Wrapping up 14 months: talking up a storm

Mr. Independent! He is really coming into his own and he just keeps surprising us everyday with something new. His back molar came in on the right side and now a top one is coming in too! He has been eating so much more now that he has some big chompers! He is able to tell us what he wants now and he is not shy when it comes to his needs. He knows more than he can say, but he is saying a lot of words now. He doesn't say the words correctly, but he is saying them consistently. Now we have to be careful what we talk about in front of him, because even mentioning going outside or saying "bath" gets him all excited, and he either runs for the front door or bathtub.

He can say:

car, bath, duck, quack, woof, dog, meow meow, go, sit, car, fish, mama, dada, shoes, roar (when we ask him what a lion says--its so cute, my favorite thing he does). He is so social and he gets a kick out of making people smile and laugh, so he of course is always smiling, waving and laughing when he sees someone. 

April 21-22: Auntie Bri came to visit on one of the hottest days in Pacifica, so we hiked to the Linda Mar beach. All Aiden wanted to do was dig in the sand and play with other kids. He also can't get enough of his little flip flops. They are the only shoes he wants to wear! We brought over a pool to my parents house so that Aiden could keep cool. He loved splashing around and getting sprayed with the hose.

April 23-25: The sunny days mean AMAZING sunsets. We made sure to walk down to the beach to watch the sun go down. He loves his evening walks. He is such a water baby, as you can see he is wading in Grandpa's river! Aiden also got to be a baby model for my company's rebrand, so you can see him sporting the new logo. His photo was all over our company Facebook, Twitter, and Newsletter :)

April 28-30: Giants Game for Martin's Bday!
Aiden's first Giants game, he loved it. All the people, all the fried chicken and fries, and oh yea the game too- they won! Erica, Rob and Emily came to visit that Sunday and Aiden couldn't get enough of Emily. He wouldn't even let her eat! He would pull at her shirt or grab her hand because he wanted to play with her...aww cousins :)

May 1-15: While Martin goes to the gym on Saturday mornings, I take Aiden to our neighborhood park. He loves the slide and hiding under the play structure to dig in the sand. Martin and I took him to Lomo Farms in Half Moon Bay and he got to see a bunch of animals (goats, horses, roosters). We thought he would ride the pony, but he got scared. He liked the fountain the best. Now he is interested in the TV and he even snuggled up with me in bed one night, grabbed the remote and handed it to me. I turned on the Disney channel and we watched Bolt until he fell asleep. He also has Martin doing the Mickey Mouse Hot Dog dance every morning! Oh Aiden, we love you so much!

We Made the Most of March

Bigger, smarter, and sillier! In just one month, Aiden picked up some new words, "fish, woof, and No!" He also says night-nite and runs to the bedroom. He is communicating with us on a whole other level. He plays peek-a-boo when we say, "where's Aiden?" by hiding his eyes behind his fingers, or a curtain, or a toy. Even if he can't say the words to us, he understands what we are saying to him. When we open the animal page of his book and point to the horse and say "caballo," he jumps up and grabs his rocking horse.

He fights sleep like no other, he wants to be up and out and about. The cutest thing that he does when he starts to get sleepy is he will lay his head down and when we say, "awww!" he will laugh, lift his head and then slam it down again. He is such a goofball. I love it when he wakes up, half asleep, smiles with his eyes shut and flings his arm around my neck and pulls me in close to him. Sometimes he giggles in his sleep too. 

I took Aiden to an indoor gym early in the month to play with some kids. He had so much fun running around under the parachute and pushing kids in the little cars. We also made sure to take advantage of the beautiful weather and made our way to the beach. Aiden even helps out with the cleaning now, you can see him vacuuming in his spiderman shirt! 

A day at the beach!

When Aiden isn't outside, we are goofing off inside. He is constantly making up games and will do things that make me laugh over and over again. His dancing skills have gone to a new level, he loves to get down and stomp all around. (he also gives me lots of hugs and kisses!)

Rain! Aiden was stomping around in all the puddles and ran up and down the drain gutter! He loves to grab our hands and drag us around (usually to take him on a walk, or to find his toys). He is confident and social and becoming quite the ladies man. Anytime he sees a little girl, he grabs her hand and begins to lead her around. Adorable.

First time in the snow! We got a cabin in South Shore Tahoe. 

Aiden is too much fun, he fills our life with love and laughter.

Videos:

Aiden is One! Happy Birthday

Feb 1-16:

Dear Aiden,

First I have to tell you, you are the most amazing, most beautiful, most interesting and the sweetest and smartest little boy in the WORLD. Yes, the world. I love absolutely everything about you (yes, everything!) My heart grows with you each day, and the bigger you get, the more my heart is filled with pride, joy, and love. You are such a sweet little soul and I am so blessed to have you as MY son. Just writing that you are mine, literally makes my eyes fill with tears (happy tears). A year ago, I was bringing home a fragile, tiny baby boy and I was naive and clueless as to what came along with my sweet baby boy. So many changes! I was so scared and nervous. But like all parents, I am learning as I go and I am very proud of how far we have come. You are one year old today. Already one! And at the same time you are only one. One, and you have changed me and my life forever in ways that I never imagined and ways that I will forever be thankful for. You are no longer a baby, but a little boy. My little toddler. You are truly a miracle and a blessing and I will always pray for God to protect and bless you with a healthy and happy life that is full of love.

Now back to the point of this letter….Happy Birthday!  Your dad had to go to work at 6am so he kissed you and whispered Happy Birthday as he blessed you with the sign of the cross. “Awe, Babe! He opened his eyes.” You melted your dad’s heart and all you had to do was open your eyes while he was kissing you goodbye!

I had to leave for work early, before you woke up (very rare!). You were snuggling with me and I held you close and smothered you in birthday kisses while you slept so peacefully. I hated the thought of having to go to work on your first birthday. I am selfish and want to soak up every single second of your life while I can (it truly does go by so fast!). But I had to leave, and before I left, I snapped a birthday shot of you:

It still amazes me that in just a year you developed into a little person! Here is a list of just some of the things I can't get enough of:

You are your own little man now. You are so independent. 

You love being outside and you bang on the front door and groan until we open it for you.

You dance- you will grab furniture and will rock side to side with a giant smile on your face (especially when “Pumped up Kicks” or “Love Song” comes on).

I love how you wave bye-bye and blow kisses. 

You LOVE dogs. Even small pictures of dogs on product packaging on a shelf in a store (you will find it). You point and chant “dog, dog dog!” with such excitement and enthusiasm. If there are multiple dogs, you will point to each one. You even recognize dogs on tv now. 

I love how you open your mouth wide when you clap your hands.

You are so smart! You recognize objects and you know many of them by name and you love to read your books.

I love your little language and all the little sounds you make. You have a sound for when you want to eat (sounds like hiccups), when you are singing yourself to sleep (sounds like humming). You love it when I hum in harmony with you.

You capture the hearts of strangers. Everybody comments on how big you are, how cute you are, how much hair you have, how smart and how social you are.

I love your silly viejitos faces. 

I can wrestle with you and tickle you on your thighs, on your ribs, and daddy always gets you on your neck—and you laugh so hard and squirm around.

I love how you make up games. You have your own silly sense of humor and it cracks us up. It’s safe to say, we “get” you!

You can kick and you can throw balls and you can figure out how to work any toy.

You are outdoorsy, inquisitive, intelligent, and interesting. Smarter, sillier, and sweeter each day. 

Its obvious I love every part of you.
But, most of all, I love your kisses, laughs, and giggles!!

Here's to many more Happy Birthdays! God bless you my sweet little soul. I love you more than words.

Love,
Mama

Photos from your FIRST BIRTHDAY!

October was a busy month, Aiden is mobile! 8 month recap

He's crawling! Officially, on Wed. Oct 27th he made strides across the floor on one knee as he pushed with his right foot. He is already trying to walk. He is pulling himself up on everything and is trying to stand when he is crawling. He has conquered the threshold from the office to the living room and he spends a lot of time in that doorway. He throws toys into the living room and crawls up the step and he also practices standing there. He is so social. He takes only 2 naps a day and sleeps through the night (for the most part). He caught his first cold this month, but it didn't even phase him. He smiles at everyone and loves to try to talk to them. Mostly, he says, "ahaaaa!" and then laughs  when they look at him. He gives hugs now. He wraps his arms tight around my neck and squeals. He was the Hulk for Halloween (thanks Auntie Bri for the costume!). It was perfect for him, did I mention how massive he is now! I just can't get I just can't get enough of him. Everyday he amazes and excites me with something new. I can't even describe how much I love him.

Click here to see all of his videos and here to see some new instagrams.

Oct 1-15: some favorites :)

Oct 16-31:

Sitting Up solito and Grabbing dedos del pie

July 16- July 31st: Aiden has mastered grabbing his toes and is still perfecting sitting on his own (being built like a linebacker doesn't make it an easy feat!) He has started to make brrshhhhlppss sounds and he loves to laugh. He will stick his hands in my mouth and I will pretend to eat his fingers and he will crack up. He is getting more curious about the things around him and he has discovered his surprisingly strong grasping, slapping, and throwing capabilities. His curiosity also means that he becomes bored faster, so I am constantly coming up with new songs and games to entertain him. Lately, "I'm gonna.....GET You!" combined with me rubbing my head into his belly entertains him and cracks him up. He also fell in love with Raffi, his Giraffe squeaky toy. We have been working hard on getting the house ready for his baptism and it is starting to come together! New pics to come soon. We also took him boating on the 31st and I will post pics as soon as I get them :)

Sitting up alone and grabbing his toes (also sweet morning moments with Daddy):

The many faces of Aiden (7/19)

 Random pics from the last few weeks:

Movie time! Grab your popcorn...

Aiden was hilarious this weekend. He got the giggles on Friday while looking at his Dad.
July 15:

And we took him swimming on Sunday. He was loving it! He didn't cry and he was kicking and splashing around. Too cute!

July 17:

A month's worth of photos and videos...we've come a long way baby!

Wow, a whole month FLEW by and so much has happened. I am back to work full-time, but I am lucky to have 2 days to work from home so I can still be with my little-big guy. Aiden is 21 pounds and he has a big personality to go along with all those pounds. Lately, he smiles as he squeals at the top of his lungs and talks to himself. Abuelita Sonia thinks he is going to be a singer since he loves the sound of his voice and he has quite a range. It is hilarious. He has been hitting all of the milestones...he can roll over from his back to his stomach and he is putting everything in his mouth. He discovered his thumb, he laughed for the first time (Uncle Mike tickled his feet, and since then I have only gotten him to laugh once!) and he has become sensitive to his environments. He will let everyone know if he doesn't want to be somewhere, and so far his favorite place is home. He is wearing size 4 diapers and 9-12mo clothing! I can't believe how big he is and how fast he is growing.  Before I began to type this I rocked him to sleep and laid him on my chest. His head was resting on my shoulder and his body was like a ton of bricks stretched across my torso with his toes dangling on my thighs. As I rubbed his back, I began to remember how he used to lay on my chest like a little ranita. How I could lay my hand on his back and my fingertips could rub his back while my palm supported his bum. And I have to admit, I got a little sad. I already miss him being little(er)...he is still barely 4 months. Martin and I always give him kisses and he always tells Aiden, "I gotta get all my kisses in now, because pretty soon you won't let me!" So, here's to our little man--we love you so much.

May 12-May 18: This is the week he found his thumb. We bought him a Bumbo seat to help him sit up, but we had to take it right back to the store because his legs were too big! He also figured out how to play with his toys.

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May 19-25: We spent the weekend at my parent's house and Aiden laughed for the first time on the 21st.

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May 26-June 1: Aiden pretending to eat in his high chair (he's so smart, already knows what to do!). He went to his first wedding (congrats to Rodrigo + Janet!) and he wasn't even bothered when the mariachi's played--he slept through it!

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June 2-8: I miss Aiden when I am working! We think he started teething. He hasn't been sleeping well and he has been drooling so much. As you can see in the video, he loves the toys on the bouncer that Hazel gave him (thank you!). He stays awake and plays a lot longer during the day and only takes one hour naps.

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