Pic Overload!

 Merry (late) Christmas All!!!

Our Christmas card picture.

I know I am late with this Christmas post, but it was a busy weekend and then I got sick early this week.  :(

We are enjoying the last few days before med school takes Aric away from us again [UGH!], so this is going to be an (almost) wordless post.

Here are some of my favorite pics from Christmas! : D

Aidan and Dad after Christmas Mass.

Mama and Aidan. :)

Looking sharp... :)

Opening one of his MANY gifts!

Santa was good to Aidan! We def couldn't fit all of his gifts in one pic!!

Finally... all Christmased out! : p

I hope everyone had a wonderful and blessed Christmas!

Double Digits!

Aidan is now 10 months (as of yesterday)! Wow, time has flown by!! He gets cuter, he is learning more and more, and he is so much fun everyday! :)

So handsome! :) 

Stats

Weight (guesstimate): 21 lbs. 4 oz.

Height: Not sure, but at his 9 month check-up he was 29 in.

Food: Nursing about 3-4 times a day, but still not as interested in it as he used to be (during the day). 2 solid meals a day, but not eating as much of that either. :( I think he's teething which is making him less interested in eating.

Sleep: about 10-12 hours with 1 or 2 wakings. He is doing so much better than he was 2 weeks ago **knock on wood**. He regressed back to newborn sleeping... I was so tired!

Milestones: Not much has changed since his 9 month update, BUT he has learned to clap!!! It is the cutest thing ever! He does it all the time now!


A couple of in-action clapping pics... 

Side-note about teething... I hate how much of  a guessing game it is! I have been thinking and saying he is teething since he was about 5 months old and he only has 2 teeth! Hmm... something doesn't add up. He has so many teething symptoms lately and still no new teeth. Come on teeth, hurry it up! : p

Mommy Monday

Nursing Strike = Blog Hiatus

Please forgive me for neglecting my blog this past week. With Aric finishing up finals, a visit from Grammy and Papa [Aric's parents], and last, but definitely not least, Aidan's recent nursing strike I have been just a tad bit busy. Whew... I'm tired just from thinking about it all again!

First off, Aric is d.o.n.e. for the semester!!! That means we get him all.day.everyday for 2 whole weeks. It is going to be ahhhmazing. : D I am definitely a happy wifey!

Aidan [and Mama] are so happy that Dad is done for 2 WHOLE weeks! Wahoo!!

Aric's parents made a surprise trip down here bearing suitcases full of presents from Santa for all three of us. It's been great to have some family here somewhat close to Christmas since it will be our first one away from everyone. We all were quite spoiled by Santa this year... and that's just from one side of the family.

Look at all that 'loot' behind us! Thanks Grammy, Papa, and Grandpa Guerrero!!

Finally, Aidan's nursing strike. Yeah, not fun! I was blind-sided by it. One day he was nursing like he always has and the next he was fussing and pushing me away when he should have been eating away. By the third day, I was sure he was weaning. : ( I know 10 months is a great run for nursing, but I really had my sights set on 1 year and was not prepared for our nursing relationship to end. After talking to the pediatrician and consulting the all-knowing interwebz, I was slightly relieved to hear that it was more than likely a nursing strike and not weaning. 

Since Aidan refused to nurse during the day [he nursed like a champ during his normal night feeding], I had to return to the the dreaded pump. Ugh! I was pretty sure that I was not going to pump everyday for the next 2 months so I started to prepare myself for Aidan to wean. Fast forward to today, Aidan sort of 'snapped out of it' and started nursing regularly again [thank, thank, thank you]. He isn't completely back to his normal nursing sessions, but we are making progress. I will not push him to continue if he decides he is done with nursing, but as long as he seems to want to I will keep at it. Praying for 2 more months of interest so we can go straight to whole milk. Wish us luck!

Truer words were never said... and look at his face, "Who me? I would NEVER keep Mom up at night!" : p

If you read this, you must have stuck with me through the hiatus. Thank you for forgiving my absence! <3

'Tis the Season...

... for gift-giving! I changed the lyrics a bit.

I currently have an obsession with Babycenter.com. It is a place where I can go to waste time get advice and camaraderie from other mamas with children the same age as Aidan. It was mostly for fun and entertainment... until a few days ago. I am part of a close knit group of awesome women on there and we have developed great friendships.

We recently decided to do a Secret Santa for the moms and babies of the group. I was so excited as I usually am for Secret Santa gift exchanges! This one; however, turned out to be extra special.

The Mama and Baby Girl I 'played' Secret Santa for are two great people. I won't go into much detail because their story is not mine to tell, but they have had their share of struggles. I really wanted to do well with their gifts! Mama requested any red clothing item for her Girl... easy, right? Wrong. Non-Christmas red baby clothing is hard to find. I looked and looked and found some plain shirts and onesies that were red, but they just weren't good enough. I wanted to find the perfect red something.

Store after store... I saw nothing that caught my eye. Then finally... I found it! I don't know why, but it just seemed like 'her.' It was a super cute red, corduroy dress with a Scottish dog on it. I am SO not good at explaining things, so just trust me that it was oh.so.cute! I excitedly bought it, shipped it, and anticipated the response!

I was not prepared for the response. The beginning of the post started with the sentence, "Ashley!! I love you!" {I'm elated} She explained that her late Aunt that was very dear to her gave her a skirt with a similar Scottish dog on it when she was little and she wore it all.the.time. She was so touched!

My stress over shipping it a day late was quickly washed away when she let me know that they received the gift on her late Aunt's birthday! WOAH! Goosebumps rushed over my body... Coincidence or Fate? Who knows, but I believe that all of this is why I got the feeling that the dress was so perfect for her Girl when I found it.

As I tearfully read her grateful response, I was overcome with one of the best natural 'highs' I have ever had! The kind of high you can only get from doing a good deed even if it was by complete accident.

I am sooo very happy I sent such a perfect and special gift to such a special girl. It's so true when they say that it's better to give than to receive!

The totally AWESOME t-shirt Dr. Aidan received from our Secret Santa! Love it , A! Thank you! :)

I hope this post does not come off boastful. It was not written or posted in that spirit at all. The extra specialness of my gift was an accident and I know that, but I thought it was great story to tell and thought it might spread some Holiday cheer! Happy Holidays All! : D

Mommy Monday

The 'Little' Man is 9 months old!

I'm a little late with his 9 month update so I had to rain check (sort of) Mommy Monday to post this. I say 'sort of' because I wouldn't be a Mommy without this guy around!

He's growing like crazy! So bittersweet.

~STATS~

Weight: 20 lbs. 15 oz. (52%ile)

Height: 29 in. (70%ile) <---- I am pretty proud of this one considering his Mama's lack of height; he's definitely getting that from his Dad.

Food: Still nursing 4-5 times a day (hoping to make it a year), 2 solids meals (breakfast and dinner), and sometimes a snack around lunchtime.

Sleep: 7ish-6:30ish with a night feeding around 4ish. The last couple of weeks he was waking up every 3-4 hours... I am still recovering from that.

Milestones: Not as many as last month, but still a couple of biggies...

Cruising... he will pull up on anything and use it to walk around.

The couch and coffee table are his favorite cruising 'devices.' : p

Climbing... he has discovered the stairs. We will be getting a gate pronto!

He's practicing for the climbing he'll be doing in the Rocky Mountains. :)

Funny story about his discovery of the stairs... He normally wouldn't climb them without Aric or I behind him. Well, on Saturday I ran into the kitchen real quick to make a sandwich. I didn't hear him making noise at all... never a good sign, right?! I went into to living room and Aidan was no.where to be found. All of a sudden I hear a little squeak coming from the stairs. Yup, Aidan was halfway up the stairs. I had a minor heart attack. I promptly told Aric that we NEED to get a gate ASAP!

Holiday Hangover

Not the had-way-too-many-drinks-last-night kind of hangover, but the I-got-a-taste-of-what normal-couples-have kind of hangover. Ok, I'll stop with the hyphens. 

All you other med school students' wives know that we don't get to enjoy our husbands nearly as much as most wives do. If they are not in class, sleeping, showering, or eating they are studying. Heck, sometimes they study while they eat or shower (yes, Aric taped a few study pages up in the shower) and I'm sure they would study in their sleep if they could. 

Aric took most of last week off and it was just heavenly! I L.O.V.E.D it and I know Aidan really enjoyed it as well. It was so awesome to do family stuff together and it is so helpful to have him available to help with Aidan.

BUT now... I was spoiled and I miss it! It was such a tease. What I wouldn't give (sometimes) for Aric to have a normal 9-5 job. A job that when he came home from work he was d.o.n.e for the day and the weekends were really weekends! 

I have been feeling pretty down the last few days and I know it's because I went from having my husband with me non-stop 24/7 to seeing him very early in the morning before he leaves and at dinner really quick before he locks himself in his dungeon study. It's rough. 

I know someday these 'hangovers' will all be a distant memory and very much worth it, but right now I miss my hubby!

Thank God for my fellow wives out here! I would go crazy without them. It's so comforting to have people to talk to that totally get what you are going through because they are going through the exact.same.thing! [Thanks Marissa for the 'you are not alone' convo!]

One of our few family pics from our Orlando trip. Apparently, Aidan didn't think the camera was very interesting to look at. : p

My 'Sanity Keepers' aka the other med school wives at the baby shower they had for me! <3 them!! :)

16 days until Aric's semester ends!!! Not that I'm counting or anything...