Mini Vacation

We had a mini vacation this past weekend heading to Dutch Wonderland and staying overnight to go to Day Out with Thomas. Aiden loved both and we all had some great family time, laughing and giggling a lot. It made Keith's father's day and we hope all the Dad's out there enjoyed their day as much as he did.

Aiden did great at the rides at Dutch Wonderland, even though we'd ask him if wanted to do a ride and he say no. He would keep saying again, smiling and laughing. And of course, Day out with Thomas was his favorite! We did it once before in November, but it was nice to experience without being bundled up! Below are some pics of Dutch Wonderland and the next post down has Thomas pics. Enjoy!

First picture with Thomas of the weekend


Getting ready for his first spin



Having fun driving with Daddy...we'll see if it's the same in another 14 yrs- LOL

With Mommy

With Daddy

Giddy Up! An Amish at heart

Driving the monster truck...a pro

Working the bulldozzer

Riding the boat with Mommy and Daddy

Aiden is a bit scared we'll crush him

Day Out with Thomas Pics

Pics from Day out with Thomas!

Excited and waiting for Thomas

We see Thomas puffing down the track!

Family Photo with Thomas

Hanging with Sir Topham Hat

Riding Thomas!

Looking out the window!

Trying out the cranky cars...and doing well!

Riding the small Thomas now

Sleeping the way to end the weekend!

It's Summertime...unofficially

May seemed to just blow through without much thought and now I'm looking at my calendar and it's already the 2nd day of June, we have already had a heatwave, and Memorial Day has past. Crazy.

First of all, Keith and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary on May 22nd- very low key with just going out to dinner, but it was nice to get out and spend some time having adult conversations without a 2 1/2 yr old opinion :). We also had a nice (but what turned into VERY BUSY) Memorial Day hanging out with great friends and seeing family. Although months past quickly and we have so much to do, I enjoy the time spent with family and friends in our lives.

Aiden has enjoyed the last month with going to the carnival (he got to ride "Thomas" there) at our local hospital, playing with his water table (again finally!) and having play dates with our friends. He's also had a bit of a rough month with a trip to the doctors for what appears to be some hair loss (we notice his hair has thinned on top, but the doctor isn't concerned although they're running some test to be safe) and a trip to the ER for what is probably a peanut allergy.

Today we stopped by the pool and he is totally going to be my water rat. Even though it was 80 degrees and the water was cool (especially if you weren't moving around) he loved it, laughing, splashing, kicking and dunking his face in. It was great to see him enjoying it so much as last year he looked so unsure. We have now deemed Thursday afternoons/evening family night...hopefully at the pool for the rest of the summer.

We hope every has a wonderful summer with family and friends and enjoy all the moments of sunshine, laughter and love!

Mandy Gets Married...

The Bride and Groom- Henry and Amanda Buchholz

Well now I have no single 1st cousins left- my cousin Amanda got married last week. LOL! The oldest of my 2 first cousins, she married a great guy name Henry....and a CPA no less. The day was beautiful, full of sunshine and warmth and after the "tragedies" leading up the wedding she deserved it! Here are some pics to enjoy as my family continually expands!

The female cousins (minus Lindsay) and their Moms. This would include my Mom and Aunt's first cousins and their girls. My mom's generations were like sisters and we were all raised to be like 1st cousins, very close

Cousins (missing Scott, Ryan, and Lindsay)

My brother, sister in law and Amanda

Us girls (and Rob) chilling on the bus

The bridal party

Sammie and her oldest cutie- Rob

Me and My love- hard to believe it'll be 7 years on May 22nd!

Playdates, Sunshine, and Easter Blessings

First of all hoping everyone had a wonderful Easter filled with blessings and celebrating that Christ has Risen.

So we have been taking advantage of the warm weather and sunshine (which I know it April hasn't been much) the past few weeks. We have spent so much time outside and Aiden is just loving it. In fact he constantly asked to go outside, which we just loving this year. We also have had a few busy weeks.

Last Sunday, Aiden and I got together with one of our great friends Tracy Perillo and her adorable little boy Sam for a playdate. We went to the Please Touch Museum and the boys just had so much fun. I personally think it's great and truly amazing to watch Sam and Aiden play together as they are a 3rd generation of friends. Being that Aiden's Poppi & Nonni (aka Keith's Parents) and Sam's grandparents (aka Dave's parents) have been friends for what seems like forever (I think it might be 35-40 yrs). So of course, Dave and Keith grew up and hanging out together on various occasions...Then the wives met- LOL. Tracy and I met right about the time we both got engage (we were engaged within a week or two) and became friends and experience a lot together. Now the boys are going through the occasional get togethers and seem to be very excited to see each other...both were calling the other's name throughout our date.

Then, Keith and I got to escape away over night the Inner Harbor, kid free. It was the first time, that we had some overnight Mommy and Daddy time since Aiden was born. We had a great time hanging out together and sightseeing. Of course, Friday was a messy and rainy day, so that was a bit of a downer, but didn't slow us down. As much as we loved our alone time, it was nice to come back home to our little boy who completes our family. It's funny how we both missed him.

Our Easter was great too, filled with a day of family and celebrating. We started the day with Aiden finding his Easter Basket...of course our kid was more excited to find toys and fruit in his basket, instead of chocolate. We then had an Easter Egg hunt and Aiden found the eggs that the Bunny hide and more exciting had money in them. We then met up with the Giosa's attending church and then having brunch. Aiden loved hanging out with his big cousins Natalie and Marc. He's just so excited and happy to be with them. We then moved on to my family and Aiden got to play with his Grammie and Aunt Stacey. Of course, Aiden also got spoiled by his grandparents and aunts and uncles.

Here are some pics over the last few days- Enjoy!

Here's some pics to enjoy!

Aiden Flintstone

Aiden's favorite outside toy this year is his cozy coupe, which Alison's college roommate, Amanda handed down to him when he was just 4 weeks old. Here's a video of him driving it that cracks us up. Enjoy!

It's beginning to feel a lot like Springtime!

I love this time of year, when you have some warm days that gives you the taste of what is coming, being able to sit outside and soak up sunshine without freezing, and opening the windows to get all those winter germs out.

We're been taking advantage of every nice day and enjoying the sunshine. We also find it's great for our little boy to work of some energy. Aiden has been enjoying chasing bubbles, riding in his cozy coupe, and riding his new tricycle. He also crashes afterwards. Here's some pics to enjoy!

Fun in the Warmer Weather

The last few days we've been enjoying weather in the 60's and 70's. It's so nice to get out of the house and enjoy the sunshine! Again we are realizing what a difference a year makes- Aiden is now no fear at the park, running up to go on the slide and going down without being coaxed. He also now uses his feet for his little tykes car (thanks Handfinger kids- we're getting a lot of use out of it) and we don't have to push him. He also loves his tricycle (which he refers to as a motorcycle), but hasn't figured it out quite yet. So hopefully by the end of summer he'll be a pro or else Mommy & Daddy will need a new back- LOL. Enjoy the pics!

Life continues to move quickly...

So I realize it's been forever since I did a blog and I really can't say I know where the last few months have gone, but things are moving very quickly and we've been going through some changes here.....

First of all January was just a snowy month. Aiden loved it as he got to play in the snow (and had Mommy home for some extra time thanks to snow days). We also gave the pacifier (or as it's know in this house the "binkie") up for good this month. I'm still amazed how easy it was....and a little shocked. We told Aiden one night before bed that we were going to give it to the Binkie fairy who would deliver it to little babies who needed binkies. So we put them in the jar and went to bed.....never a cry or anything...next morning the binkie fairy had come for them and Aiden got a new book. And that was it! I'm so happy it adjust so well to change.

February- again was a pretty snowy month from what I recall. But was also the month that Aiden went into a toddler bed. Something Mommy wasn't prepared for at all. We were given a free Toddler bed and mattress from one of Keith's friend (our crib turns into a toddler bed so I was fully prepared to use that) . So we set it up in a corner of Aiden's room (all the while keeping the crib up) to start talking about moving into a bed. We offered it to him during nap, which one day he did he choose the bed and the other day he wanted his crib. Then a week after the bed was set up, he asked to sleep in it at night. The wonderful Mom I am, tried to talk him out of it- LOL. I kept saying "are you sure you want to sleep in it even with the lights off?" He continue to request he sleep in the bed at night, so reluctantly I put him in and feared the worse for that night.....next thing I know it was 7:30 the next morning. He slept the whole night through in his big boy bed. Needless to say he hasn't looked back and transitioned well to that too. Sadly I fear potty training won't be so easy- LOL.

Aiden also received his first xrays in February. He has been diagnosed with trigger fingers in both hands. The joints in some of his fingers (mainly the thumbs and ring fingers) lock in place and his finger gets "locked in place". Luckily they release and he doesn't seem to be in pain. So right now, we're doing some PT and hoping he will "outgrow" it. Otherwise if he starts to have pain or they don't release or he doesn't outgrow it by 3 he would need a surgery to fix the tendons and remove the lumps he has on them. The surgery itself is very simple and easy- all of 20 minutes....but due to his age he would have to go under anesthesia something we're not happy about.

Other then Aiden's big milestone not much new here besides looking forward to Alison's cousin's wedding in May and our family vacation in July. We hope everything is well with everyone and we attached some recent pictures of Aiden for all to enjoy!