More Christmas pics

It was so fun having Aaron another year older this Christmas..... Of course it isn't all about the presents, but it was so cool just watching him get so excited about all his toys.

Lots of tools this year....

His blower is a big favorite. He happened to open it first, and after he played with it for awhile, Lee asked him if he wanted to open his other presents - he just said, "No, this" as he clutched it happily....

A "choo choo" from Gi Gi and Papa.....

It was also fun this year as Auntie Serina and Uncle Steve were in town from Wisconsin. Aaron loved playing with them and it was great to visit and see them, as we miss them a lot.

And I have to throw in a pic of my Christmas present, a brand new Specialized mountain bike....

Nuff said. It was a good Christmas. =)

Christmas 2009

Like everyone else, we have been busy these past few weeks.... A little of this and that, and suddenly a few weeks go by and I know I need to post SOMETHING...

Anyway, in our present circumstances along with the season of Christmas, I have been trying to remind myself to find joy and thankfulness even in the little things that each day brings. I am reminded of the little miracle Aaron is and how grateful we are to have him in our family.

Here we are on a little hike up Falcon Hill near our house. Aaron has just learned this word "hike" and LOVES to go anytime we are willing to venture out. If we are driving and within eyesight of ANY mountain or pile of dirt, "Mama!!! Hike??"

I love how little boys invent ways to entertain themselves with virtually nothing....

And we celebrated some Christmas a little early as both of my bros will be out of town visiting in-laws this Christmas. Aaron is in absolute heaven with a mini drum set from Uncle Kyle....

Thank you for your sympathies on the noise factor. But honestly, they are really not that loud and he is so happy playing them..... Here's some video of him in action if you are interested.

Anyway, like I said a little of this and that - living in moments such as these, being thankful for all we have, and continuing to reflect that we have hope and joy because of that tiny baby boy born in Bethlehem.... God is so good! Merry Christmas!

Funny Conversations

I have always looked forward to documenting the funny things Aaron would say when he hit the appropriate age, as I always get a kick out of reading about other kids' crazy talk.... I realized that this week I had a few....

*Unfortunately, Aaron has had a terrible case of the croup this past week. Poor little guy always cries and complains when he coughs that he has "owies" in his "hole" (pointing to his mouth).

*With the croup has come a decrease in appetite, so I have had to really encourage him to eat at times saying things like, "Honey, eating this applesauce will help the owies in your hole" (i.e. story above =) ) He went pee pee on the potty yesterday so I gave him a piece of candy and he said, "Mommy, candy help Aaron's owies" with a little grin.

*He loves to throw his little nerf football around but he is getting too strong to really do it in our little house without avoiding the danger of breaking something. He tossed it in the air the other day pretty hard and so I said, "Aaron, you cannot throw your football in here!" He then threw out his hands impatiently at me and tilted his head, "Mama!!! Football guys THROW footballs!"

Looking forward to a very funny future with this little man.

In preparation for Christmas, I am continuing the tradition from both Lee's and my family of advent. So everyday as soon as he wakes up, Aaron says "Addent?". We then hurry and open a little door corresponding to what day of the month it is for a Bible verse of the Christmas story and a piece of chocolate....

It has been fun teaching and talking to Aaron about Baby Jesus and I love the fact that some things are starting to click....

And this is just a random shot that I walked in the door upon that cracked me up....

Looks like the life, doesn't it?

Big Boy Stuff

I'm constantly amazed at how much these little ones quickly develop and grow up right before our eyes. Aaron has been doing lots of "big boy" stuff these days and never ceases to surprise me with a new activity....

He discovered these miniature rock walls at different parks that we go to and loves to scale up to the top....

Just posing for mom....

Trying to encourage "poo poo on the potty", I bought a mini garbage truck and told him we could open it if he was successful....

Look at him longingly gazing at the packaged truck as he sits. So pitiful.

He even tries to push.... Such focus.

One thing I love about this age is getting Aaron to say words and repeat whatever I say. It's the little things like this that keep me entertained throughout the day....

He does really like oranges by the way - we live in the right state....

Someone gave us a little bike with training wheels that is super nice. Aaron loves to ride this big boy bike and is slowly getting the hang of it....

Family Pictures

Most of you probably caught these on facebook, but our dear friend Rilie miraculously captured some great family photos for us a few weeks ago.... I say miraculous, because..... well, Aaron was grumpy that day (shock! What kid isn't on family picture day) and we just never seem to capture even one decent shot of the 3 of us. Anyway, here are a few of our favorites....

Weekend Events

We had a fun weekend - Aaron's Gi Gi and Papa came in town from Florida to visit us and see Harvest in action for the first time. Gi Gi was only 9 days out of a fairly major surgery to remove a large cyst in her abdomen so we were especially grateful that all went well so she could make the trip! We borrowed a wheel chair so that we could get out and do a few things, like go to the zoo...

Aaron loved having constant activity and attention, and having his grandparents around to pay him lots of attention. Monday morning is going to be rough when it's back to normal with just mom.

With willing and able free babysitting in the house, Lee and I also rode last minute in a local small 14 mile mountain bike race. It was so fun to do it together!

How can I say this nicely..... The course and the competition weren't..... hmmm..... very hard at all. We happened to each get first place (me for the women's division) but we don't quite feel like we can really brag about it.

What I would like to brag about and point out though, however, is that my award is on the right and Lee's is on the left - notice that mine is much bigger. Yep. Because I'm cool like that.

Anyway, all in all - it was a fun weekend! Thanks Glenda and Tim for the great visit!

Halloween pics

Aaron is fascinated when we have taken him to a few local high school football games by the "football guys" (as he calls them), so we of course had to go with this idea for the costume. This little football player and his cousin the cheerleader had a great time getting all the free candy walking from house to house....

Aaron would have nothing to do with the helmet, the little stinker.

Cousin Noah also came along....

It was a fun and busy day, as it was also Lee's birthday. And still plenty of candy in the bucket. =)

Also, a random story - a few days ago, we had Sesame Street on and Elmo was talking about violins. Of course, Aaron doesn't have a violin. But he has a guitar. And a drumstick. So he improvised and was very serious about it....

He cracks me up.

Safety Latches my foot

My son, the little engineer, has figured something out this week....

So much for child-proofing.

October days

Sorry for the blogging delay - between lack of inspiration, the busy-ness of life, and a crashed computer, I have been out of the swing of things on here....

We have had lots going on these past few weeks. One highlight was meeting and welcoming in a new family member for our good friends, Micah and Bethany - they brought home their 3 year old daughter, Mikayla, from Ethiopia and it was a very exciting time.

This is Aaron, Mikayla, and Micah and Bethany's other son, Eli. I fortunately caught this cute moment of all of them playing together just before Aaron tossed sand in Mikayla's face making her cry..... Sigh. Such a boy....

I also celebrated my 31st birthday and looking back, I think Aaron has benefited more from my presents than I have.... A new hand-held vacuum,
and a huge bag of sour patch kids that he "picked out" seems to have mostly been eaten by him as well....
Some slightly cooler weather has allowed us to plant our yearly flowers and Aaron loves to help plant and take care of them all....

Also this past month, he has taken off in his bike-riding ability. Here's some footage of that....

Watch out - he'll be on the mountain bike trails with us in no time!!! =)

Random pics

Yeah.... We don't get much personal space with this little boy.

Not sure why Aaron resumed this position with my oven mitt for his pillow.

Coloring with his second cousins Noah and Caleb

Discussing life over goldfish in their underwear.

The cousins. And yes, it is what it seems; Owen, at 3.5 months, IS almost as big as both of these two year olds.

"Movie Church"

Something that I have gained new perspective on GREATLY since becoming a parent is the childcare provided at a church; It is a huge bonus for a parent to feel comfortable dropping their child off somewhere where they will be cared by others and out of their immediate sight, which I'm sure you all can attest to!

Aaron has always had difficulty being dropped off and staying in nursery in his short little life and it is always something we seem to be working through, esp. the last few months of transition out of R.M.C.C. and into Harvest. (Many of you have gotten to witness and experience the brunt of his wrath in childcare) It was a point of stress for me, because really, we don't have a choice - with the responsibilities Lee and I have on a Sunday morning, Aaron just HAS to stay put in there. And not only stay put, but be happy so I'm not stressing about how he is wearing out the children's workers!!! =)

Fortunately for us, Harvest has an awesome children's pastor in Brian Baker who has established an amazing group of volunteers for Sunday mornings.

You can't really see Aaron in this pic, but this is a shot of Aaron's "Clubhouse Kids" classroom at "Movie church" (his title for Harvest). He has come to LOVE his time in this class every Sunday morning and I can't say enough what a relief it is to see him have fun and be happy, as well as hear and learn about the Bible.

Here is a picture of Aaron with one of his teachers named Kathy, who he has grown quite attached too:

Um... let's try not picking our nose for the nice picture, Aaron...

There. That's better.

A few weeks ago, they talked about Daniel and the Lion's Den and made lion masks....

Aaron had to carry his mask EVERYWHERE with him for the next several days. He was so proud of it....

These children's workers minister directly to my son, but in effect, they minister to me at the same time because they take such great care of him. I am so grateful for them!

Choose to Obey

Just a little brain-washing tactic that we are not afraid of.....

He LOVES to recite this frequently, even umprompted. And in the meantime, we are continuing to work on backing this simple statement up with our actions. =)

Labor Day in Pinetop

We decided at the last minute to take a quick trip up to Pinetop and escape the heat after church on Sunday..... It was so nice to get out and enjoy cooler temps.

Our friends, the Emeneckers, had the same idea so we got to meet up with them also. Aaron loved having a little friend in Kailey....

My grandparents also stay up there for most of the summer so we had a good visit with them.

And now..... Back to the heat and back to reality. =)