hello gbye elmo

The holiday seemed to fly by too quickly! We had such a nice time with family. Aiden was so smiley and excited to see his Nana and Grandpa again yesterday. He was even able to wear his new Elmo sweatshirt as a coat it was so mild today. We went to Build-A-Bear and Grandpa, Nana, and Aiden picked out Ethan the Elephant. His new elephant has a nerdy cool little shirt on that squished right over his elephant pudge. Nana and Grandpa, Aiden says thanks for everything while you were here! We can't wait to see you again!


Aiden's new elephant friend will be a good stand-in as our clicking Elmo Live is being replaced because it had a defective lock jaw issue ;) Yeah, he was clicking everytime he talked and that thing sure does talk a LOT! I called the consumer care line and they just had to listen for a second and they arranged to have us send him back for a new one. It will be like getting another present a couple weeks from now, but I am way too sentimental to not flinch a little bit at seeing our first xmas eve present get smashed into a box and sent to the Elmo graveyard at Fisher Price. When I was at the post office, she threw the box down, and elmo started talking from inside the box saying, "elmo loves you... can you help me up please?" The entire post office was laughing at that box.

gymbo snippets

Snippets of video from our playtime at Gymboree!  We are now official worldwide members ;) - I'm amused that we can go to Gymboree anywhere in the world.  I think it will be good social time for Aiden now that he will be home with his nanny most of the time.  He's already making some new friends (although Gymbo the clown gets the most lovin')...  

xmas uncut

Link to flickr PHOTOS: http://www.flickr.com/gp/94324507@N00/CJ7YP6

and VIDEO:


Aiden's 2nd Xmas 2008 from LB on Vimeo.

hosting

Aiden was so excited to host his Nana, Grandpa, Great Nana, Auntie Jess, Uncle Matt, and Cousin Kayley here at our house for Christmas. When we all woke up on Christmas morning (Aiden did a good job sleeping in with us and even slept past his relatives that were still on Arizona time - We know that a few years from now that won't be the case), we creeped downstairs (in our matching jammies) and I asked Aiden if Santa had been there. He made his surprised grunt and pointed immediately at the Elmo Live from Nana and Grandpa that we'd let him open on xmas eve. He was so excited that Elmo is living with him now and was still in his house! That Elmo is really something, but he really smiles at him. The biggest smiles are saved for when Nana honks his belly button and Grandpa tells him the Three Little Monkeys story though.

We all had stockings left from Santa (a lot of Aiden paraphernalia for the adults and books for Aiden - and the best jumping reindeer with santa on his back that did flips, even despite Aiden's protests) We started opening presents and Aiden enjoyed being pretty slow to grab at a new present. His first present was a fish bowl that bubbles and plays music when you put the fish inside. He kept going back to that first present, until the big Santa present came out - Weebleville! It was definitely a hit as expected. Cousin Kayley even liked playing with it. New puzzles and shape sorter pieces galore... and by 11am, there were two huge bags of wrapping paper and our barn room looked like xmas hit it. We all know what it looks like when xmas hits a room.

Despite J's weak attempts to dissuade me, I pulled out the nice china from our wedding (only the second time since we got married nearly five years ago and the first time I used all of it). We dressed the table and added on a little peninsula for extra seats. Aiden's extreme daddy clingyness this week meant that I darted around the kitchen trying to remember everything. We had a bigger than expected glazed ham, mashed potatoes, butternut squash, sweet potato casserole, stuffing, gravy, green and yellow beans, carrots, and cranberry sauce. Quite a full table and lotsa leftovers. Luckily Aiden rested and while his eyes were shut, J could sneak away to wash down all the nice china. Aiden woke up just in time for dessert - spice cake (a surprising crowd favorite - I made despite J saying that real desserts must include chocolate), pumpkin pie, chocolate cream pie, and cookies.

The present playing continued and Kayley was really good about sharing and making sure that Aiden didn't mistake any of her new Light Bright pieces as candy. Aiden thanks everyone for their great presents! And especially to Nana and Grandpa for all the giggles... I snuck in a family photo on the timer which included everyone! I even had my little selphy canon printer setup to print down the photos right away for everyone - great little party favor. Even though all of the snow was washed away by the rain on xmas eve, it was still a perfect xmas... The perfect 'white' xmas is overrated ;) and the best xmas gift for J is no shoveling.... well, second best to having all of the family together in one warm house.
Photo link to more photos coming soon...

merry!

12 days tradition

I was on the skype with Aiden two Sundays ago and the laptop battery was low so we had to sit at the desk (whereas we normally let Aiden play and I carefully push the computer around so that he can show Gran and Pop his toys and they can see him run around the room). I was wrapping all of our presents in the office, and as he got more and more fidgety I decided to give him one early... then I realized it was exactly twelve days before xmas and we could give presents on a twelve days of xmas countdown. So, if it sticks there is a very informal way to start a family tradition.

I hope that in lieu of ripping all the presents open on xmas (although there will still be plenty to open!) we might be able to give one small present (like a stocking stuffer that won't fit in a stocking) for the twelve days leading up to xmas and when he's older talk about some lesson associated with it... something we are thankful for... We'll call it the Twelve Days of Gratitude.

12th day - Acceptance
The book I grabbed, kicking off our new tradition, was Charlotte's Web with the fun noise buttons. I hope that that years from now when we read stories before bed Aiden picks Charlotte's Web (along with that Indian in the Cupboard book I really liked in 5th grade). I am fuzzy on the entire story, but I remember a big part of it was acceptance. The pig and spider learned to love each other despite their differences.
11th day - Looking forward to sunny days
The next day was a busy day and I spent part of it sorting out Aiden's old clothes and replacing it with new. Aiden's new shoes for next summer that make me smile everytime they peek out of his new clothes pile. I imagine him wearing them on sunny days kicking around the playground (also known as his skater park for his new skateboard shoes).
10th - Determination
Aiden was determined to knock over his new cardboard blocks and Daddy was determined to build one that stood taller than the next. These new blocks are awesome and they kept Aiden's determined attention the entire hour it took me to put them all together.
9th - Growth
This growth chart will help us look back over the years and remember our little muchkin. Aiden loved playing with the stickers and pushing them against the wall when I asked him to stand up next to it. I plan to put a tick mark each month to see when he has some growth spurts. I also plan to transfer my tick mark on the wall from 13 months over to the chart.
8th - Friends
Eric Carle's stacking blocks have so many new friends on them. I know it's a stretch, but I also got a similar set for his friend's upcoming birthday. So if Aiden was older we could talk about giving to friends... I know, I'm stretching. It's just a good excuse for a new tradition ;)
7th - Easy going spirit
Hippo Goes Bananas Book makes a good point about taking things in stride.
6th - Building
The my first tools book are a subtle message about creativity. Using the tools you have to build - doesn't have to be with these tools, could be the tools daddy uses to write.
5th - Creativity
Bath tub crayons help you find a unique place to make your mark.
4th - Awareness
Being aware of the weather is just the beginning ;)
3rd - Making Noise
Press Aiden's tummy and he'll make noise for you too ;)
2nd - Being Silly
Penguin bowling is a good example. Photo not available ...yet.

1st! And today the biggest gift of all is spending time with family! We're out for a bit. Enjoy the holiday!

incompatible

Apparently Aiden is "incompatible" with Safety First Press-n-Pull Plug protectors.  I called them today and instead of trying to make a customer happy (a very nice customer I might add) they sorta rudely explained that it is  an "incompatibility issue" because my child is "smart enough" to get the plug protectors out of the socket.  I personally think that they are made in a defective way if a 13 month old can pull them easily out of the wall, but I guess it's not cracking in half or some other "defect" issue.  Anyway, after saying that they couldn't do anything for me (especially if I didn't have the receipt?!), they finally agreed to send me a package of their other more basic plug protectors.  I mentioned this to his teacher and she said he can get those basic ones out of the wall at school... so I think we are just out of luck... and it's a good thing we never leave him unattended.  

We were oh-so-very incompatible with our office/guest room covered in blue, pink, and white flower vomit wallpaper.  So, thanks to my uncle's steamer and a few hours of annoying steaming and scrapping it's all gone!  J was a master at steaming.  Now it's all painted a crisp white ready to hang some new curtains!  Phew, it feels good to have that project done in time for the holidays.  

videos

Here are some recent videos that make us giggle.

Aiden sorta copying us doing the itsy bitsy spider:


Aiden putting another baby proofing item on the worthless list:



And the most exciting new wagon - perfect for bouncing!

first gymboree

Daddy dug us out of the snow covered driveway just in time to cruise down the snow covered streets to Gymboree this morning. It was fairly clear, so I figured we'd break up the snowy days for Aiden by getting over there. There are many more days of being cooped up all cozy in the house, so I was glad to drive just a few miles down the road despite this weather. I forgot the camera somewhat purposefully because I really wanted to experience it instead of trying to document it and juggle a camera. It was nearly empty with only two other families, so we are going back next week for the full experience, but Aiden just loved it.

We waddled in all bundled up and he ran right into the play area the second his feet hit the ground despite the snow pants and booties. He started saying woooaah (his new favorite word) and pointing at everything. He grabbed my hand and started to take off to the bouncy cylinder. There were all these mats lined up and sometimes he'd biff it in between the uneven spots. He'd say ooh and stand right back up looking for more balls. He loved the wooden bridges and slides during open playtime.

Then Gymbo the Clown came out for circle time and he immediately ran up and gave him a hug and a very loud kiss. The teacher said that Aiden should be in a commercial for them because he was sooo excited about everything. She asked if he was always this happy and he promptly replied with a giggle. They have these amazing bubbles that are made out of gylcerin or something. You can actually stack them (up to 14 she said!). Aiden's static hair literally had them off every strand of hair. I wished I had my camera for that! Next time...

Although she did get into some of the singing and games we mostly did open play time. The absolute highlight was parachute time. Aiden spun around in circles making his ooh, aah noise.
Since it was sorta a snowy day they said that we could come back for a "real" class next week.

snow day

We kicked off the holiday break with a snow day! It was a huge deal with school's canceling when it was still clear weather (because last year there was this big debacle where everyone got caught for hours on the roads). They were planning ahead and at first it looked like it might have been a big mix up. It didn't really start until around 2pm or so, but by 4pm we had nearly a half foot. Now we have over a foot and it's still coming as I write this. We were excited to have an extra day of vacation and we felt good about getting ahead on some projects (like the wallpaper removal in our office - which is smooth sailing so far and we hope to have it painted for our visitors on xmas eve).

Aiden had a quick little visit with the snow before it got dark, and at first he wasn't at all excited to be in those snow pants again, although he did get used to walking in them this time. We also made some cookies and Aiden helped - Well, he pressed down on the cookie cutters that stuck to the sticky dough a bit too much, but we did have a nice big sheet of one big expanded cookie to munch on the rest of the day. Any way to make a snwo day a little sweeter.

We also put together Aiden's new christmas wagon from GranGran and PopPop (big thanks! good luck on your cross country trip - too bad you don't have this wagon tied up behind ya for extra room - ha!) and he loved helping by stacking the wheels and once J finished building it he cruised back and forth in it inside. He loved beebopping in it and I can tell that it will quickly replace the stroller this spring as the preferred mode of transportation. School had a confirmed case of the croup and two nights ago we had a little barker here. He is much more comfortable if you give him the cold air and then humid shower air "treatment." Then all he wants to do is stay upright and play for a little while. Thank goodness he can play with patient daddy a little bit, although I think both mommy and daddy have a bugs in her throats too. Oh, will I be glad when he has his last day in that germy place on Tuesday (maybe earlier if we get everything done). I think that he's built up enough immunity already.

It's so nice to have an extended break this year! I don't have to go in again until Jan 5th! It'll be so nice to spend time as a family. Unfortunately, our family xmas party up near Boston for today was cancelled because one of the hosts broke his leg, so we'll be celebrating later. I am sad because I was so looking forward to squishing J's cousin's new baby. Oh well, I'm sure we'll catch up with them soon. We look forward to many more snowy days hanging out playing games like Hats!

Click on any of the photos to see them larger.

lens louse

Aiden's new class photo came in today. Our little lens louse was hamming it up for the camera. Oh, it's in the genes!

new track

We had a little holiday brunch planned with Aiden's old teacher and his current assistant teacher at our house. I was looking forward to having them over so that I could try to reassure myself that everything will be fine when Aiden moves to the big toddler room. I've been having reservations about him moving over there because the biggest kids are almost 3 years old and then you have my little 15 month old... it just seemed like a stressful environment for the little ones (and I don't even want to read the research about cortisol levels in kids). I'm sure that Aiden could hold his own and get used to it.... but then when I was home with him this past week with his tummy bug I felt like he was learning so much one-on-one. I've been longing for a new arrangement...one like my folks had when we were little with an in-home nanny.

I had looked into it and even tried emailing some nannies (all of which I thought were weird) and I had pretty much decided that it would just be too difficult to find someone good. THEN, the best thing of all happened and his assistant teacher offered to be his one-on-one nanny from now on! She decided to continue going to school for speech pathology after earning her early childhood degree, so she needs more flexibility for her school schedule. It's going to be so, so worth the extra investment and I just know that he will learn so much one-on-one. I am signed up to test drive a gymboree classes since I still want him to have a social environment every once in a while. I'm sure we'll head back to a classroom environment at some point, but I really think that this is prime time for him to have the positive reinforcement of one person that really cares about him. So, the new year will bring a whole new track for Aiden.

on track

Well, "on track" depends on your definition. Aiden was back on track on Wednesday while we played all day again and he learned the sign for cat. So, he was back at school on Thursday, until the warning call came in from school around 11am. Aiden is "on warning" because it was very...i'll spare you the details. I waited it out because they said that he felt fine and was happily making a cotton ball snowman. I hoped there wouldn't be a second strike, because my time was not my own this week. But this kid always does that in twos lately... so about an hour later I was in the car on my way to get him. Poor J had already rescheduled meetings from earlier in the week with his frantic students that want to meet with him for their final papers of the semester. So given the 24 hour rule at school, Aiden was happily playing with Daddy all day on Friday. They came in for the holiday party at my work, and made it through most of the party until J started with the daycare bug and needed to get home. Oh, we just keep veering off track ever so slightly. I think we'll be back on track again soon, but we are very lucky that we can easily steer the course.


The holiday party was full of balloons which Aiden was super excited to run around with and throw in anyone's face as he attempted to hold it and give people high fives at the same time. He also insisted on having a fistful of crayons (which he understands aren't for eating now) from the kid's craft corner. I was again in charge of the photo station where we had our little remote printer setup to make buttons and cards. A highlight was talking to one of the significant others about her job at Hasbro. She had all the news about the new toys coming out (secrets!) and there is one in particular that she said she might be able to get for us early (What rhymes with Clipo that I would get excited about!?). I've heard good things about the clipo, clipo, clipo other than their little jingle.

want hippos this year?

Do you want some happy hippos this year!?

I Want a Hippo - Year Two from LB on Vimeo.

Click here to see last year - Where does a year go?!

p.s. Still home cuddling (and making movies) with the tummy bug ;)

school

Oh Aiden's school update... He's really warmed up to his new teacher and she "plays games like airplane" with him to get him to eat. He's been on track eating his big boy food and "most" of his milk "most" days. School likes to use the word most on his sheet which isn't all that specific, but I guess it works. The soy milk is still working out along with nursing at home. He usually gets about 8oz of soy milk (plus more water) during the day, and then eats with me at least twice. It is so nice to not have to worry about my supply and to just feed him whenever he asks. Although the fact that he knows what he wants is kinda disconcerting. Weaning is taking a lot more time than I expected. I do think that he shows signs of naturally weaning though, so I think it will just happen when he's ready. We've been subbing in a cup of water when we know he's had enough and letting him chomp on a teether sometimes distracts him.

He got his 12-15 month progress report, which was completed about 20 days after he turned 12 months. I was happy to see that he's well on his way to "mastering" the 4 pages of "tasks"... It's helpful to see what is "expected" by the time he turns 15 months. About three weeks before he turns 15 months (on Feb 3), he will transition into the toddler room (for kids up to 2 years, 9 months). There is one classroom with two teachers that I just really like, so I'm really keeping my fingers crossed that they are able to get him a spot in there. I don't know the other teachers as well, so I guess they could be just as nice.... but it'd be nice if that uncertainty wasn't there. In general, I try to see the bright side of the way they manage things, but sometimes I just wish that they would be more personal about it... make you feel like you are part of the process instead of receiving everything in writing in a very official way. For instance, receiving an incident sheet that "his friend hit him in the head with a block" instead of letting the teachers describe it to me. This is my child and I want to feel like I'm involved...I am a partner in his care, instead of a recipient of care. I dunno it's hard to describe, but the bottom line is that I know that the teachers care about him very much and on top of it they are excited to share when they teach him something new.... I feel confident that not only is he safe, but he is learning.

winter bug

Uh oh, it looks like Aiden is on the winter bug train. He missed the fall illnesses completely, and I was hoping we'd continue to be lucky. The daycare had a couple kids with the projectile ick this morning (no fever, still happy just like Aiden over the weekend), and now Aiden's system is causing trouble on the other end. So J had to swing over to pick him up yesterday and it looks like I will be taking care of him today... We are lucky that we have the flexibility to make it work, and as long as he stays happy it makes for a nice little relaxing day of dancing, reading stories, stacking things, playing in the train, zooming his smooshy truck, tickling the keys on his piano, bouncing on his zebra, drawing pictures, cuddling his hippos, and pulling ornaments off the tree to examine...oh, and resting, let's not forget rest time. He's sleeping in as I write this so he'll be well rested when he wakes up.

first snow play!

It was the first snow of the season around here! It was a surprise (even though they'd mentioned that it may snow) because it was so nice yesterday. We headed out as the big slow flakes were still falling and the grass was still sticking through the growing layer. The sticky snow was perfect for building a snowman! The snow was just enough to be pretty but easy to deal with - perfecto.

Aiden loves the snow and especially liked tossing snowballs. He also liked if you tossed them into his lap, although dad missed once and nearly hit him in the face. uh oh. He kept his constant-thumbs-up mittens and hat on the whole time we were out. His little snowsuit and booties combined with a long pair of mom's socks made it too hard to really walk in the snow. We hope to make more good use of that snowsuit this season!


Snow Play! from LB on Vimeo.

crafty update

I kicked off this weekend at an Engineering Gingerbread Competition (where they loaded graham cracker and icing structures to see how much they would hold - Some held over 175 pounds - seriously! - and the winning house looked like the olympic bird cage stadium), while J and Aiden went grocery shopping. J's favorite thing to do is get out of the house when he's on his own with Aiden. So they cruised the grocery with an elmo balloon (J ignores the stares around him and talks just like elmo for Aiden's giggles).

Then the next day there were tons of craft fairs that are fun to visit because they are so festive. We went to breakfast at Friendly's (Liz and David will be jealous!) and then hit three fairs. None of them compared to the craft fair at Brown last Thursday. It's all Brown employees, and it is excellent. There was lotsa variety and really good stuff. They also give out free desserts, cider, and cocoa ;) I participated with leftover knit hats, pocket tissue covers, and photo cards. I didn't make out as well as I did last time (with nearly $300 that time), but I walked away with almost $50 and bartered for three sets of earring and a necklace.

Aiden generally likes to visit fairs because he can wave at people, look at shiny things, and if we're lucky he can hold our bags for us. There was one fair where santa was arriving just as we walked in, and Aiden was not excited to see Santa at all. He would yelp and hide his face in daddy's coat. This fair also had "roll-ups" which I guess is a Portuguese tradition. It's essentially paying to unroll little pieces of paper and if your paper has a star you win a prize. Aiden loves paper, and it only got better when we won a doggie calendar! Then the next room had a table with two new stuffed hippo friends. When we picked them up he was literally kissing at them. That fair was by far the best of the season.

At this point, Aiden seems to be in good spirits, but maybe a little sleepy. There was a horse stable with caroling hay rides, and since the weather was so nice and it was so close to our house, we thought we'd press our luck on nap time and stop by. I forgot to mention that Aiden was super enthusiastic to eat some pancakes, cole slaw and drink tons (almost a whole glass) of water at Friendly's earlier. We were excited that he seemed to like cole slaw even though I was a little worried that he wasn't quite ready for the vinegary mayo or whatever goes into cole slaw. So as I was reading him a story with his puppet while he was in his car seat, he chucked up all that and more. Yep, all over himself, his puppet, and the car seat - it was pooled in the seat under him. I know, gross, but I figure if you're reading this far into my post you can probably handle that kinda story ;) My immediate reaction was to drive to the doctor, but then Aiden started giggling at me. Once we got him patted off with what seemed like a whole roll of paper towel, we went straight up to the bath. He played in the bath like it was the most fun thing to do in the middle of the day. He didn't seem lethargic or even tired. He was bubbly and happy, no temperature, and we decided to just keep an eye on him. He seems to be back on track, slept well, and never had a fever... so I guess we're in the clear. He's just now giggling and roaring in bed, so I better go scoop him up... Oh my goodness, I just looked out the window after typing this obliviously for a half hour and we're covered in a blanket of light white snow!!! ohhhh, I can't wait for some snow play today!

i know

Just in case you weren't sure that my husband really does love me and puts up with A LOT!

13 months!

Dear Aiden,

This month was your birthday month. A month last year packed with firsts...packed with mini-celebrations...packed with dirty diapers...and packed with deliriously tired moments where we cuddled for hours. We kept some of your birthday decorations around (a top favorite was your train and the red balloons) and we really packed in the fun this month. I was dreading the change in temperature, but so far we've really made the most of this mild fall. It's been so fun to watch you explore all the crunchy leaves.
A highlight this month was watching the parade and the dog show on Thanksgiving. You'd make a excited-mouth-hanging-open gasp of excitement when you see something that you like. I think you are imitating/mocking your mommy ;) Your doggie friends were extremely exciting and you would gasp, point, and woof at them. Luckily we have the tv area blocked off with the coffee table so you can't actually wack at the screen. However, in the non-baby-proofed house we visited for Thanksgiving you figured out you could actually wack the tv screen and that was pretty much all that you wanted to do. We'd be three rooms away and you'd eventually lead us back into that room so that you could try to catch the football on the tv screen. We were finally able to distract you with a toy stuffed football that you loved to throw to the ground with a howl.
It's the time of year for feety pajamas even though you never seem like you really need them on your hot little toes. On any extra cold nights, I've been putting you in them anyway and just about every time I put them on you immediately start trying to push your toes through the feet covers. You grunt and squiggle your toes to try to free them. You prefer to have bare feet or just socks, but you are getting good at stomping around even in your little boots. Daddy commented that they should call babies your age ploppers instead of toddlers. You are pretty funny when you get tired because it seems like constant plopping and popping back up. You really work hard to put on appearances that you aren't tired...muuuust keeeeep playing...
You are very good at lifting your big train tent. You think it is awesome when you can peek out from under it or move it across the room. Your new favorite this month was going in the giraffe tunnel. You can speed crawl right through it, but you like to stop half way every once in a while and try to stand up. You don't quite understand why it won't let you. This month you really started interacting more with your toys rather than just playing with them in one place. You learned that the shape sorter is fun to kick and mix up all the shapes. You have your quiet play moments too when you like to figure out how to push shapes into your shape sorter. You are really getting good at lining them up (once mom flips them around for you).
You can be sorta rambunctious lately. You get giddy when you successfully pull the side tabs off the foamy mats. They are the perfect length to carry around and wack at things. You will occasionally even wack yourself and giggle. You like to use the the flashy hammer to wack things like that too. You are learning what is good to wack by watching our reactions (and usually you think the best things to wack are the things that we try to distract you from). One of your favorite silly games is to find Daddy's belly button and poke it (mommy is too ticklish for this game). If we ask you where daddy's belly button is you will find it for us. Thanks to Sandra Boynton's belly button book you also think all hippos have belly buttons.
A new "trick" (as daddy likes to call them) that you've learned in that you will rock any toy or even just your arms when we say, "aw, are you rocking your baby?" You've learned to give kisses and be more affectionate this past month. You are very gentle (when you want to be). We took another visit to Build-a-Bear Workshop (they send good coupons and it's a mom favorite - and I heard they might go out of business, so anything I can do to keep them around). This time there was a little line, so we let you walk around the store while one of us waited in line. You were especially excited by all the shoe accessories and I think you have pretty good taste. We took home a new doggie named Peewee Puppy since he has a little nerdy argyle vest and he's petite. You weren't too sure if you wanted him to ride with you in your stroller, but you warmed up to him.
It's amazing how you are so good at expressing your preferences now. I am glad that most of the time you can use signs and gestures instead of screaming, but you sure are testing out what you can get with a little yelping lately. You were in the habit of trying to pull the cats hair earlier this month. I realized that I was apparently holding up and shaking a naughty finger at you because you'd shake your finger right back at me and giggle. So, we started teaching you to hold up your finger when we ask, "How old are you?"
You are really into the art of conversation lately. You don't use that many real words (mama, dada, dog, ball, ok, no, yes, and hi are really your only words so far), but you loved gabbing back and forth. One of your favorite games was gabbing on the phone and you liked to babble in response when we let you hold the phone. The trick is trying to get the phone back from you. You are generally learning how to be "all done" which is sometimes easier than other times. You know how to give the sign for all done when you're finished eating and brushing your teeth. When it comes to drumming however, it seemed that you'd prefer to never really be done. Although after about 30 minutes the other day on daddy's tired knees, you did seem like you were ready for other games.
You got a new teacher, Andreia, at the beginning of the month. You are still warming up to her. The extent of the interaction I've witnessed is that you giggle at her and run away. You had already transitioned over to all sippy cups by the time she started, so you don't need her to hold you and give you a bottle. You get most of your meals/snacks from your other teachers Rebecca and Sarah and now your favorite game is to feed yourself with a spoon (and you're getting better and better). This upcoming month we will find out which classroom you will transition over to in January. I've made my case for the classroom I think would be the best match for you. It would reunite you with that Kyla character and your buddy Tyler (who leaves your room in a few short days), but we shall see...and I'm sure you'd be happy in any of the classrooms.
This month we expect Santa to visit and leave fun toys (as long as you're good). We expect many more rides rocking on our legs to fly up in the sky. We expect more drawings (when we can get you to keep the crayons out of your mouth). We expect excitement with visitors this month. Oh, we have so many fun expectations for this upcoming month...Love you, Mama

waa shapes!

Here is Aiden being very determined with his shape sorter with help from mom. He has his moments of waa lately, but he's working out the kinks. I think he's learning to rest when he's tired. Daycare reports that he will fall asleep on his cot almost immediately now. J thinks we should buy a daycare cot ;)

Here he is mesmerized by the Sesame Street float during the Thanksgiving Day parade. Elmo always catches his attention (who knew that Elmo's character and voice comes from this big football player type guy). Aiden starts swaying to the music a little bit into it. When he first started doing this particular swaying I thought maybe he had an ear ache :) - oh, he has the moves...and he sure can chomp that sippy cup - multitasking ;)

still drying!

Here's our new mantle just put in today! It's primed, ready to paint, and then hang the stockings. Now Santa will know where to find them! But here is the before and after progression:

the good list

A friend of ours keeps a blog and he is always updating his "good list"... I have a few recent additions to our good list to share.

The teethifier
Since our doctor recommends that au natural teething solutions (meaning no numbing medicine) and Aiden's teething has never really been that bad, we have found that the best thing for him is to chomp and chew when his teeth bother him. Enter the teethifier with it's nubby balls that reach into those back molars. He's really happy to chomp a rubbery spoon too, but this is far more safe and it doesn't get in the way of feeding time ;)

This thumbs up teether gets a thumbs up too!
Snapfish books
Oprah gave away free snapfish 8x11 books and now I'm hooked. I think it was the best marketing they could've possibly done. Let you get a book for "free" - only 7.34 for shipping (which you know nearly covers the cost of the book) - and you get your very own test product. Our book is a compilation of photos from his birthday celebrations and I wish I could bundle it up and send it around for everyone to see... I just love it.

Winkflash ornaments
Snapfish gave away free shipping about a day after I ordered some ornaments on winkflash, so I just had to order something for "free" - So, I got ornaments from both winkflash and snapfish and I just loove the winkflash oval ornament. I wasn't quite as happy with the snapfish one because the crop factor did not match what I'd set up exactly and it cropped in a little too much. I think winkflash just gave me more control and their glazed surface is smoother and crisper.

Vistaprint cards, etc
I originally heard about vistaprint's free stuff offers a while back (you can get free address stamps - used to be able to get free biz cards, etc), and most recently I ordered a "car door" magnet with all of our important phone numbers on it to post on the fridge. You pay shipping, but if you're already ordering things it's a deal. I ordered Aiden's birthday card invitations (two sided gloss 5by8) and was able to upload my own images and use some of their stock too. I also ordered their personalized xmas cards (which at the time you could get a whole batch with envelopes for free, but they've really cut back on their free stuff). Even if they aren't offering free stuff, I can attest that it's all good stuff.

The Hippo from Madagascar
We haven't actually seen the movie, but I just love Gloria the hippo. We even got a Gloria toy in my cereal the other day! I can't resist some Reeses cereal which I like to eat as dessert ;) Guilty pleasure.