Have some patience people!

Ok, ok. I get the hint. Everyone is emailing me saying where are more Aidan pics. Well, here ya go. Here's a batch I edited tonight. These are from the days John, Heleena and Rachel visited us. LINK TO ALBUM

One to tide you over

Well Dan left, and honestly, I just haven't felt much like doing any photo work. Here's an oldie but goodie. This was the first time he ever sat up by himself. I think it scared him. Poor little Aidan.

Aidan's first trip to the zoo!

On Saturday, Dan, Aidan and I went to the zoo. It was his very first time! We went with my friend Belinda and her daughter Kate to the Austin Zoo. Not a very big zoo like in St. Louis, but we still had a good time. I haven't gone through all the photos yet, but I was very excited about this one of Aidan. He was having a great time. I'll post more tomorrow.

Well, I didn't have any new photos to post, so here's one from about 2 weeks ago...

Dan and I are very much enjoying our leave together. Although it is raining every single day. And, I was not so lucky to get a bit sick when he first got here, and now he has it. We're thinking about taking little Aidan to the zoo sometime, cross your fingers that the weather allows it!

Another round of shots down

So Aidan had his 6 month shots today. Poor thing - he cried really hard this time. It was worse than at 4 months, but better than at 2 months. I was glad to have Dan with us this time. He is 26 1/2 inches long and 18 pounds 10 ounces. What a giant little boy!

Happy Fourth of July

My boys

There's nothing better in the world than seeing my boys together. Thanks for looking.

A few more

My little cutie pie

Preview of what I took this weekend. More to come tomorrow

Great news!

Sorry, I think I neglected to tell you guys that Dan is coming home a week from today. Can I just tell you that I'm soooooooooooooooooooo excited?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Oh, and I died my hair today. It's SUPER light. I'll try to post pics soon, but I'm very tired and i'm going to bed!

And the Aidan news is.....................................

We have a roller!!!!!!!!!!!!! Aidan, that is! He rolled over for the first time June 14. I was changing his sheet, so I laid him on his baby Einstein mat. I turned to look at him and he was on his belly (I had obviously laid him on his back). So, I put him on his back again, and he promptly rolled over. The next day when I went to pick him up from school, I asked if they had ever seen him roll over. They said it was the first day, so I was very happy they weren't the first ones to see it - I was! Anyway, he can roll from front to back, back to front, or sometimes he gets very excited and does a complete 360, so to speak. He basically does it on command.

CHECK IT OUT:


and just for fun, here's one of Aidan playing in his little exersaucer:

I'm the luckiest girl in the world....

Why you ask? Because I have the best husband and he's an amazing father too. For an issue of the publication he's writing for during his deployment, he wrote a commentary about being called up for the IRR. Bust out the tissues before you read this. I think you'll need them --- I sure did!


I remember vividly that terrible day on September 11th, 2001, standing on top of the hotel where I worked in New Jersey, watching plumes of smoke billow out of the two towers before they collapsed. Then and there I decided I wanted to do something more with my life than stand by passively and watch others defend this great land from those who wish to reign terror and death upon it.
I enlisted in the Army and served four years before being transferred to the Inactive Ready Reserves. Soon thereafter, two of the most important events in my life happened nearly one month apart. This past November, I received activation orders to deploy in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and then, one month later, on December 28, 2006 my son was born.
The range and emotions that swirled around my head ranged from tremendous joy knowing I was a dad to terrible anguish knowing that in order to fulfill my obligation to this country, I would have to leave my wife with the responsibility of raising our child for at least the next year.
I knew that many Soldiers ordered to serve again from the IRR weren’t honoring their commitments and I knew I could never be one of them. One of the most important things I want my son to know about me is that when my country asked me to serve, I stepped up and refused to be counted a coward.
As Father’s Day approaches and with my son now close to six months old, I find it difficult to be away. I’ve missed his first smile and his first taste of solid food, times that I can never get back.
However I like to think that I, like so many other fathers here serving in Joint Task Force – Guantanamo, am like the many other fathers who have served before us, fighting in various conflicts throughout history to ensure our nation’s safety. These were men who were willing to miss those precious moments with their loved ones in order to take part in critical missions in the defense of our nation.
In some ways it feels like this is the most fatherly thing we can do, to stand in the gap and defend our families and protect our friends.
There will be more moments that I will miss during this deployment here, the first time he sits up, his first steps and, very likely, his first words. But hopefully he will understand and forgive my absence during this time because of the mission I’ve been called to perform.
Luckily, thanks to technological advancements, I can stay connected to my family in ways that were inconceivable even 15 years ago. E-mail, video messaging, and cell phones make the burden of this deployment a little easier. I am so thankful that thanks to the Morale, Welfare, and Recreational facilities here, I can even see my son every few days or so.
Sometimes when talking to friends of mine who have children, it is hard for me to mask my jealousy of them. But my jealousy is tempered with the knowledge that the important work that I am doing here, that we all are doing here, is the reason that they and their children are safer in their homes and communities from terrorism.


Big news about Aidan...stay tuned for tomorrow's post!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Eatin Squash

Nikki and Aidan

This is a photo I took with my point and shoot a few weeks ago but forgot to post. He's such a funny baby!

I started Aidan on solids recently. He wasn't such a fan of the rice cerael, so I tried squash. He LOVES it. On Sunday morning he woke up, started hitting me so I would wake up. I looked at his adorable little face and he was opening and closing his mouth, as if to tell me he wanted some squash. He's such a smart little guy. He ended up eating the ENTIRE jar. I'll definitely have to take a photo. The squash always ends up all over him. He's going to have to start eating naked (well, with a diaper on!)

NFL stars visit Fort Hood

Tommie Harris and Charles Tillman, both of the Chicago Bears, hosted a football clinic for military kids Friday. They were both nice, although Tommie isn't the sharpest tool in the shed. They both grew up here and are military brats, so I suppose they just wanted to give a little back. Several of the kids were asking for free tickets, and Charles Tillman would just tell them, "Get a job. Work hard, get a job, and buy things you want. You have to learn to work hard for the things you want in life." Good message. Anyway -- here are a few images from my day at the stadium.

Rash update

So those of you who saw us when we were in Missouri saw Aidan's terrible rash. I took him to the pediatrician on Tuesday, and she said it's definitely an allergic reaction to something. Now it's my job to figure out what it is. My thoughts: cerael, formula or MY detergent.

I've eliminated all three and plan to reintroduce each individually so I can figure it out. It doesn't seem to bother him, even though it's all over his poor little body. Jeez, it's always something with him, isn't it? Poor baby. He looks like he has a disease.

Anyway, I don't have any photographs for you, so here are a few old ones to tide you over.

We're back

Aidan and I made it back from MO. Our trip went very quickly, but I must say it was a bit stressful travelling with Aidan by myself. The trip back home was easier because the plane was bigger and not very crowded. We had 3 seats to ourselves, and I was allowed to take his infant carrier on the return flight. Aidan slept and I even had a little rest. Here are a few photographs from the trip. I didn't take as many as I wanted, but I was pretty much exhausted the whole time.