A TOOTH!!!

I must say I am quite shocked--I checked Aiden yesterday and he was still all gums (I'm talking NO sign of a tooth), and yet as I'm feeding him his apricots and oatmeal this morning, there it is in all its tiny glory--his first tooth, right on the bottom!!! And I can even see another one starting to show right next to it! You can BARELY see it there on the right in the photo (can you believe the goofy smile?). This is one proud Mama!

WHIPLASH!

Thanks for your help and suggestions, everyone!!! Here's the "Whiplash" video--enjoy!


Whiplash from Kimberly Cotter on Vimeo.

Thanksgiving & Patty-Cake

It was a long day, but it was a good day. Mike, Aiden & I headed up to Lexington yesterday morning, and we only experienced one traffic hiccup that delayed us about 20 minutes, so nothing too horrible. We visited with Mom, Dad, Abby, Sean, and John, and marveled at my folks' new 40-inch flat screen HD TV (that thing is amazing, so I can see why my dad says he now only leaves the living room to go to the bathroom). Then we had a FABULOUS turkey dinner, complete with all of the trimmings, courtesy of my amazing Mom (with some help from my equally amazing Dad). My mouth still waters just thinking about it.
After resting our tummies, we headed up to my grandma's house for more family and fun. We were lucky enough to have my Aunt Kitty visiting from South Carolina this year; that was a special treat because Aiden was able to experience "Whiplash." It's this goofy family tradition that if Kitty is here on Thanksgiving or Christmas, she gets to the take the youngest kid (or kids) and bounce them on her knee to an instrumental version of "Sleigh Ride." It's nuts--everyone crowds in the living room to watch. Which brings me to my question--can anyone out there recommend a (free) movie-editing program? I want to post the movie, but apparently Blogger can't handle the size, and I'd like to cut it down about bit. Any suggestions would be most appreciated!!!
Getting back to our turkey day, Aiden was such a good sport, too--even though he desperately needed a nap, he was social and smiling at EVERYONE at Grandma's house. He slept the whole way back to Columbus, and then had a slight over-stimulation meltdown once we got home, but he recovered quickly. A good day indeed. :)
Mike was actually off work today, and since all our Christmas shopping has long been complete, we were able to avoid the Black Friday crowds, and instead we put up our Christmas tree and other decorations. I must say I am quite proud. :)
I leave you today with a video that I WAS able to upload; at my folks' house yesterday, my mom noticed that Aiden would start "clapping" on his own whenever she'd sing "Patty-Cake" to him. So here he is doing the same from this morning. Cute stuff :)

Hodge-Podge

So my Thanksgiving break started a bit early yesterday; it seems I should NOT eat fish, or at least not eat fish from the cafe at work (I'll spare you the details). Then today and tomorrow, I'm trying out the stay-at-home mom stuff since I don't have a babysitter. Not gonna lie--this is tough stuff, but obviously very rewarding. I'm getting to spend some extra time with Aiden when he's learning so many new things; he's getting really good at the "baabaabaas" and the "daadaadaadaas," and he'll even throw in a few "mamamas" for good measure. My only complaint is that he practices his speech during feedings, so I'm getting an awful lot of mixed veggies on my clothes. This too will pass, I guess. :)
Aiden had another bit of a milestone this week--I had to lower his crib mattress as he's getting a bit too good at his maneuverability. Case in point: I heard a SNAP in his room on Sunday after I'd laid him down for a nap, and after opening his door to check out what this could be, I discovered he'd actually reached up, grabbed one of the Brutuses from his Buckeye mobile, and pulled on it so hard the stem of the mobile snapped. Luckily I'll be able to jerry-rig it back together with parts from another mobile I have, but I think I'll be mounting it on the wall instead. What a fart.
Now we're just looking foward to family and food in a few days, all while trying to keep the house clean and avoiding the snowflakes outside...

UPDATED 7:30 PM: I had to add a photo of another one of Aiden's new tricks; he is now an EXPERT at sticking his tongue out. wonder where he learned that from...

It was almost TOO easy

Ohio State 42, M*ch*gan 7

So there's this game on Saturday...

...you may have heard of it? The storied Ohio State vs. M*ch*gan game? "The Granddaddy of Them All?" In this town, it's our own extra little holiday, nestled in between Halloween and Thanksgiving. It's one reason I moved to back to Columbus after a brief stint as a reporter in West Lafayette (in my experience, Purdue fans just don't get what it is to be a fan). It's the reason I chose red & silver for our wedding colors. It's why the first thing I bought when we found out we were pregant was a Brutus Buckeye mobile. It's one reason I donated money to charity at work just to be able to wear my OSU sweatshirts all week (though truth be told, I could probably wear my tailgate gear to work for a month and not double up on an outfit--it would seem I have an OSU wardrobe obsession that I didn't even know about). It's the reason we have two Christmas trees--one for the regular holiday fare, and the other decked out in OSU garb. It's the reason we needed a house with a basement big enough to turn into "The Red Room" (though ours is still a work in progress). It's the reason I think a necklace of strung Buckeye nuts and beads is far more attractive than any bejeweled strand could ever be. It's the reason my insurance agent raised his eyebrows last night when I started discussing with him the article on SI.com I had read, forcasting OSU would play Texas in the Fiesta Bowl if Penn State beats Michigan State on Saturday (side note: GO SPARTANS!). It's the reason I shell out $20 a month for five years to the OSU Alumni Association just for the opportunity to possibly win the right to buy two tickets to one game each year for the rest of my life. And it's definitely the reason I look forward to that last Saturday before Thanksgiving every year, so that I can don my favorite sweatshirt, Buckeye necklace, Brutus Buckeye temporary tattoo, OSU socks, and if the mood's right, my OSU 'fro wig, and then sit with family and friends over pizza and beer, and yell in unision at the bad officiating and marvel at the oh-my-God-did-you-see-what-Clarrett/Krenzel/Ginn/Smith/Beanie/Pryor-just-did!?
It's also the reason I'm so excited for Aiden to experience his first game this weekend, whether he "gets it" or not. GO BUCKEYES!!!

Punch it, Chewie!

There's no denying it any longer--I simply must give in to the truth. It's becoming evermore obvious that I did not actually give birth to a human, but rather, I am the proud parent of a Wookie. Not even kidding. Sure, you may only see the physical resemblance in Aiden's mop-top of a head of hair, but I'm telling you, just give him a chance to get REALLY pissed off, and out comes all his Wookie-ness; he'll give a drawn-out, guttural, throaty growl that would give Chewbacca goosebumps (or should I say Wookie-bumps????). It's actually quite comical, but I have to quell my desire to giggle, or otherwise I will endure the wrath of more growls. If I can ever get it on camera, I'll post it here, but alas, I'm thinking it may be more difficult than catching Big Foot on film. I'm telling you, though--once you hear Aiden cut loose with his Wookie sounds, you'll swear that Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader are going to smash down the door any second in one of their legendary light sabre battles...

Something New

The holidays are obivously coming quickly, and besides the normal gift-giving, that also means donations to charities and the like. Just in the past week, my job has given us employees several opportunities to donate to a local food bank, and I've definitely taken advantage of those chances. And even though Mike & I are by no means well-off, I still feel like I should do more--like I shouldn't wait for a special time of year in order to give. And so suddenly a lightbulb went off in my head the earlier this week. I was waiting for Mike to get home from work; Aiden was napping on me, and I was half-watching the evening news when suddenly a story caught my attention. It was about a local event that was being sponsored by the March of Dimes. They profiled a local woman who just this past August gave birth to her first child--at only 24 weeks. She and her husband were only able to enjoy their little gift for a day before the child passed away. I found myself in tears (I almost am again just typing this) as I hugged Aiden a little tighter , and decided in that instant that I would become a supporter of the March of Dimes in an effort to reduce the number of premature births.

After researching the organization later that evening, I submitted my name and information for volunteer opportunities. While there are no events currently scheduled in my area, I am planning on taking as active a role as I can, and this includes leading a team for the March for Babies in the spring. If any of you out there (locally) would like to join my team, just let me know as time gets closer (I'll be sure to post more information as I get it); if you're not local but still want to be involved, I'm all about accepting pledges! :) For the time being, I'm going to donate a portion of whatever profits I make at my company's upcoming craft fair to the March of Dimes. It's a small step, but I'm hoping it will lead to bigger things, including fewer parents experiencing the heartache I saw on the news a few nights ago. I'm proud to be involved in any way I can!

Eight Months Old!

I know I always start out these monthly updates with how dumbfounded I am that we have reached this month's milestone, but honestly, I sit here every time and marvel that we've already arrived at this stage in Aiden's life. I mean, come on--he's been outside in the real world nearly as long as he was in my womb! That's NUTS to me! I also use these moments to reflect and count myself extremely lucky to have such a little blessing--one who is happy and healthy and ready to take on the world!
A few of Aiden's 8-month details:
--I sat him on the scale the other afternoon (now that he can hold his own in a sitting position, guesstimates on weight aren't so far off), and it seems the little guy is between 17 and 18 lbs. Still on the small side, but tell that to my aching shoulders when I go to bed in the evenings!!!
--He's got his sleep schedule down; on weekdays, he goes to bed between 8 and 8:30, and is ususally up between 6:30 and 7; on weekends, he still goes to bed between 8 & 8:30, but bless his heart for letting me & Mike "sleep in" until between 7:30 and 8!
--He's eating about 6 times a day; he gets fruit or veggies mixed with cereal twice daily, then a stand-alone jar of fruit or veggies in the evening, and then bottles mixed in between those meals.
--Aiden doesn't know this yet, but we're going to start trying sippy cups, as Mommy is tired of getting squirted with formula when he decides to slap (read: SLAP!) the bottle out of his mouth. :)
--We haven't exactly seen him crawl yet, but we know he's warming up to the idea since sometimes we'll find him rocking back and forth on his knees. For now, he's WAY content to just roll anywhere he needs to go. It's a riot!
--He still has the uncanny ability to smile either before or after Mommy takes a picture--*SIGH.* He really does have a great--and frequent!--grin! :)
That's about all for this month's update--next month should be a good one, considering the holiday season! I'll have to decide whether to pose him in his Santa or Reindeer outfit...

Sittin' Pretty

Aiden seems to be well on his way to "mastering" sitting up. He does very well in keeping his balance, but I try to have something soft behind him as he unexpectedly throws himself backwards sometimes. I like to avoid crying fits if I can help it :)We FINALLY have a quiet weekend around here--just the watching the Buckeyes game today and getting some pictures taken tomorrow. I know this is only the calm before the storm that is the holidays, but I'll take it!

A Quick Thought

I know I have an icon in my right margin declaring "No Political Posts" (that is NOT what this blog is for), but I'm going to break from that to make my first (and probably last) political statement. Most of you who know me know that I'm a life-long bleeding-heart liberal, and that I wear that label proudly (should any of you now feel the need to never speak to me again or remove my name from your blogroll...well, that's your issue, not mine), and that's one reason I typically don't comment on politics here. But last night's election results are simply too important not to recognize.

Forget for a moment that President-Elect Obama is a Democrat (if you must) and simply listen to a snippet of his acceptance speech:

"And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright - tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope."

THAT is the kind of world I want Aiden to grow up in. It may not happen, but I look forward to witnessing the attempt.

Please be gentle with comments--as I said, this has never been a politically-inclined blog, and I have no intention of ever taking it down that path. I more or less wanted to share my feelings as opposed to my ideology. Thanks!

Story Time :)

A Witch, a Puppy, a Sailor, a Wedding, and A Few Sleepless Nights (or, How I Spent My Weekend)

What a crazy few days, but I guess with Halloween landing on a Friday this year, I shouldn't be all that surprised. I took a half-day off from work on Friday; since we were driving to Mansfield that evening and were going to miss Aiden's first trick-or-treat, I at least wanted to let him show off his puppy costume a bit, so I ended up taking him back to my job, then to Mimi's job, and finally to Mike's job (where Daddy had changed his mind and dressed up as a sailor--wish I had a picture of that!). The final decision is that Aiden did, in fact, look absolulely adorable. :)
Things began to take a bit of a dramatic turn on Friday evening at PooPoo's house, where Aiden did not sleep AT ALL that night, and I was only able to squeeze in about an hour and a half. We're pretty sure he's got some teeth ready to erupt, as he had a slight fever and a runny nose. We did still make it to Brunswick for my buddy Brian's wedding and reception, but we had to leave early to come home and check on our little guy. Mike & I were hopeful that Aiden's insomnia would be limited to Friday evening, but unfortunately he didn't sleep all that well last night, either. The good news is that the fever is gone, but I wish those darn teeth would show themselves already...
Here's to a (hopefully) uneventful week--at least other than the election on Tuesday...