Aiden Is ONE MONTH!!

Swansea Road- Monster Mash!

Our second annual Swansea Road, Halloween Party!!!  Swansea Road has the BEST trick or treat night in Columbus!  I know... bold statement, but come and see for yourself, it really is!!!  There are so many trick or treaters and everyone has their light on and candy ready.  We have the Halloween Hotdog Hut and all of our kiddos are friends and excited to see each other, out and about!  They all have the same mission in mind.  GET LOTS OF CANDY!  HA!  I love halloween, and especially love seeing all of our little friends in their costumes.  :-)  With this thought in mind last year we decided to throw a little party for the kiddos on our street.  It was a lot of fun, and now we're at it again!  Here are some pictures from the day.  It was super cold outside, but we had a lot of fun!!!

She-Ra and Kayleigh- the soccer player!

AB does this She-ra pose and does a line from her favorite super hero...  "Are you looking for me?"

Monster Treats!

Cheesy popcorn!

Yogurt monster cups!

Princess Ava

Batman Miles and Luke Sky Walker Ashton

Tweet little Dani Rae

Golfer Kody and his ghost friend

Kody and Khloe the beautiful flower

Little Monster Fynn!

Making Monster Puppets

Hearing the rules for the pinata

Candy!!!

It was cold!  But we had a really fun afternoon!  We love our neighbors on Swansea Road!  The best in UA!

Leed's Farm for Fall Fun!

 Annabelle and Aiden went to the farm today, however, other than eating when we first arrived, Aiden slept the ENTIRE time we were there.  We assured him that he was by far the best looking little pumpkin there!  What a sweetie.  Annabelle bounced, biked, slid, played and of course picked out some wonderful pumpkins!

 Lucky for Mommy and Daddy we had a few extra hands on deck.  Mimzey and Dano met us at Leed's!  Above you can see Mimzey taking the 'dare-devil' on a ride!

 HA!  Sit down AB!  You crazy girl!!

 Sweet girls having lots of fun!

 Corn-box

 Well, he really didn't do much pumpkin picking because, well, he looked like this the whole time were were there.  Annabelle and Daddy took care of picking out our pumpkins.  Annabelle did a nice job.  She found some that were $5 and $7.  She told her Daddy that we didn't need the $10 pumpkins because that is 'TOO MUCH FOR A PUMPKIN!"  She told Daddy he could pick a $7 pumpkin because he was grown up and that she'd pick a $5 pumpkin.  :-)  Smart shopper!

It was a great day...  With a newborn baby you really never know how these little outings will go.  Thus far, he's been such a good little side kick to his big sister AB.  We are so grateful to have two beautiful, healthy little peanuts.  It's been nice having little Aiden in the fall because it's allowed us to get out and about more than we did with Miss Annabelle in her first few weeks of life.  Poor girl was under house arrest until she was 2.5 - 3 months old!!  lol-  

Thank you, Annabelle and Aiden for making your Mommy and Daddy's lives so much fun!  We feel so blessed to have these memories with you both.  XOXOXO!!!

Big Weekend!

 This little buddy should be tired!!!  Aiden McCall has just finished his first growth spurt and WHEW!!!  It was a lot of work for this little buddy and his Mommy!  I've been spoiled, only waking two times a night to feed our little man until he hit his 2 week growth spurt.  For three nights we had feedings every 1.5 to 2 hours.  This makes for a very tired Aiden and Mommy!!!  Lucky for us these little spurts don't last long.  We're both getting back on track. :-)

Eating hasn't been a problem and so this little guy is growing fast.  Aiden had his first well visit with Dr. Barrett on Friday.  He is now 7lbs and 5oz & 21 inches long!  Not bad for 13 days old!  He received a 'clean bill of health' from the Dr. which made Mommy and Daddy very very happy.

 Other firsts... Was our first bath, on Thursday.  Annabelle was a very big help.  It's so much fun sharing these little moments with her and letting her help.  She just loves her baby brother so much!  Aiden didn't seem to mind his bath.  He didn't cry, but did have a look of concern most of the time.  He's a pretty easy going dude, which is nice.  

On Friday night, Aiden attended his very first Swansea Road get together.  Then on Saturday entertained Great Grandma and Grandpa Newman, Silly Grandpa and Yaya, Aunt Teresa and Uncle Dave, Cousin Holly, James, Levi and Kaden!!  It was great that everyone could come and meet our little dude.  Later that night we had fun with Emily, Noah and Josie.  It's so nice for Annabelle to have friends over.  Grown-ups are fun, but it's hard for her to share their time with Aiden right now...  Friends are the prefect medicine for that little bit of jealous fever.  :-)  

 On Sunday, we had Nana and Pap over for a visit!  Then AB and Daddy went on a special date!  Beauty and the Beast at the Palace.  Annabelle got all dressed up in her 'Belle' dress and headed out for a memorable afternoon with her very own Prince Charming...  They had a lot of fun but were both pretty tired by the time they got home.  It was a big weekend but one that was very fun and blessed with such wonderful family and friends.  

We are all very lucky and very loved...

One Lucky Mama & Papa

 Adjusting to a new addition to the family can be hard on everyone, but the focus is normally on the older sibling...  Annabelle has been the one and only for 4.5 years and we were all a bit concerned about how she'd handle having Baby Aiden around 24/7.  Annabelle loves babies.  We had the pleasure of watching Baby Carter and Baby Claire this year and both Annabelle and myself learned so very much.  It was a great refresher course for me and really good practice for her.  I can say with great pride that our little Annabelle Marie has a very big heart and she has welcomed Aiden into her heart with great ease and enthusiasm.

 There is something magical, for a parent, to watch their children love one another.  The moment that Annabelle walked into our hospital room I was overwhelmed with emotion.  Before your second comes you wonder how you'll ever love them as much as you love your first.  I know in talking to every mother/father I know that they too had the same worry.  The answer was consistently the same from them all.  "I don't know how, but you just do...  Your love isn't split it just grows."  From the moment I saw Aiden I knew that statement was true AND when I saw Annabelle look at Aiden for the first time I knew it even more...  "Awwww, Mommy!  He's soooo cute!!!"

Watching her open her heart was very special for me and Nick.  We are so proud of the big sister she is and know that she'll continue to show/teach Baby Aiden many, many things.  

As for Annabelle's little heart and how she's adjusting to the major shift in attention...  Well, honestly, it's day by day.  For the most part she's handled everything just wonderfully.  There have been some tough moments, but that's life and there will be many more.  Nick and I have just tried to keep our patients and talk to her about her feelings and how to handle them.  Isn't it funny...  As parents we have to breakdown the simplest of tasks in order to teach them to our children.  It starts at Aiden's age...  Teaching them how to sooth themselves to sleep, to eat...  As kiddos get bigger we forget to break these things down to help them understand.  Dealing with emotions is something that has to be taught...  What can you do when you are mad, sad, lonely, etc?  We get upset when AB has a meltdown, but really it's a teachable moment.  It is the time to try and address her feelings and give her the tools to better deal with her emotions.  I know, for me, I find myself just expecting Annabelle to know what to do and how to do it.  On days when I'm not being such a good Mommy, I hear myself barking orders at her and getting upset or frustrated with her when she's not listening and marching to my orders.  I have to take a step back at times and remind myself that she is only four years old...  :-)  And a LOVELY four year old she is too!

Dear AB,

Your Mommy and Daddy are so proud of the way you've become a Big Sister!  You are so very kind to Baby Aiden.  I know he is going to have the very best example, in you as he grows bigger and bigger.  Thank you for being patient with your Mommy and Daddy. We are all learning together, but we know it can be hard when you feel the attention isn't on you quite as much...  Just remember that Mommy and Daddy couldn't love you more.  You and Aiden are our hearts.  

Dear Aiden,

Welcome, Buddy!  Getting to know you these past 10 days have been our absolute pleasure.  It can't be easy coming out of a mommy's belly, but you've made it look pretty simple.  You are a Dreamboat!  You are eating very well, sleeping even better, and melting all of our hearts.  Your Mommy, Daddy and Big Sissy love you so very much!

Happy To Be Home

Here we are for the first time as a family of four!  It's funny...  I remember being in the hospital with Annabelle and really being worried about going home.  I was scared to be a Mommy without the helpful nurses around.  This time I was ready to go home the very next day.  Being together was all I could think about.  It was really hard waiting patiently as we were discharged Monday morning...  With that said, I can't imagine having a better experience.  Riverside was wonderful.  All of our nurses were fantastic.  

I'm just going to post a bunch of different pics that I took at the hospital and our first few days home.  I know there will be many more to come!!!