Aidan has been tagged.

I couldn't leave Jace out of the fun. So I'll start with him. He's still my baby, so his will be shorter.

1. Jacen Cade Lear was born in the summer of 2007. He was 6 pounds, 11 ounces. He was born at 37 weeks, just a couple days short of 38 weeks. (Exactly like Aidan.) This time, my water broke, over a week before the induction was scheduled. It took a while to decide on Jacen's name. Lincoln and I don't agree on names well. I love the name Jace, and adding the "n" on the end to make it sound like Aidan's (and for Lincoln, to sound like a name at all) was how I got him to agree. Jacen means "healer" and is Greek in origin. Cade means "battler" and Jace certainly has been a battler. He stopped growing at week 35, after months of really scary heart problems and insulin resistance for me. (As if the high blood pressure and diabetes wasn't scary enough!) Since then he has endured several months of physical therapy for his legs and horrible rashes covering is whole body, until we found the right formula and steroid ointment.

2. Jacen is definitely a "mama's boy" through and through. He's willing to be with Dad, but he always prefers me, and follows me until I beg for relief from my two demanding boys. He literally wants me holding him all the time.

3. Jacen is really strong. He grabs, pinches and kicks harder than any baby I've ever held.

4. Jacen loves his big brother and wants to do everything Aidan does. They often will tickle each other and wrestle around, giggling and shrieking. He really takes it personally when Aidan doesn't want to play with him.

5. Jace's smile will brighten any gloomy day. But he's also just as dramatic as his older brother. I had no idea boys could be so dramatic!

Now for my big boy Aidan...

1. Aidan Joshua Lear was born in the winter 2005 after only 5 hours of labor. He was 7 pounds, 5 ounces. Aidan was born at 37 weeks, just a couple days short of 38 weeks. I was induced because of my blood pressure. I had no idea I was pregnant until 13 weeks because all pregnancy tests came up negative and I wasn't supposed to even be able to get pregnant. I thought I had a severe ulcer and so did the doctor. We had his name picked pretty soon after finding out he was a boy. Aidan means "warmth of the home, and fiery spirit," and is Irish in origin. I picked it because of the meaning, and Lincoln picked it because it was the only one on my list he liked. :) He is also named after my nephew, Joshua Weber. In short, I love Josh, think the world of him, and couldn't imagine my Aidan with any other middle name. We've always called him Aidan, I can't say that I've called him AJ yet. We shall see when he gets older. His nickname before Jacen came along was Little Man. He's always looked like a miniature man, never a baby. As soon as we knew Jace was coming, we sort of phased that nickname out so he'd feel like the older boy he is.

2. Aidan loves anything mechanical. Trains, helicopters, trucks, tractors, rockets, you get the idea. His favorite movie for a very long time was Cars and he still loves to watch it. Fortunately, he's not so obsessed with them that he doesn't try new things and is actually willing to play with, investigate, or watch just about anything (although, I've never seen him pick up a doll.)

3. Aidan is very social. Which has been a trial for him having been the only child for almost 3 years. He doesn't hesitate making new friends, young or old. He's a great big brother, always wanting to help me or play with Jace. Except with his train. That's the only thing he insists Jace leave alone. :)

4. Aidan is our little actor. He memorizes entire movies (and educational shows) and will recount them with amazing exactness. Emotions, body language, voice, it's all there. Sometimes it takes a few minutes for me to figure out which one he's recounting. Once I realize it, though, I feel stupid for not getting it sooner.

5. Aidan is totally happy with either Mom or Dad. But if he's upset or hurt, he comes to me first. He went through a long stage from 1yr old to 2yrs of getting really upset if one of us left. He wanted both of us around all the time.

6. Aidan gets bored easily. I have to either keep him busy with activities, or learning play. If I don't he gets really whiny and lately even deliberately misbehaves. When he was a baby, he'd scream and scream until I played with him. He never was willing to just sit in a car seat and bat at a toy. He's got to be moving and figuring something new out. Until just recently, he'd have absolute tizzy fits at stop lights in the car. Yelling, "turn green, turn green!" He repeats everything and has a large vocabulary. People often comment/commented on how many large words he uses, and how he spoke in full phrases and sentences early.

7. Aidan's gag reflex rivals mine. I've always had a hard time keeping things down when I'm sick, pregnant, or just not feeling well. It has taken until adulthood to master the art of keeping it down, and even with that, I'm just unable to lots of times. Aidan is the exact same way. He was even in the hospital just after his 2nd birthday for dehydration because of a cold. His daddy was very unsympathetic for a really long time, not understanding that it wasn't deliberate. I still don't think he gets it, but at least he doesn't get mad at Aidan anymore. :) So our carpet cleaning machine has been used a lot!!!

8. Which brings me to the last tidbit of info... Aidan loves to "clean up!" He'll make a mess, just to clean it up. I'll find him dumping crackers on the floor, then he'll insist, "Get the vacuum, Mommy! Let's clean it up!!!"

Now...

Dillon Veenendaal

Rachael Ebersohl

Molly Weber

You are tagged!