No Fear

AJ is always happy to ride on daddy's shoulders!

The other day Aidan figured that he could push himself up the driveway on his trike, then pick up his feet and glide down.


I realized he'd have more room for pushing with his legs (since he can't reach the pedals) if we took the rear handle off, so we tried that and it works even better. It was useful for us to push him at first, but now he doesn't want help :-)


On his way up the driveway today.


Flying down with Daddy.


He had no fear at all, even starting right at the top!

Last night we had some friends over for dinner, and Aidan was happy to charm them.


He liked his bubble maker from Lindsey.


We watched him play basketball and slide.


Sohrab even brought an extra glove, and he and Isaac and Aidan played some baseball!

I also hadn't posted any photos yet of Aidan and his lawnmower - he got a bubble mower from his great-grandma last week and has pushed it around the yard a ton.


Working hard - too bad it doesn't make the lawn look any better.


Hopefully he'll like mowing for real when he's older!

And don't worry GB, Isaac did finally mow the lawn so it doesn't look like that any more!

Little Sister, or Little Brother?

With Aidan, I was sure I was having a boy. I always referred to the baby as "him", and we affectionately called him DanDan. After he came out I even asked the doctor, "What is he??" But this time, I'm not quite as sure. I definitely think it's a girl, but still find myself calling the baby "it" instead of "she".


A few months ago I saw this little sister shirt, and couldn't resist getting it. Then, I recently saw the little brother one and decided that I should get it too, just in case. But, you can see that I didn't take the tags off and wash it yet - so I could still return it!

I've had about 15 different people tell me that I'm having a girl, and only 1 think it's a boy. At work I hear lots of different reasons, like the shape of my belly, my face, my skin, the way I put my hand out... all sorts of funny things. What's interesting is that with Aidan it was the opposite - people were always saying it was a boy - so maybe there is some truth to all the old wives' tales!


One person who's sure it's a girl is my grandmother; she crocheted this beautiful blanket in pink and white! I let Aidan try it out tonight, but we've got to pack it up for the baby - he has his own blue one. Thanks again Nana Gill!

So, I put up this poll a little while ago - vote if you think it's a little brother or sister for AJ. For people who see this on Facebook, here's the link: http://blog.thedancys.com/ (top right of the page).

Davis Farmland

We had a long weekend for Patriot's Day, so we took AJ to the local farm this morning to see all the animals. He was a little nervous at first, but then he really got into it and even helped feed them. We've been starting to teach him animal sounds lately, and since going there he's happily saying "moo", and "baa", and "cluck". The funny thing is whenever we ask him one that he's forgotten, his answer is "boo".


Early on we got to see them bottle feeding a calf. This one was only 7 days old!


Isaac held a cute little baby goat!


These goats had a climbing structure to hang out on.


We took a hay ride and saw some horses, cows, and deer.


Later on, AJ excitedly fed this little goat, who was super friendly.


He'd happily pull out the feed cup for the animals once he got used to it.


He was super excited to get on the pony after watching some other kids go for a ride.


He did a great job!


All smiles!


This was my favorite animal of the day!


And, what day would be complete without checking out a new slide?

We had a great morning together, and I really enjoyed having Isaac help AJ at the farm. I'm getting too big to do so much bending over and carrying! Aidan fell asleep on the way home and slept for 3 and half hours! And I slept for 2 hours... :-)

It was really cold and rainy from Friday to Sunday, but we still got some landscaping done in the font, and Isaac got the deck cleaned and ready to re-seal. We're both absolutely exhausted!

Video Catch-Up

I've caught up on all the home videos! So, we have 4 new movies for your entertainment (and for our own home DVD collection). The funny thing is that Aidan doesn't really watch any TV, but he really likes watching these on the computer. He and Isaac sat and watched them after I finished editing each, and Aidan kept asking for more :-)



Cozy Coupe - April 2, 2010
Spring fun on Easter Sunday, including some Cozy Coupe, throwing, and fun with Grandpa.




Hide-n-Seek - Late March, 2010
Aidan is great at hide and seek! But he likes to peek:-)



Sixteen Months - Early March, 2010
Lego, playing outside, popping up, and other fun with AJ.



Peek-a-Boo - November, 2009
An oldie that I forgot to post! Aidan loved when Isaac helped him peek out.

Aidan at 18 Months

Even though we've been blogging a lot lately, I wanted to take some time to write an update for Aidan turning 18 months. It seems like we just celebrated his first birthday, and he's already half way to his second!

AJ at 2'7", posing with his new measuring stick.

So, at 18 months, Aidan:
- LOVES all kinds of balls: Baseballs, basketballs, tennis balls, soccer balls, footballs, bouncy balls... He plays so much catch and spends ages shooting balls into his hoop. He always surprises people with his arm! He often walks around saying "where's the ball?". Then he'll point and say "there's the ball!"
- Builds Legos well and puts together wooden train tracks
- Loves playing on his slide and checking out new slides at playgrounds
- Rides in his cozy coupe and on his new trike
- Gives great hugs and kisses
- Loves to help me do things like unload the dishwasher, sort laundry, close doors, and of course play with shovels/rakes. He's great at listening to directions and knows where things go.
- Has 16 teeth!!
- Just got his second haircut
- Loves playing Hide-and-seek and reading books
- Sleeps from 8 to 7, and naps for an hour or two after lunch

He's doing great with his sign language, and it's really helped prevent him from being frustrated when he wants something. He signs "All Done", "More", "Food", "Drink" (sort of) and "Diaper", plus he has a cute "where is it" shrug with his hands out.

He's saying a lot too, and now he's really starting to add to his vocabulary. So far, he says:
- hi
- again
- what's that/what's this
- where's the ball
- ball
- ba-ball (baseball/basketball)
- bird
- baby
- All done
- Bye
- mommy
- daddy
- alligator
- diaper
- oh yeah
- I did it
- more
- hot dog
- boo

I didn't leave it off - he actually doesn't say no! He has a great head shake though :-)

AJ is still a little peanut! We measured him with his new measuring stick to be 2'7", and he only weighs 21.5 pounds.

It's been an amazing 18 months, and we're so excited for him to be a big brother soon! Hopefully baby 2 is as fun and happy and Aidan :-)

[4/13/10 Update]: I realized I forgot to post the preggo picture we took over the weekend. Here's the baby at 7 months in utero!

Baseball Boy

Hopefully no one minds two blogs in one night - I just had so many pictures I wanted to include that I figured two separate posts would be easier.

Since Aidan enjoys playing with his baseball and glove so much, we thought it was time for him to have a bat. We'd heard a great idea to hang a ball on string instead of using a tee, so that's what we did, and Aidan LOVED it! He literally spent an hour an a half playing with it this afternoon.


I couldn't help but put his Red Sox shirt and hat on.


Daddy showed him how to swing.


So excited!


It took serious concentration!


Not quite sure what happened this time, but it's a funny picture!


Ready to swing.


Some more throwing practice.

He did a really good job hitting the ball! We'll have to work on swinging across and not down so much, but at least he's pretty coordinated. He's got a few years to practice for tee-ball, so I think he'll be okay.

Once he was finally ready to take some interest in something else, he played with his new trike for a while.


He can barely reach the pedals, but it also has drop-down, fixed foot rests and a removable handle so he can just sit and get a ride too. I think he'll get plenty of use out of this over the summer.

Morning at the Park

We took Aidan to the park yesterday morning and had a lot of fun playing, despite the surprisingly cold weather. We were the only crazy ones there! I've taken Aidan before but since it was the first time Isaac came, I brought the camera along too.


Enjoying the big kid slide!


When it's not so cold he likes to hang from the monkey bars, with no help!


He got the horse rocking pretty good!


The roller slide is unique!


Another fast slide.


Aidan got to climb up the rock wall.


I climbed up the other side to catch him at the top.


Last night Aidan slurped down a lot of milk shake!

Rainy Friday

We were stuck inside today, so there's not much to report - we just played a lot. If it's good weather next Friday we're going to the animal farm!


AJ posed in his new overalls.


He was sleepy and actually watched a little TV with me - that never happens!


Aidan enjoyed playing with the train track, sitting on the table.


Earlier this week it hit 90! So, Aidan got his own backpack and hat ready to go outside.

Easter Weekend

We had another busy weekend, with lots of playing, some more yard work, and hosting Easter Dinner!


Family picture on Easter Sunday.

Aidan's Cozy Coupe came out from the basement, and Aidan loved driving all around the backyard! He wore a helmet at first since it was kind of bumpy :-)

"Again!"


More driving on Sunday!


More baseball - this kid always wants to play catch!


Relaxing with Daddy.

On Sunday morning we did an Easter Egg Hunt for Aidan, and he got right into it after practicing on Friday. He was super excited to spot each one.

This was a fun one to find!


"Got it!"


"mmm... I found one with Jelly Beans!"


Posing with mommy.

Tonight we went up to NH to meet 6-day-old Myles Lamb. He's a little cutey, and slept the whole time we were there!

He felt tiny, even at 9lbs! I've forgotten what 6.5lbs feels like!


Don't worry, Aidan's not actually poking him, just getting a little close!