Archive for the 'Ayden Thomas' Category

First Day of School!

Published
by
chloe
on September 17, 2009
in Ayden Thomas, Baby Emery, Baby Whisler and Chloe
. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , .

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Whoa! Neither Patrick nor I were prepared for the shock of the first day of school - and the shock was our own, NOT Ayden’s! As we prepared Ayden’s outfit the night before the first day of school and tried to mentally prepare him by talking about what the coming day would bring, we found ourselves in utter disbelief that our BABY is old enough to be going to school?!?! At one point in the evening Patrick mimed to me a rocking little baby in his arms and made an exaggerated sad face - no, we were NOT ready for this. However, Ayden certainly was! It’s a good thing the kid doesn’t know what Disneyland really is, because for the time being he thinks his new school is the best Disneyland in the world! I had been to the school for various informational and parent-orientation type events, but Ayden had never stepped foot in the building. We did have several play-dates over the summer with the kids who were lined up to be in his class this year (a GREAT idea!) so that at least most of the faces were familiar, if not the surroundings. In addition, Teacher Linda made home visits to each of the students in her classes to get to know them in their home environments, so that the kids would already know HER upon their arrival at school, and so that we could give her the 1-yard of cotton fabric that Ayden chose for his school bag. Yes, Teacher Linda requested that each student provide her with 1-yard of fabric of their choosing that she would sew into a school bag with each child on the first day of school. How awesome is THAT?!?! Choosing the fabric was an event in itself - you’d have thought I’d taken the boys to a candy store - they were both SO excited to search through the Dinosaur School Bagneatly stacked bolts of fabric! It was like a treasure hunt for them - Ooh, stars! Look, Santa! Mama, pumpkins and ghosts! Whoa, robots! Pretty, flowers! Scary, spiders! Cool, tractors! Mommy! DINOSAURS!!!!! And so it was that the Dinosaur fabric has become Ayden’s school bag for the year. Oh, and naturally, since his favorite color IS blue (and against my apparently not-so-important observation that the blue ribbon did NOT match the dinosaur fabric and that perhaps the brown ribbon would be more pleasing to the eye) he chose the bright blue ribbon to be the handles.

Suffice it to say that Ayden had a VERY good first experience at school yesterday. He cannot wait until tomorrow when he gets to go again :) His eyes were twinkling and he was positively alight as he moved from one part of the classroom to the next, discovering each new activity and treasure trove of possibilities. I could not be more pleased with his reaction to the school and it definitely makes the parental shock and associated and necessary adjustment to having a school-aged child a bit easier to swallow. My baby is in school! When did THIS happen?

Enjoy all the pictures from Ayden’s first day in the new gallery!

Ayden on Grains

Published
by
chloe
on March 17, 2009
in Ayden Thomas and Chloe
. 2 Comments Tags: , , .
March 19, 2009 - Being silly at home :)

March 16, 2009 - Being silly at home :)

After picking up Quiznos sandwiches for lunch and on the way to Auntie Heather’s house for the afternoon, the following conversation ensued:

Ayden: Mama, are those my chips in that bag?

Mama: Yes, these are your Sun Chips.

Ayden: Oh, are they the cheesy ones?  What are they made of?

Mama: They have some cheese flavor on top, but they are really made of grains.

Ayden: (increduolous) BRAINS!?!?!?  Why are they made of BRAINS?!?!?!

Mama: (Grandma Gail and I were laughing hysterically at this point) No, my Sweet!  I said they’re made of GRAINS - with a “G” - guh, guh, GRAINS - like the kinds of things that farmers grow in their fields!  NOT brains, you silly boy!

Ayden: Oh, I thought you said brains.

All Boys Here!

Published
by
chloe
on October 29, 2008
in Ayden Thomas, Chloe and Owen Patrick
. 2 Comments

With Owen’s 18-month mark just around the bend (November 17th to be precise), he is growing and developing at an astonishing rate now!  Every time we turn around he’s doing or saying something new… we literally can’t keep up anymore.  In fact, at dinner a couple of nights ago, as I fed Owen his last bite of dinner, he very clearly announced “ALL FULL!”… as Patrick’s head snapped up in astonishment and asked, “Did he just say ALL FULL???”.  I had to shamefully admit that Owen’s actually been saying that for about a week, though I had neglected to mention the accomplishment to his Daddy… there are just so many little achievements like that these days that my head is just spinning as I try to keep up!  A few of the more noteworthy items Owen has added to his vocab of late include: tractor, truck, book, Emery (said “Emreeeeee”), happy (said “ha-peeeee”), Halloween (said “hah-weeeeeen”), blanky (said “bah-keee”), welcome (said “weh-coh”, though with the proper tone and inflection - and he often follows his own “thank you” with a prompt “weh-coh”).

There is no trace of baby left in Owen… he’s all boy now (except that he still loves to suck his two fingers when he’s sleepy and he has to have his special white blanky at bedtime!).  And having big brother around is both good and bad… Owen loves to imitate Ayden - whether it’s yelling “NO NO NO!” in a very obnoxious, bratty 3-year-old tone of voice, climbing a tower of couch cushions that have been stacked into a pile 5 feet tall, or hiding from Mama under Grandma Gail’s bed when I’m searching the house looking for them.   I’m fully aware that this mimicry is just the tip of the iceberg and will continue for many many years.  Oy vey!

Owen has also become rather obsessed with cows - I think largely due to a YouTube video that both he and Ayden can’t seem to get enough of.   Dancing Cow!  Whenever the laptop is open, Owen points to it and emphatically says “MOOOOOO! MOOOOOO!”, which translates into “please play the Dancing Cow video from YouTube!”  Both of the boys get HUGE grins on their faces and start to dance as soon as they hear the first note of the song.  Owen even knows the video/song so well, that about 5 seconds before the end, he’s already doing the hand-sign for “more” and asking us to replay it!!!  I kid you not!!! :-)

Ayden is feeling like quite the big boy these days, since he’s taking 3 classes through the local Parks and Rec program.  He’s enrolled in a swimming class (the second in the series), a “Kids Sports” class (which is basically a variety sports class where they do a different sport each week), and a “Play, Learn & Explore” class (designed to be a pre-school style one-hour class).  None of these classes allow for parent participation, so he’s been forced to be Mr. Independent.  This didn’t go so well for the first week or so (lot’s of crying and separation anxiety), but I stuck to my guns, and though heart-strings were tugged almost to the breaking point, I left him to fend for himself and stand on his own two feet.  I’m glad I did, because he’s absolutely thriving in all three classes and looks forward to going each week with uncontrollable enthusiasm! :-)

Since we’re already nearing the holiday season and it seems like the toy commercials are already ramping up, Ayden has seen his fair share.  The other day he came to me and said, “Mommy, if I had a Candy Castle I would be SOOOOOOOO happy!”.  First of all, I have no idea what a Candy Castle is, and secondly, how does he?!?!  Well it didn’t take long for me to see my first Candy Castle commercial and to learn where Ayden got the idea.  Since then, we’ve received literally dozens of toy catalogs in the mail, which Ayden goes through and tells me each item that would make him “SO HAPPY” if he had for Christmas.  Seriously, where does a three-year-old get that idea???

September Aydenism

Published
by
chloe
on September 15, 2008
in Ayden Thomas
. 2 Comments

Patrick walks through the front door as he arrives home from work.

Patrick (to Ayden): Yo Dude! How are you?

Ayden: Crackin’ like a villain!

Patrick: What?…. Oh! You mean, “Chillin’ like a villain?”

Ayden: Yeah! I’m chillin’ like a villain.

Patrick: Yes, but you’re supposed to say that when I ask, “What’s crackin’?”

Ayden had morphed two Patrickisms (Chilin’ like a villain & What’s crackin’?) into his own Aydenism, “Crackin’ like a villain!”  Patrick and I were hysterical!!! :-)

Summer Keeps Whizzing By!

Published
by
chloe
on August 27, 2008
in Ayden Thomas, Chloe and Owen Patrick
. 1 Comment

I just can’t seem to catch my breath this summer!  Every time I stop to look, another month has screamed by and I’m frantic to scribble down some notes before I forget the details!  Sorry folks, it’s been a jam-packed summer this 2008!  On to business…

A very happy 30th birthday to our dear Uncle Chad! Yipee!  You’re officially old like me!

Uncle Chad turns 30 years old!

Uncle Chad turns 30 years old!

We said “Goodbye!” to Patrick’s beloved $4.90/gal diesel guzzling truck via private sale on Craigslist.

Daddy's monster truck goes bye-bye!

Daddys monster truck goes bye-bye!

We made our second annual trip to Antique Powerland:

 

Ayden has completed his first-ever series of Level A swimming lessons at the Conestoga Aquatic Center!

Ayden exits the pool after his first-ever swimming class!

Ayden exits the pool after his first-ever swimming class!

A fun family trip to Seaside to visit the family and the beach - it’s been awhile!

Chloe and the boys on the Seaside beach.

Chloe and the boys on the Seaside beach.

We helped Emery celebrate his THIRD birthday!  What a BIG BOY! :-)

Emery devours the traditional BR Clown Cone.

Emery devours the traditional BR Clown Cone.

Our annual family trip to the Clackamas County Fair to let the kids ride the rides, see the animals, walk through the exhibits and generally experience good old-fashioned fair atmosphere!

Lindsay, Emery and Ayden trying to have fun in the 95 degree heat!

Lindsay, Emery and Ayden trying to have fun in the 95 degree heat!

Whew!  I wasn’t kidding when I said we’ve been busy!  This pictorial jaunt takes you through our past four weeks and pretty much brings you up to date.  I’ll try to post the associated galleries that have the many, many other pictures that go along with each of these adventures - but this is what you get for tonight!  I’m going to bed!  Enjoy! :-)

On Faucets…

Published
by
chloe
on July 5, 2008
in Ayden Thomas, Chloe and Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

Ayden was busying himself with a colorful pile of large Legos in the middle of the rug in the family room. He had used the square lid to the Lego storage tub as a foundation for his current work of art. He had carefully stacked Legos all around the perimeter of the lid and about three or four blocks high. On one “wall” he had placed three blocks perpendicular to the rest. This was the point at which I looked over to see what he was up to and asked as much:

Me: Hey Bud, whatcha building over there?

Ayden: Um, it’s a bathtub.

Me: Oh, a bathtub. That’s very clever! And what are those three blocks on that side?

Ayden: These are the faucets.

Me: How come there are three?

Ayden: [pointing to them one at a time] This is the “Hot”, this is the “Cold”, and this is the “Very Refreshing.”

Come on… you just can’t make this stuff up! :-) Kids really do say the darnedest things! It doesn’t get much cuter than that!

My Big Boy

Published
by
chloe
on July 5, 2008
in Ayden Thomas and Chloe
. 1 Comment

Ayden & Everett turn three years old!

My Ayden Thomas is now THREE YEARS OLD! So hard to believe that three years have flown by already! It is utterly impossible to remember life without our little boys any longer! Ayden’s third year has been full of growth, change, fun, excitement, challenge, learning, discovery, wonder, laughter, love and all of the other things his little world should be full of! He can no longer remember life without his little brother, and it’s so fun watching them interact more and more as Owen becomes a little boy too! Nothing better than having a built-in playmate!

To celebrate Ayden’s third year we threw a shared birthday celebration with our friends (met through the MOMS club) the Clough’s - Everett is pictured above with Ayden. The boys are only a week apart in age and are as close to “best friends” as you can get when you’re three years old! The Clough’s generously offered up their home to host the party, which was very well attended by many mutual friends from the MOMS club, in addition to a few family members and other friends. We managed to pick a day with record high heat (I think we ended up hitting the 97 degree mark that day), so we went with a water theme out of necessity. We had several pools set up in the backyard, as well as a Slip And Slide. We also gave each child a large squirt bottle as part of their ‘goodie bag’ which proved to be a hit! Bridget (Everett’s mom), in her eternal craftiness, homemade an adorable Thomas the Train cake, complete with three cargo cars made out of ice cream sandwiches. The entire cake was delicious and entirely devoured! There are many photos of all the festivities in the new gallery, in addition to some random photos from around the house during Nanna’s visit over the past few weeks.

After the party, we headed back to our house (with the cousins in tow) to open presents. For the first time in his three years, he has actually switched from being entirely truck/tractor focused to a very recent and extreme dinosaur fascination. I think this was triggered by the exhibits at both OMSI and the Oregon Zoo. For about a month now, he has not been able to get enough dinosaurs! This made birthday presents both fun and easy - and he was totally thrilled! As a side note, this is again something I’m having to come to grips with as a mother of boys. There are just some things you never expect to really know in great detail, including, but not limited to: parts/pieces/models/types/styles of tractors/trucks/heavy equipment/chainsaws/tools, scientific names of dinosaurs including the pertinent information about habitat/diet/behavior. I’m sure we’ve only scratched the surface. ;-)

Ayden’s 3-year doctor appointment is scheduled for the 17th, so I’ll have all the customary and statistical (though otherwise useless) information to report then. ;-)

On Dinosaurs…

Published
by
chloe
on May 21, 2008
in Ayden Thomas
. 2 Comments

While having some polite conversation with Ayden over dinner this evening, the subject of dinosaurs came up. I told him that we’re likely going to the Oregon Zoo tomorrow to see the new Dinosaur exhibit. I’m the first to acknowledge that having life-like dinosaurs at a ZOO does potentially send the wrong message to children. Here’s the conversation that ensued:

Ayden: I want to see REAL dinosaurs Mommy.

Chloe: Well sweetie, there are no REAL dinosaurs anymore. They are all extinct. Extinct means “dead”.

Ayden: Why are they dead?

Chloe: Well, there are two main ideas. One is that a big mountain called a volcano erupted and changed the sky and made them all die. Another idea is that a big asteroid, which is just a rock, flew through space and the sky and crashed into our world. Either way, there are no dinos left… just the bones, like the ones we saw at OMSI last week.

Ayden: …[long pause to ponder this]… Well mommy, there is still ONE dinosaur left [said with much emphasis while holding up one finger].

Chloe: Oh? There’s one left? Where does he live?

Ayden: In a cave. With water in front of it.

Chloe: Really? Where is the cave?

Ayden: It’s across town. You can’t see it and you can’t find it. But there is still ONE dinosaur left.

Well then. I certainly can’t argue with that now can I? So says Ayden!

Smelly Stinker

Published
by
chloe
on April 16, 2008
in Ayden Thomas and Owen Patrick
. 1 Comment

First order of business… Owen is 11 months old today! One year, here we come! He capped off the day with a record sprint to the top of the stairs - this is day two of his stair ascension prowess. There are a few photos of the triumphant event in the new gallery.

Second item on the agenda - to explain the title of this post. Ayden has recently taken a liking to the game “hide and seek” and has asked to play every evening for the past week or so. In the beginning, as he was still trying to get a grasp on how the game works, Patrick and I would work together by dialogging something like this:

Patrick: Where’s Ayden? Mommy, can you smell him in here?

Chloe: Yep. I smell him. [audible sniff]

Patrick: Oh, me too. I think I’m getting closer… [sniff, sniff, etc]

Somehow or another Ayden managed to interpret this version of the game with a new name… Smelly Stinkers. So instead of asking us to play “hide and seek”, we’re now asked to play Smelly Stinkers every evening! :-)

Ayden Funnies

Published
by
chloe
on April 6, 2008
in Ayden Thomas
. 1 Comment

First order of business… a few photos from Easter through last night in the newest gallery.  Enjoy!

Second order of business; I keep meaning to post a couple of funny tidbits about Ayden - so here they are:

1) Ayden received a big ceramic piggy bank from a neighbor for his first birthday.  He’s always had fun putting random coins in whenever he comes across them, but otherwise hasn’t really paid much attention.  Until recently.  Now in the evenings when Patrick is putting him to bed, he asks Patrick if he has any money in his pockets, and if so, can he have it!!!  The kid is only two years old!  I thought we’d have at least another decade before he started asking for handouts!!!  And so it begins….

2) I have no idea where he picked up this new mannerism (Lindsay maybe?), but a few days ago he started crossing his arms (complete with a lip-out-pout and the “hmph!” sound to go with it!) when he isn’t getting his way or I’m reprimanding him.  Unbelievable!  I asked him where he learned that and he said from Grandma Kelly!  When I told Grandma about this, she denied that she ever does that - so I don’t know where he got it.  Talk about a two year old with ‘tude!