11 Months Already???

Only one month until the big 0-1 for Aidan.  All I can say is, wow!  Everyone told me that time flies when you have a baby, and I believed them, but it's totally different than you expect when you live it yourself.

Aidan has experienced so much in these past 11 months, and it's opened my eyes to the world as a baby sees it.  In just the past month, Aidan has learned to walk very well.  He can now walk for long periods of time and is much more stable standing up.  He can turn around, stop and go, and bend over to pick stuff up off the floor.  He can't quite stand up from sitting yet; he still has to pull himself up using furniture (or me or Ben), but he'll be doing that very shortly.

Aidan now eats just about everything we eat.  His favorite foods are:  cheese, bread, apples, pears, bananas, waffles/pancakes, chili beans, lasagna, yogurt, and sweet potatoes.  He used to love veggies, but lately he spits them out whenever he tries them.  This could be a problem!

Since it's been sunny and not as cold the last few days, we've been taking Aidan to the park.  It's a whole new experience for him now that he's walking.  He just walks around, looking at everyone and everything.  He will walk up to other kids and just stare at them, like he wants to interact but isn't quite sure how.  It's great for all of us to be able to get outside.  Being cooped up in the house gets old really fast with a walking baby!

Not everything is wonderful in babyland these days - we've had some trials and tribulations and some bad habits with Aidan.  He's decided lately that biting is fun and will try to bite down on a shoulder or a leg.  Most of the time he just chews on our clothes, but every once in awhile he will bite down on skin, and it hurts!  We've been teaching him "No biting," and he's starting to understand, but he still tries anyway.  We've read that biting is a sign of frustration, of him not being able to express himself.  Hopefully he'll learn to express himself soon so the biting will stop!  Aidan has also developed a case of what we think is mommy separation anxiety, and has started waking up at night screaming his little head off.  As soon as I go in the room, he calms down.  This is not fun at 1:00 am.  We've been working on it, though, and while he's still waking up screaming, it's taking less and less time for him to fall back to sleep.  

Other than that, things couldn't be greater!  We are loving every minute of being parents.  Except poopy diapers.  We could do without those!  :)

Picture time!

Aidan and Dada playing with cars.

Aidan's first time coloring - consisted mostly of him trying to eat the crayons.

Aidan's first haircut.  I had to trim a little off the back.  It was starting to look like a mullet, and that can be considered child abuse.

A toast to the New Year!

Aidan wishes you all a Happy New Year!

Bottoms up!!

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!