The First (Five) Steps

Someone walked tonight. :)

Mike & I both thought he could take off any moment, and tonight he actually did; while we were all sitting and playing on the floor, Aiden took five steps of his own towards Daddy. Proud doesn't cover it.
And now my two favorite guys are sitting on the floor together, playing with their building blocks. Normally I would be kinda reluctant to join in because American Idol is on right now, but due to the wonder that is cable & DVR (which we FINALY got last week), I can put that off until later (and commercial-free to boot!).
Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a family to join...

Busy Weekend

What a busy weekend, and how lucky we were to have such nice weather! It feels like summer outside, with highs in the mid- to upper-80s. LOVE IT. Yesterday, we went to Quentin's 1st birthday party. As I said, it was sunny & warm, but quite windy, even to the point it was blowing the tissue paper out of his gifts! We had a great time eating subs & cupcakes, and helping Aiden's buddy celebrate his big day. I think Aiden had more fun eating the cupcakes at this party than he did his own!
Today, we got up bright and early to head out to Easton to participate in the March for Babies. What a great event! There were SO MANY PEOPLE! As the walk actually stepped off, I got that cheeseball pride feeling as I realized I was part of something big and important. Unfortunately, since the sun was in Aiden's eyes (which pretty much made him furious), I actually had to carry him for the first portion of the walk. When we turned to go back, he settled down nicely in his stroller. I'm already looking forward to participating again next year, when I hope that Aiden's age will allow him to tolerate the entire 5-mile walk as opposed to the 1-mile "Buggy Brigade." We'll just have to wait and see.Here's a photo of the whole group--I hope everyone had fun! Thanks so much for joining the team & raising money for a good cause, and I hope to see you again next year!

No Bad News

Well, Aiden FINALLY had his eating evaluation today at Children's Hospital. I was a bit weary going in because once we got the appointment scheduled earlier this week, he spontaneously started eating like a champ (to the point Mike & I are sure he's gained a whole pound in just one week). Don't get me wrong--I'm NOT upset that he's actually eating--but I don't like feeling like fraud when going to the therapist to tell her about how horrible he eats, and all the while he's chowing down in front of her. Our OT was very nice, and she said what I suspected I'd hear--that Aiden's eating issues may have been a drawn-out, 5-month long phase that is subsiding due to his increased activity/nice weather/better attitude/whatever. She said if he does revert back to his no-food ways, we should either talk to a dietitian for some more tips, or even call her back to set up some therapy. There is also talk of a "swallow study" since Aiden has recently been prone to choke while drinking out of a sippy cup, but we'll wait to see what Dr. Brown says. I'm sure we'll be hearing from him soon since he'll have to let us know the results of Aiden's blood test (to check if an unknown food allergy could also be the culprit), but let me throw in how proud I am of my little guy since he only whined once while getting those two vials of blood drawn! What a good boy I have! :) To sum it up, I guess I'm satisfied to hear what I was thinking come out of the mouth of someone trained in the area, but I think I would have been much more relieved if I wasn't dealing with ANOTHER cold!
Mimi (bless her heart, since she, too, is suffering through a cold) went with us to the hospital, and afterward, since Aiden was such a good boy, we took him to Build-A-Bear at Easton to get him a new "Buddy," which is exactly what we named his new friend (clad in some sweet scrubs). Aiden has recently taken to saying "woof" when he sees a dog, or even hears someone say dog, and I figured he had enough bears, so a new dog it was. Then we ate at COSI (he just loves their sourdough bread with hummus), and now that we're back home, he's taking a long-awaited nap while I type this out.
We've got a busy few days ahead of us; tomorrow is Aiden's friend Quentin's first birthday party, and Sunday is the March for Babies, again at Easton. I know the status bar to the left doesn't reflect it, but my team has raised a total of $395.00, a figure of which I am quite proud considering this is the first time any of the seven of us are doing this (if you'd still like to sponsor our team, feel free to click on the same icon--we'd love to make it just a little closer to our $500 goal!)! I'm really looking forward to both days since the weather is going to be so nice--lower 80s and sunny, a real treat for late April in Ohio. I'll post more updates and photos on both events soon!

A Happy Mommy Moment

No matter how frustrated I get with my little guy, he always seems to erase it with one smile or some silly senseless banter. Case in point: Last night as I was filling the bathtub in preparation for his bath, Aiden stood happily by the tub, chatting excitedly since he was going to be able to start splashing. I took this opportunity to start undressing him (while he was standing up) because I knew if he were laying down, he'd scream bloody murder because he couldn't see the water. While I was getting his pants off, I leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, saying "Muah!" like I usually do. Imagine my surprise when he turned to me, put is mouth on my cheek and said "Muah!" right back, then pulled away with a great big smile!

Definitely one of my happiest moments as a mom to date. :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!!!

An older picture, yes--but it still makes me laugh since you don't drink! Hope your day is great! And Aiden is sending hugs to his PooPoo!!!

Kitchen Explorations

Aiden's been getting very curious about just what's behind the cupboard doors. I child-proofed the ones under the sink--where the harsh chemicals & cleaners are--but the others I figured he couldn't do any damage. The only thing that's become a bit annoying is having to clean up all the Tupperware after he's "reorganized" it.












And now a bit of whimsy--I have no idea how this loan macaroni noodle ended up on Aiden's ear during dinner. A snack for later, perhaps? The world may never know...

Vacation Project

Since we first started talking about getting married, Mike & I had agreed that one room in our home would be "The Red Room," dedicated to all things Ohio State. And we're slooooooooooowly getting there. Mike began painting the rec-room part of the basement red a few months ago, but time & money have put that on hold. I'm happy to report to you that painting will (hopefully) resume this weekend! In the meantime, I decided that over my vacation I would paint the ceiling and walls leading down the basement. I started last Friday night and finished the next morning, and I hung some pictures and a flag this past Tuesday. I think it's looking pretty good, and it makes me excited to see the whole thing finished!

Happy Easter!

Hope everyone had a nice holiday. I had some REALLY GREAT PICTURES of Aiden playing with his Easter basket, but apparently my camera liked them too much to share them with me (they're gonzo). We had such a beautiful day up at my mom's, though, that I got the camera out and started snapping photos of our little guy in her front lawn. Enjoy!

Turning the Corner

I do believe Aiden is finally feeling better--right as my week-long vacation with him is coming to an end. He's not as needy as he had been; there were days this week where I couldn't put him down because he'd just wail. But if I held him, that wasn't what he wanted, either. Just slightly frustrating. This morning, though, he's showing signs of a return to his old self; he's much more independent, as in he's letting me fold laundry in my room while he plays happily in his. He did whine at me to help get him seated in his OSU chair so he could catch up on some reading, though. :) I'm hoping this trend continues through the day.
Visiting the Easter Bunny didn't quite happen yesterday; with Aiden's bad mood, I decided to avoid the meltdown of having a big costumed bunny hold him. We did go to Easton, though, but our trip was short-lived due to the pouring rain. At least we made it to Trader Joe's for plums, strawberries, and cheese tortellini, all of which he's at least shown interest in eating in the past. My fingers are crossed to say the least.
Today, we're hoping to go out in his swing in the backyard as soon as it warms up a bit. I'm determined to finish my painting project in the basement (photos to come), and then we'll get ready to head up to PooPoo's again tomorrow for Easter. Between Aiden's sickies and lousy weather, I think I'm ready to get back to work on Monday.

Looking on the Bright Side

At least since he's small, he's easier to toss...


Aiden Toss from Kimberly Cotter on Vimeo.

On a happier note...

...I got my new sign today. LOVE IT :)

I suppose I should be happy...

...that something is finally being done about the whole thing, but right now I just want to cry. I was supposed to take Aiden in to the pediatrician on Monday for another weight check, but his recent high fever, spotty rash, and all-around HORRIBLE mood prompted me to call today to see if I could get him in a bit sooner. Luckily they had a spot open, and so off we went. The visit started out just swell, as I learned that Aiden weighs 18 lb 2 oz, a whopping two-ounce gain in 30 days. Fantastic. During his exam, Dr. Brown said that he had a viral infection that was just finishing up in the form of the rash--hence the bad mood--and that he should feel fine soon. The real kicker though is that he apparantly has a sensory eating disorder; he doesn't like the feeling of food in his mouth, so he spits it out, and then obviously doesn't grow because of lack of nutrition. No kidding. So now we get to take him for occupational therapy at Children's Hospital, as well as bloodwork to make sure he doesn't have some sort of wheat allergy to boot. I guess I wouldn't feel so bad, except he's getting therapy to teach him how to eat, where all the while I thought I'd already done that, so now I feel like a failure.

Smile Shortage

Someone's not been feeling too great the last few days. Aiden has a tooth coming in that is driving him (and his mom) nuts. He's had an intermittent fever and runny nose going on 3 days now. Between that and my lingering cold, not a great start to our week-long vacation, but we're optimistic it will get better; we're headed up to PooPoo & PaPa's tomorrow, and we're even hoping to see my friend Claire's new home (FINALLY) and visit with "Great PooPoo" as well. Should be a fun couple of days--I hope Aiden's tooth lets him enjoy it. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a mess to clean up; someone decided our DVD collection looks much better spread all over the floor rather than lined up neatly on the shelves...

Babies Everywhere!!!

Just wanted to give a shoutout to two of my favorite guy buddies from high school who both became new daddies this week; Jeremy & his wife Jessi welcomed Cameron on April 1st, and Evan and his wife Suzanne welcomed Evan III April 5. If these two little guys turn out anything like their fathers, the world will be a better place for knowing them! CONGRATS!!!

One of My Loves

About this time last year, while living the joyous period of my life known as maternity leave, I discovered the wonderful world of Etsy. I HEART ETSY. I can always go there for something unique and original, like a breath of fresh air. It's actually the first place I look now when I need a gift. My main go-to is A Simple Impression. I actually made my first Etsy purchase (pictured at the right) from Sheila's store, and I couldn't be happier with it. It's become my favorite gift for folks, to the point that I have purchased another sign for myself (see left) as well as 5 more signs over the past year for friends & family. Sheila is a delight to work with; she gives you all kinds of creative control as far as fonts & colors so that you can design your sign to match your decor. And now she has a Web site where you can order both the signs and vinyl quotes for your walls. Please check it out--you have my personal assurance that you will LOVE whatever you purchase!