Sunday Grad Party

Sunday morning we headed back to my mom's house for a brunch with the family again. We ate A LOT and it was all awesome. I gave Aiden a little of the egg casserole even though it contained egg whites (I'm a rebel) and he loved it. At the end of the brunch, we said goodbye to the family and headed off to get ready for Alex' graduation.

The ceremony was great. It was HOT, but it was nice to get back to the old school and see Alex finishing up this part of his life. I asked him how it felt knowing he was done with high school. His reply was "Ask me again when I'm done with track. Right now it doesn't feel any different because I'm not completely done." The state track meet (and Alex' final track meet) is this weekend. Then it's all over!

Sunday after Alex' graduation, my dad through a party for Alex that was aimed more at friends. Travis invited some of his family to come, so it was great to see them one last time before we left for Texas again.

Ariel, Aiden and Joyce (Travis' grandma)

My dad, Bill (Travis' grandpa) and Travis


Alex playing bags with a friend from high school
(He was playing against another friend and his band teacher! I couldn't believe a TEACHER came to his graduation party. So funny.)



Aiden stayed up really late, but he was a trooper. Travis FINALLY got him to fall asleep around 9:30, but then he didn't want to risk him waking up again.

The next morning we got up and ate breakfast. We hung out at my dad's and packed up our luggage. Then we headed over to Steak 'n Shake for lunch. We went all out with burgers, fries and shakes. Ugh, mouth-watering. I originally thought Steak 'n Shakes were only in the north, but I found out there is one north of Houston. It's not really something I would travel that far for, so basically this is something we can only get when we are in Illinois. There are two restaurants in the Champaign-Urbana area alone. They are everywhere up north. Yummo! Although, not really something I'd like to work into a regular part of my diet. We weren't hungry again until landed in Houston after 9pm.

Aiden did great for the plane trip back. Unfortunately, we did not have Ariel and her MP3 player to help put Aiden to sleep. In the end, Travis was able to get him to settle down by covering up his ears as he cradled him. There were three seats together, so we knew some unfortunate soul would get stuck sitting next to a baby on the plane. We were able to claim a row first, that way whoever sat next to us was most likely doing it by choice.

A guy who had been traveling all day chose to sit next to us. He said he had kids (who are already grown at this point) that he had flown with when they were little. He said he knew what it was like and didn't mind sitting next to us. In the end, he bought US drinks. We told him that WE should be the ones buying HIM a drink since he got stuck sitting next to someone else's fussy baby. He insisted and we graciously took the adult beverages.

There was a little bit of a fiasco after we arrived in Houston. Ariel had a layover in Tennessee that was postponed an hour, so we went to pick up the car from parking and then pulled back around to grab Ariel. On her way out of the baggage claim, some guy was following her picking stuff up off the ground. Turned out, Ariel had $100 worth of quarters in her bag and she had sprung a leak. She ran back to pick up as many as she could find, but was still upset when she jumped in the car. There was no way to tell how much money she had lost during the flights until she could get home and count it. I still haven't heard the verdict.

We stopped for fast food one last time (oh I get SO TIRED of it during vacations) on the ride home. Robert met us at our house so we didn't have to drive Ariel all the way down to Galveston. When we walked in the door, Aiden's face lit up and he actually sighed in relief.

Visiting family is always a much needed trip, but it is GOOD to be home.

First Steps

I decided to go with the video that has less falling in it. If you'd like to see more walking, with ouchies at the end, you can go to the Vimeo website to see the rest.

Our little man can walk! from Nicolette Ward on Vimeo.

Saturday Grad Party

On Saturday, after Alex' track meet, my mom threw a graduation party and invited all of our family. This was the first time we got to see her house since she moved out of the house we lived in during high school. It was also the first time we have seen our extended family since Travis and I got married three and a half years ago. It was insanely awesome to see everyone and finally meet several of their kids...

Jason, Jenny and Holden

Aiden has always seemed to adore the big kids. He follows along with them with his eyes, since (at this point) he is unable to run after them. Here he is playing with Holden, Mia (belongs to my cousin Matt and his wife Christy) and Ryan (belongs to my cousin Michelle and her husband Mike). All the kids were so cute. It reminded me of when I was little and my cousins and I would run around playing during the holidays.

Holden found some binoculars, which he then proceeded to look at Travis through them. From 3 feet away. With the binoculars facing the wrong way.

The hostess, Pierre and I

Mia and Ryan eating St. Joseph-Ogden High School colored cupcakes.

We had such a great time at the party, but had to head to bed around 10pm. We just don't have the energy we once did. I suppose it's a good thing we headed back to my dad's so "early". Aiden had fallen asleep at my mom's, but just WOULD NOT go back to sleep at my dad's. After an hour of attempting to coax him to sleep, Travis gave in and decided to take Aiden for a drive. He was gone for about 40 minutes before he came back with a sleeping baby. ROUGH NIGHT. And not for the same reason we used to have rough nights. HA.

Let the Toddling Commence

Travis finished taking down the storm shutters and put the solar screens on the rest of the windows this weekend. I feel like I live in a whole new house now. There are things I see outside, that I never noticed before and frankly it's making me a little jumpy. We have an oleander bush outside our kitchen window. Last night I went out to the kitchen in the dark to get a glass of water, saw the shadow of the oleander blow outside and freaked for a moment because I thought it was a person. Hopefully that jumpiness goes away soon.

Also completed this weekend? Repainted the non-storm shutters. You know, the decorative kind that flank each window. The next chore that will hopefully be completed prior to Aiden's party, is repainting the trim on the outside of the house. One side has taken a thorough beating over the years and is in desperate need of a touch up.

---

In more important news...

AIDEN CAN WALK. Well, not really, but sort of. He took his first steps this weekend. I mean, there has been the occasional 'I think I can take one step from the coffee table to the ottoman', but never more than one step on his own. This weekend he was all over it. I took a video of it, but I still need to upload it. Sadly, it ends in Aiden crying because he falls down before Travis can catch him. =(

Still - it is a happy thing!! He is doing really well about standing on his own. Usually he does it while playing at a toy, but this weekend he did it when we let go of his hands in the middle of the room. After a moment, he realizes he is standing on his own and slowly lowers himself to the ground.

Amazing! AMAZING I tell ya. Having a kid is the best.

Green House

Travis, replacing our old, hole-filled aluminum screens with fresh, new, nylon solar-screens.

Solar screens: before and after

I can't wait until Travis finishes the rest of the windows. It is so amazing being able to see out our windows so well. Although, I do have this constant, irrational fear at night that there is a Peeping Tom outside my window. That means I have to make the rounds through the house and close all the blinds every night.


Note to all my friends: Never knock on my windows at night. I will be forced to beat the crap out of you until my fear subsides.

Fri/Sat in Illinois

Friday afternoon, Aiden and I went over to Chrissie and Jordan's so Aiden could take a nap. Chrissie got home soon after and the boys were there shortly after her. Here's Audrey making her funny face with Mom.

I can't get this photo to turn sideways, but I really wanted to show it. Chrissie and Jordan have this ridiculously huge bean bag in their living room that's called a LoveSac. For some reason, it's not large enough for someone (not sure who, because that thing is large and in charge) to lay in, so they bought a matching ottoman to go with it. Audrey was keeping Aiden company while he drank his bottle after his nap.



That night, the boys grilled out while Chrissie and I did our best to catch up. After dinner, we played a card game called Golf.


Our time together was too short! In the morning, we left for Travis' grandparents' house so we could visit with his dad's side of the family. Aiden quickly took to Sean, Travis' brother (9 years his junior). Travis' grandma Joyce kept fake punching Sean with Aiden's hand and he thought it was The Funniest Thing in the World.

I am doubtful that you will be able to tell, but I noticed on this trip that all the Ward boys have bright blue eyes. I truely had not realized this. Beautiful blues!

Curt, Sean, Travis and Aiden Ward

We ate lunch in the tiki bar that the grandparents made. They made it entirely on their own and it is amazing! It is reminiscent of a Margaritaville cafe, if you know what those are like. After the BBQ we ran across town to see my brother's track meet. This was the first time (and probably last time) that I ever saw Alex run competitively. His running skills are insane. I do not comprehend why anyone would ever run by choice. Alex does it at least five days a week.

The race we saw was the 1-mile. My brother was disappointed to hear he ran it in 4 minutes and 43 seconds. ... ... ... WHAT?! I don't understand what is disappointing about that. That is INSANE. I'm lucky if I can get through a mile in 11 minutes. And Alex can do it in less than half that time. !!! It looked horribly painful though. All the guys had these twisted faces, every muscle in their body tensed. My dad pointed out that Alex had his head slightly lilted to the right. I guess that means he was tired. He had already run 400 meters that morning in a relay. Alex' personal record is 4:37, which doesn't sound that far from the 4:43 he got that afternoon. Apparently in running time, seconds can mean the world.

Alex is the one in the center of the photo wearing the maroon uniform. This was just the practice start.


Papa G kept Aiden busy with this book so I could take the opportunity to see Alex' race.

Here are the runners as they came around the track the first time. You can sort of see Alex' head tilted to the right. Funny how my dad picks up on those things.

He ended up 8th out of something like 17 runners. I was impressed, even if Alex wasn't!

Thurs/Fri in Illinois

If I thought traveling was hard before, I had no idea what I was getting myself into with a baby.

Chris and Alexa loaned us this nifty contraption. We added the wheeled-cart to the back of Aiden's car seat so we could get through the airport without a baby on our hip. Though getting through security was a horror show. We had to take this apart so it would fit through the x-ray conveyor belt. Then we had to take all the liquids out of Aiden's diaper bag (I had prepared for this by putting it all in a ziplock), take our and Aiden's shoes off, take our laptop out of the bag and empty our pockets, all at the security gate. Add to that, 50 irritable travelers waiting in line behind us, constantly pushing our stuff forward, and you get a LOT OF STRESS.

Aiden did pretty good on the plane. We took everyone's recommendation to feed Aiden a bottle during take off and landing to help his ears pop during the pressure changes. The only bump in the road was when nap time arrived and Aiden decided it would be more fun to be awake than to go to sleep. After 30 minutes of a cranky baby, Ariel asked if she could let him listen to her MP3 player. I was unsure that Aiden would allow us to put ear buds in his ears, but he didn't even seem to notice. He went STRAIGHT to sleep while I listened through the other bud to make sure it didn't get too loud for him. I will definitely be trading out the laptop (Aiden preferred to hit the keyboard over watching the show) for our i-Pod next time.

When we arrived in Chicago, we took a shuttle to rent a car. We chose a mid-size this time and ended up with a 2010 Chevy Malibu. It was a nice little car that thankfully fit all our luggage. Our driving time to central Illinois was fairly short since we landed in Midway, which is on the south side of Chicago. We dropped Ariel off at my mom's and then we headed over to Travis' grandparents' house to meet them and Travis' mom and step-dad for dinner. We hung out for a minute a their house so everyone could get some time with Aiden, especially since this was the first time Travis' grandparents had met him.

For dinner, we chose a local pizza restaurant that I make sure to hit up every time we are in town. It is THE BEST thin crust pizza I have ever had. I can't get enough of it. After dinner, we sat in the yard for a few minutes so Aiden could see what nice grass is like. We have nothing but rough, itchy St. Augustine grass here in this part of Texas. It hurts me to sit in it, so I'm sure it would be rough on Aiden's skin. The Kentucky bluegrass that covers most lawns in Illinois is far more enjoyable to lay in.

That night we stayed at Brenda and Rich's house in the country. We got to watch a good old fashioned thunderstorm roll in across the corn fields. The rain is softer there, and the lack of humidity is amazing. Brenda and Rich have a great porch that runs across the entire back side of their house, along with comfy chairs for us to rest in while we watched the live nature show. I miss that.

Friday morning, I dropped Travis off at his favorite burrito place in Champaign. He met our friend Jordan (Chrissie's husband) for a relaxing day of golf and beer, while Aiden and I were off to meet Chrissie for lunch. It was hilarious trying to get out of the U of I campus. It's been so long since I have driven around the area that I lost my bearings for a moment and had to get directions from Travis.

Chrissie was ecstatic to meet Aiden, but lunch was short. She had to get back to work. After that, we met Alex and my dad "for lunch" at Monical's (different location than the night before). I put quotations there because I didn't eat but a couple bites of pizza since we had already had our meal. I just had some time to kill and it happened to fall during Alex' lunch hour.

Papa G and Aiden

My brother Alex and my dad's bunny ears

After the lunches, I ran a couple errands for Chrissie (so she could get home quicker after work) around St. Joseph, the town I grew up in. It was surreal to see all the places I used to go as a kid. So much has changed. I have seen some of the changes before, but I always forget about them until I am back in town. There are different restaurants, which is always a big deal when you grow up in a town that is so small it is actually considered a village. I saw a couple people I went to high school with, but none that I was good friends with.

To be continued...

High School Graduate

Ariel, Travis, Aiden and I just spent the past five days in Illinois to celebrate my brother's graduation. I am so proud of Alex. He was just 0.025 GPA points (on a 5.0 point scale) away from being a valedictorian, putting him as a graduating salutatorian. Here he is accepting his award:

The Graduate and his nephew

The family:

Dad, Ariel, Travis, Aiden, Alex, me and Mom

Pomp and Circumstance from Nicolette Ward on Vimeo.

Our Little Walker

Look at him go!

Toy Walking from Nicolette Ward on Vimeo.

Did you see those ghetto, low-riding pants?! That's ridiculous.

Mom's Day Photos

Sara and I at the beach

Travis and JR


Sara and Landry at Salsa's


Aiden and I during our picnic


Daddy rocking a cranky Aiden to sleep


Mother's Day gifts

My First

This was my first Mother's Day as an actual mother. Last year at this time, I was pregnant and that felt real. BUT, I did not yet know my son, or the extreme sense of connection that I would feel for him. This Mother's Day had an entirely new meaning to me. It makes me sad to think of all the years that I did things for my mom on this day without understanding the extent to which she felt about it the holiday. I guess that is just the cycle of life. I don't doubt that Aiden will love me (or already does), but I don't think he will understand the breadth of the feeling I have until he has children of his own.

This year it was a weekend long celebration and I LOVE EVERY MINUTE OF IT. I made plans to meet the Luck family for a potluck barbecue at the beach with JR's family. That morning, Travis decided to fit in blowing the attic with insulation. Chris R. came over to feed the machine, while Travis crawled around in the cramped quarters of our attic space with the hose. There were a few hiccups (the originally rented machine did not work, one hose got severely clogged, etc.), so Travis was not ready to leave when we needed to. I would have waited, but since I figured Aiden would not last long, I wanted to get out there before his afternoon nap.

Fortunately, Travis was able to meet us down there just an hour or so later. The location they chose to have the BBQ was right on the beach, so we parked right next to where we were sitting. I will DEFINITELY be going back to this location next time we visit the beach. It was so much easier than attempting to cart everything with you in one trip from the Seawall down to the water. We were able to go back and forth from our car with ease.

Since the last trip to the beach with Aiden was not very successful, I did not have confidence that we would stay longer than a couple hours. I was sure to put sunscreen on Aiden before I even got him out of the car. I, on the other hand, decided to forgo the cancer-prevention. I thought, eh, just a couple hours, I should be fine without it. Well, two hours turned into ALL DAY. It may have been cloudy and windy, but don't let that fool you! I AM FRIED. JUST in time for our trip home. Through the airport. With our luggage for two adults and a baby. With shoulder straps. Ahhh! Stupid me. I really should have applied sunscreen once Aiden fell asleep for his afternoon nap. As they say, hindsight is 20/20.

Anyway, the day was wonderful. I think the lack of full-exposure sun helped keep Aiden from getting cranky. We ate lots of food, while Travis and I passed Aiden back and forth. We played horse shoes and bags, but did not get in the water except for our feet.

After the beach, we went home to shower, then came back to meet everyone for dinner at a Mexican restaurant that we haven't been to in a long time. Aiden was such a trooper. He made it all day long without breaking down once. I'm sure it helped that he never got any sunscreen in his eyes! It was really great to catch up with Sara and JR and to see how much their kids have grown. I took a bunch of photos that I will get up later.

Sunday was a fairly laid back day for us, just the family. Travis got Aiden up, grabbed his bottle and laid him in bed with me, so he could run out to grab us kolaches and that horrific gas station cappuccino that is my guilty-pleasure. During breakfast, Travis gave me my Mother's Day gifts. Expensive gifts have never been a part of our relationship, so I was shocked to find my gifts came in two small gift bags: Victoria's Secret and Jared's. Aiden and Daddy got me new perfume, Sexy Little Things Noir with a cute little aerosolizer, and blue topaz earrings. The blue topaz is because that is my favorite stone, not because it is Aiden's birthstone.

While Aiden took his morning nap, Travis worked on replacing our hole-filled aluminum screens with nylon solar screens. Travis is taking off our storm shutters, which has been a source of anxiety for me. On one hand, they are great. The one time we have had to evacuate for a hurricane since living in this house, I was able to walk around to each window and turn the knob to close the storm shutters.

On the other hand, if there is a fire, we have no alternate escape route. I was also worried about the direct sun light affecting our electric bill, but Travis solved that problem by purchasing screens that block out 90% of the sun's rays. It has changed the ambiance of our house dramatically, as we have switched from warm daylight to a cool blue light that filters through the screens. I also believe that the storm shutters are an eye-sore. They make the house look extremely dated.

I already feel secure in our decision to remove the shutters. The house looks SO MUCH better, meaning it should be a little easier to sell the house in a year. I can't wait to see how much the combination of attic insulation and solar screens will affect our electric bill. It's been a green-weekend at our house!

Anyhoo, when Aiden woke up from his nap, we grabbed his lunch and a blanket and headed to the park. We stopped at Wendy's on the way for an easy-on-the-go picnic food. I do have to say the meal itself was very disappointing, but the time by the pond was worth it. Aiden had a good time crawling around the blanket with Travis, tinkering with his toys. We only stayed for an hour and then headed back home.

Travis worked on the screens some more during Aiden's afternoon nap. Another plus about taking off these shutter is we now can reach the outside of the windows to clean them. They were bad. I feel like it is so much easier to see out of our windows now. During the day, the windows just look black from the outside. At night, they are like any other window. I was amazed to notice just how tall our neighbor's pine trees are, now that we can see without the shutters. Travis replaced five out of fifteen of the screens. I think the rest should go pretty smoothly.

For dinner, we grilled the rest of the fish Travis caught weeks ago (we had frozen half of it) and steaks. The best part, is Aiden ate what we were eating. He tried speckled trout, Parmesan rice, green peppers and onions. This new level of eating is SO EXCITING as a mother. I love giving him new things to try. I never would have thought to offer him onions, except that I read it recently in a magazine. He took it on like a champ!

Aiden had some trouble falling asleep, so Travis ended up rocking him to sleep in the hammock. We rounded the evening off by watching the movie Sherlock Holmes (probably would have been better if we hadn't needed to pause the movie several times) and eating Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies. I couldn't have asked for a better day with my boys!

Like Daughter, Like Mother?

REALLY old news, buuuutttt....


50-year-old mother has plastic surgery to look like her daughter

Upright Escapades

A couple weeks ago, I was pulling the car in the garage when I noticed a baby toy box sitting up in our storage area. We saved some of the boxes that toys and baby gear came in so we can repack it and save it for the next baby, but I didn't recognize that toy. I pulled it down and remembered that it was a toy we had stored away after Christmas because Aiden was too young to play with it at that point. Stupid memory... But I'm glad I noticed it before Aiden got too old for it!

Ball Popper from Nicolette Ward on Vimeo.

Aiden likes to grab the balls the second they pop out. Usually he hold onto the toy for balance with one hand, then grabs with the other hand. Well, this weekend, while playing with this ball popper, he decided that it would be easier to catch the balls with BOTH hands and suddenly, MY BOY IS STANDING ALL ON HIS OWN!! He stood like this for a good 15 seconds, legs a quivering, before he realized, "crap! I am not holding onto anything!" Then he grabbed a hold of the toy again. He's so close to standing on his own!

Weekend Catch-up

We had a full weekend, including a trip to the Ramby's for dinner, a 1-year old birthday party and a "gardening party" at Ariel and Robert's. Let's just say we really tested Aiden's ability to switch up his sleeping schedule this past weekend.

Friday night we went out to dinner at a restaurant for the first time as a family. We honestly have not been out to eat at all since Aiden has been able to sit in a high chair. Needless to say, the trip was interesting - but totally worth it. We chose Chili's, which is only 15 minutes away from our house. Unfortunately, Travis had to work a little late Friday night, so we were late getting out for dinner.

Aiden did really well, especially considering how I've seen kids act in public before. He was a handful for us, but I don't think it affected others all that much. No screaming, no tantrums, just lots of throwing toys and crackers on the floor. Don't worry - I picked the crackers up off the floor before we left. It was a Friday night, and that server barely had enough time to bring us our food and drinks, let alone pick up a baby mess.

Travis and I splurged and got an appetizer - something we almost never do. It wasn't until after our dinner came that I remembered why. Neither of us had any room for our meal, after shoveling that Triple Sampler Platter in our face. We were both starving, since it was late. Plus it has been FOREVER since I have eaten junk food like that. YUM.

Saturday, Aiden and I went to a 1-year old birthday party in Galveston. The party was slow to get moving, so we had to leave around the time it started to pick up. That was okay with me though, because we had dinner plans at the Ramby's! We are in a tough stage with Aiden. He can't walk yet, but he is determined to be mobile. I just don't have the guts to let him crawl around in the grass at this point. Not only will he be crazy dirty (which means I will be dirty once I pick him up), but I worry about things like mosquitoes and fire ants. By the end of get-togethers like that, my back is aching from hold Aiden the entire time.

Dinner with Chris, Alexa and Blair was nice. They always serve a nice spread and we got to take a peak at the club house Chris is building for Blair. That was a late night for Aiden though. Again with the tough stage - Aiden wants to be mobile, which means that for as long as he can get around, he WILL try to get to where the fun is at. We used to be able to tie him down in his car seat to get him to fall asleep, but that is no more. We ended up leaving around 9:45pm because Aiden would just NOT go to sleep. It was probably for the best anyway, since I'm an old lady who prefers to go to bed at 9!

Sunday, we slept in an hour. We also slept in on Saturday, which is a huge deal. We ALWAYS get up at 6 with Aiden, so he can remain on schedule when the week starts again. He did so well this weekend that I think I might let him sleep until 7 every weekend morning (if he'll allow it)! Sunday morning, we tried banana pancakes for the first time. They were pretty good, but I think next time I will use two bananas instead of one. Aiden seemed to enjoy these more than the blueberrie pancakes I made the previous weekend. Probably because they are not as tart. I made an orange coulis out of marmalade to use as a topping. Since I'm not a huge fan of syrup on pancakes, I was ecstatic to find it worked pretty well.

After breakfast Travis worked in the yard. Then we headed to Ariel and Robert's for the afternoon. They had a bunch of plants they had bought that really needed to be planted before they wilted away. Travis spent the afternoon working his butt off tilling a third of their yard for the vegetable garden. I never lifted a finger. Honestly, I was disappointed. I agreed to go work at their house because I really enjoy working in the yard. I did get about 10 minutes of full sun, which was PLENTY for my ghostly complexion. I spent the rest of the day taking care of Aiden and socializing with everyone else who was there.

It was a nice weekend, spent mostly outdoors. I'm trying to absorb as much of this weather before it turns into Sauna Season. We have more plans to do so this weekend!

10 Months Old

Aiden can:

• Walk while holding onto a toy. He is currently learning how to do this with wheeled toys that move a lot faster.
• Eat yogurt without spitting it back out. He never liked it before and since it is sweet with strawberries, THIS IS A HUGE STEP.
• Bite off pieces of food - instead of gnawing on it until it is mush.
• Push a toy truck around while crawling. The teachers at his daycare said he is the first baby in their class to ever do that.
• Scream. He's been testing out those vocal cords lately.
• Reach the kitchen table. Anything placed on the table must now be at least 3 inches from the edge to avoid it crashing down on Aiden's head later.

Apparently he also likes Christina Aguilera. Yesterday we were listening to AMTV (my new morning fave - after the weather, of course). They had a block of Aguilera's older music, so when What a Girl Wants came on immediately after Beautiful I looked up to see why and I noticed Aiden bopping his head to the beat while chowing down on his Cheerios. I'm going to have to keep a better eye on what I expose my son to.

This past weekend, we were walking through Petco when Aiden started saying "ahhhhhh", like you do when the doctor wants to look down your throat. I copied him, then he did it back again. This went on for a moment before I found what I was looking for on the shelf. When I look back at Aiden, he is saying "ahhhh" and touching his tongue. Two seconds later, his finger was at the back of his throat, he gagged and spit up a little of his lunch. I was reminded of that time when Peter Griffin learned about bulimia.

Strange urge to play Uno now...