Pure Enjoyment

For weeks, Aiden had a runny nose, and it was mostly due to him cutting eye teeth. He wasn't a horrible child, and most of the time, he was very pleasant. Sleep had been a bit of an issue, but it was all manageable and just fine. Last weekend, Aiden was such an incredible child- easy, laughing, happy, spirited. We didn't know he could be this good! I guess what I am trying to say is that although we thought he was pleasant before, he really impressed us over the weekend.
We took him to see his Grampy at an Irish Pub up in Bath. They preform on the 17th of every month. He is the drum major for The Maine Public Safety Core. I am sure I didn't get the name correct.

I think the picture will help explain what I am talking about. Anyways, we were meeting him and Dee at the pub at three for a snack/ late lunch/ early supper, and they were to perform from 4-5. Earlier in the day, I had Mommy's group, so by the time I got Aiden down, he ended up only having an hour nap. We thought he would nap in the car on the way up since it was an hour ride- NOPE! Russ and I said to one another that it could really go one of two ways once we got there. Aiden would either really love the music or be horrible due to noise and/or exhaustion. (It should be noted that on most days, Aiden naps anywhere from 2- 3.5 hours.)

Long story short- AIDEN LOVED THE BAG PIPES AND THE DRUMS! Grampy would announce, "To the Guinness!" Folks would raise their glasses and proclaim, "To the Guinness!" He would then yell, "Hoist!" Then everyone would repeat that and take a swig of their drinks. Aiden quickly caught on (God- I hope he doesn't act like this when he is 18!) and took sips out of his sippy cup when his Grampy made these proclamations. He clapped along, smiled and thoroughly enjoyed himself. As the end of the performance approached, this lady from across the pub, approached me. She asked me if I was Aiden's mom, and I told her I was. She told me that she thought Aiden was adorable and asked for me to take the money she was handing me to go buy Aiden a present! Russ and I are not sure if that was sweet, morbid or both. What do you think? By the end, Aiden was rubbing his eyes and was quite tired. It was now five, dinner time, and we had an hour drive home. We were about 30 minutes into our trip, when Aiden got fussy. We decided to stop and get a quick bite to eat. He behaved the whole time, ate his dinner, and because we are just on top of our game, didn't know until the end of his supper, that he was sitting in a leaky diaper. We got home, gave him a bath, and he went to bed without a hitch. Needless to say, it was a great day with a child who barely slept. And not to brag, but Sunday was just as good.

I guess, as parents, we all need moments like these to remind us why we wanted to be parents. We all know they are going to be difficult, but it is in these times when they are so fun, you really don't have the stress and can just enjoy.