oh where does the time go??

As I am putting a book together of Aidan's first 2 years, I am flooded with memories of when he was little. I say was, although he still is technically, because he seems like a big boy now. I mean, he's almost 2! Next thing you know, he will be going to pre-k, and soon enough, I will be in tears watching him get on the school bus for his first day of kindergarten. As much as I enjoy watching him grow, I miss him being little.

It seems like yesterday I was holding him for the first time. I can't even remember what my first reaction was to him, mainly because I was exhausted after being up 36 hours after labor, but I knew that he was special. I knew that I would love him more than he can ever imagine. I knew how important he was. I knew how much he would change my life. I look at pictures and remember those moments. I can't recall him being that small. I never thought of him as a 'newborn' since he was so big (well if you call 8lbs 14oz big). I never imagined him being that small when I held him in my arms. I didn't even realize it until now. Now that he can barely fit in my lap.

Although my little boy is growing up, I hope he takes it slow. I don't think I will ever be ready to stop the night-time snuggling on the couch, or the quiet rocking in the chair. How he snuggles up next to me and just falls asleep peacefully. Although he makes me mad, I will never stop enjoying how much he craves my love and attention. He is definitely a mommy's boy, and I don't mind that at all. I crave his little kisses, and sweet big hugs. I long for his laughter, and his corny smiles. I am sure I will miss his jabber, and telling me 'how it is' in his little baby language.

My baby boy is no longer a baby anymore. He is a toddler. And as scary as that may be, I will enjoy watching him grow up into a little boy. But just slow down baby. You are growing up way too fast.

Colorado Vacation...Part II: Colorado Springs

Day 4
We drove up Pikes Peak today. With an elevation of 14,110 feet, it was a long drive up. But it was a beautiful drive. Poor Aidan, his ears kept popping, and he was fussy the whole way up. I was hoping he would take a nap, but that wasn’t going to happen. We had to stop about three-quarters the way up so Aidan's ears would adjust to the altitude change.

When we finally got to the top, Aidan was in a much better mood. He could get up and run around. He really seemed to enjoy it.

We bought some fudge, a sucker, and hacky sack at the gift shop on top of the mountain. The sucker was to help with his popping little ears, but instead, he fell asleep on the way down, well, most of the way down.

After Pikes Peak, we went to Seven Falls.

We took the elevator up to the viewing dock, then went to feed the chipmunks (although, you’re not supposed to). Aidan did great with them. He sat still and let them take the ‘fish food’ from his hand. He just giggled and smiled the entire time. After a while, he just started chasing them around and screaming. Those poor chipmunks.

Oh, and we must not forget about the sign that was posted by the chipmunk feeding area...

We went back to the house and started grilling up some hamburgers for dinner. Matt made some guacamole dip, which was amazing. Aidan ate that up, as well as some grapes and chips. Unfortunately, he didn’t eat many pieces of the hamburger, if any. But I’m just glad he ate what he did. Oh, did I mention he loves corn on the cob? Yeah, he ate a whole one all by himself.

After dinner, Aidan played again with the dogs for a while. Then he took a bath, and went to bed. Tonight, he actually went to bed early. Well, if you call 9:30 early. Derek and Matt went out, so maybe that had something to do with it as well.

Day 5
Oh, Sunday. Today was just a relaxing day. We didn’t do hardly anything. We just hung around the house, Aidan got his normal nap in, and we went to the park in the afternoon. Aidan loves the park. He loves just being outside and being free to run wherever. We stayed about an hour before heading back. We then ordered some pizza and chilled at the house all night.

Again, Aidan didn’t go to bed until about 9:30pm again. Boy, are we going to have a rough time trying to get him back to his normal schedule. He tossed and turned before waking up a couple hours later. He joined me in bed and slept really hard the rest of the night.

Day 6
Monday, Monday, Monday. We had to get up early to get on the road back home. Aidan decided he was going to sleep as long as possible. Of course, he didn’t wake up until about 6:20am. We left about 6:45am. We stopped to eat breakfast before getting out of town. And yet again, Aidan barely ate anything.

We drove for a few hours before stopping just past the border to switch drivers. Of course, Aidan was passed out, so he missed the opportunity to get out and run. He did wake up shortly after, so we stopped about an hour outside of Hays to let him stretch his legs. He seemed to really enjoy that. We stopped in Hays for lunch and gas. We ate at Freddy’s Frozen Custard. Aidan got a hot dog and fries. He ate the majority of everything. I was so proud of him. We even had to take the leftover fries with us, cause he kept eating them. After lunch, we turned on the movie Wall-E, and hit the road again. Aidan did finally take a nap, a 2 hour nap, after lunch. I was so glad, and he seemed well rested. We stopped again about 30 minutes outside of Topeka to let him run around. He loved it.

We ate dinner at Texas Roadhouse in Topeka. We had to try the ribs. Aidan did really well at dinner too. He must have been hungry. There was this man dressed in an armadillo costume that freaked Aidan out. He kept an eye on him the entire time.

The armadillo did come up to Aidan, but he made him cry. I guess it’s not a good time to introduce him to Santa Clause this year.

We got home rather late. Aidan didn’t fall asleep until almost 11pm. I decided to let him sleep in the next morning and take him to daycare later. Yeah, he sure did sleep. He slept until almost 9am!

We had a great vacation. I can’t wait to do this every year, or at least every other year. I know Aidan had a good time too.