4 Months

This little guy just keeps on growing! He's already 4 months old!

Aiden has recently discovered his feet, "talks" and drools up a storm, puts everything he touches into his mouth, and is SO close to rolling over from his back to his tummy! Any day now!

Here we are at his 4 month appointment (before the shots)...

He did great and the doctor says everything is right on track. Please note that our little piggie has jumped about 30% in the weight category! Only a couple more months before he gets to start eating solid foods!

Here are his 4 months stats:

Weight: 16 pounds, 10 ounces (68th percentile)

Height: 27 inches (98th percentile)

Head circumference: 16.5 inches (50th percentile)

Aiden also went out to dinner for the first time. We went to AJ Spur's with Jeff's Uncle Bob and Aunt 'D' while they were visiting in town. He loved walking around the restaurant while people watching, and even fell asleep at the table!

 And we knew it was coming eventually...Aiden got his first cold. It started with my mom, then went to Aiden, and then me. Fortunately it was only a runny and stuffy nose and went away after only a few days. We got to test out his humidifier, which helped keep him breathing. He was definitely glazed over though, and kept looking at us like "why aren't you doing anything?!"

Dog Splash Days

Every year the weekend after Labor Day, the Templeton Community Pool hosts Dog Splash Days. You can pay to let your dogs go swimming in the pools before they drain them the next week. The money goes towards a local dog park. They have people in the pool to help the dogs get in/out, and there are tons of toys for the dogs to play with. We had forgotten to sign the girls up last year, so we didn't want to miss it this year!

The girls have never gone swimming before, so we weren't sure how they would like it. Jeff had gone ahead with the girls to get them checked in, while I was getting Aiden out of the car and loaded into the stroller so I missed their initial reaction. According to Jeff, Luna got all excited and jumped straight into the big pool. When she made it back up to the surface, I guess the look on her face was sheer terror of "Oh my gosh, there's no bottom to this thing!" Jeff said she was excessively slapping her paws down into the water, hoping to hit solid ground. She eventually made it over to the ramp and got back out, never to set foot in the pool again. Holly saw it all go down and decided she wanted nothing to do with it either! Eventually Jeff was able to convince them to play in the kiddie pool. Holly got in and would run around in the water, while Luna was going to each and every person there for some loving. They eventually both got in and "snorkeled" their way through the kiddie pool. Sorry these aren't the best pictures, but I was shooting one-handed, through a chain-link fence while feeding Aiden a bottle with the other hand. Not too shabby!

Luna also managed to get out past the gate twice and checked out a BBQ that some people were having. I was feeding Aiden, so Jeff had to chase her down while trying to not let Holly get out either. Fun times!

 

That weekend we also put together Aiden's exersaucer. He wasn't too sure what to think about it, but ended up eventually loving it! 

Needless to say, by the end of the day, we were all tired and worn out! 

Oh, and he also graduated to size 3 diapers. After 4 blow-outs in 1 week, I decided it was time to move up!

Labor Day Weekend

For Labor Day weekend we had a bunch of visitors. Aiden got to meet more of his cousins...The Mitas Family! Jordan, Andrew and Sofia were all determined to make Aiden smile and laugh, and were great at entertaining him. They also got to experience him having a total freak-out, hysterical meltdown...crying and screaming non-stop from 9-11 pm! Eek! Sorry again Mitas Family (and neighbors) for all the noise!

The next day Aiden got to meet his Great Aunt Susie and Uncle Tom. Aiden fell in love with Susie right away and loved getting some snuggles in with her! We also got to do our Fantasy Football draft for our family league, The Brockett Blitz. It's the first time we've gotten to do it with other people present. Lots of trash talking and nerves! Hopefully Aiden will be our good luck charm this year!

Grandma and Papa Mike also came to visit after a roadtrip to Oregon and got to see the whole gang. Grandma stayed the whole week to babysit while Nonni was at a conference in Las Vegas. Thanks again, Grandma for watching Aiden! We appreciate it!

We took Aiden to his first BBQ at Jeff's co-worker's house. He made friends with their 6 month old son, Owen...affectionately called "Tank." He weighs 27 pounds and is already wearing 18 month clothes! And we thought Aiden was big!

Aiden graduated from the sling in his bathtub, and took his first bath with just the little bench in it. He loved being able to splash in the water! We all got a little wet!

Apple Picking

We decided to take Aiden apple picking at the Avila Valley Barn. Jeff and I have done it in the past, although we usually forget and wait until it is too late in the season to pick them ourselves and just buy them from the orchard instead. We love going to this barn and look forward to taking Aiden for many more trips to come.

We got to take the hayride out to the orchard and pick some Gala apples. Aiden actually was awake for most of the time there! We also drove up See Canyon to Gopher Glen to get some of Jeff's favorite apple cider and some more varieties of apples so we could make a crisp. Yum yum!

Aiden also gave us his first real giggle! Of course I didn't catch it on camera, because as soon as he saw it he would stop. He giggled once when I tickled him on the changing table, and again later while "boxing" with Daddy. It was adorable! One of these days I'll catch it!

My mom had gone back home for the weekend, so we decided to go again a few weeks later when my dad was up visiting. This time we could pick Jonagold apples. And we introduced Aiden to the resident goats! Everybody had fun! Hopefully this will become a new family tradition!

And we also had an apple crisp bake-off. We couldn't decide which we liked better...a recipe with oats or one without. Turns out, they're both delicious and we gobbled them both up!

2 1/2 to 3 months

After our roadtrip down south, I got brave and started taking Aiden out to places on my own. Our first trip by ourselves was to Target, naturally. I carried him around in the Bjorn and he slept the entire time we were there. I also took him into my work while I had a meeting with my boss to discuss the details of my upcoming return to work. Again, he slept through the whole thing in the Bjorn. Everyone loved him! Jeff and I also made our first Costco trip since before Aiden was born. Guess what, he slept through the whole thing in the Bjorn! Anyone else noticing a pattern here?!

Speaking of sleeping, Aiden gave us a real treat! He slept through the whole night! Hallelujah! Ok, so not really the whole night, but as they like to define it...sleeping for at least 7 hours straight. He slept from 9:15-4:15! Woohoo! Mommy could get used to this! Here's video footage from after a full night's sleep...

Aiden at 11 weeks from Mackenzie Dake on Vimeo.


Nonni (my mom) moved in on August 6th to become our daycare after I head back to work. We are so, so, so grateful and thankful that she retired early and moved up here to do this! Gives me a little more peace of mind knowing that our Bubba is under such good care while I'm not home. I couldn't think of anyone better for the job! And thanks to my dad also, for still working and dealing with losing his wife to us!

The time had come for me to go back to work. I am so thankful that I got to spend a whole 12 weeks at home with our little guy. I have friends who had to go back to work much earlier, and I cannot imagine going back a second earlier than I did. I definitely made sure to get in every last snuggle I could the week before I went back!

The weekend before I went back I was lucky enough to get the flu! Awful! It was pretty miserable holding a puke bucket and nursing at the same time. I'm so glad my mom was here already to help out! Fortunately, no one else caught it. And Aiden must have known I needed sleep, because he graced us with an 8 1/2 hour stretch from 9-5:30. Thank you, Bubba!

With my return to work, Aiden had to quickly transition to bottles. We started supplementing with formula because I simply cannot pump enough to keep up with the hungry little guy. Fortunately, he transitioned great to the bottles and didn't even notice the formula!

The first weekend after I went back to work, I had a continuing education course all Saturday. I had signed up for it while I was out on maternity leave. I considered cancelling, but it was local, only 1 day (instead of the whole weekend), and was sponsored by my company (aka, free) so I decided to just bite the bullet and go. That weekend "The Clan" also happened to be visiting in Morro Bay. They are my "Aunties" and "Uncles" that have known me since the day I was born. It was great that we got to see them and they all got to meet Aiden.

And here is Mr. Aiden at 3 months. I don't have any stats for his height and weight since we don't go back to the doctor until 4 months. But he is definitely growing like a weed!

He is starting to roll from his back to his side consistently, more often to the right. He loves to kick and "stand", loves to smile and coo, and is totally obsessed with his hand/fist. If only he could fit the whole thing in his mouth! And he is really starting to love bath time! I think we have a water boy on our hands!

And here's one last video of Aiden kicking...yes, this is what I felt him doing inside me all the time while I was pregnant! What an active little boy!

Aiden kicking from Mackenzie Dake on Vimeo.