End of January

So here are some new pictures - sorry I've been slow getting these to the blog! Not much has been going on here - it's been a pretty slow week. Giving us a chance to rest up before February and March - it seems like there are a million things coming up!

Here's Emmy enjoying hanging out with me yesterday afternoon - a little break from the teething pain!

Aidan discovered Brendan's flight helmet - he LOVES it! I think it makes him look like a LEGO man! He has been wearing it around for a few days now - just building up his neck strength!

Driving

When I got home from running errands today I found everyone outside in the backyard. It wasn't too cold - despite the cold weather gear everyone has on in the pictures - Aidan actually loves wearing his hat and gator and will wear them inside given the chance. Brendan had strapped Emmy into the car and Aidan was driving her around the backyard. She was loving it! It doesn't look like it in the pictures but as they were driving around she was laughing out loud! We can't wait for Spring!!Here's a picture from last May - before Aidan's partner in crime arrived

Museum Trip

Today we went to visit the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. We had a great time and everyone was really well behaved even though Emmy missed her morning nap. We saw the dinosaur bones - that was the real reason for the trip! We also saw the gem exhibit and the Hope Diamond - it was beautiful! We went to the IMAX 3D movie about ocean dinosaurs - it was pretty cool. Aidan spent the whole time ducking to avoid the dinosaurs swimming towards us - I have a feeling we'll be hearing about the movie for a while! I think we'll have to make a few more trips - we didn't get to 1/10 of the museum! Here are a few pictures - I didn't take many - it was really dark!Aidan, Brendan and Emmy in front of dinosaurs1300 lbs of quartz crystalSandstone ConcretionT Rex Aidan on a Big Tourmaline

Football and Fatness

Emmy woke up on Sunday morning as as about twice as fat as when she went to bed. I mean barely any of her clothes fit and she had about 3 more chins than when she went to sleep. Incredible that they can grow overnight like that! She also cut a top front tooth yesterday - I didn't even know it had come in until I checked her mouth after dinner. She didn't even cry - she just woke up early from her nap and wouldn't go back to sleep. So now she has three teeth - two on the bottom and one on the top. Hopefully the other top front tooth will come in soon so she doesn't look lopsided!
Here they are watching the Pats game - notice that Emmy could care less about what's on TV and I couldn't get Aidan to look away! I will try to get a better picture of the two of them during the Superbowl!!

Isn't that AMAZING?

Aidan didn't nap today. I thought he was sleeping for a while because it was quiet but then I started hearing him walking around in his room and stuff banging. So I went upstairs to check on him and try to get him to at least lay down in his bed. There he was standing at the top of the stairs in a completely different outfit then when he had gone in for his nap. He said "Look, my cow shirt! I found it in my top drawer. Isn't that AMAZING???"

A Quick Trip to Disney

On our way back up to Virginia we stopped at Disney World for lunch at Downtown Disney. It made 2 days in the car each way a little easier! At first Emmy was hesitant to go up to the plastic characters - I think she thought they might start moving! Needless to say - she got over it pretty quickly!

Firefighters Rock

Brendan came home last night from Vegas. We drove up to the airport to pick him up because it was cold and he had left his car at work and was planning on taking the Metro to work and then driving home. It's not that far but I thought it might take a while and Aidan was so excited he could barely wait. I thought it would be easier on all of us if he was strapped in his carseat!! Brendan always comes home from business trips bearing gifts but this time he got Aidan this awesome firefighter's costume. It even has pants that have suspenders! He brought me a new Coach bag - can't complain about being alone with the kids in the bitter cold for 4 days I guess :)
But the firefighter's outfit is a total hit - he wears it around and pretends to put out fires on just about everything. He even shared the hat with Emmy - but only for a minute - wouldn't want her to get too comfortable with it!

I swear this kid knows how to pose - I didn't even have to tell him what to do!

Daddy is on Vacation

Brendan left this morning for a well deserved long weekend in Vegas with his brothers and Dad. Unfortunately this is going to be the coldest weekend of the winter - in the teens!! There is a severe lack of indoor play areas here in Virginia so we are going to have to be inventive - we certainly can't stay here for 3 more days! This morning Aidan's best friend Will came over with his mom and little sister. The boys are so cute together - they have gotten to the stage where they actually play TOGETHER and not just next to each other. Aidan got a doctor's kit for Christmas and they took turns listening to each other's hearts - it was adorable.

I'd love to hear anyone's ideas about fun and free things to do with the kids. We are going to try the Library, Home Depot (riding on the tractors could take up an entire morning!), Petsmart to see the fish tanks (always a winner!) and maybe IKEA if we can get down there - they have an indoor play area but Aidan is just over the minimum height and it will probably be full of bigger kids. So leave me a comment if you have more ideas - sometimes it's hard to get out of the rut we're in!

Aidan calling Daddy

Emmy loves playing with the farm

A New Friend

For those of you who don't know - Aidan finally gave up his pacifiers - yes, he was still using one at night. Santa came and took all the pacifiers to give them to babies who needed them. I was surprised how easily he gave them up - there were a few nights when he told me that he wanted to go to Target and buy more pacifiers but he was OK when the answer was no. Aunt Nora had given Aidan this stuffed elephant at his first Christmas and he had named it Bubba about a year ago. Bubba was never really a huge deal and had been living in the toy room until recently. Now Aidan and Bubba are inseparable. He has definitely found a new comfort object - which is great and seems to help him sleep better.

Tough Days

Just in case anyone was operating under the assumption that Aidan never has a tantrum - here is a picture to clarify...

It was just a bad day - he woke up tired - Emmy was up a bunch last night with her teeth and he probably didn't sleep well because of her crying. It was just one meltdown after another - I don't even know what set this one off - he probably didn't know either but the solution was to scream, unroll a roll of paper towels and tear them to shreds! I couldn't help laughing - probably so I wouldn't start crying. I went and got the camera and he started screaming - "Stop taking pictures of me!" He was like this all day - until Daddy got home. What would I do without Brendan?Someone a little less cranky!

Emmy is 7 months!

Emmy turned 7 months on Sunday. I know that I always say I can't believe how fast the time is going but really - 7 months? How is that possible? It doesn't seem like we brought her home from the hospital yesterday but it definitely seems like she turned 4 months old yesterday. I mean she is going to be crawling soon and then she'll be one. Why does it go so much faster with the second one? When Aidan was Emmy's age Brendan was in Iraq. He left when Aidan was 6 months old and came back just after his birthday. I guess Aidan and I were stuck with each other for 6 months so time went by pretty slowly and I got to soak in all the changes. Now I feel like I carry Emmy around on my hip chasing after Aidan and I barely get to pay attention to her. I hate to say it - but I almost like the middle of the night feeding - yes she is still getting up some nights around 3 - because it is the only time of the day when it's just me and her. Pretty soon that will be gone and I have to say I think I will miss it.

Football Sundays

We have a rule in our house that you must be sitting at the table in the dining room to eat. I'm afraid Aidan will choke if he runs around the house with food in his mouth but I also don't want to have to tear the dogs off each other if a crumb were to fall on the floor. Anyway - since Brendan can't tear himself away from the TV on Sundays because there is always some game that affects his fantasy football team, Aidan is allowed to eat lunch and a snack downstairs on the couch with Daddy. I swear it is his favorite thing in the world. He wakes up every morning and asks "Is it Football Sunday?", just hoping that the universe collapsed over night, a miracle occurred and it is in fact SUNDAY!

River Farm

We went to George Washington's River Farm yesterday. It is right down the road from us and I never even knew it was there. The American Horticultural Society runs and maintains it and they do a pretty good job - although it is hard to tell in January! The house overlooks the Potomac River and there are pathways that go down to the water - we ran out of steam and didn't make it that far. There is a children's garden with lots of stuff to climb on and play in and a nice grassy area to run around or picnic on. I can't wait until spring when the plants are blooming!The River Farm

Enjoying the grass - it is still green!

Couldn't be much cuter!

A fun boat to play in

the only picture where you can see both faces

The Park - Again

It was warm again today! What a welcome reprieve from the cold and damp. We went to the park again and I brought my camera this time. We have an elementary school about a half a mile from our house so we packed into the stroller and walked. There were a bunch of kids there at first but they left pretty soon after we got there. Aidan was crushed - until a new pack of playmates arrived. He seems to have very little loyalty - if you'll let him play with you then you're cool!

Warm Days

After all that complaining I did about the cold, the weather here has completely turned around. Today on our way home from the park the thermometer in the car said that it was 72 degrees!!! It is JANUARY - this is awesome. I hate that we'll ever have to leave here. Sitting in the sun at the park with Emmy while Aidan ran in circles around the playground with about 50 other kids with similar cases of cabin fever was amazing. You forget how nice it is to feel a warm breeze and to wear a t-shirt. Emmy was delighted. Every time the breeze blew she looked at me and giggled. It was really the cutest thing. I think this gave us the boost we needed to make it until spring!Aidan thinks she looks hysterical!

Do you think I take too many pictures?

Cold Days

I think that we have been spoiled by the weather so far here in VA. It is winter after all, yet I was quite shocked to open up the door this morning and have it be in the 20's. It has been in the 40's and even up in the 50's recently!
Aidan went back to school this morning and saw all his friends. He was in a great mood when he came home - I think he needed some kid interaction - always talking to adults must get pretty boring!
Here are a few pictures from New Years' Day. I can't believe it is 2008. Maybe THIS year we can slow down and enjoy life :)Aidan and Emmy enjoying Emmy's new toy

Christmas Wrap Up

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone! I apologize for the delay in posting for the past few weeks. We have been in and out of bad colds and we had my mom, dad, sister and brother staying with us for the holidays. Needless to say - not too much extra time for blogging! We did have a lot of fun and Santa was very good to us. I am typing on my new Mac - which also accounts for some of the delay since I could barely figure out how to turn it on never mind get on the internet! Aidan got lots and lots of toys - I think he may still be finding some of them! Emmy got lots of fun stuff too but she was really sick on Christmas - I took her to the ER the night before Christmas Eve because she couldn't breathe and kept throwing up because she was coughing so much. We never ended up seeing anyone but the triage nurse at ER and she could have cared less. After Emmy cried and threw up all over the ER for 3 hours she finally fell asleep in my arms and we left. I felt like a terrible mother but I couldn't stand being there any longer and even if we did get to go back to the exam rooms, who knows how long it would have been until we saw someone. We went to the pediatrician the day after Christmas and he gave me some liquid decongestant for her. It seemed to give her enough relief that her own immune system could catch up. Even with all the germs flying around we had a great Christmas! Here are a few pictures - I also got a new version of photoshop and I'm still working on learning that so the pictures will be coming slower than usual!
Aidan and his dragon

.Emmy and her bearAidan and the micAidan and the drumsChristmas EveEmmy on her rocking bug