My sweet little Aidan

I've been meaning to blog about all the things that Aidan loves right now at this time in his life, so I don't forget. Everyday at the park, he loves to pick up rocks and he really loves acorns. He likes to collect acorns and we find them in the drink holders in his stroller, where he puts them for safekeeping. He likes to put pea gravel on the slide, this annoys the older kids, but what are you gonna do? He likes to climb anything and is starting to take the steps like a big kid instead of crawling up or down them. He absolutely loves to swing! He must be on the swing for a minimum of 15-20 minutes before he's ready to get off. If you try to take him off before he's ready to get off, he'll let you know! If I ask him if he wants some water while we're at the park; he goes straight to the stroller and gets his water bottle (sippy cup) out of the basket and then puts it back when he's done. He doesn't stay in one place for long, he likes to explore the large grassy area around the playground. He's very independent and rarely looks around to make sure I'm in sight. He's fast. Sometimes he takes off running and I have to catch him if he's headed for the steep downward slope of the water retention area by the playground. There is a house next door to the park and they have a new puppy that Aidan likes to visit every day and let the puppy lick his fingers. He shrieks with excitement every time. Our new friends we met at the park, Chad & Vanessa and their daughter Scarlett, have a big Rottweiler named Bella and Aidan is not scared of this dog in the least! Bella is just a big ol teddy bear of a dog and excellent with kids and licks Aidan's face with her big tongue. He loves it! Scarlett loves Aidan, but Aidan isn't as interested in her as she is in him. He'll regret that one day! She is so adorable and has beautiful blue eyes just like Aidan. She was the first girl to give Aidan a kiss! She kissed him on the lips about a week ago. Too cute! They are only 2 days apart in age.

At home, Aidan loves watching "A Bee Movie", "Cars" and "Happy Feet". There is a part in the movie "Happy Feet" where the penguin is swimming and runs into a glass wall and every time, Aidan laughs at the penguins misfortune. He also loves to eat snacks I give him, usually apple or pear slices and share them with the dogs. He also loves to make a break for the laundry room so he can play in the dogs water bowl. This doesn't happen very often because we are very good about keeping the door shut, but every now and then we slip up and leave the door open when he's downstairs. We've also become accustomed to keeping the doggie door cover on so he can't try to get outside. This prevents him from getting extremely upset when we have to pull him back inside. He loves his baths. When I tell him it's time for a bath, every night after dinner, he runs for the bottom of the stairs and waits for me to open the gate so he can climb up the stairs to get his bath. Once at the top, he goes straight to the bathroom door (which is always shut so he doesn't turn into the toilet paper bandit). It's really exciting to see him understand what we're saying to him. He also loves his blanket. It's a soft blue with white trim and he clutches it close to him every nap and every night at bedtime as I feed him his bottle of warm milk. When we get him up from his naps, he will lay back down on his blanket so we can rub his back for several minutes before he's ready to get up and out of his crib. When he gives us kisses, I go in for the kiss with my mouth puckered and making a "mmmmmm" sound and he does the same. Gets me every time! The best is when he initiates the kisses and sometimes give me more than one. That's the best! These usually happen right after his bath as I have him wrapped in a towel, carrying him to his room to put on his diaper and PJ's. Nothing else in the world matters when my son is giving me kisses. How much do I love my precious baby? More than words could ever say.