Out with the Old...

In with the NEW!!!

That's right! Aiden is potty trained. We have made half hearted attempts over the past year to accomplish this feat, but it was finally the right time for both Aiden AND me. I was whole heartedly "going to do it this time" when we started the process again and as it turned out, I didn't even have to DO much. Aiden took charge (sometimes this wasn't as great as it sounds!) and after only a few accidents (some of which I cleaned up and a few that he tried to HELP me by cleaning up himself) he got the hang of it and we've been mostly accident free for a few weeks now!

The Disappointing Frog

There are a few of you that have been excited and waiting to see these pics. We were totally excited to post them, until he escaped.
Here's the story.
We got a downpour of rain at our house on Saturday night. It was sprinkling while we were getting the kiddos ready for bed, but during Aiden's prayer, it started coming down HARD! We practically tossed Aiden in his bed and ran outside to enjoy the weather. We were sitting on our driveway mostly under the protection of our garage when I saw something on our neighbor's driveway. At first I thought it looked like a turtle. Then it hopped. We ran over to check it out and then Jeremy came back to the house and grabbed the first small trash can he could find. We caught the sucker after some poking and prodding and took a few pics. We put some water in the trash can for the big guy and secured the trap so he wouldn't get out (or so we thought). We couldn't wait to show Aiden first thing on Sunday morning, but when I went out to check on him he was gone! I have moped around the house all week wishing he would come back. Okay, not really... but I was way bummed. I totally wanted to see Aiden's reaction. The thing was HUGE!!!

Another Aiden-ism

We tell Aiden he is an "awesome kid" on a very regular basis. He has started to tell us the same thing. He will do something he knows is good and then get excited and say "I'm a awesome kid!" Or when I do something good (like eat all my food!) he says "Mama, your a awesome girl!" So cute.
Today he was sitting on the potty chair doing his business and when he finished he stood up, looked at his stuff and said "I'm a awesome kid! That's YUCK!"

Then Again, Maybe NOT!

Please see the previous post "Chocolate Custard" before reading this one. That way this one will make much more sence.

Next time I run off to post something while Aiden is eating his dessert, I will think twice! I don't think he liked his dessert (at least not for its intended purpose) as much as I thought he did!

Chocolate Custard!

Recently Aiden & I have been reading The Poky Little Puppy at least daily if not more often. He reads it to himself too and says over and over again, "roly-poly, pell-mell, tumble-bumble". Not always in that order or complete, but you can tell that is what he is shooting for. So today while we were reading it I asked him if WE should have Chocolate Custard for dessert. You'd have thought I'd asked if he wanted to go to Disneyland! He skipped around the house all afternoon laughing and saying "Chocolate Custard for Dessert!" Of course our "custard" was instant pudding, but no biggie! He loved it! It was great bribery for good behavior for the rest of the day too!

A New Room

When we lived in our condo in Vegas Aiden had his own room. But he was 11 months old when we moved to AZ and into Jeremy's G&G Johnson's house. During the time that we lived there Aiden's room was a small portion of Grandma's office that was storing most of their 'stuff' while away on the mission. Needless to say, he didn't have any special space to call his own. No big deal, right? He certainly never complained about his living arrangements. He didn't know any better! And Jeremy and I were just glad to have a spot to put Aiden's bed.
BUT LET ME TELL YOU....... this 2 year old LOVES his own SPACE just as much as his Mom & Dad love their own HOUSE! EVERYONE who comes to our door, whether it is a sales man, a new friend or a neighbor, gets greeted with an energetic 2 year old pulling him or her down the hall to see "MY NEW ROOM!!!!!" He absolutely thinks its the greatest thing EVER! And what 2 year old boy do you know that wouldn't love a "Lightning McQueen" bedroom?

Its GONE!!!

Thanks Afton for the haircut! I can't believe I actually did it! I went from my longest hair style EVER to my shortest!!! Here are the before and after pics......

Not Me!

Aiden has about 8 stuffed things that sleep on his bed with him every night. We decided (because he tends to play with them all night long) that it was time to narrow the selection to 2 or 3. Of course, he has his regular pillow, "grandma's" pillow (the one embroidered for him by my mom), and teddy (his best friend, no doubt). So tonight we told him he could pick a couple more of his things to sleep with, but we needed to put some of them in the closet. I asked him "Who do you want to have sleep in the closet?" and his response was a concerned, almost teary, "Not Me!"

Moments That Take Your Breath Away

Ding Dong

Why is it that the only time my door bell EVER rings is when I am in the middle of feeding Zack!?!?!? EVERY DAY!!!

Twinkle Little Star

This is what I found Aiden doing yesterday after leaving him alone to play for a while.

Ward Party

What a blessing it was to have a ward party only 3 weeks after moving into our new home. You can only meet so many people at church, so it was good to have lots of time to mingle and get to know some more names. The party was a potluck dinner and basically a giant water fight (the water part WAS planned). Aiden made some new friends, Jeremy got members of the bishopric wet (apparently to ensure a speaking assignment in the near future) and I got to visit with the mom's of the girls Aiden was flirting with. Our old ward was almost ALL boys and this ward seems to be swarming with girls! What have we gotten ourselves into? Aiden is a little too much like Jeremy for my liking in that department. I mean this all totally lightheartedly... but it is funny to watch him! At one point we caught him sitting on the sidewalk just hangin' out with a cute litte 4 YEAR OLD girl.
At the end of the party, a fire truck showed up (not familiar enough with the ward to know the connection there) and all the kids got to 'tour' the inside of the cab. I don't know why this was the only part I grabbed my camera for, but at least I got pics of something.

I love these boys

Just Zack...

Danyelle & Zack! Isn't she a cutie!?? She married Jeremy's cousin a few months ago & we love her!

What the...???

This one cracks me up! "Mom, are you going to save me from an Aiden Smothering? PLEASE?"

And this one... Be still my heart! This is one of the JOYS of motherhood. Simple, peaceful, perfect.

Riding a Bike

Jeremy's sister got Aiden a bike for Christmas. Now that we have a safe place for him to ride, Jeremy decided to teach him how. Aiden's feet stayed on the pedals just fine when Jeremy was pushing him, but he didn't get how to do it on his own. By the end of the evening Aiden was pushing his bike and telling it "NO! Bike! Don't turn! Go straight!" In his most parental voice.
After the bike was put away I snapped this one before going inside.