Happy Birthday Aaron!!

One year ago, on December 21 at 10:15 pm Aaron Howard Herring was born. Yes, my Chubbs is a year old!

My sweet little angel babycakes! (sigh) I can't believe it.

Well, Aaron had his birthday party on Saturday at his great aunt & uncle's house. The entire Herring clan was there and a few close friends who were kind enough to sit through a 1 year old's birthday party! Aaron had an Elmo themed birthday party and got his own mini birthday cake. He opened up a few of his own gifts and mostly liked the wrapping (LOL) but loved the Mickey Mouse card he got from my friends Sara & Tom and he loved Grandpa & Grandma's rocker/tricycle toy they got him. When he got home, we took out a few more toys and he really likes the puppy on a string that his aunties Calena & Melanie got him too! He pulls it towards him and laughs!

Aaron will have his 1 year doctor's appointment sometime next week, so I can only guess his weight is around 28 lbs. He has 8 full teeth (4 on top, 4 on bottom) and his bottom 2 molars are halfway out and they top eye teeth are just starting to poke out. He always seems to get several teeth at once! Lucky us!!

He fully crawls now, pulls himself up on his own, walks from one piece of furniture to the next on his own by holding on to them, and he still loves foooooood. Right now he's drinking about 3 bottles a day and 2 solid meals. He loves Cheerios and has recently been introduced to Ritz Crackers (which bring a smile to his face) and plain pasta noodles. He still LOVES his YoBaby yogurt too.

Right now we're not buying anything smaller than 18 months in clothing for him and the Nowali moccasins are still the best things for his feet!

We saved a few gifts from his birthday party to open on his actual birthday so tonight, while watching Chicka on Sprout wish happy birthday to the viewers (we sent his name in!) we're going to open a few more gifts.

A few days ago he got his first professional haircut at this place that specializes in infant/kid hair and he did great! But now with his new haircut he looks even more like a little boy and less and less like little baby! I can't believe he's ONE!

The next celebration is obviously Christmas. That will be a post (or two) on it's own!

But here's my little angel babycakes today-- ONE YEAR OLD. Happy Birthday Sweetness. Mommy and daddy love you more than anything, ever. :)

(That his chocolate frosting all over his face and harms and MY hands from his birthday cake!)

11 months old!

My Chubbs is 11 months old! Can you believe it? The countdown to 1 has begun! I'm already thinking of scheduling a 1 year photo and what theme his party will be. He loves Elmo and Mickey Mouse so that's pretty narrowed down. :)

I've gotten a few inquires already (I'm guessing since the bday and Christmas are coming up) on his sizes and likes. So here it goes:

Aaron is currently in 18-22 month year old clothing. He runs warm like me so keep that in mind. He can't fit shoes because he's feet are too fat so he wears socks or I've found these Nowali moccasins that work perfectly in size 12 months (or 21-22 in Swedish sizes).

He wears size 5 in Pampers diapers (he gets a weird skin rash if we use another brand) and he's really into Mickey and Elmo. He can always use pants (elastic waist is best) because he seems to outgrow those first.

He has TONS of blankets so he doesn't need those. As far as toys go, we'd love for him to have a lot of toys, but we just don't have the room right now, especially for the big stuff. What would really be nice actually is a toy chest. Something softer or made of plastic so that if he bumps his head on it, the injury won't be that bad!

Aaron is pulling himself up now, standing with only one hand gripping onto something, crawling, army crawling and occasionally, still rolling. He's learned to shriek now, which is awesome (not) but he's totally cute so I guess I'll over look it. He still loves his bath time (if you'd like to see a bath time video and you're on You Tube, let me know) and he still uses the bouncer occasionally.

I'm planning on having a small birthday for him at aunt Kathy's but I'll be sure to take plenty of pictures, of course!

I hope you're all doing well and that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Aaron's pics from Thanksgiving are up on my Flickr site!

Attention People! My son is a genius!

Hola folks! So there have been a few developments lately that I thought I'd share (especially since I have not written ONE word in his baby book and need to remember this stuff some how). Aaron just recently started getting up on all fours and doing that rocking back and forth motion -- well, the other day he actually crawled! He only did 3 or 4 moves forward before he fell flat on his belly, but he actually crawled on all fours! It was fantastic! Since then he throws in a crawl here in there in between his current method of movement - the army crawl. He's moving pretty fast and I'm sure he'll be fulling crawling in no time. ;)

Aaron also had 3 full teeth on the bottom and now you can make that 3.5 and another one on the way towards the back! He's already got 4 full teeth on top too. Unfortunately, though he had no real symptoms when he was first teething except for crankiness galore, he is definitely showing physical symptoms this time around. His tummy is NOT doing well. Poor baby.

Which kind of relates to my next development - Since his tummy isn't that great, his little bum is suffering and my mom (who is visiting to help out while Josh gets used to his new job schedule) let Aaron go diaper free for awhile to "air out". I guess after about 20 minutes she decided to take him over to the toilet and see if he'd go to the bathroom. She held him on the toilet and asked him to go pee-pee and he had a little drop. So she asked him again and instead of peeing, he pooped! He pooped in the toilet! And then he peed which went all over the floor because he was in a sitting position and, well, he's a boy! But YES, my 10 month old boy peed and pooed in the toilet. GENIUS! Then apparently he reached for the toilet paper. No joke! I mean, he sees me do it all the time, so I guess he figured he was supposed to do it too! My mom tells me that her and her sisters used to take my uncle Anthony when he was 5 months old to pee and poo in the toilet and he would do it! Crazy stuff if you ask me! But genius!

PS - can you believe he's almost one year old!!? It's insane. More updates to come!

Aaron's First Pumpkin Carving

There are just way too many cute pictures of the pumpkin carving to post, but I love this first one so here it is! I had Josh carve a pumpkin for Aaron last weekend (all the pics are posted on my Flickr site) and Aaron was VERY interested in the pumpkin guts, of course. I think it was probably most fun for me because it's so fun to watch him experience new things and to learn about new things. Plus, he was half naked and half naked babies are always adorable!

In development news, Aaron started army crawling his way around instead of just rolling. And he can actually get on all fours and rock back and fourth, but no actual crawling on his hands and knees. And unfortunately, he's figured out how to open the dog cage. Yay! for being smart, boo! for getting in trouble. He's a little stinker already. He'll do something he knows he shouldn't be doing -- for example I have the stack of magazines on the bottom shelf of a side table and he always goes for them because he likes to tear them up. Well, we tell him "NO" when he does that and we move him away from the magazines. But he'll get back over there and touch the magazines with one hand and hold it there while he looks back at me! Then I say "no Aaron, those are mommies" and he takes his hand off, then immediately puts it back and looks at me again but with this little smile in his eyes. YEAH - a little trouble maker already! Geesh - what am I in for?

Anywho, his mistake of a haircut is looking a little better and most people are nice about it, saying they like it (psha, right!). Other than that, he's doing well! My Chubbas!

Wishing you all a Happy Halloween!

The Pumpkin Prowl! (A picture post)

Aaron being very patient, waiting for me to put his costume on.

Costume on, check out his new trick or treat bag.

Welcome to the Woodland Zoo's Pumpkin Prowl!

Josh & Aaron checking out some cool pumpkins.


Aaron checking out the little witches on my headband instead of looking at the pumpkins!


Family photo. Notice Josh & Aaron look spent. Not me - I love Halloween!


Aaron at home on the floor getting all his new found energy out before bed time!


I just had to mention the cool Vans I have. They match Aaron's outfit perfectly!

More Halloween themed photos to come!

Gap Casting Call

Ok, I know I already posted one today, but I really want to see if Aaron can win this!

I entered Aaron in the Gap Casting Call Contest and I need your help! Please go to the Gap Casting Call Website and vote for Aaron. His ID number is 678332615 and he's under the category "Baby Boy".

Yes, you'll have to register to vote, but do it for us! We'll love you forever!



Thanks!!!

P.S. - In case you're reading this Gap people - I love the Gap. Always been one of my favorite stores and I'm also a proud ex-Gap employee! WOOT! And I'm done whoring.....

Warning: If you let me cut your child's hair he'll end up looking like Llyod Christmas from Dumb & Dumber

Ok, seriously..... Don't ever let me cut Aaron's again. He went from having his sweet little naturally emo haircut:


to the Lloyd Christmas Dumb & Dumber haircut:




I'm pretty sure this might make me a horrible mother. Josh made fun of it for days. Needless to say, Aaron will be wearing hats for awhile. Poor kid (sigh).

Well besides the terrible haircut, Aaron has begun teething again and he's got good days and then very bad, awful, no-good days. We're doing all the things we're supposed to.... but mostly it's the waking up at 3 or 4 am that is driving me insane. I went from drinking an occasional cup of coffee to 1-2 cups a day.

On a different note, we went to our first "social function" together --- A wedding! My friend Sara got married this past weekend and we took Aaron. He did really well which was awesome. And pretty much everyone thought he was adorable, including the photographer! I'm sure he's gonna be in like, half the photos! I hope Sara won't mind! I took a few photos myself and they are up on Flickr.

In development news, Aaron rolls around everywhere and now he can get on his hands and knees and rock back and forth but usually ends up launching himself backwards instead of forward. He'll get it soon though, I'm sure! And just the other day, he pulled himself up in his crib all by himself! NO help from mom or dad whatsoever! He's still saying the "dadada"s and "bababa"s and occasionally the "mamama"s (which is strange because he started off with "mama", but whatever). And we're pretty sure he tries to say doggy too. It's funny because he knows Ulrich's name. So anytime I say Ulrich, he looks for the dog.

Other than that, everything is going well. We are looking forward to Aaron's first Halloween and plan to go to the Pumpkin Prowl at the Zoo. ;)

Hope all is well with you! More updates to come soon.

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal - ECK!

I'm guessing he isn't a fan of cinnamon just yet.......

Inside belly 9 months. Outside belly 9 months!

Look at that face! C'mon, you know you wanna kiss it!!

Well we took Aaron in for his 9 month check up yesterday and the pediatrician says we're doing great! Aaron is 28 inches tall (50th percentile), 24 lbs 13 oz (>90th percentile) and his head is 46 1/2 centimeters (75-90th percentile)! That's my Chubbs!

He got is regular flu shot too. Don't worry - it was the REGULAR flu shot and not the N1H1 Swine Flu shot. That stuff is way too new for me to want to try out on my baby! And the only reason I gave Aaron a flu shot at all was because the pediatrician said she gave it to her baby and I work with older adults who are vulnerable to this type of stuff so who knows what I'm bringing home!

So now that Aaron has reached 9 months we are moving up to the next step in both his formula and jar food and he's gonna be eating food at least 3 times a day now. He sleeps through the night mostly so I'm not worried about that! He's wearing stage 4 diapers and we're starting to get 12-18 month clothing for him! The next thing is the car seat! YES - we STILL have to get that! I know - I know - but we just don't have $250 laying around right now! Ugh!

Aaron still loves his "bouncy" (Johnny Jumper) and he's starting to pull himself up on things. And when I say things I really mean Josh or me because we don't have a coffee table! HA! He's still not crawling but he gets around just fine by scooting and rolling around.

The other day we went to Babies R Us to get his new crib (old one was recalled!) and after we went down to the waterfront and hung out since it was such a nice day. He loves being outside! (New pictures on Flickr)

The new project I have to get on is his baptism. I've kinda let the ball drop on that one but part of it is Josh's fault! He won't pick a Godfather! I think I'm gonna just have to do it for him.

I've got a few new videos of him but I haven't posted them to You Tube yet. I'll let you all know when I do!

He's wonderful and healthy and happy (mostly!) and that's what makes everything worth while.

UPDATE: Grandpa & Grandma Herring bought the car seat for Aaron! Yay!! It should be arriving soon. Thanks G&G Herring!! Love you!

World Traveler. Ok, maybe just interstate for now.

My Chubbs! He rode in a plane for the first time! (Don't you just love this picture?!)

SO, our trip started out flying to Sacramento on Alaska Airlines. It was an early flight and we got there just as the plane was boarding. The woman checking everyone in was so nice and so helpful. She moved us to an empty aisle! Aaron and I sat next to the window and Josh next to the aisle. Aaron was perfect on the flight! He only cranked once or twice and only just a little bit at that, but we were able to distract him immediately. And then with the white noise and the bottle, he fell asleep! It was awesome. I had a harder time since I caught a cold the day before we left so my stupid ears wouldn't clear and were blocked the whole trip! UGH!

The day after we arrived mom, dad and Eva threw a party to welcome Aaron to Sacramento and introduce him to the family and friends there. Unfortunately, I think the traveling hit him that day so he was kinda grumpy and most people didn't get to spend a whole lot of time with him.

The rest of the week Aaron spend with his grandparents (my parents) living the good life while Josh, Eva and I went to LA for the Dave concert at the Greek and to visit family. We all had a really good time.

By the end of the week though Eva, Aaron and dad had all caught my cold and so the plane trip back wasn't as pleasant as the plane trip there. Aaron was grumpy and considering this is his very first cold, I could understand why! Josh had to get up at one point and stand in the back and rock him to sleep. After that though, everything was alright. Poor little guy! Not to mention the woman who was checking people in at the Sac airport wasn't as helpful! She was just kind of like, "Oh nope. Sorry, no empty aisles." There was no searching or offer to move single people around so we could get an aisle to ourselves. I there were, in fact, empty seats on the plane. Lame. (You hear that Sacramento Alaska Airlines people!?!)

Overall though it went well and all my worrying went down the drain. It totally helped that my cousin Michelle let me borrow her car seat, high chair, rocking seat and playpen for Aaron so I didn't have to take anything except his stroller! You rock Michelle!

Aaron is now an official traveler! He even got wings on his way back!!!

Where to next?

Leaving on a jet plane

My stinkin' boy! Isn't he adorable?!

Well, we're getting ready for Aaron's first plane trip! I'm so excited and nervous at the same time! I hope of all hopey-hopes that everything goes well and without incident. And by that I mean both no screaming baby, no poopy diapers on the plane, and not TSA asshats. Just nice, happy baby with pee pee only diapers and really awesome and friendly TSA agents. (That's me, putting that out there in the universe - making it happen! *crossing fingers*).

We're on our way to California. A stop in Sacramento for a few days where Josh and I will leave Aaron behind to enjoy his grandparents and then we'll head down to LA with Eva for a Dave (DMB) concert. :) I figured Aaron's a bit too young for his official first Dave concert.

Today we went to the doctor's office just to ease my mind about the plane trip and a few other small items we wanted to go over the doctor with. Aaron's doing very well - a healthy 24 lbs! :) Clear ears (for the plane!), normal temperature, normal developments -- and we learned we have to up the food. We'd only been feeding him once a day (meaning FOOD and not bottle) but we are going to be changing that to two times a day now and next month - three times a day. SEE - I don't have anyone to tell me these things here in Seattle so thankfully I have a wonderful pediatrician for Aaron.

I will be taking plenty of pictures on my trip and will hopefully post them to FLICKR as soon as I get back.

Wish us luck everyone! A few days and we're on our way!

Mama?

What do you think? Is he saying Mama?

Aaron is one popular dude

Hey there!

Well, Aaron has had a very busy couple of weeks. Many visitors and many new places! A few weekends ago our cousins from Sacramento came up to visit us and Aaron had his first visit to Pike's Place Market! There was LOTS of things to see and do there.

The weekend before last, his auntie Melanie came to visit him and she got to spend all day hanging out with him. We all went to the Ballard Seafood Fest and had fun looking at and smelling all the food. Aaron got himself a new onesie with the Seattle skyline on it!

He also had a visit from his cousin Jodi who came and sat with him for awhile while Josh was at at appointment. Aaron's very first time being "babysat" by a youngin' and by youngin', I mean someone who hasn't been a parent yet. ;)

Then last weekend he has his tia Natalie come visit him. Natalie hadn't seen Aaron since he was born, so this was a wonderful reunion! After Aaron got used to Natalie, he took to her very well and they had their own little connection. Yay for awesome family!

And as some of you might have heard, the last 2 weeks in Seattle was like living in an OVEN. Oh sure, you Californian cousins laugh because you say 90 degrees isn't that hot. Well HELLO folks. Seattle DOES NOT HAVE AC. Seriously. At one point I was calling around to ask restaurants if they had AC and I wasn't the only one! Last Thursday was actually the hottest day in Seattle, ever. 102 degrees.

Aaron had developed a heat rash earlier in the week because of all the heat so we had been keeping him in his diaper only, giving him cool baths and feeding him popsicles. But Thursday we gave in and headed to the mall for some much needed AC. Of course, everyone and their mother was there, literally, so it wasn't as cool as it normally is because of all the bodies! But it was still better than being outside. Aaron's heat rash is all gone now though and he's feeling much better. Well, actually, I'm not sure he ever felt that bad about it. I think I felt worse about the heat rash than he did!

This week his grandpa Howard and tia Eva are visiting so he'll be busy still!

Aaron also got a wonderful gift from some neighbors of his great aunt Kathy and great uncle Henry. They gave him a Johnny Jumper! He LOVES that thing! All you have to do is say "bouncy bouncy bouncy" and he's off! :) I've even got video!

Aaron still isn't crawling but he's rolling around all over the place, even in his sleep! That kind of freaked me out at first, but I think he's old enough I don't have to worry about it much. He can sit on his own and he likes to stretch out his legs a lot and if you hold him very lightly, he can almost stand on his own! He's starting to verbalize much more and we're pretty sure he's on his way to saying "mama". Right now it's more like "ma ma ma ma ma"! LOL.

I've got so many pictures and now even video of Aaron (on You Tube!) that I posted the link to my Flickr account on the blog side bar. I might do the same for You Tube if I get more video. So please enjoy and feel free to comment! I'd love to hear what you all think!

Hugs & Kisses from all 4 of us! (That's Ulrich - being the 4th! Don't forget about the four-legged family!)

7 months! How time flies......

Aaron is 7 months old! Can you believe it? Time goes by so fast.... soon he'll be at the 1 year mark. Can't he stay a precious little baby forever!?

Well, he's doing well.... turning over on his own, scooting around but not yet crawling. He has 1 tooth on the top now for sure, but the other 3 on the top are just poking out. His hair is getting lighter and lighter and is now closer to Josh's color. He's my little golden boy now. And we're still not sure what color his eyes are, though we're betting they'll be hazel.

Last night we took this video of him. I was trying to capture all his "aaww aw aw ah aw"s because I think they're hilarious. We got some of that and some laughs and some whines.... so here it is! Enjoy! ;)

I could never love again, so much as I love you

Hi.

Welcome.

This isn't so much as an update on Aaron as it is an update on mommy (me!). Last night I was holding my little chubba-chubba in my arms, putting him to sleep by the sounds of the Dave Matthews Band and I looked down into his sleeping face and thought, How could I ever love anything more than this?

You see when Aaron was first born I think I walked around in a daze..... partly because of those damn drugs but mostly because I don't think I realized that those 9 months had finally produced a beautiful baby boy that I could hold in my arms. A boy that I had to take care of, who was my responsibility and depended completely on me. Suddenly the confidence I had (I just knew I was going to be the best mommy ever!) went out the door and I was a bit nervous and unsure. On top of that I felt bad that he wasn't birthed and instead yanked out of my tummy via c-section. Was that traumatic for him?

Then there was the acid reflux and the gas and the constipation and the formula issues. Because of all those things he cried (a lot) during his first few months. I did the best I could and tried everything to ease his discomforts. And I was home, alone. All day. With the baby. By myself.

But he got older, got over his issues .... Sure, new ones came along (like teeth!) but they're not as bad. I went back to work. And now I come home to a smiling, happy baby. A baby that is happy to see me and hear me call him "chubba-chubba". A baby that puts his little hand on my face to get my attention. A baby that puts his arms around me now. A baby that laughs.....

Aaron is happy. No matter what else is going on at work or at home, Aaron is happy.

He is my love. He is my home and my happiness. I only hope I can provide for him everything I ever had and more. (Props to mom & dad for raising 3 *mostly normal* and happy girls).

I love you baby boy! KISSES from mommy!

6 month check up

Hooray! Aaron is 6 months old and doing wonderfully, thank you for asking! :)

Stats:
Height: 27 inches - 50-75th percentile
Weight: 20 lbs 14 oz - 75-90th percentile
Head: 44.4 cm - 75 percentile

As you can see, the boy loves to eat! His doctor said he's definitely going to be getting in his 4 top teeth soon (yes, 4!) and so I bought one of those feeding nets ...... I guess it's called a Fresh Food Feeder because you can put ice chips in there too, but also we're introducing him to jarred baby food and this way way can give him fresh fruit instead of jarred all the time.

Also, Aaron will need the next car seat soon and man, those things are expensive. One of my best girlfriends in Sacramento won't let me get anything less than a Britax (*wink, wink* Steph!) since they're the top safety rated care seats so I guess we're gonna have to start saving for that.

SO, I've decided to post a list on the right column of things Aaron uses on a regular basis or will be needing soon because I actually do get asked this question. Mostly by grandparents and great-grandparents, but this way you will all know in case you're feeling generous towards your poor, soon to be jobless niece/cousin/granddaughter/sister/daughter! :) Yeah, I went there.

The good (great) news is that Aaron is doing just wonderfully and I would think it safe to say that his acid reflux has been gone for awhile! He's sitting up and just recently started to roll over thanks to Grandma Yvette's help. He seems to be right on schedule!

Until next time! ((HUGS)) to you all!

Father's Day & Half Birthday!

Sunday was Aaron's half birthday and Josh's first Father's Day! I let Josh sleep in until 12 noon (because that's his favorite thing to do!) and then after a yummy breakfast that mom kindly made us, Josh and I packed up Aaron and walked to the Ballard Locks to watch The Elliot Bay Pipe Band (as in bagpipes). Aaron loves to be outside so we had no trouble with him, walking him through the park. We found a big tree and sat under it because it was kind of overcast and we weren't sure that it wasn't going to rain. Luckily, it didn't.

Aaron fell asleep in Josh's lap before the band even really began and he slept through most of it. But it was so fun to be in the park with a bunch of other families and kids and to experience that as new parents. Aaron finally woke up towards the end of the performance I decided to change him (ok, it was more like Josh said "MAN, something stinks!") so off to the bathroom we went. First time ever changing him in a public restroom. That, my friends, was and adventure. I was tempted to just change him right there on the grass in front of God and all, but we could tell he kinda of had a blowout so..... small, cramped public restroom it was. BTW, I now understand the importance the paper towel option in a rest room. Because seriously, sometimes wipes just aren't enough.

Anywho.... after that we walked around the park, went to the locks, showed Aaron the big boats, the fish ladder and then walked back home. It was a really pleasant day. We got back home and I put Aaron down for a nap and then I took mom to Larsen's Bakery and we got some cookies and a yummy apple twist for all of us to share. We also brought a pizza home for dinner and that was Josh's first Father's Day! :) I think it was lovely.

Happy Father's Day to all my uncles and cousins who are dads and of course, to my daddy! Love you!

Have a seat, please.

Aaron sat up for the first time by himself Sunday night! We had him propped up on the couch and all the sudden he stretched his hands out and sat up! We couldn't believe it! Mom, Josh and I all gathered around him and watched him do it over and over again, clapping each time he did it and yelling "YEEEEAAAAH!". It was amazing!

Aaron weighs 19 pounds now and is mostly in 9 month clothing. He's also got his 2 bottom teeth coming in so he's a little cranky about that now and then. Good news is he's not cranky about the reflux or gas anymore and today we're moving him back to the regular Enfamil formula instead of the Gentlease.

He's doing wonderfully other than the teeth and he's growing fast. This is were I ask "Where's the pause button?"!

First trip to the park

Aaron has had a lot of new developments lately!

One, as you can see above, I realized that he's big enough to actually sit in his stroller without the car seat! Such a big boy!

Two, Aaron can hold his own bottle now basically. I mean, he grabs it with his fits most of the time instead of his open palms, but he holds it on his own! Such a big boy!

Three, I put Aaron in his swing this morning and he literally pulled himself up on his own and sat up in the chair!!! All on his own! Such a big boy!

Four, we (my mom, Josh & I) took Aaron to visit a friend in Des Moines on Saturday. She owns the Des Moines Dog House and Aaron actually lasted the entire visit without fussing once! He was actually really happy the whole time and seemed to take really well to Tammy (the owner). We all sat down and ate hot dogs and he was just a happy chubby baby, checking everything out. Then, we came back to Ballard and went to Golden Gardens for Aaron's first visit to the park. He saw the sound, the sand and all the people. Trust me, there were TONS of people because it was a sunny day in Seattle. AND he touched grass for the first time. Didn't start to fuss until the very end and that's because he had a dirty diaper.

Overall, Aaron's doing a lot better though and he's so much bigger now, it's crazy! We went and visited some old friends who have a 1 year old and he actually was BIGGER than their 1 year old! Granted, their 1 year old was a small boy (he was only in the 2 percentile!) and Aaron is kinda hefty, so I'm sure that made the difference seem even greater, but they litterally weighed the same weight! Hehehe! But we're all doing well. Mom is helping out while I'm back at work until the end of next month so I'm starting to look for day care or a nanny. Wish us luck with that!!

Hope you're all well too!

Love & hugs, The Herrings.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Let the laughter ensue!

4 Month Check Up

Today Aaron had his 4 month check up! He's weighing 17 lbs and is 24.5 inches long. A short chubber, just like his momma! He wears 3-6 month clothing and he really likes the onesies that his Auntie Bea gave him from the Gap. (OK, I really like them. But they're awesome because they have alot of give and they're light weight.) His check up went well otherwise - Dr. Archibald said he was "perfect". :)

Aaron is doing really good with holding his head up all on his own. He's not quite so "bobble-headed" though he does get tired then his head goes down! He's much more aware of his surroundings now and he loves to play with things that light up. But more than that he likes to hold a wet wash cloth or his burp cloth because he sticks it in his mouth to "chew" on. We're pretty sure he's starting the teething process but the doctor said that infants can go through all the teething signs and not see actual teeth for months!

And if I haven't mentioned it before - Aaron loves the bath! Some times it's the only thing I can do to get him to calm down when he's crying too. So rest assured, Aaron is a clean baby! Right now my sweet chubbs is sleeping in his swing. He's a long day with the trip in the car, the doctor's visit, and the 2 shots he got. Hopefully he'll go to bed early tonight!

Well folks, that's all for now! Hope all is well with you!

Aaron's First Easter!

Josh and I took Aaron to the mall for the first time on Saturday to get a picture with the Easter Bunny! I was worried he'd be scared of the bunny and scream his head off, but he just sat there with his usual look of discontent. (haha - that's kind of a joke for those in the know) Aaron did really well actually. I think all he cared about was that someone was holding him! :0)

We walked around the mall for a little bit since he was doing well and pretty much made it in the mall for about 1 hour before wanting his bottle and getting really cranky. I just feed him in the car but other than the last 5 minutes, the mall trip and Easter photo op was successful! Yeaaa!

I hope you all had a great Easter!

~~Josh, Adriane & Aaron

First Shower

Today Aaron took his very first shower with me! I was kind of nervous, worried about holding his slippery little body standing in the shower but it wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be. Of course keeping his bath chair in the shower with us helped considerably!

Aaron is doing much better with his gas and reflux, though it does still effect him some. I think he'll grow out of it by 6 months like everyone says.

He is definitely doing a lot more laughing and giggling, which is just wonderful. It's so heartwarming to hear him laugh. The first time I got him laughing by kissing his neck, he would laugh and then I would laugh because it was SO cute that he was laughing and then we'd do it all over again! I can tickle him sometimes and just get him in a giggle fit! It's adorable.

This past weekend my BFF Stephanie from Sacramento came to visit us and she was so sweet. She took him right up and shared all the baby responsibilities - of course she has 2 children of her own! She also bought him a Light & Sound Aquarium for his crib and she bought some bowls and spoons so she could help me try and feed him oatmeal for the first time. He's still young, and I'm not planning on supplementing the cereal for formula just yet but I do want him to get used to eating. So Steph made a small amount for him and at first he kind of just held it in his mouth and looked at us but as soon as he figured out it was food, he took right to it! So now every once in awhile I will feed him a bit of baby cereal before I give him is bottle.

He also recently got a swing from his Aunt Kathy and he does like the glider motion of it. Unfortunately the stupid thing stops on the glider motion even though the motor is on, so we're going to have to see if we can exchange it.

Other than that, he's growing and growing. I can't believe the difference 3 months makes! I'll keep my camera clicking for you all!

Koala Baby

Hi All! Well, it's been awhile since my last update, I know. It's been busy and we've got so much going on.... we're just trying to survive like everyone else I guess.

So Aaron is 3 months old now! These are pictures are of Aaron after a bottle. He fell asleep on me and Josh said he looked like a little koala bear. He weighs over 13 lbs now and is a long boy! He opens his hands all the time now - they're not closed up in tight little fists anymore. He's reaching for things and grabbing his stuffed toys, our fingers and my hair (ouch!). He's "talking" alot more and he laughs... it's so adorable. Babies are so funny though - you can do something that will make him laugh and the next time you try it he looks at you like he's going to cry. Now all you have to do is smile and goo at him (if he's in a good mood) and he'll smile right back.

The other day Josh came home from work and Aaron looked up at him as soon as he walked in the door and smiled and reached out his hand to Josh! It was so cute! I'm convinced Aaron gets sick of seeing my face everyday. Wouldn't you?!

He's doing well though. Now I'm just struggling with the idea of going back to work - and probably sooner than I had hoped out of necessity. There was one day I cried all afternoon when the idea of going back to work hit me and I was so upset about missing anything with him and having someone else taking care of him. I know it's just part of life and plenty of women do it, but I know it's going to be hard. I miss him just thinking about it. That's life. He is going to be ok and we'll survive.

I'm still not taking him out much - I took him to work for a visit and of course he decided to be grumpy that day. I wish the weather was better so I could take him for walks at least but he's still eating every 2 - 3 hours so there's not much you can do when you take him out anyway. Aaron will have another appointment towards the end of April and we'll get his new weight then!

Hope you all out there are surviving! ((HUGS))

Best. Picture. Ever.

This is my new favorite picture of Aaron! Isn't he the cutest? What a silly boy, laughing with his daddy!
Aaron is now 10 weeks old! I can't believe it! Time is going by quickly when it comes to Aaron. He is growing and growing and even though he's only 2 months, he's fitting into his 3-6 month clothing. I'm sure he's around 15 lbs now, but I'll know for sure later this week when he goes in for his 2 month check up.

Aaron is still dealing with reflux and gas, but I ended up switching the bottles back to the original Born Free bottles and now we're buying the formula for fussiness and gassy babies. It's seemed to help with the gas some. The medicine that he's taking for his reflux helps, but it hasn't made the symptoms go away completely. So, overall he is doing better, but still has some issues. He's awake more often during the day and he usually goes to bed around midnight and lets me sleep until the morning. He can wake me up anywhere from 7 am to 8:30 am.

This past week Josh, Aaron and I were at my parents house to watch the dogs while they were in California. Aaron got to spend some time with Ulrich and Bailey which is good. He's totally oblivious to them most of the time, but there was a few times when Ulrich was close enough to his face, that Aaron noticed him and actually looked at him. Ulrich is his normal spazzy self and he was just excited to get close to Aaron. He gave Aaron kisses all over whenever he got close, but sometimes he was more interested in getting my attention that in getting Aaron's and I'd have to watch that he wouldn't step on or over Aaron. Bailey is just a big wuss so she wouldn't come to close to Aaron ---- she'd come just a few inches away and put her nose in the air to sniff.

This week I also have a HOA meeting so I am hoping Aaron will be in a good mood so I can take him for the first 5 minutes to introduce him to all my neighbors. Then Josh can take him back home.

Everything else is going well -- he's received gifts from his Grandma & Grandpa Herring and they also bought him a jumbo box of diapers and wipes. He also got a box of clothes from his Great Grandma White in Vermont! Thanks to everyone for thinking of him and sending gifts and help! We so appreciative of your gifts!

Until next time!

Aarons' goos and gaas

Ok, first off - I've fixed the comments link so now you can actually post a comment if you want! It wasn't working in the beginning.....

Secondly - Though this video was taken when Aaron was 7 weeks, Aaron is now 8 weeks old and soon going to be 9 weeks!! Can you believe it?! I've tried to post this video a few times but I was having trouble. It finally worked so please enjoy! It's a little long and my voice is totally annoying, but Aaron is the star so it doesn't matter!!

Most of the good stuff happens in the first minute in case you're short on time. :)




Can you say "adorable"?!

Progressing.... 6 weeks

Well, Tuesday Josh and I took Aaron to the doctor's to see what was up with all his fussing and gas issues. It's amazing that pediatricians can diagnosis problems for someone who doesn't talk! I know Josh and I talk on Aaron's behalf, but seriously, those pediatricians know their stuff!

Aaron's doc says that his system is still immature and she thinks it's a combination of him being a really gassy baby and that he seems to have reflux. The flap in his esophagus is still immature and not working properly and so he tends to spit up, but not all the way - just so it sits in the back of his throat. Of course this is all very uncomfortable for him, not to mention that he had his constipation come back on Friday, so it's back to the Karo syrup. The doc did give us a trail medication for the reflux and so we're going to hope that works. It's only been 2 days but he does seem to be doing slightly better - at least less fussy. He's still uncomfortable though.

Aaron was weighed at the doc's and he's now 10 lbs, 12 oz! That's insane!! At least we know he's not starving, despite his digestion system problems. Poor kid. :(

Yesterday I had a dentist appointment so Grandpa & Grandma Coblentz came over to babysit and Aaron wore his shirt that says "Grandma loves me". Then, later that evening he had more visitors! My boss Pat and the President of our association, Laura, came by to visit and drop off a lovely quilt that Laura hand made for Aaron. It's a wonderful quilt - I love the pattern and I noticed that she put a handmade tag on the backside that says who it's for and who it was made by!! So cute!

Tomorrow I have another doctor's appointment for myself so Aaron and I are relaxing today, playing it low key, listening to the Foo Fighters. We're cool like that.

Here's a picture of Aaron from the weekend with his little hoodie on. I told you he was cool.....(just wait until you see his rock and roll outfit!)

Sweet Dreams

Do you ever wonder what babies dream about? I mean, really - what could they possibly dream about? What reference do they have in their baby brains to draw dreams from?

Aaron dreams. He frowns and smiles and sucks and even laughs when he's sleeping! It's the funniest thing ever. I see his REMs and the breathing pattern changes when he changes his expressions. Sometimes he even cries out when he's sleeping and then goes right back to sleep all on his own. He's so adorable.

Physically, he's definitely heavier, his head is larger, his hair thinner and his eyebrows darker. Most of the time I look at him and see me. Sometimes I can look at him and see his Tia Eva when she was a baby. But Aaron definitely has physical traits of Josh too. Josh tells him he has his Frenchy frog legs!

Aaron is awake much more and he "talks" with goos and gaas and grunts! He actually grunts alot -- he sounds like an elephant so I'm always telling him "Yo soy un elefante!". He's still got the gassy thing going on, even though we changed the bottles. It's actually alot better, but not completely gone so my mom bought a third system to try out by a company called MAM. I'm going to try that out today. When Aaron wants his bottle, he wants his bottle right now darn it! so if he gets really upset, I have found that the kitchen fan calms him down. Evidently he likes white noise. Now I'm going to look for a CD of white noise to play while he's in his crib.

Wherever he falls asleep during the day though is where I leave him! I try and get chores done when he's sleeping and if he's in a deep sleep, that's when I take a shower. Below is a picture of him in his chair with a stuffed penguin his Tia Natalie made him by hand. He seems very interested in it, doesn't he?? This was right before nap time.


Well, I hope you are doing well out there! Keep in touch.

~Adriane

One Month Old!

Today my baby boy is one month old! Hooray Aaron! And he has definitely grown!

Unfortunately, Aaron has been really fussy/cranky lately and we think the reason is gas. He was constipated and that was part of the problem, but we called the nurse at his doctor's office and she told us to try Karo Syrup for awhile. The Karo Syrup worked right away but we're still gonna use it for awhile until we're sure he's totally back to his normal BMs. It still seems like the gas is still bugging him though, so now we're trying a new bottle system. We were using the Born Free system (because it's BPA free) but now we're trying the regular ol' Playtex drop in system. I just started it so we'll see how that works out. If you've got other gas reliving suggestions, please let me know!

Aaron did have a one month birthday visitor today! My friend Sara came by and brought Aaron an adorable outfit with a monkey on it. Before her visit, Aaron took a bath and got all spiffed up, making sure to put on the adorable sailboat onesie Sara gave him before he was born. He looked adorable. Too bad he was so fussy toward the end of the visit!

Here is another bath time photo:

Floor time with mommy

ENJOY!!

21 days

Today my sweet boy is 21 days old. Hard to believe he'll be a month old soon!

Last week we had his 2 week doctor's visit and he is already passed his original birth weight and has grown to 21 inches! He's drinking more and sleeping a bit longer, though he's also getting more and more fussy - but we're thinking that might be a gassy thing. We're trying to work it out.

We gave him another bath today and I think I might try and start giving him one twice a week at least because he's got some baby acne (you didn't even know that existed, did you?) and though the doc says it's perfectly normal, I'd rather it not be there. He's a handsome boy regardless!!

Aaron likes to stare at me after he's been feed. He just looks at my face and studies it. He doesn't make any noises - he just stares. Though sometimes he does make faces!! His faces crack everyone up. I've already given him his first nickname - Popeye! I even sing him the Popeye the Sailor Man song because sometimes when he first wakes up, he only opens one eye at first. Sometimes he opens the right eye first, sometimes it's the left. It's almost as if he's checking everything out first!

I've also tested to see if he can mimic me yet by sticking my tongue out at him. He stares and studies and moves his mouth around and so far, he's stuck his tongue out back at me twice! I'm not trying to get him to be a bratty tongue user -- but I am trying to get him to be aware of his body parts! His grandpa Howard is also teaching him that (or motor skills, as grandpa calls them) by getting him to use his hand to grab objects like his pacifier or keys and such. I'm not sure Aaron knows what he's doing - but he's playing along anyway!

Aaron is enjoying his time with his grandparents and tia Eva, but we'll be home soon. I hope my neighbors can handle it!!

Bath Time

Today Josh and I gave Aaron his real first home sponge bath. Aaron can't have a soak bath yet because he still has his umbilical cord and his little pee pee is still healing from the circumcision. Aaron is a little fussy when it comes to being messed with too much so he wasn't keen on the idea in the beginning but once we got to his head & hair, he loved it. Aaron loves to have his head rubbed so washing his hair was a breeze.

We've also been taking him into the bathroom with us while we take turn taking hot showers because he's been really stuffy this past week and has a bit trouble breathing, especially at night. The steam seems to really help him and we also bought some saline drops for his nose, but he doesn't like that like he does the warm steam and heat lamp in the bathroom. And we put him at an angle instead of flat on his back when he sleeps, so I'm hoping that's helping him sleep better too.


Aaron also enjoys sleeping a lot just like his daddy so it's only natural that I would have caught them sharing one of their favorite activities together. Aaron is starting to sleep longer and eat a little bit more than 2 oz now. On Tuesday he has his 2 week appointment, so we'll probably have another update then. One thing that hasn't changed yet - he's still the most adorable baby on the planet!!