Christmas 2007 Recap

Hello All.

We had a great Christmas this year down in Florida. It was our first Christmas away from any extended family. However, we carried on some traditions and enjoyed the time with our new friends down here and had a very festive celebration!

Christmas Eve was fun. Aidan was excited early in the day at the prospect of Santa coming to visit...


We used some traditions from Heather's family in celebrating our Christmas Eve dinner. Scott put his wallet on the table to symbolize prosperity in the new year, and we had a breaking of the bread and application of honey to everyone's forehead.



After dinner we went to the neighbors for cocktails and more eating before taking off to church for a midnight mass. Everyone was tired when we got home at 1:30.

Christmas morning was fun. Everyone got what they wanted. Heather got a bike, Baile got a new duck, Scott got some books, and Aidan got some wrapping paper!





Everyone was pretty tired after the marathon present opening session.





Then it was off to other friends for a Christmas meal of smoked brisket! We visited, Scott had a cigar (outside in the sun, without a jacket because it was so warm!), and then we played Apples to Apples. A very fun Christmas, indeed.



The best present ever:

Santa is on the prowl. I repeat: Santa is on the prowl

No new pictures of Aidan right now. We are currently making our Christmas Eve dinner complete with cornish game hen, stuffing, rolls, gravy, and corn. Then we're off to the neighbors for cocktails and then church for a Christmas Eve service. Per usual, Heather will go early to practice with the choir and Scott will roll in at the last minute with Aidan in tow and keep him company throughout the service.

Then it's home to fall asleep and wait for Santa.

On that note, I thought I would notify everyone that they can track Santa's progress online. Using the latest satellite technology that the Air Force has to offer, NORAD tracks him every year (I think to make sure that he doesn't hijack any nukes). Regardless of their intentions, you can see where Santa is at in the world here.

Also, I thought I would provide a link of some Santa imagry that NORAD has come across earlier this evening...

Baptism, Santa, and So Much More

Things have been pretty busy in the past week. We've been taking care of our Christmas shopping in 70+ degree weather and we had a visit from one of Scott's former coworkers in Ohio.

Here are the requisite pictures of Aidan...

Belly time with his doggy Bailey


A playdate with a baby from church


Getting baptized. You can see he's holding the Bishop's chain with a cross on it. The Bishop thought this was an indication of Aidan's future calling to enter the church. Scott thought it was an indication of his future profession as a Rap Star.


The family with the Bishop.


Mommy and Aidan. That's one good lookin' kid!


Aidan got all dressed up for Santa.


Santa flying in on a MH-53 helicopter (his sled was in the shop)


SANTA!!!!!!


Aidan told Santa everything he wanted, and then he fell asleep.

Back to life as normal

The visitors are gone. That means we can relax and fall back into life as shut-ins with the newborn. Having family in town has helped get us out of the house. With the Urbans in town we went to the beach in Navarre, the pier in Pensacola, the boardwalk in Destin, and a flea market in Gulf Breeze. Aidan had a great time meeting his relatives. Although, between you and me, he's worried that he's related to Kevin...

Anyway, here are some pictures from the weekend.


Grandma and Aidan


Monkey see, Monkey do


Uncle Kevin


Aunt Rachel


Watching the Packers win on Turkey Day


Aidan/Dad time after work


The Gals on Pensacola Beach


Kevin on Navarre Beach

Happy Thanksgiving!

Yesterday we had the fourth annual "Thanksgiving at the Ruppels". This year we had Grandma and Grandpa Urban (as well as Uncle Kevin and Aunt Rachel) down for the festive meal. Some of the highlights included:

-Two turkeys (one cooked in the oven, and one on the grill and slightly smoked) that were cooked by Grandpa and Scott.

-The Packers winning their game against the Lions and setting up a great game next Thursday night against the Cowboys.

-Grandma forgetting a bag at the airport and realizing it once we got home...

In all the insanity that ensued (reclaiming the bag, cooking the meal, eating the meal, and digesting the meal) we all forgot to take any pictures! Rest assured we will take care of that the rest of the weekend and get some pictures posted on here by Monday.

In the meantime, from our house to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Grandpa and Gradma Ruppel Come to Visit

Well, it has been a week of milestones. Aidan had his two week checkup and everything is good. He does have plugged tear ducts, which is a common ailment for newborns. The Doc wasn't worried about it, so neither are we.

Also, his umbilical cord stump fell off which means he has graduated from sponge baths to full fledged, hose 'im down baths. He still hasn't discovered the fun of bath time though. He screams bloody murder when we turn the hose him and get him wet.


Grandma and Grandpa Ruppel were overjoyed to meet their first grandchild. Grandma helped out around the house and made life easier for Heather the past week while Grandpa helped Scott tackle some house maintenance projects (nothing like laying down a hardwood floor twice!). Of course, the focus of the visit was Aidan.



We also made it out to the beach during the visit; the temp down here was in the upper 70's earlier in the week which made for some beautiful beach weather!



Finally, this past week we introduced Aidan to "belly time" to help him exercise his neck and get used to being on the ground. Bailey helped out too - she can't wait to have this new plaything crawling around!



It was a good week!

The next week has Thanksgiving and a visit from the other side of the family, the Urbans, on tap. We should have a fun time!! We have plenty to be thankful for!

Who needs sleep?

Well Aidan officially has no concept of day and/or night. I read that this is common for infants. He really has no concept of prime time television when it's best to be quite and eat some popcorn while watching Gray's Anatomy.

During the day he is content to eat/sleep/wake/eat/sleep... At night however this system goes like this eat/wake/wake/wake/sleep/wake/eat/wake/wake...

Naturally this doesn't sit well with those of us that have a well established circadian rhythm. However we are doing our best to handle the situation in a healthy, positive manner.

In honor of my son, and his future propensity to be a late-night party animal, I give you this video of one of my favorite Barenaked Ladies songs.

First bath

Aidan had his first bath over the weekend with the help of Grandma Urban (who flew down for the weekend and surprised Heather). As you can see from the picture, Heather is a pro at this sort of thing and had him squeeky clean in no time. Scott took care of the photography...




We were so thankful that Grandma Urban was able to come down for the weekend. It helped us get our feet under us with the new baby. On top of that a member from my squadron at work brought over a basket with some baby-care items that were collected, and a couple members of our church were kind enough to bring over fully cooked meals! We feel so blessed to have moved into such a wonderful community.

Scott and the kids

we're so happy
Originally uploaded by madrupe

We brought Aidan home today. First things first, we had to introduce him to Bailey. She was very excited and wanted to get a good smell of him right away. As you can see, she warmed up to him immediately and joined me on the floor with him.

I think Aidan is lucky to come into a family with such a wonderful dog who will be a friend and playmate for many more years.

I think Bailey is lucky to have a new friend join the family who will provide hours of entertainment, even if her position in the pack has fallen a spot.

It's the beginning to a beautiful friendship!

Show us your eyes!

Show us your eyes!
Originally uploaded by madrupe

I'm told that one of my mother's coworkers thinks Aidan "looks smart" in this picture. If that's the case - and I'll let you be the judge - then I'm proud to say that my son has already learned one of the most important life lessons: the art of looking smart. I use it everyday to skate by...

That being said, I know there's not a lot going on upstairs right now. He does look around a lot when he's awake. I can only image how overwhelming everything must be right now. Of course it helps that he's still developing the capacity to process all the stimulation that's coming in at him!

First Picture

First Picture
Originally uploaded by madrupe

This is where it all began, really. This picture of Aidan was taken moments after his birth while the docs were doing their initial bouts of tests and assessments (He passed with an A+ his doctor said. I found it somewhat disconcerning that he wasn't even an hour old and already we're grading him!).

Life for us has forever changed.

Aidan has joined the party.