Happy Birthday Aaron!!

July 14, 2011--Aaron turns ONE!!

What an amazing and blessed year we have had. God truly gave us the most unbelievable gift when He gave us Aaron. He is the sweetest little boy and it has been the biggest thrill to watch him grow. Jarrett and I say all the time, how undeserving we feel to get to be his parents. It's hard to believe he's already 1 and growing so fast everyday. He has changed so much and it just gets better and better. Happy Birthday to sweet Aaron Matthew! We can't wait to see what the next year will hold.

1 Year Stats: 28lbs, 13oz and 33 1/2 inches ( he's off the charts in height...again)

 

Right now Aaron is cruising everywhere and is really close to walking on his own. He loves to be moving and hates to be confined or restricted! He will say “bye-bye” and wave when we prompt him. He will also say “uh-oh” when he drops something. He has yet to say Mama or Dada L He can make the sounds, but has no association of what they mean. He will chase his red ball when we tell him to find it. He loves any toy that makes noise and lights up! We’ve started brushing his teeth and he seems to like it! He is eating 3 meals a day with an afternoon snack. He eats just about anything! He hasn’t mastered every table food yet, but he loves to eat! He loves mandarin oranges, pears, cheese, avocados, green beans, carrots, peas, chicken nuggets, meatballs, pasta, fish, birthday cupcakes, ice cream, applesauce, yogurt, oatmeal, peanut butter and so much more. The only food that he doesn’t seem to like is scrambled eggs! He likes to watch Yo Gabba Gabba and Sesame Street and will actually sit still to watch for a little bit.

First Harvest & Father's Day

Aaron and I got to experience our very first wheat harvest this summer! It was so exciting to finally see all that Jarrett has talked about since I met him. Aaron and I have been to the farm many times, but we've never been there during the crazy harvest season. We got to spend almost 3 weeks in Kansas and learned all about farming while we were there. It's very long days and nights for farmers, so we didn't get to see Jarrett much. But it was worth it to be there and we feel so blessed to be a part of this long family tradition.

This is what it looks like to pack for 3 weeks with a baby!

We had a long drive...apparently 11 month old babies don't love long car rides. Aaron loves to move and is starting to hate being confined for long periods of time. He did sleep some..but needless to say it was not a fun drive :)

 Once we got setteled in and unpacked--Aaron was happy and ready to learn all about farm life!

 

We got to watch all of the tractors, harvesters, and trucks drive by. It was a like a little parade!

Aaron had so much fun exploring a new place! He was so good while we were there. He stuck to his schedule and made it very easy on me!

Love this happy boy!

 Around dinner time each day, we would drive out to the farmers and take them a sack supper. They typically work until well after dark, so this was a chance to get to see Jarrett for a few minutes. This is a picture of Jarrett driving one of the wheat harvesters!

 Aaron had so much fun playing with his Uncle Daniel everyday! At lunchtime Daniel would come over and the boys would have so much fun!

One day we got to visit Jarrett and get to take a ride in the harvester. Aaron had so much playing with the wheel and listening to all of the new sounds. It was so sweet to see another Schmidt generation discovering the farm.

Earlier this year, Grandpa Colburn gave Aaron his very own pair of Carhart overalls! He was finally big enough to wear them and just in time for harvest. The Colburns came to Kansas for a few days during harvest. It was so great to have them there to help with Aaron and all of the cooking. Grandpa made his famous spaghetti and cooked steaks for the crew! It was such a wondeful time!

 Grandpa and Aaron in their matching overalls!

 Playing with Grandpa!!

 Happy Father's Day Jarrett!

 It was so great for Jarrett to have a day off and to relax with family.

 Aaron gave Jarrett a book of pictures of the 2 of them over the past year.

 The men in their chairs :)

 The beautiful wheat (before it was cut). What a great view!

We had so much fun in Kansas this summer! What a wonderful and blessed time we had!

11 Months Old

This was a busy month for our family and I predict that every year at this time will be. This is wheat harvest time in Kansas and it was so fun to be able to enjoy this busy time as a family. Aaron experienced a lot of firsts this month, including his first harvest (I'll have a seperate post about that later.)

Aaron at 11 months old is so full of energy! He is on the move with his army crawling. He’s just so happy to be able to get somewhere (even if it takes a while). He still doesn’t lift his head and his belly at the same time, so he just slides along. At the end of May he pulled himself up to standing in his crib for the first time. Now he just stands all of the time!

Have I mentioned what an amazing sleeper Aaron is? He sleeps 11-12 hours at night and takes 2 naps during the day. Jarrett got this pic of Aaron one afternoon while he was still sleeping. There have been several times we've had to wake Aaron up from his naps or he would never sleep at night! It must be all that crawling and playing that has worn him out!



 Aaron loves to be in the office with us! He is mesmerized by the computer and loves to mash buttons and play with the mouse!

Another one of Aaron's favorite things to do is go to the grocery store. We do this a lot! He loves riding in the cart and seeing everything from up high! He smiles at just about everyone he sees and is usually a big hit!

He can also watch a cartoon or dvd for longer periods of time. He loves the Baby Einstein dvds that Grammy bought for him! But he really perefers to be outside (even when it's crazy hot). So this month Aaron got to go swimming for the first time. Grammy and Grandpa bought him a baby pool and it was a hit! It's become one Aaron's favorite things to do. So when the backyard gets shaddy in the late afternoon-we get the hose and Aaron is in heaven! 

10 Months Old

Aaron at 10 Months old is so much fun! He desperately wants to be mobile. He's just barely starting to army crawl. He's the size of a 2 year old, so we know that it must be hard for him to get going. He can pull himself up to half-way sitting to almost standing. When you say "yay" he waves his hands, claps and squeals. Aaron is still doing great with his schedule. He eats 4 times a day and takes 2 naps. He is a great eater and a great sleeper! He is changing everyday and growing so fast...where does the time go...

Jarrett's Dad (Grandpa Carl), stepmom (Grandma Diane) and baby brother (Uncle Daniel) came for a visit in early May. It was a fast weekend trip, but we were so glad to see them.

Uncle Daniel sure is cute! We are so excited for these boys to grow up together on the farm!  

A pic of the Schmidt Men :) So cute!

Love this boy so much!!

Grammy and Grandpa's House

We are so blessed to have such amazing grandparents for Aaron! He has 3 sets of grandparents and they have helped us so much since Aaron was born. Aaron spends a lot of time at the Colburn's. They babysit pretty regularly and we can't imagine not having them here.

One of his favorite things to do at Grammy and Grandpa's is to get a bath in the kitchen sink. Our sink at home is too small, so it's always a treat to get a bath with Grammy!

He also loves to swing in their backyard! We dont' have any trees in our yard, so we were so thrilled when they got a swing just for Aaron. He loves it!!

9 Months Old

9 Month Stats
Height: 32 inches
Weight: 27.6 lbs

It just keeps getting more and more fun. At 9 months old, Aaron has really become such an amazing little man. As you can see by his stats, he is the size of an average 18 month old! He has begun to form an opinion about things. If he drops a toy sometimes he cries for it and sometimes he just looks at the toy and then at us to see if we are going to get it for him. He has mastered clapping his hands together and will "patty cake" on demand. Although sometimes he just claps for the fun of the sound it makes. He has learned to wave "bye-bye", but sometimes he is a little delayed. He gets scared easily by loud noises. Occasionally he will cry when something startles him. He is becoming more and more social, but we've noticed that he usually takes a few minutes to warm up to people. He likes to sit back and observe others...he watches very intensely. He will sit and watch a cartoon for several minutes, but loses interest quickly. He is still the most laid-back and happy baby. Everyday is an adventure and it is so much fun to watch him learn and grow. What a blessing he is.

Aaron loves to swing!!

Nana pushing Aaron!

So we tried to all wear our John Deere green shirts for Saint Patrick's Day...but Aaron had other plans. On the way to the park...we had a big messy diaper and had to change outfits!! So much for matchy matchy day!

Aaron loves to be outside and to play with the grass.

Aaron is usually very patient while we make his meals. He loves to play with his toy airplane!

He still loves his roundy-round! Although we're pretty sure he's too big for it, we still let him play!

Surrounded by his favorite toys!

Love this picture! It's rare that we got out to eat with Aaron, so this particular day was special. We went to Cheddars (one of our favs) and the boys looked so cute in their polo shirts!

 

At the end of the day Aaron has one last bottle before bed-time. Jarrett almost always gives it to him and then they play in the chair. It's always a sweet little time before bed.