He's one year old!!!

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! Our little man is offically one year old. It's crazy really to think about it. And I must admit everytime I see his sweet face today I can't help but remember every detail from this day one year ago. So in memory of it I'm going to share that day with everyone before I start on the millions of updates and then years from now Aiden can read this blog and about the day he came to join this world. =0)

So one year ago today started like any other pregnant day had for us, rolling out of bed, barely and rather huge. We had a scheduled doctor appointment for that day so we could meet another doctor in the practice, in case my doctor wasn't available for delivery. We met Dr. Russell and I feel in love with her. She had done her residency at UNMH, she was funny, honest and when I asked her "how much longer," she just smiled and said that I wouldn't make it to my due date (which was 15 days away). As we left the doctor's office I told Dave that if anyone other than my doctor (who was on vacation, but assured us she'd be back before we delievered - and I told her no she wouldn't - haha!) had to deliver me, I wanted it to be her.

So after our doctor's appointment (around 10am) we went to Trader Joe's to pick up some snacks and the back pains that I had complained to the doctor about began to intensify. David asked if he should not go to work and I said I was fine and I just needed to lie down before I met Natalie for lunch. A couple hours later, my back pains haven't calmed down and I was hungry! I pull into the parking lot of Olive Garden next to Natalie and she looks at me and asks, "Are you ok?" To which I said, "Ummm, no, I think I'm in labor." She of course became very worried and tried to convince me to go to the hospital, I however said no and that we should calcuate the time between contractions as we eat yummy Olive Garden.

So we order food, calculate my contractions, which are steadily getting closer and only in my back. As I'm pacing around, on the phone with the doctor, a very freaked out Olive Garden employee offers to call someone for me if needed. We finish lunch and with doctors orders head back to the hospital. When Dr. Russel saw me she smiled and said, "Yea I thought I might see you back today," and let's me know that she'll be the one delivering me (YAY!). I of course started crying, part of me was convinced it was false labor and Natalie and I head to the maternity ward and call Dave. He of course doesn't beleive me at first and then rushes to the hospital.

So we get settled into our room and they come in and break my water for me. From that point my labor becomes way more intense and yet there is not a single contraction felt in my tummy, great back labor - supposedly the hardest of them all. Fantastic. So lying down is completely unbearable because every contraction is radiating through my back, so I walk, for hours. I pace, I eat ice, I breath and I refuse drugs, until transition starts. At that point I had decided I would change my mind and take them, but a wonderful nurse I had, told me I'd have to wait till the nurse change took place, a lie yes, all because I had expressed how important it was for me to go all natural and knew I'd need some help and encouragment from her. So it was her way of helping me achieve my goal. 20 minutes later and with help from Dave and Natalie I gave birth to our little man at 8:05pm. I only screamed once and then apologized in fear that I had scared some other moms about to start labor and though it was really hard it was also so empowering.

So that's the story of how our little man came into this world, thanks for listening! LOL. Anyways. So things around here have been extremely hectic, as always. We actually celebrated his birthday a couple of weeks ago when my parents were in town and had a nice dinosaur themed party. We had a bbq and I made a special dinosaur cake for my little man. It was nice to have just family and a few close friends to celebrate it with. Then the following weekend we had our playgroup birthday party. So we had about 14 kids and all the parents there to celebrate all of our little ones first year. So I, of course, went totally overboard making about 100 cupcakes for the party. It was so nice to meet all the dads and the kids were just a riot to watch!

For the 4th of July we headed down to Oregon to spend some more time with my family and Aiden saw his very first ocean! On the way there we spent a day at Cannon Beach and he was quite the little sandmonster. I wish everyone could have seen how cute he was, crawling in the sand and water. He also got a lot of play time with his cousin Dylan and loved to watch his new little cousin Sophia, I think they're all gonna be great buds!

As far as all the new things he is doing since our last post I don't even know where to start! Yesterday we noticed another new tooth, so that makes 5 and we're pretty sure 6 is on it's way. He is almost solely walking and while he is taking 25-30 steps at a time, he falls and we get to enjoy the last little bit of his famous crab crawl that we will miss so much. He's the only kid I know that loses his footing while crawling. He has started to sign to us a lot more lately, telling us when he wants milk, food, more of something or if he is all done, regularly.

Aiden is still as obsessed with balls as ever! I think both Dave and I are sooo ready for him to learn a new word it isn't even funny. I did get him to say duck in his bath yesterday, but besides that it's strictly "Dada, Mama and BALL" anymore. He wakes up from his naps whispering "ball," while lying with me the other day he started from a dream said "ball" and hit me, then fell back asleep, points at everything and says "BALL" - I mean the kid has a one tract mind.

He is still as funny as ever with food. Only now he needs a fork for it to be considered food time, he just loves to be like the big kids!

That's about all for now, we're just enjoying the summer time and enjoying our little man. Tonight we'll be spending the evening wondering where the last year went and most likely I will be fighting back the tears. I'll post some more random pictures from the past few weeks so you guys can have your Aiden-fill. Hope all is well with everyone, please keep us in your thoughts and prayers!

Ball, Uppp, Ooof!

Let me start by apologizing, I know it's been forever since I posted! But in all fairness it's been a crazy couple of months and keeping up with this little guy becomes harder and harder each day! So once again as the title would suggest our little man is learning actual words! I swear all I hear all day long is "ball", the kid is obsessed with playing with the bouncy ball, the soccer ball, the baseball, the football - he is such a boy! Oh and the kid has an arm! If you were to come by and visit here's what the visit would consist of... Aiden finding a ball, Aiden telling you ball, Aiden throwing the ball and Aiden chasing the ball and then the cycle would start all over.

So then "uppp" is pretty explanatory, it's just so cute to hear him ask! =0) Now "Ooof" is complements of my parents who everytime he acted like he wanted to go outside (which is all the time) they'd make a noise like a doggy. I can't really tell if he even relates that noise to the dog, but hey all the same it's so fun to hear! And boy does he love being outside! He lives to play with the leaves on trees, pull grass and try to eat flowers. I have a feeling we have quite the out doorsy kid, which is awesome! Recently he's gotten to enjoy things like going to the zoo, aquarium and botanical gardens with his grandma and grandpa. And even getting to practice swimming with his Godmother Talia and buddy Lea!

Let's see what else have we missed in the past couple of months.. oh yes Mother's Day! I have to say I am really blessed to have such a giving son and dog (which is a great reflection on their dad). I was spoiled with a yummy breakfast, a CD from the dog and a more than needed massage from my wonderful kiddo. And now with Father's day around the corner these little guys in our lives continue to surprise me, coming up with wonderful ways to surprise Dave. I must say we've raised 'em good!
Oh I think it is also very important to mention that our little guy doesn't ever stop! The kid is constantly on the move. He even has quite the creative crawl, we call it the crab crawl. He sticks his butt up in the air, hikes on to his tippy toes and goes, oh it's way faster than his normal crawl! To add to it he's practicing standing on his own and has it down fairly well and walks holding onto objects. Pretty soon he'll be walking and then nothing is safe! =0)

As for his enthusiasm for food, well lets just say it has increased two fold! Holy cow the kid eats! And now he's more demanding as ever! Luckily though we have discovered the key to his happiness is being able to feed himself. A bit more messy, well at times yes, but it is well worth it to see that great smile that we adore so much!

Beyond all that we are still working with him on some sign language and he seems to be picking it up quite nicely. And now we are preparing for his 1st birthday and in doing so reflecting on this past year and how truly fast it does go. Hope you all are well, please keep us in your thoughts and prayers, as you are in ours!

Day 263: Dada, Mama, Nana, Hi-Da

Hello everyone and welcome back to tales of our little man! Well as the title would suggest his vocabulary has become a little more comprehensive. Pretty much all day long we hear, "dadadadada" and the occasional, "mamama" but the most distinguisable is "nana" which of course is his version of "NO" and now "Hi-Da" which he says when he is waving at himself in the mirror. LOL! He's such a ham! Any opportunity he has to wave at someone or something he loves. I tell ya this kid is a terrible flirt. Perhaps the funniest part of it all is that he hasn't quite figured out that inanimate objects don't wave back and he becomes very frustrated when he's continually waving and try as he might he just can't seem to get that exercise machine or vaccuum cleaner to wave back, huh go figure.

So what could be more fun then learning lots of new noises and words? Well that's easy - learning how fun it is to make your voice echo in the fun hallways in Las Vegas! That's right the Wolf family traveled to Vegas in celebration of Christina's 21st and the fact that we all haven't been together in a quite some time. Aiden loved it! The food, the lights, spending time with his family and finally meeting his Uncle Nick and Aunt Crystal. Although I don't think he enjoyed anything more than playing with Dylan - they did so well together and watching Aiden's face light up everytime he saw his cousin was priceless.

As if traveling and talking weren't enough the boy is totally mobile and working on giving his mommy a heart attack every day. He's still just doing the army crawl, every now and again he'll venture to an actual crawl, but then gives up because his way is simply faster. He's also venturing into the world of pulling up. He tries it on everything and I mean everything. For us it's a whole new world of baby proofing. Just when I thought things were starting to look safe and alright, there he is showing me more and more things to put away, push back or simply hold down while he tries to test it.

Today was also a first for him when he hiked his butt up in the air and managed to put himself in the sitting position. He truly is so smart and strong, it's a blast watching him! On a sadder note our little dude has gone through a couple of hard times, too. A few weeks ago he suffered through the stomach flu and I have never felt so helpless in my life. Watching him go through that and being able to do very little for him was awful. But he amazed me to no end. Just by seeing him you would have never guessed he was so miserable - the kid is all smiles. Then when we tried to venture out the other day my little man had a total melt down, very unlike him, and spent the rest of the afternoon fussing. So Dave and I took him to the doctor and he has an ear infection in both ears!

So if by some chance it doesn't seem that his appetite for life is strong enough then his appetite for food more than makes up for it. This kid can really pack it away! I don't know where it goes! I mean if he see's it, he wants it and if it is not in his mouth within seconds oh the noises he makes to let you know he's dissatisfied are hilarious! His face turns red, he grunts and groans, but perhaps the funniest part is when he starts hitting his tray and his mouth is wide open. Oh and if that's not enough, now he helps you - but pushing the food furthur in his mouth, getting it on his hands and smearing it everywhere - ahhh he's a hoot!

Well hopefully these pictures are enough to curb everyone's appetite for a while, sorry the blog was so random this go around - it's been a crazy few weeks. Hope everyone is doing well, we love and miss you all. Please keep us in your prayers and thoughts! =0) Oh and Happy Easter!

Day 227: The kid with the never ending tummy

Wow I don't even know where to start this blog off! First let me apologize, I know it has been much to long since I've posted one of these, but believe me it has been really hectic around here! With that in mind I think I will do an overload of pictures so you can see what Aiden has been up to!








First of all the kid can eat! We were really worried when we had his 6 month checkup and he had lost a full pound and wasn't even on the growth charts. The solution? A few weeks in Albuquerque with family and friends to feed him the things that a mom would usually freak out about. Biscuits and gravey, alfredo sauce - heck anything he see's he wants and tries. And once we returned back to Seattle our trip showed to be successful - he had gained a pound and a half and is finally back on the charts!

In addition to the plethera of solid foods he is getting he has also slowly started to give up the boob and much prefers formula to it. While it was hard at first for me to accept it, starting to slowly get myself back has actually been kind of a blessing in disquise. I feel a lot more freedom in being able to entrust him with others, knowing that if I'm not there to feed him they still can. Then of course there are times I just sit there in pure amazement watching how independant he has become. He holds his bottle by himself, reaches for his spoon and nobody, I mean NOBODY, is fast enough at feeding him - the mmm noises he makes are hilarious!


Socially the kid is a ham! He loves all the attention he can get. I've never seen one baby with so many expressions on his face when he smiles and he does smile ALL the time - it's awesome! Over the past couple of weeks he's really started to get into laughing as well. Throw him up in the air, take him on the swings in the park, pretend like you're going to drop him - he is quite the little thrill seeker! And once that camera is out to snap a picture, there he is putting on his best smile for mommy!

In addition to every thing else Aiden is sooo close to crawling. He's go the scooching down to a tee and with that alone is completely mobile, he also can roll with the best of them and this week he's mastered the sitting up by himself. He even caught himself yesterday as he started to flop to the side and pushed himself back to normal. His noises are also become more wide ranged. For example his newest noise sounds remarkably like the gurgling noise some make when rinsing their mouths out. He also for the first time ever started sleeping through the night last week - we're just hoping this is not a phase (keep your fingers crossed for us!). It feels like I now have a competely different child then I did the last time I wrote a blog and I have to say that though part of me is sad that he really doesn't need me as much, this is way more fun!


So I hope this satisfies everyone's hunger for Adien facts and pictures for at least a little while, I promise to be a bit more diligent (granted I'm not chasing someone around the house)! We love and miss you all and please keep us in your thoughts and prayers! =0)

Day 178: Moving along

Welcome back everyone! Hope the Holidays found everyone well. Things here were completely chaotic! We started off the huge windstorm where we lost power for an entire week, there was an entire tree blocking our street - it was a mess. Let me just say I had no idea how much I depend on the simple things that get me through the day and it drove me batty! So by the end of one week we were done living in our downstairs and left for Portland early to be with Robert, Jade, Dylan and our good ol' friend Electricity. After we returned home it was another week or so before we had our phone and internet back, or belive you me I would have had another blog up sooner! Anyways, Christmas was a lot of fun, with good food and company, which is always nice.

While in Portland we also started something that I kept telling myself I wasn't ready for... solids. And while I could have kept putting it off, his continuous yelling while we were eating, showed me that he was serious, and I had to be ready. So I'm making all of his food and we started wtih bananas and from there we've tried avocado's, pears, apples, potatoes and sweet potatoes, which are by far his favorite. It's hilarious to watch him eat and he becomes really demanding if you are not fast enough for him!

We're still continuing on with our mommy and me classes at the hospital, which are always helpful in getting us good information on the different stages on his development. Our play group also continues to be a lot of fun to go to. It is really nice having a group of mothers to relate to and to have kids that Aiden will get to grow up with. This holiday season we had our first play group Christmas party and hope to continue the tradition every year. =0)

We're also planning on starting "water baby" classes come spring, when the weather isn't so cold outside and perhaps some kind of baby Gymboree class pretty soon. Though truth be told this kid exercises himself plenty during the day!

Over the past couple weeks he's been working hard on pushing himself up on his knee's. And it seems like everytime I lay him down on one position he manages to completely turn himself around and move 3 feet away. Then it happend today - as Dave was trying to change his clothes, he put him in the crib and up he popped and actually moved himself - holy cow! Aiden is no longer immobile and we have got sooo much baby proofing to do, before we know it he'll be crawling everywhere! He also has become so much more vocal. He screams in delight over things, loves to laugh at the dog and loves to grab your face and tell you "ooooooo!"

(Just so you know this outfit is courstesy of Aunt Natalie and it says "Pimp my stroller!" lol)

Things with David are going well right now, work is really starting to pick up as he heads into another project milestone. Him and Aiden have a lot of fun together and Aiden gets a huge kick out of pulling on his facial hair. I can also really see how much he looks forward to David every day. By 7pm he's pretty much ready for a change of parent scenery and his somewhat fussy mood changes completely the second David is home.

Things with me are also going well. My MRI results came back and showed nothing abnormal, we're still waiting on blood test results which hopefully will also show nothing out of the ordinary. I guess hormonally speaking I'm just a post partum mess, but I'm slowly and surely becoming more like my old self.

Well sorry again that this took so long, we hope it finds you all well. Please keep us all in your thoughts and prayers, as you are in ours! Love and miss you all! =0)

Day 138: What I would trade for sleep

Well by reading the title you probably can imagine what the last few weeks have been like. However, instead of dwelling on my lack of sleep I've come up with a better solution - the What I'd Give Up game. Here's the top contendor's for what I'd give up if I could get a solid 8 hours of sleep:
1. Shopping for a month
2. My spoon full of peanut butter with some chocolate chips for 6 months
3. Flowers for a whole year
Yeup - if you know me.... that's a big deal! =0)


Other than the sleep issues things have been going well. As you can tell from some of these photo's Aiden finds the Holiday season kind of exhausting, running from store to store, airport trips and house preperations - it's enough to tucker a little guy out! He had his 4 month visit a few weeks back and braved through his shots. His funny little rash still hasn't gone away and I'm contemplating another doctor's visit - we'll see. I talked to the doctor about his night time state and his explanation was that he was hungry and to start him on baby cereals - bad idea - lets just say I miss the days of being alloted sleep in 2 hour incraments. Needless to say no more cereal for a while - his tummy just isn't ready and quite frankly neither am I.
Developementally Aiden has changed leaps and bounds these last few weeks. He is really starting to reach for things, play with his toys and get really excited about things. This weekend we discovered that the only thing funnier than watching mom and dad brush their teeth is when mom looks at him and says "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes,yes,yes,yes," when he is so passionately persisting otherwise. I swear his first word will be "No"- it already sounds like he's working on it! However, not all developments are what we consider exciting. For example, to my surprise the other day, when frustrated with me, Aiden let ou that scream - you know which one I'm talking about - David and I call it the annoying child in a restaurant scream (because that's where it's usually heard). Oh joy, oh bliss.

Thanksgiving was a lot of fun this year. Christina came up to visit us for the holiday and we all had a blast cooking and playing with Aiden. For David and I it was particularly special, as last years Thanksgiving brought the news that Aiden was on his way! During Thanksgiving weekend we also went and got our Christmas Tree (he loves staring at the lights and decorations!) and Aiden got to sit on Santa's lap! And if any of you out there were watching the news last week, you would have seen that we got quite a bit of snow. So much so that David actually had to work from home for 3 days because the roads got so bad! However, it was very exciting for us to be able to take Aiden out in his very first snow!
David is also doing well. Work is, of course, keeping him super busy, but even so he still manages to be a huge help. Aiden responds to him more and more each day. Today when he walked in the door everything I was doing to entertain him came to a halt as he was mesmerized by him. The other night we had his Microsoft Christmas party the other night and felt very fortunate because Natalie babysat him. It was so nice to have some adult time and know that he was in such trusting hands.
And things with my health are still being worked on - I go again next week to the neurologist to see where we go from here.

So other than all that we are all just getting really excited for the holidays, though we can't help but be a little sad that we won't be there with you all. So please keep us all in your thoughts and prayers, we love and miss you all! =0)