March Madness!

Well well welll....lookee here! I've decided to get off my duff and post in our blog! I can't believe I've let it slide for nearly 3 months.

Hmmm...I guess I will start our update with Christmas. Aaron had *so* much fun this year! He was very good about placing his cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for the reindeer on the fireplace hearth. He said he hoped Santa liked his goodies! We also made a big deal out of unlocking the childproof latch on the fireplace opening. When Aaron saw us do that he squatted down, got very close to the glass and said, "Santa are you up there?" :)

Santa must have felt that he was a very good little boy because he got lots of fun presents! His favorite things were of course his Thomas trains, his new train table built by his Uncle Bob the Builder :) and his vacuum cleaner. We even had to take the vacuum cleaner to Chicago with us the next day when we went to visit Keith's brother and his family.

January passed without incident. He did have one small trip to the pediatricians office because he got a funky rash all over his body. As I suspected he had some sort of virus and it moved on about a week later. My poor fair skinned boy had red welts all over his body.

At the beginning of February we went to Florida to visit Keith's mom and her new husband. And although it wasn't overly warm (high 60s), it was WAY warmer than it was in Michigan! We had a great time going to the ocean, even though it was only 50 degrees when we were there. Aaron didn't mind at all that we couldn't go in the water because of a wind advisory so instead he played happily on the beach with his bucket, shovel and dump truck. He was so cute!

Keith and I enjoyed 2 date nights that week (sans Aaron!) which was great. We don't have a babysitter here (yet and still!!!) so it was nice to go out to dinner and not have to rush through our meal. We also got a chance to visit with Keith's aunt and uncle and also with Keith's brother. It's always good to catch up with family that we rarely get to see.

The best part of the trip was just relaxing and being away from the snow and cold. And of course it was nice having the extra help with Aaron. Aaron did an excellent job sleeping while we were there too. He slept on a twin size air mattress at the foot of our bed and never once got up without being told or asked to. I suspect the transition into a big boy bed won't be so bad. One can only hope!

When we got back to Michigan our local library started their storytime Tuesdays again. Aaron just loves going to the library to pick out new books every week. He mostly requests books about cars, trains (especially Thomas!), helicopters and firetrucks. He also has started to really get into Curious George books. We will be taking him to the Curious George movie in a few weeks and we're excited! His first movie in a theater!

I can't believe we ever said, "I wonder if Aaron will ever talk". Because seriously, all Aaron does IS talk! Talk, talk, talk, talk, talk. He's really in question mode lately. He asks things like,"Can I walk through the kitchen?" as he's walking through the kitchen, "Can you play engines with me?" as we're playing engines, etc, etc etc. My gosh - he really doesn't stay quiet unless he's sleeping! I love it that he's so vocal and that he's able to communicate with us so well now but holy moly. Silence really is golden!

Potty training is going very well. We're following his lead and he's starting to stay dry more often than not. He knows that the closer he gets to staying dry all day the closer he gets to his beloved Thomas underwear. He talks about it nearly every day :) It'll definitely be a lot easier this summer when he's wearing less clothes, too!

We're looking into a 2 day a week/2 hour preschool for Aaron for the Fall. While I am not opposed to him going to 'school' at an early age, I think more than 2 hours 2 days a week would be a bit much. I've found 2 so far at churches near us and they both sound very good. I think it would be a wonderful experience for Aaron and I can imagine how much more he would learn.

Keith got a promotion at work yet again! He's now the customer service manager. He is also continuing to work on his Home Depot accounts because they haven't found a replacement yet for his old position. He's wanted this promotion for awhile now so we're both happy that he received it and is being utilized to his ability!

I am also thinking about re-joinging the workforce in the near future. I'd like to work part time, which would be ideal for all of us, but it is a lot harder finding a desirable position with good hours and decent pay.

I'll work on getting some recent photos of Aaron on the site soon. Perhaps sooner than the 3 month mark that I've been keeping to. ;)