SHOCKER!

Monday when I went to pick Aden up from school, the teacher told me he had been dry all day. He only went potty in the bathroom. A first! She went on to say that they are really close to telling us to bring him to school in underwear. UNDERWEAR!! As in, the cotton kind! No pull ups or any of that jazz.... straight to the underoos!! To say I was speechless is an understatement, although I did manage to ask if she meant MY Aden, and not some other Aden in the room. Nope.... she was talking about mine.

So as a treat, we went straight to the store and bought a bag full of underoos. Any cartoon character he wanted, he got. And some he didn't ask for. (Sorry, but the Star Wars underoos are extremely cute.) Although he is still in diapers at school (for now,) he goes straight into cotton underwear when we get home. He is doing so well!

Welcome Baby Hayden!

My friends Kelly and Clark welcomed their new son, Hayden, into the world Sunday! He is 7 pounds of pure sweetness!

Happy Birthday Lola!

We met up with Lola, Papa and Lindsey at Mama's Pizza for Lola's birthday. Aden brought Lola a bag of goodies and helped her open them.

After presents, Aden just wanted to play games. He wasn't even phased by the pizza - this kid loves to hang with the big boys! Cake eventually brought him back to the table so at least he has his priorities in order.

Making Pretzels

It was Lola's birthday, so we decided to make her a little treat. Chocolate covered pretzels! Aden was the sprinkles expert. I told him I was going to take a picture and this was the look he gave me:

Um... let's try that again....

Bathtime Silliness

Hakuna Matata - No Worries!

A few days ago, I heard Aden singing a song about "worries for days." He often brings new songs home from school, but I thought this was odd. I listened a little more and realized he was singing Hakuna Matata from The Lion King.

It means No Worries

For the rest of your days...

It's our problem free

Philosophy....

Hakuna Matata!

Aden's Days of the Week and Counting in Spanish

I finally caught his Days of the Week song on video! And also a little counting in Spanish. (He can count to six right now). Mostly, he's just cute.

"I eat ketchup on my ketchup"

Occasionally, Aden and I get the chance to treat ourselves to a happy meal date and this weekend we got that opportunity. I love these pictures because they really show his personality. And also, because no one would believe me that he LICKED the ketchup bowl! Yuck!

Will you be my Valentine?

I'd like to think that I was Aden's special Valentine this year (and always). I mean, he told me I was when I asked. But this is what I found later that night when I went to his room... he saved all his snuggles for daddy while they watched cartoons. Oh well... I guess I'll share.

Happy Valentine's Day!

For Valentine's Day this year, Aden colored some hearts and I added his picture. He did a great job! Here are some pictures of him delivering a few of his hearts....

^^ To Gigi...

^^ Walking the hall to Mama's room...

^^ To Mama (while she was getting her hair done)...

^^ To Lola at her house....

^^ And to daddy, complete with a can of honey roasted peanuts (that Aden was anxious to share!)

What's in a name?

Well, I think we may have decided on a name. It is subject to change of course, since June is still a few months away and a pregnant mind is fickle. But at this point it's a decently solid choice (and was also on my list when I was pregnant with Aden). His name will be Ethan Elwell.

According to Babynames.com, Ethan means firm and strong. I think this is going to be pretty accurate just based on Aden's name meaning:

Aden most definitely is a little fire!

"Where's my Brother?"

Back in September, Aden asked me out of the blue, "Where's my brother?" I couldn't figure out what he was talking about. He asked it a lot and always seemed confused, like he's lost a pal and doesn't know where he is. I tried asking questions, like, "What does your brother look like?" and "What's your brother's name?" I never got a single clue where this was coming from.

.

.

.

Until two weeks later. I discovered I was pregnant. I told Adam, "This has got to be a boy." I was just amazed at the intuition of a two-year-old.

.

.

.

Today, I got to peek at my little bundle. Here's a fuzzy profile shot of the head and spine:

And here's a little wave for you! HI!

And of course the final shot... we finally found Aden's brother.

Trooper

My poor baby. Friday night, Aden started feeling pretty badly. He was over-tired, feeling hot to the touch and just run down in general. So we took him home and gave him medicine for cough and cold and put him to bed. I called the nurse and she felt like he had just picked up a virus and that it needed to run its course. Over the next few days he stopped eating and added ear problems to the list of symptoms. Even last night when I picked up one of his favorite meals... pizza... he still didn't eat it. Although he gave me a winning smile when he found out where we were!

So today we took him to the doctor and it turns out my poor baby has the flu and an ear infection in both ears. He never complains about hurting though, not once. He's on antibiotics now for the ear infections, but the flu has to run its course. The doctor said we can expect another week or so of coughing though, which just breaks my heart. It's so hard to hear him struggling through the night with a nasty cough and an even more malicious cold. Please pray he gets better soon!

Aden being eaten by a bed

Yikes! That's one big bed! Adam set up Aden's new twin sized bed and he's not quite used to having all that space. On his first night in the bed, he actually asked to go "night night" 10 minutes before bedtime. Then he crawled right up next to the headboard and fell asleep like this with his fur babies. It sure looks like a lot of bed when you look at it from a toddler's point of view!

More pictures of the whole room to come once I get it all organized.

Grandma's!

Aden asks nearly every day if he can pleeeeaaase go to grandma's house. He loves it there. So a couple of Saturday's ago we headed out there and met up with Bailey and Mia. That's triple the fun, in case anyone is taking notes. They got to sit in a monster truck, play on the rocking horse, jump on the trampoline and and enjoy a great meal. Thanks Grandma!

Where my sweet dreams come from...

One of the best parts of my day is right before I go to sleep. I always crack the door and check on Aden. Not because he needs checking on, but because I just have to see him one more time. He is incredibly adorable, even in his sleep.

This weekend, we picked up his brand new, "big boy" bedroom set. We will be setting it up for him in the next few weeks - I'll post a picture. It's sort of bitter sweet. It's exciting for him to have a big bed and new things, but also just a little sad for me to see him leave his tiny little bed. I guess no matter how tall he gets, he is still my little baby.

New Years Resolution??

I'm not sure how it happened, but Aden really likes salad nowdays. Now it's not enough to fill him up as a full meal, but he does enjoy it as an appetiser before his meal. Here he is eating an enormous bite at Olive Garden. (Don't try to sneak carrots and tomatoes in there though. We're working up to that).