Fears, Fireworks and Family

As long as I can remember, Dave and I (and other family members) have feared for Aiden. His lack of fear in his approach to life has caused some concern. Before now, his zest for life has also come with a lack of fear, in anything. Jumping off objects that are too high for our comfort level, running without any attention as to where he is going, nothing seemed to cause him concern... until now. Now, are almost 3 year old (said fighting back little tears, ohhh there's a blog to come about that..) has entered into a fear stage. It started with his inability to jump into the water at swim practice, something he loved last summer.

















We naturally just assumed it would take some re-getting used to. This has not been the case. Instead the boy who loved the warm waters of the JCC, clings on for dear life.












I thought the best solution would be to practice more, get him more used to playing in the water, we did, however, have months without access to a pool. So one day we called Aunt Nina and asked to come swim at her apartment. Once we got there I remained optimistic, certainly with his favorite Aunt around to show off too, he'd jump right in. Nope! Now instead of one person to cling to, he had two (though at least this experience awarded some smiles).



























Oh, how I wish I could say this was the only fear hurdle we are desperately trying to jump these days. Instead, we were sad to learn of Aiden's fear of fireworks (and the loud noises that go with it). Needless to say, the Fourth of July, was spent doing a lot of holding, comforting, and ear covering.














Though in the midst of all the trauma, we did manage to get a lot of great family time in. And at one point we were even able to convince Aiden to try out a sparkler, and lo and behold he did really enjoy watching those colorful smoke bombs. While this proved to be somewhat short lived, he at least got some great play time in with Dylan and Sophia.

A boy and his dog...

Not that long ago, we had a little puppy named Tops. When we first got him the pound assured us that though he was a German Shepherd mix, he wasn't going to be terribly large. So Aiden in his infinite wisdom named him "Tops" for triceratops.















If only we had paid more attention....















Maybe we would have realized there was a reason Aiden named him after such a giant beast....














Never to fear though, Aiden will keep us safe from this gigantic creature!

Traveling with a toddler

Here's the thing about traveling with a toddler, or at least my toddler. When it's 5:30 in the morning and you have a 12 hour drive ahead of you, their excitment extends way beyond your own...














However, if you have a child like mine, it is not difficult to quickly remind yourself how fortunate this is and bask in it with him.
















Still, if you are hesitant, here are some tricks we have found for successful travel:



1. Allow foods that your normally restrict, such as little donuts.















2. Take the time to enjoy some music together















3. Absolutely bring a blanket to cuddle up with
















4. And finally, if available, always travel with a grandma to make sure that entertainment ensues...(I promise his toes were clean)

More, more, and more

More pictures! Imagine that..! These are the family pictures from our vacation to California, complete with some shots from the timeshare we stayed in.

More snipits from our vacation

As if it didn't seem like he had enough fun at the beach, our venture to SeaWorld afforded him a lot of laughter. Enjoy!































As if watching the dolphins and whales wasn't enough fun, they had lots of little kid rides!

Snipits from our California Vacation number 1

I know it's been far too long since I've update the blog. So in my attempts to catch everyone up we'll start with the vacation we took to California. While there we visited Nick and Crystal, managed to make it to our timeshare on the beach in Oceanshores, and made it to Seaworld. Aiden, once again, proved what a trooper he is on car trips and re-discovered his love of the beach. So I'm going to post mostly just photos for the next couple blogs, so we can keep these memories for years to come. This first part will be a beach fun!






















































































































And what happens when you have this much fun playing at the beach? Two words: sheer exhaustion.

Ways to relax

This week has been particularly stressful for me. The last week of school, finals on the horizon, let's just say my weekend dealt more with work and less with play than I would have liked. However, in the midst of it I did have a two year old egging me on to let go of school and just enjoy life. Here are Aiden's remedies to a stressful week.


1. Let go of all inhibitions and soar (it's exhilarating!)















2. Indulge in your inner child


















3. Surround yourself with people you love














4. When all else fails, relax, and enjoy a facial (stickers are optional).














It's all so clear to me now.