HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASHLEY

Yes, folks, it`s true. Ashley Elizabeth Ross is six years old. For party photos, go to therossfamilycircus.blogspot.com.

AIDAN PHOTO UPDATE

Bryan wanted to have these made from Aidan`s six month portrait since we have so many family members that live so far away. I just think they`re adorable and couldn`t resist putting one on here. Tinyprints.com has awesome stuff!

CHRISTMAS CARD 2008

I figured that since there was no way I could send out a Christmas card to everybody that we know(which would add up to at least two hundred cards) that I would share it here.

BRYAN AND AIDAN: SO MUCH ALIKE

Bryan and Aidan must be secretly planning these things; otherwise, how would all of these identical pictures keep popping up?

What`s For Dinner?

Tonight Anna, Jackson, and Colton dropped by for a short visit while Jill ran some errands, and Bryan helped out by entertaining Aidan while I kept an eye on the other three. We have this large stockpot that is just tall enough for Aidan to pull up on and drum on, so it sometimes stays in the living room. Jackson and Colton were entertained by it as well tonight, and were climbing in and out of it and Jackson was talking about cooking both Aidan and Colton in it. I was occupied with Colton in the living room, so Bryan came and picked up Aidan and the pot and walked out of the room(or so I thought.) This is what I saw a minute later when I turned around. If they do stuff like this when I`m around, what do they do when I`m not?

USC MEN`S BASKETBALL

AWESOME JOB GUYS!!

Bryan joined this organization called the Bridge Club, that helps with the transfer from a technical school to a four year university, and they gave us tickets to last night`s USC basketball game against NC Central. It was Aidan`s first ever basketball game, and he was excited. We were too, because we love basketball and we beat them 90-43. GO GAMECOCKS!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACKSON!!

Jackson, the little boy that I was feeding baby food to last week, turned five yesterday. There was the usual birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese, which I have a funny story to share about. Chuck E. comes walking over towards where Jackson and I are playing a game, and I point him out to Jackson and he goes running over to hug him. I`m standing there behind him as he does so, and then he tells Chuck E., "This is my aunt Telly. You need to hug her." in that adorable five year old accent. Jackson thought that it was hilarous that Chuck E. and I hugged. More details: Anna beat me at skeeball again, like she does every year, but then I beat Bryan by 14,000 points(sheer luck, I`ll admit it) Justin and Ashley collected enough tickets to get a prize for about 100 kids, and Aidan and Colton loved the Chuck E. ride. Emily and Courtney ran around all night and looked at everything, but the thing they really liked(I think Rachael liked it more than them, because it reduced the amount of time she had to chase them) was this big seat you climb up into and lay back and watch a TV screen. It figures....those girls love TV.

LOOK WHAT I CAN DO!

Just A Few Precious Pictures

NEW MILESTONE

My little boy sure is getting brave fast. Here`s what I found when I got him up from his nap this afternoon.

Where is Harley?

Aidan and Harley have developed this understanding and general acceptance of each other. Harley has learned to take the attention given to him by Aidan, and every time Harley enters a room, Aidan becomes visibly excited. He has also cried hysterically when Harley has left the room before. Harley has this favorite spot behind the recliner in our living room, where I always sit when I`m in there. So the other day he came and sat beside the chair, received some attention from Aidan and I, and then curled up behind my chair like he always does. Here is Aidan`s immediate reaction to Harley leaving his line of sight.

SIX MONTHS OF AIDAN

I`ve been looking at pictures of Aidan that we`ve taken since he was born lately and can hardly believe how much he has changed as he has grown over the last six months. So I thought that I would create this slide show to document all of it.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving was, like always, a busy and fun day, where there is guilt free eating of my Aunt Ellen`s sweet potato souffle(now made every year in her memory by my cousins Ginger and Eve)pumpkin pie, and other various delicious desserts. What`s not to love about that? The kids were full of energy as always, excited about seeing cousins that live nearby and some that made a trip for the holiday. Aidan was very excited to see everyone milling around, and to be handed off to anyone who was willing to entertain him. He also enjoyed the home cooking. He ate rice and gravy, lima beans, and the aforementioned sweet potato souffle. I was given a good laugh by my cousin Cameron(whom I`ve known since not long after he was born). While eating our dessert at our Grandma Carroll`s table, he looked at me and informed me that it was very nice to meet me, resulting in the laughter of everyone within earshot. There were camera issues(thankfully now resolved), so that`s why there aren`t any pictures at Grandma and Papa Carroll`s house. Oh well, there`s always Christmas. I enjoy Thanksgiving for so many reasons, but this year there were so many extra things to be thankful for.

1. My wonderful husband
2. My healthy baby
3. All four grandparents
4. That my parents are safe while giving a wonderful service
5. A large family to spend holidays with
6. That Uncle Les is safe
7. That Lauren is still pregnant

SIX MONTHS PORTRAITS

Isn`t he so adorable? Yes, I know I`m a biased mother. But aren`t we all?

PROUD DADDY MOMENT

Tonight Bryan fed Aidan solid foods for the first time. I was a little unsure of how Aidan would do, because I`m the only one that has ever fed him with two exceptions. I expected the usual out of Aidan: spitting, hitting the bowl and knocking it upside down, grabbing at the spoon, trying to turn around and see the TV, attempting to climb out of the bouncy seat, and succeeding once(not a fun moment for Mommy) all things he did to me the first few times I fed him solid food, but he did extremely well. I was proud of both of them(and a little jealous of Bryan because he wasn`t wearing sweet potatoes or rice cereal when Aidan was finished) but oh well. Aren`t they always better behaved for the other parent, especially when the first parent is watching?

AIDAN LOVES BATHTIME

Last night Daddy gave Aidan a bath, and he always get so excited to be able to splash around and play with his bath toys. I thought I would capture a little bit of his bliss.

BABY GYMNASTICS

This morning Bryan and I took Aidan to The Little Gym for a baby developmental gymnastics class. There were some other babies there, and a lot of equipment and other things that Aidan wasn`t so sure about because he had never seen them before. He chased bubbles, did two somersaults, climbed over a balance beam, played ring around the rosie on a rubber ball, played peek a boo on the bars, and danced to the alphabet. He was worn out and took a good nap, but we all had fun.

Aidan enjoys the exersaucer and being able to jump up and down in it, so I thought that it was time to get him to spend time in his Johnny Jump Up. Before, he would slump down in it and swing around and look at me like "Why`d you put me in here, Mom? I don`t know what to do in here." Now that he knows what to do in it, he has a blast in there every time. Yay! Maybe now I can get more housework done that I`ve found a new element of distraction. Thanks Mama and Daddy!

When Bryan was born, his dad built a cradle for him that was passed to down for Aidan to use. Since it is a part of the Zingmark family history and so important to Bryan, I thought that I would put some pictures on here of the two of them in their cradle.

I`ve been trying for awhile now to get Aidan to make this adorable yet goofy face that he is so good at without being distracted by the camera and wanting to eat it(a common occurrence) and today, by making the face myself about a 100 times, I finally managed to get a few. One of the things that I just adore about this face is that it is similar to one that Bryan made when he was a baby(and sometimes still does.) This is just another perfect example that Aidan looks so much like his Daddy.

Today I finally managed to get a video of Aidan trying and succeeding to reach a book that was out of his way. This is something that I have been trying to capture for about three weeks, so now I just need to get one of him chasing a ball and I`m all set.

Every Halloween each individual unit in our church has a Trunk or Treat to create a safer and more wholesome environment for kids. This year it was held out at my parents` house, and since it was way out in the country, there was a big bonfire, a hayride, pupmkin throwing contest, and a costume judging(that we are proud to say Aidan was a winner for his age group.) It was a lot of fun to experience Aidan`s first Halloween, as well as see my nieces and nephews all dressed up and see a lot of people that I grew up with, most of which have only seen Aidan once or not at all.

Aidan sure is a busy body these days and very determined to move as far as his little arms and legs will take him. Won`t be long and we`ll be chasing him everywhere!

Now that Aidan is six months old, I have been trying to teach him to drink juice from a sippy cup. No luck yet, but he does like to hold the handles and chew on it and slam it around. Well, at least he is showing interest in the cup, even if he hasn`t adjusted to the taste of the juice yet.

This week we took our annual trip up to the Blue Ridge Parkway to see the beautiful fall colors and the mountains. There wasn`t a lot of visibility, but we caught up with some friends and enjoyed a day away.

We can hardly believe how verbal and active Aidan is. He is moving so fast and loves to chase his toys. He is also pretty proficient at quite a few syllables.

Aidan is now SIX MONTHS OLD and is eating most solid foods like a pro. He is also scooting as far as he can get and takes great measures to reach his toys. Aidan is a very animated child...he will laugh at just about anything, is waving and can say a pretty large amount of gibberish. He thankfully has not experienced the drama of separation anxiety yet, he seems to like new people as long as they are entertaining. He very recently was moved out of his cradle where he has slept next to Mommy since birth and into his own room with his own big boy crib(Mom is the one experiencing the separation anxiety), but sleeps in there like he did as a newborn. So far, both nights that he has been in there he has slept straight through. Last night he fell asleep on his own with no crying, and Mom was very grateful. We can hardly believe that he is growing up so fast, but we are grateful to have Dad around more often now, who is at home to finish school faster. Harley continues to be his usual lazy/wild self, asking for attention and whatever is being prepared in the kitchen. We love him though, he is a sweet friend and is always nearby to comfort and offer affection to Kelly when she is overwhelmed with the stresses of being a mom. We are also excited to say that it is only five months until Kelly`s parents return home from their mission in Mozambique. Kelly was pregnant with Aidan when they left and thought that it would seem like forever until they came home, but she does not know where the time has gone.

Recently we took Aidan on his very first visit to our renowned Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, S.C. The zoo was featuring 4 baby lion cubs, which was became a very popular attraction. Bryan is very fond of lions and wanted to share his excitement about the cubs with his little cub Aidan.

It has been awhile since our last post...things are still crazy as ever. Aidan was blessed by Bryan on July 6 and I`d be willing to bet that this blessing set the record for number of men standing in the circle....I quit counting at fifteen. There was one very special person missing, however, my dad Paul, who is a missionary over in Southern Africa and will be home this spring....yay! Aidan has begun to scoot quite efficiently around our living room and I fear will soon be crawling. Baby-proofing, here we come. He has rather recently become quite vocal, which mostly just includes screaming and squawking and a couple of syllables that translate as giii and mama. He is now a pro at most solid foods and eats about as much as a baby twice his age, but who am I to deny my baby his hearty appetite? Also he received his first ever bruise(courtesy of the scooting, that TV cabinet just would not move out of his way) and was not at all bothered by it. Of course, as most afflictions do, it bothered Mommy more than baby. Kelly is very excited about the upcoming holiday...Halloween has always been her favorite for some reason. She thinks it may have something to do with all that delicious candy. Bryan is simply excited for the semester to be over, because even though he will hopefully have more of a classload next semester, it is still one more semester closer to being through. Harley continues to be his usual self, lying around and begging for treats, people food, and attention, and barring access inside our house to anyone he thinks doesn`t need to be here. That`s about all I can think of for now, but more will happen, as always, hopefully all good.

We are still working hard as ever trying to keep with our daily lives. Bryan is still working and going to school and loving the role of being a dad. Because her life wasn`t crazy enough watching a child at home in addition to caring for Aidan, Kelly has added in the responsibility and stress of going to school online to enable her to do medical transcription at home. She has had some interesting days lately. The most recent involved Aidan flipping a full bowl of cereal over on both of them, cold milk and all. It was pretty fun to clean up and time consuming. Aksel(the little boy she watches) thought that he would help her by walking through it and then tracking it all over the house. She also had the joy of cleaning up apple juice trailing from one end of the kitchen to the other. That one took a few tries to completely get up all the stickyness. Despite the trials and adventures, our lives are an enormous blessing, and we wouldn`t change a thing.

Introducing Our Family

Hi! Our names are Bryan and Kelly Zingmark, and we have two boys....a thirteen year old husky lab mix named Harley, and a two month old baby named Aidan. Bryan is working full time and going to school part time, and I am a stay at home mom and a housewife. We were all born in Columbia, SC. Bryan is 32 and I am 23. Aidan carries quite an interesting story with him...he is the sixteenth great grandchild in both families, and also the only one on Bryan`s side that will carry on out last name into the next generation until we have more boys. He was also the largest baby born at the hospital for the time period we were there...he weighed 10 pounds and 2 ounces. We are so thankful for all that we are blessed with in our lives, especially our two boys that bring us more joy and happiness than they could ever know.