Elephino

Aidan seems to be feeling better and had a good day at school yesterday. Jason tells me that when he walked in to pick him up, Aidan was spinning around in circles to classical music while all the other kids watched him. He really likes being the center of attention. I wonder where he gets that. Hmmm...

Last night we went out to feed the ducks and he had such a great time. Whenever the ducks would fly onto the sidewalk, Aidan would chase them until they flew away. There were several baby ducks that couldn't have been more than a few days old. They were so fuzzy and cute. Aidan really loves feeding those ducks!

This morning we had a couple of incidents. First, we were on our way into Aidan's room to change his clothes when suddenly, out of nowhere, a stream of pee came out of the top of his diaper like a fountain. I watched it as it splashed onto the floor and on Aidan's feet. After I cleaned it up Aidan was screaming because it was all over his feet. Remember, he has that hand washing thing going on. Apparently it applies to feet too. So we got his feet cleaned off and got the pee wiped up from the floor before getting his diaper and clothes changed for school.

After I put Aidan's shoes on, he was falling all over and tripping. I couldn't figure out what was going on but then I remembered that the last time his shoes were too small he limped and fell a couple of times. So I asked him if his shoes hurt. He started fussing a little and pulling at his shoes to get them off. Luckily, I had bought some shoes in the next size when I saw them on sale at Stride Rite. I pulled them out and put the first one on Aidan. He was very happy and grabbed the second one to try to put it on the other foot. I showed him the sign for hurt so that next time he can tell me when something hurts. He kept admiring his new shoes. They are navy blue canvas. Very cute. And they happened to match the outfit he was wearing.

Aidan has gained weight so slowly that some of his clothes that he wore last summer (and were only slightly too big) are now fitting him perfectly. It's been pretty nice because it means I have the clothes given to him as hand-me-downs, gifts, etc. plus some stuff from last year. The only things I've had to buy for him are pajamas and shoes. And he doesn't always wear pjs, so he didn't need many of those. My next project for Aidan is to clean out his toy box and donate some toys to some younger kids that we know. With a birthday coming up, he'll have way more stuff than he needs. Plus he's outgrown some of what he has. In the last several months he's developed fantasy play more and more. It's a lot of fun to watch him interact with his toys.

Speaking of toys, when Aidan was very young (just a few weeks) Noonie Joy and Auntie Jane gave him a handmade elephant. When Noonie Joy was a little girl her mother made her one of these elephants and then when Auntie Jane and her brother were young, their grandmother made them for her grandchildren. Then many years later Noonie Joy had one made for her granddaughter and one for Aidan. We were told that these elephants have special powers to elicit information from the children who confide in them when they are sick or feeling sad. We were also told to give him a very special name. I don't remember the names of all of his ancestors, but one of them has the name "Harry Elefonte." We've been waiting for the right name to reveal itself and this week it did. We've named him "Elephino." So, of course, I asked Jason whether we'd tell Aidan where the name "Elephino" comes from and he said, "Yes, it's a cross between and elephant and a rhino. Elephino!"