Stacking blocks

A few days ago, Aidric surprised me by stacking one block on top of the other, instead of just "crashing" my towers. Today, he absolutely SHOCKED me by consistently stacking 3,4 and 5 block up!

14 Months (TOP TEN)

Some of my bloggin' friends have started a Top Ten list once a month. It's a great way to document the little things we never want to forget. So, here is my first Top Ten-

I LOVE:

1. the way you say "moo moo" when we ask you what a cow says

2. how you immediately put your thumb in your mouth the minute you see a soft/cuddle blanket

3. how you hold my cell phone up to the side of your head, behind your ear and say (in a higher pitched voice than you normally use) "hi-ee"

4. the way you smell after your bath in your clean jammies

5. how you adamantly point to whatever you want- you kind of nod your head at it too and then look at one us waiting for us to deliver said item

6. that you are not a picky eater - AT ALL- you never make us worry that you are not getting enough food and you will eat almost ANYTHING

7. when you get a case of the giggles- and you laugh and laugh at whatever it is we're doing no matter how many times we repeat it

8. when you wake up in the morning or from a nap and find the book that I snuck in there after you had fallen asleep. you lay there on your back, with the book up over your head, flipping through the pages. then, when you are done, you stand up and throw the book on the floor.

9. the way you "bark" when you see a dog. but it sounds more like, "ooh, ooh" with the occasional "oof oof" in there

10. that when i go to get you out of your crib, you are always standing in the same place and the minute you see me, you reach down, get your blankie and hand it to me. i have NO IDEA what you want me to do with it, but i always thank you before putting it back in your crib and getting you out.

I think it's almost impossible to do just 10- b/c if you say 10, you inevitably end up with another one after you think you've finished. So, here's 11.....

11. the way you smack/blot your lips together the minute you see my chapstick. you act like you are putting it on too and then you look around and smile so big while you are doing it!

much overdue pics!

Two posts in a row with no pictures, but we're back on track now. This is a random assortment. A week or two ago, I was carrying Aidric through the kitchen when he adamantly pointed at something on the counter and insisted I go towards it. Turned out he wanted the peach, so I handed it to him to see what he would do. He had only ever eaten peaches cut up before. He immediately brought it up to his mouth and took a big bite. I had to pry it out of his hands to wash it and then put him in his high chair to let him have at it.


I LOVE how he says "bubbles". It sounds more like "BUB- BOH". He asks for bub-boh every time we go outside and at random other times, such as diaper changes and in the bath.


A few weeks ago, we bought this carrier. Over the weekend, Chris mowed the lawn with Aidric in it and Aidric had a great time. I went out on the porch to see how he was doing, and he just looked up at me, grinning and waving away!

We need a new blog name!

I am so uncreative- when I named this blog, it was not something I gave more than 10 seconds of thought to. Aidric was already taken, so I went with aidricz. I was much more concerned with getting our NICU updates out there than what I called it!

But, now that I am doing pregnancy updates and soon there will be another munchkin to update on, we need a new name.

If you have ANY ideas, let me know!!

Speaking of new blogs, I have added a new link- my cousin Janelle has started a blog now that her second baby is due to arrive very soon. Check out the link, b/c she updated yesterday with some very exciting news!!

As for us, I have been slacking - mainly due to being overwhelmed with new information from my doctor. After having a lot of contractions, I called my doctor and she had me come in. I don't know if I can describe this exactly right, but the GOOD news is that the part of my cervix that is closest to the baby is still nice and closed. The not so good news is that the other side has already started to open. A "normal" cervix is 4cm and mine was measured to be 3 last week. So, we don't have as much to work with and having any changes in it is not a good thing. She threatened bed rest, but said she wouldn't do it full-time quite yet as long as I promised to take a few days off and then be very very careful.

I can't tell you how hard it is to do that, but we are trying. Chris has taken over so much with Aidric. I am not supposed to go up and down the stairs all day, so that means Chris bringing him up and down for naps, etc. It's going to be a long 20 weeks!! (or as close to 20 more as we can get!)

Please pray for us that I have NO progress at my weekly check-in next week. That would be a great sign. Things will change week by week, but we will be thankful for each week that I get through without progress.

IT'S A ..........

Holy cow, it's a ..... GIRL!!!!!!

I am so shocked!! At my 13 week ultrasound the technician "guessed" it was a boy, and there appeared to be a pretty prominent boy part in there!! Well, I guess not! Today, the tech said that not only is there no penis, there is VERY CLEAR girl anatomy. So, there you have it! A little girl!!

She looks perfect and healthy and is measuring just a tiny bit behind my due date, which isn't a problem. Based on her measurements, she is about 11 oz now.

Pregnancy Update!

Wow- how is it possible that I am 19 weeks pregnant already??? I had my first appointment with the nurse specialist who runs the preterm prevention program today. It was really interesting and eye-opening. I had no idea I would have so many restrictions. Apparently, in an ideal world, I should sit around all day with my feet up. Hmmm, that doesn't sound too bad until you factor in a 14 month old who wants to play and be held.

I am 100% ok with not vacuuming or cleaning bath tubs (two of the many no-nos). However, it is going to be REALLY hard to limit how much I hold Aidric. He loves to be held - especially right after naps- and he makes his wishes known really loudly when I try to put him down.

But, onto the exciting news- my BIG ultrasound has been rescheduled........to THIS Wednesday!!!! I'm so excited. In less than 48 hours, we'll know if we're having a boy or a girl!! Any guesses? Check back on Wednesday- I'll update as soon as I can!

(And can you believe this belly already? I swear I wasn't this big with Aidric until at least 25 weeks!)

How could I forget the cake??

Once again, Aidric LOVED his cake! You can see how big his piece was and he did not stop until it was merely crumbs and he couldn't pick it up anymore. Even then, he was not happy it was over!

Aidric's second FIRST BIRTHDAY!!

We had a family party in Indiana to celebrate Aidric's first birthday a little late. Thanks to everyone for coming- it was so much fun to see everyone. Especially Brayden and Tre- two of my cousin's had little boys in May- all three boys are within three weeks of each other! Tre is "pulling" the wagon and Aidric and Brayden are enjoying the ride!




Here are some of the kids once we got the party hats out. As soon as she saw the hats, my niece, Ella, who is 3, exclaimed, "It's a PARTY!!" Apparently, it wasn't a party until the hats came out!





Opening some presents- and then deciding that he would rather read his new book while cousin Ella opens the rest for him!



This is just a cool picture of a dragon fly that my cousin Alex picked up after it was injured.

The Future Mr. & Mrs.

Gretchen and I had so much fun taking pictures. We both love photography and always talk about how we wish we lived closer so we could enjoy it together. We took advantage of being together for a few days and having the cutest little subjects in the world at our disposal. We knew it would be hard to get great shots of them together, but here are a few of our favorites from the two days.

4th of July Fun!

We couldn’t have asked for a better 4th. Aidric had so much fun in Indiana at Grandma
and Grandpa’s house. A few family members as well as our good friend’s, the Nord’s, came over for the day and the kids had a blast with bubbles, the kiddie pool and the sand box. Other than napping, I think they were all outside ALL day. It was such a nice change for us, since it is too hot in Austin to be outside for more than 30 minutes!

Aidric and Claudia

We were in Indiana- we had to take a picture in the corn field!
Aidric and Mommy

Grandma in the sand box with Aidric and Ryder
I wish you could see the sand that he kept dumping on his head. There was honestly more sand on his head than there is hair.


He walked around the pool a lot, but didn't really want to get in...


Despite the look on his face, he loved hanging out with Uncle Scott!