Happy Birthday Aidan!

We had Aidan's 1st Birthday Party this afternoon. Here he is, not sure

what to think about the silly party hat!

Aidan and Mommy!

His Elmo cake!

Getting a better look at Aunt Stacy!

Are all these presents for ME?

Not to be left out of the fun, Grandma and Grandpa Whetzel brought a gift

for the big sister too!

Ava showing Aidan how to

figure out all these new toys!

The great thing about a big sister -

sit back, relax, and let her do the present opening!

Ava and Callie even put on a little "First Birthday

Song" for Aidan that they made up themselves!

The candle is lit - bring

on the bad singing...

Ta-da! Aidan sees his cake, and we all

sing Happy Birthday! He isn't too

sure what to think about all this!

For me?!

He played with it at first...

it was pretty gooey, and he had a look that said

"Oh my word, are they really letting me do this?!"

And it was very BLUE too!

Blue..... everywhere!

Now he was really getting into it,

shoving it in with both hands like a boy should!

By the time the red frosting got mixed in with

the blue, and ended up all over his face, he looked like

he had gotten the best of someone in a back alley!

Ahh.... the sugar coma is kicking in. And we head

straight upstairs for a bath!!

Happy birthday, my handsome boy! I can hardly believe you are a whole year old.

One year of sweet memories made, and many more to come!

Mommy and Daddy love you!

My baby is one year old today!

Exactly one year ago today, I was in labor with Aidan. At this very hour (5am-ish), I was filled with anxiety about whether or not he would be healthy and fine, eagerness to deliver and finally meet this baby boy, and of course pain - thank you, non-functioning epidural! Over the next few hours of that day that became our little boy's birthday, I had no idea that it would be such a whirlwind of a labor and delivery story!!

The 4 hours I waited, from my recovery from general anesthesia and surgery, until I was able to see you after your time in the NICU seemed like forever, but this first year of life seems to have gone by in the blink of an eye.

It was never completely smooth-sailing, even from our first few days in the hospital. Daily bloodwork, and twice-daily forehead screens for bilirubin levels, due to quite a bit of jaundice, kept things interesting. By the end of day 2, Aidan was put on a bili blanket (the blue lights you see underneath his blankets in the picture above) to attempt to bring his bilirubin levels down.



Finally, we were able to go home! And the next week was rough, as any family with a newborn knows. We were sent home with our own rented bili blanket machine to use, and were told to have him on it as close to 24 hours a day as possible. Luckily, Aidan was a laid-back, happy baby, who didn't seem to mind it at all.

I was totally in denial how yellow he really was, until a few months later I looked back at pictures of him during his first week! And this is where he spent that first couple weeks - in his Moses basket, hooked up to the bili blanket, sitting on the coffee table in the family room!

The week was filled with dr visits, more bloodwork, more bilirubin testing. Supplementing with formula, anxiety that he is not eating enough, pumping, and more dr visits. But luckily after a week of this, he was much improved. His color was so much better, he was eating again like a champ, and was given a clean bill of health. And our bumpy road smoothed out again, just like that.

Such a sweet baby, who could sleep anywhere, and

loved to be held!



And a year later... here you are, my sweet boy. Full of laughter, personality, smiles, babbles, new teeth, new tricks, and so much happiness. You have made our family complete. I can hardly believe you are a year old already, and that you are leaving your baby days behind you. Happy birthday Aidan!

This makes it official, huh?

Yes, you read that right. Aidan is turning one - in three short days. I am incredibly sad about this. Not just because he's my baby, because that is what babies do... from the day they're born, your job and mission is to help them grow and thrive every single day. I'm sad because of the obvious - he's our last baby. And this marks the end of our "baby days" here in the house.

Little by little, I've been getting rid of things... some clothes here and there, the beloved cradle swing, even the green Bumbo seat that was such a lifesaver I didn't know what I did without it. And unlike me, Aidan is growing up without looking back, and smiling through every moment! He is using sippy cups like a champ, and only takes one or two bottles a day. He eats everything we eat, even pizza, and loves it. He is not only walking, but climbing up stairs, and getting back down them on his own. He babbles a lot, and can say "Yes", "No!", and my favorite... "Mama."

So next Saturday, after his official birthday has come and gone on Tuesday, we will celebrate. An Elmo cake for him to smash and eat. New toys wrapped in Sesame Street paper, just for him. A party to enjoy this first birthday, and the amazing little boy he has become. Just please, pay no attention to me... I may need a Kleenex box nearby!!

Our baby girl turns 3!

Our sweet baby girl, Ava Riley Whetzel, born July 13, 2008, at 8:08 am. 7lbs, 15oz, 21 inches long. Here she is, just about an hour old!

Ava's first birthday!





Ava's 2nd birthday!

And here she is - on her 3rd birthday! It has been an adventurous 3 years, but we have enjoyed every minute of watching you grow up, Ava. The new things you learn every day, the funny phrases we hear you say, and watching you discover and learn to love your baby brother melts our hearts. Happy birthday to our beautiful daughter!

Ava's 3rd birthday party!

We had Ava's birthday party on Saturday - and we lucked out and got great weather! Early in the morning, it was dark, and storming hard. But by 10am, the sun was shining just for us, and it turned out to be a perfect day for a pool party!

She was very into opening gifts this year, even though her attention span still wasn't long enough to get through the whole pile of presents in one sitting! She'd open a few, check them out, say "Thank you!" to the gift-givers, and head back to the pool to swim.

We had a great turnout - lots of family and friends got to enjoy the summer day by the pool!


Ava's pink birthday cake - made with love by Mommy!

This is Ava's new "big girl" swimming style - swimming with only a noodle! She is getting more independent every day.

Our big boy, Aidan, enjoying the party with Grandma!

Ava and her cousin Allyssa, who is much better at posing for pictures!

All in all, it was a great day! Thank you to all of the family and friends that

came to share this day with us!

Our Baby Turns TWO!

This weekend we celebrated Ava's birthday with a party in the theme of her beloved cartoon character..... Sponge Bob Squarepants!

We had beautiful weather for an outdoor party, and family and friends got to enjoy the pool, good food, and of course a delicioius cake!

Daddy even dressed up as Sponge Bob himself to deliver the birthday cake!!

Ava wasn't exactly sure what she thought about that....

But the cake was Y-U-M-M-Y!! She was shoveling it in using both hands!

With careful supervision from her cousin Callie, Ava opens up all of her birthday gifts! She got lots of fun stuff - thank you everyone!

Ava loves anything with Dora on it - this play tent was a huge hit!

The next day, Ava and Daddy played in the new sandbox!! Thank you Grandma and Pat!

The most adorable part of the whole weekend, sunday night getting in her pjs after her bath. The guests were all gone, and the party was over, only a few stray balloons floating around. And Ava sitting on the couch, completely exhausted from the weekend festivities saying "More BuhBob party pleeeeeease?!?"

Thank you to all friends and family who were able to spend this special day with Ava!

Exactly Two Years Ago....

Our lives changed forever. Wednesday, July 13, 2005 at 8:08 in the morning, Ava Riley Whetzel made her appearance into this world, after an eventful evening at the Community Hospital North labor & delivery unit. Karin was admitted the night before to be induced, and not a moment too soon - considering she was a week overdue!

2 days later, we were sent home. Like a baby bird being shooed out of the nest, we left the hospital and were on our way to the fairytale beginning that is life with a new baby. Or so we thought! And here we are, two years later. The rollercoaster that is life with a newborn finally let us off the ride, only to discover that life with a toddler is just a whole new obstacle course! It is amazing to look back and see how tiny Ava used to be, considering she is now in a world where she wants to do everything herself, and she has the vocabulary to tell us so as well!

Happy Birthday, our beautiful girl!