Moving sale

                                         We're moving!!  Here's what we're selling :)

oh-my face!

Aiden had his first shots on Friday.  He didn't like that too much :)  He was grumpy the rest of the day.  I think it was still harder on Toby than the baby.  My boys are so cute.

We're just enjoying our last month and a half until we move out to Texas.

Aiden has recently started smiling.  He'll look us right in the face and do his little content sound and then just grin.  It's been hard to capture on camera, but Daddy got a good shot.

In other news, we got a new car on Saturday.  Traded in the Explorer for a more fuel efficient Focus.  Cute little red car. 

 It has four doors too, which is GREAT with the baby! 

the monster lurks

Sometimes Aiden looks like this:

                                

             or this:  

                                      

                                         but lately he seems to look like this most of the time:

                                                                   

                                                                                 or this:

But then at night, thank goodness, he looks like this again:

wedding airport

If you are flying into Michigan for the wedding, there are a few options as to airports.  

I would recommend South Bend, IN.  It seems to be the closest.  It's about a 50 min drive northwest to Pottawatamie from there.  Hopefully we'll be able to arrange some car pooling to make that easier.  

There is also Kalamazoo, MI.  That's north of the resort, but also about a 50 min drive.

Another option people are looking into is flying to Chicago's Midway and driving up.  It's 112 miles.  So about two hours.  Just make sure you leave plenty of time.  Chicago traffic can be brutal.  

Check and see what airport works best for you.  

St. Patrick's Day in Austin

This is Toby and Aiden at the airport.  We went to Austin, TX to visit family.  He took two flights at less than 2 months of age and did beautifully on both.  All the flight attendants loved him and we sat around other passengers who shared their stories about their kids or grandkids.  It was very sweet.  The secret which Aunt Stephanie imparted on us is to feed the baby during take-off and landing.  It totally works!! 

Aiden got to meet Uncle Ryan and Grandpa, 

as well as my good friends the Butlers.  

The weather there was about 40 degrees warmer than Chicago on average.  That took some getting used to.  Aiden got his first sun-burn in the park.  Come to find out babies can and should wear sunscreen!

On St. Patrick's Day (one of Toby's favorite holidays) 

we got all dressed up in green and went to the Oasis restaurant, which overlooks Lake Travis. It's very pretty out there.  Then we had plans to go out and party it up on 6th street downtown Austin, but the wear of less than 6 hrs of sleep every night since Jan. 20th hit us at it's usual 9pm and we bailed.

Korbin enjoyed giving Aiden kisses and helping him put in and take out his pacifier!

We spent our days having meals with the family, checking out the city, playing with his cousin Korbin and Aunt Ellie, unpacking Grandpa's house, taking naps, and looking at apartments.  It was a great trip all-in-all. 

hangin' out with Granny

We've just been hanging out around the house.  We took a few trips here and there, but for the most part we've just been playing and sleeping and talking and havin' fun.  The blue "Mr. Right" onesie was made by Aunt Ellie.

There've been a few days where we left our pajamas on all day

Aiden and I are getting ready for our trip to Austin next week.

He'll get to meet his grandpa and his uncle Ryan, plus a whole lot of my friends, like Mary Ellen and Cliff and Jen and Mat and Nikki and Stacey and some others too.

Little man is eating so much now.  He's just tearing through the formula and 

growing like crazy.

The picture on the left is of the new swing that Granny got for him which he LOVES and the little penguin vest and green fox chords I got him at the kids

gymboree store for $10.  He looks like a little computer nerd.

Granny left today.  She went to Florida to visit Aiden's cousin Addison.

5 weeks old!!

We had our 5 week check-up yesterday.  Aiden now weighs a little over 9 lbs and is 21 inches longs.  So he's grown 2 inches and 2 1/2 lbs in a month.  The doctor calls him "wonder-baby" cause there's nothing wrong with him.  He doesn't even fuss at Dr. Minkus when he's squeezing him and moving him all around to check everything out. 

His Granny (Toby's mom) has been visiting since Sunday.  

It's been wonderful having family here. We've been out and about with the baby to restaurants and stores and he's been great.  And having someone here who loves holding the baby gives me lots of nice breaks for ... well I'd like to say cleaning or laundry, but I really just nap :)

Aiden is a grunter in his sleep.  He is fast asleep and everything is fine and he's grunting away.  I made the mistake of thinking his diaper was wet or he was hungry a few times and woke him up only to find out he was dead asleep and fine and now I had to spend the next 30min rocking him back to sleep.  His father sleeps through this hideous grunting just fine, but it keeps me awake like a siren is going off in my bedroom.  Horrible.  I was going crazy with lack of sleep.  Finally last night we put a fan next to my head to whiten the noise... and it worked!!  Hooray.  

I slept so well last night.  I couldn't even hear Toby snoring.

I quit my job at Orvis.  About time I guess.  After working there for 5 years and acting as the assistant manager for at least 2 years I was still only making $12/hr, with no promotion in sight....  I've been in contact with a woman who has a petsitting company that needs administrative help.  She says I can do alot of it at home or bring the baby when I need to be in her office.  Hopefully that will work out.

Aiden has a very distinctive mad face that he makes.  He sticks his neck out really far and scrunches his face up.  Poor guy.  And of course I think it's hilarious and take pictures.

Nonna (grandma in Italian, my mother) sent us a sling to use.  It's so great.  

He loves  it and it frees up my hands so that I can read, or do the dishes, 

or  the laundry, or type.  He sleeps "like a baby" inside it.

                                           He has a silly hat with ears that he wears that we think is too cute.

It  seems like all we do is take pictures of the little guy.

Maybe we do... STOP JUDGING!!  Man.  People are so rude :)

His cousin Korbin was not too happy about Aiden when he first got here.  He got pretty upset when Ellie held Aiden.  But as time went by he seemed to get used to the idea and towards the end of their visit was happily giving the baby kisses and trying to

 touch him all the time.

Ellie and Korbin went home on Tuesday. Good thing too 

because we had a huge snow storm in Chicago all day Wednesday.  Toby got called off of work and they closed the mall where he works. Now everything is covered in sheets of ice.  Not so fun. 

I feel like I have read a million books on babies and sleep habits and breast feeding and what to do and what not to do... and yet I still feel like I've learned nothing.  

Sometimes Aiden is wide awake at 3am after a feeding and has no interest in going back to sleep, even though the lights are dim and the room is warm, his belly if full, he's swaddled, clean diaper, we're singing... nope.  He just wants to cry, fuss or scream sometimes.  Some people have said "let them cry" and then I've read that newborns can't soothe themselves yet so you have to rock them and let them suck on a pacifier or your finger and sing and swaddle them.  I guess we'll figure it out eventually.  At least by baby #2 :)

Bath time has become one of my favorite times of the day.  I take him in the tub with me and fill it to about ankle level and we just sit and float.   It's warm and comfortable and he rarely fusses.

I don't know yet what we're going to do about employment.  I don't think I want to go back to work downtown.  I make the same amount of money I'd be paying in childcare... that seems silly.  I'm looking into nannying a few days a week, or waiting tables.  We'll see.  I still have a few weeks to decide.

Here we are a few days after we brought Aiden home. Most of these pictures are taken by my sister who is a professional photographer. She and her son Korbin came to help out with the little guy. It's been very nice to have someone to hand the baby off to in the morning so I can go back to sleep for a few hours.

My sister is selfless, beautiful and amazing. Her son, Korbin, is just adorable. His smile lights up the room and brightens my day. We can only hope that Aiden grows up to be like him. We'd love for them to be best friends! :)  

(Ellie wrote this.. although I agree with all of it except for one thing)