Aidyn's first VBS

This year was Aidyn's first VBS...if you want to call it that. He didn't actually participate in anything since he's only 4 months old, but nonetheless, he was there. On Tuesday and Wednesday my parents kept him for us, but on Monday, Thursday, and Friday...we took him with us. Everyone enjoyed seeing him, talking to him, and passing him around. I definately wasn't hurting for a "babysitter" on those nights.

The reason I asked my parents to keep him the other nights, though, was because even thought everyone was excited to see Aidyn...he got tired and fussy each evening when we weren't able to just put him down on the floor to play or in a play seat, or take a nap. You can imagine how we would feel being passed around from person to person, getting hot, constantly being touched, and not being able to be put down.

Aidyn left VBS on Friday evening with 2 crafts of his own. I took pictures so we can always "remember" his first VBS, but I probably will only keep the shirt. :) Aidyn had a good time visiting and meeting lots of new friends this week. I know he will enjoy next year's VBS even more....he will be 17 months old then and hopefully walking/running around.

This "plaque" (I'm not sure what else you'd call it) is supposed to be a butterfly. The kids all used their hands to make the wings, but since Aidyn won't keep his hands still...Ben helped them put the glow-in-the-dark paint onto his feet. Too cute! I didn't even realize they had made him on of these until later in the evening when I noticed he had yellow paint on one of his toes. :)

VBS Decorations

A teacher friend of mine did a poster like this at the beginning of school one year on her classroom door. Besides the normal school supplies that the students are asked to bring in, she made a "Helping Hands" poster and put things that she needed for the room such as electric pencil sharpeners, parent volunteers to read books, construction paper, etc. I thought that was a WONDERFUL idea and as I was brainstorming things to use for decorations, her poster came to mind.

After watching the decorator's video that came with the VBS curriculum, I made a list of the things the video suggested and things I thought of, and made this poster below. I placed it in the Sunday School hallway at church and asked our members to look for things they had at home and would be willing to donate, let us borrow, or even items they would be willing to purchase for us. The poster was a big hit and a great way to let the members of our church know things we needed and ways they could help. We had several people that didn't feel "comfortable" working with the kids and directly VBS donate many of the items on our poster. I felt that was a great way to try and get everyone involved in one way or another.

As people saw an item or two they were willing to donate, I asked that they pull the hand off the poster to take home as a reminder. This also helped to ensure we didn't get 25 donations of dowel rods and no paint. :)

Here is the VBS supply bucket where people placed their donations. Our theme this year was "Crocodile Dock" - like a swamp in the south.

We had a work day the Saturday before our VBS started to take things down off of the sanctuary "stage" and prepare the stage, walls, and church hallways for our swamp. Here are a few before pictures...

And here are our after pictures...

This was the room that Sarah (our teacher) used each night. She did a great job and turned her room into whatever she needed it to be each night to coordinate with the story. This particular evening her room was the Red Sea that Moses crossed.

Here is our hallway through the church. It us supposed to look like the sides are lined with swampy trees and spanish moss. On the floor we had an old pool cover that was "swamp water"...or the color of it anyways. :)

This is the sanctuary. We had many people help with supply donations and their time for decorating. If you know me, or maybe have picked this up from some of my postings, I am very anal and like things done a particular way. I am the kind of person that knows how I want something done and would just assume do it all myself, even if that means LOTS of extra time.

I am very proud of myself (not to brag) for being able to have "jobs" for people to do and to delegate the many decorations that needed to be done. There were many willing people and I knew it was necessary to use the help that God supplied me (and our church) with. The only thing that I really did, with the help of Ben, was the painted backdrop standing on the stage. Volunteers did the rest and it all turned out wonderful!

For our backdrop, we used 4 pieces of 4x8 ft styrofoam sheets that were 2 inches thick. A contract supplier that my mom works with donated the sheets. I need to print this picture and send him a HUGE thank you card! We saved the sheets and figured we could prime and paint over them atleast once more for next year's VBS as well.

I am so thankful to EVERYONE that did show up to help decorate and/or tear down the decorations for VBS. The church would not have looked so swampy without everyone's help!

Vacation Bible School

Last week was our church's VBS for this summer. Every year it seems like everyone dreads doing VBS (that's terrible, I know)...but it always goes smoothly and is a great outreach to members of our community.

The first year or two I was a "group leader". This meant that I was responsible for a group of kids that I walked to each station throughout the night. Not hard. But the next year I volunteered to be incharge of decorations and publicity. Publicity is easy! I put our VBS in the local papers' church sections, on radio websites for community calendars, put up signs/posters near the church, and we take our youth door to door in nearby neighborhoods to "get the word out". All the work is BEFORE and so I don't have a particular job the week of. The same goes with decorations. We got everything together ahead of time, set a "work day" for everyone to help get the church looking like a swamp (this year's theme), and then you get help afterwards. Again...no job during the week of. I have found this makes me a lot less stressed or worried and allows me to "roam" during VBS and help where needed - games, crafts, etc.

Unfortunately, due to alllllllll the rain we've had lately, our church softball team played EVERY NIGHT during VBS. This meant we were short about 7-10 guys that would have been there to help. So...I also did games this year. Games are a lot of fun and the kids really enjoy it. On the last night this year, we made Homemade Silly Putty (or Goo). They loved it and I let them all take it home that night. I'm sure the parents were thrilled, haha.

VBS was a success! For a "small" church with a congregation of about 70 on Sunday mornings, and only 6-10 kids ages 4-10 in our church, we averaged 30-40 children each night and about 20 adult workers.

My mother-in-law was the director this year (and in the past). After this year, she said she is not doing it anymore. It stresses her out sooooo much. I try telling her it will go great and be successful, but she still worries. So...next year she wants to be Aidyn's VBS teacher, haha. Ben and I have decided we'll be the directors and have already been brainstorming some ideas.

Old News...

Well, apparently my blog is "old". I didn't even realize my brother read it regularly until I was on Facebook the other day. He "messaged" me to say, "By the way, for those of us that read your blog regularly...the crawfish boil is OLD!"

Hahaha...I guess he's right. We just finished up a week of VBS at church and Aidyn had his first swimming experience (if you want to call it that). Other than that, I just haven't had much to post about. I'll try to update soon. Okay, Aaron?!?!?! :)

Crawfish Boil

A few posts ago, I said to "stay tuned" for picture from the Crawfish Boil we went to last weekend. My friend hasn't emailed me the group photo or other pictures I have been waiting on, so I decided to go ahead and post the ones I took.

I can't remember if it was 25 or 35 lbs of LIVE crawfish that they ordered, but here is a picture of what was left when we got there. These crawfish were flown in, live, from Lousiana, Seriously! Here they are crawling around in there box. I was told there was dry ice in the box with them to keep them "alive and healthy". They didn't stink or anything.


Jason, the cook, would scoop out some of the crawfish with his hands. He had construction gloves on and still the crawfish would pinch through the gloves! He would put some in a bowl and then dump the bowl into this boiling cannister, thing. I'm not sure what it's called. You can use it to deep-fry turkeys or chickens as well. The crawfish are supposed to boil for 2-3 minutes, sit out to cool about 5 minutes, and then they're ready to eat. Jason boiled ours for about 5 minutes. He was afraid to get them out too soon and the meat not be completely cooked through. I'm glad he did. :)

A bag of hot sauce and flavoring were sent in with the crawfish. I know that hot sauce and other spicy flavors were also added.

Not only did they boil crawfish, but shrimp, red potatoes, small regular potatoes, and corn on the cob. Yum! I did not try the corn. I like corn, but as you can see...it's very red tinted (from the spices)! Everyone that ate the corn was grabbing for a drink, so I passed. The crawfish wasn't bad. I didn't "fix" it myself though. Something about twisting the bodies in half and then pulling it apart to get the meat out of the tail turned me off, haha. Go figure. So while I fed Aidyn his bottle, I asked Ben to fix me a plate. It tasted pretty good, but mostly like fishy shrimp. I love shrimp! But not "fishy" shrimp. The shrimp and potatoes were delicious! Gary (the host) had also made jumbayla. It was also good. :)

Ben made a peanut butter pie to take, and later in the evening, Jason grilled some scallops. Everyone came to the conclusion that the crawfish was good, but too much work...so just shrimp next time. :)

Here's a picture of the finished product. Most people didn't use a plate unless they were eating the jumbalaya. Instead, everyone just stood around the long table were the food was spread out and ate while throwing the body shells into a trash can.

Aidyn and Ben enjoying the music out on the porch. Aidyn was headed towards a nap here. He was soooo good that night! I was very proud of him! He only got a little fussy once, when he was ready to take a nap or hungry.

Finally asleep. All wore out from all the fun and new friends that he met.

Some of the people hanging out on the porch listening to some "live" music. Everyone else was inside. Gary (our host) is in a band with Jason (the cook) and their friend Mark. Gary's brother, Corey, used to play with them. In this picture you'll see Gary and Corey playing.

Their band used to be called the Swinging Pachyderms. The Pachyderms actually played at our wedding reception. They were great!

Now they have new people and a new name...South Mouth. If you are from this area, you can listen to them at the Halo and several other places in Johnson City, Kingsport, and Bristol. I can't wait until September when they will be playing in Bristol at the Rythm and Roots Festival. We'll definately have to take Aidyn to his first "show" that night (if it isn't too late)! :)

Hungry Puppy

Last weekend, we went to a Crawfish Boil at some friends of ours. They live about 2 blocks from our house, so we put Aidyn in his stroller and just walked. It was 4:00pm in the afternoon when we left our house. Originally, we thougth walking would be a great idea. Ha...yeah right! With the sun beating down us...we were sweating before we even made it to the end of our neighborhood, haha. Coming home though, at 8pm, was a nice walk. Obviously, haha, because there wasn't any sun...barely. That's what I LOVE about summer. At 7-8pm, its still daylight. It's wonderful.

But on to my point for this post.

Gary (Ben's friend) and his wife, Sarah, invited tons of people over for a Crawfish Boil. When we got there, it was time for Aidyn to eat is dinner. I fixed his bottle and headed inside. Gary and Sarah have 3 big dogs...they probably weight between 100 and 150 lbs. 1 boy (Chunk) and 2 girls (Leah and Marley). They were interested in Aidyn, but didn't bother him. They're great dogs!

After Aidyn ate, he fell asleep. Sarah had since locked up the dogs in the bedroom so they wouldn't bother everyone...even though they really don't. :) Without even thinking, I sat Aidyn's empty bottle on the floor with my nalgene bottle.

Do you know where this is headed? hehehe

After an hour, and with a killing arm, I headed outside to let Ben have his turn holding Aidyn so I could eat. (Didn't even think about my water or Aidyn's bottle). The next thing we knew, Sarah came walking out the door apologizing and holding Aidyn's bottle. At first I didn't understand why...and then I saw it...

Do you see the nipple? Nope.

That's because it isn't there! Apparently, when Sarah let the dogs out of the bedroom, Marley found Aidyn's bottle. He had drank it all, but ofcourse there were "drops" still in there. Marley evidently started by licking the nipple, and then proceeded to chew on it. When Sarah found her, she had the bottle laying on its side and she was holding it still with her paw. She had completely chewed the nipple off and was sticking her tongue in the bottle trying to lick it clean.

All I could do was laugh! Sarah continued apologizing but I told her it wasn't a big deal. When Aidyn's next feeding time began to approach, since we didn't have a nipple (haha), we headed home. I wish I would've taken a picture of Marley with the bottle, but didn't think about it until later. Silly pup!

Babysitter...help!

Well, I usually don't consider myself a procratinator...but I definately waited too long this time.

Originally, Ben and I had to offers from people we knew that wanted to keep Aidyn when I went back to work in August. Those offers came before Aidyn was born, and so...I did bother looking elsewhere. Sense then, those offers have "fallen through" for different reasons. I go back to work in 2 months. Ahhh!!!!!

I know 2 people that work at an Early Learning Center that many people have suggested. They are on a HUGE waiting list, but I still called about completing an application. I've heard the list is MONTHS long, but hopefully something will work out.

We have a few friends that use a lady in town close to our house. I don't know her, but our friends (and other people we know, including family) go on and on about how great she is. She has converted her parents' old house into a childcare center. A friend of Ben's, whose son attends there, asked about openings and was told she was full. I am not sure if she is "full" for babies or just accepting new kids in general. Evidently, Ben knows the lady and is going to call her. Soon I hope. I HATE bugging him about things (or nagging would probably be the more appropriate word), but I guess I'm going to have to.

A friend of mine at work has a friend that's trying to be a stay at home mom. She lives close to my school and has a 7 month old. I'm not sure what his name is, but that means that he's 3 months older than Aidyn. She is interested in keeping Aidyn in order to have some income while staying at home. I called her and we are going to meet on Tuesday, June 16th. I can't meet next week due to bible school. She sounds very nice and interested. My only concern is that I know already of 2 weeks that she will be out of town once school starts. Not sure what we'll do then with Aidyn...ahhh!!!

I just had a thought! I think I'll call a friend of mine that retired last year. She keeps her granddaughter (1 yr old). Maybe she'd be interested in keeping Aidyn while this other girl is out oftown...that'd be awesome! I've known her for 18 years and also know her entire family...kids, grandkids, etc. Her oldest granddaughter actually called today and asked if I would be a reference on her job applications. They are a great family! To make it even better, she lives on the street BEHIND my school, 3 houses down. Yay! I think I will. :)

And I also think I'll start calling some churches and other places. I realize it is totally TOO LATE to be starting this process. But we thought we were "set" until a couple months ago and I guess I've just been hoping something would work out. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will!

My rolly poly...

I had plans today to make several phone calls, work on some stuff for beginning my masters in the fall, and looking at some lists for vbs next week. Unfortunately, (and I say that lightly - haha) everytime I turn around Aidyn's on his tummy with his face smashed into the floor fussing. I'll roll him back over, give him his paci or a toy, and as soon as I turned around...he's fussing again! Needless to say, I had to wait until he took his nap early this afternoon to get those things done, haha. I LOVE that he's rolling over and has so much fun doing it. He's so proud of himself. He just can't hold his head up more than a few seconds and so he gets frustrated.

Wouldn't you if your face was smashed into the floor, haha?


I know most of these pics all look the same, but I just couldn't resist. He is able to roll over in like half a second it seems. It's cracking me up.


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Yesterday he tried rolling over while laying on his boppy. He couldn't and got very mad. He ended up just scooting himself down off of it.

Rolling over on the ottoman after getting his diaper changed. Its hard to see for the sun, but his legs are hanging half off!

Our many adventures this morning.

Here is my view from our computer in the office when I turn around...every 20 seconds!!!

And one more video for your enjoyment...

Yummy!

Here are a few pictures of Aidyn enjoying his new favorite snack. Yum yum!

Doesn't he make it look so delicious?!? Hands with a side of toes...yummy!

Stuck...

Here is the end result of another one of his flips. He looked at me like, "Hey...my legs are stuck! Why don't you put that stupid thing down and help me out a little!"

Isn't he cute???

On a (complete) Roll!

Yay, Aidyn!

Aidyn has been trying for a few weeks to turn over, but only makes it to his side. Or...he'll get almost over, but then his shoulder gets in the way. Well, not anymore! He finally figured out to just "heave" himself over really good, and he's able to get over his shoulder. He is so smart!

Aidyn rolled over (almost with no help) on Saturday at my parents' house. He finally did it this afternoon on his own while we were eating lunch after church. After his afternoon nap, I brought him upstairs with me to work on VBS fliers. He was on his mat. When I turned around he was laying on his tummy with his head up and looking around. I couldn't believe it! I ran to get my camera and turned him back over to see if he'd do it again. He did! (see the video below)

Since the video he has managed to roll over 4 more times! Looks like I'm going to have to find somewhere new to put him while I take a shower. Hmmm....

*Don't forget to pause the music at the bottom first.

Stay tuned for pictures from the Crawfish Boil we attended lastnight! I have some pics, but I'm waiting on a friend to email me some that he took.

More Babies?!?!

Furry babies that is...

This past fall, Ben and I noticed a groundhog had "moved in" to the weeds and brush growing in our backyard on a bank of grass. One day I came home to see the groundhog in the backyard and was shocked. I called Ben and told him that either the groundhog was a mommy and pregnant, or a new bigger groundhog (assuming a guy) had moved in.

Well, I don't know that the "daddy" has hung around...but we definately have babies. I have seen the mommy groundhog once and the baby several times. Last week, I looked out the back window and saw 2 - yes, two - babies! Ahhh.

But, guess what?!?! I looked into the backyard yesterday and saw 3 baby groundhogs!!!! We have a live trap that we originally planned on using to try and catch the the ONE we saw. Now, there's no way we can put that trap out with a mom and 3 babies! It's funny how I didn't care much about catching the ONE and getting rid of her. But now that I know babies are involved, 3 at that, there's no way I'd set that trap up.

I've been trying to get pictures from our back door (through the window) for a while. If I open the back door, they run home. Here was the best I could do.

The first pictures shows one of the babies standing on some steps in our backyard. It is standing up looking around...how cute!


This second pictures actually has all 3 babies in it. You can also see our neighbor's garden behind us. I keep meaning to research groundhogs because apparently they only eat grass and clover. I have watched them several times walk through the garden, but they never stop to "snack". They are always eating grass. I guess that's why our neighbors haven't tried catching or killing them either.

If you click on the pictures, they will get larger and you will be able to see the babies more clearly.

Melt Your Heart

Aidyn's giggle, although random, is my favorite sound ever!!!!! EVER!

Sometimes something that makes him laugh, will not work the next time. So we're learning and trying it all. Luckily, today I got him to laugh by tickling his ribs with my nose. I tried getting it on video, but as you'll see...tickling and video recording at the same time is very hard. Regardless, the noise is available and it is a precious noise! Love him! :)

*Dont forget to pause the background music at the bottom of this page.

No More Birds

Thankgoodness!

Our chimney guy came last week to clean out the chimney. Unfortunately, we had to cover the fireplace back up before he left with plywood because we don't have a cap on the top of our chimney. The average size, according to him, for a chimney is 13in x 13in. 13 inches seems awfully small, I think. Ours is 35in x 17in. He ordered our cap and returned today.

He is an older man, probably in his 60s. He had NO ONE with him. Our house is 2 stories, 3 if you count the attic that is like a room of its own. How did he get this massive cap up to the chimney? A ladder! That's all...a ladder. No pulley system or anything! I couldn't believe it.

A placed a ladder at the back of the house from the ground to the top roof. We have a smaller roof from our side porch, but he totally skipped it and just went for the top. He carried the cap up with him. I'm still in shock. However, we now have a nice, beautiful cap on our chimney to keep out rain, birds, bats, and other small animals. I'm soooo glad. Now we can remove the plywood ifront of the fireplace inside and we don't have to stress about birds or bats living in our chimney. Such a relief!

I can't wait to get shutters for our windows! We have 18 windows...so we'll have to do a few at a time. And hopefully in the future we'll get new siding also.

Financial Update

Our new financial plan of "cash only" has been working great so far. Our first Sunday of trying this, we went to the bank and withdrew a specified amount of money that was supposed to last us a week. It ended up lasting us two weeks!!!!!

We made a grocery list and dinner menu the day before (Saturday) to last us two weeks. I like to only go to the grocery store once every other week of possible. Every now and then we do have to make a quick stop, but we try to get everything we need on our one trip.

We cooked dinner EVERY night (including the weekends) for 2 weeks. The only two nights we ate out were nights when Ben had church softball. Since he has football weightlifting until 6:00pm every night, and softball starts at 7:30pm, we didn't have much time to cook, eat at home, and clean up. One night we drove thru Pal's (YUM!!!) and the other night we had Pizza.

Here was our menu for those first two weeks:
Sunday- Beer Can Chicken
Monday- Roast
Tuesday- Pal's Hotdogs
Wednesday- Shrimp Stirfry
Thursday- Grilled Chicken
Friday- Steak
Saturday- Ham

Sunday- Lasagna w/Ben's Parents
Monday- Smothered Pork Chops
Tuesday- Rocky's Pizza
Wednesday- Hot Dogs
Thursday- Grilled Chicken
Friday- (can't remember, ha)
Saturday- Cookout at my Parents'

I LOVE cooking dinner. It's so much cheaper than eating out and I don't know if I'm just crazy, but after a while...eating out gets old. Plus, Aidyn is at that "inbetween" stage where he isn't the best to take out to eat. He is not quite big enough to sit in a high chair (since he can't sit up on his own yet), and he doesn't like sititng in his car seat. This means that he either fusses or someone ends up holding him while they eat. At fast food places it isn't a big deal, but at nicer restaurants...it isn't as much fun.

Here is our "menu" for this week and next.
Sunday- Applebees
Monday- Pizza
Tuesday- Ham
Wednesday- Grilled Shrimp
Thursday- ? (High School Graduation)
Friday- Spaghetti
Saturday- Crawfish Boil at a Friend's

Sunday- Amigos
Monday- Pork Chops
Tuesday- ? (Church Softball)
Wednesday- Hamburgers
Thursday- Grilled Chicken
Friday- Lasagna
Saturday- Ribs

Yum! We have started trying new recipes as well. One we are wanting to try (if you watch Food Network) is Tyler Perry's Baked Mac & Cheese with Bacon. It looks soooooo delicious!

Almost There

Aidyn is continuing to try rolling over. He hasn't made it yet, but he's almost there. Putting diapers on is beginning to be harder because he's constantly rolling over on his side. It's quite the challenge...and he isn't even trying to roll over or crawl away yet. That will definately be challenging!

Here are a few pictures of his attempt today. He can almost get over but his shoulder and arms get in the way. He tries using his feet to roll over, but hasn't figured out how to roll "over" his shoulder and get his arms out from under him.

4 Month Check-Up

Aidyn had his 4 month check up this morning...1 day after his 4 month birthday. He normally sleeps until about 9-10am in the morning, so he was very tired when we got him up at 7am. (I guess I should clarify that he sleeps that late, but not straight through. He usually eats atleast once, sometimes twice, after going to bed.)

He usually wakes up when we get him out of bed, but not this morning. He slept the entire time while I changed him, took his PJs off, and dressed him. He finally woke up as we were putting him in his car seat. Ofcourse, he fell asleep on the way to the dr and slept until we went back into a room.

The nurse listened to his heart, breathing, measured his length, weight, and head circumfrence. We talked to her about several concerns we had and then we just had to wait on the dr to arrive. We always try to get the first appt in the morning if possible. That ensures no wait and not having to be in rooms full of kids (sick or healthy). This morning his appt was at 8am. We got there at 7:40am (before the nurse or dr). But luckily we didn't have to wait long at all.

Aidyn is in the 50th percentile for his height - 25 inches. He's grown 4 inches since he was born. He's also in the 50th percentile for his weight - 14 lbs 14 oz. He's gained 7 lbs 13 oz since he was born. Aidyn's in the 35th percentile for head circumfrence - 41.6 cm. His precious brain (hehe) has grown 8.6 cm since he was born. Wow...he must be a genius! ;)

Dr.Gill "predicted" that with both my height and Ben's (and Ben being the shortest person in his family)...that Aidyn should be a little taller. His prediction is that Aidyn will be about 5ft 11in. He laughed and said, "We'll see how good of a predicter I am in about 18 years." We both hope he's right!

Aidyn received the same vaccines as his 2 month appt. 1 oral vaccine and 3 shots. He did great! He did cry more than his 2 month appt, but only for a minute or two. Ben quickly picked him and gave him is pacifier and he calmed down. I took a bottle to feed him, like we did with his first shots, but had decided to wait and feed him when we got home since he was doing ok. That was the plan...until...the nurse said we had to wait 10 minutes so they could check his legs where they did the shots. With that, I went ahead and fed him. He did a great job and I'm very proud of him!

Here he is at home. See is adorable chunky legs? And his little Charlie Brown band-aids? He did so good at the dr!

Concerns Today:
Cradle Cap- Dr.Gill suggested continuing with Selsen Blue (or other dandruff shampoo) on Aidyn's head for the cradle cap since it keeps returning. He said to keep using the steriod cream if it gets worse and "scabbed" like it has.

Dry Skin- Aidyn has a dry spot on his left shoulder. The dr said to keep baby cream on it and that we could even use the steroid cream that we have for Aidyn's head. He said that Aidyn must have sensitive skin and that we just need to keep cream (not lotion) on him. He also suggested putting Vaseline on the dry spot.

Reflux- I explained to Dr.Gill that Aidyn's reflux and spitting up seems to be worsening again. We thought maybe his weight gain (he's gained 2 lbs since beginning his meds) and the increased amount that he's eating is causing the Prevacid not to work as well. I asked if we needed a larger dose or needed to increase to twice a day instead of once. He recommended that we start with Rice Cereal in Aidyn's bottles. The bottles shouldn't be thick, but not just the regular liquid (like water) consistency either. He said if that didn't work to give him a call and we may increase the Prevacid to twice a day.

Teething- Aidyn should begin teething at anytime. He has started drooling quite a bit and constantly chews on his fists and fingers. He is probably already beginning to teeth, even though it could still be a few months before a tooth actually appears.

Eating Enough? I have been concerned that Aidyn may not be getting enough to eat. Even though he usually eats all of 5.5 oz bottle, there are times that he will only eat 3-4 oz. We started by making 6oz bottles that he never finished and we were throwing formula (money) away. We decreased to 5oz. Once the water and formula is mixed, there is actually 5.5 oz. We learned that the average or expected amount for babies at this age is to eat 26-32 oz of formula a day. That's great to know! Aidyn has been averaging 25-30 oz on a given a day...so he's right on track. :)

Beginning Solids- Aidyn will begin with the Rice Cereal as I mentioned in the part about his reflux. After doing cereal for a while, we'll start on other solids. First will be vegetables. Vegetables are to be given twice a day (lunch and dinner) for 3-5 days before beginning a new vegetable. This will let us see if Aidyn has any reactions or allergies. After Vegis we will begin adding fruits. Fruits will be given once a day (breakfast or early morning). The same will be done...3-5 days before adding a new one. A paper given to us from the dr says to follow each "meal" with the bottle. However, our lactation consultant says the opposite. Begin with the bottle so you can sure Aidyn is getting enough to eat. The other foods are just supplemental but not required at this point. That is what we've been doing with the avocado and will continue with. Bottle first and then solids last.

It won't be long, I'm sure, before Aidyn is sitting up and beginning to crawl. We can't wait!

4 Months Old!

Wow, Aidyn was 4 months old yesterday! We had a busy day and as I laid down in bed lastnight I realized, "Oh crap! I didn't take Aidyn's 4 month old picture!" So, I figured one day late wouldn't be too bad. He's growing up so fast!

Splish Splash!

Aidyn loves his baths and loves splashing in the tub. I know I've posted several pics of him enjoying his bathtime, but I was FINALLY able to get a quick video of him splashing away today. His bathtub has a little angled seat in the bath that he can lean back in and sit. He is so funny in the bath always trying to eat soapy hands and splash the water around. I can't wait to try him in the swimming pool this summer!

*Remember, you'll have to go to the bottom of the page and pause the background music if you want to hear the sound from the video without any "interruptions".

Isn't he the cutest thing ever?!?! He's going to love the pool!

Thank You "Doctors"!

I felt very good last week when I watched "The Doctors" tv show. They were talking about issues parents needed to be aware of with illnesses, starting solids, milestones, achievement, etc. You name it, they probably discussed it at some point.

I was very excited, though, to see them talk about the benefits of feeding babies avocado. The nutrionists on the show (a guest) explained how avocado is very high calorie and good for babies. It isn't high calorie like a candy bar, soda, or fast food meal...obviously...but full of very healthy calories. This made me feel even better about starting Aidyn on this particular food. I still haven't figured out if it's a fruit or vegetable. Fruit since it has seeds on the inside and grows from a tree? Doesn't it grow on a tree or bush? Haha...shoot, I don't even know. That's pretty pathetic. But anyways.

Here are a few more pics of Aidyn's avocado lunch today after his afternoon bottle. He is doing better about swallowing, but I also haven't been very consistent about giving him the food everyday. Now that we're on a "set schedule" (or have been on THIS particular schedule for 2 weeks now), I'm hoping to make this a regular thing...avocado after his lunch bottle everyday.

He had that stuff EVERYWHERE! It was on his chin, lips, cheeks, fists, clothes, bib, diaper, and even up his nose! It was definately time for a bath to get all cleaned up.

I can't believe he'll be 4 months old tomorrow!