Pizza Time!

So, my little chef wanted to help me make a pizza the other night. This really comes as no surprise and isn't unusual at all since Aidan has always been a "doer". He loves to "help" do anything and everything you'll let him. It's just his little personality and I love to always encourage it because he gets a ton of satisfaction from knowing that he did something for you...and I love that. I've always let him help as much as I can at dinner for as long as he's been walking. The main reason is because, since Travis works nights, he sleeps during the day and I don't have another person around to keep Aidan occupied while trying to make dinner. So, it ended up that the best thing to do was to just let him be involved in the whole process! It allowed me to keep an eye on him and spend some quality time while keeping him happy:) Here are a few pics of my little man helping to make a pizza the other night!

First, we start with spreading the sauce.

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Yep, that looks good.

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Then, we sprinkle on the cheese.

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And then we pick a little bit of cheese off since it looks super yummy.

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So, then we stuff it in our mouth as fast we can before Mommy puts the camera down.

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Next, we notice that we dropped some on the counter and decide to eat that as well.

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And lastly, we bake the pizza, make a salad....and VOILA...Pizza via Aidan:)

Poor, poor kid!

Aidan SO has my butt. It's no secret that I have a considerable amount of junk in the trunk;) That has actually ALWAYS been the case....even when I was a baby. My Mom would often break out pictures of when I was little and talk about how I had the "cutest, little, round, poochy butt". Not so cute or little anymore, but definitely poochy...haha. And I think it's hilarious that Aidan has the very same booty. Please forgive me for the nakey pic, but I just had to share the fruit of my loins....or hiney;)

Nana & Pop's 50th. Anniversary Party

My grandparents celebrated their 50th. Wedding Anniversary on Sept. 27 and our family planned a big party for them on Sat., Oct. 18. Everyone had such a great time and it definitely made all of the planning worth it!

Nana & Pop (aka: Carole & Jimmy) were married on Sept. 27, 1958 in Clacton-On-Sea, England. They met at a town hall dance:) Pop was in the Air Force and was stationed there at the time. After moving all over the U.S. and even some time in Japan, they eventually landed at Pop's hometown of Fulton, KY where they finished raising all of their 5 kids and a few grandkids, too!

My grandparents mean the absolute world to me and celebrating their marriage with our family and some of their oldest and dearest friends was such a joy. There were several of Nana's girl friends who also married American soldiers and most of them are still married! It was so neat hearing stories and seeing several of them come and celebrate with them. They looked like little teenagers with the giggling and non-stop dancing:)

Here's a pic from their wedding day in 1958!

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Here are a few pics from their anniversary reception! Enjoy!

Happy Birthday to ME!

So, yours truly turned a whopping 29 years old on Sept. 26! The boys and I tore up my most favorite cake in the whole world...a Dairy Queen ice cream cake! Aidan wouldn't stop saying "cake, cake, cake" whenever I asked him if he was hungry. And I mean, like, every meal! Of course, he didn't get cake for every meal, but for a split second, I did think the kid had a fantastic idea;)

My most fabulous friend, Erica, watched Aidan for us on Saturday night while Travis and I went out for dinner to Marina's on the Square. We love Italian food and it was soooo yummy! The bread was the best!

Speaking of Erica.... On my actual birthday (Friday) there was a Presidential Debate taking place, so that meant it was our Girls' Debate Night! We're both super involved and informed with this year's election and have made it a point to get together for the debates. If anything, we get to eat super yummy Jason's Deli and veg while the kiddos sleep...haha. Since it was my birthday, she surprised me with ANOTHER fantastic birthday cake from Baskin Robbins! Seriously...I have awesome friends (thanks again, Erica)!

My yummy cake from my two favorite men:)

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Me and Tooter Butt!
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He was ALL about it!
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Mmmmm!
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And here's the cake from Erica!

Tagged Schmagged!

I was tagged by Katy at http://justcallmemrstodd.blogspot.com for this. This is my first "tag", so woohoo to me:)

First add a family picture:

Second: Answer the questions.

1. How many children do you have? One!

2. What are their ages? Aidan turned 2 on July 4, 2008

3. What time of day do you start your day? He used to get up around 7am, but here lately it's around 6am. I'm still trying to convince him otherwise, though.

4. What do you eat for breakfast? I usually have cereal unless we all go out for breakfast when Travis comes home from work. Aidan will often have Cream of Wheat (bleck), a banana, scrambled eggs, etc.

5. Do they watch TV? Yep, we're all fans of it...ha.

6. What are their favorite activities? ANYTHING outside! He would stay outside all day if I'd let him. He also likes jumping from obscure places and playing with trains.

7. Do you get a break during the day from them? Starting a few weeks ago, YES! He goes to Mother's Day Out on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9am-2pm. I also get a break whenever I have an Uppercase Living party!

8. How do you end your day? I either do UL work/follow-up stuff, watch TV, etc. Here lately it's been both at the same time so that I can keep up-to-date on politics...haha.

9. What is your best parenting advice or tip? Probably to follow-through with whatever you decide. If you're wishy washy and don't stick to a certain method...be it a sleep routine, discipline, etc....then you're teaching your little one that it's not important. My two cents:)

Pass it on to five people: Here goes!

Rachel at http://thebeasleyfamily.blogspot.com/

Roxy at http://roxysadventures.blogspot.com/

Deidre at http://lifeasanautismmom.blogspot.com/

Amber at http://pinkraider98.blogspot.com/

Misty at http://mistysmadnessx2.blogspot.com/

Monkey Man!

Since Aidan's Aunt Lacey (aka...my sister) moved to Nashville a couple of months ago, we haven't had the chance to see her near as much as we used to. We got to visit her yesterday and had lunch at Red Robin in Nashville. Since Aidan thinks he's a big boy now and doesn't have to use a measly little highchair anymore, he was able to sit with Aunt Lacey in our booth....and the shenanigans began;) Here he is making his Monkey face for all to enjoy. And I really mean "all"...the kid is a ham in public and was pretty amusing to the other Red Robinners!

Pop's Buddy

As most know, I was raised by my grandparents for the majority of my life. I have such respect and gratitude for them and there's no way I could ever let them know how much they mean to me. I do love living here, but not being near them is sometimes difficult, and that's especially true since we've had Aidan. Aidan ADORES his Pop and Nana. And it's so gratifying to watch them play with him and they enjoy their visits so much. I especially love the close relationship he has with my Pop. Every time they visit, Pop and Aidan will go out walking around our subdivision. It's kinda "their thing". They head out the door and will come back about a half hour later. And when Aidan comes back he just jibber jabbers nonstop...as if he's trying to tell me about the huge adventure he and his Pop just had. It's my favorite:) I'd love for Aidan to have him in his life forever....to have such a strong role model wrapped up in this empathetic, humbling, generous, loving Christian man. He will forever be my hero and I'm sure he'll be Aidan's, too.

Here are a few pics of Aidan and his Pop before "their walk" a couple of weeks ago.