I'm falling way behind on my posts lately, and I have a bunch that I am intending to get up...one of these days. We've been sick with colds lately, for one thing. Aiden got a nasty cold while we were visiting family not long ago. He was well for, I'm not kidding, two days when he caught another cold! This one was courtesy of big brother, bringing germs home from school, I suppose. He has a hard time taking seriously warnings such as "stay out of Aiden's face," "don't touch his food!" (hello?!), etc, etc. I think seeing how quickly Aiden got sick and how bad this cold was helped. And then I caught it, of course. When Aiden is sick, he tends to sleep as close to me as possible...as in, he hugs my neck and puts his nose and mouth right up next to mine! How could I NOT get sick?! But it's impossible to stay away because having me so close helps him, which is too important to me, especially when it helps him get to sleep...and we both need that badly! I'm currently trying to keep it from turning into a sinus infection...not sure how successful I am quite yet. It's questionable.

And we recently had a death in the family. My grandmother (my stepdad's mother), Grandma Strode, just passed away last weekend. We knew it was going to be soon, but it was sooner than expected. We're currently in Kentucky. We made it in time to go to the funeral. Ever notice how that is such a good way to see extended family that you haven't seen in a while. Sad circumstances, yes. But it's always great that everyone shows up (which is how it should be) and comes together to be there. We got to meet a couple new family members - my step-brother's new baby boy, Loxley, and my step-sister's even newer baby girl, Ella. Plus, we didn't make it to Christmas at with my step-dad's family last year because we needed to be with Ryan's grandmother who was in the hospital and close to passing away, so it was nice to see everyone and let them meet Mr. Aiden. Aiden and Grandma Strode had actually been able to meet. We stopped and visited this summer when we were coming to Kentucky. We wanted to spend some time with Grandma while we had the chance - and we really wanted her and Aiden to meet. I'm so glad we made that happen! You can't wait on that kind of stuff because you don't always have "next time."

Aiden trying to share a toy with Grandma Strode

So, we came to Kentucky for the funeral and to be with family, but we're also staying for Halloween since we're already here and Ryan won't miss any extra work because of it. He already had to take off through Friday for all the traveling - a full day on the road each way - so we figured why not stay and relax a bit instead of rushing back. I'm taking advantage and trying to rest up a little to get well. I don't really feel like sleeping until 10am counts as "sleeping in" if I don't get to sleep until 1 or 2am because I am sick and then am up every hour or two with a sick or hungry baby.

And we're not really getting to relax too much with the boys underfoot. Aiden, who remembered he could manuever steps last time we visited family, has decided he can now go down all on his own, too. So he tries to practice that as much as he can. I think he's more comfortable practicing at both my mom's and Ryan's mom's because they each have some areas that just have one or two steps separating rooms. That means we have to stay right with him, esp when every now and then he sits down to slide down the step...and he's not quite in the right position. He gets it right most of the time, but...

So, we'll get back into our regular routine sometime. Surely. We've also been having some naptime struggles with Aiden, and I'm really hoping to kick into gear and get him back on track - or on some kind of track! - once we get back home and things calm down. I think all the traveling and all the colds this past month haven't helped with things. And sometimes he needs one nap a day and sometimes two... It's been fairly frustrating and time-consuming. We'll figure something out. Hopefully. (And hopefully soon!)

Anyway, that's the story with us lately. A very busy time, and blogging has just had to take a backseat, whether I wanted it to or not.