Poor sick baby

Aiden has come down with a summertime cold. Poor thing is stopped up and coughing, eyes watering and everything. And his little nose is sore from rubbing it every time it runs, which makes him cry because it hurts to wipe, which in turn makes his nose run more. Vicious cycle! It's been a long time since Aiden's been sick, and him being miserable makes me appreciate how healthy and exuberant he is the rest of the time.

I sometimes find myself getting frustrated at little things with him, and at the end of the day I look back and realize how silly it is to be upset with him at all. Aiden is the best little boy we could have ever asked for and every now and again I need to put things into perspective to realize how lucky we truly are to have him in our lives. I take him for granted too much, and of course I hate him being sick, but I do appreciate how it makes me realize how wonderful he is when he's healthy and noisy and independent and picky and altogether exasperating. I mean really, who couldn't love a perfect little angel like our Aiden?? That's right: NOBODY. I dare you not to ooh and ahh over the cuteness:

ALERT!

beep...beep....THIS JUST IN....


AIDEN POOPED IN THE POTTY TONIGHT

That is all. You may now return to your regularly scheduled programming.

There is something seriously wrong with me

Again I ask, what will I do when Matt's gone for an entire year??

Here is the foyer "before":



And here is "after":


Now, to be honest, I never fully intended to paint any more of the house after the bedroom wall. But Glidden was giving away free quarts of paint, so who was I to deny the myself that gift? Unfortunately, a quart was not going to be enough for the entire area, so I had to purchase another quart. I went to Home Depot - the only store in town that carries Glidden paint - and got my mixture. But the lady accidentally dropped it, and some spilled, and she said she would mix another one for me. I told her don't worry, I already have a quart and that little bit that spilled out wouldn't matter - so she gave me a discount and I only paid $5! I painted our entire foyer for 5 bucks. Yeah! Of course, I was so excited to finally have enough paint that I had to get the project done the very day I purchased the paint. So yesterday afternoon around 3 PM, after getting Aiden down for his nap, I began. What a process! So many more outlines to cover with paint tape! And corners! Yikes. I wanted to go to my step aerobics class that evening, which meant leaving the house no later than 5:15...at 5 PM, after getting Aiden up, I frantically got dressed with paint spatters on my arms, face & hair, and the bottoms of my feet green-tinted. But I made it to my class, and the walls look fabulous (if I do say so myself)! I think I'm going to have to travel a lot next year when Matt's gone, just to keep me from doing any more DIY jobs!!!

Benning Independence Day Celebration

Held on 27 June, since post has a 4 day weekend on the 4th and they know the crowds wouldn't be as large if they held it on the 4th. Last year we went out in the early evening b/c we wanted to get Aiden to bed at a decent time. He did not stay up to watch the fireworks last year, but we watched them from our house. This year, however, because of the heat (and the fact that Matt wasn't feeling well), we decided to wait until late evening before going out. So we left the house about 9 PM and had to park far away, so by the time we got to the event it was almost time for fireworks. Aiden kept saying "I'm going to see fireworks, I'm so exciting!" Yes, he says "exciting" instead of "excited" and it's so cute we could cry. I really wanted a funnel cake and Matt wanted something to drink, but the lines were ridiculous, so we started making our way back to the car. But we were stopped by MP's halfway there b/c the fireworks were going to start soon and they didn't want anyone walking where debris could land on you. So we put out our chairs and watched the show - and it was LOUD because we were so close. Poor Aiden couldn't handle the bangs, but tried to watch as much as he could. We were proud of our kiddo, for staying up so late and also for not being scared during the fireworks. Afterward, as we walked back to the car, we noticed the street was littered with pyrotechnic particles! Thank goodness we weren't in the line of fire - get it?? Oh, fine. :) Here's some pictures:

On the way

Mommy & Aiden

A blurry sunset - it was really pretty!

Aaa! He's so cute!

Waiting for the fireworks to start

This is how he sat during most of the show

Father's Day Weekend

Bon & Will came down to visit with Will's brother Steve and his wife Anne. The Aflac Outdoor Games were going on, with dog agility & frisbee competitions, as well as the lumberjack competitions. They had tickets for Sat and Sun, and Bonnie, Anne and Anne's friend Beka were participating in the Summer Solstice 5k Race on Saturday night. But after we were out in the heat at the Aflac Games on Saturday for only a few hours, we decided to forget going on Sunday! Plus after the race we all went to Chili's and didn't get home until after 11 - officially the latest we've ever had Aiden out. He was super tired, and after only being in his bath for a couple minutes, he unplugged the drain and weepily said "I wanna go to bed"! So Sunday Bon & Beth took Aiden to the indoor pool while Will & Matt went to the driving range. We had so much fun, but are so, SO exhausted!



Aiden in the bouncy house

Wearing Matt's sunglasses

Wearing Bon's sunglasses

Aiden...wearing his own sunglasses

Look at the giant duck! AFLAC!

Look at the giant truck!

Flyball dog competition - they had to hold the doggies tight before the race!

They're blurs as they run!

Pooped out.

Bon & Anne - sent in their registration forms separately, yet managed to get consecutive numbers!

Bon, Anne & Beka

The race crowd - keep in mind it's still about 85 degrees

Go Bon go! Coming in to the finish.

National Infantry Muesum opening

What a waste of time. The heat was blazing, so Aiden and I stayed in the tree shade, pretty far from the stage, so we couldn't hear the speakers very well. Especially when the noisy ambulance parked near us - right in the middle of Colin Powell's speech! Then when they finally let the crowd in, it was mass chaos and nobody knew where to go. I even overheard a volunteer say "I don't know what to tell you." Ridiculous. Plus, the upstairs was having a private party, so us peons couldn't get up there to see the exhibits! We'll definitely go back one day when there's no crowds and the entire museum is open, but that day was a waste.



This is how far away we had to park - not even in the lot, but on the street, so I had to push the stroller over the grass and curbs!

A view of the crowd

After the fanfare the red and white streamers fell. Woo! *sarcasm*

The closest I got to Colin Powell.

I asked Aiden what that man was doing, and he said "he's singing!"

A very blurry picture of the first thing you see when you walk in the doors. I couldn't stop to take a decent pic b/c of the crowd.

Arkansas pics

We visited Matt's family in Arkansas and had a great time! We got out on a pontoon boat twice, Aiden fished in Gramma and Grampa's pond by their house, and we drove up to Eureka Springs one day. In Eureka Springs we stopped by the Crescent Hotel (if you watch Ghost Hunters, they investigated the hotel and found it "haunted"!), and walked around the town to shop. It was quite humid and Aiden's curls were so cute!




Conked out on Gramma

Bugle boy!



Yep, that's an Arkansas boy, alright



Naptime!

Did somebody say keep rockin'??


Crescent Hotel


One of the springs




Curls, Curls, Curls!!