Another Rough Night But A Great Morning

We had another bad night last night. Constant waking and some crying. I'm not really sure what was going on but this morning he had a runny nose. Since he sits up and tries to go back to sleep leaning up against us, I'm wondering if he has an ear infection or something. He has a doctor appointment on Friday for his 18 month check up, so maybe we can hold off until then. I'll keep you posted on that.

In contrast, this morning went very well. The mornings are going so smoothly these days. He wakes up happy and toddles off to his room or wherever to play with his toys. When he seems ready I get his diaper and clothes changed but only when he's ready. Things just go smoother if I give him enough transition time. Then he eats breakfast while watching "Big, Big World" on KET before leaving for school.

While I've been working at establishing a blankie as his "transitional object", Aidan has been attaching himself to other things. This morning he wanted to take his rubber duck into school with him, so I thought it might make things easier on him. I asked the teacher if we could let him have it until he lost interest and then just put it back in his bag. It's not large-- about the size of his palm. I sat him down in the room (that's usually the point at which he starts screaming) and he started showing his duck to the other kids. Then the teacher said, "Aidan, show me your duck!" and he ran over to show her. As she picked him up I was leaving the room and heard him say, "Momma" but he never cried! And it was Monday! All along he needed his duck! I plan to discuss with the teachers allowing him to bring his duck everyday. I don't know why it would be different from a blanket. Who knew?!

More Learning

Last night he still woke up many times but at least he didn't scream when he woke up. And it was fairly easy to get him back down. However, at bed time he didn't want to go to sleep, just play. He started hitting us so we put him on the floor and turned off the lights. He was very upset with us and when we felt that he had gotten the picture we turned the lights back on. Then he tested us by hitting various objects around the room, finally hitting us again. Again the lights went off and he was "kicked out of bed." The next time the lights came on he faked us out, as Jason called it, "Bluffing independence" by walking around the room playing alone and ignoring us. It was a very cute and sophistocated social exchange!

This morning he learned how to say "taxi" after he called his toy taxi and "truck." Then he called his truck a taxi and we corrected him, which confused him. I'm sure he'll not use either of those words again due to confusion. It's amazing how many words we have in the English language and how many of them describe minute differences. Until seeing language in this way, it never occurred to me how difficult our language is. In many languages they have far fewer words that describe many things, depending on context. I spoke with a friend of ours at a birthday party yesterday whose son is about 4 months older than Aidan. She said she was amazed when her son went from 2 words to sentences over night! I know Jason is looking forward to that!

While we were getting ready for church this morning I noticed that Aidan was being very quiet, wherever he was. Jason looked in his room and said that Aidan was sitting in his chair at his toy chest/desk "reading" a book. I looked myself since I didn't really believe it and, sure enough, he was sitting up like a big boy looking at his book. He's growing up!

"No Sleep For You!"

Last night was rough. I put Aidan down just after 9 pm and went upstairs to get some work done on the dissertation. At around 11 or so I hear him crying and Jason calling up to me to come down to comfort him (often Mommy is the only one who can comfort him). I hurriedly wrapped up and went down stairs, to find Jason holding a screaming baby in the dark. As soon as I took him he quieted down, content in the safety of Mommy's arms. Luckily, I'd already gotten myself ready for bed so we all went to bed.

I really don't know exactly how many times he woke up screaming. I think it was 2 am, 4 am, 6 am, and maybe more. He was completely disoriented and at one point I woke to find him standing on the bed hovering over my head with a big smile on his face. Not sure WHAT that one was. I was too exhausted to figure out whether the wakings were due to nightmares, gas, or some kind of pain. He's been working up to this. In the previous two nights he had woken several times, each time a little more than the last. Then last night was the very worst. Hopefully this doesn't mean that tonight no one will sleep! We gave him some tylenol at some point just in case it was pain related (we almost never do this-- it must have been really bad) but I'm not sure that it helped.

Last I checked several months ago he had his last molars coming in but I'm not so brave to stick my fingers in his mouth to check the status of those molars. The wakings seemed like they could be due to teething and it's possible that some of the molars but not all have erupted. It's also possible that since these are supposed to be the most difficult ones, they might have never erupted even though they had looked like they were about to months ago when I evaluated them. What I do know is that we had a really bad night. Everyone hope that tonight is not worse!

I got off to work this morning when I finally woke up, leaving Jason and Aidan playing together. Last I spoke to Jason he had to pin Aidan down to get him to nap (this is not so unusual for him-he gets so wound up that he can't settle down) and he'd just fallen asleep. This afternoon we are all going to celebrate Kate's second birthday, she's a friend from the Babymoon playgroup.

I'm working very hard right now so that I can get my dissertation done by the end of the year (this might be a pipe dream). My hope is that I will be able to consider taking Aidan out of daycare this time next year so that we can spend time together and with extended family before I take a job far away. In the meantime, this might mean that we're absent from most family events for a while. Just letting everyone know our plan in advance so that there are no hurt feelings. And, of course, we are never opposed to visitors.

Wrapping Up The Week

We had a surprise visit from Uncle Stevie last night! Aidan and his uncle played and laughed together for a while before Jason got home and we went out to dinner. Although our visit was short, Aidan sure did have a great time! The two of them had a tickle fest where Aidan laughed for what seemed like forever! We took some pictures but, unfortunately, I'm always at work when I write on the blog and the camera is always at home. I'll get some pictures up one of these days!

Aidan was very good at dinner. We went to the chinese buffet in case he got rowdy but he sat quietly and ate a good variety of foods-- broccoli, rice, breads, other veggies, chicken. He's a great eater when he's truly hungry. And he loves rice! He kept saying "rice" whenever his tray was empty. Uncle Stevie agreed that it's so much fun to communicate with him. For Uncle Stevie's benefit I quizzed Aidan on signing and he was able to show off a little. Uncle Stevie says that it's just unbelievable that an 18 month old can sign so well until you see it in action.

Other than our surprise visit, not much has been going on. Aidan is doing better at drop off in the mornings. Today he asked to get down and only started to fuss when I turned my back to him to talk with his teacher. Then he grabbed my hand and tried to interest me in some play. When his teacher took his hand from mine he started crying loudly. I had to go by the office to ask some questions, but when I walked back past his room a minute later he had already stopped crying and was happily playing. Luckily, he didn't see me! Of course, today is Friday so we'll have to go through the entire thing again on Monday after he's been used to being at home for a few days. He just misses us!

Oh, and one more thing! Aidan's school is having a fundraiser. The class with the most donations gets extra stuff for their classroom. It's a chili supper and auction. Parents are charged with the responsibility of collecting donations. This might include food, drinks, or supplies for the chili supper or items for the auction. I'm planning to go to area businesses to discuss donations for the auction. I thought I'd open it up to family and friends to donate as well! If you work somewhere that might have potential stuff to donate or if you personally want to donate something, let me know. Also, if you want to donate money we could all put our money together and I'll buy some stuff to donate. Don't feel like you have to. I'm just so competitive that I will ask everyone I know to help out so that Aidan's class gets the most stuff!

What's With All The Learning?

I noticed this morning that Aidan is playing so well by himself these days. While I got myself ready he sat in the bathroom floor playing with this toys for about 10 minutes before going into his room to play for another 10 or 15 minutes. He sat on the floor moving his toys back and forth while mumbling as if he was talking. I guess he was having his toys interact. Whatever it was, he sure was having a good time!

A few weeks ago we worked on the words and signs for "boy" and "girl" simply because his video does those signs and he had expressed interest in learning them. This morning when he was on the changing table he saw the decals on the wall of the boy and girl. I could tell he was thinking about them and then he said, "girl!" I was surprised since it had been so long! So then I did the sign and then said and signed "boy." The look of recognition came across his face as he started signing both words one after the other!

Ok, so between the two of us we've had like 100 courses on learning. I've taught the techniques in every class I've taught. I'm sure Jason has too. We're very familiar at our house on how to approach the learning process and we utilize these methods regularly. However, I never dreamed that seeing the learning take place for the first time on this tabula rosa would be so fascinating!

I realized on my way into work that February 4 is Aidan's 18 month birthday. I've heard about families who celebrate 1/2 birthdays by eating 1/2 a cake, opening 1/2 a present, etc. So I think I'm going to adopt this tradition. It'll be fun for us to have a little party, just us, where we can eat cake. You know me, anything for cake!

What A Crazy Morning

Aidan slept really late this morning and I let him because I hate having to wake him up. He's so unhappy and cold. It's just better when he wakes up on his own. But once he was awake we had to move quickly. The positive is that since he slept so long I was already dressed, so all that was left to do was changing him and breakfast. Unfortunately, the extra sleep time meant for an extra full diaper and I got peed on right away which meant that I had to change pants. Minor set back.

Overall, he was in a pretty good mood this morning. He was waddling around in the new shoes that Daddy bought him last night, they are a little larger than the ones he just out grew. Oh, I have to tell about the shoes. Jason told me that he bought Aidan a pair of sneaks and a pair of dress shoes. I was a little surprised about the dress shoes because Jason commented last time about how he really only needs one pair and they are super expensive at Stride Rite, etc., etc., you get the idea. Anyway, so when I got home I asked Jason if there were any adorable shoes that he really wanted to buy but just couldn't bring himself to buy because they weren't practical (I always see cute little rain boots) and he laughed and said no. I was mostly joking because that's a Mommy thing. Then he showed me the dress shoes and said, "Look-- they are Daddy shoes!" He was right! These dress shoes look like every pair of dress shoes Jason has owned since I've known him. He fell for it! He bought something he couldn't resist! Now he knows why I do that.

We have this swimming ring that we inhereted from Rebecca. We saw it in the bottom of a box of toys and thought it looked like a duck (Aidan's new favorite thing), so we blew it up. Turns out it's Big Bird but Aidan doesn't really know the difference. He knows "bird" and he knows that a duck is a bird, so a bird must be a duck. Or so it seems. When it was time to go this morning, he started telling all of his toys "bye, bye" like he does every morning and then picked up his rubber duck in one hand and his big bird swimming ring in the other. Now, try to imagine how big this blown up swimming ring is-- it's meant to fit around a 3 year old! So there we are at the back door discussing why the Big Bird can't go. I tried to reason with him (reasoning with a toddler just isn't effective), I tried trading it out for a more sensible toy, but nothing worked. Finally I stopped and thought to myself, "Is this really a big deal? Am I getting into a power struggle over something that essentially doesn't matter? Is this a battle that I should be choosing?" I decided to just let him take it to the car. Luckily, by the time we got to school he had dropped it on the floor and had forgotten all about it so we didn't have to have the fight again when we got to school. The moral here is that this parenting thing is hard. I guess these little things are less important than the big picture. We have definite parenting goals that transcend the "because Mommy said so" attitude. All in all, he's a good boy. If we can just teach him to handle his frustrations better.

About his frustration...we're trying to teach him to sign "help" to ask for help. Yesterday he did it sort of but didn't quite have it down. I'm also not sure if he exactly knows what it means. It's such an abstract concept. I do worry about this trait. The world (and the prisons, hospitals, etc) is full of people who were never taught to deal with emotions in constructive, socially acceptable ways.

It's Monday Again Already

Our weekend was busy but fun. We went to Louisville to visit Amy and Craig and while we were there partied at Beth and Randy's new house, where we saw lots of people that we hadn't seen in a long time. It was so much fun! Then Sunday we went to church with Amy and Craig followed by brunch with the Prathers. We finally got to meet Olivia, we've been sad about not ever seeing her! Aidan wasn't very nice to her but soon she'll be big enough to push him down, so we're just waiting for that day.

I continue to be amazed at his development on a daily basis. He's getting very skilled at repeating two syllable words now. I first noticed it with the word "turkey" which he repeated so clearly that I thought it was Jason babytalking. Granted, he doesn't always do so well even with one syllable words, but the fact that he can once in a while clearly repeat two syllables is so much more than his previous ability.

I've also noticed that bathtime has changed significantly. It used to be strictly cleaning, then went to watching the ducks in the water, and now has graduated to games like "how many ducks can ride on the boat until it sinks." He engages in lots of spatial development play nowadays and is really "getting" the concept of playing with his toys. Last night he was learning how to snap together the big toddler legos but he enjoys taking them apart more than putting them together.

This morning we got off to a late start. After all, it is Monday. I decided to wash my hair and face instead of shower (this never would have been a possibility pre-motherhood). Aidan "helped" me wash my hair. I was bent over the tub and he was rubbing my head with his toy while I washed. Very helpful, I might add. Afterward we brushed our teeth together. He stands on his potty with his toothbrush and mostly sucks the water off of the brush. He is insistent on doing it himself and when I try to help he gets very upset so I just let him do it. I realize that he isn't doing a great job but my hope is that by the time he's 2 he'll be better at it or more open to help. I've decided not to push him into letting me help because it's likely to result in his not liking to brush his teeth in the long run. It's difficult sometimes to be patient with these things. I keep reminding myself that it's give and take in the short run in order to develop good habits in the long run free of hang ups!

Overall, things are good and the week seems to be getting off to a good start. Tonight Aidan gets new shoes!

Rubber Duckie You're My Very Best Friend, It's True!

I only have time for a quick story today. Aidan's favorite toys are his rubber duckies. After he heard Ernie's "Rubber Duckie" song on his Elmo movie, he started liking them a whole lot. At first he only liked to play with them in the tub but now he carries them around the house. Jason plays games with them where he puts them under the covers and plays peek-a-boo with them, so they are versatile. This morning Aidan came into the bathroom and asked for his ducks. "Duck" is one of the words he pronounces best. Anyway, I gave him one, he asked for another, and so on until he had all of his ducks. He carried them around in his arms while following me from the bathroom to the bedroom to the living room, as I was getting ready to leave. As we turned off all the lights and made our way to the back door, he still had them. In the back hall by the washer Jason had left Simon's carrier (he'd taken him to the vet in it earlier this week). Aidan opened the carrier door and placed his ducks inside. As he closed the carrier door he said "bye, bye" to his duckies as if he was putting them to bed before we left. Then he turned to me to be picked up so that we could leave!

A Typical Evening At Home

Although Aidan gets somewhat upset when things aren't going his way, he's overall a pretty happy child. He seems to have very strong emotions one way or the other. Which means that he gets very upset, angry, and throws fits. On the flip side, he laughs big belly laughs and lights up the entire room when he's happy! I'm not saying that he gets these strong emotions from me, but I've been known to remind Jason that it's called "passionate" and not "moody" when he's grumbled about my outward displays of emotion.

He was so cute at bathtime last night! He had all of his duckies, his alligator nail brush (a gift from Rebecca) and his fishing boat (a gift from Grandpa) in his tub playing away. He lined up his duckies, alligator, and fisherman on the side of the tub in a row as if they were watching him take a bath. Then he'd play with them in the water one or two at a time. Very tidy!

After bath Aidan was playing on the couch, pulling a towel over his head and then dancing around like a crazy man. Jason was sitting right beside him. I turned to go in the other room and I hear a big "thud" on the floor. I turned around to see my little guy head first falling off the couch. He'd obviously already hit his head on the floor but Jason had caught his legs on the way down. He was crying so much and I comforted him while yelling at Jason for letting him fall. He was such a big boy! He didn't ask to nurse. When he felt better (after just a minute or two) he got back up on the couch and started doing the same thing again, totally unphased.

While we were giving Aidan a snack after dinner I mentioned to Jason that we should call to check on Grandpa to see how he's feeling. Aidan did the sign for Grandpa and then started saying it over and over. I ran to get the pictures that Cass sent from our Houston trip and showed him pictures of Grandpa and Rebecca. I pointed and asked who it was and he knew both Grandpa and Becca! So then we called Grandpa and let him talk to him. I know it made Grandpa feel much better knowing that Aidan wants him to get well soon!

So Much To Do, So Much To Learn

Last night his Sabrina ("Brina") came over and babysat while Mommy and Daddy enjoyed a much needed night out alone. She said he hardly fussed at all when we left, he loves her so much. Jason was saying that he probably will always remember her since he stayed with her so much when he was smaller and we still see her often. She was his only other caregiver when Jason was working on the dissertation and I was depressed. They have a solid bond. When Sabrina left Aidan was saying, "Bye, bye, Ba!" I assumed that the extra "Ba" on the end must have been his attempt at saying "Brina."

I finally went to the post office yesterday to pick up the box of c-mas presents that Cass sent from Houston. It came last week but I wasn't home to receive it and then I kept forgetting to get it. Last night when Aidan and I got home we opened it and he was so excited to see all of the toys! He's still not completely sure about the dancing Elmo that Grandpa Lenny got him and he walked wide circles around it, only playing with it under supervision. The threaded snake toy (you thread the wooden sections to make a snake) was a hit. When we were in Houston he wasn't quite able to do it dexterity-wise, but last night he did it with very little problem. The only thing was that once he threaded the wooden piece onto the stick, he couldn't figure out that he had to move his other hand (the one holding the stick) to allow the piece to slide down the yarn. There's room for improvement. Another big hit was Grandpa Lenny's boat toy. Jason unpackaged it before we left so that he could play with it in the bath and Brina said he had a great time.

It started snowing last night before we went to bed and we watched it out the front window for a while, making the sign for "snow." Aidan learned the sign quickly, although like all of his signs it wasn't exactly right. The sign for snow is waving your fingers around while your hands are decending, so that your fingers imitate the movement of snow from the sky. His version is one finger wiggling around in the air. This morning when we went out it was still snowing and he started doing his sign for snow. He's got such a great memory!

To quickly update you on the signing. He is able to ask for all kinds of specific foods now, which is so great for us. Previously he could ask for food, cookies, or milk. Now he can ask for apples, oranges, crackers, cheese, or bread. I'm trying to teach him other fruits and veggies, but sometimes he's more open to learned particular signs. I just try to use as many as possible as often as possible and he usually just picks them up just like words. He also still watches his videos and picks them up from there. Jason works with him when I'm not there but I'm a little concerned about that. Instead of teaching him a practical sign, he taught him "red." Now, I know that he needs to learn his colors, but I'm not sure now is the time. Well, I have to actually give Jason some credit because he was the one who taught him "orange," although the sign for the color and the fruit are the same. I wonder if he was teaching the colors and just happened to get overlap? Hmmm...

Get Well Soon, Grandpa!

Aidan wants to tell Grandpa to get well very soon! He also says that he can't wait until he and Rebecca can play with Grandpa the way they did at Christmas!

Is He a Lover or a Fighter?

Yesterday Aidan's school was closed in honor of MLK Day, so we played together most of the day. I was pretty worn out by the time Jason got home. We went to the Babymoon playgroup and saw our friends, old and new. Aidan was really aggressive, especially with Sadie, so we left early. I sure hope he outgrows this hitting phase. We're working on the parenting part, but there is definitely a developmental part as well.

This morning he was in a tempermental mood. He didn't want to sit in his highchair to eat breakfast. Every morning after he gets his clothes on, he sits in his chair in front of "Big, Big World" on KET and eats his breakfast. While he eats and watches, I get the stuff together, start the car, etc. Then I get him and we're off to school. I'm wondering if he has learned that this routine is only on days that he goes to school and so he's resisting it. He was very upset when we got to school. Surely he'll eventually like school! You'd think with parents in school as long as we have been that it would come naturally. Of course, neither of us liked school until college.

I've been trying hard to get him to learn to kiss. He has had very little interest in either kissing directly or blowing kisses. In fact, his kisses have sometimes hurt because they involve teeth. So last night we were all playing together on the couch and I was kissing him all over his head. Then I asked him to give me a kiss and he tried several times, each time with an open mouth (I seem to remember my mom telling me that I kissed with an open mouth for a couple of years also). I tried to show him the pucker but he was having a hard time. Surely he'll get it eventually. Unfortunately, I'm worried that he may have been born a fighter and not a lover! Although I'm holding out for lover since he chases little girls around the Coop and flirts!

Yes, you should have seen him. We were at the Coop last week having dinner and he wanted to run around a little. I followed him out of the cafe and into the grocery part where he happened upon the cutest little hippie girl you've ever seen. She was about 4, long blonde hair, adorable! She and her mom were both dressed in hippie skirts over pants and had beads in their hair. I knew something was up because he started showing off, smiling, jumping around, etc. When I realized what he was doing, I said to the mom that he was in love with her daughter. The mom looked at Aidan and then said to her daughter, "I know he's a little young, but I'd jump on that opportunity! He's adorable!" So the mom has great taste too. After that he would run all around the store and then always come back to where she was. Hopefully we'll see them there again. It's that kind of place, since it's a cooperative, it's mostly the same people. Maybe they'll grow up seeing eachother there and fall in love!

For the Love of the Game

I've been working a lot, so Aidan has been spending a lot of time with Daddy and they have been having a great time. Yesterday before I left for work the two were watching the UK/Alabama game and I heard Aidan cheer and clap for a player who got a basket (he's imitating our cheers and claps for him when he gets a basket). Then I heard Jason say, "No, Aidan! That's the wrong team!" This is apparent proof that Kentucky basketball is not innate. Of course, he's only 1/2 Kentuckian, so he might only slightly bleed blue. It was extremely easy to convert his daddy, so it shouldn't be difficult to train him into the state religion. It's just a matter of time.

Jason tells me that Aidan's favorite new food is oranges and that he ate 1 1/2 oranges yesterday for snack. This morning he ate another 3/4 of an orange for breakfast. He also signed "apple" and Jason was taken aback by it since he's never done that before and we didn't have any apples in the house. He must have seen it on his video.

Clarifying the Fire Alarm Story

To clear up my two previous posts, Aidan did not actually pull the fire alarm at school. Since fire alarm pulls are usually mounted at between 36 inches (3 ft) and 54 inches (4.5 ft), he'd not be able to reach it. I thought this would be obvious but I've been informed that it wasn't. The teachers and I are just joking about the babies pulling the fire alarm.

I can't let a post go without a cute story. Halloween made a lasting impression on our little guy. Some of you have heard the story of how he carried his pumpkin bucket door to door and held it out to get his goodies. We were shocked at his enthusiasm! Anyway, he loves his bucket, so we left it out and he often carries it around the house, putting stuff into it. Last night at bathtime he wanted to put his bucket in the bath so I let him. He started putting his ducks in it one at a time and saying, "Teet, teet" each time. For those of you who don't speak Aidan I'll translate. He was trying to say "Trick or Treat" as he put the ducks into the bucket. By far, Halloween might be his favorite holiday. Although he really loved playing in the paper at Christmas so we'll see which he likes better.

The Fire Alarm

When I picked Aidan up yesterday from school the teacher said that he'd pulled the fire alarm (see yesterday's post) again. This morning a different teacher mentioned it too, so he's been branded "the kid that pulls the fire alarm!" If I know my boy, he LOVES going out there to wait for the fire truck to come.

The Out of Towners

Not much of an update today. Last night Amy and Craig came to stay with us from Louisville. For Aidan, visitors mean that everything is new and exciting. New people to play with, yummy snacks, later bed time, what could be better than this? This morning he was having such a great time climbing all over and playing with Craig that Mommy let him stay home until 10:00! How lucky!

Jason and I have both come to the same conclusion independently-- that at some point Aidan will need a dog. Not this week, or even this year, but he seems to be absolutely crazy about dogs. From throwing himself into the floor by the door and screaming "Dog", to yelling "Dog" as we pull into the driveway, he is constantly asking to visit the neighbor dog (a St. Bernard named Hunter). Aidan doesn't seem to understand that it's cold outside, he just wants to go out.

Yesterday when I picked him up at school, all of the kids were outside. It seems that the fire alarm had accidentally gone off while it was being repaired and they had to leave the building. So today when I dropped him I said, "Now, Aidan, no pulling the fire alarm today!" A new teacher got very concerned and asked how he could have reached it! The other teachers and I laughed about it-- I guess she's a little nervous about being new.

The Most Difficult Part of Our Day

As we drove up to the building, he gave a little fuss as if to say, "I know you'll be leaving me soon." As we slowly walked up the sidewalk I tried to stay upbeat, telling him all about the things he'd likely do today. Play with his friends, sing songs, eat lunch in the cafeteria...all the while knowing that I too was missing him already. When we got to his classroom he clung to me like all primates cling to their mommies.

If there is one thing I've learned from being a mommy, it's that we truly are mammals, more specifically primates. Mammals give birth to live young and feed them with their mammary glands. Primates raise their young for much longer than most mammals, teaching them basic survival skills both physical and social. What a beautiful thing to discover your true place in the universe. How spiritual it is to discover that your body can grow, give birth to, and sustain offspring exactly the way it is supposed to. In these modern times this method of parenting is called "attachment parenting" and includes baby-wearing, breastfeeding, co-sleeping. The idea is to meet the attachment needs of the baby, the way the universe intended, so that the child can be more courageous and independent.

Fortunately, attachment parenting has given us all that it promises thus far. I watch him becoming more and more independent, only coming back occasionally for reassurance. I see that he knows he can come back to me for help if he's sick or scared or hurt. I see my little boy gradually weaning himself from what was once the perfect food for him and now only supplements solid foods. What I didn't really bargain for is how attached I've become.

As we walked into his classroom and I began to remove his coat, he started to cry. His teacher was talking to him in an effort to help him through. I asked him if he could show her the sign for "airplane" and through his tears he tried hard to put his hand up to show her. Watching him in that moment, seemingly pulled between his friends, the signing, and his mommy, I realized that he wanted to be there. He just wanted me to stay with him. And what he doesn't know is that I wanted to stay too.

It's Just Monday

Our weekend was pretty uneventful, overall. Sunday is family day, so we all went to church. Aidan played in the toddler room with his dear friend Kate (she comes to our Babymoon playgroup too) and some new friends too. The teacher said that he cried when Kate left with her Daddy, but we were not far behind and saved him from his loneliness. Afterward we went to lunch and the rest of the day was filled with getting ready for our week. Mommy resisted the urge to work on dissertation stuff and Daddy played outside with him for about an hour, but Aidan still felt like he didn't get enough time with us. He communicated this with his urgent requests for books, toys, hugs, etc.

Our Monday morning went incredibly smooth until I got him to school and realized that I'd forgotten to give him his medicine. Because I have a full schedule this morning, Jason plans to take it to him on lunch break. Again, you have to be a logistical genius to do this job! These are the things no one tells you about. Oh well, it's just Monday.

Things Are Looking Up

Got some great news yesterday. When I picked him up at school I overheard some talk about signing. The assistant teacher looked at me and said, "We had no idea that Aidan could talk so much. When we did circle time we showed pictures, said the word, then signed it. He could say and sign everything we showed." Anyone who has spent any real time with him knows that he says and signs lots of things. I'm not sure why he hasn't been talking there except maybe he hasn't had any luck communicating with them. What's great is that the teacher said that after they did the signing exercise, Aidan was in a great mood and did great the rest of the day. I knew he was probably very frustrated there as far as the signing goes. One day last week I walked in to him signing "milk", which in his world often means "drink". The teacher was oblivious and when I told her that he was asking for a drink she handed him his sippy cup that he had apparently been drinking from previous to my entry. I went home that day thinking that he is probably losing his mind when he's trying to sign and no one knows what he wants. So you can imagine my relief in finding out that they are now signing with all of the kids.

In efforts to make space for the new toys in route from Houston (the stuff he got at Aunt Cassie's house), we've been doing our best to sort through and clean out. Last night I brought in a box of toys from the garage (things Rebecca had passed down but were previously too advanced for Aidan) to go through. With the stuff he already had (minus some that I gave away and/or donated to charity), plus what he got from local relatives for c-mas, plus what I brought in from the garage, we're overrun! And now we have to make space for the box coming from Houston. Is this a never ending battle? I have a plan, of course, to keep it manageable. First, Jason will hang the shelf above the toy box for toys that need to be out of reach except during supervised play. Second, I want to use the large rubbermaid storage containers to store some toys upstairs and switch out toys once a week or so to keep him from getting bored. The daycare does this everyday. Who knew you had to be a logistical engineer to be a mother?

As far as the illness goes, he is really doing better. Unfortunately, the antibiotic is causing diarrhea. This morning Jason decided to take Aidan into the shower (mostly because Aidan had marshmallow down his shirt, making his shirt stick to his chest but that's another story). I'm not sure what exactly happened in there, but it involved explosive bowel movement all over Daddy. Although I think this is pretty funny (it's not the first time this has happened), I'm sure Daddy wasn't so thrilled about it.

About the marshmallows. Amanda called last night while we were making dinner (Tofu Lasagna) and we invited her. We had Aidan in his highchair while we ate and I was giving him whatever I had available to keep him busy until we were done. I ended up giving him a bunch of marshmallows, some of which ended up on the floor. I assumed he ate the rest. Later on Jason noticed a big lump in Aidan's shirt and looked down the front of it to find a big, gooey, sticky mess! Unfortunately, we forgot about it and put him to bed with no bath (it was late). This morning we once again discovered it when we removed his shirt. I know that in some circles that would be considered bad parenting. And so would keeping him up really late on a Friday night. We don't worry about the little things like marshmallows and bed times. They make for good stories. And besides, if we got hungry in the middle of the night, we'd have marshmallows for midnight snack!

On the Road to Recovery

On Wednesday the school called telling me that Aidan was having symptoms of pink eye. I made a doctor's appointment and then went over to pick him up. When I got there he was taking his nap, so I went in and peeled him off the mat, hoping to keep him asleep (which rarely happens with him). His eyes had this white goop matted into them, one eye looked almost swollen shut. He looked like a boxer in the last round with one swollen eye almost entirely closed and vaseline seaping from it. It was the sadest thing.

At the doctor's office I was told that it's not pink eye. He has some bacterial infection that is causing ear infections, upper respiratory problems, and digestive issues. I told the doctor that he's been getting one thing after another since Thanksgiving and he's been off and on antibiotics since then. Apparently this bacteria only reacts to one antibiotic (or class of antibiotics) and we've had him on the wrong type. Therefore, whenever he'd take a round of meds he would get a little better but then relapse into his illness once he finished the medicine. Unaware that this was happening, we would take him in for another round of the same antibiotics and go through the cycle again. So far he seems better. The eye goop is gone and the pink rings around his eyes (he looked like he was wearing pink eye shadow) have all but disappeared. He still isn't sleeping well (as if he ever did) and, unfortunately, the antibiotic has given him stomach issues.

Wednesday night Aidan's favorite Nanny Sabrina came to visit for dinner, bringing her boyfriend Jeremy. Aidan loved Jeremy and Sabrina joked that she's been replaced in Aidan's heart. I doubt this is the case but Aidan has been fascinated with men lately. Yesterday when we were home together he kept asking for "Da Da" and this morning he did the same after Jason left for work. Our time together yesterday was typical for an ill child. He slept most of the day but only in my arms. He would wake up whenever I tried to put him down or sneak away, so I just held him while he slept. I figure someday he'll be too big to hold and besides the occasional need to use the restroom, I enjoy it.

Another Night Out and More Daycare Issues

Last night we went out for Mediterranean with Aidan's girlfriend's family, the Barlow-Winfields. For those who don't know, Aidan's girlfriend's name is Sadie. She's 2 days older than Aidan and Grandpa Lenny calls her "the adorable red head," which is an appropriate description. Both kids were very tired but we managed to make it through mostly intact. It was great to see them and we discussed taking a trip to Chicago in the next month for Ikea shopping. (Sadie's family remodels old homes and have been a great resource for finding materials for our new kitchen.) Aidan will love a trip with Sadie!

This morning was another rough one getting him to school. When I took him out of his car seat he started signing "car" as if to say he wanted to go home. Yesterday when I picked him up he was all zoned out, no laughing or smiling at all. So when I took him in I asked the teacher (she was gone when I picked him up yesterday) how his day was and told her about his odd mood. Both she and the assistant teacher said that he's really quiet there (do any of you ever remember him being quiet?) and just walks around with toys all the time. It sounds like he's not having a good time, huh? As I was trying to put him in a chair to eat breakfast, he was screaming his head off so I say, "Aidan, there was a time when I could bring you here and you were happy to be here." The teacher tried to claim that it's the break but he was doing this before the break. Several months ago he attached to a couple of teachers who are no longer there and when they left he started crying in the mornings and it has just gotten worse from there. So this morning I decided to point that out to the teacher and ask why all the turnover there. They've lost 3 assistant teachers in that room in 3 months. The head teacher says that it's just a hard room. I think it's her. She's really rude to me and I've heard her be rude to not only parents, but also the other teachers. When I got to work I called another center where we have been on a waiting list for 10 months and they won't have any openings until at least May. If by then he isn't doing better I'll consider moving him. This center is a little more expensive but all of the teachers have degrees and most have preschool certification. Which, I'm sure, is why it's so difficult to get into. Hope for the best. Maybe either his teacher will get fired or a new person will start that he likes AND can get along with the head teacher.

Tonight Sabrina and Jeremy are coming for dinner, which should make Aidan very happy. He's such a lucky little boy to have so many people who love to spend time with him! As an infant he was so hard on Sabrina (and Mommy), but they have a very special relationship. Well, I'd better get to work. I hope to pick him up early in an effort to relieve his suffering a little.

Back to Life Already

Yesterday Daddy stayed with Aidan all day while Mommy worked. For the first time, Daddy and Aidan went to playgroup together. Daddy got an opportunity to see (and correct) Aidan's aggressive behavior. While the other kids play peacefully, Aidan is running around stealing toys, hitting people on the heads with toys, etc. Afterward they went to Lowe's to buy stuff for the house and then back home, where I'm told they played all day. I called around 1:30 and was told that Aidan took a 10 minute nap. Jason said he is resigned to the fact that Aidan just isn't going to sleep. His sheet at school always says that he takes a 1 1/2 to 2 hour nap but we don't believe it. At home we're lucky if he does 1 1/2 hours and then I have to lay down with him.

Last night we went to dinner with Auntie Jane and Noonie Joy since Jane was leaving for Austin this morning. It was fun seeing Noonie and she asked me to bring Aidan over more often even when Jane isn't here. Noonie's grandchildren live in Atlanta, so she misses having little ones near. It also can't be bad for Aidan to have many, many people who love him in his life! We must make a point to visit her more often.

Aidan was so squirmy during dinner. First he spotted a little girl about his age across the restaurant and he rushed over to see her. Clearly interested, she played shy and hard to get. I made him come back to our table since her family was about to order. Later in the meal he kept trying to sneak over to see her. He ended up eating very little but he did love his fortune cookie (we were eating Tai) and it gave him a good opportunity to show off his sign for "cookie" (which Jason said he got plenty of practice on yesterday).

This morning he was unhappy to discover that he had to get up early and go to school. Typically he doesn't sleep so well in the middle of the night but then sleeps pretty solidly in the wee hours of the morning (5am-10am), so when he is woken at 7:30am, he's miserable. This I can understand since I also get my best sleep during those same hours. I'm wondering if this is something that your circadian rhythms are trained into or if it's innate?! Let's hope trained, as we need to get Aidan into a better sleeping pattern so that he can get to school by 9am. His teacher likes to comment when he gets there after 9am, but don't get me started on that!

When we went out to the car this morning he was signing and saying, "Da Da." He must have thought Jason was in the car. I opened the door and told him that Da Da was at work and that we were going to school. He looked into the car and then started voicing his disappointment in the form of a fuss. He cried a lot when I dropped him off. Maybe if I get my dissertation proposed in the next couple of months, I'll be able to stay home with him some. Better get back to work...

Ringing in the New Year

Aidan had an exciting weekend! On Friday we went to Jereme and Jody's house to watch the basketball game. He loved watching their musical c-mas ornaments and getting into lots of things that he shouldn't be into. On Saturday, Nana and Pappa came to visit for the New Year (so that Mommy and Daddy could go out to dinner with friends) and he had so much fun playing with them and the puppy dog. He loves to practice his sign language for "dog." After dinner we brought Auntie Jane, Kim, and Jay back to the house to play board games and Aidan slept in my lap (he couldn't possibly stay away from the action) until 3 am, when we all went to bed.

Like all homes with small children, we've become overrun with toys. Discussing this with Mom, we decided that we should rearrange Aidan's room so that all toys can live in there. Sure, he'll bring some out to other parts of the house, but his room will be their home. So yesterday we removed the side of the crib to make a toddler bed (he rarely sleeps there anyway), moved the rocker into our room, put in a second toy box, and moved all of the toys into his room. Today Jason will put up a toy shelf for extra stuff that needs to be put away between uses. Although we still need to do some rearranging in other parts of the house, we've been pretty successful with the toy migration.

Sunday we went out to lunch with Nana and Pappa before they left for home. Aidan was sad to see them leave. This morning I thought I heard him say, "Nana" as he looked around the house. Maybe he was just hopeful. Unfortunately, my work hours are about to increase so that we won't be visiting Owensboro for quite some time. Hopefully Nana (and other relatives) will be able to visit again soon.

I continue to be amazed at how fast my little baby is growing. Last night before bed Jason said the same, that he's growing up right before our eyes. I remember not being able to imagine a time when he wouldn't be as fragile as he was at that time and now he falls and then gets right up without even noticing. Soon he won't even need to come back to check in with Mommy at all. While I feel a twinge of emotion when I see that he's becoming a boy, I don't miss those early days of the floppy head, the nursing every 1 1/2 hours, the colic, the fear of the car, etc. When I think about the possibility of having another, those are the things that come to mind. Those things as well as the dissertation keep me fearful of another pregnancy.