What Big Boys Do: the 6-month difference

Well, somehow Labor Day passed and now it's mid-September! I may have been neglecting this journal, but I promise you, I haven't been neglecting you, Aidan!

You are so much fun to play with and feed and hang out with. It's so rewarding to bathe you and get peed on and change poopy diapers. It's also nice when your Mommy does those things too. Except you only seem to pee on me. We need to talk about that.

But anyway, man, so much has been happening! We finally got in your 6 month pictures and they are, of course, adorable and, yes, kind of funny too. You're going to kill us for some of these when you get older; but that's one of the perks of being a parent. But they were also really eye-opening to see photographic evidence of what a cute little kid you've grown into. You're not a newborn anymore!

7 days on white:

6 months on white:

7 days (in a basket):

6 months (not in a basket):

A few-week-old feet:

6-month-old Feet (both in Daddy's hands, for your reference):

1-ish-month old Family shot:6-month-old family shot:

I even got in on the photo-taking action too:

8-weeks old in the blue chair:

6-months old in the blue chair:

So, it's now been proven that you're now a big boy. Or at least a bigger boy than you were when you first arrived on the scene.

And what do big boys do?

Well, big boys eat in their high chairs! (Which just so happened to be the same high chairs that their daddy's ate in as boys).

Yeah, you don't look too thrilled to be in the chair. But your attitude toward the chair actually got worse. And so we stopped using it altogether until we figured out that you were probably uncomfortable, so we stuffed the Bumbo chair in that sucker and now you LOVE the high chair! Well, you love eating, anyway! Most days - especially now that you're eating big boy food for breakfast and dinner- you scarf down your food. Except when it's liquified "country dinner." You hated country dinner. Every bite looked like this:But, hey, that's what big boys do: They express their opinions! And, boy are you expressing yourself. You definitely have opinions about things like...

Rice Cereal made with water is 'meh.'

But rice cereal made with breast milk is AWESOME! (that's what you say, we don't eat it).

So, it's a game of hit-or-miss trying to feed you, with all these preferences, but, you're definitely not starving.

Big Boys are crafty too. They figure out quite quickly how the suction-cup toy sticks to the high-chair tray.They also figure out quite quickly that delicious food dropped on the high-chair tray is still delicious if they "finger paint" around in it for a while and then suck on their fingers (mmm carrot tomatoe puree never tasted so 'earned!')

Big boys also get their chompers brushed (and boy do you LOVE eating that flouride-free toothpaste.) ("it says 'nontoxic'...that's a plus!)

Big boys also know how to look cool:They know how to BE cool:

And even how to be cool while sleeping!

See? Big boys even DREAM of crawling...and they practice during the day too:

But, they also know how to just relax with their friends...and kick their feet up and enjoy the ride

Funny Cousins, Hesitant Dogs and New Tricks, oh my!

As we approach your 5 month-iversary far too quickly, each week brings new fun, new friends and new feats!

First off...every week just before SHARK WEEK, it's COUSIN WEEK here in Dallas. This used to be called Nephew/Niece week, but since you're here and they're YOUR cousins, it's now called COUSIN WEEK.

Every summer more and more of your Uncle Dana's and Aunt Mendi's children come up to Dallas to spend time with Mimi and Pops, go to art Camp and hang out with their Uncle Aaron and Aunt Holly. This year, they got to hang out with their Aunt and Uncle...AND their cousin!

So, in reverse order, you got to chill with Holden:
Cuddle with Grayson...

Goof with Griffin...and play with Haley!

You really were fascinated by this small contingent of your first cousins. They all really love you and delighted in making you smile and laugh! Cousin Week will only get better and better!

But, of course, no matter how much you love your cousins, they simply can't compare to your four-legged friends. This week you finally got up the courage and motor skills to go after your dogs. You love these critters a lot and just stare at them, mouth agape, smile plastered on. When the dogs are playing, you are watching. When the dogs are near, you're interested. When the dogs want to lick your face, you open your mouth up wide for a kiss. We really need to work on the last one.

But, we caught a really sweet moment on camera as you got to pet Toby for the first time (by your own volition). It was really sweet for you. Probably not so sweet for Toby.


You pet him...

You grab him...You see him...
You WANT him! (He's smartly skeptical)
Toby did really well with this encounter. They really do seem to like you...but they really shouldn't pass judgment until you start crawling.

This week was also filled with some awesome new sleep habits.

First, check out these moments that your Grandma caught. This is a new sleep technique that you've mastered called the "chillax":


The "chillax" is often performed while napping in the swing:
And, of course, everybody's favorite which you just started this week was the "Ostrich":




There was also a great sleep move I witnessed called the "teeterer"... in which you are sleeping on your side...and then lose your balance a little and almost roll to your back, but you flail your arms and legs to catch you back on your side. Then you fall asleep again on your side and lose your balance a little and almost roll to your back...rinse and repeat.

You also had some waking feats as well! Namely, you found your feet.

I was so lucky to be there for it! This was, by all accounts, your third feet finding mission. The other two occurred during diaper time, and really complicated things. This was photographable and less complicated. But still quite an accomplishment!

Check it out!

No feet:

Oh hey, those are my feet!
These are MY things on the bottom of my legs? They're pretty bendy...
I will try to rip them open and see if there's milk inside.

Nope...no luck. I give up. These suck.Oh hey...what are these things at the bottom of my legs? I like them! I will grab them!

I will wiggle them all over the place! a LOT! I WILL CATCH YOU!

We counted...all ten toes were accounted for after this incident.

You also had some great moments with Grandma, who got to babysit with you a bunch this week. (And one day, I'm going to get her to write a blog entry too! I know she can do it!)

She caught you really really REALLY smiling:
And fighting a T-rex (which shows some serious dexterity!)

Speaking of dexterity though, you really surprised me with a major leap forward in your hand eye coordination. You've been grabbing things you want for a while now, and manipulating them too. You even started doing this "I see it...I grab it" thing that's really cool. Except at dinner. On Sunday we had dinner with all your cousins and Mimi and Pops at a Japanese restaurant. I was eating and had you in my lap.

In a split second you had reached forward, grabbed my Bento Box and were pulling it toward you. Luckily, your Mom reached out with lightning reflexes and saved both you and me from getting majorly teriyaki'd!

So, Cousin Week was an astounding success! Next week will be even more of a challenge! We're going to the Beach...to stay in a house...with ALL of your cousins! Including two you haven't met yet! (And your Aunt Deborah and Uncle Keith!)

So get ready for some more adventures, some more cousins and more developmental milestones! (just as long as they don't involve you and me covered in teriyaki sauce!)

Month 4 week! Daddy and Aidan's day of fun!

Through some clever finagling, I managed to swap my telecommuting day from Thursday to Friday, since today (Friday) was a half-work day (due to Independence Day weekend), I could work from home til noon, and be free to be with you 100% just in time for your Mommy to go to work!

And the day started off with a bang. I was upstairs working when I hear your Mom whisper-yell (a skill all parents need to learn s they can yell at their spouse and get their attention without waking the baby)...she told me to peak into the nursery...and this is what I saw:

Your Mom saw it too...that shouldn't be visible above the crib rail, should it?

No way!
You're on your tummy!

This was my first morning to see the evidence of you doing what you've secretly been doing all week in bed! You were sleeping on your tummy (and blending in quite well to the crib sheets too...we've got to stop dressing you in baby camouflage)!

Video of the son rise.

I was amazed with you, but then again I'm pretty amazed that I was amazed, because we've been super amazed with how grown up you're becoming all week!

Last night as I was reading you your bedtime stories, you reached out and were grabbing the book! Holding on to it...

The other day we were bathing you and you grabbed on to the bath toy and just held on to it!
Even you look amazed at that!


And Daddy and Aidan day proved to be no less amazing! Today as we were playing tummy time the second I put you down on your back, you rolled immediately over to your tummy and stayed there for a long time, just looking around, scooting in a circle and watching your dogs play (or laughed at them for looking so forlorn).


Becoming a dad makes people overly sentimental...and we can't help it. This morning, I just lay down next to you on your multi-colored play mat and was talking to you, playing with you and having a really good staring contest with you. You smiled and laughed and looked confused and farted. You went through just about all your awesome faces. And then iTunes played a mean trick on me (about as mean as playing a "cotton: the fabric of our lives" commercial in front of a menopausal woman.) ITunes played the song that Ben Folds wrote for his son, which goes like this:



And while the song was playing you just stared at me...looked deep into my eyes. And I sang to you. And by the time I was singing the second round of "Everybody knows, it hurts to grow up. And everybody does. So weird to be back here. And let me tell you what, the years go on and we're still fighting it..." ...and then the part where he says "you'll try and try, and then one day you'll fly away from here." I started seeing you growing up before my eyes...growing a head of hair, falling asleep at a carnival and me fireman carrying you home, you leaving for college (Go TUFTS (if we can afford it), and I started tearing up. Twice in one week this happened to me. Stupid Toy Story 3 made me do the same thing when Andy was leaving for college, and now here I was welling up. But, college is not for 17 years and 6 months, so let's make the most of every minute we have together.

So, it turns out your old man is kind of a softy. Don't tell anyone. Okay, fine, tell whoever you want! I ain't ashamed!

I dried my single tear, you farted again and drooled all over the place and we decided to go downstairs so I could feed you. You got pissed at me and screamed at the top of your lungs. Thank to an insider tip, I figured out that you were telling me you needed to be burped, so we walked around and I patted and rubbed your back for about 20 minutes until--- burp! -- a teeny tiny burp. Was that it? Perhaps! So I took you downstairs, and you downed your entire bottle in one go! Amazing!

While you sat in your new green chair (thanks Uncle Taff and Aunt April!), you were playing with "Green Man" (also known as the notorious Crinkle Frog!), and you were holding on to him by his handle. Yes, actually holding on tight! I picked you up and you picked Green Man up! You held on to him for a good long time.

Then you napped like a pro...from 2:30 til 5:00!

During dinner, you were having a conversation with your Mommy and me...we would ask you questions and you'd reply (of course it was all gobbles and garbles and jibber jabber baby flabber fun stuff). Your Mom said, "I have a feeling you're gonna be a talker, just like your Daddy!"

To which I replied, "That Aidan...he always has to have the last word!"

And then your Mom added, " Like you." Totally disproving her point, since she, in fact, had the last word.

I even tried my hand at bathing you for the first time tonight, in honor of Daddy/Aidan day, even though your Mom was here. Normally I'm towel boy/dinner man, so while your Mom bathes you, I fiddle around with dinner and then when it's time to get out of the tub, I swoop in and catch you with the towel. But tonight, we switched it up. Your Mom and I cooked dinner together, ate (at which we had the aforementioned conversation), and then I got to bathe you! I did a pretty good job, I must say. You were shining like new.

And I was beaming. We put you in pajamas, read you a story, then picked you up to put you in bed and, while your Mom was holding you, the lullaby was interrupted.

You had to amaze us once more before bedtime: you threw up all over your Mommy's arm and your shoulder. I was on clean up duty, and your Mom asked me to check the floor, and I didn't see anything there.

The lullabies continued...and I looked down and noticed two new white spots on Preston's back, where he didn't have any white spots before. Good aim son! Now that's amazing!

To finish off this amazing day, your Mom and I sang you "The Rainbow Connection," and then a riveting Beatles medley consisting of "Golden Slumbers," what we could remember of "Carry that Weight" and "The End."

...and in the end
the love you take
is equal to the love
you make.

Wise words. Today I felt the love; and even though I feel the love every day since day one when I first saw you and you held my hand, this was extra special because it was Daddy and Aidan's day all by ourselves (unless you count the dogs...which, apparently, you did...because you puked right on one of them).

And thus wraps up the week marking your 4th month on the planet! Happy monthi-versary week, Aidan!

I can't believe how much you've grown in just one month.

Here you are at 3 months:

And here you are at 4 months old (on the dot!)

Let's see that again. 3 months: 4 months!
I know as the weeks go on, you will only get more amazing! I love you, son.