Dec 22nd, 2014 Posted in Aidan | no comment »
Some might say December 22nd is a little early to start trying on your Halloween costume, but Aidan would disagree. He used to be frightened of this Darth Maul mask, especially when you push the horn on the side and it says one of the few phrases programmed. But not this kiddo, he is pumped to wear the mask with the (matching?) hulk hands. He even has it all worked out that I will carry his pumpkin bucket for the candy because his hands will be busy wearing the hulk hands. Ok buddy, whatever you say!
Dec 21st, 2014 Posted in Aidan | no comment »
Santa came to our house last night! He left Aidan a little treat…
Dec 20th, 2014 Posted in Aidan | no comment »
Sick days are not fun, especially when you aren’t the one who is sick. Taking care of a sick little boy is hard. Keeping him hydrated, giving him medication, getting him down for a nap. It certainly sweetens the situation when he’s in as good a mood as my little Aidan is. Right now, all he has is a cough and congestion of the chest and nose. But even when he has a fever, he is always so nice to be around. Always smiling. Always happy.
The last two days, Ryan and I split up staying home with Aidan so that he could get rest and one could go to work one day and the other on the next day. We have high hopes that two days home from school and then the weekend will help him kick this cold.
Ever since he moved from a stay-at-home nanny situation to preschool, he comes home with new germs daily that ultimately lead to a new illness each week. We can’t keep him healthy for more than 2-3 days in a row. It’s the absolute worst time for him to get sick because Ryan is coaching soccer after work and I’m too crazed at work to get out on-time, never mind early. It’s these sick days that make me wish he was still staying at home with the nanny. I know he needs to go to school, make friends and learn new things he could never learn from home, but this is killing me! It puts a lot of pressure on both myself & Ryan. It’s hard enough not seeing him for more than an hour each night, but the time we do spend with him is accompanied by persistent coughing & sniffles.
With the bitter cold and rain outside, I have the heat pumping inside to keep him cozy and on the road to recovery. Feel better my A-man.
Dec 18th, 2014 Posted in Aidan | no comment »
Old Saint Nick was at mall and we kept trying to make time for a visit. Finally, we got to the mall and waiting in the dreaded line. After 20 minutes of watching Santa entertain kids and photos, the Big A finally got to meet Santa! He shook his hand, sat on his lap and gave him a big hug (while touching his beard). This year’s visit was really great–last year ended in tears.
Aidan was not scared of Santa at all. He was excited! Except when the visit was over…
…when he hopped off Santa’s lap and took my hand he said to me, “He didn’t have toys.” I guess I didn’t explain that very well! After all the pep-talks, helping Aidan rehearse & recite what he wanted for Christmas — so that he wasn’t silent when Santa asked — we failed to tell him what Santa would do with that information. Aidan thought that by telling Santa, he would get those things IMMEDIATELY. As if Santa had a big boy bike and color change hot wheels underneath his chair. Sorry buddy! Santa has to go back to the North Pole to make those toys.
Poor guy, he was pretty disappointed!
Dec 17th, 2014 Posted in Aidan | no comment »
Seriously, my son couldn’t be any sweeter. He makes friends everywhere he goes and loves to give anyone a high five or even a hug. He always tells me he misses me and hugs me so tight. Love those bear hugs. Today, my sweet boy is 3 1/2 years old. I want to put him into a bubble so he doesn’t get any bigger. Make him stay this way forever.
Dec 16th, 2014 Posted in Aidan | no comment »
Aidan has not one but two advent calendars. One is a red wooden box with 25 numbered doors that open to reveal the perfect sized cubby hole for 25 trinkets or pieces of candy. Every Thanksgiving, I drop it off at my mother-in-law’s house and she stocks it full of surprises. The other is the traditional cardboard one you buy from the grocery store; it as molded pieces of candy inside each flap.
Every morning (and every night, but I deny the nighttime requests) Aidan asks to open a door. We look at the monthly calendar and I point to which day it is. He reads the number and then we count that many doors (or flaps) on his advent calendars. As he counts higher and higher, getting closer to the number of the current date, he gets more and more excited. His voice starts to trail upwards and he squeals with delight until he can open the doors and claim his prize.
I keep both calendars up on the kitchen counter because he’s just too curious to be trusted, but he’s craftier than I thought…
…I came into the kitchen this morning to find him on his hands and knees hovering over the cardboard advent calendar — he had already popped 3 pieces of chocolate in his mouth! I exclaimed in horror, “Aidan! Stop!” but before I could retrieve the calendar, he was scrambling to pull a 4th candy from a random numbered door…giggling all the while.
Dec 15th, 2014 Posted in Aidan, Miscellaneous | no comment »
My mom came into town for 8 glorious days in sunny California. She got a break from the dreary New Hampshire cold and some much needed time with the kiddos: Aidan, Olivia & Sophia. She also hung out with Curtis & myself as well!
Whether she was hanging with my family or with Curtis’ or if all of us were together, it was a great time to spend with family. We made some great memories at the Americana watching the water & light show, riding the trolley and waiting for fake snow to fall down on our heads. I think Aidan may have even tried to catch some in his mouth!
It didn’t feel like a long enough visit. We all got so used to seeing her everyday that this morning as I was getting Aidan ready for school he asked, “When is Grammy D coming over?” and “Is Grammy D picking me up from school?” It broke my heart to tell him that she had gone back to NH to be with Grampa Jeff. To that he cried, “But I want to go to NH and see Grampa Jeff!”
Nov 30th, 2014 Posted in Aidan, Cali, Lindy | no comment »
I had a wonderful time with Aidan, just him and me, decorating our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. He had spent the night at his Uncle Curtis’ house the night before so that Ryan & I could have an adult evening out at the Magic Castle. Before I went to pick him up the following morning, I quickly set up the tree (which already has lights on it–love that!) and put on the glass ornament balls. He was so excited to see the tree when he walked into the house. Even more excited to hand me ornaments one by one so that I could hang them on the tree.
Nov 13th, 2014 Posted in Aidan | no comment »
Aidan has been loving his new school. He has been there since June and it has helped him grow into the wonderful boy he is today. I know that everyday he’s there, the more well-rounded he will become.
One of his three teachers told me this afternoon that he was the first to finish lunch. After cleaning up, going potty and washing his hands, he took the initiative to get the afternoon reading circle ready by setting up the books.
Such a nice thing to hear, it made me so proud!
Nov 8th, 2014 Posted in Aidan | no comment »
Aidan’s visit to Santa is quickly approaching. He seems to be looking forward to sitting on Santa’s lap and tell him he wants a big boy bike — the one thing he keeps telling us he wants for Christmas. Now that Halloween is over, I’m looking forward to the holidays, the lights, the decorations, putting up our tree, all that fun stuff. I think the Big A will enjoy it more this year than in past years because he’s old enough to realize what these holidays mean — time with family, lots of food, fun, games. He loves spending time with his family members and looks forward to seeing people like Uncle Curtis, Grammy & Pop-Pop. So when we tell him he’s going to be spending time with one of them, he gets very excited. He even starts to smile & bounce in his seat saying, “I’m getting excited!”
This year, my mom will be visiting for a week in December so that she can join in the familial festivities like Carolyn’s annual holiday tea, which will include a cookie swap after all the tea & strumpets are consumed. We are also planning on spending time with extended family members while she’s in town, such as Curtis’ girlfriend, Natalie & her two young daughters. Between those two girls & Aidan, they are at that perfect age where they are easily amazed by a trip to the Grove when it’s all decked out for the holidays.
The next 7 weeks leading up to Christmas are going to be great — I’M GETTING EXCITED!
Nov 5th, 2014 Posted in Aidan | no comment »
The Big A is definitely a ladies man. I came to pick him up from school this afternoon and he was playing with two little girls, a blonde named Carolyn and a brunette named Coraline. He saw me signing him out and he came running over to jump into my arms for a big hug. As we walked toward the exit holding hands, I asked him if he was going to say goodbye to his friends. He turned and waved at both girls screaming ‘bye!’ but that goodbye wasn’t satisfactory for either girl. Coraline came in for a hug so hard that both her and Aidan hit the ground. While giggling, she kissed his cheek making a loud ‘muah’ sound. Just as Aidan got to his feet, Carolyn gave him a hug as well. The Big A rocking a smile the whole time.
Nov 5th, 2014 Posted in Aidan | no comment »
This evening, Aidan was playing with his trains. All of which fit snugly into a small, rectangular box. While carefully selecting the right parts to make the perfect train, his little fingers came across a wooden pine tree. It’s one of three that act as landscape accents around the train tracks. He picked up this tree and said to me, “Mommy, this is in the wrong place. Next time, put it in the box with the tracks.” Obsess much?