Just call me handywoman

With Dan gone, I have to do things I'm not used to - things I'm really not very good at. For example, putting together furniture is NOT my forte. I bought this fabulous bookcase from Target last week and put it together on my lunch break. I think I did a great job. Also, recently I hung a shelf in the bathroom and hung curtains in Aidan's room and in the living room. And I completely redid our photo collage in the living room. I think all of my recent projects turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself.

On Saturday, Aidan accompanied me to a photo shoot. Some soldiers volunteered to fix up a homeless shelter in a town near Fort Hood. I had to go take photos for the paper, and Aidan was pretty good. I was worried he would get tired and fussy, but he was good long enough for me to get the job done. Then we went to Target and bought some new curtains for his room. I previously put up yellow, but thought they were too light. Then I picked green. Still not sure about those. I didn't want blue because I thought that would be a complete overkill. I don't know, keep the green, or go with yellow? What do you guys think?

Today we went grocery shopping. Aidan always wakes up around 8 a.m., so we got an early start. I love going to Super Wal-Mart when NOBODY is there. It's a much more peaceful experience. If you go in the evening or afternoon on the weekend, it's such madness that I nearly have a breakdown everytime. Well, not really, but you get the idea.

Enjoy the new photos...Bear with me - they're from my little point and shoot camera!

The answer is Office Space!!!!!!!!

Props to Heidi and Amy! I need to watch that movie again, I haven't seen it in 3 months. It's been MUCH too long. :)

So it looks like Dan is going to be going to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba....We think. Things in the Army change constantly, but this seems most likely. Much better than Iraq, but I'd prefer it if he were home - obviously. Still waiting to hear if he's going to be coming home for a visit before he goes.

It's hard to believe Aidan is nearly 3 months old. He's such a sweet baby. The most amazing thing in the world is to have him smile at me and give me a little coo. I'm so very lucky to have him with me through all this. He truly brightens my day.

Somebody's got a case of the Mondays

You get 10 points if you know what movie that line is from. I'll give you the answer tomorrow.

This weekend Aidan and I went to the outlet mall in San Marcos with a friend from work and her 2-year-old son. It was so nice to just get out of the house with him, and he did very well. I think he enjoyed it because we were walking around outside - unlike at the regular mall we go to in Killeen. He only cried when we were getting ready to leave because he was hungry. Such a good little boy.

For those of you who are wondering, his sleeping is fine. He went through a short period where he wasn't doing very well, but I think it had to do with visitors and maybe a growth spurt. Anyway, since it's just us, he's back to normal. I can even lay him in his bed awake and he'll go to sleep on his own. Now that's amazing to me. I never thought that would happen. I bought a bunch of sleeping books when he had those couple days of bad sleeping - I guess it can't hurt to read them.

I finally made his footprint in this little footprint kit we had. If I had waited any longer, his foot would have been to big. Dummy that I am, I spilled the blue paint all over the carpet. I'm still working on getting it out.

Happy St. Patricks Day!

Since St. Patricks Day is on Saturday, his daycare had "wear green day" today. He wore a little onesie from Old Navy that reads "Rub My Belly For Good Luck." All the teachers loved it, and so do I. Aidan and I don't actually have any big plans. I think we might drive to a camera shop in Austin and that's about it. Enjoy the photos.

Worst blogger ever

Sorry I've only been updating weekly...Aidan is definitely keeping me busy in Dan's absence.

He had a doctor appointment yesterday and he received his 2 month shots. Not so fun. I had to hold him down, and when he screamed (like I've never ever seen him do before) I started crying. It was very sad. He got over it pretty quickly, but I was still upset. The nurse was very understanding though, said that just shows how much I love him. She made me feel better. He's been running a slight fever, but he seems in good spirits - still cooing at me! He's 12 lbs. 3 oz. Everyone kept saying how big he was, which is nice especially since he was so tiny when he was born. He's really doing well.

He's actually cooing a ton now. He sounds like a little owl, and he actually smiles sometimes when I pick him up from daycare. That makes me feel great.

The past 2 weekends have been great. This past weekend Heleena came to visit us, and the one before that my mom came. It was great having some adult company. I know they were both thrilled to see how big Aidan is getting.

This picture is courtesy of Heleena, who captured a great big smile of Aidan. I love looking at that picture at work.

Still no "official" news on Dan's mobilization/deployment. They apparently keep changing their minds...

My little rugby player

It's been a month...

Well it's nearly been a month since Dan left, and Aidan and I are doing ok. Not great, but we're hanging in there. Aidan has become a more difficult sleeper - I thought it was supposed to get easier as they get older, but I guess I was wrong. I ordered a few sleeping books, so we'll see if they can help us at all. He went from waking once a night to 3-4 times a night. It's rough going to work in the mornings after nights like that.

The other day I went to the mall to find Aidan something cute to wear for St. Patty's day. They're supposed to wear green to school next Friday, since St. Patrick's Day is Saturday. Anyway, when I was there I found this really cute outfit, so here's a picture of the little man in his new clothes.

I don't do much these days...Basically I just go to work, pick Aidan up, give him a bath and put him to sleep, and then do dishes, laundry, etc., go to sleep and do it all over again. Very exciting isn't it? Not really, but my favorite time of day is in the morning because Aidan LOVES that time of day. He is so smiley and sometimes he laughs...It makes getting up early in the morning MUCH easier. He's amazing.

UPDATE: Ok, so I tried to upload the pics, but somethings going crazy. I'll try to add it again later.

Ugh - computer problems

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. My computer has been acting crazy. Anyway, the first week of daycare went fine. Aidan doesn't nap well there, but other than that I had no complaints....That is until today. They mixed up his milk (breastmilk) and fed some other baby's to Aidan. They both have the same name and the teacher didn't pay attention to the last name. Needless to say I was very mad. I know people make mistakes, but that's soooo gross. Not to mention the fact that I don't know what that lady was eating/drinking/etc.

When I drop Aidan off and pick him up, all the older kids (6 months and up) tend to get very excited any time they see someone in uniform. Today when I was dropping Aidan off, there was a little boy who was having his first day at the daycare. He was crying and crawling on the floor and seemed to be following me everywhere I went. Sure enough, he was just seeing Army boots and uniform, and he thought I was his parent. He wanted me to pick him up. It was soooo sad. Poor little guy. I guess that's the only good thing about taking Aidan when he's so young - he doesn't even know to miss me yet. Here are a few photos I've taken since the last post. He's growing like a weed. Every day I find a new outfit that doesn't fit. He's still in 0/3 months clothes, but I'm not sure for how much longer.

We didn't do much over the weekend...went to Walmart and Target. He loves taking walks in the baby carrier. I think he just generally loves being outside in the fresh air, and lucky for us the weather has been beautiful in Texas. I'm sure the awful heat is just around the corner though.

We survived!

Aidan's first day of daycare was much more traumatic for me than it was for him. I cried when I had to kiss him goodbye. All the teachers came and reassured me that he would be fine, that he was so handsome he would have a million girlfriends by the end of the day. That made me laugh! I ended up being about 30 minutes late to work, but I didn't care. I was ok when I got to work, except when people asked me about him, then I got teary eyed again.

When I went to pick him up, his teacher Yvonne said he didn't really nap all day. It didn't surprise me, he hadn't the past two days. He's always been a difficult napper. We got home about 5, he ate and took a little nap. Then I tried to wake him up about an hour later and he was sooo fussy. He acted hungry again, but wouldn't eat. I changed his diaper, put him in his pjs, he ate a little bit and then he passed out. Poor little guy hasn't had much sleep the past few days (and subsequently neither have I). I hope he gets a good night's rest tonight. 7 weeks old with no naps is not a good thing. Tomorrow I'm going to bring his swaddle me blanket, hopefully that will help.

Here's a photograph of him on the way to daycare. Doesn't he look cute? Heleena sent it to him, and I think he looked adorable. But I'm a bit biased.

Aidan's first day of daycare tomorrow

So I'm pretty nervous about someone besides me taking care of my baby all day. We went Friday to go through orientation and we saw his room, met his "teacher". Everyone seemed really nice, especially the infant lady. She said he's going to be spoiled, which is fine with me. I'd prefer that to the alternative.

Aidan hasn't been sleeping as well at night as he used to. It's been taking him a while to fall asleep, and then when he wakes, it again takes him forever to go to sleep. I have to rock him, pat his bottom etc. Yesterday was a really rough day. I couldn't get him to take any naps. He would fall asleep for 20 minutes and then he'd be wide awake. It was really hard, and then by 9 he was exhausted, but still wouldn't fall asleep. So I wrapped him in his swaddle and put him in the bassinette. I kept checking on him every few minutes. He was awake but never cried or made any noises, he was just laying there. Finally about 9:30 he had put himself to sleep. It was so exciting for me after such a long, tiring day.

Bath time

Isn't he the cutest?

Here are a bunch of random photos I took today. We were a little bored this afternoon. Good news - I got Aidan enrolled in the daycare I originally wanted him to go to, thanks to some help from a coworker. I was worried I'd have to take him to some crazy untrustworthy place off Fort Hood. His first day will be Tuesday!

7 weeks old!

Aidan is 7 weeks old! (Well in a few hours he will be anyway.)

He's doing well since we got back to Texas. He's been sleeping great. *knocking on wood* A lady at my work was able to make a few phone calls to get him into a child development center on Fort Hood, so I just need to register him and go through some sort of registration and he'll be ready to go to daycare. Luckily this weekend is a four day weekend, so I'll still get a few days with the little guy.

I get to talk to Dan every night for now, which I'm thankful for. He's doing pretty well, just a lot of Army training. He's going to the range to qualify with his M16 Thursday. He'll be leaving Saturday, but he doesn't get orders until then, so we don't know where he's headed for sure. More training somewhere I'm sure.

Photos from our trip

Dan with Aidan shortly before we left Killeen

We took a last minute trip to visit my grandparents (first time great grandparents I might add) as well as cousins and my aunt.

My blog gets a makeover!

What do you think of the new look? Just a side note that I switched this blog over to the new format, and now you guys can comment freely without being a registered user. YAY! I know that was a pain for many of you, so comment away!

Good times...

So for those of you who don't already know, the lovely Army denied my leave and I had to return to Texas. My mom and I drove back from MO and she flew back. Definitely would have been rough by myself.

I had to go to work today, but because of the short notice about returning to work, have no daycare set up. The CDCs on post have a backed up waiting list, or so they told me, so Aidan came to work with me today. We lasted an hour and a half, then just went home. I expect tomorrow will be much of the same. Aidan didn't really like being at my work, he cried the entire time. I don't blame him. Somebody I work with is going to try to talk to the person in charge of Child and Youth Services to see if she can get us a spot earlier than April.

Aidan and I made our first trip grocery shopping by ourselves. That was interesting...I put him in his baby carrier (the kind that holds the baby facing you on your chest/stomach). He liked it for the most part. He was looking all around excitedly. (Didn't want to put him in his carseat because he doesn't like to be in it when he's awake, maybe it's the straps or something.) Towards the end of the tip, he did start to get fussy, then he just fell asleep, which I didn't expect at all.

I think he's going through a growth spurt because he is eating constantly, which makes things crazy for me. The same thing happened when he was 3 weeks old. It was great when it was over.

It's not so bad being back here with Aidan. Once we get into a rhythm, I'm sure we'll be fine. I just have to figure out the easiest ways to do things by trial and error. It'll be so sad to take him to daycare, but that's definitely the only way I'm ever going to get anything done.

I apologize to those of you I need to call or email (especially Michelle, Heleena, Belinda. There just aren't enough hours in the day lately. At least if I post on my blog, you guys know what's going on with us. I'll try to post some more photos from our Missouri trip, but I'm just too exhausted tonight - and it's only 9:30.....Off to bed...

More Aidan pics

Aidan and his aunt Gretchen

br>Aidan in his snowsuit from his grandparents Heleena and John


Aidan with his cousin Justice


snuggling with daddy


enjoying bath time

chilling in his bouncy seat

Aidan had a big moment today - HE SMILED! I was pretending to eat his chin and making funny sounds at him and he smiled a real smile at me. I was so excited I was screeching, probably scared the little guy a bit. Oh well, it was amazing. Still trying to capture a smile with the camera. Aidan is meeting so many new people this week. Yesterday he met his aunt Gretchen and today he met his cousins and his aunt Michelle. Of course they all loved him.

Dan said he met a guy at Fort Jackson who knows the commander of the unit they're with and he said they're headed to Qatar. Not great news, but it could have been worse.

Here are a few photos from the past few days....

Oh - and I apologize to those of you who email me and don't get a response. It's been difficult for me to get anything done. Our schedule has been really messed up since we got to STL. Forgive me, I'll try to write soon!

We're in MO!

Dan and I survived the drive to Missouri. It took us 16 hours, only 2 more than it used to without Aidan. Not too bad. He pretty much slept the entire trip, only woke to eat, so we would stop for him and then get right back on the road.

This morning we took Dan to the airport. He's now in South Carolina and we're very sad. He said it's not too bad. They're treating him and the others called up on IRR very nicely, I guess because they know these guys are getting a raw deal. Anyway...I've just been trying to get caught up on some much needed sleep, which hasn't been very easy. I'll post more when I'm feeling up to it.

1 month photos

Well, he's not waking up, so I quickly grabbed a couple while he was sleeping. Doesn't he look huge?

Posting on consecutive days!

It's a miracle! Not really, Aidans just went to sleep early tonight and I can't sleep, unfortunately. I figured I would give you guys a little treat.

Have I mentioned that Aidan discovered his hands recently? He now puts his hands in his mouth, then makes a panting noise as though he thinks he's about ready to eat. Crazy guy. He also can pull my hair now. Lucky me. Seriously though, he MUST be the cutest baby in the whole world am I right? Today Dan went to hang out with some friends, since we're leaving Killeen on Thursday. I took Aidan to the PX (stands for post exchange, which is basically a Walmart on post, only nicer stuff). Anyway, he didn't like that at all, so we bought diapers, the new Katharine McPhee CD and left ASAP. Then we went to the car wash. Not sure whether it was the cd or the sound of the water, but he went to sleep right away. It was nice because he's been super fusy with this cold he has.

The doctor gave me some nasal spray to put in his nose to clear out his sinuses. Let me tell you he REALLY hates it. He screamed like I've never heard him scream before.

Aidan still hates his bouncy seat. He also hates his bassinette. Basically all the stuff we have he hates. He likes to sleep in my arms, and he likes to sleep in our bed. Go figure. One thing I just discovered today that he likes is his baby carrier. I strapped it to me and put him in and we went for a little walk to get the mail. He seemed pretty excited to be outside. He was turning his head around the entire time to look at anything and everything. It was cold though, so I didn't stay out long. Dan's parents bought him this great snowsuit, so maybe tomorrow I'll put him in that and take him for a walk. I definitely need to get out more. Staying in the house with him all day makes me crazy.

I think my hips are finally re-aligning from giving birth. I was walking pretty strangely for a few weeks....Tanya was making fun of me. Then I read that it's because your hips get out of wack. So, I'm feeling pretty good, almost back to normal. Just need to lose a few pounds, well, ok a lot of pounds. But it was all worth it to have our little angel. I'll try to get some more pictures when he wakes up from his nap. He looks adorable today in little overalls...

Aidan's a month old!

He's growing so fast. We had to take him to the doc today because we gave him a cold. Poor little guy. He's now weighing in at a sturdy 9 pounds. It's amazing how quickly he's gaining weight, especially after having problems those first few days. He's eating constantly, so I guess it's to be expected.

Our internet hasn't been working much, plus Aidan keeps me pretty busy. It's hard to find time to do just about anything these days. Anyone wanna do my laundry? :)

These pics are from last week, but you get the idea. He's growing into a baby, instead of a newborn.

We're trying to get things ready to leave. I'm headed to St. Louis and Dan is headed for Fort Jackson for the time being. Thanks to all the well wishers. We still don't know what his situation will be. Crossing my fingers and saying a prayer.

It's amazing how little sleep you get as a parent. When I was pregnant, especially in the last few weeks, I would wake up every couple hours for no reason. I think it was my body getting ready for Aidan. I usually do ok, but once it's been a few days in a row of insufficient sleep, I get crazy. Dan has been helping out though. He's WONDERFUL with Aidan. I wasn't sure what to expect, especially since he doesn't have any experience with children, but he's learning so quickly. Dan is particularly good at getting the little man to fall asleep. He's even woken up a couple of times in the middle of the night to feed him a bottle so I can get a few hours of consecutive sleep. Now that's a great feeling.

Growing so fast...

Dan and I took Aidan to the hospital yesterday just to be weighed. I was so curious how he was doing. He seems to be growing so fast, he looks bigger every day and his clothes continue to fit better. Anyway, Aidan weighs 7 lbs. 14 oz! Almost a pound bigger in just 3 weeks. The lactation consultant said he's doing really well. His sleep schedule is still insane. Sometimes he does great, and sometimes I get no sleep. 2 nights ago he slept for 6 and a half hours straight. It was amazing. I've updated Aidan photos on the link in the previous post. Check em out if you're bored.

Such a good baby

Sorry I've been about blogging, I know many people look forward to Aidan updates. It's hard for me to get anything done these days, much less get on the internet. Sooooo.....What's new? Aidan is sleeping better, although we're still trying out new methods. We bought one of those sleep positioner things last night and he slept in the bed with us - didn't work too well. We're going to try the bassinette tonight. I'll let ya know how it goes. Yesterday Aidan had his first trip to the mall. Because of the terrible weather we've been having (icy gross wintery weather) I haven't been able to do any walking, we decided to walk around our little mall last night. It felt great to get out of the house, that's not something I do much these days.

Aidan seems like he's growing so quickly. His newborn clothes fit him great now - hard to believe a premie outfit just fit him not too long ago. I now completely understand why people say your children grow up right before your eyes. He tries so hard to hold up his head, then it wobbles to the side. It's amazing how strong he is already. He can grip Dan's finger really tightly and won't let go. It's really sweet. Right now he's having gas problems, so he makes all kinds of strange noises in his sleep.

Dan didn't go to work today. The weather and the roads were so horrible, and people in Texas/military can't drive worth a crap, so he just came home. Not that Aidan and I minded spending the day with Dan.....Friday is his last official day of work. He's going to spend the last two weeks at home spending time with me and Aidan before he leaves for stupid Army stuff. Still no update on that - probably won't know anything until he gets to Fort Jackson.

Dan and I are going to St. Louis around the 1st of Feb. so Aidan and I won't be alone right after Dan leaves. Hopefully this will save my sanity. This is going to be the most difficult thing I've ever had to do, so please forgive me if I act a little crazy. I'll be in Missouri for many weeks. Still working on all the logistics with the Army though...Hopefully many of you will be able to meet the little man when we come for a visit!

Aidan photos

Per my mom's request, I am posting a link to an online album that contains virtually every photo of Aidan that we have at this point. It also offers the option to have prints made, if anyone wants to. The link is:
http://new.photos.yahoo.com/ndpoppe

Aidan likes to go to bed at 5 a.m.

We already knew Aidan had his days and nights mixed up, but 2 nights ago was the worst. He didn't go to bed until 5 a.m. I was so exhausted. I thought things were supposed to get better as they get older - granted he's still not THAT old. Anyway, last night I thought was going to be a repeat of the previous night. I decided not to put him in his bassinette or his crib. This time I slept on the couch and put him in his car seat. That's where he loves to take his naps during the day, so I figured it was worth a shot. Sure enough, we got 4 and a half hours of sleep in a row. That's the most he's ever slept at night. I really think he just likes the feeling of being snuggled closely. His crib and bassinette are just too big and cold. I feel like a bad mom leaving him in his car seat, but it's what he likes.....And I actually got some sleep.

Aidan is almost 2 weeks old

Can you believe it? I can't!

Sorry I've been bad about updating the blog lately, but the little man keeps me pretty busy. Dan's parents left Sunday, his sister left Monday, and my mom and sister left yesterday. It's really quiet here now, just me and Aidan during the day. He still has his days and nights mixed up, but we're managing. I found out last night that he just doesn't like sleeping in his pack n play. He actually seems to prefer his crib, which does make me a little sad because that means he's not in the room with us. At least he's sleeping though.

Aidan already looks a little different to me. He is bigger, and he is filling out his clothes better. Here are a few more recent photos.