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!

One Year!

A Year in Review:

Look how far you have come and so fast. A blink of an eye and a year has gone by. From Newborn, to infant, to toddler-- here is a month by month view of YOU! (all of your birthdays!)

The 16th of each month starting February 16, 2011- February 16, 2012!

Happy Birthday Aiden!

He's an unstoppable toddler!

Jan 16-31: What a busy 2 weeks! I took Aiden to Barnes and Noble and he walked around the children's section with so much excitement. He was like a little alarm, "dog, dog, dog..." and pointing at all the dog books and stuffed animals. He also got excited when he saw another kid. He has no boundaries though and he invades the other kid's space making them uncomfortable and scared. He is so friendly, outgoing, and full of energy. He is unstoppable and he is learning so much, so fast. He can blow kisses now and he can mimic what people do. He is practically running and he grabs everything and anything to pull himself up (including my legs!) I love how he reaches up for me when he wants to be held or how he runs to me when he is startled. He rarely wants to be held and cuddled since he wants to be toddling around on the ground with his toys. He even points at the light when we say, "Donde esta la luz?" and he knows who Mickey Mouse is too! His personality brightens my day. I just love him to pieces, he is such a sweet little soul. I can't believe the next time I update this blog, my little baby will be 1 year old! When I look at him now, I see a little boy--time sure does fly. As much as I miss the cute little baby he was, I am so excited about the big boy he is becoming. He is so much fun!

Looking for movies? Click here for Aiden's videos.

Emily's 7th birthday party! 1/28/12 Photos by our friend Joe Blea:

Aiden is 11 months!

Jan 1-17: Yesterday, Aiden turned 11 months! It has been an action packed month so far and it seems to go by faster now that Aiden spends more time awake and active. He is always on the move. The only time he is still and quiet is when he is nursing or sleeping. He has started to demand food. He opens his mouth like a bird and makes a fire alarm sound until whatever we're eating makes its way to his mouth. Aiden now gives me kisses and hugs when I get home from work or back from an errand. The kisses are slobbery, and sometimes more bite than smooch, but they are the sweetest kisses ever :) Aiden stares at my face so intently when he is eating and he reaches out and rubs my eyelashes very gently and giggles. I can't help but laugh back at him, he is always doing silly little things that crack me up (like his veijitos face). He is walking around more than crawling now and has started to shake my hand loose when I hold it. He is becoming more independent but still needs his mama (or papa) within eye sight. Not only is he getting more independent, but he has become more curious and interested in his surroundings. He notices everything and loves feeling different textures- even the smallest spec or crumb on the floor can't escape him. Even though he is getting bigger and older, he is still the cutest baby, "look at those cheeks! what a cutie!" I can't even count how many times I hear that when we go somewhere. Oh Aiden, my sweet boy, I love you so much!

Some of his loves:

• Dancing: anytime he hears music he stops what he is doing and rocks side to side
• Waving: he has started to wave both hands simultaneously while he walks around
• Crawling on me: he loves to lay across my lap to sleep and he crawls in my lap to play
• Reading: Aiden will sit and read his books all alone but he loves it when I sit him in my lap and read to him
• Dogs: he loves to say, "dog," and watch them out the window and visit them in their room
• Kids: he is so curious about other kids--touches them and follows them around
• Pelotas: "Donde esta tu pelota," he knows that means "where is your ball" he will crawl or walk to his ball and will kick, throw, and carry it around.

Jan 3- kicking the ball while walking. He can dribble the soccer ball like a little pro.
Jan 4- he was fussing and rubbing his face in my shoulder, and then I said, "Say bye, bye to Alex (his babysitter), and he popped his head up, became very quiet, and very seriously waved her goodbye. So funny!
Jan 5- facing forward in carseat and loving it, and so am I! Makes the drive sooo much better!

(Thanks Aunt Freda and Uncle Mike! He LOVES Elmo!)

See all his videos: Aiden's YouTube Videos

Aiden walked into 2012!

12-26-12-30: On the 28th, Aiden took more than two steps (you can see in the video below). He got a walker for Christmas and the minute he got his hands on it he knew exactly what to do. He was roaming the house and ramming into walls. We spent most of the days after Christmas at home recovering from being sick and playing with his new toys. We took one trip to San Jose to visit the family. He officially hates his car seat. If I am not sitting in the backseat with him and feeding him, he is screaming bloody murder as we drive along. It doesn't matter the distance, the instant the door shuts, his tantrum begins and it doesn't end until the car stops, the door opens, and he is released from the seat. It is like magic, he will go from screaming to smiling. "Da, Dog, Onta..." He will start talking and pointing at stuff as if nothing was ever wrong, but the second I put him back in his seat, the screaming begins again. Oh Aiden, I love you so much, but this is the one thing that drives me to insanity--pun intended!

First New Year!
2011 was without a doubt, my best year yet. The arrival of this little munchkin was the biggest blessing of my entire 27 years and ringing in the new year with his smiling face just reminded me that every year here on out will be more exciting than the next. Aiden was perfecting his balancing and walking and impressing us with his abilities before he passed out at 8pm. Uncle Chris stopped by and Aiden woke up to say hi, and didn't fall back to sleep until 20 minutes to midnight. He was on a mission! He was manhandling his toy--picking it up and moving it around as he did laps around our living room and hallway. He is unstoppable now!

Our First Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! We had a wonderful holiday and first Christmas. Thank you everyone for everything, we feel truly blessed to have such a loving and generous family to share Christmas with. We spent the abnormally sunny and warm Christmas eve with Abuelita Sonia, Ramon, Emmanuel, Ricky, and Abuelito. We had sopitos, pasole, cake and jello--yes, we were stuffed! Aiden loved his bowl of rice and beans. Aiden also loved the ornaments on the tree and the candles on the reindeer. He amazed us all when he crawled toward the stairs and then crawled straight up them like he had done it a thousand times before. Despite being sick, we all hung in there and enjoyed the night. The next morning, we woke up and opened our gifts before heading to mass in Redwood City. Aiden wasn't too interested in his presents, but he did enjoy the wrapping paper! After a beautiful mass, we got to my parents where breakfast and Uncle Mike, Grandpa, Bri and Chris were waiting for us. We exchanged gifts and later on we were joined by Toddy and Jose, Uncle Danny and his family, Aunt Wendi and her family, and Rod and Kathy. We had prime rib and ham for dinner...delicious! Aiden ate mashed potatoes, yams, carrots, and some ham. He loved it and had so much fun playing with his new toys. He got so many amazing gifts (and so did we!)--thank you everyone, soooo much!

Aiden is 10 months!

Dec 1-23: On the 8th, Aiden started blowing raspberries on my arm. Now, he blows them on everything--the floor, the furniture, and even while he is eating sometimes! He loves playing peek a boo games and does anything that makes us laugh, over and over again. He is also copying things that people do (sticking out his tongue, waving, clapping, laughing, dancing). He recognizes the names of things now. "Donde esta tu pelota?" --And he will go get his ball. He has 6 teeth, is 27lbs, sleeping through the night, takes two 1hr naps a day, is eating more solids (whatever we eat), and is just the happiest little guy. He is standing and has started to take a couple steps before falling into my arms. Everyday he cracks us up and every day he does something that I want to burn into my memory and remember forever. But with so many new things he is learning and doing, my brain just can't keep up (and neither can this blog!). Oh Aiden, we love you more and more each day. My heart grows with you--bigger everyday.

Holiday Photos!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! We are so excited for our first Christmas with Aiden. He is such a blessing. Here are the Holiday Photos that we took on the 10th--Aiden was such a little model, he loved the session!

Favorites from November

Aiden can now make "m" and "n" sounds. He says "mama" and his personality has started growing as fast as the rest of him. On the 19th, he crawled into my lap and cuddled with me...aww. He is becoming more independant and will crawl from the living room to his room to play with his toys (even when it is dark and the lights are off--he isn't afraid of the dark!). He is very interested in other kids and new people and he was even touching people as I walked through the crowed stores on Black Friday. He can throw the ball, wave, and he has his top two teeth coming in. He gives hugs and kisses and loves to talk and point to things (especially pictures of himself, he clearly has good taste!).

Flashback! then and now...

Martin found this photo of me and Aiden a couple of weeks ago and it has become my favorite photo. When I look at it, I am transported back to the time when I was on maternity leave and with him 24 hours a day, and 22 of those hours we were paranoid and nervous and scared we would somehow "break" him. It amazes me how quickly he has changed and how fast I have adjusted. I never thought that I would forget him being so tiny, but I have. It isn't until I see photos like this one, where he looks so fragile and small that I am reminded of how far we have come in such a small amount of time.

Then:

Now: