The power of "yes"

It's funny how a week with those Christmas toys can inspire new rules around a house. For instance, when you find your child so entranced by his first ever hand held video game that he doesn't even recognize his uncle has flipped him upside down....

then we have an issue. I'm not kidding folks, he didn't budge from that game.

So how does a parent respond? Call me crazy, I am trying to instate the power of the word "YES." Yes to activities that get him moving around, yes to letting him experience all the greatness that life has to offer outside of a video game, and yes to letting him feel that he has awesome and fun ideas. Don't get me wrong, I don't think video games are altogether bad  (in moderation), but I refuse to let it be common past time around here. And once I had him on board (by telling him super heroes needed to make sure they exercised their body and brains)I have to admit we have found an awful lot of fun things to say "yes" to lately.





"Can we start a super hero league?" YES. This is Captain America Super Aiden and you can just call me Missile Girl (sadly I didn't get to pick my own name).



"Can we play with one of my NEW games? (He meant his video game)" YES. How about if we launch your cars off of the new Hot Wheels set, off the steps and try to get them into a bucket below?! (There were strict rules about the getting on the steps though...) Way too much fun.



"Can I not clean my room right now?" YES. Let's go outside for a bit, but when we return you will spend some time cleaning. I have to admit letting him have his way on this one, made him super eager to clean when we got home. Plus it really was a gorgeous day!



"But I'm not tired! Can I go to bed later?" YES. Granted not too much later, but a movie date is never a terrible thing. Note: He was asleep by 8:15 anyways lol



Aaaah the joys of teaching...

In attempts to keep this blog mostly about Aiden I try my hardest not to talk about myself. Don't get me wrong, I know I am a huge part of his existence, but let's be honest... he's waaay more entertaining. ;) However, I think it's only important to talk about one of the things I love best about my job: time off! Don't misunderstand, I love teaching, it is truly a passion of mine. I feel blessed to have chosen a career that excites me (as this is not the case for everyone), this is not a job folks, it is a love. And whilst I love my job, one of my favorite parts is that I get to do it, and then I get time to do the thing I actually love best: being a mom. While I had aspirations to get to finishing up my years lesson plans and grading more I managed instead to fill every day with something fun. From trips to the museum, movies at the Dynamax theatre, park visits, a short Santa Fe trip on the Rail Runner, hanging out with Mama Talia, and time to simply relax and play with the many gifts he got for Christmas, we had a ball!





From our happy home, to yours...

A very Merry Christmas...

And the happiest of New Years!

<3 Teresa, Aiden, and Snowy the Snowman (yeah I know, we're original)

Things that I love about five year old Aiden

How do I accurately describe how incredible Aiden is? Every time I sit down to write one of these I know that I am trying to convey just how amazing it is to get to be the mom to this kid, and to be honest I know I don't do it justice. So with the holiday season upon us, and me feeling doubly sentimental I thought I'd share a story. It all started a couple of weeks ago when Aiden declared "I wish I could be a baby again." Naturally I prodded him a little asking the big "WHY?" question. His response was "Because baby Aiden never got in trouble and he was always good." Heart breaking I know. It is especially heart breaking if you spend any time around him. Does he get in trouble? Yes. Often? Not really. He is quick to learn and is the most happy-go-lucky child I have ever met. So in talking to him about this I, of course, let him know that while I loved his baby self, five year old Aiden is so amazing and fun, I wouldn't trade it for anything. We, of course, had to go through a list of things I love about him. So I thought, for the sake of that moment, I should really capture it down on here. So here it goes... the things I love about five year old Aiden:

1. I love that he always refers to himself by his full name.
2. I love that he asks questions, even if sometimes they seem too big for a five year old.
3. I love that he loves to laugh, and make others laugh.
4. I love that he tries new things without fear.
5. I love that he plays the "what if" game, coming up with the most wild "What if" scenarios.
6. I love that he loves learning and tries so hard to read.
7. I love that he likes to do silly things, like jump over cracks on the sidewalk.
8. I love that he has mastered a sly grin.
9. I love that he loves my made up stories at night just as much as his books.
10. I love that he cherishes our night time songs as much as I do.
11. I love that he is genuine in everything he says.
12. I love that he is kind hearted and gentle.
13. I love that he thinks of others and carries their worries despite how small he is.
14. I love that he finds joy in making others feel good about themselves.
15. I love that he knows what kind of person he is.
16. I love that he gets as excited for holidays as I do.
17. I love that he loves to help cook any meal with me.
18. I love that he will eat vegetables over sweets, especially broccoli.
19. I love that he calls the internet the invisible book store.
20. I love that he is a master bargainer at five.
21. I love that he already has decided that more than anything, when he grows up, he wants to be a dad.
22. I love that he is confident, healthy, and happy.

This list could go on and on, however for the sake of closing a blog, let me just say that I am blessed.

Koala, koala, koala

It is absolutely amazing how quickly time flies between posts. Just the other day I realized how long it has been since I put up a post and thought to myself "I need to do a quick update." Here's the problem though... how do you do a "quick update" when in the past couple of months everything has changed? Some might say: just pick the highlights... impossible. For if you know Aiden, that's pretty much most days. :) However, I'll go ahead and give it a shot.
















1. Aiden is loving kindergarten! I attribute it to a couple of things. First of all, he is the most social kid ever and school has finally given him that outlet of having many people to hang out with. Secondly, he has the greatest kindergarten teacher of all. We absolutely love her and she is amazing with her 22 little kiddos. Oh and I couldn't not talk about school without mentioning the amazingness of getting to go on field trips! Finally, Aiden has the smartz. We've always known Aiden as quite the conundrum. He's nonstop, in so many different ways, including that big ol' brain of his. He has big ideas, sometimes much too big for a five year old. He thinks about things like the possibilities of gas running out of the world, how to feed all the people who don't have food, and what the word "civic" means because he heard it in a dream (not the car folks, I asked). Now he finally has a place to help him learn more and it excites him a lot. Watching him learn to read, seeing him write things down, it's completely awesome.






















2. Aiden is in soccer! Of course right? I mean the kid never stops running, so naturally we thought this would be the sport. LOL. I'm sure time will really tell, but for now we have been enjoying the quirks of what soccer really is at age 5 - entertaining. Don't get me wrong, not all soccer teams are like this. However, for our team, which we've teasingly nicknamed The Bad News Bears, it's just plain amusing to watch. We've got the kid who is constantly acting like a superhero (that would be Aiden). Off in another corner of the field is the one sitting down looking at four leaf clovers, and then of course there's one kicking the ball the wrong way helping out the other team. So we all breathe. They're five and soccer is a fun excuse to wear cool clothes and be part of a team. :)






















3. Aiden is a nut! This brings us to the lovely title of this post. I woke up the other morning on a lovely Saturday. Now normally on Saturdays I hear him calling from his rooms that he's ready to start our pancake morning (gotta love the weekends!). Not this day. Instead, I woke up to a little kid whispering in my ear "Koala, koala, koala." Then, I'm receiving what seems like the biggest hug ever. Sweet right? That's when he declares "You've just been koalaed!" Thus starts his new trend of jumping up and latching himself onto me and declaring "KOALAED!" Oh me, oh my!


4. Aiden wants to experience it all and I'm happy to oblige. From trips to the corn maze, the dinosaur museum, movies (from the Imax tornado movie, to Lion King, to Smurfs, etc.), playing at the park, going tot he fair specifically for the ferris wheel (see below), going for hikes, or my personal favorite: going through the car wash just because we can. Yup, you name it - he wants to do it! I love his enthusiasm for going places. So what's next? Ask Aiden and it's the beach... looks like I'll be planning a vacation soon. =0)










On the ferris wheel -->













At the car wash -->
I know it's small, but doesn't he look SO happy?!






5. Aiden likes to conquer fears. This little tidbit is something I keep trying to figure out. I mentioned before how super smart I think he is, but this new development I am only assuming on. Aiden has a fear of snakes. Has he encountered one recently? Nope. However, they had really started to plague little mans mind. He dreams about them, frightening dreams, that just break my heart. So three weeks ago, on library day, he returned from school with a book about what else? Snakes! My thought was something to the effect of "REALLY???" The dreams continue, of course. The next week, once again he returns home with a new book about snakes. Geez kid. Dreams continue, though now he is beginning to ask a lot of questions about where certain snakes live. Then last week, again another snake book. At first I thought he is truly glutton for punishment. However, this week, he's had no bad dreams about snakes, his curiosity about them is still peaked, but it's as though he has worked it all out on his own through learning. Love it.



Alright folks, that's all for now. Sorry it was scattered and probably incoherent. Blessings to all. =0)

Aiden's weird things sayer

Lol, first off, to clarify, I totally let Aiden name the title of this blog. I thought it was fitting.

Anyways...I don't know if I've ever written my ultimate goal for this blog down. It is my hope that one day I will print out and bind all of the posts dedicated to my sweet little guy, and have it be compiled into this awesome book of things I think he should get to look back on. Call it a baby book, a memory book, whatever you will, it simply would not be complete without pages of some of the funniest and most entertaining things he has said in the past few months. So without further adieu:

1. At the grocery store yesterday Aiden and I were looking at lunch meat. As I grabbed a package of ham Aiden declared, very enthusiastically: MMMMM I am so excited for you to buy that camel meat.
Me: Ummm sweetheart you know that ham isn't camel meat.
Aiden: Yes it is.
Me: Sweetie ham comes from a pig.
Aiden: Well camel's have meat too and I think we should eat it!

2. Watching Star Wars with Aiden..
Me: Aiden do you know who that guy is? (I was referring to Jabba the Hutt)
Aiden: Abraham Lincoln?

3. Aiden, in his most concerned voice, one morning declared: I'll never learn all the words!
Me: What?
Aiden: All the words you know how to say. I'll never know them all and that means when I'm a daddy I'll sound crazy!

4. Aiden singing in the bathtub: "Once again... he's calling for some trouble.... in the bubbles... silly brachiasorous.... you're in for some serious, under water, bubble trouble...wweeeeooooo. WHAT ARE YOU ALWAYS IN TROUBLE DINOSAUR? Weeeoooo. TAKE THIS PIGGLE WIGGLE MOO!"

5. "What does my tongue look like today, tissue or toilet paper?"

6. "Your butt can't move now, the poo poo factory is shut off."

7. "If you throw up you have to tell me what it looks like and then I'm gonna turn your bed invisible."

8. One night Aiden's prayers included a request to God to "have the mailman bring us lots more letters and mail because we like mail so much..."

9. Aunt Nina once locked her car keys in her car. There was a spare set of keys at my moms so we were going to pick those up and then head them down to her. Here is the conversation that ensued:
Me: Aiden we're gonna have to get ready quick quick quick this morning so we can rescue Aunt Nina's car, okay?
Aiden: What's wrong with it?
Me: She locked her keys in the car and we don't want anyone to see and try to steal it.
Aiden: GRRREEEAT (This is where he shows his muscles to me) I will rip off the top of Nina's car with my strong muscles and get her keys out!
Me: Ummm we can just get grandma's extra keys and unlock her door hun.
Aiden: YEAH, and if that doesn't work, I can rip off the top of the car because I'm Super Aiden. Let's go!

10. After a short conversation about my job this is what ensued:
Aiden: But what do you teach?
Me: I teach English. Do you know what that means?
Aiden: Ooooh yes.
Me: What does it mean?
Aiden: It means you teach Spanish and talk like we talk, only REALLY different.

11. This is one of the sweetest. While talking with his dad, Maw-maw, and Paw-paw:
Aiden: Do you believe in Jesus?
Maw-maw: Yes we do
Aiden: Oooh good because that's how you get to Heaven.
Maw-maw: That's right.
Aiden: But, ummm, I don't know how we're going to get there, because it's really high up, so I think we're going to have to fly in a airplane.

12. Okay maybe I lied, this might be the sweetest. For weeks Aiden kept declaring he was going to marry me. Despite my trying to explain to him that he can't marry his mommy, or any family member for that matter, the conversation would become impossible and frustrating. Tears would be shed as he would instantly start declaring that he loved me most of all, and always wanted to be with me. Talk about melting a gal's heart! Then one day, after many discussions on love and marriage, Aiden declared: I'm going to marry Lexi! (She's a good friend of his).
Me: You are? Well that sounds great!
Aiden: Yes, because my heart will love her different than it loves you. But i will always stay with you forever. We can all live together!

13.Aiden: Mama, what if a banana ate a human? WOULDN'T THAT BE CRAZY?!

14. Me: Aiden don't pick your nose that is sooo yucky! Eeew that is so gross, can you think of anything grosser than that?
Aiden: Drinking toilet water would be more yucky than boogers.
Me: SPEECHLESS.

15. Aiden: Hey mama did you know that when you eat food it goes down to our bellies and then one day it becomes a baby?!
Me: LOL!!! No. No. I didn't know that, and bud... actually that sounds super.
*Lol I totally left that one alone for now...


Ahhh... this kid is awesome! Blessings to yours. =0)

Responsibilities

With feeling so behind on the blogging front I sat and wondered, with the first free moment I've had in months, what do I talk about? Aiden's preschool experience? That is an entire blog I need to post. Summer plans? Believe me the pictures will be plentiful with the adventures we have planned. His amusing statements? Yeup, there will be a full blog on that too. However, tonight something really struck me. In the past few months Aiden has been given a lot of new responsibilities, some he takes with a grain of salt, others he takes very seriously. One responsibility in particular are the chores he is learning to do at home. Today, after a weekend of fun, he knew it was time to clean his room. He even informed me after his swim lessons that he knew today was his room cleaning day. So after quiet time, my sweet little man, got to work. Now imagine my surprise when not five minutes later Aiden came out declaring that his messy room is all picked up! True to his word his room was picked up. However... his closet was suspiciously bulging outwards and upon further investigation there was no longer floor space underneath his bed. *Sigh* It's a start? =0P

2010 in pictures

As I look back on the year I realize I have really failed on the blogging front- hello 2011 resolution! So we are going to start by commemorating 2010, a year of many changes and challenges, a year of so many fun moments and milestones, with some of my favorite snapshots of Aiden.

Aiden and I at my graduation.




















First trip to White Sands

















































Nina and Kuma got married!





































































Aiden starts Preschool!


































Christmas time this year!




































































Happy New Year everyone! Hope you all have a blessed year! =0)