Crazy Things that Aidan Say

I'm going to try to post some of the weird things Aidan says. Here's one from December 2010 (when he's 5 years old):

"Your Hollywood friends are dead."

Aidan hates haircuts

...maybe even more so than the average kid. After sobbing through his last haircut last month, he said softly, "I want to die" (which he has never said before or heard us say). Not too surprising considering we took him to Supercuts...

Next assignment: To get him to say, "I want to eat your brains and gain your knowledge."

Aidan's first movie!

...was today; we saw "Kung Fu Panda", which gets two Buddha's thumbs up. He was a good boy the whole way through (just like at the ballet performances in Santa Barbara), though he was a bit scared of the the theater at the beginning and wanted to sit on grammy's lap the entire time.

Next up..."Star Wars: The Clone Wars"....?

Pee Pee in the Potty

Tonight, Aidan went pee pee in the potty for the first time. He was rewarded with a double serving (4) of M&Ms. The potty train has left the station. Next stop, poo town!

That's my boy!

Aidan's new cartoon show is "Dexter's Laboratory"!: http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/tv_shows/dexter/

Other than that, no major update. We're trying to potty train him (again), which is not going easy. It doesn't help when he denies that he went poo. Apparently, he likes to sit in a mud-puddle of his own filth. Dirty boy...

The Occasional Update

Ok, here's where we are:

- Aidan likes--nay, wants--to sleep in a crib instead of a bed. The bars around him give him a sense of secuity. Good idea, given all the monsters lurking around in his room at night...

- He also knows how to surf the Internet almost as well as his Grammy. His favorite site is YouTube, where he can watch his own videos and illegally-posted clips of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends (those bizarre, cheeky, and expensive talking trains).

- Today, he cooked his first meal. I gave him an egg just to play around with, crush, and get messy; instead, he cracked it perfectly into a little bowl, scrambled it with a fork, and added some spices. He also learned that frying pans are very hot.

- He still refuses to use his potty, but it seems to be getting better. We only recently tried to train him (again, a year or so later), and he likes reading his potty books. He gets 1 M&M for pee-pee and 2 M&Ms for poo-poos. And if he keeps reading on the pot like we do, maybe he'll get hemorrhoids.

- We recently had a fun family trip to San Franciso to see Uncle Mike as well as our old high school buddy Moody and his family, Mejong and baby Kaj. Good times. Videos on YouTube.

That's all, folks!

Escape from Alcatraz...

....or at least his crib. Earlier this week, Aidan climbed out of his crib in the morning (with the gate lowered). So I found him just standing and sobbing on his side of the door, instead of trying the door knob (like he knows how). Maybe he knows he's not supposed to be out of bed, but at the same time wanted to get on with his day. "Give us...free!" (from Amistad). And we had a very nice Christmas dinner + sleepover at Brenna's dad's house in Atascadero. They spoil all their kids and grandkids...!

Aidan the Funny Guy

Aidan told his first knock-knock joke this past week, the one that goes:

Knock knock.
Who's there?
Banana.
Banana who?
Banana banana.

Repeat above 1-10 times. Then:

Knock knock.
Who's there?
Orange.
Orange who?
Orange you glad I didn't say banana?

Of course...he takes the following short-cut:

Knock knock.
Who's there.
Ooorrange. (With a sly smile).

Repeat above ad nauseum.

So it doesn't make much sense, unless you know what he's getting at. Don't quit your day job to become a comedian just yet, kid.

Aidan's TV Guide

Not that he watches too much TV (ok, maybe a little), here's a list of shows/movies that Aidan likes, in roughly chronological order:

Baby Einstein videos
Signing Time
Thomas the Tank Engine
Dragon Tales
Dora the Explorer
Go, Diego, Go!
Blue's Clues
Lazytown
Little Einsteins
Curious George
The Wiggles

Movies:
Thomas and the Magic Railroad
The Little Mermaid
Finding Nemo
Cars
Toy Story
Alice in Wonderland
Peter Pan

Surprisingly, he's not so much a fan of Sesame Street, but he knows Elmo, Ernie, Bert, etc. That's for babies, and he's a big boy now. Who still poops in a diaper.

First day of skool!

Today was Aidan's first day of pre-school. He's going to Bay-Osos Montessori in Los Osos, just 1 block from where we live. There are about 20 or so kids there, and it looks fun yet disciplined (the kids have to help clean up, etc.).

SEPT. UPDATE: He didn't cry much; just for a few minutes for the first 1-2 weeks. And after that, he gives us the hand and says "bye bye" after we drop him off. His teacher his Ms. Hodges (whom he loves) and his best friend is Seamus, who's a year older.

He sings!

Yesterday, Aidan sang for the first time (as far as we know). He sang a few words for "The Wheels on the Bus Go 'Round and 'Round." His next performance will be on....American Idol!

First emergency room visit

It was bound to happen sometime. The fact that it happened on 06/06/06 around 6pm was a bit disturbing. After a hard day, Aidan was winding down and fell inside the house. He hit his forehead on a corner of a wall -- a freak accident. First, it looked ok, but then the blood started to flow, and Brenna freaked out. We drove him to the E.R. at the hospital in which he was born. After waiting for 1-2 hours, they finally glued the gash together. (Stitches would have required knocking him out, and that sounds more painful anyway.)

Anyway, this is probably par for the course for little monkey-boys. I'm sure there will be a lot more in is future, given the medical history of his parents!

HE WALKS

what else is there to say?

- Momma and Papa

Still crawling...

...and getting really good at it. The boy has wheels - if you turn your back on him, he'll make a run (or fast crawl) for the door. He's also pulling himself up on furniture/objects and is getting better at balancing. Which means he still falls down a lot. But I predict he'll be walking within a month...

P.S. With the playpen gates/panels all over the living room to fence him in, and his toys littering the floor, the boy's stuff has officially taken over the house. We've given up on keeping the house tidy...resistance is futile...

And....he's off!

The day has arrived. The boy is officially crawling! I guess that also makes him now a rugrat (or rugmonkey?). Ok, time to move all our stuff off the ground...!

AH, life is sooo busy...

Aidan has a little toofer on the bottom middle. Popped out about a week ago. He feels much better now. And he is about to crawl. Considering the time, that's all for now.

VOILA!

Aidan rolled from his back to his tummy today! A big milestone!!! We put him on his back again and he rolled again, rinse, repeat. We had to see if it was an accident or not. Now the babyproofing begins, crawling is next on the agenda. :) We are so happy for him! He is now a man.

- Mom

Evolution in progress

This morning, on his tummy, Aidan started pushing off with his little fat feet to inch himself forward, for the first time that we've seen. Just as fish evolved to have legs to crawl on land, our immobile boy is acquiring new skills to expand his world. Guess we should start babyproofing the house soon...

- Padre Grande

First day at daycare

Today was Aidan's first day at daycare, which went well. The wife (Corrie) of the brother (Michael) of my old roommate (Jeremy Bott) started up a very small daycare business (from their house earlier this year, so it's with someone we know and trust.

He's only going for a half-day a week for now, since Brenna's mom has a lot of free time for the moment and has been doing a great job with him. When Brenna starts up at UCSB this fall, we'll need to have daycare lined up anyway. Anyway, it gets the boy used to socializing with other kids, and it'll be nice having a back-up plan in case the boy drives us completely insane... ;)

- Papa

First cold?

We think Aidan had his first cold this past week...runny nose (and resulting boogies), sneezing, coughing, crankiness, tugging on his right ear, all that good stuff. But he took it extraordinarily well - he hardly complained at all...just more tired, sleeping a bit more, and harder to put to bed. Then again, maybe it was just allergies? Who knows - we can't figure this little guy out...

Also last week, the very top of his first tooth (we think) sprouted from his bottom right set of gums....at 4 months old! His pediatrictian, Dr. Vic, said that babies usually get their first toofer around 7 months. But he forgot to take into account Aidan's superhuman powers, which include resistance to illness, advanced learning skills, nunchaku skills, and computer-hacking skills. So the boy's got that going for him. Which is nice.

- Papa-san

SUCCESS!!

Grandma Emily gave me some advice and said "make the cereal thicker". So I made it thicker. Aidan ate his cereal and laughed while he did it.

YAY!

p.s. Pat has a theory that you can "outsmart" a baby by leveraging his own biology against him. For example, touching the spoon to his mouth to activate the natural reflex of eating (Mom's idea), and waiting 'til Aidan is nearly asleep to take advantage of the automatic sucking instinct that helps him finish his whole bottle without him noticing. He will soon write a book. Look for it in Fall 2006....NOT! ;)

our LITTLE boy

So Aidan is a little on the skinny side. He had his 4 month check-up and immunizations on the 6th and he is only 12 pounds 4 ounces when the average baby his age is 14 pounds. I say to the doctor, "He's just not into eating, is that strange?" I got a stern, "Yes." Anyway, nothing to worry about apparently, the doctor didn't seem too concerned, but as a result, our little boy begins eating solid food today at his next feeding. I will blog again to let you know how it goes. Other than being anorexic, he is perfectly healthy.

- Mammer Jamma

UPDATE: horrible failure.... no solids yet. :)

Partially self-feeding baby

This morning - for the first time ever - Aidan was able to hold his bottle (for most of the time) and was feeding himself! Now we just have to train him to scoop out formula, so we can sleep in for a change....

Next step: holding in your pee and using the toilet. But that can wait until June when he'll be 5 months old. We believe in taking baby steps.

- Parappa the Rappa

Quantum Leaps

We went to the zoo today. We got a family membership that covers Pat, Aidan and I and two guests anytime. We saw lots of animals. But that's not even the half of what happened today.

AIDAN TURNED OVER BY HIMSELF. He was on his tummy and turned over to the right onto his back. He balanced all weird and looked like a break dancer for about 6 seconds and then FLIP! He looked very proud of himself. It happened over night. He was a little worm and now in one day he's doing crazy things. Besides the fact that he can turn over (okay I know it's only once, but maybe it will happen again), he can almost crawl. I am not even kidding. He can scooch himself about a 1/2 inch at a time and when he figures out how to use his arms, he is off. Two weeks ago he couldn't hold his head up every well when he was on his tummy and now he is practically mobile.

I jumped up and screamed when he turned over. I am so glad I didn't miss it.

- The Mother

The Maiden Voyage

Well we went on our first official weekend trip with the boy. I drank ridiculous amounts of caffeine today and am therefore awake at 11:30pm when I really shouldn't be, so I thought I would at least write something.

On this trip we got to visit Casey, Rachel and Bella, which was cool, eat super yummy dim sum (a crazy sensory experience, not just taste here folks, you are immediately accosted with trays and trays of wonderful food and you're like "YES! NO! AHHHHH! no more!" they even make the broccoli seem like a special delicacy), eat super yummy crepes/beef stroganoff, and other general vacationy stuff like walking around and buying a sweater at old navy because you didn't pack well (oops, my bad).

Aidan slept last night in the hotel from 10pm-5:30am and I about died. it was magical. if not tomorrow, in less than one week he is going to be on 5 ounces of formula. it's weird because over the course of one week, he started eating his full 4oz. bottles and now is ready for more. this is after ages of fighting with him to eat 2 ounces and worrying if he is gaining weight properly (we don't have a scale). there is a possibility that he could start rice cereal in about a month, but we will see if the pediatrician agrees. Rachel speculated he might like "real" food more than formula, and she may be right. who knows what's going on in their little minds.

anyway, other than that things are the same. he is still the most gorgeous baby who has ever lived. yay!

p.s. we (Aidan and I, patrick came too), started a baby class called Infant Times I through the SBCC extension/adult ed program. it's a class for moms/dads and babies and you learn songs and play with your children, they teach you basic sign language to use with your baby, and teach you about infant massage and how your baby is developing etc. When I asked the teacher (Laura Sobell, a child development specialist) a general question about a child's physical development she answered it and then told me not to worry, that Aidan was "advanced" for his age. I said, "really?" and she said, "oh yeah, those wiry ones always do everything early!" Aidan is wiry and advanced. And it wasn't me that said it. yay! I was right! ;)

Totally gross

Well, it finally happened...I just changed my first poopy diaper. Let me take you back to the scene:

The morning was still. Almost too still. The day's first light had broken over the mountains, and the air was cool. The faint glow from my laptop illuminated the room. I didn't know that today I would lose my soul.

The boy took his early morning bottle sloppily if not uneventfully. But then I heard the Grunt. And another. And then a pop. An angel cried. That's when the stench of warm death wafted under my unwilling nostrils. Assassin!

Yes, I panicked. Fear was a factor for me, for I was alone with the boy. Could I wait a couple hours until Brenna woke up to have her change his diaper? Yes. I mean, No. Could I? Dammit.

In my frenetic mind, I replayed the past poopy-diaper changes I've seen. How did she manipulate the baby wipes and the flailing legs so expertly, so calmly? I unbuttoned the boy's pajamas, took my last breath, and unsealed the diaper.

I must have passed out momentarily, because the next few seconds were a blur. Then I remembered. I remembered everything. Oh, the humanity!

With a wipe in hand like a priest's cross, I took another look at the unholy mass. I knew what I had to do - what any reasonable man would do: I woke up the boy's mama.

My uselessness, no doubt, did not surprise her. That's why she woke up without complaint and proceeded with the thankless task, like a woman who has given up hope that help would ever come. But in a practically unfathomable act, I stopped her. I would do it myself, I bravely said with trembling lips.

After a few stretches and a silent prayer, I steeled myself for what I had to do. They would make me a major after this, but I wasn't in their army anymore...

I will spare you the details here, except for this witness: it wasn't human. A dozen baby wipes later, the dirty deed was done, and the threat dissipating with the foul air. In my proudest moment, I had lived so that others could regale my story in song. An hour or so later, I am beginning to regain my sense of smell and sight in my left eye.

But hark...was that ANOTHER grunt I just heard? Are the gods displeased, turning the sky dark? Crap. It's back. And this time it's personal. BRENNAA!!!......

- Patrick the Poo-Slayer

About a boy, part deux...

Aidan is changing so much every day, it's hard to believe.

• he has this little toy maraca that his grandma Emily got for him. He likes to hang onto it and shake his little hand. it semi-scares him, but when I sing to it, he laughs.
• he is on the verge of turning over... on the verge (from stomach to back). I can see his muscles straining in that capacity but he can't quite make it happen yet.
• he holds his head up very well and when he leans on his boppy, his tummy time is excellent. He has a little trouble with the flat-on-the-stomach tummy time still but I assume by the end of his 3rd month, he will be doing mini pushups just like the book says he will.
• he FINALLY started eating 3-4 ounces consistently at every feeding and sleeps for long periods at night. last night he slept from 10pm-4am and then again after he ate til 8:30am. but I won't jinx anything by saying that will stay the same. one can only hope.
• he is starting to get interested in my cat, Texas, and she is starting to get interested in him. what result this will have? I have no idea.
• he coos and talks and smiles all the time.
• his witching hour is somewhere around 7-8pm and he just gets pissed every night at this time. it's unavoidable.
• someone guessed that he was a month old a few days ago. so yes, he is still small for his age, but if pat and I measured almost correctly, he is going on 22 inches now.
• he prefers to stand rather than sit; weird but true.
• his eyes are still gray-blue! yay for blue eyes winning out! it's official.

that's about it for now... can't think of anything else. He is awesome and getting so much more awesome every day. Pat and I are obsessed and in love.

Aidan laughs!

On April Fool's day no less! Sure, he has kind of chuckled before, but today while laying on his changing table looking at his little mobile, he laughed for a period of time and it sounded genuinely joyful, not just like an accident. Patrick and I laughed too and were too late to catch it on video, just like every other thing. :)

- brenna

Aidan to appear in Hollywood movie!!

Apparently, a movie producer saw Aidan's pictures and wanted him to play a small part in an upcoming movie, "Spring Break 2: Babies Gone Wild"!!

It's a Pulp Fiction-meets-Caddyshack-type story where kidnapped babies are raised by the Russian mafia (South Beach chapter) to be trash-talking, milk-drinking, mushroom-cloud laying toddlers of terror...who play golf. This will also feature John Travolta, who continues his proud tradition of movies with talking babies. Ok, it won't win any awards, but it's a good, clean flick for kids and small animals to see.

April Fool's Day...bunNNG!

I can't think of a witty title for this post. :)

Aidan is getting really big, we have contemplated trying to measure how tall he is, but we think it's best left to the professionals (i.e. Dr. Vichai Phungrasamee, Aidan's pediatrician; yes he's Thai. we call him Dr. Vic). his noggin is gargantuan though, so we think he will end up being bigger than we think at his 12 week check up next month.

he is all into putting things in his mouth now at this point, not sure if it's early or not. all the books say that "your kid could sit up somewhere between 4-8 months," or "your kid could walk between 9-18 months," and it says that about EVERY milestone so it's hard to tell what is normal or not because the range is so large. basically, developmentally, he's fine. he holds his little satin and flannel blanket and crams it in mouth and smiles. he is also talking A LOT, if you take the time to look at him and talk to him he will talk back longer than you might expect.

Aidan's hair is growing in a lot and it's getting very very dark, almost black. I think it will end up taking after pat's. his eyes are still blue, dark but blue, so I think they will stay that way, it's late enough to tell for sure.

that's basically it for now, nothing crazy going on, he isn't sleeping through the night or anything phenomenal (at least to pat and I, that sleeping through the night thing will be pretty phenomenal for us).

hope all is well and happy easter.

- brenna (the mother)

First tooth??

Ok, we understand that Aidan is only 11 weeks old now, which is usually early for babies to be teething...but the boy is advanced.

His first day out, he could already pick up his head to check out the scenery. His first week, he could already support his entire weight - all 6-7 lbs - on his scrawny legs. And we think we knows how to say a couple words (anyone seen Clint Howard's debut on Star Trek in the '60s as that baby alien who could talk? One word for that: scary).

So it's not entirely irrational exuberance to think his first tooth (or "toofer" if Susan prefers) is coming in. He's starting to drool, become more cranky and inconsolable, and always wants a third sip of beer. Which are also exactly the signs of being constipated, in my experience, so who really knows....?

Aidan is...

... starting to look like my brother, Casey, a little bit. Sometimes I look at him and he looks like Casey's baby pictures. Weird...

- Brenna (the mother)

Aidan vs. SkyNet

By the way, we think Aidan became self-aware this week - at 5:57am on Monday, to be exact. He also had his first laugh this morning. Next stop: taking over the world...

- Big Papa

About a boy

Here are some fun facts about Aidan:

• Aidan was born at an early age and is a Capricorn. Which means he doesn't believe in astrology.
• He enjoys long walks on the beach and candlelit bottle feedings. He's looking for a girl-baby who likes the same. (Please, ladies, take a number just like everyone else.)
• He's got skinny legs, just like his papa. Chicks dig that, though.
• He eats every 3 hours or so, just like his papa.
• His little baby-breath still smells good. Soy-burps....yummers.
• When he's asleep, you cannot wake him for anything. This will be fun when he turns 5 and needs to go to school in the morning.
• From his Zoolander pics, he likes hamming it up with his funny faces. Anything to get a cheap laugh, really.
• Cat Stevens' best-of CD (his pre-terrorist days) puts the boy to sleep. The peace train apparently stops in Goleta.
• His mama, Brenna, wants to sign him up for piano lessons. His papa will sign him up for sports so he doesn't become a complete dork.
• He can serve up a headbutt that would make Jimmy "the Superfly" Snuka proud.
• He likes to flail his arms and legs around like a monkey on acid.
• Besides sweet nunchaku skills, he can grip open a crocodile's mouth with his toes, just like his mama.
• He knows to wake up and fuss right before you go to sleep or eat.
• He's starting to make interesting noises. It sometimes sounds like "mama" or "hi" or "you shall never retrieve the Necronomicon!"
• We like to smell his head - is that weird?? It has two cowlicks and a couple bare spots. Nothing a little bit of Rogaine can't fix...
• His eyes are still a little blue. His hair - or what little fuzz there is on his melon - has a hint of red. We blame that on Brenna's dad.
• He likes to watch and judge you when you're not looking, just like his papa. Or Santa Claus.

- P-Daddy

Aidan is 2 months old today!

Aidan is 2 months old today (officially according to Patrick because "8 weeks" doesn't mean he is actually 2 months old). He is becoming much more interesting than he was in the beginning, seeing as he is smiling and cooing and becoming more opinionated (don't know if that's a good or bad thing). He loves being walked around and looking at new things, loves his colorful flash cards we put up on the wall in Pat's office and loves sitting in his bouncer and kicking the crap out of it. He had his first set of immunizations last Friday and he has been kind of cranky and feverish ever since, doctor says it's normal but it's killing Pat and me because he is constantly crying and out of sorts. My mom has been helping a lot though, thank God, and Pat and me have been getting a break every once and a while.

We enjoyed a visit from a large portion of the Robertson clan just a couple days ago, on Sunday. Both my aunts (my Dad's sisters, Cheryl and Linda) and their significant others (Jerry and Mo), my Grandma Ginny (who just celebrated her 80th birthday) and Grandpa Stan and my Dad and my step-mom Dona. We all went to a yummy brunch at Glen Annie Golf Course and Aidan was a big hit. It's not a stretch of the imagination considering he is the cutest baby who has ever lived.

That's about it for now; Aidan is 10 pounds and 20.5 inches as of his check-up/stabbing with needles appointment on the 4th, so he is getting bigger and bigger, but he still is a little dinky for a baby his age. The general public thinks I am taking a newborn out on the town when I am out with him and I can feel their judgments :). "He's 2 months old!" Oh well...

- Brenna