The joys of Aidens first year in a nutshell.

Wow! Where do I start? Its been 12 months since I last wrote. Even though I enjoy writing, I enjoy being a mommy even more. Mommyhood has kept me busier than ever. The busyness does not just entail caring for a child and the home but also of going out and enjoying life. I find that now as a mommy, I no longer take life for granted. Aiden may be too young to remember all that we have done this past fall, spring, winter or summer but I will never forget. I will never forget having dressed him as Tigger for Halloween, Turkey for Thanksgiving, Santa for Christmas, a cupid for Valentines day, a bunny for Easter or even the first time his little toes touched the sand on a very warm March day in Coney Island. Those days will forever be etched in my heart and memories. 

Aiden has been nothing short of a sweet, happy and funny boy.  All the pictures I post on Facebook and Instagram shows it all. Thankfully he is still as healthy as when he came home. He was tested for Thyroids again and his results came back negative. Thank God. 

The only difference is he now wears glasses. He was diagnosed with Accommodative Esotropia at 9 months. See description below.

(Accommodative esotropia, refers to eye crossing that is caused by the focusing efforts of the eyes as they try to see clearly. Patients with refractive esotropia are typically farsighted (hyperopic). This means that the eyes must work harder to see clearly, particularly when the object of regard is up close. This focusing effort is called accommodation. The closer an object is to the eye, the greater the amount of accommodation that is required. A side effect of the accommodative effort can be excess convergence or crossing of the eyes).  http://www.aapos.org/terms/conditions/9

He does not seem to like wearing his glasses, but we find that when we are outside the home and he is distracted he leaves it on for a longer period of time. Every day is a challenge trying to get him to leave them on. I think he prefers the taste of the lens better than having them on. 8-)

After his first birthday he has started drinking whole milk and has adjusted very well.  Like his mommy and daddy, he loves to eat. He has yet to become a picky eater and I hope he stays that way. He loves his mommas rice and beans and avocado as well as pasta! Since he hasnt yet grown most of his baby teeth yet. He has been eating food that can easily be mashed or cut into small soft pieces. He does however have lovely incisors that qualifies him to perhaps be the youngest vampire ever to exist.

Aside from all the wonderful holidays, beach days, pool days (He lovesssss the water) and fun days, we celebrated Aiden's first birthday on August 18, 2012 with an Elmo theme. Aiden was dressed as Elmo and Mommy and Daddy was so thrilled to have celebrated an awesome first year with our first born that we also dressed as Elmo. I can clearly remember what a nervous wreck I was because the party was going to be outdoors and it was raining like crazy the whole week up until the very morning of the party. God knew my heart, that he cleared that sky for us just in time for the most awesome party of the year. So many family and friends came out and shared the beautiful day with us. The food was great and the cake was awesome! (Thanks to my cousin Bernie).

On September 22nd, we participated in our first Buddy Walk in Central park. The Buddy Walk is a national event that occurs all over at different times to bring awareness to Down Syndrome. My brother law Rich and I worked together to design a Team Aiden shirt in which most of us wore at the walk. We had such an awesome time walking, cheering and having lunch afterwards. I look forward to doing this every year. In honor my son my sisters and I came together and decided that we would get a tattoo of the DS logo. So Far Norma and I have gotten ours. Maybe in the future Gina and Annette will get theirs. (No pressure guys!) 

My best friend Darian gave us a gift of having family photos taken by a friend of ours. We just got the pictures a few days ago and I am so in love with Aiden's pictures. His smile just melts my heart!

This is it for now folks! Enjoy the pictures! <3