Ayden meets the potty!

I finally bought Ayden a little potty chair to begin the very early stages of potty training! I thought it would be good for him to become familiar with the potty and practice sitting on it. He definetely had no intention of doing anything with the potty chair today except treating it as the newest and coolest toy in his collection! He carried it room to room, sat on it everyway possible, used the cushioned seat as a hat, and flipped the lid down to make a stepstool. Even though it looks as it will be quite awhile before we have this new skill mastered, I can't help but smile watching my imaginative little boy having fun with a toilet!!

Using it as a stepstool

Testing it out fully clothed in the living room

Trying a different angle...

Ayden is such a trendsetter-

It's the potty seat hat!

Ayden's first camping trip!

This past weekend we took Ayden camping for the first time! It was quite the experience, to say the least! We stayed on the White River about 9 miles outside Eureka Springs. It was a beautiful campground and the weather was perfect. We had intended to stay 2 nights, but after the first night, we decided to head back home! Ayden had a blast- he loved the tent, he loved the campfire, he loved the woods, he loved all the fresh air and running around--but the campground was so crowded we were constantly on edge that Ayden was going to dart into the road that we found it hard to relax. Not to mention that our camping "neighbor" decided to come over and spend 3 HOURS boring us with his ex-truck driver tales. At first, we felt sorry for the guy, but after the first hour or so we were ready to hide from him! He would not leave!! At least we have funny stories to tell! Ayden scraped both his knees from running around and got a knot on his head from falling off the picnic table, poor guy! Saturday we took Ayden and Andy both for a stroll through beautiful downtown Eureka Springs. We had a great time but were happy to get home!

Ready for a wagon ride!

The beautiful campground

Andy loved the great outdoors!

Ayden thought the tent was the greatest!

Watching Daddy air up the bed

testing out his new chair

One of the pretty trails down to the river

Another pretty trail

Gorgeous view of the river from a bluff

(we had Ayden on leash at this point!)

Chris and I taking a self-portrait

Our campsite

Little cutie!

Our oh-so-cozy tent

Eating hotdogs right off the campfire!

Blowing bubbles with Daddy

Chillin' in the wagon before bed

Chris, Ayden, and Andy in Eureka Springs

Now with Mommy!

Andy got lots of attention from passers-by!

But not as much as this handsome little guy!

Just some pretty pics of downtown Eureka in the full

bloom of Spring

Our boy is feeling better!

Ayden is feeling so much better! Now he has a yucky cough, but otherwise he's back to his old self!

Watching Daddy mow the lawn

Saying "where's dada?" when Chris went out of sight

Can you believe how big he is getting?!

He loves wearing his backpack!

New words

Ayden is saying new words everyday, so many that I can't even keep track anymore! It would be easier to list the words he can't say vs. the ones he can-- mostly from just being such an observant little boy. He has started naming objects according to their function. He brought me the ear thermometer the other day (something we have used A LOT this week) and said "temperature" (in Ayden language, that is pronounced "pa-cher"). He also calls the camera a "picture" (picher). All ducks are "kack-kacks" (for quack, not ducks, LOL.) He names his clothes as we are getting dressed (shirt, pants, shoes) and says his body parts as we pull them into clothes or shoes (arms, legs, feet). It is so much fun seeing his language skills develop and see him use words and phrases on his own without us prompting him. His all-time favorite thing is naming/finding objects on the pages of his books. Also, we can tell him to go get a certain book (the one about pumpkins, or bears, or bunnies, or Elmo or Pooh, etc) and he can bring us the right book everytime! In case you can't tell, we are very proud of our little guy! :) 20 months old tomorrow!

Sweet little daddy!

I finally got Ayden a baby doll, and despite what his daddy might think, I think it's precious! Here he is loving and feeding his "be-be"

Horse Swing!

Ayden has yet another reason to love visiting Mena- a new horse swing from Pappaw and Grandma!

Ayden update

Ayden has not had fever for 24 hours, yea! I'm not sure if this is because he is getting better, or if it's because I am giving him Motrin around the clock for the pain. Regardless, it's a major improvement. However, the irritibility and crankiness that the doctor predicted is at an all-time high! He has had several bouts of inconsolable crying, one of which occured at 2 AM this morning. It breaks my heart because it is so obvious he is miserable, and I hate when there is nothing we can do to help! I was up with him from 2-4 this morning rocking him and watching Sesame Street, which was the only thing that calmed him down. Thank you Elmo! He is drinking very well and eating a little better but still not very much at all. Giving him Motrin helps a lot, but the actual act of getting him to take it takes about 10 minutes. He starts screaming as soon as he sees the medicine dropper, screams and fights the whole time we are giving it to him, and cries for about 10 minutes after. Oh, the joys of toddlerhood! Hopefully we are on the downhill slide of this awful virus...keep us in your thoughts and pray your own kiddos don't ever get it!!

If you need a good laugh...

Chris and I love to watch America's Funniest Home Videos (yes, it still comes on!) and we saw a couple of videos tonight that had us rolling in the floor laughing!! Take a couple minutes to watch these...it will be well worth your time!

Tantrum Boy

A very talkative 12 month old

An Easter weekend we'll never forget

Due to the horrific tornado in Mena on Thursday night, this Easter weekend was nothing like what we had planned. No egg hunt at the park, no Easter Sunday church service. But we did have a very memorable time with family and friends and got to the see the very strong community of Mena pull together in an amazing way. We left for Mena Friday morning and Chris spent all day Friday helping clear out what remained of his Nanny's house which was tragically lost in the tornado. Nothing could have prepared us for what we saw when we got to Mena. The center of town is literally wiped out. The "heart" of Mena that we have known and loved for so many years is practically unrecognizable. Sadly, 3 people lost their lives in the storm, but after seeing the damage, it is amazing that more people weren't killed or seriously injured. Chris' Nanny and her friend were in their house when the roof was completely blown off and amazingly were not seriously injured. Amidst the chaos, we managed to have a fun and memorable weekend with Ayden and all our families. Ayden got 3 Easter baskets. I told Chris that most children get one basket, spoiled children get 2 baskets, and ROTTEN children get 3. That's Ayden! We dyed eggs and made a hideous mess but had a blast doing it! Ayden got to spend lots of time playing with his cousins and had SO much fun!!

Unfortunately, Ayden starting running fever last night and we just returned from the doctor where we found out he has Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease Yikes. There's not a specific treatment for the illness. The doctor told us to keep him away from other kids for a week, treat the fever with Tylenol, and keep him hydrated. She said the first 24-48 hours are the worst for the fever and crankiness. As of right now, he has the ulcers in the back of his throat but none on his hands or feet. Poor little guy!!

Here are a ton of pics from our weekend...starting with the sad ones :(

The neighborhood where Chris' nanny lives

What was left of Nanny's house...

Playing with EJ and G at Mimi's house!

Easter basket from Grandma and Pappaw-

complete with ELMO eggs!!

Digging in!

Showing Uncle Nick and Aunt Brandy his treats

Dyeing eggs! And skin! :)

My hands are stained too... LOL

Sweet boy

Not so sweet boy!

Ayden's finished Sesame Street decorated eggs!

Basket from Mommy and Daddy

Being silly with Pappaw!
And Grandma too!

Family pic in our Easter duds!
Visiting Great Grammie and Papa

More Easter candy from Pappaw and Memaw!

Uncle Josh, EJ and G

Sweet cousins

Cuties!

Hanging out with Memaw
Tickles from Pappaw!

Our future pianist :)