Are we there yet?

Well, today is the first time the words, "Are we there yet?" have come out of the boy's mouth.  Today's episode of Dinosaur Train had Erma Eoraptor saying "are we there yet?" and apparently Aidan enjoyed the phrase.  While on the way to the gas station he asked Mark, "are we there yet" and then on our way to the grocery store, not even out of our neighborhood he started again.  At least he didn't learn that phrase before our trip to Wisconsin!

On another note, Aidan loves to sing in the car to the "shake your body" song.  It is the cutest thing ever!  I have to try to tape it because it's so sweet to hear him sing along with a song other than the ABCs or other nursery song.

Aidan quote of the day:  "Fowow me.  Fowow me to the rock-a-bye."
Rock-a-bye is what we do before bedtime.  It's such a sweet time of our day.  Rocking together and reading books.  I know some day he'll be too big and too cool for this.  I cherish every day we have left of "rock-a-bye".

My big girl!

We were in Isabella's room today putting together her new shelf and she was playing nicely.  I looked into her closet and randomly, this is how it was organized.  It's a very good representation of how she's grown!  To think she came home and was wearing the itty bitty green sleeper and is now wearing the purple polka dot one and the frog one.  Where has our baby gone?

To add to the feeling, she was playing with this jungle set that Aidan had as a baby.  We got it on clearance after his first Christmas and it is the toy he learned to pull himself up on first.  She was playing away, then we noticed she put her hands on top and started pulling up.  O_o  She got herself maybe one third of the way up before sitting back down.  She did this a few times.  I'm not ready for this yet!

"You did eat me!"

Last night while putting Aidan to bed he pointed to a picture of me pregnant with him.  He asked what the picture was and this was our conversation:

Aidan:  "Now let's look at the pictures.  What's that Mom-mom?"  (points to the picture)
Me:  "That's Mama and Dada and baby Aidan in Mama's belly."
Aidan:  "I don't like the belly."
Me:  "Why don't you like the belly?"
Aidan:  "I'm too big."
Me:  "Well yes, you are too big.  But when you were a tiny little baby you were in my belly.  And then you came out."
Aidan:  "I pee out your penis Mom-mom?"
Me:  "Not quite."

This morning he wanted to talk about babies in bellies again.

Aidan:  "Now tomorrow I go in your belly?"
Me:  "No.  You were only in my belly one time, when you were a tiny little baby."
Aidan:  "You did eat me!"
Me:  "No buddy, I didn't eat you."
Aidan:  "Now you can go in Aidan's belly?"
Me:  "No, I'm too big to go in your belly."
Aidan:  "Now Dada can go in my belly?"
Me:  "No.  Dada is too big too."
Aidan:  "Baby sister is a little tiny baby."
Me:  "Yes, she is.  She was in Mama's belly too, but she came out."

Something tells me that we're not done talking about this and he's really confused.  How is it that babies are in bellies if you don't eat them?  How do they come out?  Did Mama really eat him?  Will he eat a baby and then pee it out? 

Ahhhh!  He's not even three and it has started already!!!  And we're not even pregnant!

Loving the new carseat!

Isabella is going to get too big for the baby seat soon so I snatched up a new carseat for Aidan while I could get a good deal.  It came just before our trip so we waited to install it until after the trip.  We LOVE it!  It sits a little lower so it's easier for him to climb into.  He loves buckling himself, although he can only do the top buckle right now.  He loves that it has a drink holder, two of them to be exact.  He loves to put his drink in one and a special item in the other.  Wahoo!

Aidan quote of the day:  "Baby sister I'm coming for you!"
Isabella was in the jumper and she was starting to get fussy.  Aidan went in to play with her.  It was a very sweet moment in our day today.

She still looks cute this way...

until she starts to move!

Mobility

The ability to see what they want and get where they want.



Ready to go home

Aidan and Isabella just hanging out before our big "Abenture" back home.

Aidan quote of the day:  "Great muscles, Aidan!  You did it!"
Aidan was very proud of himself for pushing the ottoman over by the bed so he could climb up easier.

"Last Grandma's House"

We let Aidan know that today we'd be visiting one last house and he said, "Now this is the last Grandma's house".  Not even three years old and trying to understand three different houses in three different days all with someone named Grandma or Grandpa involved and none of them look alike!  Today was pretty relaxed as he got to play soccer, dinosaurs, and football.  He also enjoyed playing with Spooky, the dog.

Cousins Everywhere!

The title pretty much says it all!  We headed to Onalaska today to visit with Mark's parents and Aidan got to play with his cousins, Carter, Cierra and Spencer.  More cousins arrived with their children and there were kids everywhere!  Things got a little wild but it was nice to see people we haven't seen in a few years.  After most people left and everything settled down again, Aidan enjoyed playing Sorry with Cierra and Spencer. 

Aidan quote of the day: "I like Spencer, he's a great catcher."

Car Meets Ice

This morning we woke up to bitter cold and found that out what the car looked like after driving through the snow and ice....basically, it was one big ice block itself!  We spent the day in Sun Prairie with my mom and step-dad.  Aidan got to open some Christmas gifts and really enjoyed playing with his trains and his new game, Uno Moo.  We also got to visit with my Uncle Lloyd and cousins and then spent some time in the evening with a family I used to work with.  It sure was nice to catch up and see what nice teenagers the kids have become.  Aidan enjoyed playing catch and eating some cupcakes. 

Always Listen to the Boy

We've called Aidan our little prophet for sometime now.  He just seems to know things or say things that completely make sense later.  This morning, about 10 minutes from our house his statement "The road is not safe", seemed possible but not probable.  An hour later as we were being taken off of the interstate due to icy conditions his prediction seemed a little scary.  The two semis in front of us re-entered the interstate so we followed.  Where else were we going to go?  Back on the interstate we were down to two lanes, very slow driving and it became clear we were driving on solid ice.  We saw some horrible semi accidents, a lot of cars and trucks in the ditch but we kept going.  Some time north of Indy we drove out of it and it was smooth sailing the rest of the way.  What was supposed to be an 8 hour drive turned into a 10.5 hour drive.  The next time the boy says, "the road is not safe", we turn around and go home.  Even if the sun is shining.  

Aidan loved seeing the tall buildings in Chicago.  His comment, "That tall building not fall down either."

The kids really did a nice job during the drive and since they were sleeping before we made it to the hotel, they were ready to go upon arrival.  Off to the pool we went.  Aidan loved it and Isabella took some time to get used to it but was then playing like a champ!



Haircut

Aidan quote of the day:  "Mom-mom I AM special.  I'm a special guy Mom-mom."

The Great Big Boy Bed Search

The search is on for the best big boy bed and mattress.  Today we headed out to the mattress store and Aidan loved trying them all out!  In reality, Aidan would love any "bigger" bed but we're looking for the perfect one.  Every one we see he wants to "put in the car and take it home".  When we tell him it won't fit in the car, "oh we will just carry it". 

The Many Faces of Isabella

Let's just say it was a bit of a crazy day in the Jansen world today.  For sanity sake, I decided to set up the studio and play with a new backdrop I got.  I'm exploring color ranges that work and Isabella was having fun.  Caught some cute expressions today.

Sweet girl

Pure Joy

Trouble

The Stink Eye

Blueberries!

Blueberries are yummy!  I've personally never liked blueberries but apparently they're super yummy to little miss.  She gobbled them up like a pro!  They're quite purple so they're definitely not a food to be taken out of the house! 

Today was the second day for Miss Isabella to be in the high chair.  We tried it around Thanksgiving but she seemed so little so we continued to use the Bumbo seat.  Well, in the Bumbo she's little miss hands on everything and is so distracted.  She is sitting in the high chair so much better and is doing great!

Aidan quote of the day: "Look at the stars.  They are so beautiful!"
Driving with Mark to the grocery store at night

MaMaMa

During a little vocal play today Isabella came out with "MaMaMa".  She did it two different times and so we got out the video camera to try to post a video and she gave us nothing!  Of course.  Unfortunately I know enough about speech and language development to not be overly excited.  It was definitely just a vocal play moment and not her actually saying "Mama".  Still cute, but no first word yet!  She was definitely imitating waving and then "so big" today.  She has a little princess wave going on, it's really quite adorable. 

Aidan has decided that he wants a "new bigger bed".  Hmm.  So we headed out to two different furniture stores today to look at beds.  He had a lot of fun but was not happy that we didn't take one home.  We told him that they were too big for the car and his solution was "now we have to carry it".  I think his map skills haven't kicked in enough to know how far we were from home and how difficult it would be to carry his big bed all that way!  When we were leaving I mentioned liking a funky chair that they had there to which Aidan shouts out "I love that funky store Mom-mom!"  We still haven't decided what kind of big bed Aidan will be getting but I think he'd like us to decide very soon!

Aidan quote of the day:  "I love that funky store Mom-mom!" 
When we were leaving Treehouse Kids I had mentioned that I liked a funky chair they had in the store.  Apparently Aidan liked the word funky!

Isabella quote of the day:  "MaMaMa"

My Baby is 7 Months Old Today

Time flies!  Isabella is 7 months old today.  She's so funny.  Loves to be standing and jumping, loves to play with all of her toys, especially her gumball machine and her doll.  She tries to play peek-a-boo with the doll, turning it over so she can't see the face, then turning it over so she can see it and laughing.  She does this over and over sometimes.  She LOVES to eat and will eat anything we can come up with.  Well, except green beans but she's learning to tolerate those.  She's been working on the sippy cup and can swallow liquid from it but not tip it back on her own.  Tonight I introduced the straw cup and she had a blast chewing on the straw and every now and then she would suck on it and get a mouthful.  It also made her very chatty!  Here are some pictures from our big day:

So tired after big brother's gymnastics class

Just chilling in her room 

 Pretty in Pink!

Conversations with Aidan: 

On the way to gymnastics today Aidan came out with this

Aidan:  "And now we go to tynastics and Ms. Heaver say what's wrong with me"

Me:  "What's wrong with you Aidan?"

Aidan:  "I never find my dog in my bed."

At gymnastics Ms. Heather was showing the kids what they were going to be doing

Ms. Heather:  "Over here you're going to swing.  What animal swings like this and sounds like this ooo ooo ahh ahh?"

Aidan:  "A monkey!"

Ms. Heather:  "That's right, Aidan!  And now you're going to come over here and put your arms up tall and be an animal with a long neck."

Aidan:  "It's a brachiosaurus!:

Obviously Ms. Heather was thinking of a giraffe...but not for my boy!  He was so cute and shocked Ms. Heather with that one!

Checking the map on our way to gymnastics.  Aidan now loves to make maps so we made one to show how to get to gymnastics.  He loved looking at it today on the way to gymnastics.  He exclaimed, "I love maps Mom-mom!"

Hanging on tight to the flying trapeze!

Aidan quote of the day:  "I was having so much fun with you Dada."

Tales from the Toilet

It seems like everyone we know is currently potty training.  From some of the stories I'm hearing, I'm so glad that's done!  Aidan was easy to train.  We did it young while he still thought we were the coolest things ever and anything we wanted to do he wanted to do as well.  He wasn't saying "no" yet.  He couldn't get down from the potty by himself and he hated, truly hated to wet his pants.  He peed his pants twice.  Something tells me little miss is not going to be as easy and will give me some grief!

We met Luke and Charlie to play today and Aidan had fun.  It's always fun with nice, polite children. 

Today was also game day.  Aidan wanted to play a lot of games.  Cariboo has quickly won his heart and he loves to play his "ball game".  Taking turns is going well with us at home, we'll have to try this with peers soon.

Isabella was making it difficult today so she got a little time in her swing.  She still fits and it's calming.  Not sure if that's a good thing yet but time will tell.

Aidan quote of the day:  "Look, it's making clouds with my mouth!"  (Aidan could see his breath while getting into the car this morning)

Wordless Wednesday "Ahhhh"

Aidan quotes of the day:

"Let's rock-n-roll kids!"  (getting ready to leave)

"You can do it Mom-mom!"  (playing Mario Kart Wii)

Snow Day!

Aidan quote of the day: "Mom-mom you need boots on your tootsies to go get my bucket out of the snow!"

They Learn Something New Every Day

Today was a day filled with learning.  I learned that 5 scoops of Miralax in a juice bottle plus strawberry / peaches plus prunes for lunch equals 4 changes of clothes and many many more diaper changes.  Isabella discovered that she could not only take off her diaper but she can also take off a hat. 

Hat on....hat off

Aidan learned how to make the letters X and C.  I traced the letter X on his chalkboard to show him and he got it right away.  After erasing he decided that he would make an X first with his finger, then with the chalk.  He was so proud of himself, this was his spontaneous expression:

Then he asked to make the letter C, and got that pretty quickly as well.  Apparently "C" is for concentrate, check out the tongue!

 Afterwards he decided his chalkboard makes a really great "house" to play in.

Aidan quotes of the day:  "I climb up the steps.  I don't have wings to fly up the steps Mom-mom."

"Hey, you have a lot of letters on your computer Mom-mom."

"Look, it's a baby O.  It is a baby O Mom-mom"  (he spotted the zero on the computer keyboard)

Goodbye Christmas

We officially broke the boy's heart today.  We started taking down the Christmas tree and he was not a happy camper.  He wanted to "stop stop stop" and then tried using his persuasion skills to talk us into getting a new tree "tomorrow".  He really wasn't happy that the Cat in the Hat ornaments had to be taken down and quite frankly, he's pissed that the garbage man is going to take his tree.  I think he'll be throwing the stinkeye at the garbage man this Tuesday.  After all the decorations were off of the tree I was taking one last picture of the tree and Aidan said, "Aidan stand by the tree"....this is the look he gave me:

Trying to win me over with those big blue eyes

Aidan quotes of the day (while taking down the Christmas tree): 
"Now you get a new Christmas tree every day Mom-mom".

"Oh shit.  Oh shit what's going on over here?!"

Watch out Daisy, here comes trouble 2.0!

Isabella is on the move!  Okay not quite but she looks cute trying!  Today was the closest she's come to actual crawling.  She was up on all fours with a little help from Mark and was loving it.  After that she continued to pull her knees under her.  She's been moving since 4 months but only on smooth surfaces and more in a modified Army crawl.  Although with the way she was Army crawling she'd make it under a barbed wire fence easy, head down pulling forward with her arms!  This is clearly the face of trouble:

With the snow came cold weather and the need to keep her ankles warm.  I found these cute little boots and they keep her nice and snuggly warm.  She's quite the fashionista at almost 6 months old!  Who would've ever thought I'd have my girl in pink boots? 

Isabella made her first consonant sounds today!  /B/ is now in her repetoire of sounds.  She is really a quiet little girl so when she speaks we listen.  I think she's getting ready to tell me what she really thinks of me.  O_o!