Photos from Christmas

Unwrapping presents was a little scary this year.  I think next year will be very different.  

Grandpa thought it would be fun to put some of Sarah's socks on me. 

Aidan, Cousin Carlos, and Mom on Christmas.  

First Christmas

We celebrated our first Christmas with Aidan by taking a whirlwind tour of California!  We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at Ben's parent's house in Sacramento, enjoying a delicious feast with lots of Ben's family.  Aidan wasn't thrilled with the loud crowds, and had a hard time adjusting, so we had to spend a little quiet time in another room every once in awhile to calm him down.  But he ended up having a good time and loved all the new toys he got.

On Friday, the day after Christmas, we loaded up the car again and headed down to Bakersfield to spend a few days with my parents and exchange gifts.  My parents' claim that they only had "one gift for Aidan" turned out to be more like seven.  Aidan didn't mind, though!

This week, Aidan really started walking.  He had been taking a few steps here and there for the past few weeks, but now he can walk a pretty good distance.  His walk is getting slightly less Frankenstein-ish and he's getting more confident in his walking abilities.  Next thing he'll stand up on his own and run down the hall.  Then I'll really have my hands full!

Today, on our way out of Bakersfield, we stopped at the zoo and Aidan got to see all the animals.  He liked watching the birds - there was a pelican exhibit, bald eagles, golden eagles, lots of hawks, and a roadrunner.  There was also a mammal exhibit with bobcats, racoons, foxes, and a big black bear.  I think that he's going to really love going to the zoo the older he gets.  

Bakersfield CALM Zoo

We took Aidan to the Bakersfield CALM Zoo today.  He couldn't see most of the small birds but he liked the bobcats, bear, and mule deer.  

Ta-Da!!

Finally captured on camera!

He-Man

Here's a sample of one of Aidan's favorite pastimes.

All bundled up.

Just a light snack.

Here's an example of a typical Aidan snack.  Nothing much, just something to curb his appetite until dinnertime.

Happy Ten Month Birthday, Aidan!

Aidan is ten months today!  He is becoming less of a baby and more of a boy.  He's got so may new talents and tricks up his sleeve, it's amazing.

Some of the new things he likes to do is roll the ball back and forth with me or Ben, hand me things (like food he is eating or a toy he's playing with), and then have me hand it back to him (always saying thank you and you're welcome, of course!), and putting a ball or other toy up on the couch or ottoman.  Just earlier today, he took two of his toy balls and put them on the window sill.  He is so smart.

He is also learning the concept of "in" and "out."  I've been teaching him to put something in a box and take it back out again.  He loves to do this!  He gets so happy when he puts the ball in a box - I always clap and cheer for him and he gets the biggest grin on his face.

Aidan also loves to play hide-and-seek, and he loves to be chased.  He even tries to play chase with the cat.  When she comes into the room, Aidan will squeal and crawl as fast as he can to me and bury his head, like she's going to get him.  But when she walks by or gets up close, he'll start to chase after her.

One of my favorite new things that Aidan does is "talking."  He rambles on and on, saying da da do do doo di di doo...like he's having a conversation with us.  We always say, "Oh, really?  That really happened?" or something along those lines.  Sometimes he'll just talk to his race car or his dump truck as he pushes them around.  It's just too cute for words.

Here are some pics from the past month.

Nothing going on in here...

Electronics taste good!

Oh, I know that flashy thing is going to go off any minute...

See this?  On the tray?  That's the computer, and I want it!

Happy Thanksgiving!

It was Aidan's first Thanksgiving, and it was a good one.  We had 10 people to our house - Grandpa and Grandma Powell, Grandpa and Grandma Crawford, cousins Emma, Kimmie, and Carlos, and of course, Ben, Aidan and me.  Each person was in charge of a food item, so we all contributed to the meal.  It turned out delicious!  We had way too much food and dessert, but hey, leftovers are okay!

Grandpa Powell brought a rocking duck that was my toy when I was little.  My grandma (Aidan's Great Grandma Powell) made it for me, and it's still in excellent shape.  He had such a good time sitting on the duck and rocking back and forth!

Aidan got to spend some time with his cousin Carlos, who is three.  Aidan just stared at Carlos and watched him do whatever he did.  He was very interested in all the things that Carlos could do!

Grandma Crawford brought Aidan a toy to help him walk, and he loved it!  He would push it around the house, and his walk was so cute.  Something of a cross between a penguin and Frankenstein...

Aidan enjoyed the meal and was a big fan of turkey.  He especially loved the turkey he could really grab ahold of and sink his teeth into.

We had a very nice Thanksgiving.  It was great to have everyone together for the day.

Clockwise from top left:  Grandpa Powell, Aidan, Sarah, Grandma Powell, Emma, Carlos, Kimmy, Grandpa Crawford, Grandma Crawford, Ben

Stimulus Package

Aidan is trying to help the economy by using more toilet paper than the average consumer. This is his idea of a good stimulus package. I think it is working, the dow was up 5% on Friday. 

Da-di-da, da-di-da.....nothing going on in here.

What, I am saving the economy?

the park

we spend a lot of time at the park, Aidan loves to watch the other kids play and he can even climb all the way to the top of the playground equipment, which is scary for us.  He likes to taste the different varieties of leaves and swing.  

Saturday in Sacramento

Aidan and Dad went to Sacramento on a lazy Saturday afternoon and had a blast.  Uncle Noah's beard was a hot item on Aidan's list.  Little Cousin Carlos also showed us his knife skills.  All around it was a good time had by all.  

Is that me?

A bunch of Crawford boys

Slice and Dice

"Hold still and I will catch that cat living on your face uncle Noah" 

Lets Get Physical

Aidan has learned how to hit and chase the ball all over the house.  

Aidan's Midnight Snacks

We thought the cheese and lunch meat was just disappearing until we set up a camera and captured Aidan in the fridge for a midnight snack, we think this is the reason he has been growing so fast......I guess we will have to start locking the fridge door.  Please help by sending us food, we are starving.........

Hair Club for Men

We are going to see how long we can let his hair grow.....  

Aidan's First Steps

Tonight, Aidan took his first two steps!  Ben and I were hanging out with Aidan in our room, and he pulled himself to a standing position using Ben to steady himself.  He let go and stood on his own for a few seconds, then took two steps to grab onto Ben.  It was very impressive!  I think we've still got awhile until he really wants to walk, which is fine with me.  For now, he can crawl around, and he's a fast little crawler.

Aidan's top right tooth broke through on Monday.  This is his third tooth.  The other top tooth shouldn't be too far behind.

Nine Month Update

Today is Aidan's Nine Month Birthday.  That means he's 3/4 of a year old.  Wow...this is happening too fast!

Aidan is getting so big - he's almost 22 lbs, and is in 12 month clothes.  I occasionally put him in some 9 month pants, but it looks like he's wearing capris.  At least we get a lot of clothes donated from Ben's cousin, Emma.  Her son Carlos just turned three on Monday.  Happy Birthday, Carlos!

Aidan now crawls everywhere, climbs on everything, and basically looks for trouble.  He has discovered, to his delight, that he can open drawers and cabinets and there are millions of new wonders to discover inside!  We bought some cabinet tabs to keep them closed, but they don't work on our type of cabinets, so for now we just let Aidan explore. 

He's even taken a few tentative steps, mostly walking from the couch to the ottoman, he'll take a step as he's turning around to grab the other piece of furniture.  I wouldn't say he's walking, and he's not trying very hard to walk, but it won't be long before he decides to start trying.

Aidan loves to play with all of his toys, read books, and he'll hit a ball and follow it around the house.  It's really cute to watch.

Here is a video of Aidan playing with his car - he's already learned to make vroom vroom noises!

HAPPY HOWL-O-WEEN!

It's The Great Pumpkin, Aidan!

Aidan enjoyed his first pumpkin carving the night before Halloween. 

What is that stuff??

Are you sure I should put my hand in there?

This is actually kind of fun!

Here is the finished product - I kind of like to go overboard with my carvings.  This year it's a haunted house!

Day with Daddy

My mom had to spend the day in San Francisco on Saturday, so I got to hang out with Daddy!  Here are some events from that day.

We hang.  We cool.

This is what happens when Daddy watches me - mismatched socks, pants on my head, and a spoon for a toy.

I'm a model, you know what I mean?

All in all, we had a super great day!!  It's fun to hang out with daddy, cuz he lets me do what I want!  

Sup?

My mom's been really busy studying for her Architecture exam, but I wanted to say hi to all you who might be checkin' in.

Eight Months

Time just keeps ticking away, as it tends to do.  One minute we have a newborn and feel about as helpless as he is, then the next we have a little boy who is only 4 months away from being one year old.  I guess I'm feeling a little nostalgic for the "old days," but of course am excited and anticipating what's to come.

In the past month, Aidan has mastered crawling, pulling up on furniture, and "cruising" (baby-speak for walking around supported by furniture). 

He can follow me all around the house, and now seems to go looking for trouble!  He can find the littlest things on the floor that I can't even see, and they immediately go to his mouth.  I have to constantly keep an eye on him, because next thing I know he'll be putting the cord to my cell phone charger in his mouth, or trying to climb up on a stool that will easily tip over on top of him (which happened, but it's a very lightweight stool so it didn't hurt him).

In the food department, Aidan decided that he doesn't like pureed foods so much anymore, and prefers to eat small bites of food.  He gets so excited when Ben and I eat, and we often share little pieces of chicken or veggies with him in order to prevent a tantrum!  He loves to eat the little puffs (similar to Cheerios, but dissolve easily), and in the past few days has learned to pick them up with his index finger and thumb and put them in his mouth.  It still takes a few tries to get the puffs in, and it's so cute to watch him try to connect hand to mouth.

I weighed Aidan yesterday and he has tipped the scales at 20 lbs 6 oz!  He can only be in his current car seat until 22 lbs, but will still have to face the back of the car until he's a year old, so we have a dilemma of what to do once he reaches that 22 lb mark.  I guess we'll jump that hurdle when we get to it.