Big Accomplishments!

My goodness it's been a busy few weeks. Aiden got two more teeth, stood all by himself, and started saying DaDa! I guess that counts as his first official word. It was really cute how it happened too.

Chandler had gone into the backyard and Aiden crawled over to the patio door to watch him. When Chandler came back in the house Aiden threw his hands in the air and shouted DaDa as loud as can be. Chandler's expression was priceless, it was such a cute moment!

When he stood by himself for the first time, he looked so proud of himself and had the cutest little grin on his face! I guess this means walking isn't too far away!

Mom and Dad leave the little man

Chandler and I took spent our first full weekend away from Aiden. We went to see our dear friends James and Megan Riley get married in Baltimore, MD. It was a fun trip and many of our other friends were also there for the celebration. It was very hard to be away from him for so many days, but he didn't seem to mind that we left. He hung out with his GiGi for the weekend and he kept her very busy!

Aiden also just celebrated his 9 month birthday. He has started playing peek-a-boo and wave bye-bye (sort of). I think he also has another tooth coming in, we have lots of drool going on these days. His latest stats put him in the 90th percentile for height and weight ...30 inches tall and 23lbs 9oz. What a big boy! This picture is from Payton Clifton's 1st Birtday party; he just wanted to help open presents!

Eating

Aiden has finally started to hold his own bottle and feed himself. Its like a little slice of freedom for him... or maybe for us. He is a little stubborn (can't imagine where he gets that from) and would prefer we continue to feed him like a little prince.

Special Day!

Tomorrow is Aiden's 8 month birthday and my 28th birthday! Yeah for us!

Aiden is now crawling like a man on a mission and mom and dad are getting great exercise trying to keep up with him. He has also started pulling himself up, i swear it's like he'll be walking next month. I think I may just start pushing him over so he won't try to walk just yet. I don't want my little boy to be walking already...honestly with all the energy he has I think he'll skip walking and go straight to running.

I'm just kidding about the pushing him over. He is getting so big and so cute its just wonderful to see. We are so proud of him and now I understand how parents can gush about every new task their babies learn. Its truly amazing to watch the look on their faces when they make a new discovery, just priceless.

HE CRAWLED!

Our baby is growing up (sad face), he finally crawled last night. It was only a couple of shuffles, but he was able to get the hands and knees working together to make some forward progress. As soon as I can get it on video I'll post it.

In other news, I have another cousin. My uncle and his new wife just had a little girl about 30 minutes ago! Congrats Uncle Pat!

Daddy's new ride

Chandler got a new car today and he is so happy! He got himself a 2007 Lexus ES350, pretty sweet! Aiden and I are excited to go cruising in it!

Little Swimmer

Our little fish has been spending his weekends in the pool, so we thought it would be a good idea to sign him up for swim lessons. He started Saturday and is doing well. We are teaching him to float on his back, get his face wet, hold on to the sides of the pool, and even go under water. He is in the class with 4 other babies from 7 months to 20 months. We really like learning how to play with him in the pool and to make him more aware of what to do in the water. We sing songs with the swim teacher and he even gets to go on a slide. By the end of the summer, he should be able to go under for up to 8-10 seconds. He will be such a little fish by then!


Back at home we practice our swim lessons and then follow it up with a little sun bathing...its really just for pictures, he doesn't need a tan just yet!

Standing Tall

Aiden loves to bounce in our laps before bed. He holds on to your hands and just bounces like crazy, laughing all the way. I can't get enough of his funny little laugh.

Well, all this bouncing has turned into standing. If you hold his hands, he will put his feet down and push himself into standing. He is soooooo proud of himself, its priceless. I almost think he will walk before crawling. Right now he only gets up on all fours and rocks or lunges out to move forward. He gets that the knees need to move, but the hands moving in conjunction is still a foreign concept. Oh well, it just means he is still out little baby boy.

A round of applause please

That is right, Aiden can clap his hands now. His dad has been teaching him to clap and he finally copied him yesterday. Dad claps and then Aiden claps. Sometimes Aiden will clap and look at you to copy him. It's really funny. We can't wait to show his teachers because then he can clap with his friends when Mr. Shepard comes to play music for the class. The babies are so cute when they listen to him playing guitar.

Our little planner

Aiden visited his dad at work today. We had lunch with Casey & Michelle, it was fun. Then Dad and Aiden played at his desk. He helped daddy write a plan and made lost of financial recommendations. All he needs is a financial calculator and he will be set! A little CFP in the making.

Second Tooth

I can't get a picture of them, but they do exist. Aiden now has TWO teeth and the drool is unbelievable. I believe the average human produces approximately one gallon of saliva per day, if that is the case then babies must produce 2 or 3 gallons. His chest is soaked with drool all the time and mom is doing 2 loads of laundry a week...just for Aiden! He looks so cute though when he gets that big smile and you can see those two little teeth peeking out. His dad will turn him upside down to make him laugh and that is how he shows off his new chompers. Its pretty cute.

Cookie Monster

While I was studying today I decided to occupy Aiden with his first baby cookie. He knows how to put stuff in his mouth (even though he does not feed himself yet), so I figured it would keep him mesmerized for at least 30 minutes or so. I was right about the time but sorely mistaken in the mess I would assume he would make. He loved the cookie, so much that it ended up in his hair, all over his clothes, and all over his exersaucer. Not only was it a good snack for Aiden, it was like a snack for the puppies who enjoyed drive-by licks of the back of his head, which saved me a little time in the bath (JK!). As I watched him devour the cookie, I couldn't help but laugh. It was such a new taste and experience for him that I wish I could see that look in his face everyday. I did get a great video though, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Swimming in the pool

The weather is great, the pool is finally warm and the boys are going swimming! Aiden finally got to go swimming for real. He kicks like a little frog and seems to do okay in the water. He spent most of the time lounging in his raft though. We plan to sign him for up seim lessons this summer, so more to come on that.

Eating in the highchair

Aiden has been eating his first foods for a couple of weeks. He actually eats EVERYTHING! Peas are not exactly his first choice but he does eat them and mommy is very happy about that. Eating time is pretty funny, because he now recognizes what is going on when we get ready to feed him. When his high chair gets rolled out he starts waving his arms and whining because he knows whats coming next...sort of like Pavlov's Dogs, except its the Ferguson's baby!

6 month check-up and more....

Yesterday Aiden went in for his 6 month check up, thats right he is 6 months old now! He is growing just fine and is in the 90th percentile for his age and size. Here are the latest stats:

Height: 27 in
Weight: 19.5 lbs

Yesterday morning we also discovered he has his first tooth. It came in the middle of the night and has just broken the skin. He has been a little fussy lately and I guess that would explain why!
Today we will be taking his 6 month pictures, so keep an eye out!

Personal Pitty Party

This is just a Shauna post...I have too much going on at one time. I praise the moms that make working, going to school, keeping a functional house, and raising children look effortless. I am currently working full time, taking 2 masters courses online, trying to spend time with Chandler, and raising Aiden...I am exhausted. So if I do not keep in touch well right now, please know that I do want to talk to you I just don't know when I can! Thank you for understanding. That is all for my pitty party...I just needed to vent!

Water Baby

So we attempted to get in the pool on Saturday. Aiden got all decked out in his little swimmers diaper, new swim trucks, spiffy sun hat, and cool sun glasses. He even got slathered up in super baby sunscreen..spf1000 or something. After all of this we took him out to the side of the pool to dip his toes...apparently 78 degrees is not a good pool temperature for the little guy. Needless to say he started crying and kicking. Dad was pretty sad because he was hoping to get a new swim buddy. I guess we will just have to wait until it warms up so more. In the mean time we are going to get him signed up for swim lessons...look out Olympic games...here comes Aiden!

Mother's Day

Today was my first official Mother's Day and it was very special. When I went to get Aiden out of bed for the morning, Aiden (Chandler helped) had placed my gifts on his changing table. It ws such a sweet moment to wake up to. Then we headed to Corner Bakery like we always do on Sunday mornings, its a fun family tradition we have been doing since we got married. In the afternoon the boys took me to the park for a picnic lunch. We had such a great day. I am truly blessed to be a new mom and now I know how special all of the women in my life must feel being moms. I am happy to have joined the club!

Trying to crawl

Recently I had to leave town, so Chandler decided to send me videos of our little man. He wants to crawl so bad and this was his first major attempt. He doesn't actually move very far, but its pretty cute...

Dinner Time

Aiden is starting on baby food. So far he loves all of the fruits and he is a big fan of sweet potatoes. I think he loves to chew on the bowl after he is done more than anything! Its pretty funny to see him go to town!

This is too funny....

...yup, he fell asleep playing in his exersaucer!

Beautiful Saturday

We enjoyed this beautiful saturday with a yummy family lunch. The lady at Macalisters Deli thought our little man was too cute. Later we went on a walk in the park and went home to eat some banana baby food! That's right...Aiden is eating baby food now! He just loves his bananas and next he is going to try pears. After playing all day and eating dinner we enjoyed the warm evening outside before he fell asleep. Here is to a beautiful day!

Rock Band

So our latest obsession has come in the form of a video game...more specifically RockBand! Chandler is usually rocking out on the guitar, both electric and bass, while I lay down the tracks with the vocals. Our band name is The Aiden's...pretty original huh? Aiden is our biggest fan as he is loves to watch the lights on the screen and gets a kick out of all of our dancing around.

We have had so much fun with it that we set up different bands for our friends and family that play too! You must bring your inner rock star if you come over...

Aiden's many talents

Aiden is now 5 months old and growing like a weed. He weighs in at 18 lbs. and is about 29 inches long. In the last month he has made quite a few changes; he can roll over, he eats rice cereal (he loves the banana kind), and he is starting to push himself up on to all fours.

Its just amazing watching him grow and learn new things. Rolling over is pretty funny since he goes from his back to his stomach but can't seem to roll back onto his back. Once he gets tired of being on his stomach he just starts eating the blanket or just lays down in defeat. If he is having fun on his tummy, he is scooting or draging himself all over the place. Its pretty funny to see him scoot along.

Eating is a new challenge and I think we will be moving on to fruits soon. Most of the rice cereal usually ends up on his face rather than in his mouth, but I hear that is pretty standard.

His new adventure has been trying to sit up on his own. Usually he looks about half drunk and falls on his face or to the side, but he is getting better. The funny thing is we usually just plop him down in the sitting position. I am not sure how babies actually get from laying down to sitting up on their own. I guess I will have to read on one of the many baby instruction websites... :)