Spring is here and pics from the zoo

The snow has melted and it is raining outside today. Aidan and I took Annabelle for a walk yesterday and when he walked outside he said "Its Springtime!". He saw the snow had melted so he thought that meant it was now Spring. Pretty smart little boy we have. It seems that Aidan just keeps getting cuter and cuter. I think that 2 is the best age! The things that come out of his mouth just make me laugh and smile. Its amazing to watch him connect things and then apply them! Every day is so full of discovery and figuring out how things in the world work. He is constantly asking questions to get more information. Yesterday I took him to his first basketball game. It was just a rec league but we had a good time. We went with my cousin Terri to watch her son Kyle. Aidan just sat there and took things in ( at least for awhile until he started playing on the bleachers with his new friend Ella LOL!). He asked Terri a hundred questions about what the buzzers meant , what the players were doing, etc... He is just so curious! After the game we went to the mall so Aidan could play. On the way there he said, " I like your purse mom where did you buy it?" That just made me laugh! His imagination is just taking off at this age. Yesterday afternoon I was a little tired from staying up with Annabelle all night ( she had a sick tummy and kept having to go outside) so I laid down and let Aidan play in his room. Well of course he wanted to play in my room so I just watched him. I had a laundry basket there with a couple of dirty socks in it. He dumped out the socks and had the most fun with that laundry basket! First he pretended it was a rocket ship, then he flipped it upside down and he pretended that he was a mouse and that was his cage, and then he flipped it over again and pretended that it was his car. Simple objects like that make the best toys! It really lets him use his imagination. Of course because he is so into exploring it is also creating a bunch of messes! I am being as patient as I can but man it can be frustrating! While we were in San Diego Aidan poured out a whole bottle of water onto the carpet. I said ,"Aidan did you just pour out that water?" He said "Its a beach party!" He was jumping over the water pretending it was waves. In his little mind he was not creating a mess but was making a "beach party". I just laughed and said "well as long as you werent making a mess" and just cleaned it up later . LOL!

Aidan and I had our first day of school this week . I think it went well for both of us. I LOVE my class. I think there is just something special about Special Ed teachers and professors. My teacher is passionate about little ones with special needs and about helping her students. I am so excited about the class and my assignments. One of things I have to do is write a childrens book and get it published! I have been wanting to do this for the longest time. I cant wait!!!! Also, my first assignment is to assess Aidan- another thing I have been wanting to do but havent been able to get my hands on a Batelle. I cant wait to assess him to see where he is functioning and to see what his strengths and weaknesses are and which areas we need to focus. I havent administered the Batelle in about 10 years so this will be good practice to refresh myself. Aidan did well for his first day of "school". His favorite thing was playing in the activity room and playing with the kids. The teacher said he didnt eat much and cried at nap time, but other than that did great.

Well I have about 3 messes to clean up that were made while I was doing this post. LOL! Here are some pics from the zoo. I made the post about our trip to the zoo while we were still in SD but lost the post somehow. Excited to be at the zoo!

Mommy and Aidan at the Gorilla exhibit. I LOVE watching the Gorillas and could do it all day! They were being kind of aggressive this day. Im not sure if it had something to do with the 2 full moons we had in Jan ( we went on the day on one of the full moons) but one started pounding on the glass that seperated them from us and one started pounding his chest. There was a baby gorilla there that was being a typical toddler and kept aggravating all of the grown ups. LOL!

Just because I always get a pic of Aidan on this Hippo statue....

The Panda bears. The San Diego Zoo has a new baby panda but sadly he was not on exhibit when we were there. I was bummed...

Cute baby Giraffe....

I think Giraffes are so beautiful and rank as one of my top favorite animals!

Aidan and daddy

Look at that concentration !.

This is how we roll these days...

We are back in WV. It is hard to be away from Clinton especially since he was able to take some time off and we had such a great month. But here we are.... Clinton is getting ready to travel for 2 1/2 months and I am getting ready to start school this week. Aidan will also start school this week. I took him in last Thursday so he could check it out. He got to stay in there for a couple of hours and loved it! They really encourage independence there with natural consequences ( for example if they spill milk while they are pouring it then they have to clean it up) which I love. I am sure Aidan will learn lots of new skills that I really dont encourage here but should - like drinking out of a cup instead of a sippy cup. I am also hoping that seeing the other kids go potty will encourage him to do so.

The weather is very cold and snowy here. We went to the store yesterday which was the first time we have been out of the house since Thursday. The sun finally came out yesterday and it warmed up past the teens ( it was a balmy 20 degrees) so I took Aidan out yesterday to play in the snow after he got up from his nap. I am still waiting on his snow pants to arrive from San Diego. I mailed them in a package along with some of his toys. When they arrive he will really get to have a good play in the snow. He enjoyed the snow and did not want to come inside! I however felt like a frozen popsicle and was more than ready to get inside to some warmth.

Poor Aidan keeps asking to go to the park. He doesnt quite get the whole "its cold and we cant spend that much time outside "thing. It is definitely a big adjustment being where its cold and not being outside much of the day. All I can say is "Hurry up Spring!" I HATE sitting in the house!

Notice the shoveled driveway behind Aidan. I shoveled that driveway for the first time EVER! I am sure I help shovel the driveway when I was a kid but just dont remember. I have always lived either in an apartment, a place where they have a homeowners association or where it is WARM my entire adult life!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year. We had a New Years Eve brunch yesterday for our staff. It was a really nice get together. It was nice to spend some time together with our staff where work was not really involved. However, Frontier being what it is, it turned into work before the end of the brunch. LOL!

Today we had a picnic at the park. The weather is absolutely gorgeous here! I am more than a little sad to go back to the cold weather and snow next week. Its hard to believe that we have been here 3 weeks and we are going back to WV next week. This has been one of the best holiday seasons ever. Clinton has taken the entire month off. We did nothing but spend quality family time together. I dont think we have spent this much time together since Aidan was born. Clinton has really gotten a chance to slow down and bond with his son. It has been the sweetest and most touching thing to watch. It makes it all the harder to leave. However ,Clinton is leaving later this month and wont be back to California until late March . So I am off to West Virginia and will start school in a couple of weeks. We will be meeting up at the end of March during my Spring break and then Aidan and I will be spending the summer in San Diego. We are possibly going to Australia in July with Clinton as he has work to do there.

I am really excited about getting back into graduate school but really nervous about leaving Aidan in daycare. We have a meeting with the director of the daycare the day after we get back. Aidan will then be in the classroom for a couple of hours while I am there. The next day he will go for a couple of hours by himself. If all works out he will begin the day I start class. I just hope it is a good match and Aidan enjoys it there. The director wants him to be there the entire day. This means I will drop him off at 8:30 and he will be there until 5:30. I remember when I was a teacher and the YMCA had after school care at our school. I would always feel sorry for the kids who were still there at 5:00 when I would leave school . I would just think to myself "what a long day - especially for the little ones". Now I am finding myself doing the same thing. I am glad it is just for 1 day a week.

I am off to find some type of cabbage to cook for dinner. That is what my mom says you are supposed to do on New Years day. Supposedly the more cabbage you eat the more wealth you will have during the year. I think I will go with sauerkraut.

Here are some pics from our New Years.....

Getting ready for the brunch....

Aidan and his buddy Andrew the Great. He is Aidans fav!
This is something new Aidan does. When he asks for something he will put both hands to his cheek and say "Pleeeaaase" with an angelic look on his face. I think that kid definitely has a career in acting in his future. He cracks me up.

Playing at the park today with daddy.

I love this picture of Aidan. I love the look of pure joy on his face! His dad was making him laugh.

Look at that beautiful sky!!!!! It was in the low 70's today. Can we say perrrfect!