The Lawn is Mowed

When I went in to pick Aiden up from daycare I had another one of those times when I wait for the teacher to accuse me of just being some lady who enjoys spending time with a baby (instead of a mom). As I walked through the door, the teacher says, "Come here, Mom" and leads me over to Aiden carrying a shapes puzzle. She sets it on the floor, shoos off the other children and lets Aiden do his magic. He immediately puts each of the five shape puzzle pieces into the corresponding slot. I clap my hands and say, "Yay!" like we always do when Aiden accomplishes something.

I was excited, but obviously not as excited as the teacher thought I should be. She looks at me with incredulous eyes and says that she noticed him doing this by himself during free play, so she emptied the puzzle and had him redo it THREE times to make sure it wasn't just a random fluke. She then goes on to tell me that Aiden is one of the youngest in the class and is the only child in the class that can do a wooden puzzle. "Do you have a shapes puzzle at home?"

"No, but we do have several shape sorters and different kinds of puzzles that we play with all the time."

She is still impressed. As I walk out the door with a triumphant Aiden in tow, the woman at the front desk asks if I saw how awesome Aiden is at that puzzle. Now that's what I call a moment of motherly pride!

---

The boys shared a minute while we waited for our table at Yaga's during Shrimp Fest.

Aiden mowed the lawn with Daddy.

Watching how it's done.

The boys and their toys.

Sometimes I feel like a fake

Is it weird that I still feel like a fake when I bring Aiden into daycare? I keep expecting one of the other moms or a teacher to call me out as I walk through the doors. I don't know what it is. I feel wholeheartedly like a mom when I'm with Aiden, but it still seems too surreal that I am already to this stage in my life. Especially since I still feel so young and goofy at times. I wonder if that's how my dad feels. I think it still shocks him that he's a grandpa.

Aiden is doing much better today. He is still pretty fussy, but I'm hoping a day at school will help clear that up. We had a nice day at home yesterday, despite that frequent prescription eye drop application that had to happen.

That kid cracks me up. His toddler jabbering seems to be advancing. Sometimes now it sounds like he is actually speaking sentences, with all the different sounds he can make. He says 'momma' regularly now. It's how he lets me know he has something he wants to give me, or sometimes I think he says it just to watch my reaction of acknowledgement. I am really excited about this recent advancement, but I think it might bug Travis a little. Aiden says 'dada', but not nearly as much as 'momma'.

Aiden has learned a few new tricks, as I like to call them. He likes to say 'cheers' and clash our cups together at dinner time. Or snack time or lunch time or whenever we both have cups. The only problem is this can go on repeatedly forever if I don't say no. My personal favorite is 'pound it'. You stick your fist out to him, say 'pound it' and he will punch his little fist into yours. ADORABLE.

This one got long...

Oi. It's been a long couple of days. But, I'll start with Saturday!

We made plans to go to the first annual Galveston Shrimp Fest with Zach, Linsey and Luke on Saturday. That morning, I brought the Murano in for an oil change and tire rotation. When we bought the car, we bought the car care package which covered oil changes and basic maintenance for so many miles. Looks like we're about to run out - we only have one "free" oil change left. Booooo!

The whole process took a ridiculous two hours, but Aiden did really well throughout. I was kicking myself for not packing a snack for him, and all my change was in the car, so I couldn't get anything from the vending machine. Unfortunately, we ran into Aiden's nap time, so he fell asleep on the ride home. I put him directly to bed when we got home, which meant he'd have to eat lunch afterwards instead of before, like we usually do.

Aiden woke up early from his nap and we headed to Galveston. We missed the beginning of Shrimp Fest because of Aiden's nap. The only bummer there is they were no longer allowing any new people to do the gumbo tastings. It was sooooo hot out, with no breeze, so we decided to take the babies into Yaga's for some appetizers. We hung out for an hour and then went out for snow cones. Aiden really seemed to like it. We all had cherry snow cones, so there were a lot of red tongues.

While we were sitting in the shade enjoying our frozen treat, Kate and her family showed up. We chatted with them for a bit before we all went our own ways.

Travis had worked all day, so we ran home to meet him for dinner. After dinner, Travis and I watched the Killers. It was eh. That's all I can say about that one. I should have gotten something else. Oh well.

Sunday, I cleaned all morning and then Robert came over to watch the Texans-Cowboys game. Ariel is in Illinois for a couple weeks visiting friends and family, otherwise she would have come also. I made a bunch of appetizers from stuff we already had around the house. It was nice to do something like that without having to spend a fortune at the grocery store beforehand.

Travis joined a softball league with Ariel and Robert and their games are on Sunday nights. (All friends are welcome to attend! Just text me for the game time whenever you're interested.) Unfortunately, they had to forfeit this weekend because only 4 team members showed up, including them. Annoying. I had already bought food for Aiden and I, so we ate then left. When we got home, I made the boys burgers and we watched the season premiere of Family Guy.

Over the weekend, Aiden's eyes had gotten a little gunky, so I called to make an appointment for him on Monday. I figured if it went away by then, I'd just cancel the appointment. Sadly, it didn't go away - it got worse. Monday morning when I went to wake Aiden up, his eyes and nose were crusted shut. Cleaning that mess up was quite the scene. YUCK.

We went to the 9:50 appointment Monday morning. When they called us back, the nurse had Aiden use the standing scale, instead of the one with a cradle to hold the little babies. My baby's growing up! He was 23.3 lbs. No idea what percentile he's in because we didn't discuss his growth. We had a male doctor this time. It was interesting because Aiden tends to gravitate towards men. He just stared at this doctor the entire time. So funny! The doctor pulled back Aiden's bottom eyelids and sure enough - pink eye.

Awesome.

Let me tell you right now, this is my least favorite ailment to medicate. Eye drops on a baby? Come on! Are you kidding me?! At least this time it's eye drop and not ointment. That was a nightmare on it's own. So, we have to do 2-3 drops in each eye FOUR TIMES DAILY for 3-7 days. Ugh.

The daycare won't let him back until he's been on medication for 24 hours. Since I gave him his first dose immediately after we filled it, he could technically go back today at noon. That falls right in the middle of nap time and it's too hard to go into work for just a few hours, so I took the entire day off. We should be back to our normal schedule tomorrow.

We spent the rest of Monday over at Robert's. Rachel watched Aiden over lunch so I could run into work. I got my regular stuff done and a few items that I normally would have done today. Hopefully it doesn't put everyone out too much.

We had already bought tickets to go to the Galveston Epicurean Event Monday night with Rachel and Robert. Travis called Sue to see if she still wanted Aiden with his conjunctivitis and she assured him we couldn't get out of this. She loves Aiden, sickness and all! Every time we drop him off there, she tells us we have to bring him more often. I keep forgetting about that. NEED TO REMEMBER THAT.

The Epicurean Event went from 6-8:30, so we weren't really gone that long. All the restaurants from around Galveston get together and serve samples of their cuisine, along with several wineries and various sellers of booze. I was stuffed after two booths. But, I made the rounds. It was hard not to with the boys trucking along, desperate to hit every booth before the end of the night. Oh and the CHOCOLATE. So much chocolate. And one booth was even handing out various vitamins and supplements, including digestive enzymes in pill form. I'm confident that those are the only reason I did not explode from all the food I ate.

I wish they had more activities like that down here. Up north, they have this for every town. The Taste of Chicago, for example. And the Taste of Champaign. Any activity that surrounds food is my kind of activity!

Zedonk and a Liger

I came across this picture this morning:

And all I could think of was Napoleon Dynamite's liger: "It's pretty much my favorite animal. It's like a lion and a tiger mixed... bred for its skills in magic."

But this not a liger, it is a zedonk - a zebra-donkey hybrid. Pretty in a way.

After a little research, I found that the liger does indeed exist! Although it probably does not have the fabled magical abilities that Napoleon claimed...

(Random funny liger video)

Disgusting Recall

Apparently, Similac has found beetle and larvae parts in their powder formula (in the plastic container) from an infestation at the Sturgis plant. Aiden is no longer using formula, so this does not effect us. Although, I guess it wouldn't have anyway because once Aiden went to formula 100% at six months old, we switched to Target brand (half the price = worth it).

You can enter the lot number of any containers you might have in your possession on their website, to see if it has been recalled:

Abbott voluntarily recalls certain Similac frand powder infant formulas that did not meet it's quality standards.

Forever Me

I have never considered myself a significantly fashion forward person. I do like to present myself as neat and clean, but in a way that is possible without having to buy a whole new wardrobe every year. For the past couple of years, I have found that it has taken me some time to adjust to the new styles as they come. It took me a year to accept flats, and another year to accept skinny jeans.

I have to admit that my wardrobe has seemed pretty sad ever since I've been out of maternity clothes. I've had to get rid of a bunch of stuff, solely because it was so worn down it seemed inappropriate to wear in public anymore. Then I noticed TWO pairs of my shoes have holes forming between the soles and the top of the shoe. I have never had that happen before! I have a third pair that is following swiftly behind in the holey-department.

A month or so ago, I broke down and had to buy some jeans. I wear jeans every day to work, so it is not exactly feasible to have less than five pairs of pants (one for each day of the week). After a month with just three pairs, I decided it was time to head to the store. I bought two pairs of jeans and one pair were skinny jeans! Can you believe it?! Nikki's moving up in the style world! I have tried them on before, but was never able to find a pair I thought I looked good in.

I got them home and quickly realized I didn't have much to wear with them. Since I have a fairly wide load, I want billowy shirts to help balance out the skinny lower third. Turns out I don't have much that fits the description. A couple weeks ago, Travis and I decided to head out for clothes again. My sorry wardrobe was in a much needed face lift.

I ran into Charlotte Russe while Aiden and Travis went into Lids. As it turns out, I do not understand the current trends. Most of the clothing in there seemed entirely too dressy to wear in a lab, and the few items that seemed casual enough were confusing. I couldn't figure out if the elastic hem of one shirt was supposed to go above or below my hips. Most of the shirts showed entirely too much skin for me. After the fact, I realize that many of those tops require a camisole underneath.

I gave up on Charlotte Russe and headed back to get Aiden and his stroller from Travis. I had agreed to trade turns with Aiden so Travis could focus on his purchase, then I headed over to Forever 21.

First of all, has anyone ever been to a Forever 21 aside from the one at Baybrook Mall? Are they all a complete MADHOUSE, or is it just this one?! Seriously, it is ridiculous. The racks are all packed so closely that only one person can pass between them at a time. There are at least 20 employees on shift at a time running around like chickens with their heads cut off and then there are 100 women skittering from rack to rack trying to find the best outfit in their size. Then there's the dressing room, where if you spend more that 2 minutes trying on clothes, the attendant sticks her arm in to see if anyone is still in there.

Gives me hives just thinking about it.

Add Aiden in a STROLLER to that and it's 10 times worse. I couldn't find anything. Mostly because I couldn't stand at a rack long enough to separate the hangers to see what the shirts looked like. Someone was always rushing by, which meant I was constantly shuffling Aiden's stroller around. From my view of the clothes from a distance, the one thing I noticed was the lack of color in this year's clothing lines. Everything was either a neutral black, grey or brown, or it was a muted color, like dirty pastel pink or vomit green.

FINALLY, Travis showed up to take Aiden. He even made a remark about how ridiculous that place is. It's like the women are trying to grab up everything before it goes out of style. And it almost spreads like wild fire, causing everyone else to do the same. I don't get it.

Amazingly, I found two shirts and a light jacket that I liked. I was even able to try them on without the attendant interrupting. I stood in line for 15 minutes, paid and fell out of the store to where my husband and son were patiently waiting. It was such a stark opposition to what I had just experienced.

No wonder I don't keep up with trends. If I have to do that every time, it will be years before I get back in there again. Probably whenever I have to throw out the rest of my holey clothes...

A Shower for Skylar

The food table - I went with a bird theme since Alexa is doing the nursery in jewel tones and birds. The colors were gorgeous together and hopefully Alexa can use the decoration leftovers.

The glowing prego and friend Chrissy, who came an hour early to help me set up.


Marina, girlfriend to the owner of the home we used, came early to help set up also. She was a huge help because she knew where a lot of the kitchen utensils were.

Jodie (with Mackenzie), Chrissy, Kim and Rachel (taking notes)

Sea of gift bags - Skylar made out!

"Listen here, Cupcake!"

GREAT WEEKEND. The end.

Not really the end, but I'm having a hard time putting all my thoughts in order about this weekend. Let's start with the baby shower. It went great! Sort of. Friday night, Rachel came over to help me make all the desserts, including decorating. Everything turned out great that night. But overnight, the icing melted off all the cupcakes, which is exactly what happened to the cupcakes I made for Aiden's birthday. Unfortunately, this time we didn't have time to fix them the next day. Last time, Rachel came earlier to repair the goodies. This time, she got a flat tire, which postponed her arrival. To solve the problem, we decided to call them glazed cupcakes. HA.

The only other snafu was the slushies wouldn't freeze. It froze solid in my freezer over night, but managed to completely thaw out on the ride to the party house. Then there wasn't enough time for it to refreeze before the shower. Bummer.

Besides that, everything went smoothly. A couple of Alexa's friends came early to help me set up the food table and we finished with enough time to chat for a bit before the first party goer arrived. We had food, talked, played a few baby shower games and then rounded it off with glazed cupcakes. I got to meet a bunch of Alexa's friends for the first time and they were all so friendly. One of the girls at the party even brought her 3-month old baby girl Mackenzie. ADORABLE. And the perfect accessory to bring to a baby shower!

After the party, we hung out at Chris and Alexa's for a few hours. All the guys hung out at their place two doors down during the party. Our long-distance friend Chris W. even showed up for a bit. It was great to catch up! Blair and Aiden each got to be one of the guys for the afternoon. Aiden loves following Blair around to see what he will do next.

Travis and I were discussing parenthood the next day. One of the couples that came for the party didn't have any kids and is not planning to have kids for many more years. Travis said he knew the guy didn't have kids within moments of him walking in the door because of how much he cussed. What's funny, is I remember those days. I used to be that person. That person got toned down a bunch even before I got pregnant because of all the babies that I was surrounded by. That has only become more so since Aiden has begun babbling.

Once Travis and I came to this realization in our conversation, I started thinking about parenthood. I have always had a hard time picturing me as one of the parents that I remember as a kid. I still feel too young to be one of those people. I kept thinking that maybe it was because the parents I remember had teenage kids, which means I have another decade before I reach that point. But now I'm thinking it has more to do with having a child. It forces you to become more responsible and selfless and authoritative.

I'm not sure how I feel about it, but it looks like I just might turn into a traditional parent yet!

Yucko

Ugh, it's been a rough couple of days for me. Wednesday morning I started to have some body aches and was sensitive to light. I thought maybe it was some sort of weird migraine. But then the aches got worse and worse until I decided to ask the boss if I could go home early. I had finished all my work and just wanted to LAY DOWN.

My boss was cool with it, so I headed to the grocery store before I went home. Travis was awesome and took care of Aiden the entire night so I could just relax. Nothing sounded good to eat and there were a couple times I thought something might try to work it's way up. Thankfully, nothing ever did.

I went to bed early, hoping that I would feel better for the following work day. When I woke up, it was worse. So much worse. I checked my temperature and I had a low fever of 99.3F. There was another symptom that I will not horrify you with, except to say it required frequent bathroom visits. I emailed my boss and asked Rachel to take care of my duties for the day. Thankfully, it was a slow day and it didn't affect anyone that much.

After I sent the emails, Travis took Aiden to daycare and I headed back to bed. With no alarm set. That is a HUGE deal for me. I slept in until 11:30. Holy cow can you believe it?! I honestly cannot. And the only reason I woke up was because Callaway was barking at some random noise outside the house. Probably whoever it was that was hammering all morning long. That is by far, the latest I have slept in since having Aiden 14 months ago. I wish I could say it was awesome, except that I woke up still feeling horrible. Unfortunately, that lasted for the rest of the day.

This morning, I still woke up with an upset tummy, but at least the fever is gone. Pretty much all I've eaten today is a cereal bar and some pretzels. This thing needs to go away because I have a baby shower to throw for Alexa tomorrow!!!

Regrets on Etsy

You've probably heard of Etsy by this point. If not, then let me just tell you that it is an excellent place to find a huge array of homemade goodies. We got the wall decals for Aiden's room from there.

Apparently not everything is cute from is cute from there:

Regretsy

Time with Blair and Will

We spent Friday night with the Ramby's. We went up for dinner and a little rest and relaxation. It was an excellent laid back evening.

Blogger wouldn't properly load the photo of the boys I wanted to put up, but this one gets the point across just as well.

They ate dinner at their very own little bench. I really need to remember to get one of these for Aiden. He loves stuff his size!

When Alexa brought Blair up to bed, Travis read Aiden a book to help calm him down before we laid him down too. Skylar was sweet enough to share her crib with Aiden since she doesn't need it just yet.

Saturday morning, Travis slept in while I lazed around with Aiden. After he woke up, I got to work on the floors in my house. With three cats and a dog, we really can't afford to go longer than a week without vacuuming, but that is just what I did. Ugh, it was horrible. Travis played with Aiden in the backyard and then took him for a walk so I had free reign of the floors in the house.

After Aiden's nap, we headed to Galveston for a birthday party at the Johnston's (friends from my work). Aiden's friend Will turned one on September 1st and we were invited to help him celebrate with LOTS OF CAKE. It was a nice evening spent with friends I don't see outside of work very often.

I had to run into work for a moment before we headed home. Luckily, it was quick and then we were on our way home. Aiden fell asleep in the car - that puts it at THREE TIMES this weekend! Aiden does not sleep in the car, so that was a big deal for us. I'm pretty sure he is working on cutting in his molars. That, topped with lots of playing with other kids all weekend, wore him out! Blair on Friday, Will and his friends on Saturday and Micah on Sunday! Mostly boys too. Ha.

Photo Session

Travis, Aiden and I went up to visit our friends, the Phillips', in Houston on Sunday. They asked Travis if he could change some wiring in their living room, so we made a day out of it. We left right after breakfast. Aiden took a nap on the ride up. He was so excited to follow Micah around and play with his toys. Micah is also known as Ninja in my book. At two and a half years old, the way that kid can maneuver himself up onto the kitchen counter is nothing short of stealth and flexibility. Aiden took the cue and started pulling himself up on whatever his knees could reach (IE, couch, window ledge, toy chest, etc). No bueno. I'm hoping he forgot this skill in his sleep last night.

Jenn grilled lunch for us. That corn on the cob was perhaps the best I've had in YEARS. It was perfect. After lunch, Jenn followed Aiden around with her camera, hoping to get some shots to put up on her website. She is an excellent photographer and has yet to start up her clientele here since they moved to Houston a year ago. Until she can get her official website up and running, she has started a photo blog. Aiden made her first post!

It's amazing to me how icy blue Aiden's eyes are - they barely show up when we do a color-BW contrast.

Aiden thought Micah was just the bees knees. They had a good game of Tickle, Tickle as we ate lunch.

Billy tried to show Aiden a baby frog. His response? THROW IT. =/

Aiden had a blast playing in Micah's Cars tent. We're going to have to find a little tent for at home.

I am utterly impressed that Jenn was able to get so many great shots considering Aiden wasn't the most helpful of all models. He was tired from only taking an hour nap and the heat always eats away at Aiden's patience. We're hoping to make it back up there again once the weather cools down a bit so we can get some more shots outside. Until then, I am thoroughly enjoying this set!

Logorama

This short film would probably be rated R if it were rated (for violence and stronge language). But the ingenious ways in which they incorporated various logos of our life made me chuckle more than once. (It won an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film.)

Logorama from Human Music & Sound Design on Vimeo.

Aiden: 14 Months and Growing

This kid is OUT OF CONTROL! I just mentioned to Alexa the other day that there are so many small steps he is making in his mental growth that are not really blogworthy. But! Maybe if I put a few of them together into one post, it will be worth reading.

First, I have really been meaning to get a photo of Aiden with Mr. Lion. This photo was taken during his nap on the ride to Louisiana this weekend. This stuffed animal is a gift from Rachel that is just the perfect size for Aiden to carry around and sleep with. When he gets tired, the first thing he does is search for Mr. Lion. Lately, he's been chewing on his face and mane, which leads me to wonder if those 1-year molars might be working their way out.

Here is a short list of words Aiden uses on a fairly regular basis. Although, they are all his form of the word. No perfect English just yet...

• Shoes
• Bye
• Light (as in the one on the ceiling)
• Momma/Dadda
• No (and the head shake to go with it)
• Yes (sounds like 'nine' though - weird)
• Callaway

When he's hungry, he does the hand sign for hungry. He likes to meow at the cats. And whenever he farts or poops, he waves his hand in front of his face and says pssshhew! Occasionally he'll copy a word I say, but he hasn't picked them all up in his daily usage so far.

Aiden has two books that have sounds and hand movements to follow along with and he is excellent at that. His favorite includes a bunch of animal sounds that he copies to the best of his ability. The other is a 'wiggle your fingers, touch your nose' type of book. He steadily amazes me with his consistent learning.

Pointing has also become a favorite game with our son. He points at everything and usually says "ooo" at the same time. I try to figure out what he's pointing at and relay the proper word to describe it. Although, sometimes I'm pretty sure it's just a distraction method he uses when we're trying to get him to do something he doesn't want. Like when I say, 'let's go change your diaper' and Aiden points behind me at something that must have my attention now. Ha!

This past Saturday, Aiden was ecstatic to find Travis at home when he woke up in the morning. I was holding Aiden and we walked into the bathroom to watch Daddy in his morning ritual (brushing teeth, cologne, hair, etc). Travis and I were crying from laughing so hard when Aiden copied his entire hair routine: splash water in hair, squirt gel in hands, smear gel over hands, run hands through hair. Aiden copied every step along the way.

What to Expect the Toddler Years told me to expect our toddler to start copying us soon. It was right.

There are a zillion more small things, but I won't bore you with hours of reading on my 14-month old. I just wanted to put it out there how much fun it is to raise a kid. Constant amazement.

10 Things That Make Me Happy

1. Greek food. What's not to love about hummus, tzatziki sauce, cucumbers and flatbread?
2. Being outdoors. Fresh air always makes me feel better; except for maybe at the zenith of a Texas summer.
3. The sunroof in my car. Best way to bring in the outdoors without dealing with the annoyance of a convertible top.
4. Movies. Romantic comedies, suspense and dramas are my favorites.
5. Indie music. Makes me happy.
6. My job. It's the first position I've taken since graduating college that didn't result in stress-induced hives.
7. French vanilla coffee. Happiness in a cup.
8. Watching Aiden learn. It's so refreshing to relive a life through someone else's eyes.
9. Dates with Travis. Adult time is key to any parent's sanity.
10. Living so close to water. Looking at the sun reflecting off the salt marsh on my drive into work every morning makes me reflect on everything awesome in my life.

Labor-Free Weekend

To continue Travis' birthday week, we planned a little getaway. His dad's girlfriend, Andrea, asked if we could meet them halfway between where we live and where Curt lives (in north Louisiana) for one night (Sunday). Since both Travis and his dad are workaholics, we knew that the best way to force them to actually take time off, would be to remove them from the area. We wanted it to be a relaxing trip, so we reserved rooms at the same hotel in Sulphur, Louisiana and decided to play the rest by ear.

Travis' uncle Clint and his family met us at the hotel also, but they did not stay the night. They live just north of New Orleans, so it was a short drive for them. It was great to finally get to meet Clint. We hung out in the hotel room, had Chinese take-out and swam in the pool. I put Aiden to bed in the room and then we just sat outside the room and talked. The weather was wonderful, in the high 70's/low 80's all weekend, so it was nice to just sit outside.

The next morning, Aiden slept in until 8am (HOLY COW!) and we ate the continental breakfast offered by the hotel. We packed up the cars, checked out of the hotel and headed to the beach. Unfortunately, Tropical Storm Hermine whipped the coast with a few of her tail storms, so it wasn't exactly prime beach time. I felt bad because this was Andrea's first time to the beach. I guess that just means they'll have to come visit us sometime soon so she can really go to the beach.

Travis, Aiden and Curt

Travis, Aiden and Andrea

The tide was high enough that it was spilling over into the beach parking lot. I couldn't concentrate on enjoying my time at the beach with water pooling under the car, so Travis moved it to the entrance street. After that, we walked around a little bit. Andrea and Curt collected shells, while Travis let Aiden get pummeled by the waves. Eventually I had to just pull them out of the water so Aiden could go play in the water pools in the "parking lot". That way he could splash without getting taken out to sea. Ha.


We wanted to grab some lunch before heading out of town, so we went to Gatti's Pizza. It's the type of place that can give a person some stomach troubles, but it was worth it. We didn't have to wait for our food to be prepared and there was a TV to keep Aiden content since he was awake during his regular nap time. Aside from a minor breakdown at dinner time on Sunday, Aiden was a trooper the whole trip.


Also amazing - Travis had Saturday off too!!! We had three whole days with him. I think Aiden was confused each morning when Travis was there. He got excited every time he woke up to find his dad. Awesomeness.

Travis' Birthday Extravaganza

Birthday dinner

(great shot of Zach by the way...)

Luke and Linsey, enjoying a slice of a giant chocolate chip cookie and mint chocolate moose tracks ice cream


Two are better than one, as demonstrated here by Rachel

Texans game, courtesy of Robert

(vs. Buccaneers, Texans lost)

Also on the gift plate? Jerseys for everyone!

Our seats were higher up at first, but then we moved to the other set of seats we had tickets for. I think I enjoy watching football better AT the game, than I do on a TV.

I dunno...

Trying to remember what Aiden ate yesterday...

It's amazing how much your life revolves around poop as a parent.

I gave Aiden a bath last night. Before the bath, there was a pretty serious doodie diaper that Daddy took care of. Five minutes into the bath, a few bubbles float to the surface from my oh-so-innocent son. Not unheard of, so I didn't react. Moments later, yellow doodie, just like what was in that diaper earlier, follows suit.

I flipped the drain so I could clear out the mess and rinse away any residue. I fill the tub back up and Aiden continues where he left off splashing with his cups. Not five minutes later, Aiden is squatting again, pushing up bubbles and more doodie.

Again, I flipped the drain and watch the yellow mush make it's way down our drain. This time, I didn't refill the tub. I just rinsed the tub and washed Aiden down in the empty tub, hoping to get a diaper on the kid before there was a third round.

Yikes.

Seeing Orange and Blue

Sounds like Alex is really enjoying spreading his wings in college. I love it. His first day of class was last Monday (Aug. 23). He said that all of his classes are going well so far and his Physics teacher is really fun. That makes such a huge difference in how well you can learn a subject. I couldn't understand a word my Egyptian Organic Chem professor said to me. That was a rough semester. But I had an excellent Physics instructor, so I understood the concepts and aced both I and II.

Alex is sharing a dorm room with a friend from high school and is enjoying it thus far. I mailed him a care package last Tuesday and was super disappointed when it still wasn't there Friday (expected delivery date was Thurs). Turns out, the U of I mail system delays things a bit, so he got his package on Monday. Phew! I put lots of fun stuff inside: a mini-basketball hoop, dry erase board, snacks, hamper, etc. He loved it.

My dad makes up his own acronyms during text messaging. One of the most commonly used is SOF for Smile On Face. All I can think of right now is SOF.

He joined a group called Illini Pride. It has thousands of members who are students that dress up in school colors, go to sporting events and support the University of Illinois team. Alex is regularly going to the volleyball games with his roommate. In his other free time, he has been playing a lot of basketball with some friends. Sadly, this resulted in a double sprained finger. He jammed both sides of the joint in his right index finger. He is right-handed. Meaning, note-taking is going to be difficult for a while. As is playing basketball.

I am a little jealous of Alex' college experience. He is going to a big school with all the traditions that go along with a large state university. He is living in a dorm and may possibly try for a fraternity next year. He is living. it. up!