Fall is here, but first a summer recap!

Photo 1: Back in September we visited Snoqualmie Falls. Now that we're in Redmond it's a short 25 minute drive. We walked around the grounds and admired the Salish Lodge, which is situated right above the falls. Would be a fun place for a romantic getaway if we were independently wealthy.

Photo 2: We spent many evenings at the park this summer. Since it stays so light so late here, we'd head over to a nearby park with dinner and just hang out--hoping to tire Aidan out a little early! Usually worked!

Photo 3: It was Thai take-out this night.

Photo 4: And now that summer is officially gone, we're sad that "baby hot tub" days are over too. Instead of Aidan's usual indoor nighttime bath (how boring!) we did many afternoon outdoor baths in our trusty cooler. Saves water and makes the dragging afternoon seem to go by a bit faster.

Photo 5 & 6: And yes, Ruby is sad summer is gone too. The dog park was an almost daily destination when the weather was dry, but sloshing through the mud with a dog and a stroller is not my definition of fun. But we had a good run while it lasted! Alex is trying to convince me to sign Ruby up for a flyball team. Sounds interesting!

Photo 7 & 8: Along with many a picnic, we managed to get to the water quite often too. In the last two pictures we took a walk down to Lake Washington via the trails at St. Edward's State Park, which is the park that surrounds Bastyr University (where Alex and I both went to school).

Good bye, summer! We'll miss you around here! But you have one very satisfied customer in me. With sunny days from May until early October, this was for sure the best summer ever.

The New Bike Trailer

Needless to say, Aidan was just a little excited to hop into his new ride. Since we live just a block from the Sammamish River Bike Trail (which hooks up to the Burke-Gilman trail in Seattle) we decided to find a way for us all to go biking together. Sorry Ruby!

On our first excursion, we rode a few miles down the trail into Woodinville and had dinner at the Redhook Brewery. This place is a great place to take kids. Read: it's really loud. So Aidan can yell his head off and nobody seems to notice.

To our dismay, Aidan wasn't as excited to get in the trailer to return home. He cried the whole way back. Darn! Next time we'll try getting out of the house a little earlier in the day in hopes that the timing will make all of the difference. Otherwise, maybe Ruby will have a new mode of transportation.

It's Been Too Long

Last week I took Aidan to the park in the early morning. We were the only souls up at that hour, and the only people at the playground. Aidan decided to take a walking tour around the whole place and since many of you haven't seen him in action, I made a little movie of him walking.

It's a little long, but worth it! More pictures to come--we've got lots. It's been a good summer here with amazing weather, many outdoor adventures, and visits with friends and family.

How have you all been?

What We've Been Up To

In the order they appear:  Enjoying the sun and music at the Folklife Festival over Memorial Day Weekend, getting into all kinds of trouble, visiting friends, and catching up on our sleep. What have you been up to?

Lazy Boy for a Not So Lazy Boy

Aidan received this chair (one of his many presents) for his first birthday.  Alex and I got the idea from a friend who also has this very same baby-sized chair at their house.  Aidan sat in it the whole time we were visiting our friends, so we knew we NEEDED this chair.  The boy rarely stops moving, let alone sits.  But, as you can see, there is something about this little chair that brings out the lazy in Aidan.

Important Business

Aidan had some very important phone calls to make, as you can see.  He's quite enthralled with the phone lately.  Anything can morph into a phone: shoes, toys--even food.  As soon as something makes its way up to his ear, Aidan starts "talking."  Does this mean I'm on the phone too much? Maybe I should start doing the dishes more often and see what happens.

Cake-Smearing at its Finest

Aidan's First Cupcake!

It was a good party!  The sun was shining and there were chocolate cupcakes shaped like Ruby. All in all, a good time was had by all.  We'll post more videos of cake-smearing tomorrow. Wish you all were here today. 

Fun in the Sun

Not too long ago we had a fun day at the beach followed by some time at the playground. It's been pretty nice here--lots of warm, sunny days. We're loving the nice weather and hoping that it's here to stay.

Aidan is nearing 1-year-old! In just a few short weeks, our little baby will be a toddler. It's hard to believe. He's getting a bit closer to walking recently--he's trusting his legs a little more everyday.

I'll post more pictures soon of our move, new place, and the world around us here in Redmond. We've also got a couple of really cute videos of Aidan too. Hope you're all well.

And for those who've asked, here is Aidan's birthday wishlist.

Music Together

We are about to start another music class next week. These pictures are from the last class we took. As you can see, Aidan takes his music-making very seriously. He's pictured above with egg shakers. He is actually pretty good at staying with the beat--it's fun to watch. According to our teacher, we may have a little musical genius on our hands. No pressure, though, Aidan! :)

Each class runs for 10 weeks and the kids get to experiment with all kinds of instruments, movement/dance, and singing. Each new class focuses on one particular sound (our last class empahsized bells and the next class is all about triangles). So far, it's been a fun way for us to get out of the house and for Aidan to be around a regular group of kids. He loves watching the older kids run around and play their instruments.

Feeding Ruby

Aidan has figured out that he can just give Ruby his food now instead of having to eat it himself. Ruby looks forward to his mealtimes and just sits underneath his highchair waiting for food scraps to fall--or, as you'll see here--for Aidain to purposefully give her his dinner. Sorry the picture is sideways, I can't figure out how to rotate it. More pictures to come!

10 Months Today!

A couple of weeks ago we packed up some toys and spent the afternoon out on the driveway. It was a sunny day and we were all getting tired of hanging around in the house. Of course, once we were outside, Aidan could care less about his toys when there were so many leaves around! He liked them so much that he decided to eat a few! Yum!

Our little man is 10-months-old today! How did that happen? It just flew by. Before we know it, he'll be walking and talking. He's turning out to be quite the energetic little fellow with a strong-will and sweet heart. To date, Aidan is crawling, climbing, pushing his walker, clapping, shaking his head, doing a little sign language--he knows 2 signs: "more" and "nurse", waving and just starting to point at things. He's not the best sleeper in the world, but since he's such a sweet baby we'll let him off the hook for that one. He's very cautious in new situations and around new people, but once he feels comfortable he loves to be the center of attention. For the last 8 weeks or so we've been going to the baby story-time at the library. Aidan LOVES the librarian and crawls out into the middle of the circle to get closer to her and listen to her stories. It's the one place where he forgets all about mommy and is completely enthralled with the stories. He's also loving the baby swings at the playground these days. His teeth are coming in quite nicely, but he's still a bit resistant to eating solids! Eeek! I thought we were on a roll, but now all he wants are blueberries. Period. Not sure where he got his stubborness from??

The last 10 months have been so fun getting to know him. Alex and I love him so much and can't imagine life without him. We hope you all enjoy seeing him grow and change, even if it's over the Internet.

getting ready for bed!

Baby's Got a New Highchair

This was Aidan's first day in his new wooden highchair--just last week. In my effort to keep all large hunks of plastic out of our small house I was excited to receive this cute highchair for free from someone on the island! Woohoo! In the war against plastic I'm currently winning the battle I'm happy to say. How much longer will I be able to do this I wonder??

As you can see above--it takes him a while to warm up to new things--including eating. But we're happy to report that he's loving food now! So far he's eaten bananas, rice cereal, and sweet potatoes, apples, and blueberries. I'll post new pics of him eating soon. He definitely gets pretty messy--and that makes for some fun photos!

This Wagon's Made For Walkin'

Here is Aidan in action with his walker wagon. Before too long he'll be walking on his own! These pictures are from Feb 5th. The second picture looks like he's practicing his squats. Gotta stay in shape! I've got some more recent pics coming up, but wanted to make sure you all got to see him with his favorite toy!