Aaron, 19ms

When a relative walked in our door and was surprised to see Aaron walking, I realized how loooong it's been since I've catalogued his exploits.

Walking
Yes, Aaron is walking, just in time for Spring. He can walk in the grass (his fav), he can walk with his brother (tho it often ends in a heap of boys), and he can walk to pull things off the table (not so excited about that one). He's been practicing for over a month, but we're ready to declare victory now he's officially 31.25" tall even in motion.

Talking
Aaron has been communicating for many months:
-- bringing me snacks he's found in the diaper bag
-- standing at the side of my bed in the mornings (after Josh gets him up) and saying "Mama, Mama" (his first word) till I pick him up
-- putting his face 2" from mine if I'm still sleeping and making noises till I open my eyes
-- kicking his legs to show his approval of any suggestion
-- signing "milk" or "more" or "all done"
-- sticking his hand high in the air and saying "hi" when someone comes or goes
-- giving "five" (slapping an open hand)
-- looking for the moon in any book, pointing to it, and saying "bum"
-- carrying around a ball and calling it a "ba" (his 2nd word)
And last week he actually said, clear as a bell, "more" and "done" at the appropriate times at dinner. He's making adorable animal sounds and loves repeating my pronunciation of his favorite page in his favorite book (Dr. Seuss's The Foot Book). It's amazing how it feels to see these developments, these firsts. It feels like there's gotta be a little bell in heaven somewhere that rings whenever one of these little "miracles" happens.

Sleeping
7:30pm-6:30am and a 1:30-3:30pm nap every day. We are blessed. The only exception is when we travel. He spent the first 24hrs fighting sleep during a trip 2 weeks ago, but then he did great on a trip we just finished. I'm hoping that shows progress since we'll be on the road a lot the next several months.

Obeying
Noah has been so obedient that I worried Aaron would be our rebel. Thank the Lord he's not. When I tell him not to do something, he generally doesn't do it. His biggest temptation is throwing food/drink on the floor, but even that has improved dramatically since 1) a friend suggested using the pack-n-play for time-out, 2) he understands me better, and 3) I redesigned our mealtimes. Now he's great about handing me his plate, turning around when he reaches "the line" in the driveway, and even coming when I call (not too surprising since he's a mama's boy).

Eating
He eats off a plate with his hands or out of a bowl with a spoon and is given whatever we're eating, which is all so great/easy. Of course, that doesn't mean he eats all he's given. He loves fruit and anything sweet; he still doesn't love starches, veges (except sweet potatoes), or meats (except sweet ham, sweet ribs, or hot dogs with sweet ketchup). To his credit, he doesn't hesitate to take a bite of everything he's given. He also doesn't hesitate to spit it out. To my credit, that's all he gets, so I'm hoping hunger will eventually expand his tastes.

Swinging
Aaron loves to swing and Noah--er, Smee--loves to defend his "pirate ship," so we spend a lot of time out back on the playset. In fact, Aaron so loves playing outside that he's figured out how to wriggle out of my arms when I pull him from the van. Tonight, he cried at the back door because I was cruelly making him stay inside for dinner. On the upside, he LOVED the sloppy joes, so we're good.

Overall, Aaron is such a sweetie. He's loving, playful, amusing, healthy, and too adorable for words. We are so very grateful for another wonderful boy.