2009 Year in Review

This year as I sit writing our annual year-in-review the household buzzes with all the excitement of a growing family.  Aiden tirelessley attempts his first somersault in the living room (toppling into walls and stray trains) while Finn coos on my lap, offering his crooked little smile in the direction of his brother's squeals and laughter.  Of course the situation could disintegrate at any moment, leaving behind trails of tears, soiled clothes, shirts covered in spit-up... but for now our Christmas lights twinkle and there is peace in the Scanga household.

Shortly after the new year we celebrated Aiden's first birthday.  Despite a few toddler-sized meltdowns, Aiden was thrilled with the cake, presents, and most of all the endless attention of a day all about him!  A few weeks later, however, we learned that the Scanga family would grow to include a new member and that Aiden-centered days would soon come to a close.

The spring flew by as we prepared for our new baby.  As Joel finished up the school year Kim and Aiden enjoyed frequent visits to the library (where he played with his beloved Thomas trains while Mom caught up on the latest Real Simple magazine), their weekly playgroup, and of course the local kid's park.

The summer was full of just about all the fun Kim and her growning belly could handle.  The days were filled with trips to a nearby amusement park (where Aiden fell in love with the sports cars and train rides), visits to the Pittsburgh Zoo and Children's Musuem, and attempts (mostly failed) to make it through the entire nine innings of Major League baseball games.  Then, in the very early morning of September 1st, Aiden's first cousin was born, Kayla Noel.  Kim and Aiden were able to enjoy a few days in Lancaster with Kim's sister and her new family.

Along with hay rides and leaf piles, fall brought the newest addition to the Scanga family, Finn David.  Finn was born on October 7th (a very long week and a half late) at 7:27am, just as the sun rose over the horizon.  Aiden was thrilled with his new baby brother and Finn is now the recipient of more Aiden kisses than any member of the Scanga family (a fact well-documented for future embarrasment).  Though having a newborn in the house is a major adjustment for everyone, we are surprised daily by the amount of love we feel for both our boys and already can't imagine life without Finn.

Thank you for your interest in our life and family... stay tuned for future updates!   

Trick or Treat 2009

Aiden really enjoyed dressing up with Finn and handing out candy this year.  [More photos]

Our Newest Addition

Finn David Scanga

Aiden's Great Pumpkin Chase

Unfortunately the trait of indecision has been passed on to the poor boy.



Happy Fall!

Summer Fun

Playing with birdseed in the nursery.

Aiden's favorite spot in the zoo, watching the sea lion swim around.

Checking out the elephants.

More Dancing With Aiden

Aiden can't get enough of the dance floor. Check out this video of Aiden dancing with Dad.

Take me out to the ballgame!

Here are a few pictures of Aiden at his first baseball game. He lasted through 6 innings had a good time taking in all the sights and sounds.

Spring is Here!!!

Easter



Trip to the Park







Trip to Another Park

Introducing...

Aiden (along with mom and dad) are excited to announce: there will be a new member joining the Scanga family at the end of September!

First Haircut

Celebrating the Big Win!

Early in his life, Aiden experiences the sweet taste of victory as the Steelers win the Super Bowl...or was that just the sweet taste of applesauce from dinner?!

Aiden Turns One!

On January 19 Aiden turned one year old. Here is a short video of some shots from his first year of life.

Aiden, Meet Snow

We bundled the little guy up and took him out...

he had NO IDEA what to think about it all!

Aiden's First Christmas

Christmas morning began as any other... our reliable, little 5:30 alarm went off, Mom and Dad laid exhausted in bed as that same little alarm climbed, crawled, and shook in a relentless search for someone to play with, and then, whether we liked it or not... we were up. Memories of Christmases past flooded back when Aiden and Mom were forced to wait with anticipation in the bedroom while Dad prepared the video camera. And then he was off... toddling to what he assumed was the all-to-familiar basket of toys in the living room, only to be met with a strange pile of penguin-paper-covered lumps. While he appeared more than content to play with his gifts in their concealed form, eventually Mom and Dad helped him peel the mysterious paper covering and watched his intent expression turn to joy as he discovered the rattling, wheeling, musical toys within.

More important, and definitely more lasting, than the presents this Christmas was treasured time with family. While Christmas morning was spent as our own little family, Aiden shared Christmas celebrations with Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and friends. While he smiled at the new toys, he lit up under the attention and love of those nearest and dearest in his young life.

While we pray that one day Aiden will understand the true meaning of Christmas, I think it's a step in the right direction that he never grabbed, banged, or in any other way attempted to destroy our single Christmas decoration ... a small nativity consisting of Mary, Joseph, and of course, Jesus. He may not be quoting scripture or feeding the homeless, but as anyone with an energetic one-year-old boy can attest, this tiny gesture is perhaps our own little Christmas miracle!

2008 Year in Review

With Christmas drawing near once more, it is hard to believe that our not-so-little bundle of joy, almost one-year-old now, was still a package waiting to be opened at this time last year. While time flies it is almost hard to remember life before Aiden (although there are times we whimsically recall the two words we may never say again... "I'm bored"). So this year, while we're minus a Christmas tree (an attempt to preserve Mom's sanity), Aiden's goofy smile continues to light up the house.

On January 19th, 2008, Aiden entered the world and suddenly "the Scanga family" was born. The winter was spent largely indoors taking care of our helpless, little newborn (lucky for us and our bitter distaste for cold weather). As spring approached and warm weather made its joyful return we took full advantage of the great outdoors as well as our quaint little town. After an hour or so of packing diapers, emergency pacifiers, blankets, warm clothes, cool clothes, change of clothes, and anything else our stroller could hold, we marched the two blocks to town like warriors armed for battle (we may as well had posted "new parent" signs on our forehead).

With the onset of summer and a slightly more confident approach to parenthood, we ventured beyond our small town hoping to infect Aiden with our love for travel. In the course of three months Aiden traversed the streets of the Big Apple (riding a ferry to Ellis Island and meeting the Today Show family) navigated the city of Seattle (passing mere feet from flying fish and the world's first Starbucks), beheld the natural wonders of Yellowstone (we're not sure which he liked more, Old Faithful or the hood of his backpack carrier), and spent time with family in Missoula, Montana (enjoying the outdoor market and his Great Uncle's wedding, not to mention the hotel pool).

While the fall brought our adventurous summer to a close, it opened a whole new chapter of family fun at home. The weekends were spent hiking and biking through picturesque fall foliage (for all you "Office" watchers), frequenting our local, kid-friendly coffeehouse, and attending events like the Fall Festival where Aiden could play in a tub of corn kernels and excitedly observe a whole array of farm animals. As we move into winter again we frequent the local YMCA and seek out other fun, indoor activities.

So that's our year as a family, now a quick update on the individual players...

Joel began grad school this past summer. He is pursuing a Master's in Technology Education through Boise State University (an online program of course). The course work can be very demanding, but he loves what he is doing and cannot wait to integrate everything he learns into his current position. He continues to teach sixth grade science at a local elementary school where he truly loves his job.

Kim enjoys staying home with Aiden during the days, although most of their time is spent on the go. This fall they began Water Babies classes at the local YMCA. Aiden loved the swimming and Kim enjoyed her interactions with the other moms. They also joined the Moms and Babes group at the local hospital where Kim gets some adult time while Aiden learns to play with the kids ("learns" being the key word).

Aiden began the year in a sleepy haze, but his personality bloomed in the last eleven months and he now possesses more than we sometimes know what to do with! Physically, he moved from rolling to sitting, crawling, and finally, around 9-and-a-half months, he took his first solo steps. While he utilizes crawling to get places fast, he can walk the length of the house, stop, turn corners and is ready (a little too ready for Mom's liking) to really take off. Emotionally, he seems to grow jollier all the time, making us burst with laughter nearly every day. Socially, Aiden may be considered a busybody. He enjoys trips to the grocery store (where he smiles and waves at every passerby, demanding their attention), going out to eat (where he once more smiles and waves at both customers and staff), and finally spending time with both grandparents (where he is sure to find an adoring audience every time).

It was a joyful and challenging year, and we look forward to many more to come. Thanks for all your support and we will continue to update you as Aiden grows and changes.

Love,

The Scanga Family

Fall Fun

Aiden is greatly enjoying his very first fall. Yesterday he went on a hike with mom and dad at a nearby state park. He loved sitting on the bridge and playing with the leaves.

Aiden's newest milestone: crawling. He started clumsily crawling last week and is nearly a pro now. He is able to explore the world around him and is getting into trouble already... heading straight for cords, outlets, and anything else he should stay away from. His true passion, however, remains walking (with a little help from mom and dad... or anyone else willing to lend a hand). Most of the time he uses crawling as a means to climb on our lap, grab our fingers, and take off in a near run around the house. So while crawling has allowed some independence, we are still anxious for him to walk without our help. We'll keep you posted on his progress!

From Our Picasa Web Album

Aiden's First Teeth

I forgot to mention on the last post that Aiden also cut his first two teeth on vacation in August. They are his bottom middle teeth... if you enlarge this picture you should get a pretty good view of them. He is currently working on his top, front teeth.

Aiden's First "Words"

Here is the proof of Aiden's first "words". We don't know if he understands what he's saying, but it's still music to our ears!

Vacation

We are finally back from Aiden's first official vacation. We flew to Seattle, drove to Montana, drove again to Yellowstone... and did it all back again. It was a lot of hours in both plane and car, but Aiden did great! The top picture is (obviously) us in Seattle and the bottom picture is Aiden watching Old Faithful. He loved all the people in the city and also really enjoyed the natural wonders of Yellowstone. While vacationing with a baby is much different than vacations past, we really had a great time and can't wait to show Aiden a lot more really cool places!

Some new milestones in Aiden's development...
Aiden sits really well on his own now. His favorite thing to do while sitting... play with measuring cups.
While on vacation Aiden began to say "mama".... well, more like "mamamamamamama"! We're not sure if he knows what it means... but it's very cute nonetheless. Also he is starting to say "dada", although it always comes out "nnnda, nnnda".
Finally, we are teaching Aiden to sign and had him sign back "more" and "all done" yesterday for the first time. He is very proud of himself and it is really cool to see him communicate in a way that is not grunting or crying!
Aiden is now eating a wide array of fruits and vegetables. His favorite foods are oatmeal, bananas, carrots, and avocado.

Joel began teaching last week and also started his newest grad school class. He is doing an online program in educational technology and really loving it. Aiden and I are spending a lot of time outdoors and trying to get involved in a few new activities.

Thanks for following Aiden's development... we'll try our best to update more often.

The Scangas

Aiden @ Six Months

Aiden is six months old today! It seems strange, at this point we can hardly remember a time without him as part of our family.

We wanted to thank everyone for your support over these last few months, we could not have given Aiden the life that he has now without the help and support of our family and friends.

We compiled some pictures and video footage from Aiden's birth to now. Enjoy!