Finally

Alden finally cut his second tooth!  This one has given us a lot of problems as noted in the last post, but last night was amazing.  It pretty much made up for the past four nights of me having to sleep on the couch with him most of the night.  He's been really needy and cuddly and I was wondering how I was going to get him back to sleeping in his own bed when this was all done.  Well last night was the night.  He was asleep by 10:00 and then woke up a little after 3:00 to eat a little then went right back down (in his own bed) and slept until 6:00 and was only awake for a little bit then went back down (in his own bed) and I didn't hear from him until 8:20.  I almost had a hard time getting back to sleep after the first wake up because I usually don't get to go right back to sleep :)  I'm glad that he's no longer in a bunch of pain.  It was awful to know that he was hurting and there was nothing I could really do for him.  He would rub his hands on his cheeks like he had an itch or rub his eyes with both hands.  That's how we knew he was in pain and his teeth were giving him troubles.  Every time I went to pick him up this week his whole face has been red where he's been rubbing it. 

Today has been a great day so far.  We've been able to play, run some errands, do housework, and even baked some muffins.  It's amazing what getting sleep at night does.  I feel like a human being again and I'm able to play and be the mom I want to be to Alden instead of feeling like a zombie all day.

One of Alden's new favorite games is rolling on the floor or bed with me.  He's getting really fast and rolling over so I will lay down and roll either towards or away from him and he'll either roll away or chase after me.  He laughs the whole time and it exhausts him.  We have a lot of fun spending our days together.

Alden loves to pull himself up on anything and loves to stand.  I helped him stand up in his bed, but he stood and held on by himself for a long time.

I thought I would also add this picture because Patrick took it and thought it was really funny.  Alden uses his feet a lot to grab and play with toys.  He especially uses his big toes, and sometimes they cut the back of his heels when his toenails are too long or sharp.  So I was cutting his toenails when Patrick walked in on us.  He thought it was hilarious how I had Alden's arms pinned back and out of the way.  (Also note the drool spots - it was the end of the day and that's all his does all day long)

Happy Birthday Patrick!

Today is Patrick's birthday and we need to celebrate.  We went to the soccer game a week and a half ago to celebrate, but since today is actually the day we need to do more.  I've been trying to think of food to make and how we can make today special, but Alden is cutting his second tooth.  And this second one is giving us a run for our money.  I've been up more in the past few nights than I thought possible.  I'm pretty sure it was like this when he was a little baby, but I must have already blocked that from my memory because I can't remember.  I'm so tired and I keep trying to tell myself that this will pass eventually.  So in the mean time, Happy Birthday Patrick.  We are grateful for you and all your hard work.  We love you and will celebrate somehow!

This picture was taken during our engagement pictures - it's one that represents us perfectly

Blueberries

This week we had family night on Tuesday and we went and picked blueberries with our friend Logan.  It was so much fun.  An older couple lives just a little ways out of the city and has a beautiful house with a large blueberry and blackberry garden that they open to the public on Tuesdays and Saturdays.  They had hundreds of blueberry bushes and we got to pick as much as we wanted.  It was $2/lb, so I thought that was a great deal for fresh fruit.  Alden loved being outside and it was fun to sit and talk while picking.  Now I have a little less than seven pounds of blueberries that I'm trying to come up with ways to use.  Since we're leaving in less than a month I can't really store them, so they need to be used.  So far this week we've had several blueberry dishes.  But we love them and it's fun to come up with uses for fresh fruit.  We've had a blueberry cobbler, blueberry syrup, and blueberry muffins.  If anyone has any ideas or favorite recipes I'm open to suggestions!

Alden kept on wanting to taste the leaves

Alden and Dad

Look how many we picked so far

Such a good helper - he's holding the basket

Alden recognizes the camera and loves to have his picture taken

Happy Birthday to Me

This past Saturday was my birthday.  We had a fun and busy weekend.  Saturday morning we got ready rather quickly for a Saturday morning and jumped in the car and headed to Charleston for the day.  Patrick had gotten tickets for his birthday to go to a soccer game that night.  The Charleston Battery was playing Bolton. So since we were using his birthday gift on my birthday we decided to make a day of it.  We stopped by Mt. Pleasant to visit my Aunt Stephanie and Aunt Faith's families, but it's summer and their lives are busy so we just visited for a little bit before heading to see downtown Charleston.  I have never been and wanted to do some exploring.  Of course we picked the hottest, most humid day to go, but we still had fun.  We walked up and down the old streets admiring the beauty of the city.  We'd like to go back and take a guided tour but we were running out of time because we had to get to the soccer game.  Alden was a trooper and did great traveling and riding in his stroller in the heat.

This is how Alden traveled most of the time in the car - it was a miracle

We visited the Battery

Alden and Mom walking along the coast near the Battery

We visited Rainbow Row and looked at all the old houses.  Rainbow Row is a street that has all the homes in different colors.  Next time, I want to take one of those horse drawn tours through the town.

We also saw old Cobblestone streets and visited a street market.  We had a lot of fun looking at all the unique and hand made gifts and sampled some tasty treats.  The soccer game was also fun even though the Battery lost.  Alden was so exhausted from the day that he even slept through the first half.

My mom got me a breadmaker for my birthday.  I've been wanting one for a long time now, and I found one really cheap so she got it for me.  I'm working on perfecting my rolls, but we have so far enjoyed it.  Patrick got me a DVD that has three older Tom Hanks movies.  I love the older movies that Tom Hanks is in and can't wait to watch them.  Two of them are some of my favorites already, but one I haven't even seen yet.  It was a great weekend. 

Patrick snapped a few pictures of Alden and I waiting for the rolls to come out of the oven.

The finished product

One tooth!

Yesterday on our drive back home, Alden grabbed my hand and started sucking on my fingers.  I quickly pulled them out since this happens more times a day then I can count, and felt something on his gums.  He has been drooling a ton and everything goes to his mouth, but this isn't new and I haven't felt or seen teeth in months.  But yesterday I did some investigating and I'm pleased to report that Alden does have a tooth.  It's on the bottom and it appears to have barely broken through.  But it's there right under the gum with a little piece poking out.  He's growing up too fast.  This week, he turned six month's old.  Time sure does fly when you're having fun.

I also just posted all about our adventures over the past few weeks, so make sure to read below.

We're home

Well, it's been an exciting two weeks.  Alden and I are finally home from our travels and have had a great time, but we're happy to be back home and with Patrick.  I've taken a ton of pictures, so this post will be pictures with stories here and there to help me remember all our fun times.

On the way to my parents, Alden started getting fussy from the long car ride and he wanted to know what was going on.  He hates his car seat because he can't see what the rest of us are doing.  So we let him take a look as long as he remained in his seat.

Since Alden's white church shirts are now tinted pink this is the outfit he wore to the wedding reception and to church both Sundays.  I thought it was very cute on him.

This is pretty much the only picture we have of Pappy and Alden.

Look at this cute face

Huggies has come out with diapers that look like Jeans.  They make these at Patrick's work and he's been dying for Alden to have some.  So this is Alden sporting the Jean diapers.  He likes them a lot because I only make him wear a shirt.  I'll have to take a better picture the next time he wears them.

Gram and Granddaddy bought a swing for Alden to enjoy when we were at their house.  Here he is trying it out for the first time. 

This is how they spent many mornings.

Alden got a new swimsuit right before we went down to Alabama.  He had outgrown his old one.  This new one makes him look older because the design is one you would find on an adult swimsuit.

My mom's cousin Rhonda lives on the other side of the woods from my grandparents.  We would take our walk through the woods and go and visit all the animals.  Alden loved it and I have to admit that I enjoyed it as well.  They had two pigs and if you took a stick and started scratching their bellies, they would lay down like a dog and want you to keep rubbing them.

The baby goats were so fun.  Their little cries sounded like babies or children crying.  When we were walking in the woods, we heard them and my mom wondered why there were children this far out here.  Alden got to touch and pet the goats.

Alden loves Gram and Granddaddy.  He has started reaching for people while I'm holding him.  Every time one of them walked by he would reach out for them and want them to take him.  He was very spoiled and loved every minute of it :)

Getting ready for a morning swim.  Bear (the dog) followed us everywhere.  Alden loved watching Bear chase balls and run around the yard.  Bear would keep Alden entertained for hours.  Alden showed no fear and would let Bear get really close.  I have a feeling we may need to get this boy a dog someday.

Our favorite activity with Bear was swimming.  While we were in the pool Bear would drop tennis balls in the water and wait for us to get them and throw them to him.  After he had mangled a ball to the point where it would begin to sink he would drop it in and let it sink to the bottom and wait for us to dive in and get it for him.  If we took too long to get back to him he would come him the water and hover over the area of the ball as if to tell us that this is where it is.  Also, my cousin Michael and Sawyer were jumping off the diving board and splashing around.  Every time Michael would jump off Bear would go running to the stairs and get in the water and swim out to the deep in to "save" him.  It was hilarious how concerned he was that they were in trouble or drowning.  One day Sawyer had filled up a water balloon in the pool and Bear wanted it from him.  Sawyer was hiding it behind his back but Bear was chasing him down in the water.  One time Bear's back legs touched the bottom on the shallow end and he realized he could touch by standing straight up.  This is what it looked like.  I had goggles on and was watching this from under the water.  Bear probably stayed like this for three minutes because my mom had time to run in and get a camera and then come back out.

Enjoying some fresh watermelon poolside after an evening swim.

The following pictures were taken after church on Sunday.  The first is our four generation picture.  I have decided that I want a four generation picture with all of our grandparents and Alden.  We lived out in Utah for three months where three out of four grandparents live and this is the first one I've made.  I'm a little behind.  Oh well, we'll get them when we get back in September. 

The boys

Gram, Mom, Granddaddy, and Alden

Alden and Mom

Grammie and Alden - I love his expression in this one

Alden and Sawyer goofing around

Rhonda also had two baby raccoons, Cindy and Mindy, that we went to see.  These baby raccoons were abandoned and needed a home while they are young.  Rhonda keeps them inside and lets them out to explore each evening.  When they get older she will release them into the woods.  Right now they live in her bathroom and eat cat food and use the litter box.

We had a fabulous trip and can't wait to go back.  Thanks to Grammie and Pappy for letting us stay with you and then take a trip down to Gram and Granddaddy's.  We had so much fun!