Demands

The kidnappers of the Turkey have started making demands for the safe return of the Turkey. They said that more will come.

Demand #1:

"Pops" and "uncle Joe" are to make a video dancing along with Snoopy. The longer the video the better. The kidnappers have also specified that they must "feel" the dance moves in the video.

That is all for now.

Sick day

Aiden got a cold and proceeded to make me sick. I hate it when he feels bad. But, I do get lots of good snuggle time in. Today we made a great sick day memory together. I wanted chocolate, so I washed the strawberries in the frig and melted some chocolate and we sat in the living room and ate. It was one of those moments that I said "I need to remember this forever!" So I took a photo.

Bubbles

Running and a 10 year reunion

After we went and visited our friends The Osbornes in mid-October Aiden has been walking. This weekend I had to run after him twice to catch him. He has gotten fast.

Jay had his 10 year college reunion and we had a blast. It was our first weekend away from Aiden and I think he did better than I did. I cried like you wouldn't believe when I gave him to his grandparents. It was memorable for Jay and I to go spend a weekend at a place that has meant so much to both of us. We got to laugh and make memories with some good friends.

7 Years

Today is our 7 year anniversary. When I think back about the past 7 years, I can't believe how many different paths I have been on with my husband. We have experienced more in our 7 years than most people experience in a lifetime. And I have been so thankful to have Jay by my side the entire time.

We have built a house, sold it, renovated a house, moved to 3 different cities, moved states, lost a baby, had a baby, coped with the diagnosis of a lifelong illness, but most of all we have laughed together every step of the way.

If I had to describe my marriage in one word it would be laughter. We laugh together every day. We find laughter in the oddest and most inappropriate places. But, at least we keep it fun.

I love you so much, Jay. Thank you for filling my life with an unexplainable amount of joy.

Pumpkin Patch

Walking

Aiden started taking unassisted steps last night. Sorry it is to the side, I can't figure out how to turn it right side up.

1 year old!!??

I have the uncontrollable urge to write a blog post about Aiden turning one.

But, it is hard to write a blog post when you have so many different feelings. Maybe a list will help...

I feel:

1) Pride- watching my son grow from the minute he was born to a year is amazing. You can't help but wonder about all of the wonderful possibilities life holds for him.

2) Relief- I made it through the sleepless nights, teething, infant reflux, RSV, Hand/Foot/Mouth Virus (3 times), all the while moving to a different state, quitting my job, and completing my master's degree. But, we made it through it all and really, all of those things are nothing when it really comes down to it.

3) Fear- Will we raise him to be a great man? Will we raise him to be a good person? Will we make it through the rough teenage years in one piece? How will we take it when he gets hurt, the kind of hurt that really affects who you are and who you become?

4) Excitement- Each day is exciting with Aiden and how much more excitement lays ahead?

5) Sadness- My baby is growing up...enough said.

Pictures from his birthday party

Walker

Aiden will be celebrating his first birthday in under a month. He wants a walker so bad. But, if are a mom you know that time right before a holiday or birthday where you refuse to buy anything because your child will get presents. So this is what he did yesterday since his mom is so mean. As we were putting up dishes we decided to get resourceful with the diswasher basket. He did this all on his own, no help from mommy.

Adventures in mommyhood incident report #1216

This morning when Aiden rose bright and early, I lifted him from his bed to sit with him and give him his bottle, which is our sweet mom and son ritual. You see, Aiden must have his bottle immediately. So we do that first thing, or else he acts like well, a baby. I love each morning with this little guy. He is so happy and excited to see you. While he was drinking his bottle, I noticed he had 2 spots on his forehead. So as his mother I of course promptly licked my finger to rub it off. I did this about 5 more times to get the mark off. Licking my pointer finger and rubbing his forehead.


Then it happened. I looked down and realized that Aiden had poop coming out of his diaper. Lots of poop. All down his leg, all over his arms, on my legs from laying on me while he was taking his bottle. Getting up from the chair I see it all over his sheets too.


::Light bulb moment::

Gag! That was what was on his head too! I just licked my child's poo!


Having been an elementary school teacher, I thought I was completely prepared for all of the gross things that come with mommyhood. I mean for goodness sake, I dealt with pee, poop, drool, boogers, and snot for several years. Let me tell you, nothing prepares you for the grossness that comes with being a mommy. NOTHING!!

Jay~ I can't wait to give you a kiss when you get home. :)

Beach 2010

My best friends and I take a week long trip to the beach each summer and thus will be our tradition for years to come, if I have anything to say about it.

This year:

Catherine, Luke, Aiden and I went on many walks. One where we got caught in the monsoon of 2010, saw a tree fall down right beside us and a very nice couple pulled over to give us a ride back to our home.

Jaimie and Jimmy got engaged! Amazing! Thank goodness I don't have to keep that a secret anymore from my best friends. I thought I was going to die.

I had to deal with a husband who asked for a motorcycle every hour because Will brought his. I am still in the process of forgiving Amy.

Aiden cut 3 teeth while there. Really? That is my luck!

Can't wait until next year!

Joy and frustration

Again, how is it possible I have a nine month old?? The time is flying by.

Nine months ago I left the hospital and felt good about the way I looked. I mean, I thought "oh yeah...I look good for a woman who just had a baby" I was proud of my post-partum figure.

Fast forward nine months and I am beyond frustrated with my figure, the scale, my daily eating, and working out. They always say to you...."It took 9 months to put on the weight, it will take you that long to get it off." Well, 9 months later it is still lingering.

Around March I got serious about eating better and trying to loose the weight. I also started working out again. It was hard, but I did it. I got back in the gym with thoughts of fitting into my pre-pregnancy clothes. I bought a scale to monitor my weight and got a wonderful trainer who kicks my butt every week. Jay ended up having to take the scale away from me after I would weigh myself sometimes twice daily. So instead of stressing out about the number on the scale, I continued what I was doing and tried not to pay attention to how much weight I was loosing. Then I foolishly got on the scale at the gym the other day. And it did not budge at all. Tears started welling up and I got a lump in my throat. One of my best friends reminded me that I was building muscle.

When I look at Aiden and spend time with him, I realize that I am truly happy. Never in my life have I been this happy and fulfilled. But, it is difficult for me to realize that I made poor eating choices when I was pregnant and I am solely responsible for those decisions.

Some people ask when Jay and I will have another baby. My immediate thought is "Never!! I am not doing this to my body again!" Yes, it is selfish. Very selfish. Which obviously proves that I am not ready for another baby. Hopefully, next time I will remember my previous pregnancy errors and it won't be so bad.

As I started this post I went back to find pictures to compare what I looked like before I started working out and now. Yes, there is a difference. But, I want more!! That is just me.

March 2010



June 2010

Bad Blogger

I know, I am such a bad blogger. It comes in waves!

I did finally graduate with my masters in Educational Leadership. It was an experience I won't soon forget. Now I am at home full time with my little man and I could not be happier.

Aiden is crawling everywhere and getting into everything. You have to watch him like a hawk. He will find dust bunnies you never knew existed and then promptly put them in his mouth. He loves to talk and can say mama and dada. Although I think he doesn't really know what he is saying. He has started to cry when you take things away from him. But, I think Jay and are doing pretty well with standing our ground and not giving the items back to him.

I am not sure when he grew up, but he did. It is hard to believe that he has spent more time outside of my belly, than inside. He makes us so happy and we never really realized how happy life could be until he came along.

Here are a few pictures and a cute video of him playing peek-a-boo. I am looking forward to this summer, all of the trips we will take and posting them.

Crawling

You get creative!

When Jay and I found out that I we were moving to VA and we decided I would stay home with Aiden I spoke with Jay's mom about how scared I was to be without my income. She said "It will be fine, you just creative with how you spend your money." I guess you could say I have done that.

Coupons! Coupons! Coupons!

My mom is a coupon cutting machine. She stayed home with my sister and I and she was a freakin genius when it came to saving money. I do remember being embarassed at the store when my mom would pipe up and tell the cashier that their computer was wrong, and she was owed another 10 cents off. I guess I learned a little something from that. And to on to my adventures at Kmart....

Kmart is having super double coupons this week. They are doupling any coupon up to $2. This is uber-exciting to me. I am so excited about my deals this week.

1st trip:

3 Venus razors- $2.00
Tampons-$0.59
Baby Powder- $1.50
PertPlus-$0.49
All detergent- Free
4 packs of Gerber baby food- $0.36
Lil Swimmers diapers- $3.99

Total after tax: $10.04

2nd trip:
Revlon nail clippers: $0.49
Baby powder: $1.50
Soft Scrub kitchen cleaner: Free
Huggies diapers: $5.99
Softsoap body wash: $1.99
Sudafed PE: $1.99
Pledge cleaner: $2.00
Bag of reeses pieces: $0.49

Total after tax: 17.11


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Total before coupons: $74.86

Total for everything after coupons: $27.11

Here is a pic of just some of it.

And, just so you know, Kmart didn't douple one of my $2.00 coupons, so I went back in to get my $4.00. My mama tought me well.

Wonder how long it will be before I embarass Aiden.....

Loads of great pictures!

My child is the cutest! He makes me smile like no one else can.


Aunt Amy came to Richmond to visit





Aunt Amy played guitar for him. He loved it!





Our visit to the zoo





Aiden loves him some MMP!




Aiden and mommy on Easter



Aiden and Gigi on Easter

Original Video - More videos at TinyPic

Holy Cow 6 months!

It is so hard to believe that Aiden is 6 months old. A half a year! Wow, they really do grow up too fast. He is getting such a fun personality. He laughs and waves his arms when he gets excited. He is so much fun. He can now get onto his knees and I know that crawling is just around the corner. SCARY stuff!

Between being overly stressed about finishing my masters and leaving home for two days a week, my breast milk took a serious nose dive. I am now supplementing with formula. It has seriously broken my heart. I have cried for days. I feel very defeated. To me it was the one thing that I could give Aiden that no one else could. And now it is gone. I knew the time would come when I weaned him, but I didn't expect for it to be forced on me. It also means that he is growing up, which in many ways makes me sad. I am very joyous about the time I will be able to spend with him, but I know I will never have him as a baby again. Jay makes fun of me and tells me he is not moving to college tomorrow, but I feel like he is. Like he will walk out the door any moment and not look back.

Sigh.....over dramatic....

Catching up

Catherine brought to my attention that I should post on my blog more. I promise to make a valiant effort to do so.


Every Sunday we usually sit at the table while mommy cuts coupons and daddy plays with Aiden. Jay wanted to check out the best buy ad, so I snapped a picture. Cute huh?


Aiden took over. This child loves paper.




Teething you think?



I am worried that he will be the child that eats paper in kindergarten.

He loves getting on daddy's shoulders.

Playing with my friend Shelby.

Thanks for the card Gigi and Pops.

And Aunt Jaimie.

Valentine's day cards for Trout family

Aiden-2

Jay-1

Me-0

Don't you feel bad for me :)

Before I was a mom

Before I was a Mom I made and ate hot meals.
I had unstained clothing.
I had quiet conversations on the phone.

Before I was a Mom I slept as late as I wanted.
I never worried about how late I got into bed.
I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday.

Before I was Mom I cleaned my house each day.
I never tripped over toys or forgot words to lullabies.

Before I was a Mom I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom I had never been puked on, pooped on, spit on, peed on, or pinched by tiny fingers.

Before I was a Mom I had complete control of my mind, my thoughts, my body and all my feelings. I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom I never held down a screaming child so that doctors could do tests or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a Mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important.

Before I was a Mom I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was OK.
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache or the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much............before I was a Mom.

-Author Unknown

Dear Aiden,

You are the most amazing little man. I never thought someone so tiny could hold my heart the way you do. Anything is possible for you in your life.
I hope that you never loose the smile you have now. You are very happy most of the time and love smiling. When you smile you can change the mood in the room instantly.
I hope you never loose your active behavior. Yesterday at the pediatrician you were labeled a "wiggler". I hope you keep that active lifestyle forever and turn it into something that you enjoy doing.
You love to cuddle. I hope that one day when you fall in love and marry an amazing woman that you still love to cuddle. I hope that you love her the way your daddy loves me. Laugh with her when she says something stupid and hold her hand and cry with her if you ever have your dreams shattered.
I hope you continue to love animals. You sit there and watch our dogs as they walk from room to room.
You love being naked. That is fine right now. When you are a teenager, I hope you love clothes.

You are so much like me already it scares me. You rub your feet together the same way I do. You hate taking naps like me. You expect things done immediately like I do. I hope you don't end up with my temper. Sometimes, I wish you were more like your dad. I hope as your personality comes out, I see some of his personality in you. He is a great man.

I hope that I teach you how important family is. Gigi and Pops did a great job with daddy and Aunt Kelly and they know how important family is. Daddy still loves to go home and see Gigi. I hope you love to come home and see me as much.
Make sure you love with all of your heart. You will get your heart broken many times. But, always love and don't be afraid to love.
I love you and can't wait to see you grow up.

Inspired by a friend

A friend of mine recently posted her memories of the day her little girl was born. I loved reading it so much that I decided to get mine posted in my blog too. And remember, it may not be for the faint of heart..you know I am not modest.

I went to my regular scheduled weekly appointment on Monday, August 25, 2009. The dr. believed Aiden had an exceptionally large head so he scheduled an induction for that Thursday morning. I went home so excited that by Friday I would be a mother. That evening was like any other. Dinner with Jay, kiss goodnight at 9pm, Jay stayed downstairs and watched TV like he always does while I went to bed. About 30 minutes after I went to bed I awoke feeling like I had use the restroom. I got up, tried to use the restroom, and laid back down. Then I felt it immediately again, I HAD to use the bathroom. Nothing. I walked back to the bedroom and my water broke in transit. For those of youthat have not experienced your water breaking let me tell you, there are more fluids than you could imagine. I looked down and I was sure it was my water breaking. I yelled "Jay" and he came running upstairs. I told him my water broke. He then began to run around the room in the cute way that you only see on TV. I remember being as calm as could be and watching him do circles around the room trying to find jeans that were right in front of him, all the while he was grinning from ear to ear. I made him go get me a towel to sit on in the car on the way to the hospital (again the fluids). He came back with a towel that was in his Scout and had pollen pods all over it. Really? Only my husband.

We got checked into labor and delivery and my water had been constantly breaking for about 45 minutes. One nurse came in and said "We are going to check to see if your water actually broke and if it didn't we will see you back here on Thursday." I thought I was going to throw the little lady out the window. In my head I am saying "I haven't gone through three pairs of pants peeing on myself". The contractions were bearable at first and then they came strong, hard, and quick. I asked for the epidural when the dr. came to visit me. He told me that I wasn't officially checked in to the hospital yet and they were waiting for that to be complete before I could get the epi. I asked "At what point will you not give it to me? How far along?" His exact words were "This is your first pregnancy, you will be in labor for a long time, we have plenty of time before that happens."

So to recap: 9pm- water broke 10:30- ask for epi 11:30-finally get epi

At 11:50 Jay goes to get food and right after he leaves they check me and I was fully dilated. So I call Jay and tell him to come back. By 3:08 our lives had changed forever. As soon as Aiden arrived I couldn't take my eyes off of him. Jay went over to the table while they cleaned him up and I asked over and over again "Is he ok?" I remember when I was pregnant wondering if it would take time for me to bond with Aiden before I felt totally in love with him. It is amazing how you automatically and overwhelmingly love this little person with every fiber of yourself. Over the next few days I would sit and gaze in amazement at this little creation. I was so scared to take him home. Scared I would hurt him accidently or not know what to do.

I still find myself gazing at him. He is the most amazing little man I could imagine. Every day with him is a wonderful gift from God. Jay and I have never been happier. I love being a mom! he is now almost 5 months old and growing up too fast. I am trying to cherish each precious moment of rocking, holding, smiling and cooing.

Some pictures

Christmas Eve with my favorite people!

Right after Aiden's Baptism.

Got my hair did and wanted to take pictures!

At Lewis Ginter enoying the Christmas lights. It was beautiful!

Enjoying the fire!

Aiden's first taste of rice cereal. It was a success!