Ayden's Dance Moves

Ayden loves watching and dancing to the Thomas the Train song sing-a-long.



I'm not sure where he came up with this, but it always makes me laugh...

Ayden Reading with Bailey

Ayden reading a Tag Jr. book with Bailey...

Ayden thought Bailey needed some company so he put his stuffed Bailey dog in her kennel.


Bailey trying to cuddle with Ayden.




Buddies...

Playing with the Cousins

A few weekends ago we headed to Minneapolis for my niece Madison's 10th birthday party. We stayed at a hotel near the Mall of America for a few nights and walked around the mall Saturday morning before heading over to my brother's house for lunch. The kids (and Joel, my sister-in-law, and one of my brothers) went sledding Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately, Ayden didn't get much sleep the night before so he needed to take a nap and didn't go. That night we had pizza and birthday cake, and then Madison opened up her presents.

Ayden loved the cake, and it must have had a lot of sugar in it because he was wired after that. He loved playing with his older cousins. They were tossing a ball around and Ayden was trying to get it from them if it wasn't his turn. He also loved running around and wrestling with them. After checking out of our hotel and stopping by for breakfast the next morning, we made our way back home.

32 Weeks!

(Last week at 31 weeks)

I'm 32 weeks today! Only 8 more until I am due! Yikes! I feel like last time I was much more organized and ready for a baby to arrive than I am this time around. I also have no idea how I am going to keep the house picked up and clean all the time with a toddler and a newborn since we have it on the market for sale. I have been making many of lists of things that I need to get done in the next month or so. I love lists!

I had my 32 week doctors appointment today, and it went well. I still have not gained any weight in the past month and only 2 pounds since Thanksgiving, which she seemed a little concerned about until she measured my stomach and the baby is measuring at 35 weeks along. Overall, I have only gained 15-20 pounds total which is much less than what I gained with Ayden. She really didn't have an explanation, but said that he will probably be a bigger baby at full-term (8-8.5 pounds), and Ayden was 2 weeks early and weighed 7 pounds 11 oz. She said that's good for me since I won't have much baby weight to lose. YEAH! She said it's great that I am still walking 2 miles on the treadmill most days and that I can keep it up as long as I am still feeling good. She also said it would be possible to induce me around 39 weeks if I am dilated and if it looks like the baby will be coming soon anyway, since I live 40 minutes away from the hospital, just to put my mind at ease.

I'm feeling pretty good. More tired than usual and more heartburn than before, and I feel like I constantly have to pee, but other than that just the normal pregnancy complaints. Ayden came with me to my appointment for the first time since we had a playdate to go to afterwards and he was such a good boy! I'm so proud of him. He sat quietly and looked at some books. He's going to be such a great big brother!

Rice Krispie Treats

Before we headed to Minneapolis last Friday for my niece's b-day party Ayden helped me make some Rice Krispie treats. He loves to help me cook and bake so my mom found him a cute John Deere apron. He actually kept it on this time. I've tried to get him to wear it in the past and he would always fight me. I grabbed a bag of marshmallows from the cupboard and opened them up. They must have been there awhile because they were stuck together. Luckily, I found another bag to use instead, but Ayden decided it was his job to separate the old marshmallows one-by-one with a butter knife. (Don't worry, he only used it while I was right next to him for a few minutes and we were very careful so he wouldn't cut himself.)

Concentrating really hard...

Of course, his favorite part is licking the spoon at the end...

More Sewing Projects...

I finally finished sewing the three nursing covers that I planned on making a few months ago. After I got the hang of sewing the first one, the second two were much easier and only took me about an hour each to make after measuring, cutting, pinning, and sewing. They look just like the $35.00 Hooter Hider I had last time, except I like the material I picked out better than the kinds they offer. I also made them a little bit bigger because Ayden always used to kick the nursing cover away and I always felt it could be a little bit bigger to keep me covered better. They were super easy and the perfect project for a beginner sewer that has only made a few baby blankets.






I also made a few no-sew fleece blankets. I have some more material I bought to make a few more fleece blankets that I am going to sew and then cut some fringe around them. I also have some fleece to make a taggie blanket for Ayden because for some reason he has been obsessed with tags lately, and then I will make one for Caelan. So, four more sewing blanket projects to go and one more no-sew fleece blanket to make. I'll be out of material then and am not allowed to go to a fabric store again until they are ALL finished! It has been fun though, I just wish I had more time and energy to sew.

Ayden at Gymnastics

Ayden started taking a gymnastics class in October and the new semester just started up again on Thursday. Some of his Kindermusik friends are in it too, which makes it even more fun for both of us :) We were talking about having him stay in class until the baby comes, but he is enjoying it so much I think we may try to work it out so that either Joel or I can take him even after the baby arrives. He was all smiles on Thursday and followed all the instructions without any problems. No running off, and he he had a blast. As you can tell from the video he LOVES the trampoline and his teacher Amy is great with all the kids.

The video below is a smaller web version because the other one was taking to long to upload. To see a larger version click here:

Kindermusik Videos

Ayden had his last Kindermusik class of the semester on Tuesday. I took videos of him doing his 2 favorite activities. (Sorry about the jumpiness and zooming in and out. We got a new camera for Christmas and I'm still trying to figure it out.)

Ayden loves the echo game. Ms. Judy sings for the child and they try to echo back what she sings. He always wants to go up and do it multiple times. A big step from last semester when he never wanted to go alone.

Ayden loves playing the big drum and does really well at keeping a steady beat.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

Opening pajamas on Christmas Eve.

Christmas was so much fun this year because Ayden is starting to understand much more about it then he did last year. My mom gave Ayden a bunch of cute books about Christmas and Santa and we have been reading them since Thanksgiving. He calls Santa "ho-ho" and says "ho-ho" will bring him "choo-choo's." On Christmas Eve we let Ayden open up some pajamas to wear and then he helped set out brownies and milk for Santa and carrots for the reindeer. We left a note for Santa, and Ayden colored on it with his crayons.

Taste-testing Santa's brownie.

Train table that Santa left for Ayden.

In the morning Ayden woke up to find that Santa left a train table and train set for him along with some other gifts to open. He saw the train table and looked confused as to how it got there. He then asked where "ho-ho" was and we explained that Santa just drops off the gifts and isn't there when the children wake up. He seemed a little disappointed Santa wasn't there. The train table was a hit and it took him about 5 hours to open the rest of his presents from Santa and from Joel and me. Whenever I asked him if he wanted to open more presents he said no and continued to play with his trains. Santa gave him more trains, a cozy coupe, a little people house, and a few other small things. We also got him some trains, a Magna-Doodle, and some small cars and tractors, but the train table was a huge hit.

Cozy coupe from Santa.

Santa left some suckers in Ayden's stocking too.

Around lunch-time we went over to Joel's parent's house and had lunch and Ayden opened some more presents. The day after Christmas we headed to my parent's house to have Christmas with them and my brothers, sister, and their families. The kids always open presents in the afternoon, and then we have appetizers and soup that evening. This year the adults played the card game 31 and had a gift card exchange. Joel and I won a Best Buy gift card and a Texas Roadhouse one. I've never played 31, but it was easy to catch on to and it was fun. Joel had to go back to work on Monday, but Ayden and I stayed until New Year's Eve and hung out with my parents and sister. We went shopping and out to lunch a few days. It was fun to be able to spend more than a weekend there. Ayden loves my sister and follows her around like a little puppy. He never calls her by her name though (Angie) and lately has been calling her "Buddah" which we think means buddy. It's so funny hearing him yell "Buddah" if he can't find her or calling it out in public.

Ayden playing with the vacuum Grandpa and Grandma Folkerts gave him. It sounds like a real vacuum and the "dirt" spins around. It even vacuums up stuff.

Ayden has been doing much better with potty-training lately. We have been giving him a few

M & M's if he goes in the potty. He will usually go 3-4 times a day on the potty. Most of the time I will ask him if he has to go, and he will tell me if he does. Hopefully he will start telling me more when he has to go. When he does tell me he runs up to me saying " M-M-M," which means he wants an M & M so I take his diaper off for him. He always wants the door closed which is kind of funny since he has a hard time giving me any privacy when I try to use the bathroom without him. I hope he keeps it up. He's off to a good start!

I had my 28 week appointment on Christmas Eve and had to do the glucose test, which wasn't too bad. I just had to drink some sugary Sprite drink and get my blood drawn an hour later. It must have been normal since my doctor said the will only call me if there is a problem. I had only gained 2 pounds in the past 4 weeks, so why do I look like I have gained at least 10? Now, I have to start going back every 2 weeks. My next appointment is Friday. I've noticed that I am a lot more tired lately, and Caelan has been kicking more. I also get heartburn more often, and I notice more Braxton Hicks contractions. I've been trying to walk 2 miles on the treadmill most days and I feel like I have a lot more energy after doing that. When I was pregnant with Ayden I walked Bailey everyday for about 2 miles, and I still think that is why my delivery was so easy. I'm hoping it will help this time too, Of course, the DC climate wasn't as cold as Iowa so walking outside was an option.

The other day Ayden lifted up my shirt and gave the baby a kiss. I asked him where the baby was and he squinted and looked in my belly button and then stuck his finger in. He said it was dark and that baby was "night-night." Then, today I was in the nursery putting something away and Ayden wanted to climb into the crib. I told him no and that it was for the baby to sleep in when he gets here. I asked him if the baby could sleep there and he thought about it for a few seconds and then slowly nodded his head. He then pointed to the living room and said "baby choo-choo?" I asked him if he wanted the baby to play trains with him and he said YEAH! I explained that the baby can't play trains right away when he comes, but when he gets a little older he can. That seemed to satisfy him. It's funny listening to some of the things he says. We've been reading some books about new babies coming to the family and about big brothers. Sometimes I wonder what he is thinking or expecting to happen. Whenever he sees babies in books or on tv he says, "Baby! Awwww!" It's too cute!