Roadtrip!

At the end of July we took Aiden on his first roadtrip to Thousand Oaks to meet his great grandparents on my side of the family. Mommy packed up the car and dropped off Holly and Luna at the kennel all by herself, before picking up Daddy from work on our way down south. Not an easy task considering it was 100 degrees outside and someone decided he didn't need to take a nap all day!

Aiden did great in the car, with very minimal amounts of crying, and only requiring one stop in Santa Maria at In N Out for all 3 of us to eat.

Aiden got to meet all 3 of his Great Grandparents on my side, Gam & Papa and Oma.

 
He did great all day, even with what little amount of naps he took while we all had lunch together. That night was a different story though...a total freak-out, hysterical meltdown. Nothing would calm him down. He eventually conked out in my arms, and I was scared to move him for the rest of the night!

This was the first time he slept in the big boy part of the pack n play (meaning, not in the bassinet portion), and he did great! He fussed a little bit when I first put him down, but he didn't wake up any more than normal.

Aiden went to his first restaurant while we were down there...lunch at Stacked. What a fun place - you get to customize your food (burgers, pizza, mac & cheese, ice cream sandwiches, etc.) and order everything on a iPad at the table. Besides, any place where you can get mac & cheese on your burger is alright in my book! Aiden fell asleep and slept through most of the meal. No surprise there!

After lunch it was time for the trek back home. He did great again, with only 1 stop in Santa Maria to eat and change his diaper. Way to go, Bubba!

We decided since we had already messed up his routine, we would go ahead and transition him to his crib. He did great, sleeping almost 7 hours! Woohoo! Mommy could get used to this!

We quickly learned that we needed to buy a breathable bumper though, because he managed to get his legs caught through the slats on the crib. No injuries, and he was totally happy. But not worth the risk!

And someone has outgrown his size 1 diapers and has graduated up to size 2! He's growing so fast!

2 Months

So I actually wrote this back in July but our computer took a tank, and by the time we got it up and running again, I was back to work...so here it is a month and a half late...

Time is flying by and Aiden is already 2 months old! Can you believe it?! I know I can't!

Our little man has mastered tracking, batting at objects, holding his head up and smiling, and will smile as soon as he sees Mommy or Daddy. He also responds back with a smile if you smile at him. He "talks" to us with coos and other adorable noises, and is beginning to squeal. He is becoming a drooler, blows drool bubbles and plays almost non-stop with his tongue. He loves his playmat and swing, looking at fans and lights, and listening to music (especially Disney songs and 80's music!). He also recently discovered his thumb and tries to suck on it. Sometimes it ends up being his whole fist, but it doesn't keep him from trying to find just his thumb. He consistently sleeps 4.5 hours at night (yes...only 1 nighttime feeding! Hooray!), and has even teased us with a few 5-6 hour nights...a very welcome treat!

Aiden just had his 2 month appointment and the doctor says he continues to look great. Everything is right on track developmentally! Our poor little bubba had to get 4 shots and 1 oral vaccine. He has started making tears, and when he looked up at me with those watery eyes I teared up with him. Good thing my mom was there for moral support!

Here are his 2 month stats:

Weight: 12 pounds, 1 ounce (38th percentile)

Height: 24.5 inches (95th percentile)

Head circumference: 15.75 inches (72nd percentile)

I guess we grow them long and lean! He is already outgrowing some of his 3 month clothes because he is so long, and we just had to move up his car seat straps to the next level. The other night I heard a weird noise coming from his sleeper and I couldn't figure out what it was. He was kicking his legs and his heels were hitting the edge of the Pack N Play! Guess it's time to get serious about moving him to his crib!

We continue to have lots of visitors here at the Dake Family B & B. Shortly after the Stephens Family and Grandma and Papa Mike left, we were visited by Cousin Mark and Yesenia and their family. They were finishing up a roadtrip to Seattle. The babies loved to stare at each other!

We also got a visit from the "greats"...Gigi, Great Grandpa, and Great Aunt Lainie and Uncle Ed (whose promotion from "Great" to "Fantastic" is pending).

 

Then Aiden finally got to meet his Auntie Tori who is home for a week from the Central Africa Republic. They both fell in love with each other, and it was great getting to spend time with her during her trip home to the states!

And then he got a quick visit from his Great Aunt Cindy, who stopped by on her way to Yosemite.

He's making a good dent on meeting all his relatives! There's still a little time for people to come visit before I head back to work in August!

And somewhere in the middle of all our visitors, Jeff and I had our 3rd anniversary! We didn't really do anything to celebrate. In fact, Jeff bbq'd hamburgers and I made brownies. Talk about living large! But he did pick up some flowers, kettle corn and Cowboy Cookies from the SLO Farmer's Market...my favorite treats! It is hard for me to believe it has already been 3 years since our wedding. Life really does just fly by, and I'm trying to make a point to enjoy the little things in life. I love the adventures that Jeff and I have already embarked on, and I so look forward to where our life is headed, especially as our new little family of 3. I know there are good things in store for us!

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!