2008 August Archive at beautifulinmyeyes.net

Archive for August, 2008

Almost no words necessary

Published on August 19, 2008 in Aidan, Funny, Parenting and Toddlerhood. 3 Comments

This kid is getting more and more daring. I left the room for not even 2 minutes to use the bathroom and I came back to this.

So cute and getting so sure of himself in his body and trying new things. Like climbing up onto things not anchored to the wall…yeah, gotta fix that one.

And this picture is bittersweet. Aidan turns 3 in less than 2 weeks. (He is almost 36 months actual and 33 months if you adjust for his prematurity) But does the picture below look like a 3 year old? DH and I were blown away when I downloaded these from the camera last night. My husband said, “Geez, where did our toddler go? He looks at least 4 in that picture!”

I love you Aidan. You are my daily reminder that life is miraculous and wonderful in ways I could never have imagined before you.

Preemies? What preemies?

Published on August 13, 2008 in Aidan, Parenting, Prematurity and Toddlerhood. 2 Comments

We have had a couple of really nice outings with Nathan and Preston and their mom Kim in the last week. Nathan and Preston were born at the same hospital as Aidan, about a month earlier than him. They were about 10 weeks early weighing in at 2 lb 12 oz and 2 lb 14 oz. They are great little boys (thanks to their great parents) and it is always wonderful for Aidan to hang out with them. Kim and Cecil have just done a wonderful job with these 2 boys. We all went to the zoo on Friday and all 3 boys loved feeding the giraffes and seeing all of the other animals.

On Tuesday we went to the aquarium. Aidan was quite excited to see them and was very excited to say hi to Nathan and Preston when they arrived. All 3 boys are not quite as enthralled with the aquarium as the zoo, but had a really good time nonetheless.

Watching these 3 little guys run around is almost surreal. To think of how early and small they all were and how close they all came to disastrous outcomes makes me feel so grateful. These 3 little boys are active, curious toddlers and I dare say that most people would not be able to guess how early they all were. Almost three years ago when we had overlapping NICU time, I am not sure that Kim, Cecil, Brandon or I would have ever guessed we would be dealing with the amazingly relative normalcy that we are. Instead of discussing apneas, bradys, vents, NG tubes and the like we are talking about when to start preschool, tantrums, and the like.

It seems like Aidan is looking more and more like a little boy and less like a toddler every day. Brandon got him a Nike baseball cap last weekend and I was stunned at how old he looks with it on. Here is a shot with him in it and one with his favorite “grandma” Catherine. Oh…and a really cute one where he is trimming Brandon’s toenails. Too funny.

In other news, the hubby and I are getting ready to take our first weekend trip together away from Aidan. My very gracious brother and his wife are watching him for 3 days next weekend. Aidan will be great. He loves his cousins and will probably have the time of his life. Me? I haven’t been this anxious to go on a trip in a long, long time. I can’t wait to get some time alone with Brandon. We are going to Santa Barbara for a friend’s wedding and making a weekend out of it. I can’t even imagine how great it will feel to have some extended one on one time with my better half.

Life is good. Very, very good.

A tale of two cities

Published on August 4, 2008 in Aidan, Parenting and Toddlerhood. 2 Comments

I went off this weekend and had my very first weekend away from Aidan since the day he was born. (a much more thoughtful post to follow) I really felt ready to do it and it was a ton of fun! I went over to see my college girlfriend Lisa. We met the first week of college during freshman year and have been the best of friends ever since. We both realized we have now known each other over half our lives! (yes…if you can do the math you have figured out about what age I am…ugh 37!) Her ex had her daughter this weekend, so we were going to be childfree together for the first time since her daughter was born almost 7 years ago!

Here is me leaving for the weekend.

We enjoyed a gorgeous sunny weekend in the 80’s/90’s over in central Washington. We did a little shopping, a little (ok…a lot) of drinking and a lot of just catching up and getting to just be ourselves and forget for a while that we are moms.

Her boyfriend took us out on his boat.

Here we are enjoying a few pina coladas.

Then we stopped for a nice dinner at a restaurant overlooking the water and had some rum barrels.

I had a wonderfully relaxing time and I am so glad I did it!

Meanwhile…over in Seattle, my boys had their first weekend without mom. They had a blast of course! They went to a makeup class at Little Gym, hit golf balls, watched the Blue Angels practice and went to Red Robin. On Sunday, they went to a Mariner’s game. Brandon got Aidan his first baseball jersey to commemorate the event.