Aidan turns two

Aidan sings and accompanies himself on an invisible keyboard every chance he gets, so we gave the little maestro his own piano for his second birthday. No surprise, he took right to it. His cousin provided some moral support.

Christmas has arrived

Aidan almost understands the concept of gifts. Almost. Maybe next year he'll understand that the big boxes have toys in them.

Can I get some help, here?

Aidan "helped" decorate the tree. It took two weeks and at the end of it all, the bottom quarter looked like it got hit by a cyclone.

Christmas is coming?

"Mom and dad keep talking about Christmas and how I don't need anymore stuff. They're so funny! I totally need some new sweatpants (size 2T/3T). I'm really over my baby toys, too. I've started a list to give you some ideas, but don't tell my folks. We'll keep it our little secret."
Love, Aidan

P.S. Happy birthday Auntie Nettie!

http://amzn.com/w/3P7PVUCJ1KIBO

Fun at the mall

Gotta train them to love shopping early. Cars are definitely the way to a boy's heart.

Halloween hijinks

What was Aidan for Halloween? Um, he was Aidan. The pirate costume that was purchased for him lasted all of five seconds. (Toddler costumes should not have Velcro closures. He ripped that sucker off Incredible Hulk-style.) We did make a lame attempt to dress him as Tim Lincecum, but the one day we wanted him to wear his baseball cap, he wanted nothing to do with it. Instead of cute costume pictures, we give you this: Aidan going down a big slide by himself for the first time.

First trip to Disneyland!

LOVED Autopia--not much else. Drops in Pirates of the Caribbean: bad. Pirates and animatronic dogs: good. Haunted Mansion elevator: scary. Ghosts: entertaining. AstroBlasters: fun. Peter Pan: worst nightmare.

Halfway down Main St. USA

Thrilled to be at the Haunted Mansion

Pumpkin patched up

Most of September and early October, Aidan was down with the flu (NOT the piggy variety) and pneumonia. Luckily, he was his regular crazy self for our annual excursion to the Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival. Afterward, we hit the pumpkin patch down the road.

Aidan is the pickiest pumpkin picker ever! None of the pumpkins were good enough.

He kept yelling "BALL!" and trying to punt them into the ground. We came home with three of the non-smashed variety.

1.5 yr old soccer greatness---Gooaallll!!!!!

Brian has never looked prouder.

The Greatest Show on Earth

We learned a few very important things at the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus on August 23, 2009.

1. Aidan is not afriad of clowns (unlike his mother).
2. Going to the preshow on the big top is only a good idea if your kid is old enough to sit still for the rest of the show. Which leads me to...
3. The circus is way too long for a one year old.

We made it through the first act and cried through the second. Oh well. We had a good time anyway.

If a toddler falls in the forest...

Wedding in redwoods: gorgeous. Toddler in redwoods: filthy. Trying to keep toddler clean in redwoods for wedding photos: almost impossible. If you have a kid under 4, and someone invites you to their kid-friendly wedding in a park, remember these photos.

Parking lot before the ceremony:

 Lunch (Aidan's overcome his dislike of dirt, by the way)-yes that's dirt in the corner of his mouth:

 "Play clothes" at the reception softball game (notice how much cleaner he looks):

Great moments in sitting

This July 4th Aidan decided to show his independence by claiming his own chair at the beach. The hand-me-down blue beach chair is now officially his.

His godmother captured this great moment at sunset, hanging out on top of our cabin's table at Snug Harbor (Ryer's Island).

 And the fun with chairs didn't stop there. This little red loaner has replaced the high chair as Aidan's favorite place to "take his meals."

Oops, I made a mess

Meet 'donkey dog'

You know a trip the zoo is a success when your toddler comes home tired and dirty and spends the next week playing with farm toys. Aidan flirted with every girl on the nature trail and then spent 10 minutes trying to get in the pen with the miniature horse (which he proudly called "dog"). Trying to convince him it was a donkey was futile. But it's really about whatever makes him happy, right?

 

Oh the humanity!

Trips to the park are a bit challenging. Aidan loves the slides and swings (wasn't really that into the kid swinging next to him, but that was okay). Yeah!

But hates sand. Boo!

Mommy's little monster, er, helper

Sleeping in, flowers, orange juice in bed—ah, there’s just nothing like Mother’s Day. But no matter how hard a spouse tries mom always ends up doing some work. It comes with the territory. And when you have a one-year old, that work involves a very messy little “helper.” This year “helping” meant pulling out a wide selection of jars, baking sheets, and Tupperware to assist in making New Orleans style grilled shrimp (which requires shrimp, a grill pan, a bowl, and skewers). In the end it all worked out. The shrimp was delicious, nothing broke, and the temper tantrums were kept to a minimum. Success!

Look who's walking

After months of waiting and speculation, Aidan finally took his first real steps April 25, one day shy of his 16-month birthday. As his proud parents, Brian and I say, "It's about time!"

Just a little off the top

First haircut

before 

and after.

Faking it in New York

Jill and mom lend Aidan a hand at the Central Park Zoo. He's still not walking, but that's not going to keep the boy down. So put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Paris grass is A-okay

Aidan overcomes his fear of grass in Paris--in front of the Eiffel Tower, April 12, 2009.

Flying the friendly skies--away from grass.

Grass sucks!

Guess who hates grass? Doesn't want to touch it, or even have his feet touch it. It's amazing to watch a baby balance on his butt just to avoid a little greenery. Already a city boy. We're so proud.

Finally taking a stand

Look who finally decided you can't keep a good baby down.

In the most terrifying Friday the 13th moment for mom and dad, Aidan decided to start standing up by himself. He even shouted his good news from the rooftops ("mama, mama, dada, dada, dada!").

All we can really say is, it's about time. Some kids start walking early and other kids, like Aidan, decide to be careful and take their sweet time. At this rate, we expect to see some independent walking somewhere around 15 months old. We'll keep ya posted.

I will never go hungry

Once again, Aidan proves he will never starve. The lowdown: boy decides he's hungry, boy finds can of snack crackers, boy opens canister and devours snacks. Could he look any more proud of himself?

God made dirt and dirt don't...

Here we are at the park in the middle of January. It's 3 p.m. and 74 degrees outside in the lovely Parkside district (which is by the beach and typically VERY chilly). If you don't believe in global warming, doesn't this make you rethink things, even just a little?

Anyway, the big news is that Aidan decided to eat sand for the first time. This look says, "I'm gonna do it. I swear! Just try to stop me." We didn't. This photo was followed by a lot of spitting. Hysterical. But every kid's gotta do it at least once.