CHOO CHOO PAH-TEE!!!!!!

The long awaited choo choo party has come and gone. We had a really great time and are so thankful so many of Aidric's friends were able to come over and celebrate with him.

We are also VERY thankful that my mom flew in to surprise me with a visit as well!!! I walked in the door yesterday, looked at Chris, looked over, saw my mom, looked back at Chris and then just tried to figure out how I had walked in the wrong door and ended up somewhere else. It honestly took a good 5 seconds for me to register that she was here and then I was just SO EXCITED!!!

But, back to the party. We had six 2 year olds and a few 3 year old siblings thrown in. Dot-dot painting, decorating the big train, jumping on the trampoline and water play preceded lunch and eating cake. We waited until the party was over and Aidric had napped to open presents, so those pics will come next.

The train cake I made and decorated



Train Whistle Favors


Fruit display my mom made

yum....

Dot dot art



Doing the dot dot art on the big train



LOVED his cake and was so excited when everyone cheered for him after blowing out the candle.





A family picture:


And the sweet lil' sis who also enjoyed the party

Another afternoon at the park

We have a GREAT little park right by our house. It's actually a school playground. We go there at least once a week, but usually more like 3-5 times- Aidric LOVES it. If you look back at other blog posts, you'll definitely see a lot of pictures from our afternoons there. I really only bring my camera along once or twice a month, but it's such a great place to take Aidric's picture. He loves being there so much, that he doesn't really mind my following him around with my camera!

Plasma Car

Last Friday, as we were getting ready to head outside, I noticed a large box on the front porch. As soon as I saw the packaging, I realized Aidric's birthday present from Grandma Mary and Papa Larry had arrived. I called Chris and asked him if he wanted to put it together and meet us at the park with it when he was done working.

He did and we had a great afternoon playing and learning to ride the "plasma car". We definitely need to get him a helmet, but overall, it is a lot of fun! Thanks so much for the great gift!! (when he gets older, we promise to wait for his actual birthday for gifts, but for now, it's fun to spread them out anyway!)

mommy's little helper

It was the end of a long day, Aidric was watching Yo Gabba Gabba and I was giving Juliet a bottle and reading a book at the same time. Dinner was in the oven and the timer went off; I put the bottle down and went to take it out of the oven. I look over and from the back of the couch, I see that Aidric has situated himself closer to Juliet. I snuck around to the front of the couch to take a quick picture before he could see me. He was sooo proud of himself for helping.
(ummm, and apparently, Juliet likes Yo Gabba Gabba too!)

We caved....

and gave Aidric his birthday present early. He likes it.

They kind of like each other..

and I relish every minute of it. I keep wondering when (not if, when) that's going to change. I'm guessing it's as soon as she has the ability to try to play with his toys. And he'll display his ability to snatch them back....

For now though, he loves her soooooooooo much and she seems to feel the same. He loves to go lay down right next to her whenever I put her down on her play mat or even just on the floor. When she was first born, I didn't trust him in a room alone with her for more than 5 seconds. Even now, it makes me a little nervous, but I don't worry as much. He hasn't done anything to make me really worry.

But the other day, there was silence and then uncontrollable Aidric giggles. I walk in, he's laying next to her and just looking at me all innocence. I leave the room and here the giggles again. I peek around the corner to see that he is sticking his finger in her mouth and dying of laughter while she sucked on it. I tried to tell him to stop putting his finger in her mouth, but then she started laughing too and I just couldn't put an end to it, so I grabbed my camera instead. (In my defense, we wash his hands a LOT!)

An innocent phone call..

this morning, as we were running around, changing diapers, packing a lunch and heading out the door, Chris's phone rang and it was my mom. He hadn't answered b/c of said above activities, so when he told me it had been her, I thought, "hmm, she must have called my cell and it's on vibrate". So, I looked at my phone and she hadn't called. And then I did what I always do. I Immediately imagined the worst. Something must have happened to my dad or one of my brothers. She was calling Chris so that he could tell me.

We were running late to drop Aidric off at Mother's Day Out, so I got in the car and called her. Her phone rang, but she didn't pick up. I could tell by the beep that she was on the other line. By now, I'm trying to figure out if it was a heart attack or a car accident. I literally have tears in my eyes as I hang up the phone...and then it rings. And it's her.

And she was calling Chris to ask some questions about computers and the stock market.

Whew! That was a close one.

But, just those few minutes of thinking something had happened to someone I loved were terrifying. And enough to make me realize how blessed we are. And how easy it is to take it all for granted.

So, even though nothing actually happened today, I am still taking a minute to say I love you to all of my family and friends and I am so grateful for you!!

First Class Picture

If you asked Aidric who is in this picture, this is what you'd hear:

"Elma..Dulia" (his tachers: Elma and Julia)

and from left to right:

"Blooklyn" (brooklyn), "Osss-eee" (Ashley), "Knoxxxxx", blank stare (Cole), "Wibby" (Libby), blank stare (himself), "Gacie" (Grace)

The Explosion Has Happened...

Oh, it's a good one- it's the vocabulary explosion! Everyone said it would happen around 18 months and yes, we definitely noticed an increased in the number of words he could say. But, it has not been until the last few weeks, right at 22-23 months, that we really feel like we have a full-fledged VERBAL COMMUNICATOR. It is so fun and for first time parents, it really is the most amazing thing. To all of a sudden have real conversations with the kiddo who used to scream and point until you figured it out. (to be fair, it's been a loooong time since he has just pointed, his words have been great- but it's been putting it all together that has taken so long.)

Now, he jabbers all day long and I can honestly say I could just sit and listen to it all day long. (remind me I said this in a week or two) He can tell me who his friends at school are and what they did that day. I even know which of them are potty trained =) At the dinner table, he can daddy all about our day and what we did. (this could get me in trouble on some days...this morning, he told daddy about his chocolate doughnut and mommy's pink doughnut and we had not brought one home for daddy....)

As soon as he sees a phone, he immediately requests that we "call gamma" or "call say-uh" (aunt sarah). Once we get them on the phone, he jabbers about tractors and his upcoming birthday party.

Having a 23 month old is so much fun. (most of the time...clearly, I'm writing this on a "good day" =)

This picture has nothing to do with my post, but it does show how cute and fun this kid is!

bikinis and wading pools

It is summer in Austin. Full-fledged 90 degree plus EVERY DAY summer. Today, we went to the water fountain park with Kyla and Lily. We had a great time and I'm working on uploading a few videos. In the meantime, here is some summer fun from last weekend. How cute is this chubby little babe in her bikini??

Easter Part 2 again..

These kids were so serious about their egg hunting, it was really hard to get any good pictures!



Aidric

Brayden

Marley

Ella

Maya (despite the pictures, she really didn't cry all day- I just caught her during some rough moments =)


These three were all born in May 07- within 25 days of each other!

Good friends..

Finally getting back to posting the rest of our Indiana trip. We did so much while we were there and saw so many friends. After the family get together, my mom dropped the kids and me off at my friend Sue's house to see Sue, her family and Andrea.

Aidric and Sam are only a few months apart.




Hanging out with Dre'.


It was sooo great to see you girls!! Dre, I'll have to get the pics you took of the 3 of us too!