Halloween

It is Halloween and our little lady bug is all tucked up in her bed wiped out from a day of fluttering around.

We celebrated Aisling's first Halloween by taking her to the Halloween lot event at work. There were lots and lots of people all dressed up in some pretty interesting costumes. We had lunch with Doug and watched the costume contest for a while. They should have had a cutest baby contest, because Aisling would surely have won.

In the evening we scurried our little bug to Rhiannon, Michael and Arianwen's house for some more Halloween fun. The girls had matching outfits and posed for some wonderfully adorable pictures. We had a nummy dinner and lots of play time which was occasionally interrupted to hand out candy to trick or treaters.

Aisling had a really good time blowing raspberries all night and eating her banana. She has another tooth that just popped out on the top, which makes it a grand total of 3 for those keeping track. She was pretty tuckered by the end of the night and fell fast asleep.

Pre-Halloweeny

Another fun and busy weekend on the books.

Saturday we went to a pumpkin patch for some photo ops. Aisling was amazed by all the big orange things and equally fascinated by the hay, which she kept trying to eat. After picking the perfect pumpkin, we hopped in the car and headed to Whittier to visit Grandma and Grandpa B and Grandma Kettle. It was Grandma Kettle's birthday on Thursday so we all got together to celebrate with Aisling's Great-Grandma.


It was a fun visit. Grandma B fed Aisling some pears and Aisling helped Grandma Kettle blow out her candle.


Sunday we went to family yoga . It was fun to have Daddy there with us for the first time. We had a good time, although we are a bit sore from the workout. In the afternoon Grammy Sue, Grandpa Terry, Nana and Uncle Al came for a visit. They all came bearing gifts, Christmas Lite Brian entitled it. Aisling loved playing with all her new toys, the blocks were a big hit, and reading her new books. We had a nice dinner, I got a knitting lesson from Nana and everyone had fun playing with Aisling.

The best part of the visit, for Mom and Dad anyway, was the added help of keeping Aisling up in an attempt to adjust to the time change. It worked well, everyone kept her entertained until the bed time. She was pretty tired, but she was able to stay awake. The sleeping thing has been rough lately. Her glorious week of sleeping 5-7 hours has been replaced with me stumbling into her room every 1 1/2 -2 hours to nurse her and plop her back in bed. I'm not sure what is going on, but Brian and I are walking zombies trying to survive in a waking coma of sleep deprivation.

My First Hockey Game

Yesterday Mommy and Daddy took me to my first hockey game. There were so many people sitting around this big white thing with little guys scurrying around. The Man behind us kept yelling really loud and every time the black thing went in the net everyone jumped up and cheered. I liked dancing on Mommy's lap when the loud music played. I also got to grab Daddy's new Kings hat. The lady next to us smelled funny. Daddy said she had had too much firewater.


She took our picture and see how blurry it is. She was funny. I tried to grab her nose, but Mommy wouldn't let me. The guy in front of me kept giving me High 5's. I learned lots of new words too, like Ducks Suck and Let's go Kings. They were funny people. I got to eat banana and milk during the game too and Mommy bought me a new hat, since my old Kings hat is getting too small.


I got to take my picture next to Mattias Norstrom too. He is even cuter than Nathan. Maybe I'll marry him instead.


After the Kings game we watched a Celebrity Charity Game. Mom picked me up high so I could see Mr. Hockey Gordie Howe drop the ceremonial puck. It was really fun, but I was really tired and Mommy kept pulling on my socks to keep them on and I had to wear my jacket too so we went home early, but I can't wait to go again.

Babydome Royale 2006

This Saturday we met at Michael and Rhiannon's with Moe and Dunya and all the babies. It was so fun to get together and have all the babies meet properly. Aisling is the oldest at 6 1/2 months with Vuk coming in 2nd at 4 months old and little Arianwen at 2 1/2 months old. The babies are all so sweet and really growing and changing so fast. All of us Mom's got to share notes and commiserate on sleepless nights and endless feedings. It is going to be fun to see these kids grow up together.

Sleeping Like a Baby

First off, I finally got a picture of her little toofy. Isn't it so cute!!


We have had a sleep breakthrough this week. After months of getting no more than 3 hours of sleep at a time, followed by a two week stretch of waking every hour and then playing from 2-4 am, we decided to try a sleep solution. I bought the "No Cry Sleep Solution" book and we put it into effect last Thursday night. The first night she slept 5 hours in a row, the second night she slept 7 hours in a row, all in her crib by the way. It seems to be working and much quicker than I ever thought. I am not exhausted today and it is such a wonderful feeling. Last night we had a little trouble sleeping, I think I ate too many Garlic Fries at dinner cause Ais seemed to be having gas bubbles. But she did sleep the whole night in her crib and only woke up about 3 times. Much better than the every hour thing. It is weird to have her sleeping so well on her own in her room. The first night I hardly slept at all, but I am getting used to it now. I kind of miss having her next to me, but I am totally enjoying not being in a sleep deprived fog all day.


This weekend we were supposed to go to a pumpkin patch with the grandparents, but it rained so we had to switch plans. We met both set of Grandparents at Lucille's in Brea and had a nummy and fun lunch. Grandma and Grandpa B brought her some fun toys that she played with for most of our lunch. Then we all decided to take an impromptu trip to Disneyland. It was a really fun trip to the happiest place on Earth. The tram ride was hysterical. Ais and I sat backwards facing four grinning and waving grandparents. It was so cute. We all rode on the Whinnie the Pooh ride and Brian and I got to ride Pirates while Grammy Sue watched Aisling while she napped. It was such a fun trip and this little baby is certainly loved.

Disneyland is all decked out for Halloween so we still got to take her picture by a pumpkin, of course it had mouse ears, but it worked.

She also rode the carousel with Grammy Sue, Grandpa Terry and Daddy. It was a really fun day.

Sunday we were supposed to go to the Farmer's Market with Ingrid and Fintan, but it was kind of drizzly, so we skipped it as well. We ended up just going to the grocery store and then chilling at home. It was still a nice cuddly Fall day.

The Best Week Ever

Last week was just wonderful. I got to spend every day with Miss Aisling. We had a blast and I am so grateful to have had this bonus week with her.

Monday we went shopping at the grocery store. Aisling sat in the seat of the cart for the first time too. She was so excited and proud. Of course the novelty has worn off by now, but it was a big thrill for her on Monday.


Tuesday we met up with Rhiannon and Arianwen and went to Mommy and Me yoga class. The car ride there was pretty interesting as our little girls took turns crying.
I never knew how long it could feel to drive to Hollywood. When we got there we saw our other friend Dunya and her son Vuk. It was a fun reunion for all of us, it is so neat to see all the babies on the outside. Yoga was fun, although Aisling was pretty fussy for the first part of the class. The class was "conveniently" scheduled during her afternoon nap time, so she was pretty tired. She got a second wind towards the second half of class and enjoyed a round of wheels on the bus and a dance around the room. I sure miss doing special things like this with her. Arianwen did great, she slept through most of the class and was ever so cute.

Wednesday we took a trip out to Riverside to see Dr. Bob and met up for lunch with Aunt Joan. We had lunch with Aunt Joan at CPK where Aisling ate most of my avocado from my avocado egg roll and then we went to see Dr. Bob. Aisling loved Dr. Bob and was laughing the whole time. He also had a water fountain in the waiting area that she was very amused by. Dr. Bob spent a lot of time getting my jaw and back into alignment and it felt so good not to have any pain in either places. Of course, I popped my back out of place on Thursday, but not as bad as before and I got to live pain free for a good half a day. Ah the joys of caring around an 18 pound baby.

Thursday we went to Babies R Us with Rhiannon and Arianwen. This time Rhiannon sat in the back wedged between the 2 car seats. She kept the girls nice and happy and they both slept the whole way there and back. We spent the rest of the afternoon visiting and had a guest appearance by our friend Roberta. It was so fun to get to spend some time with my girlfriends.

Friday was lunch with Daddy at the Santa Fe. Aisling spent half the time blowing raspberries, her new trick. She is so funny when she does them. She really has to think about how to do it. She gets real quiet and contemplative, purses her lips and her whole face turns red until the Pthhhttttt erupts from her mouth with a gallon of drool. It is really pretty cute.

Saturday we went to Nun's for some Cashew Chicken. Aisling has fun there and Mommy and Daddy get some good food. She also started saying Da-Da. She has been a real chatter box the last few days.

Sunday Aisling went to her buddy Tristan's first birthday party. It is Aisling's first official birthday party and she had a great time. She loved watching all the big kids play and even joined in with Tristan for a while. Tristan made her laugh and shared one of his balls with her. It was so cute. She spent the rest of the party gnawing on a carrot stick and my water bottle. She got a cute little gift bag with her name on it as well. It was really fun and just a taste of all the future birthday parties we will be attending in the coming years.

Happy bday Grandpa Terry

We had another fun and busy weekend. Saturday we celebrated Grandpa Terry’s birthday. We had some fun in the pool and then spent the rest of the afternoon visiting with the rest of the family. She also showed everyone how she eats. Her new favorite is sweet potato mixed with a generous amount of rice cereal and mama milk. She makes an absolute mess. She likes to talk when she is eating and sometimes manages to spray sweet potato everywhere. We spent the night so we could go to Disneyland on Sunday.

In the morning Grandpa Terry taught her how to play the piano with her toes.

Sunday we had a fun day at Disneyland. We made a new record and went on 3 rides, one even at DCA. We took her on the tiki room and she just loved it. She got a little restless towards the end but overall she did well. She also rode on the carousel and Monster Inc. She was great the whole day. She does a little bit better every time we go, it is just so much fun.


On the teething front, she cut her first tooth on Sunday as well. She has a little tooth just barely poking out on the bottom. I can just barely feel it, but it is really noticeable when she chomps on the fingers. I think we will be putting an end to her gnawing on our fingers from now on, owieee. She loves her little toothbrush too, she says it is never too early to practice good oral hygiene.

Also, this week I get to stay home with Ais. Norma had to return to El Salvador to visit her sick Dad. And while I feel bad for Norma I am really happy to have this bonus week with Aisling. I have missed her so much since I have gone back to work, so this is just a wonderful treat.