Big Boy Bed

We finally found Aden his big boy bed. At almost 3 yrs old, Aden was still sleeping in his crib and has never once tried to climb out. We started telling him that the baby needs his bed and that he's getting his big boy bed. He's been pretty excited about it and when we finally brought his new furniture home, he was ready for it. When we moved the crib and the baby dresser into the baby's new room (our other spare room/office), Aden was leaving all his stuff toys in the crib and even his favorite blanket. He said that it's all for the baby and that he has his big boy bed now. It almost made me tear up at how he's so big and ready for it. I did break down and still put all his friends back on his bed and his blanket and told him that he gets to sleep with them until the baby comes. He did so awesome, did not once try to get off the bed and slept good in it. We were glad the transition was pretty successful.

Train Ride

We took Aden on a train ride in Hood River last weekend and he was so excited, being such a train fanatic. It was so cool to see the happiness in his face and it was really eye-opening to know that he appreciates every experiences that he encounters. It just reminds me how fast he's growing and how important it is for us to continue to expose him to different things and places. He is such a great traveler and the 4-hour train ride was way too long for Darin and I but Aden could have rode the train all day and not complain about it. We'll definitely venture out and ride the train (Amtrak) somewhere more exciting than just going to Parkdale. I think we can only do that train route once in our lifetime....

Multnomah Falls

We stopped by at Multnomah Falls on our way home from the Gorge. We needed to get out of the truck and it was a fun surprise for Aden to see the waterfall.

DMB at the Gorge

This year is our 10th annual trip to the gorge to see my beloved band, Dave Matthews Band. It was a tough year for the band and for fans. They lost their amazing sax player, LeRoi and it was definitely the most emotional concert for the band (their first shows after the funeral) and I was crying on and off throughout the night. They've been a part of my life for a long time that it's like losing a very close friend, just a sad tragedy. Aden even asked me multiple times where LeRoi's at, since he knows every single one of the band member. Try explaining that to a 2-year old...

Every year, I keep telling myself that this is the last year we'll take Aden to the shows, but every time we're at the show, he does so well and EVERYONE around us just loves seeing Aden. This year was the craziest year, people wanted to touch Aden, high-five him and just talks to him. It's cool to see people try to protect Aden and would even call his name throughout the concert. People would take pictures of Aden, which was random. We've also gotten lots of offers to take our pictures, although it was hard since Aden was so mesmerized with seeing Dave upclose that he won't look in the camera. Maybe one of these years, we'll be able to get a backstage pass having Aden around....

Shots from Sunday night show:

My sad attempt to take a good shot of Dave...

Jack Johnson

We went and saw Jack Johnson at the St. Helen's Ampitheater and it was a blast. Aden was very happy that he played his favorite song "Upside Down" and we were glad to hang out with friends, enjoying great music. I think we're raising a little groupie...

Moments at the beach

Some great shots from the beach...

Summer Fun

We tried to be in the water as much as possible this summer. We hung out a lot in Wilsonville, thanks to the Carusos for letting us hang with them at their dock. Lots of surfing and jetskiing and hanging.



Jetskiing with dad:

My surfer boys:

Riding PeeWee

This summer, we met up with my good friends Beth & Laura (with Zach Wade of course) and we went to visit Laura's horse, PeeWee. Aden loved it and had a fun time feeding him carrots. I guess all the practice with the deer at the beach helped out since he didn't get intimidated by the size of PeeWee. He just went up to him and fed him carrots, like he does that sort of thing everyday. He surprised me more by being willing to ride PeeWee on his own. Since it was quite early on in my pregnancy, I didn't want to risk anything by riding the horse. Plus, I had a bad experience -- the only time I rode PeeWee, I thought I was going to get dumped. So, my trooper boy just rode on top of the horse with no protests and had a great time!

Una Mas

Where did the summer go??? I realized that I've been really bad about updating the blog, partly due to how busy our summer is and mostly due to the fact that I've been quite laid up this summer. For those of you who haven't heard yet, we're expecting our second child. I'm about 16 weeks along. Our official due date is end of February but I already told my awesome doctor that I'll have the baby 2 weeks early and she agreed. Thank goodness for C-section!!! It's been a tough 10 weeks for me, tougher than the first one. I've came to the realization that pregnancy just doesn't suit me well. Although I didn't have insomnia this time (well, it helps that we haven't travelled halfway around the world....yet), I have new symptoms to overcome. I'm hoping that I'll start feeling better soon so that I can get a lot more done and get ready for this new addition to our family. Darin is over the moon about it, he's been calling the baby "una mas". He's definitely more ready about having another kid than I will ever be. Aden has been amazing throughout this whole experience, I'm glad that we waited this long to have another one. He knows when I'm under the weather and just hangs with me on the tough days. He knows there's a baby in mommy's belly and have been telling the baby "Hi baby, I'm your brother Aden". It's so cute!!! If he can love the baby as much as he loves his Baa, we'll be set!