This is kind of a long one. Been a busy month for the little guy!
Weight 23lbs
Height 31 inches
Favorites
- Hats. Aiden suddenly loves hats and asks for us to put them on him all the time. He also likes to put on his baby sunglasses, which he never liked before (even hated!).
- Puzzles. He's getting quite good, too. He has three wooden puzzles, and I think it's time to get some more. The funny thing is, he's better at the ones that are slightly more difficult... His favorite right now is one that has emergency vehicles...police car and motorcycle, fire truck, ambulance, etc...even a tow truck. When he picks a piece up to put it on the puzzle, I tell him what it is and what they do (the firetruck comes when there is a fire and the firemen help to put it out and make sure everyone is safe...that sort of thing). He even tries to say "tow truck" when he gets that piece.
- Dancing. We really need to get record this so you all can see, but Aiden has the funniest dance moves. He will play certain toys that have music and then dance to the music. When dancing to certain songs/music, he will slowly "walk" but will spread his legs as far to the sides as he can and will put his hands on his thighs as he goes. Hard to explain, and it is absolutely hilarious. We have NO idea where he got this from, but it's the way he moves! Other times he nods his head (slowly and as far down and up as he possibly can) to the music. It all depends on the type of music that is playing.
- "Again." He signs it instead of saying it, but it is his favorite word these days! After I sing a song, after we read him a book, after just about anything (but those two things in particular), he immediately signs "again."
- Singing. He loves for me to sing to him. He'll sign for me to sing whenever I'm changing his diaper or nursing him. And usually before I'm through with the song, he'll sign "again." It's like he knows the song is almost over and wants to be sure I know he wants more!
- Reading. He's always loved reading. But this child thinks every hour is story hour. Seriously. He constantly asks for us to read to him. (And of course we happily oblige! Well, usually. Sometimes it's a bit harder when I'm trying to fix dinner and he's working on the fifth or sixth story...)
- Kissing. I know, this has been mentioned the last couple months. BUT not only does he love to kiss us all the time now, he also likes to kiss his animals...AND to make them kiss each other! He'll take his two little kitty toys and put their mouths together and make the kissing sounds. A.DOR.A.BLE. Seriously. (There's a picture in February's photo album of him doing this. You have to see it!)
Oh...wait...here's a picture...
- Rubbing noses. I know I mentioned this last month, as well. But it's so cute, and he starts it himself! He'll lean forward and turn his head side to side so we're rubbing noses, and he'll say "neh, neh, neh, neh." I'm not sure where the sound came from, but this is the only time he does it. This kid really is too cute.
- Pillows. The kid loves pillows. If he joins us in bed, he has to get on Mommy's pillow, too. We finally found Camden's old toddler pillow, and he really likes sleeping with that. And he just loves getting all the couch pillows together and playing with them, especially....
- Pretending! His favorite thing to pretend is sleeping. He'll lie his head on a pillow and pretend to be sleeping. He'll close his eyes, put his finger to his lips and say "shhhh" and act like he's asleep! Too cute.
- His little tricycle toy. He likes to be pushed around on it, and he can finally move himself around on it, as well. It's now a toy that he can only play on when a parent is next to him, though...because he also figured out how to STAND on the seat (and even let go of the handlebars once while standing!!).
- Favorite foods... Tuna. Can you believe it!? But it is. I add just a tiny bit of veganaise, and he will eat as much of that stuff as we will let him! Bananas is another favorite, of course. He asks for them all the time. Blueberries. Tomatoes. Taco soup. If he's eating something he might not love, he'll ask for fruit by doing the sign for fruit - or cheese, any kind. Oh, and cinnamon! If he's not crazy about something but sees you put cinnamon on it...oh boy does he suddenly love it! Same thing goes for cheese; put some Parmesan cheese on something and it's suddenly ten times better. He also likes a lot of soups that I might not have expected...just about any vegetable soup, lentil vegetable soup even, tomato soup (and we just discovered tomato bisque...yum!). He really likes soups! I'm looking for great veggie soup recipes if anyone has any to share. I'm wanting to stock up and freeze a bunch to have on hand, and I'm looking for a variety of soups so we don't get bored with them easily.
- Kisses for his hurts. He seems to most often bump his head, and there for a while it also seemed that no matter what he hurt, he would point to his head and expect me to kiss there. But now he'll also show me his hands if he falls on them. He'll come to me and either point to where he hurts, lean his head toward me if that's what he hurt or put out his hand, palm up and give me this pouty little sound, indicating he got hurt. Then I kiss it, tell him he's all better now, and he seems to agree (usually).
- He's got a new favorite naptime/bedtime book, too. Brown Paper Teddy Bear. We ALWAYS read Guess How Much I Love You, but he discovered this book and asks for it over the other now! So....the bunny book is getting some shelf time lately.
Least Favorites
- Thinking Mommy is leaving (or Mommy actually leaving). We thought maybe we were lucky and missed out on this....but separation anxiety and stranger anxiety have moved in! Just a few weeks ago, this became noticeable. Even when around people he sees every now and then, Aiden has become clingy with me and shy with others. When we got his hair cut recently, he wasn't even happy with me being right next to him. When someone new is around and I am holding him, he hides his face in my shoulder. (And I have to admit, sometimes it's just too cute and quite endearing.) Now that he's older, too, he stays in the kiddie room when I go to my Mommy Bible Study meetings. He's stayed in there twice, and both times he was rather cuddly with the person watching him. He didn't cry, but he was pouty and wanted to be held. Pull at my heartstrings, why don't ya...
- Going down the stairs on his own. I think he's just very aware that he could fall. He might go down one stair, if that, and then will turn to us and reach out to be picked up.
- Snow. He's not a fan.
- Drinking from a cup by himself. A real cup, I mean, not a sippy cup. He was doing fine with it last month, but he realizes he can spill it if not careful. So, instead of worrying about spilling (which he REALLY does not like doing!), he would rather us hold the cup. Actually, he refuses to hold it himself! We'll even help him by holding it over his hands. Sometimes he'll do this, but he usually puts up a fight.
- Making/seeing others cry. A couple times this child has banged into my mouth with his head hard enough to make me cry (I mean...I had a bruise from one for a few days, so I think that indicates how hard it was), and he's done the same to Camden, as well. Once he sees us crying, he gets really upset, like he is scared.
- Being held in certain ways (for example, if you hold him out in the air like he's flying) or being set on the edge of something (like on the counter with you in front of him, maybe to wash hands or something like that)...he's very aware he could fall and doesn't like it. He gets nervous and tries to cling to whoever is holding him or next to him.
- Getting things from under (or close to being under) the table. He's bumped his head enough to have learned... If a toy is on the floor and within a few inches from being under the table, he won't get it himself. He'll stand a foot or more away and will act like he's reaching with all his might to get it, looking at you in a helpless way...b/c what he really wants is for you to get it for him.
New Developments:
- Talking. Aiden is definitely saying more words. He also talks a LOT in his own jibberish. It's funny to hear. He certainly has a lot to say sometimes, that's for sure; he's just the only one that understands what he's saying! We actually got this on tape recently, but we have a hard time getting things from the camcorder to the internet to share. Not that we don't know how...I think we need a different camcorder. Some compatibility issue that we're not sure how to fix. (Anyone well versed with these things is more than welcome to come and help out! We actually have a really nice camcorder...not sure why this should be so difficult!) I really like how he has his own ways of saying things sometimes. For example, ball is always said twice (ball ball). And when he says Hi, he waves his hand back and forth, but when he says Bye, he opens and closes his hand to wave.
- Separation anxiety/stranger anxiety. Mentioned above. He also won't talk when around some people, even if they're not "new." BUT he will tell them "bye bye" when he thinks it's time for them or us to leave! Funny how he can be so forward about that.
- Cleaning up. I mentioned this last month, but this time I mean with food. Aiden doesn't throw food often, but if he doesn't want something or is done with it...first he'll try to hand it over to us. If we don't have a hand ready to take it immediately, he tosses it. So...when that happens and the meal is over, he has to help clean it up and throw it in the garbage. We've noticed lately that even if he just drops something, when we take him out of his high chair and set him on the ground, he'll go on and pick it up and throw it away! Without us asking! We don't make him clean up those messes...that's just part of him being a toddler, so we take care of it ourselves. We just expect him to help when he does it on purpose. But it is extra adorable when he just notices the food on his own and goes to clean up himself!
- Turning his toys on. He has figured out where the on/off switches are, which is fine by us. But he's also figured out how to turn on things such as the dishwasher...not as fine by us. And he tends to turn the tv on and off when he sees fit (but will also undo whichever when you ask him).
- Walking backwards. He just started doing it one day, out of nowhere. Walked across the room backwards...until he walked into some toys. He'll need to learn to turn his head and see if there are things in the way...
- Asking for help without whining!! I think he's figured out he doesn't always have to fuss when he can't get something just right. He'll often just immediately do the sign for help instead of fussing or whining. Boy does that make things easier on everyone! On the occasion that he does start to whine, if we ask if he needs help, he stops whining and signs "help"...and that's that. Cuts down on a lot of frustration for all of us! (We love signing!!!)
- Flossing. Yes, Aiden flosses now. Well...WE floss his teeth, but he is very agreeable about it. The dentist keeps saying we don't need to floss but to start flossing when teeth touch. Well, he has teeth that touch! One day I noticed some apple peel stuck in between two teeth. If that can happen, it's time to start flossing. Better to start sooner than later anyway, we think.
Showing you his Valentine's shirt.
I was going to try to get some better pictures, but I never got back around to it. After taking THESE pictures, Aiden got sick. And then I did.... And then it was a week and a half late. Blah, blah. These pictures will do after all. Haha.
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