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Aiden has shortbread in both hands

Update

A roundup of recent interesting items...

• I've probably mentioned before that Aiden's favorite place to sit is on the end table. It is one of those two level tables so it is kind of like a little desk for him.
  
• Aiden knows how to open the dishwasher and there isn't really a way for me to lock it. I guess this means his day of freedom in the kitchen are over. You might remember he also knows how to STAND on the dishwasher.
  
• Aiden really understands what I'm saying and is getting better at communicating his needs. The last few mornings he has requested a diaper change first thing in the morning.
• He still confuses eat and drink
• He is starting to understand the meaning of hurt but confused it at first with more. You can imagine the problem that created when I told him head butting "hurts" and he thought I wanted "more".
  

Swimming

I broke down and bought a kiddie pool for a total of $8.47. The water was cold but we still had fun. I am going to set it up early in the morning so it will warm up a little before we use it this afternoon

Hosed

It is hot today but it does not bother Aiden

Stuffed Animals

Aiden with his closest friends

Hushabye Baby

Aiden is rocking this bear in the old car seat

Fun with Chalk

This is the first time Aiden has actually WRITTEN with the chalk. He used to just try to eat it.

At the Park

In a tunnel for the first time ever.

Yeeeee Ha!

Aiden riding the horse at Veteran's Memorial Park

Lunch

Peanut butter and jelly makes for a messy lunch

Last night...

"Aiden, are you tired?"

Aiden: Rubs his eyes and nods his head. Disappears down the hall; returns with pacifier in mouth and two blankets.

"Do you want to go night night?"

Aiden: drags blankets down the hall and lays down in front of the door to his bedroom.

Piano Man

Aiden loves to play the piano at Jan's house. He is usually very good at being gentle with the keys. He prefers the black keys. He is getting quite good at playing with both hands. I'm pretty sure piano lessons are in his future.

The Illness is Over

I am happy to report that Aiden is back to normal. He is even using pacifiers again and I decided I don't really care. I don't let him use them in public but I know they help him sleep and that is just not a battle I need to fight right now.

Aiden is starting to use the signs I've taught him. Yesterday we were at the mall and he said, "mama" and then did the sign for eat. It wasn't the first time he used it but it was really cute. We're working on the signs for "drink" and "milk". He is also starting to use the sign for diaper change and that is very helpful.

I can't remember if I already wrote about this...I had an interview on Wednesday for a job on post at Fort Bliss. It isn't a teaching job but it is education related and it would be a good fit for my personality and our family. I think it went well. If I get the job, I will know June 24 and they will want me to start about a month after that.

Tomorrow Aiden is going to daycare. In the morning I am going to call some schools in El Paso to follow up on my resume. Trish and her girls are coming in the afternoon to help me organize the bathroom and maybe the kitchen. On Wednesday Joy and Kellen are coming over for lunch. Joy is going to help me with Aiden's room.

One more thing...Aiden is busy taking the DVDs off the shelf and putting them back. It is very entertaining for both of us.

Pics from Arizona

Hey...remember when Aiden and I went to Arizona? My sister hired a photographer to take pictures of us. So far I've only seen a few of the pics on Facebook. She keeps saying she'll send me the disc but she's busy so it may be a while. I thought you might all like to see at least ONE pic though. So far it's my favorite.

Growing Up

Aiden is almost 18 months old! Can you believe it? Here are some pictures I thought you'd enjoy. I'll describe the back story on each one...

1. I moved a bunch of stuff into the kitchen because we were getting the carpets cleaned. Aiden was instantly attracted to the huge mess and spent about 30 minutes poking around in there!

2. Aiden was eating but obviously something made him mad.

3. Aiden loves to play with cans (no sharp edges, don't worry). This time he was putting his farm animal magnets in the can and dumping them out over and over and over and over.

4. Aiden likes to help me load the dishwasher. I walked into the living room to grab a glass off the table. It only took Aiden about 10 seconds to push in the bottom rack and get himself on the door. I got a picture on my phone of him STANDING there. I swear, he must plan these things for the MOMENT I'm not paying attention. He always executes them quickly and perfectly.

5. I was gardening, he was playing in the sandbox. He ventured away from the sandbox into some mud nearby and was none too happy with the results. I had to take him in for a bath right away!

He has been sick the last few days and his crankiness has been OFF THE CHARTS. He woke up in a good mood today though so I'm hopeful for a speedy recovery. During this illness he decided to give up the pacifier. He had sores in his mouth and Shannon explained to me that sucking is painful when kids have sores like that. Today I have some friends coming over to help me organize our place and get it ready to sell. I'll try to round up all the pacifiers while we're doing that because I'm sure he'll go right back to using them if he gets the chance.

I think Aiden will be a chef or a dentist. He LOVES to play with the stuff in the kitchen. His favorite thing to do in there is take all the spices out of the drawer and line them up on the windowsill. His favorite toy in the kitchen is easily the can opener. Don't worry, it doesn't have any exposed sharp parts. It is one of those can openers that leaves the lid without sharp edges. He loves to walk around the house with it and he even took it to the car recently.

One of Aiden's other favorite things is feeling my teeth. If he's sitting in my lap or a grocery cart and I'm talking, he immediately puts his hand in my mouth and feels around. I try to get his hand out but he puts it right back in as soon as I open my mouth. If you know me at all, you know I can't really keep my mouth SHUT so he's got lots of opportunity to get his hand in there!

Cookie Monster

Aiden likes chocolate chip cookies

Getting Ready for the Day

I've taken to letting Aiden sit with his feet in the sink while I get ready for the day. I'm always standing right there so it's not dangerous or anything and it keeps him busy. He mostly just splashes in the water a little. On this particular day, he slid his whole body down there and started getting water on his diaper. I don't know how he felt about that.