Blackberry in another room so there is always a favorite toy around.


Can you see this stocking? It says Baby's First Christmas and has a picture of Aaron. We love this! It's from Grandma Sheri and Grandpa Tom. We haven't decided where we are going to put it yet. We are woefully behind on Christmas decorating, but never fear! Papa John and Kimmie are on the case. They will be here tomorrow with what I presume will be way more decorations than we could possibly use, but by tomorrow night we should be festive!

This week sure got away from us. It was pretty hard decompressing from our trip. Kimmie came on Wednesday to see Aaron and I had grandiose plans of getting caught up on some things while she played with him. Well, I couldn't leave the room without Aaron crying and trying to chase me down. I was surprised because he sees Kimmie pretty often. He did well with her, but he wanted me around. He also wouldn't let her touch him. He could touch her, but she couldn't touch him. He would sit on the floor and entertain her and he even crawled up to her and played with her shirt, but he knew exactly where I was and she was not to pick him up. Goodness! He is such a sweet boy. Really, he is, but he's got some kind of phase going on right now that I hope is short lived.

Wrapping up Thanksgiving Week

The last day we were in Ohio was very good. We normally leave the day after a holiday, but this time we didn't leave until Saturday, so it wasn't rushed. We also generally have early flights so the last day is just travel, but we didn't fly out until 6pm so we really got to enjoy Saturday. Jory started the day by running in a 5K with my brother. Aaron and I did not join him. It was 35 degrees. He seemed to enjoy it. We enjoyed hanging out at Dad's in the heat.

When Jory came home we got packed and headed to Bob Evans for Brunch. Here are pictures of Aaron enjoying the menu. I LOVE Bob Evans. We don't have them in Texas, so we ate at Bob Evans three times over the six days we were in Ohio (we also went to Kennedy's Bakery four times. We did not, however, hit Wally's - that was our nod to self control).

After Bob's we headed to Doug's to say goodbye to his family and to try to get a picture of the five cousins together. As you can see, we got it, but it took 30 takes. Immediately after that, Aaron peed on Doug's living room carpet and we decided it was time to make our exit! HA! It was a really good day. I so enjoyed having the ability to take our time and the late flight worked out well. Aaron only slept part of the first flight, but he was sweet and smiley while he was awake. Everyone loved him. There were A LOT of babies on that flight and most of them screamed the entire way. Aaron did not so much as fuss and several people commented on it. Then on the next flight, before we took off, Aaron entertained everyone with his smiles and personality. It brought me such joy to see him making people happy. It was really a great moment for me. I just kept thinking about how my baby is already bringing joy to others. It was thrilling. We do have so much to be Thankful for. I am glad to have wonderful memories of Aaron's first Thanksgiving.

Starting tomorrow I will post the happenings since we've been home. I have a lot to update you on and I have some very cute pictures! I hope you all had as wonderful of a holiday as we did!

The Day after Thanksgiving

Look, it's snowing! Okay, I realize you can't see it, but it was seriously snowing the day after Thanksgiving in Ohio. It was Aaron's first snowfall and I was so, so, so excited! So I took this picture to always remember the first time I showed my son snow. Of course, it would be hard to remember it from this picture, but don't focus on that, I know what it is.

The day after Thanksgiving we went to my Mom's and celebrated with Grandma Beth and Grandpa Mike. I didn't actually take any pictures of Grandma Beth or Grandpa Mike, but these pictures were all taken at their house. Since neither of them could hold Aaron, I just took pictures of Aaron playing with all the toys they had for him.

Aaron loved his toys. He even let Grandpa Mike play with him. But not that Evil Grandma Beth. Seriously, y'all, I wish you could have seen our son. He had these very cool toys that he loved. One had blocks and one had stars. He was trying to put the blocks in the star toy and it wasn't working, so Grandma Beth (who is a teacher) tried to show him what to do. Oh my goodness! He pushed both of the toys under the table and then sat in front of them so she couldn't get to them! It was a trip! We are blessed that Grandma thought it was funny!

This is a picture at the dinner table. Grandma made all of Mama's favorites and it was so yummy! If we hadn't been leaving the next day, I would have taken them with me! So, so good! And we really had a very good time. Aaron was just so sweet (as long as no one tried to hold him) and it was very enjoyable. It was fun to watch him playing with his grandpa. And it was really neat to see him so into his new toys. He was very comfortable. We spent the day at Mom's and then in the evening I went to meet my friend Jenn who I don't see nearly enough. Aaron stayed at Dad's with Grandma Sheri, Grandpa Tom and Daddy. It sounds like he was very entertaining as he enjoyed his new Barn Toy. Speaking of that, Grandma and Grandpa had to ship Aaron's presents to us and they came today! I am very excited to pull out that Barn! I'll take lots of pictures of him enjoying it.

Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving Day was wonderful for several reasons. First, obviously, it was Thanksgiving and we have so much to be thankful for. We got to be with our family, enjoy a lot of great food and have such a good time together. We were at Dad's and my grandparents came and Eric and Jessa and Doug and Mindy and all their kids. It was just wonderful. We had lunch and then in the evening the Knox family joined us. It was just a great holiday.

Another plus is that Aaron finally found someone he liked. Seriously. I don't want to say Aaron was difficult in Ohio because he really was good. However, he was definitely out of his element and he didn't take to being held by anyone other than Jory or I and he cried every single time I left the room he was in. Until...

Aunt Jessa! God love her. For the first time in four days I was able to take my happy self into the kitchen and get a glass of tea. She played with Aaron most of the day and I offered to pay her to stay through the week. I was serious. I don't think she knew that.

Aaron wore this outfit that says 'My 1st Thanksgiving'. We bought it for him before he was born. It is a 9 month outfit. That made sense to us at the time. Of course, Aaron is way too big for 9 month clothes, so it looked like he was wearing shorts!



We also opened Christmas presents on Thanksgiving since we will be in Texas at Christmas. Oh! It was so fun! I love Christmas! Aaron made out really well, of course! Grandma Sheri and Papa Tom got him those cute Cars pajamas that he has worn every night since we've been home! He got two other pairs of jammies. He also got some very cute clothes, like this 'Football' shirt. I didn't have it buttoned in this picture, so it looks kind of weird, but it's super cute.

Aaron got a huge, SOFT stuffed bear from his great-grandma and he got Fisher Price learning toys from his aunts and uncles and his grandparents and - best of all - he got some little plastic barn with plastic animals that you can drop down the chimney and pull out the barn door. Or something like that. I don't know, but it kept him busy for hours. Seriously, whatever this thing is, everyone should have one!

I am so Thankful for our family and for the wonderful holiday we got to share with them. It was very special. On Friday, we celebrated Thanksgiving with Grandma Beth and Grandpa Mike. I will post pictures of that tomorrow.