Trampolines and thermometer guns

"He's getting to look like a little boy!" - This is what we have been hearing a lot of with regards to Aden.  He is growing like a weed and no longer looks like our baby boy anymore.  We're loving the age that he is at right now.  He's so much fun to play with and loves to be affectionate.  As long as he's moving, he's happy.  Below are some videos of things we've been doing to keep him entertained.   

Jamie and I are continuing to work hard on finishing our master's program.  The graduation date has been set for May 24, only 3 months away!  Between Aden, school, and masters, there hasn't been time for much else.  I am taking 2 days off of school this week to have eye surgery done!  This means no more contacts or glasses!  Yippee!  We'll let everyone know how it goes soon.  

Yesterday our principal and his wife threw a chili dinner for all the staff at school.  It was so nice to socialize with our colleagues outside of school.  Aden had a blast seeing all the people and kept us busy as we ran after him.  In fact, he was so worn out that he slept over 12 hours that night.  Even when we tried to get him up the next morning, he just kept on sleeping.  He finally woke up and was super happy all day.  What a wonderful and relaxing weekend.

Tara

Aden had a blast jumping on the neighbors trampoline!

 

We found out that our thermometer can shoot its little plastic cover.

Aden was very amused by it.

Aden loves to watch Jamie do pull-ups.  He's even working on 

his "jumping" skills.

In Full Swing

Four weeks of school have gone by since we returned from winter break.  Aden is trying out his running legs, we started up another Master's class, and our Greece trip is sneaking up on us.

Little Aden went and had his 12 month shots last Monday.  He weighed in at 24.5 lbs and nearly 32 inches.  He tries to run and can get his speed up a little, but really just flaps his arms around more.  Spending time outside has become his absolute favorite thing to do.  Even though he is a pretty solid walker, it takes a while to go anywhere because he is easily distracted . . . by everything.

As students, Tara and I are working on two classes right now and then only have one left before graduation in May.  Our superintendent is teaching a class called "Site-Based Leadership."  It is interesting because it gives us an new perspective on why our district (site-based) looks the way it does.  I feel like we are learning a lot more this year and consequently working a lot harder on these degrees, but it has been good.  Most days we get up, go to work, come home, play with Aden, put Aden to bed, and then continue working for a while longer.  In the end though, we know it is worth the extra effort for a short amount of time.


As for our next adventure (as if everyday isn't one with Aden) Tara is taking charge of finding us an island to stay at in Greece after our conference in Athens.  My big thing is finding a place we can do some hiking.  The front runner island right now is Santorini and we can do a 3 hour hike along the cliff's edge.

Also, you may have noticed an increase in Youtube videos of Aden.  My brother said we had some good material and could be one of those videos with a million hits, so we'll see.

Enjoy the pictures and video!

Aden loves to help Daddy clean! Seriously, he grabs the broom all the time.

Hey cutie!

What a quack

Just in case you missed it the first time around.  I still think it is funny.

He's officially a toddler!

On January 8th, our baby boy became a toddler.  We no longer tell his age in months, but in years.  The past year has been full of fun, laughter, tears, doctor appointments, smiles, milestones, frustration, laundry, spit up, and most of all love.  Since Sunday is a school day for us, Aden celebrated his birthday at school with his friends there and then again when we got home.  We decided to have a small birthday for him that included cupcakes and some presents.  We also invited over our friends Patty and Chris Young because it was Patty's birthday too!  Chris and Patty (known to Aden as Noni and Papi) are also his surrogate grandparents here in Saudi.  After four Christmas's in the States, he finally seemed to understand and enjoy opening presents.  It was a nice, laid back birthday for a very special little boy.

Yesterday we went to the doctor and had Aden's 1 year appointment and vaccinations.  Aden is still a healthy boy at 24.7 lbs (75th percentile) and 32 inches (90th percentile).  He has popped a second tooth, but they are taking their sweet time to fully come in.  He continues to improve his walking and has even begun running.  Going for walks is now more fun, but also more exhausting.  He has decided that he is in charge of where we go and it sometimes involves chasing cats.  Getting him back to the house can be quite difficult, but we are glad that he loves the outdoors so much.

Here are some pictures to enjoy!

Tara

 The birthday boy!

 Eating his cake, he didn't get very messy and wouldn't actually eat the cupcake until we had broken it into smaller pieces... funny boy

 Opening a present from Grandma and Grandpa

 Stackable cups!

Aden's friend Mahana was born just three days before him so they celebrated together!

 

He really wanted to touch the candle

A few more pictures from winter break......

 Playing in the snow!

 On the train into Chicago

Aden helping Daddy sweep

Has it really been that long?

So my mom reminded me the other day that we haven't blogged since December 20th.  Has it really been a month!!??  I sincerely apologize to those of you who do read, but I will try to get you caught up.

We spent a great 3 weeks in the States and were able to see a lot of friends and family.  Aden was showered with gifts that now litter our living room floor every day.  We were a bit disappointed at the lack of snow, but from what I hear there is plenty now.  Thank you to all of you who housed, fed, and spent time with us.  We feel very blessed to have friends and family who are willing to help us out while we are back in the States.

We flew back to Saudi on January 3 and Aden did a fantastic job.  We tried out a new (for us) flight straight from Chicago to Abu Dhabi which is about 13 hours long.  I was really nervous that it would be torturous being stuck on a plane for that long, but it really wasn't.  Aden did a great job sleeping and there was an awesome entertainment package.  We'll definitely take that flight again if we can.  Jet lag took a bit to get over, but Aden was sleeping through the night again before the week was out.  Look below for a video of Aden dealing with jet lag.  Poor guy!

I honestly can't believe that we've only been back here for 2 weeks.  We've jumped back into teaching and helping out with the cross country team.  I went to a math curriculum meeting at our district office for three days.  And on Monday we go down to Khobar for Aden's next set of vaccinations.  There is always something going on.

The next big developmental step that Aden has reached lately is that he got his first tooth!  We don't have any pictures because it is still just barely breaking through, but it is there.  Perfect timing since he is only about a week ago from being done nursing.  The funniest part of the story is that another baby here, Shea, got his first tooth this week as well.  But Shea is only 5 1/2 months old!  Aden was a bit of a late bloomer in this area.  It has been so much fun these past few weeks as Aden's personality has really begun shining through.  He is a big goofball.  Seriously, he made me laugh so hard the other night that I started to cry.  He just does the funniest things that make me think "what is going on in that little head?"  We are really looking forward to the next few months as he continues to develop and starts communicating more with us.

Tara

Aden was having a hard time dealing with jet lag one night at dinner.

We found snow up near Superior and Aden loved it!

More pictures and first birthday post to come soon!

In the USA

We are here!  Aden did a good job on the plane, but the flights were long and he wanted to move.  We flew in on Dec. 15 and spent a little bit of time with Katie (Tara's best friend) and Mike Verlee and their 2 year old son Asher in Chicago to start off our trip.  On Dec. 16th we met up with Grandma and Grandpa and have been doing a lot of relaxing ever since.  However, Aden did get a little ear infection, which made for an unhappy camper, but we got it cleared up pretty quickly after an urgent care visit.

Here are some pictures of the early Christmas and our time home so far.  There will be more Christmas post(s) to follow.

Jamie

The family in front of one of the Macy's windows in Chicago

The Chicago Bean

You look pretty short in the bean Tara

Aden playing at Lion's Park in Mauston

Look at that big boy!

Here comes Santa!

Aden's Turn!  He's so excited . . . or not.

A White Christmas and Next Year

Here's the scoop, after a lot of prayer and thought and indecision, we have signed another one year contract with our school.  The thought is that next year will be our last year in Saudi, but we won't be able to say for sure until this time next year.  We are excited about our decision and the outlook of being able to take steps to futher settle in to our roles here and our awesome house. 

As for Christmas plans, here they are.  We will be flying into Chicago on Dec. 15th.  Sometime on the 16th we will make our way back to Mauston.  On the 18th, we will be in Eau Claire for the day to go to church.  the rest of the week before Christmas will mainly be spent with Grandpa Brian and Grandma Wendy, this is the calm before the storm of Christmas.  Seth and Kelly we come into Mauston on the 25th it looks like.  There is also talk of a short trip up north while Seth and Kelly are here.  We'll be at McGuire Christmas on Dec. 31st (very exciting) and the Gillaspie Christmas is TBA as of yesterday.

We are a little busy, but since we are not back in the states all that often we would love to see anybody whose schedule might fit ours.  Everyone will be amazed with how much Aden has grown since summer.  Check out the videos I posted.

We are very excited to be finishing our last Master's class of the semester next week and to enjoy some good family and friend time.

Jamie

O.K. a good walking video finally

A unique laugh for a baby and it is contagious

All About Aden

He is walking!  With how busy we have been we have forgot to mention this news on the blog.  The video I posted is of some of his earlier steps.  He is a little studier on his feet now.

Also, it is the Thanksgiving/Christmas season over here.  We let the two overlap, especially since we are headed home in three weeks.  We have two Thanksgiving meals to go to this weekend and our tree is already up and the Christmas music pours out of our windows.

We are looking forward to coming back to Wisconsin soon, but are wondering how we will handle the cold after our last few winters where the highs were in the 70's and 80's.

Enjoy the videos.

Jamie

yeah!

He is figuring out new things all the time.

Excited for his first Christmas!

A video of Aden in the pool at the Al Bustan in Muscat.