I want to see Uncle Tommy

Aiden has been saying this at least once a day or more for the past week or so. He loves to talk about all the dogs in our family and especially loves to talk about Penny (papa and mema Jill's dog) and then Benny (uncle Tommy, Aunt Meghan, and Sophia's dog) the most. Maybe because they rhyme? Who knows! So when Aiden talks about Benny, he talks about him being Uncle Tommy's dog. Then I hear "I want to go see Uncle Tommy" for the next 10 minutes or so, and I have to explain that they live far away, etc. But we have been talking lately too about Baby Eva who could be on her way any day! (And Meghan and Sophia too of course!). We don't get to see my brother and his family very often, so hopefully we will see them soon when the new baby arrives. Hang in there Meghan!

Aiden's Favorite Nursery Rhymes

Lately, Aiden has really been into nursery rhymes. He has a big nursery rhyme book he got from his Grandma Glenda (mema Glenda) a year or so ago maybe? It's been sitting on the shelf for a long time, except he recently has gotten it out, so we spend about 3-4 nights going through the whole book, because I "have" to read every single one you know! I try to skip some of the very old boring ones, and read bits and pieces of the very long ones. I would guess there are close to 100 or more nursery rhymes in this book.

Here are a few that Aiden can pick out from looking at the pictures and read on his own: Little Jack Horner, Little Boy Blue, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Row Row Row Your Boat, Old MacDonald, London Bridge, Humpty Dumpty (his very favorite), Hickory Dickory Dock, and a few more that I currently can't think of without looking at the book myself!

Shannon got Aiden a harmonica a few weeks ago at a job fair he attended for work. So, Aiden will play his "mamonica" and I get to sing nursery rhymes!

It's Got to be Around Here Somewhere

A few weeks ago we got a free sample of the Puzzles & More magazine from highlights. It's geared toward 4th graders, so not sure why we got it. Anyway, it has a few sample pages of the magazine, & Aiden LOVES it. They have a hidden puzzle page & every night we have to go through & find all the hidden pictures. He is so funny about it because we do it every night, so he obviously knows where they all are. But on a few of the pictures, he will take his index finger & make large circles around the hidden object & say, "It's got to be around here somewhere.". It is the cutest thing ever! I think he picked up the circling of the index finger thing from me, because ever since he was old enough (not sure what age that would be when you are talking about a two-year old!), but anyway, I would do that same thing when I would have him look for things in his story books, on a restaurant menu, or whatever.

In other news, Aiden is really into nursery rhymes, especially Humpty Dumpty. It seems to be his favorite. Today when we went to Target, we had one shoe in the house & one in the car, who knows why? So, as I put one shoe on him, then went to the car to leave & get the other shoe, I sang Diddle Diddle Dumpling, My Son John to him, & he thought it was hysterical. "Do it again" as he always says when he thinks something is funny! So tonight we got out the ole nursery rhyme book again and had to say the following about five times each!: Humpty Dumpty, Diddle Diddle Dumpling, Twinkle Twinkle, Rock-a-bye Baby, This Little Pig Went to Market, and Round the Garden. It was so fun to watch him enjoy each time, & then say, "Do it again mommy."

Big Boy Underwear

So, today was the first day that Aiden wore his Big Boy Underwear to school. He is doing pretty well on the whole potty thing. He is great about going pee in the potty, but not so great about telling us when he has to go. So, we try to have him go potty about once every hour, and they do the same at school. School is actually better at it, they take him every 45 minutes, where as at home almost two hours can go by before I remember to take him! But boy, does he have his potty routine down: potty, toilet paper, flush, wash hands, get sticker for sticker chart, and then his favorite part, CANDY! He gets one M&M for pee, and two for poop (which has only happened one time). The cutest part is after he picks out his M&M he runs into our bedroom and looks in our full length mirror to see how the candy has turned his tongue the color of the M&M!

So last night Aiden and I went to the local Big Lots and stocked up on some more big boy undies. The selection is very limited: Shrek is the only option, but they are so cheap! $2 for a 3 pack. I figured they will work just fine for school, as I have no idea how this is going to go.

Fairy Tales By Aiden

This afternoon as I unsuccessfully tried to get Aiden to take a nap, he wanted to "talk" as he does every night before bed and before each nap. So we usually talk about his day, Poppi, or just stuff. Today as he was talking, he says to me: "I have to tell you something." So here is the story that Aiden told me:

"Once upon a time, there were two daddies. One daddy flew away, one daddy rode a horse, the one daddy went up in an airplane, and the other daddy had a sheep. Then the waterfall came and broke the downtown. Then the waterfall came to my house and knocked over the rocks."

He paused for moment and started another story:

"Once upon a time, there were two mommies." Then he started making up some words that I had no idea what he was saying.

I'm really not quite sure how he would have dreamed up these stories, but I am quite impressed with his diverse imagination!!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Happy Birthday Shannon! We hope you had a great day!

We love you,
Amy and Aiden

Did you have a good lunch Aiden?

So almost everyday after I pick Aiden up from daycare, I ask him how his day was, what he had for lunch, was it good, etc. His answers are usually yes that he had fun, ate a good lunch, and played with his friends. Tonight as we were eating dinner, I was looking at the school lunch menu and it said they had pizza. So I asked Aiden again what he had for lunch. He didn't seem to remember, so I asked him if he had pizza. He says, "Oh yes, we ate yucky pizza!". I couldn't get out of him why it was yucky, so we moved onto the other menu items: green beans and fruit, which he says he ate. So tonight as Shannon and I were putting him to sleep, I asked him again about his lunch. He told Shannon that he had yucky pizza. He still didn't know why it was yucky, but told us several times that they ate yucky pizza!! It was just too cute. I wonder if it was burnt, not cooked enough - who knows!!

*For some reason, I can't post any pictures tonight. Not sure why. Hopefully next time!

Wake Up Call at 6:30am Anyone?

We have decided that our child has an internal clock that automatically wakes him up at 6:30am every morning - sometimes even earlier. No sleeping in for this kid! At least when his parents are around. One day this summer when his Mema Ellie was here and Shannon and I had to go to work, Aiden slept in until 8:40am! And that was after Mema Ellie woke him up. Then a few weeks ago at his Papa and Mema Jill's, I think he slept in until 8am one day and 7 or 7:30 the other day. All I ask for is for him to sleep in until at least 7am. Who would have thought there would be a day when I thought 7am would be "sleeping in"???!!!

And every weekend morning, I have to make pancakes; Aiden's all time at the moment favorite breakfast! But there is no laying around and watching cartoons first. Nope, mommy has to get up and make pancakes right away! I make a bunch of extras, then freeze them so they last all week. Yesterday, we had chocolate chip pancakes, and they were yummy!!

So, if you ever need someone to call you and make sure you are up, we would be glad to do it, because more than likely, we are already up and starting our day!