Summertime is Here

I didn't let Aiden's pain hold us back from a full weekend. Saturday afternoon I went to a couples baby shower for Kathryn, a girlfriend from college.

When I moved down here from Illinois, I didn't know anyone except for Travis. To remedy this, I joined the Sailing Club at TAMUG. The first person to befriend me was Kathryn. We hung out for the remainder of our time at A&M. Since we graduated, our lives caught up with us and we only got around to seeing each other once or twice a year.

She has a new house since I last went to her home. It was great to see where her and her husband are living. I was really impressed with the neighborhood. It is a gated community with its very own golf course and cul de sacs aplenty.

Travis worked all weekend, so he didn't go to the shower with us. I got to catch up with one of Kathryn's friends and I was surprised to see one of Rachel's friends there too. I ate BBQ and cupcakes while Aiden ran around with the other kids. He made occasional trips back to me for a bite of mac and cheese or cupcake here and there.

Kathryn and Blake (and Kathryn's mom):

I was a little conflicted on what to do about Aiden's interest in adults. He went up to every guy in the living room and either climbed up on their lap, opened his mouth for a bite of their food, or pulled on their pant leg until they squatted down to have a chat. I love that he is being a social butterfly (even if it was only with the guys), but I don't know if it's bothering the other person or if I should teach Aiden to be more leery of strangers.

I think this is the first time we've gone to a party with kids we didn't know. He got along with them so well. I was ecstatic. I suppose he gets lots of practice playing with multiple children at once at daycare. But I was surprised to see him playing with other children; as opposed to along side other children.

He ran around with three older kids most of the time (between 2 and 5 years old), but the child that seemed to intrigue him the most was a baby boy around 11 months old. He was still crawling, but he could pull himself up on furniture. Aiden kept squatting down next to the ottoman the baby was hanging on to play peekaboo. It gave me hope for our next child.

Sunday morning we went to Ariel and Robert's to celebrate Robert's birthday. I got there before Aiden's nap, so I could help out while he was sleeping. They grilled corn and a couple different meats. I brought Greek pasta salad. Mmmm... Oh and there was watermelon too! For dessert, Robert requested a fruit pizza. Ariel was unable to find Cool Whip, so we had to made due with whipped cream. It turned out really well! I love the summertime.

Those yellow flowers behind this fantastic beer holder are the result of unpicked broccoli (similar to lettuce).

Travis came over as soon as he got off work - somewhere around 2 o'clock I think. A couple of Robert's friends came over soon after that. We ate fruit pizza and enjoyed a glass of champagne with frozen grapes. We got caught up watching the news coverage of the horrific footage of Japan. I am thoroughly distressed that they are continuing to have aftershocks that are larger are still considered large earthquakes. I found this article about how the earthquake affected the planet very interesting.

Besides that, it was a nice afternoon.

That evening, we went to watch Ariel and Robert play softball. Travis is not playing this "season" because of his surgery. I haven't gone to a game in so long because it got to be too hard to chase Aiden around. I was thoroughly surprised that Aiden sat happily between his dad and I through the whole game. He spent the first half eating an entire giant slice of pizza and drinking out of a big boy cup. Second half he seemed content to just sit between us.

I think if I could have Travis sitting with me I would go to more games. I would still give it a try if Travis was playing. I don't know if it was Travis' presence or the fact that he is older and 'more mature' these days. I'll give it another try, that's for sure!

Best Screamer in Class!

This past Sunday evening, Aiden and I went to watch Ariel, Travis and Robert play softball. They play in a league on a team for Ariel's work and it's a weekly thing. I used to enjoy going. I would sit outside, drink a beer and eat a pretzel while they played their one-hour game. Things just aren't the same with Aiden. I've actually decided that I'm going to stop going, unless I have a friend to go with. Otherwise it is entirely too stressful for me to enjoy any of it.

Aiden is a toddler who only learned to walk six months ago. It is this shiny, new thing that he is still perfecting. Which means there is no way to get him to just sit in one spot while we watch the game. Sometimes I can get him to stay in a certain area, but I still have to follow him around so I can catch him when he falls down the concrete stairs or cover his head when a rogue softball flies our way.

On top of this, I have to keep an eye on my purse and Aiden's diaper bag. That doesn't leave room for much game watching. This last trip was a doozie. We had FOUR balls hit within feet of where we were standing. Two were pop-ups from a game and two were from a team that was practicing throwing the ball back and forth. None of them hit us thankfully, but it was a close call each time.

Then, in the last five minutes of the game, Aiden was running and fell. He wasn't able to get his hands in front of himself in time to fully catch himself, so he whacked his forehead REALLY HARD on the concrete sidewalk. There was an audible thud and a delayed cry while he inhaled the maximum amount of air his lungs would allow before letting it out in a horrific scream. Ugh. It was heart wrenching.

There was no blood. That was good, but at first I couldn't tell where he had hit himself. Honestly, it wasn't until the next evening when he came home from daycare with a bruise blossomed on his forehead that I realized he'd hit his head and not his nose. I was stressed out from all the chasing and trying to get Aiden to eat the crappy food they serve there and keeping an eye on our stuff. I'm not going back again unless I have someone to help me. Or if it's a championship game.

Tuesday, Aiden came home from daycare with a goose egg where his forehead was bruised. Turns out, he fell down again and hit his forehead on the floor. I don't know if it was a really hard hit again, or if it swelled up easily because it was already damaged. Either way, it's a sad sight. Now every time he taps his forehead on something, severe sobbing ensues. This morning he was trying to fit through a door that wasn't open all the way and his forehead rubbed the door jamb. Just rubbing it resulted in a good cry. Poor guy.

The last week was pretty rough again with Aiden. The molars that had been trying to work their way through his gums finally broke all the way through. There were weeks with just the points of each molar coming out of his gums. Thankfully, there is no longer little patches of tissue in the middle of each tooth. YUCK. Since yesterday, he seems to be in a much better mood because of it.

His teachers did inform us yesterday that Aiden is the loudest kid in the class. He yells the loudest when they are outside and he cries the loudest when he is hurt or mad. He seems to have developed this horribly high-pitched keening. Gah. It's the worst when I'm holding him. Ahhh, parenthood!

October at the Beach

I really wanted to go to the beach this weekend since the weather has cooled down so much. We have been going first thing in the morning whenever we go, to avoid the midday heat. Probably not such a good idea now that it's started to cool down. It was SOOOO windy that we had to use the Murano as a shield from the wind. We still had a good time though.

I made Aiden a "motorcycle" out of the sand. I think he enjoyed it for a good two minutes before crushing the "handlebars". =)

Then Sunday night we went to Travis and Robert's softball game. Sadly, it was cancelled for the second week in a row, but we didn't waste an opportunity to play on their playground!

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We went up to meet Skylar last night and she is just as precious in person as she is in her photos. It was so surreal going to meet Alexa in the same hospital in which I had Aiden. It brought back a lot of rough memories. Aiden was a great baby, so no stressful thoughts about him. 'Just' the recovery. Seriously though, Skylar is adorable. She slept the entire time I was in the room. When I went to trade posts with Travis (Aiden wasn't allowed in the room), she woke right up. I ran back in after Travis came back with the news of a wide-eyed baby. Alas, she was nursing by the time I got in there.


It was such a surprise to see how tiny Skylar was. I know they come in a small package, but sheesh. Aiden is a MONSTER now. I know he was never actually as small as Skylar after he was born, but I know he was only a pound heavier. That's itty bitty. Seriously... can't believe it...

I'm hoping to visit the Ramby's this weekend after they are home from the hospital, so hopefully she'll be awake at some point while I'm there. She was mighty colorful in her sleep, but I'd love to see her awake!