13/14 MONTHS

The past 2 months have been incredible. February was filled with travel.

Our first destination was Puerto Villarta. This was a work vacation for me. Jaiden was terrific on the plane. We did not know what to expect but he blew us away. He was calm, playful and slept most of the flight. We had a blast with him in PV. We stayed in an all inclusive resort and never left. We took him swimming daily, he played in the sand on the beach, got splashed by the ocean water, ate out every day, and even fine dined with us. So much fun! The following day after we returned home we left for Palm Springs to continue my work vacation where we met up with friends and co-workers from across the country that work for the same organization I do.
By the end of that trip Jaid was ready for his own crib and room. But he was such a good sport as we dragged him to events, and made him smile constantly for the camera.

I came back to work for about a week and then we were off to Mammoth for a ski/boarding trip with our friends , their 6month old adopted son Sawyer, and their nanny. We had a blast. It was really wonderful because we had a built in babysitter the whole time. We were on the mountain early and skied/boarded all day long. Jaiden had a fun time, although he had difficulties sleeping. I think it was a combo of things. He was in our room, which he is not used to, he likes his space...the altitude...and all the prior travel. We pretty much screwed up his routine. To make it easier all the way around I brought him into our bed a few nights, so at least we could all sleep. Hoping this ski trip was the first of an annual trip with our dear friends and our children. The kids can start ski school when they are 3! That means less than 2 more years and Jaid will be on skis!

Every single day we are astonished by the brilliance of Jaiden. His vocabulary expands daily, his coordination continues to increase each day, and it is amazing how much he understands. He helped me make my bed the other day, and when I said bring Mommy the "red" pillow he turned around walked across the room to where all my pillows were and picked up the "red' pillow and handed it to me. I stood there with my mouth open in awe. He has many toys but truthfully he likes the things laying around the house the most. When the phone rings in the house he picks up anything close to him and holds it next to his ear and says, "ho." We bust up. Jess taught him how to do an "O" face. So if we say to him, "do your "O" face," he purses his lips together like an "O" and opens his eyes really wide. So darn cute. Jesse also taught him how to sit this past week on the bottom stair and now he will sit anywhere and on anything including Maggie the doggie. A few weeks ago I was playing with him in his room , and he completely stopped what he was doing, turned to me and then "moon walked." I know it sounds absurd but I have it on video for proof. Who knows where he got that but he totally "moon walks." It's not like he watches TV with Michael Jackson on it, or it's not like we "moon walk." Well of course when he did it I was cheering him on and on and then I named it " moon walking." So now if we are lucky and we ask him to "moon walk" he does it. Sometimes he even closes his eyes cause he is afraid he may fall. It is HILARIOUS! So many circus tricks!

We go to the park regularly, actually Jesse takes Jaid quite a bit when Mommy is at work. Jaiden loves the swing, the slide, the steering wheel, and the kids. The other day I met them there and a few different women said, "hi Jaiden." He stopped and flirted. Apparently he is a "chick magnet." I guess my husband and son get around the park!

In case you couldn't tell, we are having such a wonderful time with our son. We took him to Travel Town last weekend. He rode on the train for the first time, and LOVED it. We will go back again soon.

Yesterday was my birthday and the boys( Jesse and Jaid) came to lunch at my office to celebrate during the day and then we went to my parents for dindin. My twin Allison joined us. Dinner was delicious, babylicious was so cute and funny, and we all had a super time.

I still rush home from work every day, run into the house and scoop up my sweet boy. We play until it is time for bed and I always still want more!






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CELEBRATIONS

January 15th was a magical day. It was Jaiden's and our official court date. We celebrated with close friends and family. A special thanks to my Aunt Micki and Uncle Larry who traveled all the way from New Jersey, my sister Jordana who traveled from Colorado, friends who took off work and some traveled by car for hours. We were allowed to have people join us in court. Once everyone was inside the clerk advised that everyone who wanted to take pictures needed to stand along one wall. That was mostly everyone. The Judge talked for a little bit, our attorney answered any questions, and then Jess and I were asked to raise our right hands and solemnly swear that we will love and take care of our child Jaiden always.

It was very emotional for me/us. It was a year ago that we were blessed with Jaiden and this day signified so much. I could breath freely and shout from the rooftops with joy. It gave us permission to completely put the difficult past behind us, to embrace our good fortune, to celebrate our family, to acknowledge the power of the Universe, and so much more. We celebrated all day long and into the night. Jess and I pinched ourselves until we feel asleep.

The following day we celebrated Jaiden's 1st birthday with 130 people. It was marvelous. Hot Dogs and Hot Rods. The color theme was red, white and black. We had big clusters of balloons which looked great, and cute car centerpieces for the tables. His cake was the most awesome cake I have ever seen. It was a convertible red hot rod car. The kids could not wait to put there fingers in it. We had face painting, a jumper, and an arts and craft table where kids decorated a picture frame we had for each of them. Jesse made a big banner of a hot rod car with a hole cut out so that kids could put there face in and it would look like they were driving. I was going to take a Polaroid of the kids to put in their picture frame but the camera did not work. Bummer. However Jesse decided to take pictures of all the adults with their head in the banner which was a scream. We partied all day long.

Thank you all for celebrating these tremendously special days with us.

1 IS FUN!

Jaiden turned 1 years old on Jan 12th. So amazing to think our lil dude is 1. When we heard him awake in the morning both Jess and I walked into his room singing HB carrying with us a huge bunch of balloons. Jaiden stared in amazement. He must of been thinking, "are you kidding me, I really get to have all these balloons to myself." Jess gave him a handful of balloons while he was still sitting in his crib. He laughed and laughed, not quite sure what to do. We sang HB to him over and over again.

For lunch Jaiden and Coco joined me at my office where we continued to celebrate. Lots of singing, playing, and gifting. The girls made him feel so special.

I could not get home fast enough from work that day to see the birthday boy...again! We played until dinner time. After dinner, Jess and I put a candle on his birthday cake. We videotaped the whole thing, a moment we will not want to forget. He was in awe of the burning candle so before he grabbed it, I blew it out. We then cut him a piece and plopped it right on his highchair and let him go for it. We expected more than we got. Jaiden was very careful, not aggressive whatsoever. I gave him a taste of the frosting from my finger to try to inspire him to dig in. That didn't really work. After some time he did get his hands filled with frosting and put some in his mouth in between the squishing between the fingers. When all was said and done he had a little frosting around his mouth, a few bites of cake, and his hands were covered with frosting. Easy wash. We took a quick bath and played with all our bath toys.

That evening when I stopped I quieted my mind to think about the last year. I thought about it all day long, but I really wanted to contemplate. Hands down this was the fastest year of my life. I reflected on the day Jaiden was born and what that whole experience was like. The emotional rollercoaster. I thought about our stay in Minnesota, how Jaiden came to be, and all the people involved. And then I thought about all the weeks that followed and how truly astonished I am at the growth of our lil son. The development is so remarkable. How did that little (or not so little) baby become a lil dude already...in just one year.

As Jesse said so eloquently the other night, "it is a privilege to be in the presence of Jaiden." How right he is, we are so privileged. I've said this before and I will say it again...I know people say Jaiden is so lucky but we are the lucky ones. This year he has brought us such incredible joy. Our hearts have expanded in ways we never knew were possible. We are captured and transformed by the way he effects us each and every day.

Happy Birthday dear son...Mommy and Daddy love you!

ALMOST 1 YEARS OLD

Jaiden will be a 1year old in 4 days. I ask myself over and over again, how is that possible?

This year has gone by faster than any other year in my life. It seems like just yesterday when we got the call...and now a 1 year old.

I am filled with such joy as I plan for his 3 big days. The first day is Jan 12th which is his 1st BIRTHDAY! How I remember the minute he was born...I thought to myself now that is a beautiful big baby...he took up most of the bassinet they had him in. And I remember the minute the nurse looked at us through the window in the nursery and held up 9 fingers and then 1.3 fingers, telling us in sign language that our newly born baby boy weighed in at 9lbs 1.3oz. Jess and I stared through the glass into the nursery eyes only focused on our child until the time they wheeled him somewhere else and at that point our hands wanted to reach through the glass and keep him right there. We tried to plead with our eyes not to move him out of our sight but it didn't work. What a MAGICAL surreal night that was!

The next big event for us is his official court date celebration which is Jan 15th. We are thrilled that relatives are flying from out of state to join us. Just thinking about that day brings tears to my eyes. This is the day that we will be named Jaiden's parents. WOW...how we have waited for so long for this day. Everything does work out exactly the way it is suppossed to.

Last but certainly not least is Jaid's 1st birthday bash. Can't wait to celebrate Jaiden.

THANKSGIVING

The week leading up to Thanksgiving was an extremely emotional week for me. I could not pull myself together. I would think about what I was thankful for this year and I would get overwhelmed and instantly tears would well up in my eyes, and my breathing would start to go awry. I had absolutely no control, it was as if my body was infiltrated with a deep rooted pumping drug right into my veins. It completely took me over. I was at the grocery store one night, just waiting in line with a million other people and tears came streaming down my face. I believe that a magazine cover with a Mother and child on it prompted this kind of reaction. All I could do was pray that the guy staring at me didn't know it was just a magazine! I was leaving for work one morning and my beautiful son Jaid hugged me as he has done before but for some reason it through me into an emotional explosion and I sat in my car...crying. Happy uncontrollable tears. By the time I got to work I looked like shit. One night when I was feeding Jaid and we were playing the dessert game, tears were rolling down my face, and he could not figure out why Mommy's face was wet and black stuff was running down her face. It was not pretty whatsoever. Jess said something nice to me in the morning before we started our Thanksgiving day and again I lost it. Geeze he was just saying that my outfit was cute and I went into a crying frenzy. Seriously if I needed meds, this was the week. I must say that all of the crying was because I am so grateful, so thankful and so happy!

There are certain times that make me reflect on life and this was one of them, however instead of lasting a day it lasted more than a week. This year in particular we are deeply thankful for our child Jaiden, Kelsie, our families, friends both old and new, our jobs, and so much more.

At 10months old Jaiden is "FREE STANDING" alot and for a long time. The other day he took two steps and a half while Jess and I were watching. We screamed with excitement. Although it was exciting it's a little difficult to not want it to slow down. I can not believe his development in the last month, it really is astonishing. He is a total chatter box, talk....talk...talk. He says "bye bye" sometimes, although Mommy and Daddy are the only ones to actually understand him. He says "ba" for his bottle, "uh" for anything and everything, "bu" for bird and "moo" for moon.

We bought Jaiden his first pair of walking shoes, although they are not specific "walking shoes." But who cares cause they are darn cute. He seems to like them even though they are a little heavy. It's funny to watch him as he slowly picks up his foot to move it forward. So methodical.

Jaiden now climbs the stairs from the entry way to the upstairs...a total of 15 stairs. It is adorable. If his Daddy is with him they race up them and of course Jaiden always wins.

The other day Jess and I got to talking about what our life was before Jaiden and the truth is neither one of us can imagine it. Our hearts are fuller than ever before and for that we are so thankful.

9 IS DEVINE

On Oct 12th Jaiden turned 9 months old. How is that possible?

Jaiden now weighs over 23lbs and is 30in long. Growing at a consistent rate. He had his immunizations at his 9month Dr's appt, along with a flu shot. He cried and I could barely stand it. I held him so tight and wiped his real watery tears as they poured from his eyes.

Jaiden now says, "da da " which of course just sends a warm chill though Jess. He cruises from one piece of furniture to another, pulls himself up, and makes all kinds of new sounds. It is really funny because you can see him thinking about his next step, whatever it is. When he is cruising he never just goes for it until he is certain there is a place for at least one of his hands. We can see his mind figuring it out. He gets so excited when he makes a transfer and expresses it by turning his head around to make sure someone is watching and then he cracks a huge smile. The other day he went from his tummy to his bottom, something he had not done before so of course now all day long he goes from his tummy to his bottom, over and over again. He is trying to climb up 2 stairs from the living room to the dining room. He can't quite get it but I am sure it wont' be long. The gates will be coming out the attic/storage soon.

A wonderful never to be forgotten moment was yesterday morning. We heard Jaid playing in his crib like he always does in the morning. We both approached his door and quietly opened it. As we started to sing our "good morning" song to him we were caught by surprise to see him "STANDING" in his crib holding onto the rail so proud. Yep "STANDING!" We cheered him on and yahooed him. It was very exciting for all of us. When I got home last night we had to adjust his crib for the second time so that his mattress is low to the ground for safety. Making sure he does not have an opportunity to escape!

A new situation has come up every time I take babylicious out of the bathtub. He screams so loud the neighbors probably think something fishy is going on. He LOVES the bath, and even if he is freezing, and his fingers look like prunes and his teeth are chattering he still does not want to come out. It's actually quite cute. The other day Jess and I had to stradegize about how we would take him out , I must say it worked somewhat now we just have to perfect it.

A year ago Oct 31st I received "the call' from my sister Gaby about Jaid. I remember clear as day, and I remember exactly what she said. I called my sister to tell her it was a year ago and we both reminisced about our phone call that day. The phenomenal thing is that now we have a 9month old son whom we love like no other.

Halloween was wonderful. We celebrated with some friends and family. Our "hood" is quite the place to be on Halloween. So much fun...Jaid went trick or treating in his pirate costume. Arr-He was so darn cute! This day meant so much more to me than just Halloween.

Every day we learn more and more about our little angel and every day we are so grateful. He brings with him more joy than we ever imagined, he makes our lives more complete!

8 MONTHS OLD

Babylicious is now over 8 months old. My guess is weighs 24lbs but we have not been to the Doctors in the last month so I am not quite sure. His hair is growing in, but still not sure what color it is. Sometimes it looks brown, other days blond and some times even red.

He is doing this strange crawl where he actually scoots on just one leg and one arm. It is damn cute. He can get anywhere in a matter of seconds! The other night Jaiden and I were playing on his mat, which takes up the living room, and we both heard Daddy pull up on his loud Harley. I watched Jaiden as he looked up and listened. I was astonished that he was putting it together, that Daddy was home. With his head still in the up position listening, he waited and then heard Daddy coming down the stair in his boots. When Jess appeared, Jaiden began to shake his arms, kick his legs and smile from ear to ear. He even began to squeal. We were dying, and just when we thought it could not get any better, Jess waived his hand and said, "come here, come here" and for the first time Jaiden quickly got on his stomach, and scooched all the way to Daddy. It was the best ever. Both Jess and I were moved to tears , it was a moment that neither one of us will ever forget.

We took Jaiden to the park the other day and for the first time we put him on the swing. He LOVED it. He was fascinated by the movement and the air blowing on his face. It was fun for him to watch all the other children playing too. As soon as he can walk he is gonna be all over that park. I can see it now....the slide...the swing...the monkey bars...and back to the slide. I better prepare myself...


Jaiden celebrated his first Rosh Hashanah- with traditional foods and family. He did not indulge in the foods, but I did tell him next year he will get to try Grandmom's brisket which is by far the best brisket on this earth.

Yesterday Jaid had his first biscuit/teether cracker. It was totally cool until he got a big wet sticky piece lodged on the top of his mouth. I realized it when he started to gag and twist his face. I quickly put my finger in his mouth- dislodged this honkin piece. I think the problem is he shoves the who 3 inch biscuit in his mouth, gets it all wet, and chunks break off. If only he ate it like he was supposed to then this would not be an issue. Anyways, this will not keep us from giving him biscuits we'll just stay close by with a finger ready to dis-lodge!

We went out on the boat again the other day. The water completely soothes Jaid. He LOVES it! He now likes to stand on the seat in the back of the boat looking out to the water, holding on with his hands, and watches the water, the duckies, the birds, and the boats coming and going. So cute. While we played cards, Jaid fell asleep on the seat between us and we just smiled at one another with complete joy.

It is still hard to believe that we have an 8 1/2 month old...each day we are in awe of all the wonderful new things he does and the joy he brings to us.