This is my boy!!

I am biased, but I am sure that this little man is the most handsome boy on the planet! He is growing up so fast, and reminds me everyday that he isn't a baby! Mr. Dude is almost 4----going on 16! He is very independant, and definately has a mind of his own!! Sometimes I find myself getting so very frusterated that he thinks so strongly for himself, and then I remind myself that I wouldn't want him any other way!! Aiden is definately a leader....not a follower! He will make up his own mind about just about everything, which in todays world, I will take!! As long as he knows what is right, I won't have to worry about him! He will stand his ground!

At the ripe old age of 3 and 1/2, this handsome blonde haired, blue eyed boy is just about an exact replica of his daddy at that age! The older he gets, the more he looks like his dad....everything Daddy does is "cool!" He is a daddy's boy through and through and reminds me that Dad is the best! I am completely ok with that!

Aiden will be experiencing alot of new things this year! He is going to start soccer in September,and he is going to be a big brother in November! He is excited for both, and insists that he will be teaching his sister to play soccer too! He thinks that it is soley his job to teach the basics of life to her.....like tag and hide and seek, and how to play with his dog! He will be such a great big brother!!

This handsome boy loves everything boy! He loves riding his 4 wheeler, and his "fastest bike ever," he still loves trains and tractors, and adores his dog! His favorite food is still Mac and Cheese, and he LOVES soda! He calls it "sodey" because thats what dad calls it! He has amazing manners and always says please and thank you. He is very considerate of others and is kind to everyone!

He is not all perfect...he throws tantrums now and then, he refuses to clean his room almost on a regular basis, and we seem to always have a fight about eating! He dislikes picking up his toys, and will argue about how many episodes of Dragon Tales he can watch! But....I wouldn't trade him for anything! He is the light of my life, and I love every darn part of him!!!

23 weeks 2 days....

Over half way! I enjoy saying that....even if its just BARELY over half way! Today was my 23 week doctors appointment, and so far things are good! I have gained about 16 pounds, which is WAY less than I did with Aiden!! I wish that I would have been better about taking photos with my first pregnancy, because apparently, I was a whale!! I measure about 3cm smaller than I should at 23 weeks, but the doctor says that that is nothing to be worried about right now. The babies heart beat is nice and strong at 148 bpm, and she is an active little thing! During the day she is pretty quiet...not a ton of movement, but as soon as I lay down for the night....she is WIDE awake and wiggling all over!! I love it when she is active, although a little bit of a change in "active" times would be appreciated!

I am feeling good, which is nice to be able to say! For a while there I didn't think I would ever feel human again! I am still refusing to wear maternity pants, so my pants just keep getting a larger elastic band on the button! We will see just how much longer I can get away with that!

Daddys mean fun!!

We all know the old saying..."Daddy's mean fun, Mommy's mean business." That is exactly how it goes at our house! Aiden and I play during the day, but only after our chores are done, and the errands are ran. When daddy gets home, all of that is done, and there is PLENTY of time to play!

Playing with dad is so much better than playing with mom apparently!

Dad does CrAzY things that mom wouldn't do....even not 6 months pregnant!

Aiden is a daddy's boy! Hands down, no question! They are buds, and Aiden isn't shy about saying who he would rather "hang" with!

Let's Play Ball!!

Aiden is a ball of energy....I wish that I had some of his get up and go! I have been looking for things to keep him busy and I found this little T-ball set! He LOVES it!

He is quite the little batter! He took right to it, and has really gotten pretty good!

We spend ALOT of our days now playing T-ball! ...Ok, Ok...Aiden spends alot of his days playing T-ball! I have situated my compfy porch chair in the shade, and he likes to have me as his sideline cheerleader! When he hits it, he says, "Mom! Cheer loud" And of course, I do! You would think he was a major leager the way I cheer! :)

It's lots of work getting ready for a sister!!

Its time to prepare!! When I was pregnant with Aiden, I had the room all ready to paint the day I found out that he was going to be a boy! I felt so prepared, and I had things all ready for him by the time I was about 7 1/2 months pregnant! Good thing, since he came at my 8 month mark!

This pregnancy has been very different! Since I was throwing up and sick for the first 3 months, I had no desire to clear any sort of space out to create a nursery, and since I have a 3 year old to entertain, my baby preperation time has had to be divided between play dates, and playing trains and spending time with my Aiden boy!

Aiden has been a very good helper! I have really been lucky! I started cleaning out the spare room and getting it ready for paint, and Aiden decided that he wanted the "new" room and that the baby could have his "old" room! I was a little sceptical about the trade, but I decided to move his bed into the new room and let him try it out! He was more than excited and has started to decide what color he wants his new room to be!

The "Old" room was very boyish....and so it needs a little bit of a face lift for a girl!

Aiden was very involved in helping to "renovate" the space! He was more than thrilled to help tear off the wall paper! He was actually alot of help!

We tore off the top layer and then I was stuck with the sticky-gluey part! I put Aiden to work again and had him get it wet and it came right off! He kept it wet....which he though was the greatest job in the world....and I went behind him and cleaned it off!!

Aiden is very excited to be a big brother. We had a yard sale last saturday, and I told Aiden that whatever toys he sold, he could have the money to buy whatever he wanted. At 4:00 in the morning on Saturday morning, Aiden woke up and called for me to come to his room! I thought something was wrong. I laid down by him and he said, "Mom, I think that with my yard sale money, I want to by my baby sister a bike!" I told him that that was a very nice thing to think of, but that the baby wouldn't be able to ride it for a while, so he might as well buy him something he wanted for him! He is such a thoughtful little boy!

Foot power vs. Horse power?

Who needs a pedal bike when you have access to horse powered machinery?! Surely not Aiden! Davids friend Daniel has boys who use to race "real" bikes....the ones with motors, and they were nice enough to let Aiden get his feet wet with this little 4 wheeler. David can adjust it to a max speed, which has proven to be a good tool!! Once little Kanevil figured it all out, it was ALL GO from then on!
Aiden likes to race hid dad....and dad usually lets him win! I am afraid that we have opened the flood gates to speed with this little contraption! Aiden no longer has much interest for his "fastest bike ever" he now refers to it as the "slow, slow bike!"

Aiden would love to spend hours riding around the yard, but after about an hour his thumb gets tired from holding the throttle!

The boys have fun zipping around the yard, and the dog gets dizzy from all the chasing he does! I
am sure that this will not be the last 4 wheeler for Mr. Dude!

Its Independence Day!

It is almost 9:30am, and my little man is still sleeping! That is extremely un-heard of, but very understandable after the weekend we had! The 4th of July is my favorite holiday, and I am pretty sure that my little Aiden is following in my love of it! I grew up thinking that all they hype was for my dad, whos birthday is the 4th. He was not able to be home for his birthday this year, so we all made the best of it for him!

Sunday night, we went to my moms for the annual family sleepover. All of Dougs kids and all of my moms kids get together and eat and play games and then we all spend the night. Aiden was in HEAVEN!! There were so many kids to play with and he was thrilled that we didn't have to go home at bed time!

Aiden slept in a tent with my mom and Cambree and Carlee.....he couldn't decide at first if it was a good thing to be sleeping outside with out dad, but he warmed up to the idea. He kept my mom...and Cambree up half the night talking and telling stories. The Three Little Bears was repeated around 9 times before they all fell asleep!

The next morning we got up and walked down to the parade! The kids all lined up on the sidewalk and waited for the candy to rain down!

Our favorite Merrell family came and watched the parade with us! I had forgotten to warn them about my CRAZY family....ok, my crazy brother.....but they enjoyed the laughs!

Thank heavens for Grandma! She helped Aiden catch candy with the big kids, and then she had her own stash of candy that she would throw out just so the little-er kids could get some with out being trompled!

Grandpa wins the cool grandparent award however for bringing the 4 wheeler to pick up the kids from the parade!

The fun didn't end with the parade! My mom had tons of games and activites planned for the afternoon. She had a duck race set up and a lot of other water games! The kids swam and played and ate until their hearts content and their skin bright red!

That evening, we went to the fire works! We went to the church just down from our house. You definately aren't right under the action, but you can see them and you aren't sitting like sardines while you watch!

Davids mom and dad and again, our favorite Merrells came to watch the show with us! We have decided next year that we are getting a hotel room right under the action! Here's to next year!