2 Peas in a Pod

Aiden has his first buddy.

Jen and my mom took Aiden on a road trip to Lancaster today.  Most of my mom's side of the family lives in Lancaster, and we figured it was about time for them to meet our little guy.

There is no shortage of cute kids in the Lancaster clan, and from what I'm told Aiden hit it off immediately with the youngest of the bunch: Lewis.  Lewis is Aiden's second cousin ( I looked it up) and they were like, you guessed it, two peas in a pod.

So, as you may notice there is a little bit of a size difference between these two fellas.  The discrepancy wouldn't be as odd if it weren't for the fact that Lewis is 6 weeks older than Aiden. He looks like Yoda, to Aiden's Jabba the Hut. 

Yet another confirmation that our son does indeed have the infamous Jones 'Fat Baby' gene.

Surprise, surprise.

Aiden finally gets a chance to be with his Great-Grandma Rogers.

Forging Ahead

Yesterday (Jen's birthday) we went to Valley Forge Park with our friends Steph and Bill.  It was another really beautiful afternoon for a walk, and lots of other people/babies/dogs were out enjoying it too.  Aiden came of course, and so did Steph and Bill's dog Jake who was adventurous enough to splash in the creek.

We (I) forgot to bring our camera, but we took these pictures with Jen's camera phone.

Not too shabby, huh?

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Swing Kid

Back when Jen was pregnant we always used to talk about how when Aiden was born we would resist the influx of "baby gear" that always seems to take over the home of all first time parents.  At that time it felt as though there were a potential tidal wave of plastic seats, toys, swings, rockers, walkers, and other riff-raff poised to flood our tidy abode at any moment. However we were confident in our ability to resist the coming onslaught...

"We don't need all of that stuff,"  we used to confide to each other smugly.  "After all, what do babies really need?  A toy here, a blanket there, maybe a cardboard box to play in? Our house will look just the same then as it does now..."

In retrospect that opinion was based primarily on the exactly zero times that we had previously raised a baby in our home.

Needless to say the wave has crashed (and continues to crash.)  Aiden now has cradle, a bassinet, a crib, a stroller, a bouncy seat, a boppy, a bebe pod, two car seats, and his latest aquisition:  the swing.

B-Day Bonanza

On Sunday, after church, we went over to the Weidner's house to celebrate Jen and Darren's birthday and have a delicious lunch.  It seems like there are lots of birthdays to celebrate this time of year.   But we're not complaining, it is nice to have the excuse to get together with family and catch up.  Aiden seemed committed to hogging the spotlight despite the fact that we will not be celebrating HIS birthday for another 11 months.  I guess we can't be surprised though.  We should have remembered the old equation:

           Baby + Sweater Vest = Center of Attention

It was just great to hang out with everyone and enjoy some birthday cheesecake.  Grandpa Jones' birthday is coming up next so I'm sure Aiden will be back to his old shenanigans.

Boy in the Hood

This guy just keeps getting bigger.  He is starting to look like a promising entry in the "giant pumpkin" competition at the county fair (we would paint him orange.)

But in addition to his beer (milk) belly, the other thing that he is developing is a little personality.  For example, he's got "likes": Over the Rhine music, long walks in the stroller, nice warm baths. And "dislikes": not eating, not sleeping, any and all forms of bodily gas.

Yeah, I know, its all pretty simple stuff for now.  But one of these days we'll wake up and he'll be way into comic books, or dump trucks, or goth rock. (aren't all little boys?)  

Well, no matter what Aiden loves, we'll always do our best  to support and encourage him in his interests.  

Just as long as it isn't something dumb.

Check out the "Aiden Shuffle."  

Its the latest dance craze that is sweeping the nation.

Tuesdays with Aiden

We all went for another nice walk today.  This time we went to Black Rock Sanctuary, another park just a couple of minutes from where we live.  It's great being outside again, but even though it is starting to feel like spring, it still looks pretty barren and winter-like.  

Once again, Aiden couldn't be bothered to open his eyes and take in the outside world.  One of these days he's going to realize that there are more interesting things in life than the ceiling fan in our living room.

If you've never strapped a baby to your chest and walked around in public, I highly recommend it.

Our friends the Benner's were over at the house this weekend.  It's hard to imagine anyone who is not actually related to us loving our son (and us) as much as Mike and Rhianwen do.  We are sad but so excited about their big move to Los Angeles next month.

Here are just some odds and ends type pictures from the last few days.  Napping... hanging out... looking cute.

Bliss

Perhaps you woke up this morning needing to see a baby with a look of absolute contentment on his face?

Look no further my friends... you've come to the right place.

Our Little Jelly Bean

Aiden is not yet old enough for Easter baskets, egg hunts, or chocolate bunnies, but he still managed to have a great first Easter holiday.  

We started our day with the obligatory Easter family picture.  It took a couple of tries, but I have to say; I think we have it easy.  We saw across the street our neighbors with NINE kids were taking a family picture out on their porch.

Yikes.

So here is our first official Easter family picture:

After the church service we had Easter dinner at Grammy and Pop Pop Hultslander's dining hall. We had a great meal with everyone.  Aiden enjoyed being passed from aunt, to grandmother, to uncle, to great grandmother, etc...

We also had time to celebrate Leann's birthday.  It was during this time that Aiden found a kindred bald spirit in his Uncle Darren.

Just a great-grandmother and her great-grandson, hanging out on Easter.