ELEVEN Months!

I can no longer deny that Aiden is "almost one year old" now... The next month will be it, so there's no more putting it off with "he's almost ten months" or "he's almost eleven months" and you can't say "he's almost twelve months" because...that's the same as a year. So....he's officially almost a year old. (Turned 11 months on July 6th - hence the 4th shirt...it says "I'm a little Firecracker"!!)

Gotta give him a book to sit still.
There were just a few good pics this time around b/c even with the book, he was a MOVER!

This past month we've seen a lot of development with Aiden's personality, especially him learning to express his likes...and even more so, his dislikes. He started out learning to whine and quickly learned to screech and scream when he didn't like something. But there have been many other things he's picked up on that are even more fun than that, so.....

Favorite Things

• Anything other than his toys. You can set the basket of toys in front of him, and, yeah, he'll take some things out and play for about ten seconds (if you're lucky) and then move right onto every single thing he shouldn't be playing with. It's like as soon as they become mobile, their eyes open up to the rest of the world, and they just HAVE to check it all out.
• My fig tree - or the dirt in the pot. I can turn him away from it over 50 times a day, easily - and he immediately goes right back to it! It's a large pot, so I can't just put it up out of his reach. (Anyone know of good ways to babyproof a plant?? One that you can't just put up on a table/shelf?)
• Screeching. He realized he can make noise just for the fun of it, and he often does. Doesn't bother me. Does it bother folks in the grocery store when he realizes his voice can be REALLY loud there? I don't know. Don't care, either - he's happy and entertained while I get things done. He also likes to grab things from the cart just to drop them over the side. I do care about that.
  
• The camera. It's very hard to get a picture of him looking at me because he immediately charges toward the camera. So we have quite a few pictures of him crawling at the lens. He's still cute, whatever the viewpoint. I think so, at least.
• Pulling up onto anything he can. The kid is everywhere and into everything. He does NOT sit still or understand the concept.
• Mommy's belly button. When he's done nursing - or taking a break to look around (he's quite nosy!), Aiden will sit up and look down at my belly button and poke at it. He even tries to say "belly button" - you can tell a slight difference between when he's trying to say it and his typical "ba ba ba"s. I try to get him to notice his own belly button, too, but he's more interested in mine. He has even tried to blow raspberries on it - very funny!
• Getting up at 6am. Good times. He used to sleep regularly until past 8 (waking up lots, of course, but not up for the day until then - or later), but now he's up by 6. There are pros, though. He is more consistent and predictable with his morning nap now, and it makes me get up and actually accomplish more.
• Shoes - he thinks they're for chewing, not for wearing.

• Door stoppers - you know, the kind that stick out from the wall and have that white soft tip at the end...We've had to remove all the white tips b/c he immediately learned how to get them off within a second - and would put them straight into his mouth. Guess we'll have to get out the superglue.
• Electrical outlets, even with the protective covers... Friends and people that have reviewed different ones online have said, once the covers are on, the babies don't even pay any attention to the outlets... Not so here. Aiden is intent on figuring out how to get those things off!
  
• Doors, drawers, bags - anything that can somehow be opened and might have something in it.
  
• Cheerios - those are like little magic circles that he loves to eat up. Those or his puffs. They are necessary.
• Pointing. He points at everything he wants or likes or sees...
  
• Paper - loves to tear it up. We have paper parties every now and then where we let him have at it with the magazines, ads, papers we are ready to put in the recycling. It's a blast!!
• Teething tablets - I think he's addicted. He sees the bottle; he must have it. He even shakes out of the excitement (seriously, I think he's addicted to these babies!) Once he has the bottle, he does not let go!
• Opening and closing doors (not all the way - just sitting there and opening and almost closing it. Over and over.)
• The vacuum. He CHASES after it when we use it. Cute - but I wish he was a little more hesitant because I have to really try not to get his fingers!
• The fans, now that we have some. One time, I put my arm up and moved my hand in small circles and said, "Round and round and round it goes..." - He immediately did the same, and now whenever he sees the fan, he sticks his hand way up high and makes the circles. Babies are so smart!!
• Kissing noises. He'll purse his lips and smack them like he's kissing. He will do this on his own and sometimes right before he kisses you. WHEN he kisses you, he doesn't do it, though. You might get a closed- or open-mouthed kiss. You never know. He'll also do a "mmmm" sound when he kisses (because we always go "mmmmmwah!").
  

Kissy face

Least Favorite Things

• Being changed. I don't know if it's that he really dislikes the changing (diapers or clothes) as much as he dislikes being expected to lie there patiently while you do it. I let him sit for as much as I possibly can, so he's only lying down for a moment to actually do the diaper part, but man he is wiggly! And try to change him when he's expecting to nurse - oh no, he will not have that. And he is much worse with Ryan - either that, or I am better at handling it. ;)
  
• Hearing the word or seeing the sign for "milk" and then not getting it right away. You have to be careful what you say around him.
• Having something taken away from him. He gets a tad angry. And lets you know it.
• Going to sleep with blankets over his feet. He will kick and kick until the blankets are off of him - especially if he's on his back or side. If he's falling asleep on his tummy, he might tolerate it. And if he's almost asleep and you try to sneak the covers on - he might be fine or he might wake up because it annoys him. It can be very frustrating when he's in our bed and I'm trying to sleep, too - not only because I want the blankets on me but also because I know he'll get cold after he's asleep, so I want the blankets on him.
• The ocean...he was not a big fan. I told Ryan we need to go back before the summer is over to get him used to it. ;)
• His activity bouncer. Sometimes when I'm making dinner, I can put him in that if I give him some puffs/cheerios on the tray. I'm trying not to do it often b/c I don't want to create that habit... But he's not too fond of being in it these days. Can you blame him??
• Standing. He does not want you to try to get him to stand and just hold your hands - or to try to get him to hold your hands and walk. He CAN do it. Just doesn't want to. At all.
  

New developments this past month

• PULLING UP - he figured this out right at the beginning of June. I knew he was on the verge.
• Signing!! It's like something clicked! He already could sign "milk" - but now he's doing "all done/gone," "more," and sometimes I think he's trying to sign "drink" (but that's uncertain). It is adorable when he signs "all done" b/c...well, he's just cute! (Picture putting up your hands close to your shoulder, palms up - he does it really quickly and shakes his hands a bit.) "More" looks like he's clapping almost, but Mama can tell the difference. His claps are more like a smack while his "more" sign is more like he's kind of grabbing his hands together for a second pulling them apart, and then doing it repeatedly - and he does it when he wants more to eat, so... (The sign for more is bunching your fingertips together and then bringing each set together, back and forth - does that make sense??) He hasn't signed "eat" yet, either, but he understands it. ("Eat" is bunching your fingertips on one hand together and bringing the tips to your lips.)

Aiden signing "all done"

• He is taking longer naps. I think being in the house and napping farther away from the noise helps. He regularly naps for more than an hour, almost two. He typically sleeps for three hours before waking after going down from the night.
• Eighth tooth is in. And two more are on the verge of cutting through (they have been a big pain lately). So, Aiden has all four on the top and all four on the bottom now.
• When he comes to our bed at night, usually around 11 or so, I nurse him and when he's done - he rolls over towards his Daddy and goes to sleep. It is so cute! Sometimes he has a hard time falling asleep, but often he just rolls right over onto his side and then his belly and goes to sleep, sometimes with his hand reaching out to Ryan's back.
• He's a little mischievous and sneaky. ALREADY. If you give him more than a few bites of food on his tray at a time, he'll take them and drop him over the side of his chair. But what's sneaky about it....he looks at you to see if you're watching while he reaches over the side...he keeps watching and if he's getting a reaction or you're looking, he'll drop it. If you're not looking, he will often put it back on the tray or eat it. See...sneaky! He's started doing this with putting the food into the seat next to his leg, too. And he does it when we're outside next to grass - he'll watch you while reaching over to pull up grass to try to eat! He knows he's not supposed to, and he doesn't even look at what he's doing - but keeps his eye on you the entire time. I'm wondering how much we're in for in a few more years.... (Are you laughing at me yet, Mom? Saying...payback's a..... Hmmmm?) And boy is he persistent. You can move him away from something ten times in a row and get him distracted with something each time - and he pushes to go right back!
• When he has something he shouldn't and we come over to him, he looks up at us and holds out whatever it is - and lets go when we take it! It's like he knows he's caught and is surrendering.
  
• He thinks "no" is a funny word. We really try to not say it often, but even if we say it in our meanest voice possible - he just looks at us and might even actually laugh. Then he'll proceed to do whatever it is he was doing to begin with. We might be in trouble.
• He was throwing his cup/water bottle whenever he was in his high chair and done drinking for the moment (like he didn't realize he could just set it down). We've been working on that, and while he still doesn't think he can just set it down on the tray, he will hand it over to me so I can put it on the table. (If I'm not there to take it, he will drop it over the side.) It's an improvement!
• He will try to feed us bites of his food sometimes. He actually let go of some cheerios while trying to feed us the other day.
  
• When he hands something over as if to share it, he'll actually let go sometimes and let you have it - but he expects it to be given right back. Hopefully we're on the road to learning to share.
• Just something I find kind of funny - When we're out, he watches people like a hawk. When they try to talk to him, like you do with babies, he will just stare at them. They'll try to get him to smile or laugh or...ANYthing. He'll just stare. I almost can't help but laugh. You can NOT MAKE this child smile. He doesn't fuss at them or get upset. He just looks at them with a straight face!! Cracks me up. That's just AIDEN for you.
• He FINALLY decided he would drink from a SIPPY cup or a sippy with a straw. It's funny that he hasn't wanted to do the sippy thing but wanted a water bottle like the rest of us. It is helpful that he will use a sippy, though, in case he is going to drink anything other than water b/c only water goes in the water bottles.
  
• Camden has been in KY for two weeks. When Aiden sees his picture, he points and points at it. There is a picture of the two of them over the changing table. If I ask where Camden is, he points to it and gets excited!
  

Mama can get him to smile!

Weighing in...no change since last month (20lbs, 29 inches). But that's kind of to be expected, especially now that he's moving around so much!

Long post!!! (Ryan says, "As opposed to your usual short ones?" Ha. Yes, it's longer than usual, even.) I could go on. This has been a big month for Aiden!!