let me introduce you to my little friend

toddlers are curious creatures. they ask a lot of questions. they like to poke and prod.

now for toddler boys, around the age of 3, they become particularly intrigued with body functions. probably because of the whole potty training process and the parts involved.

so of course, aidan has suddenly become very aware of his penis.

we try to use the anatomically correct term and try to refrain from using euphemisms like "peepee" or "weewee" and such. he pronounces it "pe-nus."

for the past several weeks aidan has been putting his hand down the front or back of his pants. i like to ask him," what are you doing, aidan? is your penis still there? good, now take your hands out of your pants." in the shower, sometimes he slaps at it. now, i thought that was a sensitive area, guys! i mean, what's with all the drama when some dude is dealt a blow in the 'nads? it looks like it hurts to high heaven!

paul says when it's your own penis, it doesn't hurt. really?

aidan has offered up a couple of great lines regarding the ol' "pe-nus:"

[after a bath] aidan says, "look mama! my penus is big! like daddy's! "

(no comment. this is a family blog after all.)

[in the morning] aidan has said, "look mama! my penus is up. because it slept all night!"

car talk

Our best conversations are usually when we are on the way home. We've picked Aidan up from daycare and he's has his afternoon snack while we talk about our day.

[Paul and I are talking about something at work]

Aidan: Stop talking-- I want to talk!

Us: What's that, Aidan?

Aidan: Stop talking guys.

Us: Okay, Aidan. You talk. What do you want to talk about?

[Silence]

Aidan: I can't talk. You help me guys.

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Aidan: Mama! I want more booty!

Me: How do you ask nicely?

Aidan: Booty please!

Me: The whole thing, please! (Lately, I've been able to get away with just giving him "the look" and I don't even have to say anything.)

Aidan: Mama, can I have some Pirate Booty please?

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Us: Did you have fun at school today, Aidan?

AIdan: Uh-huh. (Usually his mouth is full with grapes, oranges, or the aforementioned Booty)

Us: What did you do today?

Aidan: I play with playdough and I pinched [child's name omitted to protect their identity and Aidan's reputation]

Us: Aidan, it's not nice to pinch your friends. You shouldn't pinch your friends.

Aidan: It was funny--- bwaa ha haaa!

Us: That's not funny, Aidan.

Aidan: It's he-larious!

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the words every mama wants to hear first thing in the a.m.

first words out of aidan's mouth this morning when he woke up:

"My Oakleys! My Oakleys!"

i had to assure him for a few minutes that they were safe and sound in the car and he could wear them later when we went out.

sheesh. even paul doesn't do that!

sorry seems to be the hardest word

for the longest time, aidan has never been able to say "sorry." the funny thing is that he knows when you say it and why-- he just refused to say it. when prompted by me or paul for him to apologize, he'd instantly cover his eyes with his hands or arms as if to shield himself from the shame. it was his version of a wordless "sorry."

it has just been in the last week or so that he will now say, "sorry!" but, as the elton john song-inspired post title implies, it is still hard for him to say. the other day, aidan pinched me when i didn't pick him up. (you wouldn't think such little fingers would hurt, but he's a little crab, i tell ya!.) so i prompted him, "say sorry, mama." to which he replied:

"sorry daddy!" (paul got a laugh out of that)

prompted again, he then said:

"sorry, mickey!"

prompted again, he then said:

"sorry mower!" (that would be his plastic toy mower in our kitchen)

finally, he said "sorry mama" and then went on his merry way.

at least he now says "bless you" whenever you cough, sneeze or blow your nose. so there's hope yet of raising a well-mannered little boy!

pitchin' a fit

wow. i'm still tired after what happened this afternoon.

aidan had his wellness checkup today. paul and i had to pick him up from daycare-- waking him up from his nap to take him to visit dr. wong. he was in pretty good spirits.

then, we got to the children's clinic waiting room. the last time he was here, he was pretty sick. maybe it he was still groggy. maybe memories of feeling bad came back. whatever it was made him cranky. he wanted to be picked up and then he wanted to be put down, only to ask to be picked up again. he wanted to sit on mommy's lap and then daddy's and then mommy's again. these were not good signs.

then his named was called and we went into the examination room. major fit pitchin' ensued. the nurse, a really nice lady with a three-year-old of her own, somehow got his measurements even though he was writhing and crying hysterically. we had to strip him down to his diaper and he was not liking that at all. once the nurse left, the wait for dr. wong was interminably long. aidan could not be comforted. he was crying so hard he was almost hyperventilating. in between sobs, he managed to tell us he wanted to get dressed and leave;

"shoe?? shoe on? shoe on??" (translation; 'get my shoes on and let's get the hell out of here!')

"shirt-shirt-shirt?? shirt on? pants?" (translation; 'get me dressed and let's get the hell out of here!)

"open door?" (let's get the hell out of here already!)

paul and i were pretty much in a sweat, each taking turns holding and comforting mr. grumpy pants.

i finally ran to the car and got binky and mickey mouse. (we are trying to wean aidan from the binky, limiting it to the car and bedtime, but this was a frickin' emergency!) apparently while i was out doing that, paul found that stroking aidan's face and talking to him softly started to calm him down. 

by the time dr. wong got to us, aidan was the perfect patient. apparently, better behaved than the 10-year-old she had seen before aidan.

by the time we got him dressed and out the door, he was back to his agreeable self. of course, ol' mom and dad were pretty much wiped for the rest of the afternoon. thank god we didn't have to go back to work. and that we won't have to go through this until his next check-up-- when he's three!

rock of ages

well,more like pebble, really.

the weekend before i had to go out of town for work, we visited nana and papa for dinner. it was a nice time and we were towards the end of our visit when we suddenly caught aidan grinning mischieviously as he had something in his mouth. we didn't think anything of it since he had been helping himself to peanuts earlier. a quick sweep of his mouth with a finger didn't reveal anything was in there, but his binky was found near a scattered pile of decorative glass pebbles on one of the low tables.

naw, he couldn't have? could he?

it wasn't until monday, when i was in washington d.c./virginia that i got a text from paul around 10 p.m. "mom just called. aidan passed it-- all is well."

what a relief-- you think you can watch your kid's every move and then something like this happens. according to my mom, i swallowed a nickel at his age. luckily for both of us, we got through our experiences unscathed. you can bet that the counters are clear whenever aidan visits papa and nana's house from now on.

when i got home from my business trip, my mom (and aidan) gave me a present. here it is:

i knew that someday i would be a recipient of gifts made by aidan, but nothing that was actually "made" in aidan. ick.

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.