TEN Months!

Aiden turned ten months almost a week ago - Saturday, June 6th. It has been just a little busy around here, and I've had about zero time to get on the computer, so I am just now getting around to posting this.

Weighing in...
20lbs and change (just weighing on our scales at home, so the ounces part is missing)
29 inches

Cutie patootie
He is already looking more like a little boy than a baby it seems...

Favorite things:

• Getting into everything he's not supposed to. Is there some innate knowledge about what is off limits that suddenly kicks in as soon as babies learn how to crawl or something? As soon as the child learned to move around (and move rather quickly!), his toys became of little interest. And he seems to know he is getting into stuff he's not supposed to. He'll be crawling toward the kitchen, for example, and I'll say "Aiden...." - he'll turn to look at me, give this mischievous grin, and then continue on his way, almost as if he's laughing about the fact that, yes, he knows he isn't supposed to be going in there. Meanwhile all the toys from his basket in the living room are strewn about but completely ignored. And when I pick him up to move him, he grins. And once placed back down, far away from the trouble and next to toys...he goes right back to where he was just removed. I keep saying he is very persistent - and he IS (as opposed to stubborn - might as well put a positive spin on it!).
  
• Feeding himself. The boy loves to eat! Finger foods are at every meal now, and he is loving it! So far, he still lets us feed him from the spoon, too. Pretty much anything that is food is allowed in his mouth, regardless of the way in which it gets there.
• Water. Put his water bottle in front of him at any time, and he will drink, drink, drink.
• Kissing. Say "awwwww..." and you'll probably get a big, wet, open mouth coming your way. He pretty much attacks Camden with kisses. And if he gets close enough, he'll attack other babies, too. He seems to know that it's the thing to try when we're telling him "no" about something. Can he already be that manipulative?? It is hard to resist him being so sweet.
• Showers. He gets pretty excited when we get ready to go in the shower in the mornings. He plays near the front while I shower, and he knows exactly how to plug up the tub and let the water fill up. I'll turn the stopper to let the water back out, and he will plug it right back up.
• BOOKS! Oh my goodness does the child like his books! He will pull them off the shelf of the entertainment center (on his level, so it's perfect for a little bookshelf for him), one by one. He'll turn it, twist it, look at all sides of it, and then drop it and pick up the next one on the shelf. He'll go through this until he has every single book on the floor. It's hilarious to watch! And he will carry a book around while you're holding him, just clinging to it with both hands, one on each side. How cute is that?! He's even trying to SAY "book"!! He'll say "buh" over and over when you ask him anything about a book. But don't try to take the book away, even to read it. No, he wants to hold it.
• His snack ball. He found it one day and figured out how to open it. I have yet to watch him open it, but he's snuck it a couple times. He'll pick out the puffs and eat a few...then just dump the rest and continue eating away, happy as can be.
• Shoes. Not to wear...but to (attempt to) chew on! Put them on his feet, and he tries to kick and kick, wondering why they won't come off. (It's kind of funny watching him try to kick them off.) But if he finds them out, he can't wait to get some part of them in his mouth (and will get pretty mad if you take them away).
• Daddy coming home from work. He gets really excited when Ryan comes through the door and will crawl to him and beg for him to pick him up. It's rather cute. And I think Ryan likes it just a little bit... ;)
  

Aiden wasn't sold on the idea of sitting still in the chair for pictures...


...until we gave him a book and then it was all good.

Least Favorite things:

• Diaper changes. He's back to not liking being put down for a diaper change. He yells out and then twists his body to get up. Poopy diapers can be especially fun. (That's sarcasm, in case you couldn't read into that...) If he's expecting to be nursed (because he's hungry and we're suddenly in his room), then he gets especially mad!
• Being told "no" when he tries to eat his books. He doesn't like that so much. Sometimes he'll just throw the book. Or he'll look at you and then put it right back in his mouth. I'm telling you - it's like he knows when he's doing something he's not supposed to do - and he is almost enjoying doing it anyway! He's been doing this with the cell phone, too. He was at the point where he would know not to put it in his mouth...but now he'll look at you and then do it anyway! Are we in for some trouble?? I hope not...
• Hats. Well, it's not so much that he doesn't like them...but he's realized he can take them off. So now, instead of leaving it on for a long amount of time, he pulls it right off the second you put it on. On, off. On, off. But if you put another toy in his hand at the same time - he seems to forget about it and leaves it on.
• The Pack & Play! Not a fan. We've only used it as a bassinet so far, and that hasn't been done for quite a while now! But we needed to use it at the new house while painting and doing some work - to play in a tiny bit and also for naps. Oh, he did not like that, not one little bit.
• Not getting food immediately after being put in the high chair or upon seeing anybody with food or in the kitchen. And if you use the magic bullet food processor and then turn it off, you'd better be ready to feed him. He knows that thing is for HIS food, and he expects it right away. The kid loves to eat and doesn't want to wait for it.
• Being put into his car seat when he is really tired. He will scream and cry. And scream some more. He's usually fine going into the seat. No fuss at all. But if he's really tired...it's not fun for anyone. :(
  

His shirt says "Inspi(red)"

He is pretty worried, as you can tell, because we took the book away and he couldn't see it.

New developments this past month:

• CRAWLING. He is EVERYWHERE.
• Eating all sorts of finger foods. He pretty much eats what we're eating at dinner now, with some restrictions and alterations.
• He got his seventh tooth in. He now has all four across the top.
• Aiden is improving with his sleeping! He goes down for naps better and often sleeps for an hour to almost two. If he gets up earlier, I can usually nurse him and get him right back to sleep to finish a longer nap. He's going down for Ryan at night and not needing me to come in. He usually wakes between 10-11pm to nurse, and lately Ryan's been going to him instead - and he's often going back to sleep without nursing or fussing about it.
• He can kind of pull himself up, as shown in the picture (he did this all on his own). He'll be doing it all the time in no time. Right now, he just has no idea that he has to hold on to keep himself up. Those legs are just too wobbly, and he can't seem to figure out that he has to work to keep from falling over. If we don't have arms nearby, he just topples right over, completely clueless... He'll figure it out soon enough.
  

Look what I can do!