Playing outside...a hat and mittens are now required!

Learning to sit in my new Bumbo chair

Nibbling on my green blanket...yum!

Posing with Grandpa & Grandma Helleseth

Playing before bed...

And now it's bed time...

Aiden loves his new ExerSaucer

The Hawkeyes are still #1 ...

...but we can be Texas fans too! Thanks cousin Cade for the cute sweat suit!

Aiden meets his cousin Hayden

Hanging out with Grandpa Darryl

First Combine Ride with Grandpa Bruce

Just Chillen!

Aiden with his pal Megan in their Camo

Aiden's First Tailgate!

Aiden survived his first tailgate this past weekend. It was such a gorgeous day and he was such an angel we had no problems. We wanted to get his picture taken with Herky but we missed seeing him by a few minutes...we were bummed it didn't work out. There were two groups of people we knew tailgating so we bounced between the two all day. The game didn't start until 7 pm so it was a pretty long day for Aiden. We took him back to my aunt Carrie's before the game started and he fell a sleep shortly after kick off because he was so exhausted. Aiden is also getting excited for Halloween. He's gotten quite a few little outfits already but we haven't decided on a costume yet. Pat has a lot of Halloween decorations that we've pulled out of storage and we're not sure yet what Aiden thinks of all the gules and skeletons placed around the house! We haven't gotten a picture yet (I can only get a picture of his top gums) but Aiden is getting his first teeth. He was sucking on my finger last week and I felt something sharp. I was pretty shocked to see two little teeth popping up on his bottom gums. He hasn't really been fussy or shown any other signs that he's teething so I was quite shocked. He has been drooling like crazy and sucks on his hands all the time so maybe those were my signs. He's just growing up so fast on us!

Aiden's Getting Big!

At almost 11 weeks old Aiden now weighs over 14 lbs. and is over 24 inches long...he is growing up so fast. He is still sleeping through the night for us and we have to wake him up most mornings. He is holding his head up really well now when we put him on his belly. He likes to hold it up and look around at everything around him...we're just waiting for the day when he can take off to explore everything he's been staring at from afar. The past few weekends Aiden has become quite the Hawkeye fan. He has an outfit that he wears every Saturday as we tune in to the Hawkeye games. The past two weekends have been quite stressful on him as the games have been quite close. We're actually going to go down to Iowa City for the Hawkeye vs. Ohio State game next weekend. We've heard rumors that Herky may stop by the tailgate so we're hoping Aiden can get the chance to meet him. Uncle Logan will be in Iowa City for the game too so we're excited to see him as well...he's going to be amazed at how much Aiden has grown since he last saw him. And of course my aunt Carrie and her family also live in Iowa City so Aiden is finally going to get the chance to meet them.

Almost 9 Weeks Already!

Aiden is now a few days away from being nine weeks old. I had to return to work this week so he had to start going to day care. So far the transition for us has been pretty smooth. Amy, his babysitter, said he's a really good baby and she really enjoys him. It's been pretty tough dropping him off everyday but slowly we're getting used to it. Pat has become a fanatic Nascar fan the past two summers. His favorite driver, Matt Kenseth, won a few races in a row so he thought he and Aiden should show off their Kenseth gear. Aiden has his own outfit but had to borrow one of his dad's hats for the picture! We've spent the past few weekends in West Bend helping Jess, my sister, get her salon up and running. Last weekend was her grand opening and Aiden was proud to be a part of that all day on Friday. He , his Grandma Ang, aunt Robin and I helped check people out at the register and greeted people as they came in while Jess cut and colored hair. Saturday we let him have a break from the salon and he spent some time with Grandma Tory. He's enjoyed spending time with his grandparents, aunt, and uncles back in West Bend...and I think they've enjoyed him too!

New Pictures of Aiden

Aiden was six weeks old yesterday and it's amazing how much he's changed throughout the past six weeks since we've brought him home. We've been trying to get into somewhat of a routine so that when I go back to work in two weeks we don't struggle. It's hard to believe my maternity leave is coming to an end. I have to go back to work the Tuesday after Labor Day. We've had a heck of a time lining up daycare for Aiden. We've had a couple of things fall through for us and things have come down to the last minute. We think we have finally found someone though so that is a releif. The problem is she only does daycare Mondays-Thursdays so I'm going to have to work from home on Fridays until we can find someone to take him full time. Luckily my work has been gracious enough to let me do this because we were not sure what we were going to do if they didn't. Aiden has been doing really good at nights and will usually sleep anywhere from 7-10 hours for us. We feel really lucky and it has been really nice getting some good sleep at nights again. Of course getting to bed when he does is quite difficult so Pat and I are trying to get our sleeping schedule on track with his so we can enjoy these long stretches of sleep. Durring the day then he stays awake pretty much most of the time accept for some quick 15-30 minute naps here and there and occasionally he'll take a 1-3 hour nap. He's such a good baby and we are enjoying every minute with him!

Okoboji Vacation

Aiden went on his first vacation the week of August the 6th to Okoboji, Iowa. A lot of our family (a few of my aunts and uncles, cousins and grandparents) were there over the weekend and throughout the week it was Pat and I along with my Mom and sister Jess in one cabin and in the other cabin was my aunt Julie, uncle Roger, cousin Anna and her little boy Cade. The picture on the left is Aiden with his cousins Cade, Natalie and Abby. Aiden was really good throughout the vacation. It was on vacation that he actually started sleeping for 6-7 hours at night. Aiden also got to meet his uncle Logan for the first time. Logan actually flew into Minneapolis the night before we left for Okoboji so they got to spend some time bonding before we met up with the rest of the family. My cousin Anna had a baby boy, Cade, back in December so this was the first time these two cousins got to meet. Cade is only 7 months older than Aiden but it's amazing how much bigger Cade is than Aiden. It made me realize how fast Aiden is really going to grow!

July 30th...Big Day for Aiden

On Sunday July 30th there was a shower for Aiden in West Bend with all our friends and family. Aiden got his picture taken with everyone there along with a piece of advice that was put into a picture book for us to enjoy. Aiden did very well while he was being passed around and didn't really fuss a bit. Jenny was in charge of entertainment so there was some very fun and creative games that we got to take part in. Aiden recieved a variety of gifts that we are very greatful for. On the same Sunday Aiden was also baptised at the Catholic Church in West Bend. It was in the afternoon after the shower on a very hot day. Considering there is no air conditioning in the church and Aiden was in a pretty warm outfit he did really well. He really didn't start fussing until afterwards when everyone wanted their picture taken with him. Fr. Ed Girres, Aiden's great-great uncle, was the priest who baptised Aiden and Aiden's God parents are my sister Jessica and Pat's brother Brad.

Aiden's Home

Aiden was able to come home with us from the hospital last Tuesday, July 18th. He's been home almost a full week now and we are adjusting to having him around. We've had lots of visitors since he's been home so we've had lots of help. He's so adorable and been really good while everyone is here. So, since being home we've given Aiden his first bath (at home). We've had to give him sponge baths so far because his umbilical cord still hasn't fallen off. He actually hasn't minded the baths and is really good pretty much throughout the process. His umbilical cord fell off today so tomorrow we'll be able to try giving him a real bath! Aiden's also enjoyed a ride or too in his swing when he gets a little cranky. We've had to add a little padding and blankets so he doesn't slide around but if we plop the swing in front of the TV he loves the movement and staring at the screen. This past weekend my sister through a shower/birthday party with a bunch of my girlfriends from Iowa. There are a few of us with birthdays this month so we thought we could celebrate them as well as Aiden's birth all in one weekend. We had a great time reminiscing and talking about the good old days. They were all able to meet Aiden as well and they spoiled him with more gifts! Aiden fell in love with them all and I think they all fell in love with him as well!

Aiden Update

Aiden has already had lots of visitors in the hospital. Grandpa and Grandma Ulrich along with uncle Ben and uncle Jesse came up on the Sunday he was born. I was a little out of it but Pat was a proud papa and was eager to start showing off his new son. Ryan and Cory Grimm also stopped by on Sunday to pay a visit and were both shocked at how big Aiden was. On Monday Grandpa and Grandma Helleseth made their first visit to Aiden. Grandma Helleseth stayed in Minneapolis then and was able to participate in many trips to the hospital for our regular feedings throughout the week. She stuck around until yesterday, Sunday, since Pat had to leave on Friday so he could be in his brother's wedding over the weekend. It was a blessing to have her here so I didn't have to make all the trips by myself to the hospital while Pat had to be away. Aunt Jessica made the trip up to Minneapolis on Wednesday and took off back to West Bend on Friday for the same wedding Pat was in. She too made a lot of our regular feeding trips last week and is trying to decide if she's ready to be a Mom herself yet. Today, Monday, is our last full day that Aiden has to be in the hospital. Pat and I are both really excited to bring him home tomorrow. He's already growing, the nurses said he weighs 10 lbs. 2 oz. now. It's amazing how different he looks now, even just after a week.

It's a Boy!

After a lot of waiting we finally gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. His name is Aiden Patrick, he weighed in at 9 lbs 14 oz, measured 22.5 inches in length and his head measured 14.75 cm. He’s a big boy! He has some blond hair and blue eyes right now and looks a lot like his Dad. We went into the hospital on Friday to start inducing me into labor. Saturday afternoon around 2:30 they finally were able to break my water and things progressed from then on. I was slow dilating and Aiden was slow to move down so it was a slow process. When we finally started active labor I ended up getting a fever along with having a few other problems. Because of this Aiden contracted Strep B a virus completely treatable by antibiotics. He has to be on the antibiotics for 10 days so he won’t be able to come home with us until Tuesday afternoon (July 18th). He looks and is acting perfectly healthy so it’s really hard leaving him behind at the hospital. We go to the hospital every 3 hours throughout the day for his feedings…it makes for a long day but he’s totally worth it. Plus, there is an end in site and knowing he’s going to be ok makes it easier too. Any way, thought I’d finally post a picture or two so everyone can get a look at our new little boy, Aiden!

Getting Closer

We are now two weeks out from our due date. I can't believe how far we've come and how close we are to finally having our baby. I've been feeling great and just patiently waiting for the baby to decide it's time to come out. Pat and I have been trying to enjoy a few thing that we know will be hard to do when the baby arrives. We've caught a few movies, gone to a few Twins games, done some work around the house and I've tried to get some cleaning done on the inside of the house. I had my shower at work a few weeks ago and received a lot of really nice gifts. The ladies at work were really generous and I had a really good time. Between that shower, the few things we've purchased and what we've gotten from family and friends we've decided that right now we have everything that is essential to have in order to bring the baby home from the hospital someday soon, at least we hope we do! So, I guess that's about it...for now. Hopefully our next post will be the announcement of the birth of our healthy baby!

Getting Close

Well we're about 5 weeks away from the due date and getting quite anxious for the big day. We finished our birthing classes a week or so ago. We learned a lot and I feel a little less apprehensive about what will happen when I start to go into labor and the whole delivery process in general. Pat feels it was far too much information for him but I know he feels a lot better about everything as well. We've spent the last two weekends in West Bend. My cousin Brandi got married the 6th and Kayla and Sam's graduation party was last weekend. This weekend we're heading to Okoboji for Joshua Merideth's wedding and after that we're staying home until the baby is born. I don't want to get stuck somewhere when the baby decides it's time to bless us with it's presence. My last appointment with my doctor went well. He said my blood pressure actually went down. I have another appointment this week, but so far everything on paper looks good so we're just patiently waiting now for the big day.

Baby Room

We finally have the baby room ready to go! Mom and Kay came up this weekend and put a faux over the top of the baby blue coat we painted on a few weeks ago. The room now has clouds on all the walls and the ceiling. Then there is a break in the clouds in a few spots on the ceiling revealing a night time sky. Also on the one wall Kay painted Noah's ark matching the bedding we have in the crib. It turned out so cute...we love it!

Picture of Me

Ok, you asked for it so here it is a picture of me. Pat had to rearrange my shirt just right so that you could all have the best angle on my belly. We have a little over 10 weeks left and everyday the baby seems to move around more and with more power. It's definitely an experience beyond words. We can also actually see it moving now too. Pat and Jess couldn't believe it the first time they saw it wiggle across my belly...it is pretty cool. This past weekend we actually broke down and painted a room for the baby. We painted it a light blue color and next weekend Mom and Kay are going to come up and marble it to look like clouds...now we just have to come up with a theme!

Birthing Class

We had our first birthing class last night. It's a two and a half hour class every Wednesday night for 5 weeks. My initial thought is what the heck are they going to talk about for that long each Wednesday night. However, it was actually quite interesting and I'm glad we signed up. I think it'll help us get over some of the apprehensiveness we're both feeling about the actual labor/delivery process. Another plus is they made Pat give me a back-rub for a while so he could practice! The class has 14 different couples all due roughly around the same time we are so we got to meet lots of new people all going through the same experiences we are. Of course I've never been in a bathroom with so many pregnant ladies like I was last night during our break! So, things are still going good for us and I promise I'll post a picture of me as soon as I can remember to make Pat take one.