Aidan's Haircut

We've been back for almost a week. The trip was great, skiing was good, but I know why you're really here. First, thanks to Heather's parents for watching Aidan. I know my mom liked having everyone together, however, I'm not sure that quite outweighed missing on Aidan time. Fortunately, she'll be here next weekend on business.

We took Aidan to get his haircut yesterday. He did great. I think Heather cried more than he did. Next time I think one of us will do the cutting. That should be fun.

Before.
Before.

During.

After!

How'd that get in here?

Aidan Party Pics Part II

I promise this is the last of the birthday pictures. In fact, this will be the last entry for at least a week. Heather and I are meeting my parents and Mark in Colorado tomorrow for a weekend of skiing. I dropped Aidan off with Heather's parents today(we met halfway).

It's funny, during the day an hour or two while Aidan is sleeping doesn't feel like much rest. About 5 minutes after I dropped him off today, I was plenty rested. We miss the little guy.
Also, it's very disconcerting to be home, and not have Aidan around. Heather and I look at each other thinking we should be doing something Aidan related. It's odd.

This picture is great for two reasons 1)Aidan's look 2)and the St. Bernard sized drool attached to his lip.
He did eat some cake. Here's the evidence.

Mark said I ruined this picture. Thanks.

Why is mommy eating my cake?

Sound the alarm........

Aidan Party Pictures Party I

You've seen the video, now look at the pictures. Mark took all of these, which was nice because it allowed us to do party "things." Maybe we'll hire him out for all Aidan sponsored events.

When looking at these I think you should keep the Jaws theme music in mind.
Bump, bump.......

I like how he's still looking at Heather here. I think it's for reassurance.

Happy Birthday!

What do we want first, video or writing? We'll go video, because I'm not sure how long the post is going to get.

Lets just say this didn't go as planned. Has a cake ever won a battle between a baby? What are the odds?

In Aidan's defense, we think he got scared and uncomfortable with everyone else around. A little while later when he was playing on the floor he ate plenty of cake.

Here are some random, scattered thoughts about the last year........sorry if it runs too long, and you might have heard some of this before. Double sorry.

-my biggest fear before Aidan was born was having to love someone I didn't know. I was silly.

-the moment for me, wasn't when Aidan looked at me or I held him, it's when I looked at him completely helpless and I knew it was up to me for him to survive.

-after he was born, the nurses told us he had a high fever and had to go to NICU. I was not scarred at all. I'm not sure if it was sleep deprivation, my new found parent instincts, or what, but I knew he was fine.

-speaking of surviving, I feel like the first year is about keeping him alive and healthy. Now it's about raising a toddler/boy. Gulp.

-he really was a good baby. I think we got lucky.

-cleaning out his old clothes makes me feel like the room gets a little dusty. Sniff.

-Heather and I have really good friends and really good families. Thanks!

-the day before we went to the hospital was one of the longest in my life. I get nauseous when I think about it.

-Aidan laughing for the first time gets me every time.

-Heather's a great mom. I love it when he reaches for her when I holding him. Or when she comes down the stairs and he drops whatever he's doing and darts to see her.

-his ears smelled like garbage for a while, we thought he had an ear infection. Turns out his milk ran down his neck and stayed there and started to smell.

-all his nasty smells, feet, bad breath, ears, however not the obvious, still smell kind of good to us.

-all his eureka moments when he goes, hhmmmm.

-it's still too early to tell if he has the Waner nose.

-looking at his ultrasound pictures, you can tell he looks the same.

-when he sits in his car seat he looks at us back and forth.

-his monster hands.

-his bow legs.

-his first bath in the sink when he freaked out, and we didn't know what to do.

-how only about two people understand this list.

I think this is plenty for now. I'll try and post some more pictures over the next couple of days. Thanks for an amazing year.

P.S. The title of the blog has changed.

364 Days

We're almost there. I had some decent thoughts to write about, but have since forgotten them. Sorry.

Aidan has stopped drinking out of his bottle and stopped drinking formula. This is good for several reasons, it saves money, formula is expensive, and it cuts down on doing dishes. Cleaning bottles every day is no fun.

I thought it would be fun to look back at the year in pictures. This is a sampling from every few months. Heather and I do this some nights, we go back and look at old pictures and videos. It's a fun kick.

I'm going to try and post a lot over the next few days, check back when you can.

Hours old.
1 month.

Around 4 months.

About 8 or 9 months.

11 months.

Aidan Walks(back and forth)

If you like a video of a baby walking back and forth, then this video is for you.

We're a week away from Aidan's birthday! And we have an Auntie visiting this weekend.

A Day at the Capitol

We took Aidan to the new Capitol grounds on Sunday and the pictures follow.

First, a special thanks to Leigh, Kevin and Kelsey for baby sitting Aidan so Heather and I could go out for her birthday.

Another deep thought by Jeff Waner: I've realized that as Aidan gets older I have another marker to gauge the passing of time. I have my memories to realize the passing of time, but now I can look at Aidan and realize a year has passed. My mom said something like this when Mark turned 30, I think I understand that now. Again, maybe this is obvious. In one of Michael Crichton's books, I think it was Timeline(as is in most cases the book is much better than the movie), he makes the point that time is a human invention. Without humans, things would just...happen. I find that interesting.

The comments section has been a little lonely, so here's a poll. Who does Aidan look like, anyone in the Waner and Thacker families are open game?

"No taxation without representation!" I swear he said that. This picture tickles me.
You can't tell here, but he just took a header into the pavement.

I was telling Aidan that President Bush took off from right about here and he giggled.

The Waners will know the inspiration of this photo.

Mark returned from a trip to South America a few days ago. While in Chile, he got the chance to go to Antarctica for a day. I try to tie all pictures and thoughts to Aidan, this is a tough one. I like to think the only thing I've seen that's almost as cute as Aidan are the penguin pictures. Mark has about 3,000 of them if you want to see more.

copyright M. Waner 2009.