Meeting the Stephens Family

The long-awaited visit had finally arrived! Aiden got to meet his Auntie Melissa, Uncle Derek and cousins Grady and Kendall. They were joined by Grandma and Papa Mike (and Blondie) while they stayed with us for 5 days. I know Melissa and Grady in particular had been counting down the days until they got to meet Aiden! Grady has become quite enamored with his baby cousin during our FaceTime chats!

Aiden had a lot of "firsts" while they were here. We took him to Farmer's Market for the first time, a Saturday staple in our household. He slept the whole time and hung out in the shade with Daddy while Mommy, Grandma and Auntie Melissa went shopping and Derek, Grady and Kendall played on the playground. (Papa Mike stayed back at the house with the doggies).

Aiden also had his first 6-hour sleep fest. It was a small miracle and I kept looking at the clock in disbelief when he woke up. I could get used to this! Keep it up, buddy!

He went for his first long walk. We have been taking Aiden on walks around the neighborhood, but since they usually happen in the afternoon/evening after it cools off outside, he doesn't have a long tolerance for being in the stroller and we've been keeping the walks relatively short as a result. But this time we snuck out in the morning before it got too hot and went for walk on the path along the main road by our house. He did pretty good, but started getting tired and did his half-strength cry for most of the way back.

It got pretty hot during their visit (108 degrees!), so to get the kids out of the house and away from the TV, we escaped to Cayucos and took Aiden on his first trip to the beach. It was a good 30 degrees cooler and had a nice breeze. I think he liked the sound of the waves, because he promptly fell asleep. Kendall had fun just playing in the sand, while Grady played paddleball and made sand castles with his Uncle Jeff.

 

 

 

 

We also took Aiden on his first trip to the park. We have a great park near our house (Sherwood Forest Park) that has a big playground with some neat equipment and comes complete with a castle and dragon! The kids had fun, and once again, Aiden fell asleep. I'm sensing a theme here...

Aiden also had another blowout. Really, kiddo...you don't need to make this a frequent event! So Grandma got to help clean him off (she always says she doesn't mind poopy diapers!), and Kendall helped give him a bath. Although, her "helping" was mostly her playing with the water and dumping it on his face. It was still cute!

We also spent a lot of time reading books, coloring, sidewalk bowling, and snuggling with Aiden.

It was great having everyone here. Makes me wish we lived closer together so the cousins could hang out more! Hopefully it won't be too long before we see them again!

4th of July

Nonni and Papa Bill came up for the 4th of July. They helped Jeff do some major yard work...we rented a trencher and trenched along the perimeter of the yard to run sprinkler/drip lines for future planting along the fence. Since we had the trencher for the whole day, they used it to dig giant holes in the ground to plant some shade trees to help save our grass, decrease our water use, and hopefully help cool off the house. We planted two shade trees (Chinese Pistache and Red Maple) and a dwarf Comice Pear (to rival Harry & David) tree. It will be nice when they are fully grown...stay tuned in 10 years! Ha! While they were all working hard out in the heat, Aiden and I stayed cool in the house. Thanks for all your hard work, Jeff, Mom and Dad!

We also had more visitors...family friends Ellen (aka, Elkie) and Dana were passing through on their way home from Monterey and got to meet Aiden. He stayed awake for most of their visit and then promptly passed out after they left.

We didn't actually see any fireworks on the 4th. Everyone was exhausted from the heat and hard work, and they moved where they shot off the fireworks so we can no longer see them from our house. Bummer! But we did enjoy a yummy BBQ of hamburgers and corn on the cob, and dressed Aiden in his cute little outfit!

Aiden also experienced his first blowout diaper. Well, we all experienced it. Of course it happened while I was nursing him, so he got poop all over himself, me, the Boppy and the pillow I had the Boppy propped on since I was still in bed. Needless to say, everything promptly went in the wash and Aiden got a bath. I knew it was bound to happen one of these days, but I'm hoping there aren't too many of them in our future!

Hoping you all had a fun and safe 4th of July!

Weeks 5 & 6

Aiden was nice enough to give us a taste of what longer periods of uninterrupted sleep feels like. He went a whole 4 1/2 hours before he woke up! I never thought I'd be so excited to get that little sleep. How things change once you're a mommy!

He is starting to coo (which is adorable!) and his sort-of smiles are becoming more frequent. He is starting to smile in response to seeing me and Jeff, which melts my heart! He is also starting to play with his tongue. Who knew it was such a fun toy?!

Aiden loves his playmat, and will tolerate tummy time ok while he's under there. He isn't quite sure what to think of the music, lights and bright colors, but is making friends with the animals. He discovered himself in the mirror, and kept staring at the cute baby who was looking at him.

I have been trying the whole sleep-training thing, but not too successfully. We only made it through one round of "crying it out", and I think it was more than either of us could handle. He was crying so hysterically after 10 minutes that his little body was shaking and he whimpered when I picked him up. It was an instant guilt trip and tear-inducer. We've been trying what I like to call the "rinse and repeat" method instead...put him down when he gets drowsy, pick him back up when he starts to fuss, rinse and repeat. It hasn't been too successful thus far, but we'll see if I can keep up with it. It is definitely time-consuming!

We've also been working on trying to transition Aiden to his crib. He has been sleeping in our room in the bassinet attachment of the Pack N Play, but he is quickly outgrowing it and will not fit for much longer! He isn't too fond of the crib so far, but we did have one 45 minute nap in it!

Jeff was nice enough to let me escape on Saturday morning to go to Farmer's Market and Target. I have been getting pretty stir-crazy since we aren't taking Aiden anywhere crowded or with recirculated air until he gets his shots...too much Measles and Whooping Cough going around! I was gone for a little less than 2 hours, and Aiden was well-behaved for Daddy. He woke up right as I got home, just in time for another round at the milk bar.

Aiden got to meet his Great Aunt Linda. He was nice enough to wake up while she was here so she got to see his eyes and interact with him. Although, he's still pretty darn cute when he's sleeping!