Aiden's 10 Month Birthday

Well its been so long since I've made a post that I really don't remember what exactly Aiden was doing at 10 months!! I'm fairly certain he was still eating pretty good. Bath time is lots of fun (as you can see). He is a master at crawling and is pulling up to standing on everything.

Merry Christmas!

Well we opted to start the family tradition of Christmas morning at the Fink household so we were hoping that Aiden would be as excited as we were. However... he (like everyone warned us) was definitely more interseted in the bows, boxes, and paper than he was in any of the presents inside the wrapping. It was really cute though and we snapped lots of pictures to commemorate the event. Someday when he wonders if we even celebrated that first year we can pull out these pictures and prove we did, in fact, sit around in our pajamas and open gifts... and eat cookies :)

After Christmas morning at our house we headed up to Norwalk to hang out with Nanny and Papa Schimpff. We got a picture in front a beautiful tree (unlike ours which never got decorated this year!) and Aiden made off his more than his fair share of gifts. It was a great day which will probably only get better as the years wear on. I can only hope for many many more happy Christmas celebrations to come.

Who needs all these new presents? I've got a new hat, an old binky and a stinky sock...

Aiden's 9 Month Birthday

He sleeps! We looked and looked for something wrong with Aiden to explain why he wasn't sleeping and in the end it was just acid reflux and some good old sleep training - training him to get up every 2 hours by his parents! The first big step was the Prevacid. Within 8 nights of starting him on it he was only getting up twice at night. So we took the next logical step and cut out one of those two feedings. It took a couple of weeks to get him to agree that he needed to give up the feeding but eventually he saw it our way. We do still need to work on that one last feeding...

Aiden's new party trick: pulling himself up to standing! Yay - one step closer to walking. This too has a story... at his 9 month check up we saw a new pediatrician and she was really worried that Aiden wasn't pulling himself up yet. I had not met anyone else that had a concern about it but of course all it took was that one person to get me worried. So we pulled out the Leap Frog table toy that we bought a couple of months ago. Within two days he was pulling himself up on the toy so that he could play with all the cool buttons!! I was so happy, and Aiden was happy too because he really loves that toy. It is one of the few he plays with every day.

Aiden is eating a bottle really well. He eats five 6-8oz bottles a day. He is also doing really well with solid foods - he eats a breakfast of yogurt, lunch is a jar of food and lots of cheerios, and dinner is 2-3 jars of food and as much solid food as we can get him to eat! Oh and Jason likes to sneak him Hershey's Chocolate Syrup whenever I'm not around...

Mobility!

Aiden is 8 1/2 months old and he finally found the forward gears! He started crawling just a couple of crawls at a time but now he's got it down pat. He seems to only want to crawl for things that aren't necessarily good toys - electrical cords, remote controls, diaper changing supplies, Playstation stuff - so we are alreading redirecting him a lot. But boy is it cute. Its hard to believe that he is finally moving!

Nanny and Papa came and stayed with Aiden while Mommy and Daddy went to the Honda Christmas party. And they brought their new puppy, Frank, with them. Aiden had a great time playing and they are the two cutest little things I ever saw so we had to snap a couple of pictures.

Aiden's 8 Month Birthday

I'd like to say that Aiden started sleeping this month but miracle of all miracles he is sleeping worse now than ever. For the last two weeks he has been getting up ever hour and a half at night. We switched his formula to soy formula and started some Zantac for acid reflux so we'll see how all of these changes pan out. We haven't seen any improvements yet but we're keeping our fingers crossed.

Aiden also got ear tubes this month. At first it was alittle difficult because his left ear tube got clogged with blood from the surgery, however we got it unclogged a couple of days later and he hasn't had an ear infection since. As a matter of fact I don't think he's had a cold since then either...

His newest trick is eating Daddy's hat. Whenever Jason holds him he immediately reaches for his hat and eats the bill. Jason says its hilarious because Aiden sticks his tongue out on the underside of the hat! I wish I could see that!

What a wonderful little boy. Although we complain about him not sleeping I wouldn't trade him for the world. He has really turned into a lot of fun in the last month. He has always been pretty happy but since he's been feeling better he has been all giggles and laughs. Everytime we go to the mall all the women flirt with Aiden and he flirts right back. He laughs constantly and loves to play. He is really fun to play with!

Happy Halloween!

Aiden's first Halloween was fun! His costume was a monkey suit and boy did he love wearing it! I don't think he smiled once while he was all bundled up. He had a look of total defeat on his face. He was just humoring us :)

We spent the evening at Uncle Nicky's house handing out candy. Aiden did trick-or-treat to a couple of houses but he didn't get any candy.

Of course he was just getting over a double ear infection so we had his ears bundled up with an ear warmer Jason wears for snowboarding. I'm sure that added to his enjoyment - he could hardly see!

Aiden's 7 Month Birthday

Happy 7 Month Birthday! Lets get caught up on the biggest month so far! Aiden got two teeth this month! Right around his 6 1/2 month birthday Nanny felt his first tooth and now you can see it pretty well. Right beside the first one (the bottom center tooth on the left side) is his second (the other half of the pair on the right side). Can you see them?

Not only did he get some teeth - he started moving! Do you see his awesome crawling stance above? He has all the motions right but he seems to only go in reverse! If we put a toy in front of him he sees it and still crawls backward to 'get' it. He gets pretty frustrated that he can't get where he wants so I hope he figures out the right forward gear soon! He has even been standing up on his own for a couple of moments when we put him up to the ottoman. He'll be cruising before we know it! I can't believe how quickly they learn so many skills!

He has been refusing to drink from a bottle (except in the middle of the night - of course!) for over a month now but he finally got the hang of the sippy cup! Yesterday he had about 4 ounces of (seriously diluted) juice. I hope this is a skill he decides to use often. He likes to play with it whether he is drinking from it or not.

His appetite is still really good. But we have to hide milk in oatmeal or anything just so we can get him to drink the 20oz a day minimum. He isn't sleeping yet but he seems to be making some improvements - he is only getting up four times a night (instead of every hour and a half) and only eating two of the four times he wakes. The doctor said maybe he'll start sleeping around 10 months - I hope we can make it that long!

He is just getting over another ear infection - it looks like that is going to be a common occurence since both Jason and my dad got lots of ear infections when they were kids. I'm just hoping the antibiotics don't give him thrush again! And the stranger anxiety has set in. Aiden didn't recognize Jason when he got back from a week long business trip to Japan. He makes a very convincing pouty face and then starts crying when strangers get too close.

Aiden's intensity these days is unmatched. I think he was trying to set this rattle on fire with the laserbeams coming out of his eyes! He is definitely trying to figure out everything around him!

He is outgrowing his 12-18 month onesies and pants to we have the 18-24 month stuff ready to go. I think we will probably transition to that size before we hit 8 months.

We'll keep you updated about other cool stuff we do!

Airshow

Aiden got to share his Daddy's favorite hobby - airplanes! Okay, call me a paranoid first time mom but we did sunscreen, full coverage hat, long pant/sleeves, and ear muffs. Those airplanes are loud! I definitely wasn't prepared for the amount of noise some of those them made! He only actually saw a couple but he heard lots of them - especially the F22. It hurt my ears and we didn't cover Aiden's ears quickly enough for its first pass so there were some tears until we got the earmuffs on. Thanks to the Bakers for lending them to us! Surprisingly the muffs didn't bother him - he didn't try to take them off at all. He even fell asleep wearing them! I was thinking maybe he should wear them for every nap - he slept awesome. The airshow was a success but we'll be sure to get some of our own muffs for him next time!

A Big Week!

Jason went on a business trip to Japan and all sorts of things started happening back home! This week Aiden's first tooth started popping through! You can just barely see it a white bump when he smiles. You can kind of see it in the picture up there.

On top of his new tooth he started rolling over! I thought he would never do it because he is so big but out of the blue he decided to roll from his tummy to his back last night. I personally think he learned to roll over because he hates tummy time! We'll see how long he waits to roll from his back to his tummy.

Last but not least (my favorite) is he started saying "Mama". I thought I was just being crazy when I heard him say it the first time but then we had confirmed reports by both of his teachers at daycare, another mom at daycare, and my parents! It won't be long until he's walking and talking.

Some of this stuff seems like it was a long time coming but in retrospect it has only been six months. I can't believe how fast they grow up! Already Aiden doesn't want to sit in your lap - he wants to be playing with a toy or doing something more interesting! It seems to be working though since he has had such a big week!

Aiden's 6 Month Birthday

Has it been six months already? Aiden has grown so much! He officially weighed in at 21lbs 13oz at his six month check up. His current length is 29 inches - he's still off the chart! We are in the 12-18 month clothes! What a cutie! He smiles all the time and has a sunny disposition. The only thing that messes him up these days is getting sick, and even that doesn't make him grumpy; it does make him not sleep though! Even when he's not sick he is still not sleeping very well and the pediatrician said that maybe he won't sleep until his 1 year birthday! That is definitely not in any of the baby magazines I read!

Aiden is sitting up really well now and eating like a big boy too! We started him on yogurt right at six months and he really loves it! But is there a food he doesn't love? He is babbling away and playing with lots of interactive toys these days. He is adjusting really well to daycare which makes it a lot easier to drop him off in the mornings! But he has gotten sick a lot lately and I think daycare has a lot to do with it. This month he got thrush (twice), a cold, an ear infection, and an eye infection! Geez, I hope his immunity gets built up soon!

We had some pictures taken professionally to celebrate Aiden's half birthday. He sat still and smiled for the camera so well. I was really impressed! We didn't have any melt downs or anything. As long as he's fed he's pretty happy :)

We'll keep you posted of all the new developments!

Aiden's 5 Month Birthday

Aiden has had a big month! He doesn't mind tummy time quite as much these days so he can lift his head and chest off the floor.

He just started sitting up on his own too (kind of)! He will sit up for a very short amount of time and then he has to be reset - but its so exciting to see glimpses of the future! Pretty soon he will be able to sit up on his own and that will be a big benefit. He doesn't like laying on his back to play anymore to we are constantly shuffling between the exersaucer, sitting on the couch, and sitting on Mommy or Daddy's lap. We tried the Bumbo but Aiden's legs are too fat! He gets all upset and tries to 'stretch' his way out of the seat because its too restrictive.

This boy can eat! He is eating between 30-35 ounces of milk a day plus a serving of oatmeal at lunch and a fruit or vegetable at dinner time. I'd like to say all that is helping him sleep but he is still up at least once a night (on a good night!) to have a bottle. We are trying to brainstorm some creative ideas on how to get him to sleep!

A Little Mexican??

Aiden went to his first house warming party this weekend! It was a Mexican themed party and while his 'costume' isn't totally Mexican it sure is funny! Check him out... I don't know what possessed Jason to put this mustache on him but he seems to like how it tastes!

Aiden's 4 Month Birthday

Wow! Has it been four months already? I am getting ready to go back to work and so much has changed in the last couple of weeks! Aiden appears to be teething - he chews on his hands like crazy, drools all over everything, and puts anything within reach into his mouth. Just this morning he started really grabbing things easily and holding on to them. He has been batting at hanging toys and grabbing them for a while but not really holding onto free standing objects. And he smiles all the time now! Jason got him to actually laugh a couple of days ago. It was so adorable - and then funny because everytime Aiden laughs he gets the hiccups! Well at least one person in the house thinks Jason's jokes are funny :)

Yesterday we started Aiden on oatmeal. We had tried solid foods a couple of times before but he wasn't really into it. Yesterday he loved it! The book says to start the baby out with about a teaspoon. Aiden has quite the appetite - he ate a two tablespoons in one sitting!

Aiden has slept really well for a couple of nights now. He had a really tough time when he first started teething but now that he started oatmeal I think it is helping. He slept for 8 hours straight last night! That's a new personal record. He loves to nap on the alpaca!!

Did I mention Aiden was drooling a lot?

We'll keep you posted about Aiden's four month height and weight. His doctors appointment is next Friday so we'll get the official stats then. But he is already wearing 12 month clothes and size 4 diapers!

Today Papa, Jason, Aiden, and I went to Easton to walk around and enjoy the beautiful weather! We are missing Nanny, Aunt Kelly, Aunt Shelly, and cousin Sydney though. Happy Birthday Sydney!! We love you!

The Many Faces...

Finally! I just so happened to have a camera within reach when Aiden started smiling! I have waited so long to catch this that I can't post just one!

Blue Steel? or Magnum? You decide...

Moose Sighting

Aiden is growing like a weed! Even though he is only 10 weeks old he has almost outgrown the 3-6 month onesies! We just started putting him in 6-9 month sleepers at night. Jason and I bought this adorable moose sleeper when we went to Alaska and Aiden is finally big enough to wear it... not that we had any inkling that we were expecting when we were in Alaska. We were just preparing for the future :)