Just this morning I was sitting back thinking about the differences between Aden and Angel at this point in their lives. It's amazing that even at 10 months old, I can identify how different Aden and Angel already are! Here are some examples:
Aden: extremely clean eater as a baby
Angel: I have to do a load of laundry every time she eats
Aden: didn't sleep through the night until 9 months
Angel: slept through the night at 3 months
Aden: took medicine like a champ
Angel: insert medicine, output stream of medicine down her cheek
Aden: needed to be entertained
Angel: plays well by herself
Aden: pacifier
Angel: no pacifier
Aden: weighed 15lbs at one year
Angel: weighs 18lbs at 7 months
Aden: if bedtime routine was messed up-had to start all over
Angel: no bedtime routine, just lay her down and walk away (it's glorious!!)
Those are just a few of the things I can think of! It's just so fun watching her develop and being able to compare the kiddos.
Let's move on to more things I haven't posted over the past couple of months! In October, we drove to New Orleans and met Arthur's family. Spent a weekend exploring New Orleans including a night on Bourbon St (not recommended!), a ghost tour of the city, enjoying some local eateries, and a World War II museum. Aden also went on a paddle boat ride and toured the aquarium. On our way home, we stopped in Mobile, AL and toured the U.S.S. Alabama and a submarine. Aden loves battleships, so this was an amazing experience for him!
In November, our pass to travel home over Thanksgiving was denied by the ARMY, which was extremely disappointing. Especially for Arthur! Since driving home was too far, we made an impromptu trip to Orlando. We had free day passes to DisneyWorld and SeaWorld. We travelled on Thanksgiving day and had a wonderful homecooked meal with a neighbor that was also in Orlando. They have 4 children and had rented a house in Orlando for a week! We felt very welcome and it took the edge off of not seeing family since we enjoyed a homemade turkey day meal! We spent Friday at the Magic Kingdom, which of course is just magical. I actually got to ride some rides this time, since I was not pregnant this time! On Saturday, we spent the ENTIRE day at SeaWorld! We rode all of the rides, watched all of the shows, and pet all of the live animals that we could. Aden loves sea animals, especially orca whales, so this was also an amazing experience!! He sat in the splash zone everywhere we went and I'm pretty sure had smile on his face during every moment! We stayed for a ice skating and fireworks show in the evening. By this time, it was cold/late/crowded, but the kiddos, husband, and I survived! We spent the Sunday morning at DownTown Disney, ate lunch at Planet Hollywood, and then headed home. We are very blessed to have theme parks treat the military families to special days! What a neat way to show support!
During Christmas, we were able to take Arthur's entire leave and head home to visit family! What amazing times we had at each of their houses! We were in OKC when a blizzard hit-18 inches of snow! It's not very often that happens, and it definitely made way for some great snow play! We went sledding and tackled each other for 3 days! We were able to see grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles. We LOVE them and miss them all so much!
During January, we went to Orlando (again) to visit Arthur's parents. They were there on business, and we had the fortune to stay with them over a weekend. We went to Universal Studios (with a great military discount) for 3 days. Aden LOVED it! This park was perfect for him! Spiderman, Shrek, Jimmy Neutron, Terminator, Dr. Seuss, etc. We rode all the rides he could fit on, then Gran watched the kids while Arthur and I rode the big roller coasters. We never get to do that, so we enjoyed every single one! Apparently roller coasters make me experience motion sickness, so by the end of each day I felt loopy. Aden did actually get 'sick' in the trash can, toilet, and van for one entire day while we were there! So sad! We still took him to the theme park:( Poor guy!
During February, Arthur started flight school. He has early mornings and late nights of studying. We try to sneak family time in when we can! I made a yummy dinner and cake for Valentine's that the family ate by candlelight! Aden started soccer and so far is doing GREAT! He scored a goal in his first game for a tie, then his team won the second game. He is quite the competitor. He told me that when he was kicking the ball to make a goal he was thinking to himself, "They are not going to win this game!" Ha! Out of the innocent mouths of babes:) As for me, I'm raising Angel and trying to stay healthy in the midst of this awful sick season. Enjoying new neighbors and friends that we meet along the way, along with saying goodbye to good friends that continue to go where the Army tells them! We'll find out sometime in April where we will go next. Will update again around that time:)!!
