Home for the Holidays

I know that I have a lot of catching up to do for Thanksgiving and such, but I just wanted to make a few updates while we're out of town.  Alden and I flew out last week to come to Georgia to spend Christmas with my family. We've had a really good time just relaxing and playing.  I think we are finally getting on a routine.  It took several days to adjust to the time change and a new sleeping environment.  But each night Alden has woken up fewer and fewer times.  I'm hoping that by the time Patrick gets here on Monday that we will be back to normal.  Sawyer is still in school and my parents still have work, so Alden and I are doing the same thing that we would be doing at home except we get to see them when they get home and Patrick doesn't have as many distractions as he studies and takes his finals.  He only has one more tomorrow morning and then he's done and ready for his last semester of school.

Since we arrived here Alden has been dragging out all of the toys and books that my brothers and I use to play with and read.  It's been fun going through all the old things and remembering how fun they were when we used to play with them.  Alden has officially gone on whole milk and loves it.  He is down to nursing just two maybe three times a day and it's only at night before bed and then when he wakes up.  He's doing really well and loving all the snacks around the house.  Alden is loving all the attention.  As each person gets home, he follows them around the house to make sure they notice him and to see what they are up to.  My mom has given him the nickname of "shadow" when he does this.  He can't stand to have anyone leave the room and have the door shut behind them.  I just figure he's tired of just playing with mom all day and is excited for a fresh face.

We can't wait until they are all done with school and work and for Tolson and Patrick to come into town this weekend.  It's going to be a great break, if only I already had all my shopping done.  I guess this just means I'll have something to do next week.  We are excited for Alden's first Christmas and look forward to all the fun memories that we will make.

Sick little boy

Yesterday I took Alden to the doctor's office because he developed a pretty nasty cough over the weekend and I just wanted to make sure it wasn't anything too serious because he wasn't complaining very much, but we didn't get a lot of sleep the night before.  It turns out that he has an ear infection in his right ear and has bronchiolitis in his lungs.  Bronchiolitis is a virus and it may take him a few weeks to get over his cough, but as long as his symptoms don't get worse we will just wait it out.  And he is on antibiotics for his ear infection.  I'm very happy to report that this is his first real sickness (we made it 10 months) and he is still a very happy sick patient.  Alden was weighed yesterday as well, and he is now 21 lbs 15 oz.  He is still growing and eating everything!

Alden is walking on his own now and is getting really good.  He babbles all day long and loves to laugh.  Lately he has noticed when his dad is home and when he isn't.  When Patrick leaves a room he has to follow him and always wants to be around him.  Also, when Patrick leaves in the morning for school, Alden breaks down crying and follows him to the door.  Thank goodness this doesn't last very long but I have to distract him and tell him that he'll be back later.  I'm glad he likes to be with his dad and I'm sure Patrick's self esteem isn't hurting either :)

The first night in footie pajamas

Alden and me digging through all the warm clothes to get ready for Patrick's frisbee game

Alden and Dad playing the Wii

 

Happy Halloween!

This past weekend was so much fun.  It was Alden's first Halloween and Patrick and I actually had plans and got dressed up as well.  A few weeks ago we decided that for Halloween this year Alden needed to be a vampire because he has a lot of teeth and loves to bite everything.  We wanted a simple costume that he might actually wear and enjoy.  I decided to make the cape myself because I couldn't find one that would be his size and I wanted to say I made something for him.  I haven't been on a sewing machine in many, many years but I figure his Halloween costume was a good place to start since it didn't need to be perfect.  I had a lot of help from Mercedes and Celecta (my mother-in-law).  They found me the patterns and then Celecta helped talk me through each step.  But I cut it and sewed it all by myself and I was very proud of the end product.  Celecta did make a cumberbun to go with it.  Alden looked great and we added a touch of red lipstick to look like blood dripping from his mouth.

Patrick, Alden and I were invited to Brianne and Quinn's house for a Halloween party.  Their little girl Belle is about five months older than Alden and they loved having each other to play with.  It was a low-key party and so much fun.  We ate good food and played rock band and caught up with old friends.  Patrick and I dressed up as Mary Poppins and Bert (from Mary Poppins).  We borrowed the dress-up clothes from Patrick's family.  It was perfect and people even guessed who we were :)  We made a stop by the hospital to visit my cousin Lendrum and show him our costumes.  All in all it was a great night!

Our little vampire

 Alden fell asleep on the way to the party

 Alden and Belle - Belle was the cutest little chick

 Brianne and Quinn bought balls and filled up the pack in play for the little ones to play in

Alden had so much fun in there

 On Sunday we went with Devin, Mercedes and Lucy to visit Grandma and Grandpa Moss

We wanted to show them the costumes - Lucy was a puppy dog

Just a Thursday night

Just wanted to put in two pictures that Patrick took of Alden and me.  It was a Thursday night and we were getting ready for bed, but we made a quick batch of blueberry muffins and Alden and I were just having a little snack.  For some reason Patrick thought it was funny and wanted to document it.  His caption was "Alden and Mom on a Thursday night".  This pretty much sums up what we do most days around here.  Alden and I just hang out by eating and playing.  We have a lot of fun and are really good at it!

He accepted!

For those of you that don't know, Patrick has been gone a lot the past few weeks for interviews.  He would fly out of a Sunday and get back either Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.  It was hard having him gone for several days, but Alden and I managed somehow knowing that hopefully the interviewing would pay off and he would be able to find a job that we would love.  We are so happy and proud of all of Patrick's hard work.  We're happy to say that this past weekend we accepted a job with Owens Corning and will be moving to Starr, South Carolina in May.  Patrick is really excited about this opportunity and is really happy with his decision.  We're also very excited that there are no more interviews or information sessions or long nights on campus doing the career fair thing.  The end of school is in sight and we can't wait. 
Below are a few pictures of Alden and I hanging out one night eating dinner while Patrick was gone.  I finally got some good pictures of his smile with all his teeth showing.  He currently has four on top and two on bottom.  But I think he'll be getting some more very soon, because he's fingers are constantly in his mouth and are rubbed raw and that usually happens when he is about to get new teeth.

Horse back riding

Patrick's family had a day off of school a few weeks ago and they invited Alden and me to go ride horses with them.  They have extended family that have horses and they only live about an hour away.  It was a beautiful day and we were so excited to go.  Alden loves seeing the horses again and I really enjoyed getting on a horse again.  I hadn't been on one in a number of years, but I've always loved horses and had a lot of fun.  Alden came with me for a few laps in the corral and then we took the horse out in the field.  After Alden was done riding I got to ride solo for about 15 minutes and let the horse run in the field.  I wasn't out there for too long, but definitely was a little sore from riding that afternoon.  Alden and I hung out with family and had a picnic the rest of the afternoon.  It was fun and can't wait to do it again hopefully when Patrick can come and not have school.

Alden is meeting the horses

Thanksgiving Point - Round 2

Alden and I wanted to get back up to Thanksgiving Point and see the animals before the weather turned really cold, so we took Patrick with us one Friday afternoon.  It was so much fun and Alden even got to ride on the ponies twice since Patrick and I both got a ticket.  He loved it and loved see all the animals.  We got to feed the goats again which was one of the best parts, besides riding the ponies.

 Feeding the goats

 That goat was pretty funny

 Looking at the turkeys

 Riding the horses

 Looking at the calf that they were walking around

 Alden is a serious rider