Beach Baby!!

Every July, Vic and I take a trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. We absolutely love it there and we were so excited to bring Aiden this year! Aiden is now 25 weeks old and a bundle of energy and smiles. Here are some pictures from our trip:

First day at the pool. It was pretty cloudy when we arrived, so we decided to lounge out here instead of lugging all our gear to the beach. Aiden was so excited to be in the water. He was so mesmerized by the ripples in the pool!

Hanging with Daddy on the beach. Aiden loved watching the ocean and took very good naps as he was lulled to sleep by the sound of the waves! Vic and I definitely had "new parent" syndrome when deciding what to bring to the beach. We brought everything!! We figured we'd just see what worked and what didn't. HUGE shout out to my friend Katie for recommending we bring the stroller!! It was all we needed!

Hehe, my chubby monkey... so happy.

Another cute pic of Aiden chilling by the pool. We ended up spending the majority of the time by the pool since we were more comfortable putting him in the pool versus into the ocean. Myrtle Beach had a serious heat wave while we were there!!

Mommy and Aiden at the pool

Sunset picture at Broadway at the Beach. Aiden is passed out from the swimming that he did with Daddy during the day!

Neat picture from our balcony looking down onto the numerous pools at our condo.

Happy baby! Aiden LOVED the water!! He would splash around and practice his swim kicks!

Beachside!

This was our best attempt at a family picture by the water. It was hard to get Aiden to look at the camera, he kept turning his head to watch the ocean!

My little beach bum

It was so funny watching Aiden in the water. He would constantly splash his arms into the pool, sending drops of water everywhere. When he would splash his face... he seemed so confused on where it came from!!

Daddy took us to Ripley's Aquarium for some fish gazing. Aiden really had a great time watching all the fish swim by.

Jellyfish!

Aiden looking at the great big fish tank at the entrance of the aquarium.

We had such a great time at the beach. Aiden is so curious now, it was really fun watching him interact with the things around him and try to figure things out. He was an angel all week.. and I'm not just saying that! Vic and I were able to go out to dinner every night, Aiden in tow, and every night at least one couple would comment to us how lucky we were to have such a wonderful, well- behaved baby! We're definitely looking forward to many more trips to come!

5 Months!!

Happy 5 Months, Aiden!!!

I cannot believe that my little boy is already 5 months old. I thought time flew by fast when he was 1-2 months old... now I feel like it's passing by at warp speed! It is absolutely amazing to watch Aiden grow and reach new milestones!! Lots of updates to give!!

We celebrated Vic's first Father's Day on June 19th. Aiden and Rocky bought Daddy nine holes of golf with Uncle Mark and we spent the evening with Vic's family. All in all a very nice day. I bought Aiden a special Father's Day shirt for him to wear... can you believe I totally forgot to take a picture of Daddy and Aiden together? Sorry, Daddy!!

Here are a few more recent pictures of our happy boy.

Aiden cheesin'

Aiden loves his Baby Einstein bear. He spends lots of time babbling to it!

Sitting up for Mommy!

Now that Aiden is a lot bigger and has much better head and neck control, we decided to start opening more of the toys I received at my baby shower. We started with the Baby Einstein Around the World Entertainer. Poor Aiden, he's not quite long enough to actually propel himself around (his feet still hang), but he loves all the different colors and toys. I wondering if it is a bit overstimulating.... check out the video below. He seems interested... doesn't he?

Just a couple of weeks ago we started Aiden on solids. I was a bit hesitant to begin, especially since many say you shouldn't start until they are 6 months, but the pediatrician seemed to think he's ready and Aiden started staring at us while we eat.. so I figured it didn't hurt to try it out. We started with rice cereal, but had to switch to oatmeal when my poor baby got constipated on it! When we called the pediatrician she said, "oh yes, rice cereal can be binding"... then why the heck start babies on it!?

Here's a cute before picture of Aiden... he's content.. and clean.

Yum yum, Aiden!! Here's a quick clip of his first couple of bites.

Now that we've been feeding him for a couple of weeks now, he seems to be taking to solids much better. We're still only giving him a couple of teaspoons a day since my goal right now is just for him to get used to eating from a spoon. I can't wait to start introducing different flavors and textures!

Aiden has also become much more tactile with his toys. He's starting to grab, mouth, and cling to everything. I love that I can give him a toy and he can entertain himself for a pretty good amount of time. One of my mom's friends gave Aiden this super cute teddy bear that I had been keeping on a shelf in his room. I noticed recently that Aiden would sometimes glance at it... so I gave it to him. Here's what he did.

So cute!! I could lie and say that Aiden is giving the bear a kiss (wouldn't that be so sweet!?), but he's actually gnawing on the poor bear's ear. =)

Another milestone... DRUMROLL PLEASE.....

Hooray, Aiden!! The big roll!!! This is one of his more seasoned ones. It took him awhile to get here. But now that he's rolling more consistently, he's quite the mover!! We really have to keep an eye on him so he doesn't roll off of anything and I'm pretty nervous at night. Aiden learned to roll from back to front first and is still not great at rolling the other way around. So at night, I'm terrified that he'll roll onto his stomach and smother himself! Needless to say, Mommy hasn't been getting much sleep lately.

Aiden is becoming such an active little boy. He's gaining more control over his body and engaging with the environment around him. He is constantly "talking" to those around him and is such a friendly baby. Everything he does involves a giggle and a smile!

All this activity makes Aiden one tired little boy!!!

I couldn't love anything more. <3

4 Months!

Happy 4 Months, Aiden!!

Aiden had his 4 month well-baby visit last week and weighed in at 14.0 lbs and a total length of 26 inches. He got his next round of vaccinations and was just as brave as the first time... just a little wail and he was done with all that! The doctor gave us the ok to try rice cereal when we felt he was ready and said that everything looked A-Ok! Aiden's breathing is much quieter now and I have to strain to hear him breathe at night through the baby monitor. Hopefully, it will keep improving over time.

This past month was my very first Mother's Day! While it was again bittersweet for me not having my mom around to share this milestone with me, I did enjoy extra hugs and love from Aiden and my hubby. We started the day visiting my mom, had a nice lunch with my brother, took a stroll around Centennial Park, had dinner with Vic's family, and just enjoyed some time with the three of us. Low key, but special!

Aiden and I at nap time on Mother's Day. He's such a happy baby! How did we get so lucky!?

Mother's Day flowers from my two boys: Aiden and Rocky.

Just before Memorial Day, Aiden and I had lunch with Aunt Josefina, Aunt Jennifer and Logan. It is so adorable to see Aiden and Logan together. Logan loves him so much! I can't wait until Aiden started crawling! They will be great playmates!

Super cute picture of Logan saying hello to Aiden. Logan is super good with him, so gentle and gives him lots of kisses and pats!

Yes, the outfits were planned. =)

At 4 months, Aiden has been working hard to reach those important milestones!! Here are some updates on what he is doing now:

Aside from being super smiley, Aiden can now officially reach and grab for his toys, then bring them to his mouth! He is also consistently helping us hold his bottle during feeds.

Rolling! Well.. not quite yet, but we're getting there! I think Aiden might be one of those babies that roll from back to front first. He seems to be able to get his head and trunk around, but that tooshie of his gets stuck! We've been trying to incorporate aspects of rolling into his tummy time and floor play. Big thanks to Sarah for teaching me some techniques to encourage the big roll!

Going to attempt solids! Here's Aiden in his brand new highchair! He had such a great time with me and Daddy at Babies R Us trying out all the different chairs! Here's the winner!

Teething! Aiden has been super drooley lately and gnawing on his hands a lot. I didn't think much of it until my friend Kris suggested that he may be teething. I pulled up the upper lip and WHOA! There are 2 front teeth trying to bust through!

Giggling! Vic and I heard Aiden giggle for the first time this past week. Oh my goodness... super cute!!! I'll try to post of quick video of it on my next post.

Head control! Aiden's head and neck are so much stronger now! He's able to hold his head up during tummy time for up to 15-20 minutes at a time! He may be able to go longer, but he gets tired of being on his stomach for so long that I haven't tried. We have decided to leave the car seat in the car since, aside from the fact Aiden is getting heavy and with the added weight of the seat it's becoming too much, he is able to hold his head well enough where we don't have to keep a constant hand on it.

It's so amazing how in just a few short weeks my infant has turned into a full fledged baby! I love watching him grow and change, but being sure to really cherish all those cuddles. At the rate he's growing, who knows when he'll grow out of those!!

Here are a couple more fun pictures:

Here's a pic of Aiden with Aunt Julliann, Grandma, Cousin David and Aunt Ashley.

Haha! I had to post this one so that I could give props to Uncle Brian and his first diaper change! Uncle Brian and Aiden both did great!

Even after 4 months, Rocky is still trying to get used to having Aiden around.. permanently. But I definitely think they are growing on each other. Every morning I feed Aiden around 7 am-ish. When I'm done, I put Aiden back in his crib for a little time to play while I get ready for the day. When I come back, this is what I see every time.. Rocky keeping Aiden company, standing guard. I love my puppy.

I think they'll learn to become great buddies.

Florida!!

Sorry for the long lull between posts! So much has been going on, I'll have to divide this update into two!

In mid-May, we made a trip down to my parent's house in Lakewood Ranch, Florida with my stepdad and brother for a little mini-vacation. It was the first time since my mom passed away, so I admit I had some mixed feelings about going, but we all had a great time and really enjoyed spending time with each other.

It was Aiden's very first time on an airplane, and he did great! We scheduled our flights so that they corresponded with his regular feeding time, so after a bottle he basically napped or played quietly the rest of the way! We had many passengers comment about what an "angel" Aiden was. He really was great, but I also think the crying babies on the plane made him look even better. Thanks to everyone for the great flying advice! A special shout out to Aunt Josefina for calming my nerves that morning!

At the airport before our flight out. Aiden was officially "Property of Southwest". =)

We did, however, learn that next time we fly we need to allot a lot more time at the airport before the flight. Aside from having to check Aiden in at the airport to get a special boarding pass, it took forever to get through security! The main holdup was because my breastmilk apparently has a high zinc content, which happens to be a main component for explosives. YIKES!

Here's a picture of Aiden by the pool with Uncle Brian. My brother spent a day at Walt Disney World and got Aiden his first pair of Micky Mouse ears!!

Here's Aiden decked out in his Disney gear, all courtesy of Uncle Brian.

Here's a cute shot of Aiden by the pool. It was his first time in the water and he loved it! Poor guy though, it was so hot in Florida and he's all decked out in his swim gear. Luckily the pool was refreshingly cool!

A rare family picture with all three of us!

Daddy and Aiden in the pool

Mommy and Aiden, poolside!

Here's a cute video of Aiden in the pool with Daddy. He definitely was a bit confused when we initially put him in, but he quickly warmed up to the idea and even spent some time kicking away!

Florida was the perfect first big trip for Aiden. My parents' good friends, Ray and Carrie, and their daughter Stephanie were so wonderful and set the house up for Aiden. We had a pack n' play, tummy time mats, a swing, toys, towels, everything! It was so great to have a nice home away from home!

Things I learned from this trip:

1. Flying with a baby is easy, as long as it is planned appropriately.. and you have a bottle and toys ready.

2. I pack WAY too much. Aiden only wore about 1/4 of the things I brought for him

3. Check the car seat and the stroller at the gate (versus at the counter), your belongings are cared for much better!

4. Don't eat a lot of meat, seafood or dairy before having to check your breastmilk... too much zinc

5. Blue Lizard suntan lotion is the way to go for infants under 6 months =)

Where are we going next?? =)