{FOUR}

just wanted to share something

I put together for Aiden

now that he's been FOUR

for a whole month now!

It's amazing how once they turn FOUR,

they immediately become BIG.

It was like over night that

he GREW UP.

where did the time go?

I can tell him to do things, 

like, "Go get your pajamas on."

and he does (well sometimes).

He's saying BIG {100%} BOY things like,

"ewwww! My foot farted!!"

then laughs his head off.

OR how about this:

as he comes running into the house,

laughing hysterically,

"MOM! I pull my pants and girls see my unnerwear on,

and girls say, heeheehahahaheehee, and I run!"

insert{FOUR year old grabbing stomach and belly (fake) laughing}

(and yes, he calls his underwear, "unnerwear on" just like he

always calls the toilet, "potty first")

oh and I can't get away without noting,

it was soon after he turned FOUR,

that Aiden first advocated for himself on the playground,

as a little boy stopped in his tracks and asked me,

"What are those things on his ears?"

and Aiden very proudly looked that boy in the eyes, smiled and said,

"Those my CIs!"

AND my four year old is now APPROACHING kids 

on the playground all by himself and saying things like,

"C'mon boys, lets go play!"

ok, this is HUGE. 

seriously. HUGE.

tears&smiles.

you go FOUR year old!

I asked him the other day if he was my baby,

and he said, very matter of fact,

"No mom, I'm daddy's boy."

and then wouldn't even come give me a hug.

{sigh}

Yes, he is100PERCENT little boy.

and I love every little

ounce of his oh so adorable,

silly beyond words,

BIG FOUR year old self.

and the one thing he can't take from me,

is that he will ALWAYS

be my baby.

ABC and a little G

Since the last time I posted,

we have celebrated:

ANOTHER YEAR OF HEARING!

THREE YEARS

to be exact. 

REMEMBER THIS SWEET FACE?

soon after his second CI activation

We celebrated three years hearing with a trip to the park,

and some requested, "chocolate ice cream with sprinkles please".

love this face!

Then a week later was Aiden's,

BIRTHDAY PARTY!

the FOURTH one!

 we celebrated with a HUGE birthday/St. Patty's Day party combo.

It was an open house, and in the end, I believe

we counted 24 kids (from ages 1 to 16),

who were there to join in on the festivities.

Aiden saw his first St. Patrick's Day parade,

took some good whacks at his second ever pinata,

and ran around with many cousins and new friends.

FOUR YEARS OLD!

love these sweet babies!

AaaaaannnnnDDD ...
I got to meet this

CI MOMMY

and her adorable children!

(I have a lot better pics besides this one from my phone, but cannot get my camera to download them! ugh)

She and I have "known" each other since soon after our boys were implanted.

We talk on the phone together,

and support each other through this amazing journey,

but this is the first time we met in person,
and it was pure awesomeness.

Peas and Cam are even more adorable in person! 

They gave me a hug as soon as we walked in

and were so excited to play with Aiden!

 It was great watching all three boys running around and

talking amongst each other about what to play next.
It was like they'd known each other for years ...
just like me and their mom.

I LOVED hearing Noah's amazing language and how it just flowed,

no different than any typical five year old.

The highlight of the day,
listening to two deaf children play hide-n-seek,
with a hearing peer,
each of them yelling out as they counted aloud,
from one to ten,
 then running up to let us moms know they couldn't find another,
and then all settle down to watch some Toy Story 3.
(well, the highlight besides sitting and talking nonstop to 
a pretty amazing mom whom I absolutely adore).


and last but certainly not least,

GRANDMA!

I packed up Aiden and Kailyn last week for their spring break and headed to Wisconsin.
Aiden has always been shy around my mom,
but this trip,
he discovered the MAGIC of GRANDMA!
It was pure bliss
as I watched them laugh,
and dance,
and TALK.
Aiden wouldn't leave her side.

LOVE.

TWO YEARS OLD!

This past Wednesday was Aiden's second birthday. I can't believe he is already two years old! In honor of his birthday we had a family get together at his aunt's house to sing "Happy Birthday", eat lots of yummy food, and smack around a pinata. Since our little leprechaun is a St. Patty's Day baby, his daddy's family is all Irish, and St. Patrick's Day fell in the middle of the workweek, we decided to combine it with honoring St. Patrick too! I'm sure Aiden's birthdays will always be quite the festivity.

I love how baby k's mom posts updates at milestone dates, so decided to start doing the same with Aiden ... especially since I'm not good at getting the baby books filled in!

At two years old Aiden:

*is a hefty little guy weighing in at 30 pounds

*wears size 5 diapers, but is well on his way to size 6 (which mommy's procrastinating because there are a lot fewer in a size 6 vs. a size 5)

*wears a size 2T shirt and pants

*loves Elmo and dancing to Laurie Berkner

*loves playing Wii with his sister and wrestling around with his brother

*favors his daddy over his mommy, unless dad isn't around, then mom rocks the world

*loves cereal, deli turkey meat, yogurt, bananas, and honey buns

*cannot have anything of value in fear that he will throw it in the toilet, trash, or down the laundry shoot

*still loves LIGHTS and FANS which all have to be "on" all.the.time.

*still climbs onto EVERY.LITTLE.THING he can

*is starting to initiate imagination play by himself, with all the great sounds included, such as cooking in his play kitchen, zooming vehicles around the kitchen floor, playing at his train table, and even playing "listening check" with his rings and Lego's

*has become quite the "organizer" and likes to sing the clean up song ("mmm up, mmm up") as he puts things away (sometimes without being asked!)

*loves bathtime and will even take our hand and lead us upstairs, saying "mmm on" (come on) when he wants to take one

*loves to "help" mommy sweep, feed the cats, fold the laundry, and empty the dishwasher.

*has to get a goodnight kiss on his head from everyone and has his own special "I love you"

*loves to throw everything out of his crib, all the diapers out of the stacker (attached to his crib which I really need to move), then proceed to take off his pants and diaper and pee in his crib in protest to naptime which I refuse to give up yet.

*is showing signs he's ready to be potty trained (see above), but for some reason, mom is just not mentally ready *deep breath*

At two years old, Aiden LOVES to hear and shows us this by:

*replacing the coil all by himself when it falls off

*pointing to his ear as soon as he wakes up in the morning or from naptime and says "on"

*stopping to listen and pointing to sounds and expressing emotion toward it.

*taking off and handing me both his CIs himself when getting a shirt put on, at bathtime, and at bedtime (but only after he's laying down and we're done with prayers and I love yous), only to ask for them back as soon as he's through

*repeating almost all the Lings during a listening check - oo and ee still aren't quite there although the sound he does make for them is quite consistent.

*receptively understanding SO much, including countless nouns, many verbs, and many, many commands.

*imitating so much more and really starting to come along expressively.

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY SWEET BOY!

We are so proud of you!