Here's to hoping I can jump back on this blog train. I'm not even going to try to catch up from the last real update I did, so here is just a random collection of recent events.

Adam's first Father's Day! We are so thankful for this amazing leader of our family.

Celebrating with my dad... and his dad! (And Mitch? Get outta the picture!)

This little chick continues to make our lives and hearts so full. I mean, those little piggie tails? Can you even handle the cuteness?

Our neighbor has a beautiful garden and let us come pick from it! Really makes me want one.

Our neighbors on both sides have little girls, and it's so fun that they're finally getting to the age where we can do things together. We went to the Riverside Sprayground with Finleigh a couple weeks back. Lots of fun!

Aiden loves the water!

Too cool for school! (Please hold, I'm going to go eat her face off.)

And finally, we celebrated Kelly's birthday with Baby Chicky's first boat ride!

Aiden: Ten Months

I can't believe our girl is in the double digits - ten months old. In the past month, she's really gone from being a baby to a curious little maniac!

• She's become very vocal. If she's not ba-ba-babbling, she's probably letting out an ear-piercing shriek of excitement. We mostly hear a lot of ba-ba and ya-ya. With the occasional da-da. No ma-ma...yet.
• She does this thing where she blows air out, like she's trying to make spit bubbles - but without the spit. She usually does it when she's concentrating really hard. It's adorable.
• Our little water baby had a big month - her first time in the pool and to the beach! She loves them both.
• She's still so ticklish, and will start giggling if you even get close to her belly. 
• She likes to blow raspberries on my arm, and successfully gave me a hickey. 
• She has a cowlick on the back of her head, which gives her the cutest bedhead in the morning.
• She eats like a teenager. I'm pretty sure if I put food in front of her all day, she wouldn't stop eating. We haven't really found anything she doesn't like - except apple sauce and raspberries. We gave her a lime, and I had really high expectations of a YouTube-worthy sour face... of course, she liked it.
• She sits like a proper lady in her highchair. NOT. She always has her knees up, and when we're out to eat she can somehow maneuver herself to sit in the high chair completely backwards.
• She could probably win a gold medal in the Baby Crawling Olympics. The girl can get around. She's also been cruising around the furniture, and every once in awhile she'll let go and stand for a few seconds. Until she realizes what she did and plops down.
• She's slowly transitioning from a bird-flapping wave to an actual wave. It's really cute. She'll stick her hand out and just stare as she tries really hard to wave only her hand and not her whole arm. 
• She gives out (few and far between) kisses! I've only gotten a handful, and Adam hasn't gotten any. It was his only Father's Day wish, and she didn't deliver. 
• She has figured out she can take her headbands and hair bows off. Sad day for this mama.
• Her favorite games include: "Let's pull all my diapers off the shelf and try to eat them" and "Quick! Mom turned her back, let's go splash in the dog's water bowl and try to eat their food." We also enjoy the frequent game of "catch". I roll her a little ball and she'll throw it back to me. (Using "back to me" loosely.)

It is so fun to watch her explore new things. You can tell she's really trying to figure things out now. We are so proud of our happy, smart, beautiful, curious little girl. Watching your baby get older really is bittersweet, in the best way. On one (small) hand, I miss my completely dependent little cherub. On the other (much larger) hand, it is absolutely amazing to watch your little human grow and learn. We thank God daily for our little Aidy Grace!

Surf City

Our long-awaited family reunion in Surf City, NC is now over, and we're still trying to adjust to normal life (a month later). With 34 big personalities in one house for seven nights, I think we were all a little nervous on how that would play out. Surprisingly (to probably all of us), it could not have gone better!

Even though check-in wasn't until 3pm on Saturday, June 4, us Bakers hit the road at 4:30am. We figured it would be best if we could slowwwwly, gentlyyyy, quietllly move Aiden from her crib to her carseat and let her get in a few more hours of snoozing. Of course, the second she realized I had picked her up she woke up. She screamed getting put in her carseat and the first 10 or so minutes. Then she was OUT until about 7:45am.

I think we did ok!

We made a few pit stops to break the trip up for her, and she did amazing. We were so excited and proud! The trip was supposed to take seven hours, and even with our multiple stops we made it in nine. It was actually a pretty enjoyable ride!

Our first stop was Waffle House in Lexingston, SC. Adam was so excited - Aiden's first Waffle House experience! Of course, our little garbage disposal loved it.

Our second (and final) stop was at a Rest Area where we hung out and watched some geese for awhile.

We finally arrived at 99 Oleander Ct right after 1pm! The cleaning crew was still there, but - as you can see - there was a place for us to hang out while they finished.

View from the porch... take me back!

Slowly but surely, everyone made their way in! I think the final crew arrived right around 7pm.

We spent the week doing a lot of relaxing... it was exhausting. :)

Aiden loved the beach, as long as she was in her little pool. The first time down there, she tried to eat a handful of sand. We can all guess how well that went. Once I stuck a paci in her mouth, she was set. (We usually reserve pacis only for naps and bedtime, but it helped keep the sand and salt out of her mouth. Win!)

The beach is exhausting!

AG and her godfather

Uncle Mitchhhh

Waves with daddy

We loved being able to re-create this photo - 15 years later!

Spent some time walking the beach with Aiden on our last night. I also got leg extenders!

The guys went golfing one morning and fishing another time. The only "excursion" Aiden and I participated in was a trip to the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehab Center. Anna told me about this probably a year ago, and it was the only thing I really wanted to do. Michael, Maggie, Emma and Brody joined Aiden and I for the day - it was pretty cool!

Tuesday night we surprised Granny with a bunch of family pictures.

Gigi with her great-grandbabies.

The whole crew.

Granny/Nana/Mema/Gigi with the grandkids and great-grandies.

And as the best ending to the best trip, Jeff proposed to Katie on Saturday night!! We got the FaceTime call a couple hours after had made it back to Atlanta. Let the celebrations begin!!

Aiden: Nine Months

People always reference nine months as the age when your baby is out of your belly as long as it was growing inside you. WRONG. Last time I checked forty weeks is ten months, not nine. Or maybe it's just my way of pretending there is NO WAY Aiden is old enough for this. Nine months. Holy cow.

(I successfully broke our home computer for the time being, so my phone photos will have to work this month.)

Look at this chick! She doesn't stop smiling... or moving!

• We have a crawler! As of May 4, she is officially on the move and getting into everything. I now understand baby proofing - she's especially drawn to plastic bags, outlets and vents. Neato! 
• Speaking of weird things that garner her interest, she loves playing with her medicine dropper, lotion bottles... basically anything other than her bajillion toys.
• She was able to pull herself up on things before she started crawling, but now it's upsy daisy all over the place. Luckily, she's fine with letting go and plopping down on her behind - because it happens all the time.
• Lately she's been sucking her thumb. Not sure what that's about?
• This chick loves to laugh! It's the best sound in the world and we're so lucky to have such a giggly baby.
• One day she decided she would be in charge of feeding herself, thank you very much. Literally, it happened in one day. Now she gets annoyed if I try to feed her anything. We have a stubborn one on our hands. (But also, it seems, Ms. Independent!)
• Speaking of food, she eats just about everything. She's still a little unsure of meat and we haven't let her have sugar, other than that - she's an eating machine. Her current fave is scrambled eggs. 
• She's learning to wave. Really we're just reinforcing "Wave bye bye!" when she flaps her arm like a bird ready to fly away. Same goes for "high five!" I think that one is pretty intuitive.
• Every once in awhile, when the mood strikes her, she'll give us a sloppy, open mouth kiss on command.
• She loves to throw things. Yay.
• We found out that she does not like people riding in the backseat with her. She needs her space.
• She's standing up in her crib, which is the cutest thing, ever. Not so cute when she throws her paci over the side of the crib and throws a fit.
• Bath time is still one of her favorite things. She would spend all day in the bathtub if I let her. She would also spend the whole time sucking on a washcloth if I let her. She's recently learned how to pull herself up in the bathtub, but since it's sloped up she can't exactly stand straight up. Instead, her little booty just sticks straight up. It's hilarious.
• It is getting pretty difficult to change her. The second you lay her on her changing table, she immediately flips over and tries to crawl right off. We've gotten creative with how to distract her... Let her chew on lotion bottles, play with her clothes, play with her brush, etc.
• She had her first big kerplunk. She hit her head on one of the knobs on her dresser and got a big ole bruise. Poor lovey!
• She loves her cousin Jude!!! And she shows her love by attacking him every time they're around each other. I love that they're already best friends.

Our growing girl is weighing in at 17lbs 11.5oz (42%) and standing 28.25" tall (75%). It's hard to believe we're already at nine months. We can't even find the words to explain how much we love our little bug.

I received weekly emails while I was pregnant about how this little babe was growing, and they've kept coming since she arrived! Thanks to that handy dandy email, I was alerted that she is 40 weeks old as of May 31. HOW?!

40 weeks in // 40 weeks out

(Even though she camped out for 41 weeks, even numbers are more fun.)

Sunday School Sticker

Mother's Day came and went almost under the radar this year. It was Mitchell's college graduation, so the day started out hectic with trying to get everyone in cars and headed to Auburn, and then the whole day revolved around the graduation. Selfishly, I was pretty annoyed that my first Mother's Day was less than special. (Shout out to Adam for being the best, and putting up with my whining. Even when he was sweet enough to get me cards and some pampering.)

But something else kept weighing on my mind. We have a handful of friends that are joyously expecting their first babe, and others who are not-so-patiently waiting for their turn. My mind kept drifting to the latter group. Mother's Day has to be a painful day for so many people. Those who have lost their moms, those who long to be a mom, those who have lost those that called them mom. It has to be one of the toughest days of the year. 

Last year, I was so proud to stand up in church and be handed a rose on Mother's Day. I remember cradling my belly and beaming thinking of my little family. I was bummed we were going to miss church this Mother's Day, because I once again wanted to stand up and be recognized. Before we got pregnant, and especially while I was pregnant, I was so excited to be able to wear a 'Sunday School sticker' one day. It's what I call the stickers parents get when they drop their kid(s) off at nursery or Sunday School (for security purposes, of course). It shouts out to the rest of the church, "I'm a mom! I have a kid! I brought that kid with me this morning, and s/he's also learning about Jesus right now! Because I'M A MOM! And look how put together I am at CHURCH with my KID."

I was always expectantly excited to get to wear a sticker. Not once did I have to look at it and think "Will I ever get to wear one of those?" I thank God everyday that I am an outsider looking in on the subject, but I know that is the reality for so many people. Now on Mother's Day, a big piece of my heart aches for those. I pray that one day all who long to be a mom get the opportunity.

Now, I'm going to [try to] quit whining about not feeling "special" on Mother's Day and enjoy the fact that I am lucky enough to even celebrate the day.

Thank you for making me a mama, Aiden Grace. Being your mom is truly the greatest honor.

These two. Gosh. They're the best.

Happy Mother's Day to all! May 2016 be the year of the babes who are so longed for!

Aiden: Eight Months

I just want to cry "MY BABYYYY!" She's hardly a baby anymore! She's quite the little maniac. I figured all babies were pretty active at this age, but we've heard from multiple people that she's really active. We have no idea where she gets it from!

Eight months of love. Lately...

-She's turning into Godzilla, with EIGHT teeth and counting. She thinks it's hilarious to bite, and I'm finding it difficult to figure out how to discipline a baby. For now, I just distract her with something else, instead of my shoulder. Or my arm. Or my stomach (weird, right?).
-With all those teeth, she's really into people food. We haven't found much that she doesn't like - except apple sauce. (Of course, selfishly I wish she liked baby food so I wouldn't have to think about her meals.)
-I stopped pumping during the day, but still nurse her in the mornings and night. However, when I'm home with her all day, she wants to nurse instead of take a bottle. She'll still take a bottle, but she makes it really clear that she still wants to nurse after. I'm usually a sucker and let her do it anyway, even though I'm pretty sure she's not getting anything. It breaks my heart to think one day it will stop completely. At this point, I think I'll nurse her in the morning and at night for quite some time. (Ask me again next month.)
-One of her new favorite games is to bang on her highchair like it's a set of drums. It's adorable. For now.

-It's so fun to watch her little fingers reach and grab for things.
-When she's excited, she flaps her arms like she's about to fly away. (If you're a bird, I'm a bird, Aiden!)

-She has this fun habit of throwing her paci over the side of her carseat and then fussing. Conveniently, she throws it against the door, so I have to do Cirque du Soleil acrobatics to get to it. And if we don't hit a red light, she's outta luck.
-The poor thing is so ticklish, and Adam doesn't give her a break. I have to admit, her laugh is the greatest sound in the world, but I know how torturous it is to be tickled! CHILD ABUSE!
-She's still obsessed with herself, and could watch videos of herself all day long. In fact, it's the only thing that calmed her down at her recent cardiologist appointment.
-Speaking of cardiologist appointment, she had her check up on April 20 and everything looks the same - which is good news! They're especially encouraged since the aneurysms haven't gotten bigger even though she has. And if they shrunk too fast, that could also be dangerous. No news is good news, I suppose! She'll go for an MRI in July, where they'll get more specific measurements of the aneurysms and look at the rest of her heart, but so far so good!

-She cannot get enough of her surroundings. She is curious about everything and is nonstop.
-She's so close to crawling, but seems to be able to get around just fine without actually mastering "the crawl".
-I'm nervous to even type this, because I still think it may be a fluke. She's officially sleeping through the night! As in, asleep by 7:30pm and awake at 7:30am. It's GLORIOUS!!
-I walked into her room one morning and found her sitting up. That weekend we moved her crib down, so she's basically a toddler now.
-She's currently weighing in at 16lbs 10oz and 26.5" tall.

Overall, she is such a happy baby! We love learning more about her personality, and her smiles and giggles leave us in a big puddle. 

He is Risen

Ugh, I'm so annoyed at myself for not writing about this right after Easter, when everything was so fresh. (Just a reminder of how happy I am that I wrote Aiden's birth story right after she was born. Most definitely wouldn't remember 99% of those details otherwise.)

Ok, so I was super excited about Easter this year. My first time really experiencing it for what it really  was - the resurrection of Jesus. The Garden of Gethsemane really got to me, and I couldn't wait to hear the rest of the story! Since we had to miss Good Friday service, I did go ahead and read that on my own.

On Sunday, we got all dressed up and headed to church! I knew it was going to be packed, but I didn't realize how much that was going to affect me. I was crammed next to the wall, and Adam kept brushing against me during worship. The whole time I was just so annoyed and I kept asking Jesus to let me be in the moment and stop worrying about all the outside disturbances. But I couldn't shake it. I was so annoyed! I kept thinking about how I had really hyped the Easter service up, and there was no way it could live up to my expectations. (Not a great start. Maybe I should have set up a meeting with David prior to Easter to ensure he tailored his Easter service to exactly what I wanted to hear.)

The actual sermon surrounded The Road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35). It was great, but certainly not the "Easter Story" I was looking for. (Again, David. How dare your message not be ALL ABOUT ME?) Even though it wasn't what I was hoping for (there's no way anything could have held up to my expectations), I love how David didn't stray from his typical style just to please the masses (re: me).

However, before his sermon started David stopped the band between worship songs and briefly talked about how he knew it was crowded (get out of my head, David), but to try to really pay attention. Then he read out of Revelations 5, which describes the scene in Heaven when Jesus rose. Finalllly! The moment I was waiting for! A part of the Easter story I didn't know! It was so powerful to hear how Heaven reacted when Jesus made his way up there. You hear so many stories of the reactions on earth, but I honestly hadn't even thought about it from Heaven's perspective. After all, we always say "He is Risen", but it's rarely discussed what happens on that actual rise. It was beautiful. I loved it.

I still have much to learn about the Easter story, but I feel like this year was a great reminder that your walk with Jesus is never complete. As long as we keep looking for them, He will always have new lessons to teach us, new stories for us to hear, new perspectives.