All The Fun We've Had!

There's so much to write about! I don't know if I'll be able to do it all in one sitting but I'll try. Our weekend was full of fun. On Saturday Steve Richards came over to visit us. He was in from Austin and it was so great to hang out with him. We hung around the house and then we all went out to lunch. Aidan is doing very well with people that he doesn't know. Especially if it's clear that Mommy and Daddy know them. After lunch we all hung out outside while Aidan played with Mary from next door. Mary gave him his very first popsicle. He loved it! He had grape running out of both sides of his mouth and down his shirt. Jason said he looked like a vampire who had just fed. And even though he loved it, he shared with little James when James dropped his on the ground. He's so sweet!

On Sunday we met Papaw Steve, Fabyan, Nathan, and Landon in Louisville at the zoo. I'm not even sure I know where to begin with all the stuff we did. Very early in the trip we visited the petting zoo. Aidan ran right in and started washing his hands. He loves to wash his hands, going as far as screaming when he gets something on his hands that needs to be washed off. But that's a different story. Once I got Aidan to stop washing his hands and move on to the animals, he was more than curious. He stood there, looked around a little at the animals (mostly goats), evaluated the situation, and then ran over to the least threatening-looking of all-- the turtle. He followed it around and then patted it on the back a little. This must have helped with confidence because he moved on to some bigger animals after that. He was pretty funny about it. He'd walk up, evaluate, and then swipe once with the hand. Clearly he wanted to touch the animals but still wasn't too sure. At the point that he started drinking from the water fountain (another favorite pastime), I knew he'd lost interest and we went to wash our hands and then exit.

For the most part Landon and Aidan responded similarly to everything. Landon is just a few months older than Aidan. At times they were both engaged, at other times they were completely disinterested. Both learned new animal names like Zebra and Giraffe. Landon loved looking at the bullfrog while Aidan preferred the lizards. And both were terrified of the people dressed up like story book characters. At one point Dad and I were exhausted so we hung out on a bench while everyone else visited the fish and reptile exhibit. On return, our toddlers were running through the zoo in that toddler carefree way. Hands in the air, hair blowing in the breeze, faces lit up with laughter. And in one moment they looked over at each other with pure joy and excitement that only the innocence of childhood can possess. Anyone watching could see that they shared a "moment." Yes, I do believe they had a good time.

Although Aidan was totally worn out from the zoo trip, his nap on the way home rejuvenated him. He somehow found the energy to play outside with his friends from next door for another hour or two before starting to melt down. Before bed we read a bedtime book all about zoo animals. We also played with the animal train set that Fabyan gave him. Whenever we ask him to remember the elephants or the lions he sort of zones out as if he's lost in his imagination. I think next weekend we might hit the Cincy zoo.

Yesterday (Monday) it was back to our usual week activities. More kitchen remodeling, we all worked and schooled. Aidan was happy to go to school yesterday but was very happy to come home in the afternoon too. After talking with the contractor and evaluating the movement on the kitchen, we decided to get some dinner and picnic at the park. Jacobson Park is huge and has lots of grassy areas to run in, so we grabbed some balls to play with and we were on our way.

We chose a spot close to the soccer fields under a tree and on the side of a small slope. I couldn't persuade Aidan to eat, so Jason got his portable chair from the car and we strapped him in it. Clearly his desire to play was stronger than his desire to eat. He refused all food and then began to throw it at us (and me in particular). Then began the fight. "Aidan, if you don't eat that we will go home and there will be no playing!" He'd continue to throw food out of frustration and repeatedly beg to play, "Play, pease! Ball! Play! pease!" Then it became a game. In my opinion it never should have gotten to that point but Jason seemed to be more upset that Aidan was at the possibility that Mommy might actually make us leave the park before playing. The result was that Jason gave him way too many chances. Jason would take out the chicken, show it to Aidan, tell him that if he eats it we can go play and if not we'd go home. Aidan would take it and throw it. This went on for a few rounds until Jason finally got fed up and started picking up all of our stuff to go. Aidan immediately grabbed the bag that Jason was packing up and started saying, "Chicken, chicken?" He was frantically looking for some chicken to eat. Once Jason gave him some, he ate it quickly and then said, "All done! Play?" And then father and son happily played soccer together.

After playing for a little while Aidan said, "Go." We thought we were misunderstanding him. After all, he never asks to leave a park. So we asked and he said, "Go. Car. Home." So we went home and he immediately asked to go to bed. No interest in a bath or anything else. Just bedtime. This morning he woke up in a pretty good mood. Jason dropped him off and reported that there were no tears. We'll see how he does next week when he moves to the new room.