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.