aidan turns 10

...10 months that is!

Aidan seems to come up with something to surprise us everyday-- it's hard to remember everything, but here goes:

A good appetite. With the exception of peas, there isn't a food that Aidan won't eat. He is now a fan of the Gerber line of finger foods-- biter bisquits, zwieback toast, veggie puffs. He still only has one bottom tooth, but he manages to turn a hard biter bisquit into a handful of mush.

Besides including Aidan at dinner time (I used to nurse him before dinner and then feed him solids after we had our dinner) we've started feeding Aidan at the same time as our dinner (Paul and I take turn feeding him between bites.) Aidan seems to like being part of the dinner routine with Mommy and Daddy. I've also started giving him some of my food at dinner-- just small samples to introduce his palate to new tastes. So far, he's had spaghetti noodles, teriyaki, rice, and corn mush from Chevy's. Aidan's doctor suggested we start feeding him cheese and yogurt, so that will be next on his menu.


"No Fear" Factor.On weekend mornings, Aidan wakes up around 5:30-6 a.m. to nurse. (His stomach hasn't learned how to sleep in yet.) He tends to fall back asleep after he is done, but if you put him back in his crib, he wakes up. So, I bring him to our bed and we usually can squeek another precious hour and a half of sleep. But when he wakes up, watch out! He likes to climb over our heads to reach for the wrought iron headboard of our bed. We have to grab his feet otherwise he will slip between the space between the headboard and the mattress. We've tried "blocking" the headboard with pillows, but he just uses the pillows to climb up higher, balancing his little pajama-covered feet precariously on the edge. He has also learned to work his way sideways to get to my nightstand where there's all sort of fun things that can go into his mouth.

Maximus rides again.Aidan's newest "thing" is riding his "chariot" (a plastic push cart that resembles a mail carrier's cart. He will pull the plastic pieces of mail and throw them to the ground. He pries the doors off and then climbs in. Then, we'll push him around the living room and kitchen. Sometimes, he'll lift one foot as if to test his balancing skills.

A little less baby, a little more toddler.This weekend, Paul and I went through Aidan's chest of drawers to get rid of the clothes his outgrown. A lot of stuff had to go-- most of it was 3-6 month size! Some clothes were never worn; there were a number of footed pajamas he was unable to wear because it we were in the midst of the dog days of summer-- too hot. Some of our favorite outfits no longer fit him. Aidan is pretty long-limbed, so 12 month clothes are already his minimum size. We are also starting the weaning process, so he nurses in the morning and at bedtime. He just doesn't like nursing during the day-- he is easily distracted, isn't interested, and shows this by biting (ouch). Strangely enough, he never bites in the morning or at night time. Aidan is doing well with solids, so my commitment to nursing for one year is coming to a close. I didn't think I'd even last a month!

Hmm, what else? Aidan likes to sing and wave his hands. Sometimes he'll do this when he's playing on his own. He also loves to laugh-- the tricky part is what makes him laugh today doesn't always work the next day.

It will be interesting to see what Aidan comes up with in the coming days.

Aidan's first mug shots

For Aidan's first passport.

Biting the hand that feeds him

After months and months of teething and drool, Aidan finally cut his first tooth a little over a month ago. He has one single bottom tooth. When he lets me, I'll take a peek inside his mouth and see several other teeth that seem to be ready to pop, but they just hover there, just beneath his gums.

Not having teeth hasn't stopped him from enjoying what the Gerber folks like to call "finger foods." Melt in your mouth veggie puffs, zwieback toast, biter bisquits-- Aidan can obliterate them with just his gums. He's the jaws of life in miniature. Lately, I've been feeding him some of my food at dinner. So far, he's had plain spaghetti noodles, rice (which he mostly just plays with), teriyaki beef (he LOVES that), corn mush from Chevy's and salmon. So far, he is an adventurous eater. I hope this continues!

You wouldn't think that one little tooth could do any harm, but think again! Aidan is still teething, so to soothe his gums any bare finger, forearm or other available body part will do. I've committed to nursing Aidan for a year-- that's only two months away and good thing because guess what else Aidan's likes to bite. (ouch). The other night, we were all playing on the floor. Aidan crawled up to Paul and pulled himself up. He then took a nose dive into Paul's chest and managed to bite Paul's man nipple! "Now you know what it feels like!" I told Paul. But, he had the benefit of cotton fabric to lessen the full effect.

Aidan has also left his mark on his crib (his crib rail is riddled with tick marks and scrapes) and the end of our dining table (where his high chair is) is also marked with his scrapes. He likes to gnaw on our end table in the living room (his fave spot) but we're not worried about it because is metal.

All this destruction and he only has one tooth!

it's times like these that make you forget that he kept you up all night

Day 1 of 2007

Happy New Year, folks!

The McJannets have survived their first holiday season with baby. It only gets better from here, right? (All the parents of toddlers are saying "HA" out loud about now.)

This year we went to FOUR family gatherings with upwards of 40 people at one of them. Aidan was Mr. Social Butterfly. He played with his cousins and charmed the great aunts. He must have had his picture taken hundreds of times with great aunts and uncles he's never met before-- but he took it in stride and smiled in his "My First Christmas" outfit and Santa hat. He napped between parties (man, I wish I could have done that) and attempted to catch a few Z's at our last gathering of the evening, but who could sleep soundly when you've got a rousing game of charades downstairs?

Paul and I were pretty much exhausted by the time we got to his parent's house. Aidan, fueled by his naps, was wired. We didn't get to bed until 2 a.m.!

It was that night that we decided to take it easy and stay in for New Year's Eve. We were invited to watch the fireworks from our friends' condo in Queen Anne, but the thought of getting stuck in Seattle traffic with a baby at 1 a.m. was too much for us. We're not really partying folk anyways-- when we used to live in Eastlake, we'd watch movies (actually, Paul would watch the movies and I would fall asleep) just step outside and take in the fireworks. Then we'd go to bed while everyone else whooped it up.

New Year's Eve day was spent putting up baby gates at the foot and top of the stairs because Aidan has become quite the stair climber. The problem is that he is less proficient going down the stairs and when you're not looking, he will do it whether you are there to catch him or not. I am not in any hurry to see him walking. I'm still getting used to this stealth crawling he's doing.

He got loads of toys for Christmas, but his mainstay favorites continue to be our metal end table (which he likes to teethe on and hang on to) and an empty Huggies diaper box he likes to smack his hands on.

In less than three months, Aidan is going to be a year old? How the heck did that happen?

I'm looking forward to the antics the little guy has in store for us this year. And I resolve to post about them on this blog.