Bird Feeder

As part of our celebration of Mimi's #@*#th birthday, we went down to White Rock Lake to visit and feed the ducks, geese and other various fowl.

I showed you a couple of times how to do it: You take the rolled up piece of old bread and throw it to the birds. Then they eat it.

Clearly, I am a horrible teacher.

I gave you a rolled up piece of bread. You held it, looked at the birds and promptly placed the bread ball in your mouth, chewed and swallowed.

So, after a chuckle, I gave you another piece of bread, and you ate that one too!

After all that time we spend telling you not to throw your food down to the floor for the dogs to eat, we thought you'd be a natural at throwing someone else's food on the ground for a bird to eat.

And then you proved us right! I whipped out the camera to get a video of the hilarity that was you eating the birds' bread and...



You fed them!!!

This is really a perfect example of great parenting: work for hours on getting you to break a bad habit at home, be surprised when you do what we've been preaching elsewhere and then continue until you re-embrace that behavior we were trying to get you to correct...

Ah, who cares...100% consistent parenting is for the birds, anyway!

As a side note...you have gotten way better about not launching your food on the floor for the dogs. Maybe this whole unintentional reverse psychology thingy isn't more than quackery!

Peak-a-Dog

You created a new game all by yourself.

You were playing in the living room. You spotted Toby sleeping on the couch. You sneakily cralwed up to the couch and POPPED up to surprise the sleeping doggy.

He licked you.

You laugh.

Repeat!



(again and again and again)!



Except now he knows you're coming for him!

It's so incredible to watch you make these connections on your own. No one taught you that it's funny to sneak up on a sleeping somebody, but yet you still knew how hilarious it could be!

I guess it's all part of growing up!

Just know, though, that I'm going to be sleeping with one eye open! It's only funny to wake a sleeping pupster, not a sleeping Daddy!

ROAD TRIP!

You probably won't remember it, but we just took a major road trip down to McAllen Texas for our friends' wedding. We not only got to see the bride and groom, Selina and Andres, but a couple of other old freinds from college...and you made some new friends too. So: we drove for 5 hours. You slept for some, ate for some and watched some Baby Einstein on a jerry rigged ipad. Our first stop for the night was San Antonio, Texas where we met up with Maya and Peyman and their sweet daughter, Sara, who's about a year older than you. She liked you a lot and called you "boy" (I was "boy daddy" and your Mom was "boy mommy," of course). We had dinner with them on the Riverwalk in San Antonio, and then a nice walk along the river. The next morning before heading on our way, we HAD to show you the Alamo! Again, probably won't be rembmerin' the old Alamo...but we had a nice brief visit at the landmark.

Then we jumped in the car and drove for another 5 hours or so. But, part of the fun of road trips is the journey, not the destination. You seemed to have fun letting the wind run through your hair on the highway! You even clapped some more!

Then we arrived in McAllen and the real fun began. You hung out with Sara some more, got to go swimming in a real pool (and actually enjoyed it), you got to get all dressed up...and then dressed down. You got to play with a super cool big boy, Andres' nephew, Gael, who said your name was "poo poo", which made you laugh really hard! You got to dance with Mommy and Daddy and Sara and her Mommy, Maya, and Daddy, Peyman. You and Mommy observed a butterfly! You got to pose for pictures with the Groom and Best Man and, all in all, have a great time!

















It was sad to leave our old and new friends after such a fun time, but we had to hit the road back to Dallas.

But first, we stopped in Austin for the night and got to celebrate your Cousin Kaelyn's second birthday with her. She was happy to see you, as were her parents, and she spent a good part of the night popping out of a tent to tickle/tackle you!




You seemed to have a great time too!



And then the next morning, we hit the road one last time, and landed in Dallas in enough time for you to have another great day of crawling around and playing.

The road trip was fantastic, and you saw lots of new things and good friends and family. But, as they say, it was good to be on solid ground again.

So, like I said, you might not remember your trip to the Alamo and waaaaaaay beyond, but your Mom and I will.

p.s. no one in the family has been in a car for more than 45 minutes at a time since then. That's the sign of a good road trip.

I'll Huff and I'll Puff and I'll Clap and I'll Knock your Dog Down: noises, words and dog piles

You have been full of surprises recently!

You're saying more words without prompting...like you saw the fish at Mommy's work and you said "Ishhhhhhhhh" without us prompting you.

Just the other day you saw a picture of a duck and we swear you said "Uck!" (which could mean somethinge else, I suppose).

And there are distinct possibilities you've said "nana" to mean "banana" and "keyyyyy" to mean "kitty" and "ghee" to mean "doggy".

You also say "Mama" all the time...still. As of today, there have been two amazing utterances of "Dada." I'm glad I'm below duck, fish, banana and kitty. Those all have more personality than me anyway.

But, actually, I'm not worried about it anyway. I know you love me! Take, as proof, another one of your surprises. A few weeks ago we were playing on the floor in your room. You were playing with your little sports set...after making a few baskets with the little basketball, you decided to chew on the ball as usual. This is where things got surprising. Daddy was tired so he yawned and when his mouth was wide open- surprise! - he got a little orange basketball stuck in his mouth!

Then, a few moments later, while Daddy was still laughing about the surprise basketball, you hit me over the head a few times (gently of course) with your little orange baseball bat (plastic...thank goodness!)

See! Full of surprises! But, even though I've come to expect surprising things from you, I'm still surprised when the surprises come! Imagine my surprise when we sat down to eat a few weeks ago and you started Huffing and Puffing!



And then, imagine our surprise again when, out of the blue and after only one previous singular clap a few months ago, you decided you were ready to start clapping!



Incredible!

But, despite the constant surprises, we've know some things that you'll do for certain: like you still LOVE your puppies. And now that you're big enough, you can play with them...and they play back!



We just have to make sure that you aren't playing with the basketball or baseball bat while you're playing with your "ghees"...then they might receive an unwelcome surprise!

But, you can definitely keep surprising your Mommy and Me! We love your surprises...even when they leave orange plastic in our mouths.

Aidan Smash

More updates? Okay!

You've discovered a new favorite game recently. It's called the "tower topple." You LOVE to knock down the towers your mom and I build!





And as you can see, you will leave no block untoppled!




No matter what you're doing, when you see a tower, you light up...and get a little destructive!

Catching Up!

Well...so what's been going on with you since your birthday? Don't feel like reading about it? That's fine! How about some videos to fill in the gaps? You really were interested in the gifts people got you for your birthday. Some of them had to be played with before they were officially opened!






And then at the hotel with your Cousins Ruthy and Steve, you got to see your first swans up close and personal. You were so impressed with these birds that later that day we took you to White Rock Lake to show you the ducks, pelicans and cranes! You really are turning out to be quite enthralled by animals!

You're Number One!

You're one!Actually, you've been one for over three weeks, but we've been having so much fun playing with your one-year-old self that I've hardly had time to sit down and write in your blog. And what fun it's been! About a month ago you hit the big o-n-e! We spent the day quietly with just your Mother, Me and you! It was a lovely day with lots of playing inside,

outside, fun pictures to be taken and good cuddles...

and eat a delicious avocado all over mommy and daddy.

We sang to you and bought you a balloon and just - all in all- had a wonderful day.

A week later we revisited the birthday theme with a lot of family and friends. That's right...it was your first birthday party!

A bunch of great folks came out to help you celebrate your 365th day on earth!

Everyone had so much fun!

Except for you. For just a little bit of it.

That's right: you had a major meltdown, and so I took you outside, where you and I watched the festivities from the window.

But your doldrums got a little better when we sang to you and gave you your first "cake!"

But, alas, you didn't really like the cake too much. But you did like plain old bananas a lot!

And, then you started to have fun again! Playing with and hugging/climbing on your loved ones!

Despite the minor meltdown, I'd say you had a great time at your first birthday party. you got to be with a lot of very cool people who love you very much. It'd be easy to say that the end of your first year gives a sense of closure... I mean, you're not a baby anymore, you're a toddler. You're not "Zero" any more-- You're "One." You're growing up so fast...too fast...right before our eyes!

But, this isn't an ending, it's a new beginning, and this year -and all the years to follow- will be full of new adventures, new fun, new milestones and new experiences for Mommy, Daddy and Aidan as we continue to learn and grow as a family (and Toby and Preston too).

We love you, birthday boy. And although we'll never forget our time with you as a baby, we are so thrilled to be with you everyday as you grow into a little boy.

I guess technically, I shouldn't call this journal "To Baby Weinstein, From your Dad" anymore--you're no longer a baby. But, you know what, I understand know when my Mom (your Mimi) would tell me that no matter how old or tall I got, I would always be her baby.

I feel the same way, Aidan: you will always be our baby, whether you're 1, 10 or 100. Happy Birthday, Baby-- we love you!