Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! What a great holiday! Last night we carved our Mickey Mouse jack-o-lantern. It turned out good I think! Then we watched The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

Today, Aedyn and I headed over to Daddy's work for lunch and they always have costume contest (for the adult employees mind you), but we couldn't resist the chance to show off Aedyn in his costume. He was actually the only kid there and of course he was a big hit. He eats up the attention.

Later on we dressed Aedyn up in his 3-eyed blue monster costume and went trick-or-treating to a few houses on our street. Then we came back ate dinner, passed out candies to all the ghouls and goblins, and watched House of Mouse Villians DVD that has classic Disney Halloween cartoons.
We finished off the night with a snack, we didn't allow Aedyn to eat any candy, (I know, I know we are so harsh), but we did allow him to eat a special frosted pumpkin cookie sent with love from G-ma and G-pa Young.

Happy Halloween!

Grandma's Potato Soup

A favorite staple dinner in our household is Grandma's Potato soup, that is my maternal grandma. Truly there is nothing special about the ingredients that goes into it, potato, onion, canned milk, butter, salt and pepper, but it is the memory that it invoked everytime it is made. I remember sitting at grandma's kitchen counter watching her make this soup, while we all just chatted away. This was a meal never to be eaten at the table, most of us would eat it sitting in the stools at the counter (the ones she endlessly reminded us not to lean back in) and Grandma would eat it in the kitchen leaning over the counter. Grandma would never use a knife and cutting board, always a paring knife to peel and cut the potatos. Now me, I am not so talented, (and less patient) so I use a peeler and a big vegetable knife with a cutting board to get it done faster. The funny thing is it was always a crap shoot whether or not the soup would be too salty. I have learned to let people salt their own bowl and use chicken bouillion in the boiling water to give flavor instead. Grandma would always eat hers with crushed up saltine crackers, that woman loved salt!!!

The reason for writing this random post is because I just shared a bowl with Aedyn for lunch today. He loved it! Of course it evoked a beautiful memory of sharing this traditional, non-elegant meal with my Grandma Baird!

Aedyn is a biped!

I know I might have stated before that Aedyn was walking, well he was in a sense because he was taking 4-5 steps at one time, but now he is walking everywhere, as of October 21, so at 13 months. He tries harder to keep on balance, and looks like he's drunk sometimes, but he's very determined. Once he figured it out we can't stop him; if he falls he gets right back up instead of crawling. I will try to post some pictures, and if I am lucky I'll be able to upload a video.

Shane loves it when he comes home and Aedyn walks towards Daddy to give a big hug! It melts both our hearts.

A Request for comments

I love writing our blog, not only does it give us a chance to journal our life but we get to share our family with lots of different people. It has been a long time since someone has commented on our blog. We used to get a lot, and now it seems lonely. Maybe no one reads it anymore, hmmmm...... So I have a request, for those of you that read our blog and love getting the updates and pictures of our life drop us a line on the comments, we love hearing from our family and friends!

A Day on the farm

They had huge sunflower garden.
Chasing the ducks
Petting little porky
Aedyn had a little lamb
Rollin' in the hay
They had a bean box instead of a sandbox. This was such a great idea, Aedyn loved it.
He had so much fun but we had to watch him closely because he kept popping the beans in his mouth.
Bean swimmin'!
On the horse wagon ride, Aedyn would not sit down he kept his eyes glued on the horses.
Getting ready for the horsey-ride.
A perfect way to end a full-o-fun day, with a nap!


This last Sunday we went to a harvest festival at Underwood Family Farm in Moorpark. We were quite impressed. They had all kinds of activities for kids and adults. Of course, there was a huge pumpkin patch, and they had pig races, and petting zoo, this crazy contraption of ramps and houses for the goats, a huge hay pyramid, a nice grassy playground, a corn maze, tractor and horse wagon rides. Oh yeah, this last weekend they had live bluegrass music as well, awesome tunes.

They say the winds bring change!

It's very windy here in Simi today, and will reach up to the low 90's. I love the wind, as long as I can stay inside. Hopefully no fires start anywhere, dry + hot+ windy = fire.

So usually Wednesdays are good days for me, I usually feel good emotionally and phsyically, but for some reason I am extremely emotional this morning. Aedyn is being a good boy, and I have tackled some household chores that need to get done, but somehow I feel scared and lonely. I was going to try to take Aedyn to a playgroup at the mall, but the wind is really bad. I am crying for no reason, sure there are stresses in my life but nothing that is so impending that will ruin my day today.

What is weird is that I am usually a VERY emotional person but since I have been pregnant my emotions have been in check, it has almost been foreign to me. Do pregnant women get a surge of hormones before going into labor???

Maybe the winds will bring the baby faster!

Still waiting!

So here's an update on how the pregnancy is: STILL PREGNANT!

Actually I am doing quite fine, Shane is getting really anxious and wants me to go into labor yesterday! I am not dilated, nor do I have any signs like mucus plug or bleeding have happened. I am very happy being pregnant. Every moment with the little guy inside feels safe, and every moment I have alone to spend with Aedyn is cherished.

There is a possibility the doctor may want to induce before my due date so the baby doesn't get too big.

So we have 2 weeks and 2 days before due date. I have another appointment Friday, we'll see what the doc says then.

Tigger Costume

So adorable. This is Aedyn dressed in a Tigger costume, we didn't actually buy it just tried it on in the store, it was too small for him to wear for a long time, but we had to get a photo of it.

A perfect October day!

This one Daddy, I want this one!
Practicing taking picture of a family of four! haha!
I love you Pumpkin!
In full stride!
See I'm helping! Mommy gets tired pushing the stroller all be herself!
A ghostly lad.
Aren't we cute?
Grammy and Aedyn sitting pretty in the pumpkin patch!
Listening to jazz tunes by the koi pond!
Gotcha!
MMMMMM!!!! Gelato!
It was quite windy. Isn't he adorable in Daddy's beanie!
Daddy and Aedyn dancing and soakin' up some rays!


This last Sunday was such a beautiful day here in Simi Valley. The skies were clear, the temperature was about 65 degrees, the wind blew, such a lovely day and we were able to enjoy the Fall day outside. Our morning was relaxed with breakfast, playtime, then nap. Then we all got dressed, (Mom was here to spend the weekend too), and headed up to our outdoor mall where we enjoyed a lunch of Chipole, then the smooth swing/jazz tunes of a local high school jazz band. They were pretty good.We sang and danced, drank a hot cup of coffee,Shane shared his gelato with Aedyn. We stayed through their first set, then walked around the mall.

Just down the street from the mall we enjoyed a stroll among the pumpkin patch. They had a petting zoo, bouncy houses, little rides and games, it was cute. But we were able to find pumpkins for our Mickey-o-lantern. Then, we went home again, home again, jiggity jig.What a gorgeous day!

Fire Season Again!

I can't believe that fire season is here again! I remember last year's very well, because Aedyn was still a newborn and Amber and Hugh were still here with us. Low Humidity, rising temperatures, and howling Santa Ana winds is nature's perfect recipe for fire disaster. As I went on my errand to Target yesterday the skies over Simi were daunting, full of billowing smoke and orange glows.Yesterday the fire at Porter Ranch was thought to spread to the north end of Simi Valley, so we were ready for dark skies. Shane actually had to come home early because they had shut down the freeway, and were considering shutting down the only other freeway that gets you into Simi. But, this morning everything is pretty calm here, slight breeze. Of course fires are still burning all over Southern California.

After Birthday Fun!

Hey You! You talkin' to me!
Puppies are so much fun!
What?!!Mom, your having a baby?!!!
Ha! Ha! I'm so sneaky!

Goofy's Kitchen

Aedyn first flight on Dumbo with Grandpa Young and Angela.
Bonding over balloons with Uncle Sean
Aunt Soone, Angela, and Aedyn in line at Jungle Cruise
"Hold on tight Grandma Young the Hippos might get me!"
Contemplatio on the Carousel
Shane and Sean Jr. on Dumbo
Getting flirty with Jasmine
Dale comes to visit the birthday boy!
Yummy, cake made by Goofy!
Opening gifts with Grandma Young
Giggles with Aunt Jen

Last Sunday we spent some time at Disneyland with Dad Helen, Soone, Angela, Sean, Jen, and Sean Jr. to celebrate Aedyn's birthday with them.We all met at Goofy's kitchen at the Disneyland hotel. It's a character brunch where the characters come to visit at the tables, and sing songs,and do dances and activities with the kids. We did not think Aedyn would respond well, even though he has been to Disneyland at least 12 times already, he has only seen Mickey Mouse up close and he was 4 months old then! Surprisingly though he did really well, not one cry or scream. Of course he loved the part when the characters danced and sang, two of his favorite things to do.

After we finished lunch, ate cake, and opened gifts we ventured onto Disneyland. We were able to ride the Jungle Cruise, the carousel, and Dumbo (which was his first time, every other time the line is so long). He got tired, I must admit, so did I. It was a really nice day, a little hot and sticky, but fun!

Belly Baby - 34 days and counting!

The latest news on the belly baby is that he is doing great. He is growing, is in the head down position and moving and kicking all the time. I had to go on a small daily dose of insulin to keep my sugars down, and it seems to be doing the trick. I was concerned that they might induce me because diabetic patients seem to carry big babies, but the doctor felt and measured and said actually the baby was perfect size, even on the smaller side. So everything is looking good and right on schedule!

He walked!

Yesterday, Aedyn took 3 hearty steps all on his own. He intentionally walked towards the toy he wanted and stopped when he got to it! Of course I wasn't fast enough to capture it on camera, but it happened! He is standing alone a lot more now, he seems to do better when his hands are occupied with something! Very exciting stuff, just had to write it down for the record.