Dressing for the season...or not.

If you look at how Aiden is dressed you would think it was a cool winter day. Instead, it was a nice 70 degree day (yes, in the middle of December). I don't know why, but I seem to only dress him in his long sleeved shirts on the days that it's warm out, and when it's 30 degrees I seem to have him in short sleeves. Poor planning on my part, but Aiden doesn't complain. In fact, whenever I do remember his coat and try to get it on him...Well, let's just say, if you had an audio tape of the experience, you'd think I was trying to peel his skin OFF of him rather than put his coat ON him.

Independence

It all started with "no, THESE pants." I started to fight it, but then realized that I'd probably lose an outright fight. Instead I decided to get him to pose for a picture and the first time he brings a girl home, this is one of the first pictures I'm whipping out for her to see...So he may have won the battle, but mommy has a strategy to win the war. Ha ha ha!

Elmos Light!

Yesterday afternoon I was waiting for Aiden to come downstairs with some Elmos. Elmos=underwear, this is what happens when you're trying to get your child excited about wearing underwear so you buy him a pack of Elmo underwear. He then thinks underwear is called Elmos. So instead of coming down with underwear he came down the stairs crying and proceeded to stand in the foyer doing his "angry at the world" Aiden dance. Picture the Irish Dance done by a 2-year-old who is screaming "Elmos light" and crying while rapidly moving his feet. It took me a good 3 minutes, but when I figured out what he was screaming about, I knew it was worth a few pictures:

Trick or Treat!

Aiden was Elmo for Halloween. I never thought of the danger of him being mobbed by young trick or treaters who thought he really WAS Elmo. Oops! Note to self, dressing him up as everyone's favorite Sesame Street character is a bad idea.

Bonnie and Clyde

Nappy has now mastered the swingset. The little hoodlums can now get into even more trouble together! Seriously, who ever heard of a dog climbing up into a play fort?

Like a stranded cat...

You know how cats manage to climb trees, but can't seem to get back down? That was Aiden's dilemma the other day. "Holp! Holp!" he cried. A picture is worth a thousand words. So of course I left him stranded while I went to find the camera.

Our Pool Rat

I couldn't get the action photo of Aiden actually jumping in, but take our word for it...He was jumping off of the diving board without needing any help. Dad was proud, but Mommy gets a bit nervous because Aiden doesn't know the difference between wearing a flotation device and being au natural.

Aiden the Acrobat

Leave it to Aiden to come up with his own unique use for the slide...

No sense of shame

Aiden received some sunglasses as a party favor. Anytime we go out in public he insists on wearing them. It's cute for now, let's hope he grows out of this phase before kindergarten...

Aiden's new hobby

Swinging is now our favorite outdoor activity. Aiden calls it "rock rock" because it reminds him of being rocked in a rocking chair. Now we have to teach him how to pump his arms and legs so that we can sit on the deck and let him go at it!

Aiden's new yard

After much sweat, blood, and tears, Aiden finally has a yard. Here are the before and after pictures:

Before the sod:





























After the sod. We didn't have quite enough to finish the entire backyard so Aiden will now be able to enjoy an occasional mud bath. Meanwhile, Mike plans to plant some Bermuda grass and make a putting green:































And Aiden having some fun with paint on the back deck (note the lovely grass in the background):

The Dog Days are here!

So I stripped Aiden down yesterday and gave him the hose. We had a grand ol' time on the deck. Notice the new 'do' as well...Thanks Daddy!

Lions and Spiders and Bites, Oh My!

Aiden had a lot of fun playing in the wood chips that we had delivered this weekend. Unfortunately, a spider was having fun playing in those wood chips as well. Aiden and spiders don't mix. Check out his left ear. This is after almost 2 days worth of antibiotics. I guess it's time to invest in some bug spray.

Aiden

It's official. We spoil our child. I didn't have anything more than a sandbox in my backyard when I was little, I walked 2 miles to and from school (uphill both ways of course), and the only swing set I knew was in my Nana's backyard. It was one of those metal contraptions that was supposed to be cemented into the ground, but it still rocked back and forth if you swung too high, or had too many people playing on it. I'm sure there were all kinds of spots where the rusted metal stuck out and it was a tetanus accident waiting to happen. It's amazing my brothers and I survived. None of that for Aiden. No. His swing set is a mammoth play structure that cost more than my first car. Need I say more? So far we've been getting our money's worth out of it. He gets up in the morning, points at the playset and says "hide?" Of course, that means "slide" in Aiden's world, but only a mother would know that. And off we go to the "hide".

Usually we get one trip down the slide before we're off to play with some older, cheaper toy, but at least I now have a place to sit while he plays with his older, cheaper toys.