Baseball Balloon

We kept the hose extensions from our old vacuum and Aiden has taken to using them as swords and baseball bats. This morning he got a balloon that had somewhat deflated and started trying to play baseball by himself. I took over pitching and found Aiden quite competent at hitting the "ball"!

Birthday/Anniversary bash in ATL

I'm so late on posting these! But here's some pics from our awesome birthday/anniversary celebration weekend in ATL 14-16 Aug.

First: You can't be cooler than four popped collars cool.

Bowling queen.

Da boys.

Sisters!

Creating the ultimate mexican appetizer.

Happy birfday!

Cookie cake for Koob; ice cream cake for Matt. But the top of the cake got kinda smushed, so it looked like "Happy Birthday Malt"

My boys

Birthday boys with Aiden

Playing pin the tail on the donkey - Koob's nice and dizzy!

Here's the outcome:

And of course, nothing is funnier than taping a blown-up balloon to the back of a toddler.

8 years ago...

We got dressed up...


Hitched a ride in a '32 Ford truck...



And danced together for the first time as husband and wife.

Here's to many more years of dancing...

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