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:

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:

Big body, Big brains: Aiden is growing and learning

September 17-30th: Progress! Aiden learns something new practically every 5 minutes. He has mastered his basketball hoop and can now slam dunk without assistance. The first time he did it on his own was on the 23rd (video below) He even pulls himself up to the standing position! Crawling is still a challenge but he gets in position and rocks on his hands and knees before face planting and  screaming out in frustration. Our living room has transformed into a play room....toys are everywhere! He learns so fast, and has started to copy what we do. Uncle Mike taught him how to "Pet the doggie", (there is a page in his touch and feel book with a sheep dog that has fluffy fur), and now whenever he grabs that book, he goes to that page and pets the doggie. It is the only page in the book that looks tattered and used! When I type, he wants to type. When I am on the phone, he wants the phone. You get the point, he wants whatever I have. September is the sunniest month in Pacifica so we have been walking to the beach almost everyday. Aiden loves listening to the ocean and watching the waves. We even saw two dolphins! We also took him to Gymboree one Saturday, he was the biggest but least mobile baby in the group. He seemed to have fun though, and he loved the bubbles. He is probably 30 pounds now and he has definitely gotten longer, but I don't know the exact measurements--he's a beast! He loves looking out the window at the dogs and he says, "Dghthh" (his version of "dog") every time he sees them. Some things I love about this age: his laugh (things are actually funny to him now), his hugs (he wraps his arms tight around my neck), the squeals he makes when me or his dad comes home, clapping when he is excited, his big smile when he wakes me up in the morning, his eagerness to be mobile and his ability to play with his toys (I am so proud when he figures out how things work), how he shares his toys and food with me (he holds them up to my mouth and laughs as I pretend to eat it) and how he reaches out to me with his arms when he wants me to hold him. He cries out "nehnahh" when he wants his mama and he says "da da" when his dad comes into the room...coincidence, I think not...but who knows! I love that he can stand now, that he is trying to walk and crawl and that he can entertain himself for longer periods of time but he still doesn't want to be alone. Yes, he still sleeps with and on me, and no, I don't mind one bit! Now, on to the pics and videos...
 To see all of Aiden's videos, click here.