Aidan Marston William

One year old, he goes on tour!

I have no idea where the year went.

Okay, so we have photographic evidence of it all - boy, do we have photographs - but still, Aidan's first year just flew by.

So, with Aidan having graduated from babyhood into toddlerhood, we decided to test our luck, and take him on an international trip. After buying the tickets in January, we then went through six months of wondering exactly how he'd handle such a trip.

Turns out we needn't have worried. While the trip had its hiccups, Aidan took it all in stride. Three weeks, 8,000 flying miles, another 3,000 driving miles, he handled it amazingly. Which is not to say he isn't very happy to be back in his home again with his room and his crib, but the trip didn't faze him much.

We came home with 168 pictures from the trip. Over 160 of them featured Aidan. This was not a trip to enjoy the scenery, it was a trip for Aidan to see people - his grandmothers, his great-aunt and -uncle, his grandfather, his great-grandmother, my godmother, and countless friends. I don't have all 168 pictures here, but it's a pretty good sampling.

We began the trip at grandma's place

Aidan's favorite book

Woohoo, finally somebody has to ride back here with me!

While on the trip, Aidan got to celebrate his first birthday at his gran's house

Yay, a Paddington Bear cake! First reaction? Slap it!

Ticklish!

Jen says Aidan looks like me and my brother. I don't see it, you be the judge.

Day 3 in the UK, Aidan gets to meet his great-aunt and uncle

Picking daisies...

Man, all this traveling just wears me out!

Time to get out and work off some energy!

I'm so annoyed that I didn't notice the big smudge on the lens. This was the view from our cottage in my hometown of Alva. Not shown - all the G8 hullaballoo mere miles from us.

My gran was excited to finally meet Aidan.

An afternoon in the park.

My dad was also thrilled to meet the little guy, and share in his inspection of what must have been a truly interesting pebble.

Getting down with Aidan

One challenge of the trip was that in not one place in England or Scotland did we have a bathtub. So, we had to improvise. As you can see, Aidan was really upset about this.

Wake me up when we get there...wherever 'there' will be today. With ten different stops in 20 days, he had to wonder...

Holy smokes, that's a big bird!
(Famous Grouse distillery)

Is your mama a llama?

The week we were in Alva was the week of their fair and Highland Games. This ride is obviously designed more for Aidan than for daddy.

Everyone eagerly watches the cabers fly.

Big boy!

Aidan and Nadine, my dad's wife's grandchild. I'm not sure what the term is for such a relative, but they sure had fun meeting and playing together.

Alas, all good things must end. A kiss from great gran before departing Scotland.

Then off to the beach in Blackpool!

Ever the explorer.

Looking down from the "Walk of Faith" in Blackpool Tower. Daddy is freaked out by heights, but the 320 feet to the ground don't bother Aidan.

Can I take these two home?

Enjoying Oxford.

The part of the trip we'd feared most was the return flight - 9 hours in the middle of the day. As you can see, Aidan (and new friend Rebekah, 14 months) had a great time.

Gardening with grandma before we return to Indiana.

I had a GREAT time!