what aidan says

momma/mommaydaddy/dad-dee
papa
nana
lolo (comes out "no-no" cuz he hasn't gotten his "L's" down yet)
lola (comes out "oh-wa" cuz of the "L" thing)
banana (nana)
apple (sounds like "bappo")
bagel
more
please (sounds like "preas!")
thank you (sounds like "tat too")
potty
up
down
cool
vacuum
cooking (emphasis on "king" so it sounds like "co-KING" Sometimes is sounds like he's saying "cocaine." Yikes.)
ding (as in "why buy a mattress anywhere else-- ding!")
eat
boobies (yes, those kind)
no
yeah! (like his papa says)
mower

back from the beach

Last week, we were in Cannon Beach for our annual family vacation. Our week-long stay includes the following tried-and-true traditions:

1. We don't get out of the house (usually) until after Noon.

2. We go the Cannon Beach Bakery for coffee and an assortment of yummy pastries. At least once during vacation, Bill will pick up pastries on his way back from church and Paul and I will pick up pastries if we are up and about in the morning. (Easy to do when Aidan gets up at 5:30 a.m.) We end up with doubles of everything. This year, it happened twice!

3. Bill makes amazing french toast using Cinnamon Bread from the Cannon Beach Bakery.

4. We go to the beach (duh). We walk to Haystack Rock and checkout the sea life at low tide. This year, there weren't as many star fish. And, we had two days where we didn't have any wind at all.

5. This is the one week where bacon and eggs are consumed like no other.

6. We visit Paul's favorite Oakley premium dealer, Cleanline Surfshop. They came through for him this year, sending him they're entire inventory (2) of Art Chantry Hi Jinx Oakleys. (His previous pair was stolen. A long, sad story.) They also sent a free t-shirt. Check 'em out-- they are nice people and the owner is cool.

7. We visit the Nike Factory Store in Seaside at the outlet mall. For some reason, that is the only place I can find shoes I like.

8. If it is rainy, we see a movie at the little cineplex in Seaside. This year, Paul and I got to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

New this year:

1. Aidan played on the beach for the first time. (He was only 4 months old last year and he was covered up from head to toe because he was too young for sunscreen.)

2. We watched a lot of Disney Playhouse. (Aidan is beginning to slowly watch things other than commercials.) Little Einsteins. Higglytown Heroes. Choo Choo Soul. And, of course, The Wiggles. Hey Baby. Doodlebops creeps me out. Mickey Mouse's voice is irritating. Oh, but this is about the kids, huh?

Even though the weather was so-so, it was still a fun time. You can see more pictures of our trip on my Flickr.

crib notes

A few minutes ago, Aidan climbed out of his crib for the first time ever. We are still amazed.

We just got back from vacation. We figured he would have a little trouble getting to sleep since he's been sleeping in a twin bed (with a bed rail) for the last week. He was fast asleep when Paul put him in his crib, but he woke up soon thereafter. We decided to let him cry it out for a few minutes before going up and checking on him.

As we sat downstairs in the living room, we noticed that his crying seemed to get not just louder, but closer. We quickly went upstairs to discover that he had climbed out of his crib via the bar stool which he used to shimmy down to the floor. He was crawling around near the closed gate at the top of the staircase crying.

We've removed the breathable bumper around the crib (Paul thinks he used it to give him a boost.) And, we've moved the bar stool and the steps I use when I place Aidan in the crib. Tomorrow, we'll trying lowering the crib to the last notch left. However, I think it may be time to turn the crib into a daybed for our new-found daredevil.

the camera puts on 10 pounds AND a few years

Last weekend, we had our first family portraits taken-- it was a gift Paul gave me for my birthday. I'll post some of the proof shots soon, but I just had to get this one up. This is Aidan at 15 months-- he looks like he's FOUR.

ah, independence day

This year, the 4th of July was truly a day of independence for me and Paul. My parents offered to take Aidan for the holiday so we could enjoy the holiday on our own.We did things we haven't done in a long time.(Get your mind out of the gutter!)We "slept in" 'til 7 a.m. (When your kid gets up at 5 a.m., believe me, this is sleeping in!)We ate out Tuesday night. We ate out Wednesday night. I didn't have to feed anyone but myself.We saw TWO-- count 'em-- TWO movies in an actual movie theatre with big screen, big chairs and sticky floors. And one of the movies opened just one day ago!The first move we saw was, ironically, "Knocked Up." Very funny movie. Yet, smart. It was weird to watch a movie about babies and to go home without our baby. (Yes, of course we missed him!)The second movie we saw was "Transformers." A movie based on toys from Hasbro? Umm, yeah. And, it was surprisingly good. It was what you'd expect a summer blockbuster to be. There was an actual storyline within all the explosions, contorting robots (excuse me, "auto bots") and I remembered who Optimus Prime was.So, now it is 10:55 p.m. and the neighborhood fireworks are going off. I'm all for fireworks displays, but I really don't like fireworks going off so close to my house. I miss Aidan and I'm looking forward to coming home from work tomorrow afternoon and seeing his sweet little face. But I'm glad he's not here, having to put up with all this fireworks crap. Some of us have to work tomorrow, people!