Pam, Brian and Lilly's Blog

I'm so excited because Aaron's Uncle Brian (A.K.A. Uncle Big Bry) has set up a Blog so that we can now see pictures of him, Aunt Pam (Daddy's older sister), Cousin Lilly and June all the time! Check it out!

http://pambrianlilly.blogspot.com

Is This Really My Child?

What's that stuff smeared all over Aaron's face, you may ask? It's prunes. That's right, people, I said PRUNES. I've been so impressed with Aaron's non-pickyness concerning food that I play a little game now every time I go to the grocery store called "Let's See What I Can Get Him to Eat Today." He's eaten everything without so much as a fuss! God has blessed me so much with this kid!

Here is a sweet picture of my little man in case the one with the prunes grossed you out!

Baby Stiehl

Meet my nephew, Stiehl Samual.

Stiehl with his mommy.

Stiehl with his daddy.

Baby's First Christmas

Aaron's first Christmas was so much fun! Daddy somehow managed to avoid being sent out on a trip so we get to have him for Christmas AND New Year's! Last night we went to Christmas Eve mass (which, by the way, was a zoo thanks to all the Christmas and Easter Catholics. Gotta love 'em!). We then went to our traditional Christmas Eve dinner at the Olive Garden (I know, so unoriginal). Today we slept in, then opened presents. In the afternoon, we relaxed and watched T.V. Tonight we had dinner at Kris' house (Bill's cousin, who happens to live about ten minutes from us with her husband and three kids). All in all, it was a great day and I must say again how great it was to have Daddy here to share it with us!

Aaron with his very own stocking!

Concentrating very hard to get this unwrapping thing down.

"Isn't this how it's done?"

Aaron with two of his presents from Grandma and Grandpa Q. Look at that face. Isn't he beautiful?

A present from Mommy to Aaron AND Daddy. Can you believe this book was a #1 New York Times Bestseller?

Christmas Pug.

My New Nephew!

Name: Stiehl Samual (pronounced like steel)
Born: December 21, 2005 @ 9:05 a.m. CST
Weight: 7 lbs. 15 oz.
Length: 19 inches
Born to: Paul and my sister Bethanie
Big sister: Emilie Kaitlin

Pictures to come!

Three Years Without You

We miss you terribly, Mom, and we love you.

You've Got To Have Focus!

I wish that someone would explain to my son how this whole eating in the big boy chair thing works. Aaron has discovered the night light that's right beside his chair and I can tell when he's starting to get full because it becomes the most fascinating thing on this earth.


Other than the night light thing, my boy has been doing SO well with the solids. So far he has gobbled up rice cereal, peas, green beans, sweet potatoes, carrots, peaches and pears as if he's had them from day one. I'm so proud of him!

Peas

Aaron tried peas this morning. The jury is still out on whether or not he liked them. Every time he took a bite, he would sort of grimace like he didn't like it but when I would come at him with another spoonful, he would open his mouth and take it. What does this mean? I have no idea. We'll see how tonight goes when I try again. As for me, I found the whole pea thing revolting but I'm really hoping that Aaron has inherited his daddy's palate for food and not mine. I was incredibly picky growing up, and I know from firsthand experience how frustrating that can be (To quote my dad, "We're not running a restaurant around here! She'll eat what we fix her!")!

Just Pictures

Aaron hasn't done anything really all that exciting lately, but the proud mama in me just likes to show him off so here are some pictures that we have taken over the past couple days.

Busily figuring out the crazy exersaucer.

Aaron is starting to take an interest in Reagan but Reagan has no interest in you unless you are at least old enough to drive a car. She doesn't like little kids for some reason!

Such a sweetie!

Aaron on his totally cool new Rocking Motorcycle that he got from Grandma and Grandpa Q!

Here is Aaron playing with one of his daddy's toys from when he was a baby!

Aaron in his new Big Boy Chair!

He's Famous!

Check out our homeowners' association's website! Aaron is famous!

http://www.silvercreekwa.com

Pictures With Santa!

Today Aaron had his picture taken with Santa, who happened to visit the clubhouse in our development for our homeowners' association's holiday party. Aaron didn't get upset when I handed him to Santa, but I honestly don't think he ever saw him. We kind of backed him up onto Santa's lap and kept him preoccupied while we took our pictures! Pretty sneaky but if that's what it takes for no tears, than I'm willing to do it!

Another Big Day of Firsts!

Today was a very big day for Aaron. We gave him solids for the first time - rice cereal mixed with formula. I'm actually very surprised how well he did with it. At first he kind of left it on his tongue, not really sure what to do with it. Eventually, though, the cereal made its way to the back of his throat and he was forced to swallow. He figured out that he really kind of liked it so the next time I came at him with the spoon, he opened his mouth right away to take in more. I was so proud of him! We gave the cereal to him three times today after he had drank all of the formula that he was willing to drink. We knew that he was really ready for solids because recently he seems to have been bored with just formula. At first I thought he was just losing his appetite for some reason (being sick possibly) because he would push the bottle away after only about four ounces. But then we noticed that he was extremely interested in what we were eating and drinking, so we could tell he wanted to try something new and possibly more substantial and filling. It worked like a charm because he seems more content now after meals, so we'll try this for a while then introduce some veggies.

We also brushed his two little teeth today for the first time with training toothpaste (Gerber calls it Tooth & Gum Cleanser. Whatever.). It has no fluoride or saccharin in it. You know, all the things that are in adult toothpastes that I didn't know were bad for babies until I started to look into infant dental care. He seems to enjoy the teeth-brushing as well, but I'm pretty sure that is due to the apple-banana flavor of the toothpaste. Whatever works!

Finally, we bought Aaron an exersaucer for an early Christmas present. Actually, it was mostly a present for Mommy and Daddy because we have noticed that Aaron is starting to get bored lying on the floor while playing with his toys and he doesn't have the strength yet to sit up on his own for longer periods of time, which means we have to either be holding him or sitting with him on the floor or he gets mad. We bought the exersaucer so that he could sit/stand up with lots of support and have tons of stuff to play with (and maybe I can get some housework done!). There are mixed reviews so far about the exersaucer. He seems interested but only for a short while. I'm just hoping that it's the newness (is that a word?) of it all and he will start to like it more when he figures out all the toys.

I really hope that we didn't make a mistake trying all these new things out at once on Aaron. He seems to be doing O.K. with it all though and we'll see how he sleeps tonight. My only fear is that the combination of the cereal and toothpaste may upset his stomach so pray for us that he has a strong tummy!

Winter Blast 2005!

Here for the past week or so, we have had snow pretty much about every other day. Of course, it always snows when I have to leave the house and is sunny when I don't have to go anywhere. But that's O.K., I'm from Missouri and learned at a very young age how to drive in the white stuff!

By the way, Reagan must have had to go out pretty badly because she usually won't risk getting her little feet cold and wet unless it's a real emergency!

Sitting Up All By Myself!

Today Aaron has started to sit upright without a steadying hand from me. Granted he usually ends up falling over (note the pillows around him in the picture) but I have figured out that he sits up longer when I'm not there to catch him. I can actually see him trying to steady himself when he's about to fall over, not relying on my hand as much to do it for him (sniff, sniff. But he still needs me, right?). I realized the other day when I babysat Lisa's little girl Jalyn, who is about three weeks older than Aaron, that sitting up is a pretty handy little accomplishment for moms because your hands are not so tied up anymore. This makes playtime more fun!

Did I Mention How Much I Love This Dog?

Every time I go to change the sheets on our bed, Queen Reagan plops her big ole' butt on the pile of blankets on the floor as if she's going to be able to lay there and take her afternoon siesta. So incredibly helpful, this one!

Baby's First Thanksgiving

Aaron and his daddy and I spent Thanksgiving this year in Texas visiting Bill's family. We had a great time eating way too much, shopping and even having a family photo taken! Here are some pictures.





Aaron in his cute Thanksgiving outfit. This outfit lasted all of about one hour until he decided to give it his own special rinse.

Cousins! Here is our niece Lilly holding Aaron. So sweet!

Aunt Pam, Uncle Brian (A.K.A. Uncle Big Bri') and June holding Aaron. Aaron thought Uncle Big Bri' was pretty darn funny.

Grandma and Aaron.

Three generations of Q men - Grandpa, Daddy and Aaron. Where did he get those blue eyes you may ask? Obviously not a Q trait. You would think that he got them from me but, alas, not so much. His eyes are a darker blue than mine and we figured out that they look exactly like Grandma's!

Please don't call CPS! Daddy and Aaron with their respective "bottles."

All tuckered out from the festivities.

I Got It!

I am so happy because I was finally able to get a great picture of the two new teeth! So exciting!

Can You Tell It's Laundry Day?

My OCD is totally kicking in right now so his clothes are going to have to be changed as soon as some that match are clean!

Fun With Daddy

Yes, it does look like Babies R Us threw up all over our living room. It's very sad.

Great picture except for the nasty bib!

Five Months Old!

Today my little man is five months old. The time has gone by so fast! This parenting thing is a blast and it is getting better and better everyday. Aaron is now interacting with me (yeah, we have screaming contests to see who can scream the loudest. Daddy is not all that happy with me.), his daddy and his toys. He even tries to pet Reagan now! And lo and behold, this week his two bottom front teeth poked through! Who knew it could happen this early! I have tried my hardest to get a picture but he figures out what I'm trying to do and sticks his tongue right in front of them. Stay tuned, though! I am determined to get that picture!

June 17, 2005

November 17, 2005

Playdate!

Bill and I are very lucky in that a few of the pilots that he flew with when we were stationed in Illinois are now here with us in Washington. Two of these families had babies within one or two months of Aaron being born, so it has been so much fun getting the kiddos together for playdates and comparing notes. This picture of our playdate today is of Noah and Mackenzie (Megan's twins), Jalyn with her back to the camera (Lisa's youngest little girl. Her oldest, Coley, was eating at the table like a big girl.) and then my Aaron. Poor Aaron, can you tell he's the youngest? All of the other babies are sitting up and he's still laying on the floor! He sits up very well as long as you have a hand on his back to steady him. It won't be long, though!

The picture below was taken on the Fourth of July. Look how tiny they all were compared to now!

Baby's First REAL LIVE Rams Game

Yesterday, Bill and I took Aaron to see his very first NFL game. The St. Louis Rams played the Seattle Seahawks at Qwest Field in Seattle. My Rams unfortunately lost 31-16. We had a great time, though, munching on garlic fries (kind of strange but sooo yummy) and clam chowder and being heckled by the Seahawks fans because of our Rams gear. Here are some pictures of our day.





Pre-game preparations.

Qwest Field.

Typical Seattle weather.

How Aaron participated in the festivities. Yeah, he slept the WHOLE TIME.

"Peek-a-boo! Can you see me?"

Development Update

Aaron is growing so fast! I am totally amazed at the new things that he does everyday. He has become more interested in his toys now which delights me to no end since we've had them since before he was born! He will grab them, take a look at them and then usually try to find out how they taste! Tummy time is becoming less traumatic and every once in a while, he might even roll over onto his back for you! He is not yet rolling over from his back to his stomach, but I don't think it will be very long. When we feed him, he is now trying to hold the bottle himself. Usually it's a fight to actually keep the bottle in his mouth when he's trying to be so helpful, but at least he's trying! We are not giving him solids just yet. We are going to wait until after our Thanksgiving trip to Texas when we are settled back in at home and will be here for a while. He also is not quite yet displaying some of the cues to show me that he is ready, such as being able to sit upright (he's still pretty wobbly) and good head control (he can hold his head up but I wouldn't call it steady). We have plenty of time, however, since solids are normally started sometime between four and six months. We'll get there! He also is not sleeping completely through the night yet. I usually put him down around 8:30 and he'll sleep until 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning, have a bottle, then go back down until around 7:30. This is pretty great, though, compared to a couple months ago when I was up with him every two hours! The coolest thing that he is doing now, though, is he has started to full-on giggle and laugh! This is why we have kids! It's the best!