Aidanisms:

"no-makes"--no bake cookies

"rain-drops" --gumdrops

"pup-cakes"--cupcakes

"no-bodies"--chex muddy buddies

"black blacuum"--black vacuum

"blackyard"--backyard

"hick-up truck"--pick-up truck

"contagion"--invitation

"lah"--yeah

"lou"--you

"A Rose By Any Other Name..."

Aidan is a nice Irish name that means "fiery". Dave and I knew this when we named our son and named him that anyway. The middle name I originally wanted to give him was "Rhys"; a nice welsh name that means "fiery". I decided to go for something more benign, like Douglas. He is 3 and keeps us on our toes. Unfortunately, Aidan does not have any interest in using a toilet. Sure, he'll give it lip service if we offer him a toy(he's pulling for a cement mixer), but really, he only uses the toilet if he has to pee when I'm changing him. Today I ran to the store and when I got home, the basement smelled like a sewer. I coaxed Aidan (who had been habitating the area for some time) to come upstairs and be changed. By the smell of things, I wondered how much time had lapsed since he had been done his thing. I asked, "How long have you had a dirty diaper, Honey?"

He replied, "Weeks, Mommy, weeks."

Another comment he made today was when he was speaking to his father on the phone. Aidan asked, "Can I go to Grandma's house, Dada?"

Dada said, "Ask your Mother."

Aidan: "She said no. Can I go to Grandma's house, Dada?"

That shows about how much he thinks about my authority in this house.

Dana Point

Stephanie and I took a trip to Dana Point during the beginning of April. We had hoped that the weather would be totally hot, but it was slightly cold at times. Nevertheless, we had a great time. I left on Tuesday morning and had legal classes in employment law all day on Tuesday and Wednesday. Stephanie and Alex came down on Friday and made the trip a lot more fun!

On Friday, as we were looking for a good mall so Steph could do some shopping. While traveling aimlessly on I-5, we saw a sign for the San Juan Capistrano Mission. We decided to take a detour and were glad that we did. This is the oldest mission California, and we had a fun time touring.

These are more pictures of the mission. In the second, I am standing in the "Great Stone Church," which has also been called the "American Acropolis". Apparently an earthquake hit during church and 42 people were killed. There was a lot of fascinating history.

Stephanie brought Alex, who was wonderful as usual. Here he is chilling out by the pool in his styling clothes. Everywhere we went people wanted to stop and talk to us because Alex was similing at them. Most of the time people were really nice. There were times, however, when people coudn't resist lecturing us about the size of our family once we told them that Alex is our fifth. Stephanie tells the story quite well.