New Pics

It's been a week since I lasted posted pictures of Ayden (crazy, I know!) but have no fear, here are several snapshots from his week! He is going everywhere and into everything! He prefers to be vertical most of the time now, it's so amazing to see my little baby standing up all by himself! His funniest and newest trick is growling at the dogs (primarily Jack). I will try to catch it on video to post. He has the greatest sense of humor, I like to think he got that from me :)

Spying on the neighbors
One of his favorite new places to go!
He stands up at the cage and growls at the dogs!
What a little ham!
Such a sweetheart :)

Dancing

Ayden "dances" everytime he hears music. If he is lucky, he will actually have some rhythm when he grows up, unlike me and Chris!!

Pics from our weekend

We had a stream of visitors over the weekend, and it was no secret, everyone was there to see Ayden! He got to show off his crawling, pulling up, and dancing to a whole new audience!

Saying hello to Jenny and Kyle
Giving Aunt Jenny a crash course in feeding babies!
A very sleepy Ayden snuggling with Uncle Nick
Making sure everyone is watching him play the drums!
Dancing for Paw Paw and MeMaw

Best buds

Ayden and Andy have become quite the little companions! They follow each other through the house all day and play very well together. Notice there are no pictures of Ayden and Jack...they are still working at becoming friends to say the least! Jack (harmlessly) growls at Ayden, but it doesn't bother Ayden, he growls back! It's hilarious! Here are some pictures from Ayden and Andy's adventures!

I turned my back for one second...and the dogs' water was everywhere!
Andy hoping to catch a stray Cheerio!

Watch out Andy, Ayden has a mischevious look in his eye!
Andy doesn't seem to mind the hairpulling and hitting at all!

Playing outside

Ayden absolutely loves to be outside! We spread out a blanket on the grass yesterday afternoon and enjoyed these last days of comfortable temperatures before the summer heat hits!

He didn't stay on the blanket for long!
Taking a break to eat some of mommy's ice
Yum!

An afternoon with good friends

Yesterday we had the pleasure of spending the afternoon with Melissa and Lily Kate who were in town visiting family for the weekend. It's always so nice to see them, but our visits never last long enough! Although I don't miss nursing school, I do miss the long hours of laughter (and sometimes tears!) Melissa and I shared in those days!

Our little sweethearts
I love Lily's expression in this one!
Playtime!
Ayden loved watching Lily's every move!

9 months old!

Our big boy is 9 months old today! He is doing new things everyday and is always on the move! He keeps us laughing with his charming and spirited personality. He is such a good and happy baby and so much fun! I can't believe how fast we are approaching his 1st birthday!! Here are some sweet snapshots from Ayden's busy days!

Pulling up!

Now that he has mastered crawling, Ayden decided he needed a new challenge today and just pulled up all by himself for the first time! He just crawled across the room to his toy box and got up on his knees (at which point I grabbed the camera) and then to my surprise pulled right up like it was nothing! I'm such a proud momma, can you tell?! :)

Playing is hard work!

Ayden is way too busy these days to stop for silly naps...he just has to catch one when he can, even if it's in the middle of dinner!

Little Buddies

Ayden and Tanner got together today for a little playdate, they play together so well! It is so fun watching them grow up together!

Ayden age 1 day; Tanner age 4 months

Look at them now! Little flirts!

Tanner's got this walking thing down!

Ayden "sharing" his toys

They are quite the wiggly armful now!

Ayden the Explorer

Ayden is enjoying exploring every square inch of the house now that he has his new-found mobility! In the meantime, I am super-busy babyproofing!

So this is the kitchen...

Pausing for a moment to check out some new toys

Going to see his puppies!

Not so sure he likes this cold, hard floor!

(but check out that upper body strength!)

Ah, its not so bad afterall!

Playing with his new wagon

Standing all by himself!

I'm outta here!

Precious!

I am stealing this picture off of my sister-in-law Jessica's blog- it is of our absolutely beautiful niece and nephew Emery Jai and Guice. Are they not the sweetest little pair ever?! Just had to share, I am such a proud Aunt!

My First Mother's Day

Today was a very special and wonderful day for me as I celebrated my first Mother's Day! I have been overwhelmed with emotions lately thinking about how fortunate and blessed I am to have the privilege of being Ayden's mother. My life changed forever the day he came into our lives and I know for sure he is and always will be my greatest accomplishment in life. I want to thank God for giving us this precious little boy! I hope my own mother and all the other wonderful mothers in my life had a great Mother's day too!

Me with the joy of my life

(and the beautiful necklace I got from Ayden and Chris!)

Going the distance!

Ayden is crawling farther and farther everyday!!

Ayden on the move!

Trip to Mena

Ayden and I had a very enjoyable 2 day visit to Mena. He saw all his grandparents and great-grandparents and met his 2nd cousins Ty (3 years), Mason (18 months), and Kenzie (3 months) for the first time. Ayden was such a good, happy boy the entire time and loved all the extra love and attention!

Mason, Ayden, and Kenzie
Sweet little girl
Big brother Ty
Mason sharing his toys
Such a happy boy
Playing with Great-Papa
Playing with Great-Grandpa

Checking out Nanny's yard with Mimi
How pretty!
Ayden and Nanny
Getting tickled by Papaw
Ayden and Memaw