The Zoo

Today my MOPS table had a play date at the zoo. It was a perfect day for it and Aaron loves to be outside, so he was completely content.
Last night our Sunday School class had a shrimp boil and, again, it was outside so Aaron loved it. It is so nice to have such a contented child. We have a busy week of play dates and activities so I hope to have lots of good pictures to share.

Wishes and Kisses

I mentioned yesterday that we got a package of outfits from Grandma Sheri. I have to tell you that I squealed out loud when I opened the box and saw a hanger that I recognized as being from the brand Wishes and Kisses. I love Wishes and Kisses clothing. They're by far the easiest clothes to get on and off Aaron. Far and away. They're super soft and they're awfully cute. Here's a picture of Aaron watching football with Daddy in his brand new Wishes and Kisses clothes.

Aaron had a very big day. First of all, Ohio State showed Illinois that we are still a little irritated about them beating us a couple of years ago and advised them not to attempt to repeat that endeavor. Secondly, Aaron ate spinach for the second time today and by the end of the experience he was enjoying it some. The beginning of the experience was pretty funny, though. He'd open his mouth for the spoon then look at me like he was going to cry when he tasted the spinach, then once he'd get the stuff swallowed he'd open up for more and repeat the whole process. That kid will eat anything.Aaron also had some big accomplishments today. He demonstrated his ability to climb over large obstacles in order to get to what he wants. It was really impressive, though we should probably be nervous. AND, this morning, Daddy waved Bye Bye to him and he waved back!!! Oh my word! We were so excited. We spent the rest of the day waving at him so he'd wave back. He probably now has no concept that waving is supposed to indicate arrival and departure. He just thinks that's what you do on Saturdays.

Big Boy

This post is actually not related to Aaron's size. It has to do with his growing independence. Such a Big Boy, has to do it himself! I have been trying to give him bottles during the day and he's not a fan of taking a bottle from Mama, as you can probably understand. Our first bottle today was frustrating and he took about half a feeding. The second bottle was worse. Finally, I realized that he clearly isn't under-weight. If he doesn't want to eat, it's not the end of the world. If he gets hungry enough, he'll take a bottle. As soon as I resigned myself to that and set the bottle down, Aaron picked it up and proceeded to feed himself. Oh! I did not know that it wasn't the bottle he had a problem with, it was the lack of control he had over its administration. I am thankful that has been cleared up.

Today I was so excited to receive a package from Grandma Sheri with some new fall clothes for Aaron! His wardrobe for this cooler season is somewhat lacking and I haven't done anything about it since it didn't cool down until this week, so I was thrilled with the gifts! Be prepared for a fashion show this week. Today's outfit is courtesy of Grandad and I love it. Soft, cute and easy!

The picture below is from last week when I babysat Charlotte. This was the girl Aaron had his very first playdate with when he was itty-bitty. She was born the same week he was and her parents were in our birthing class. We think they're great and their daughter is an angel. Although in the picture below she is wondering what to do about the young man who just took her sock off of her foot.

Happy Baby

Aaron had such a fun time yesterday. He got to go to my old work and sit with Jana who just loved on him! He got his own work space and papers and just helped her and helped her. He loved it!

Then last night Brooke came to keep him and you can't beat that. Oh! Mama and Daddy got home and he was not pleased. He asked us to go ahead and leave again so he could spend more time with Brooke. He loves that girl!

And then there's today. See how happy he is? It's because he FINALLY has a tooth coming through! He is actually handling it pretty well, though I am planning to buy some teething pellets to have on hand in case of an emergency melt down.

We've just had such a fun, sweet week. I love my little man and I love that he does so well going places with me. It is very nice.

Look where Aaron got to have breakfast

Uggg. My baby is definitely growing up too fast, but I have to admit that he did look awfully cute in his high chair. Bonus - he LOVED the high chair! So, we are moving into another phase.

Aaron is still a great eater. We got to the point that he loved green beans and then we moved on to peas. He liked peas from the start, so I probably won't hang out there too long before trying carrots.

Aaron's Awesome Weekend

Aaron had a big time this weekend. Papa John and Kimmie came down and kept him so Daddy and Mama could go away for the weekend. Apparently, he was absolutely perfect. Kimmie and Papa John seemed to really enjoy themselves and they didn't even make fun of the five typed pages of notes left for them. We left our camera so they could capture Aaron's Weekend Away on film.

Here's Aaron taking Sandy for a walk. Kimmie bought him this Camo hat that says 'Daddy's Little Hunter'.

Reading the Sunday Morning Paper with Papa John in his Aggie jammies, of course.A little Morning Playtime with Sandy.Floor Time with Papa John. Surrounded by toys from Kimmie.We had a wonderful weekend and are so thankful to Kimmie and Papa John - Aaron is, too!

A Note to Clothes Buyers Everywhere

This is my 6-month-old son lounging comfortably in his cousin's 12-month shirt. Yesterday's post showed him in his favorite T-shirt which is also a 12-month and fits perfectly. Aaron can still wear some of his 6-9 mo clothes, but some brands only go to 18 pounds and some only go to 28.5 inches. Those brands are too tight for him now.
Yes, he is a big kid. I am being told way too often that he looks like a toddler. I am not okay with this. He is 6 months old. I want him to be a BABY. I don't want him to be big enough for his high chair or have a digestive system that is developed enough for green beans. I have discussed with him that he's going to have to slow down on this growing up thing. Mama absolutely can not handle it. A couple more clothing notes: I anticipate him being in 12 month clothes for a LONG time. This is because (1) I have asked him to not grow so fast, (2) the next size up is 18 months and that would just be abnormal and (3) I understand that weight gain slows once children are fully mobile. I realize this probably won't help with his height, but humor me.

Finally, Aaron is in desperate need of a belt. This is on my To Do List for this week. I assume they make belts for babies since his jeans and khakis have belt loops. In order for his pants to be long enough for him the waists are HUGE. This is a problem his Mama went through for years (having a baby substantially helps with that). It is a frustrating problem for a little man who is trying to learn to stand and walk. Big waists make for saggy pants that little feet can trip over. Okay, moving on. These pictures are in his Winnie the Pooh chair that Kimmie bought him. He's really not ready for it yet because he kept wanting to get out of it and he only knows one way to get out of things at this point (leaning forward and falling out, in case you don't have ready access to 6 month olds for observation). But it was fun for pictures.This is Aaron about to pull up to standing using the chair. Below is a picture of the result. We're getting that a lot these days. Fortunately, he thinks it's really fun to play with the furniture once he pulls it down on himself. It keeps him entertained for extended periods of time. (Please pray for his grandparents who are keeping him for 48 hours this weekend. They know not to what they have agreed.)

Hotty Toddy!

Isn't this pure greatness??? Miss Kathy sent it to Aaron along with the sweetest letter! The letter is definitely going in his scrapbook! It was just awesome! (Kathy - I'm going to call you, but just know we are loving you!) After considering the letter, Aaron let us know that he would like to go to Oxford. So I think we're going to take him to his first game there this November! We are still working out the details, but it's looking good and I am so excited! I LOVE the Grove! Oh! We've got to get Aaron some good red and blue duds!

Aaron is doing great. Such a big boy. He's the favorite in the church nursery and he is so sweet and busy. He started vegetables this week - we did green beans. He doesn't like them, but he'll eat them. He is funny. If there is something on a spoon he knows it's food and he will open up for it and eat it. Then when it's in his mouth he gets this look on his face like, "That's horrible!", but he always opens up for the next bite. He really, honestly like to eat. I'm not kidding. Have food. Will eat.

It is amazing to me that I can see personality traits so early. For one, he's very social. And he's a ham. Really, really. This has been commented on A LOT. It is absolutely inherited. He comes by it so naturally that if he wasn't a ham we'd probably be concerned.

He's also a big observer. While he really does want to be in the middle of things and not miss anything, he can be perfectly content watching everything around him. So many people have noticed how observant, alert and concentrated he is. Strangers have commented on it. Also inherited. Clearly.

Happy 6 Month Birthday!

It is hard to believe, but the little man is 6 months old today! How time flies when we are having fun watching our son change on a daily (or hourly!) basis.

You might remember from last month's birthday post that Aaron became infatuated with the cupcake. How, you might ask, did I manage to keep this cupcake safe? Although you might not be able to tell (due to my masterful photography skills) the cupcake is actually underneath the front of the bouncy seat! He did see it, but seemed to forget about it pretty quickly.

Here he is visually inspecting the "6" candle. Testing the general quality and craftsmanship, I suppose.

Momma left this afternoon for Waco and her womens' conference. She is there safe and sound, and hopefully is having a wonderful time. So it's Dad and the birthday boy home alone, fending for ourselves. We went for a run, and now he is sleeping peacefully. He did wonderfully tonight, even though he was very aware that Momma wasn't around. I had a long talk with him before bed about sleeping until morning. I'm sure that will work.

We had Aaron's 6-month checkup appointment this morning with the pediatrician. All is on track with his growth and development. He grew an inch (to 28 inches) which puts him in the 93rd percentile on length. He is about to break the 18 pound barrier, which has him in the 59th percentile on weight. We got the green light to start veggies, so Sara was pretty pumped to get to use her baby food maker she got for Christmas last year! I think we are going to try green beans first, but we'll see. We will definitely go through the whole rotation on veggies before moving on to fruit.

As you can see, just your typical happy, healthy 6 month old little boy!

The Countdown Is On

We are a little over 24 hours away from my first overnight solo adventure taking care of Aaron. Momma will be leaving tomorrow afternoon to go to Waco for a women's conference. Aaron and I will be home....together....fending for ourselves....until Saturday night.

I'm sure everything will be fine. But I also anticipate having an even greater respect for how much Sara handles. Such as the middle of the night feedings. Yeah, we're gonna need to not so much do that while Momma is gone.

Sara is convinced that Aaron will not miss her like he misses me when I am gone. Oh boy, do I beg to differ! I tell her that his excitement over seeing me is deceiving. I'm like this novelty that he's not with all the time. So he gets excited when I come home. If our roles were reversed, I think he would have the exact same reaction with Sara. I think he will be sufficiently disoriented by Mom not being there, but we'll manage. I think Sara will be surprised by the excitement she sees when she gets back on Saturday. Aaron will be happy, too.

Frustrated

As you may have noticed, my picture taking has slowed down considerably recently. That's because Aaron is so cute and so fun and he is always laughing and showing me new expressions and being so playful and it's just wonderful! So I grab my camera to show you that I have the most adorable child in all of the world and I get this.

I can not get a good picture of this kid and all the pictures end up looking the same (which is to say not good) with Aaron just staring at the camera like a deer in the headlights.

But I know I am moments away from hearing from an unhappy grandparent, so I figured I should get something on the Blog. I can also tell you that I'm not the only frustrated Allen in this house. Aaron is still not crawling. Frustrating. He's scooting backwards. Frustrating. He can get up on all fours and rock, but when he tries to move forward he falls to the side. Frustrating. He can stand, but he can't walk. Frustrating.

So he's taken to sticking out his tongue instead. His tongue is really out of his mouth more than it is in it and he's started to get creative with it. He can make several different noises with it and he can lick his lips. Finding new things to do with his tongue has taken the sting out of not being able to master this mobility thing.

A Good Day

Aaron had such a good time with Grandad and Mimi, the Bucks won (Woo Hoo!) and the Aggies are handing it to New Mexico. I think that last one is becuase Aaron just looked so cute in all his Aggie stuff today that they felt obliged to bring home a win for him!

Aaron also got to meet his cousins Emma and Alex for the first time today. It was way too short of a visit, so his Aunt Carolyn and I are planning another one for very soon.

Daddy Dressed Me Today

In honor of the opening weekend of Dove Season, Aaron got to sleep in Camo last night.

In honor of the opening weekend of College Football, Aaron was dressed in Aggie Gear today (including the cutest little socks which you can't see in these pictures). However, as you can tell, Mr. Aaron was not thrilled with today's outfit choice. I am certain he was trying to say, "I want to be a Buckeye". I tried to pull out his Ohio State wind pants (yes, he has some!), but today was Daddy's day to dress him and he wasn't having it.

Aaron gets to spend the day with Grandad and Mimi today while Daddy heads out to the Lease. He has a bit of a cold and I hate that, but he is acting okay. I swear that boy is the happiest sick kid around! Dr. Everett says as long as he's still smiling, he's alright, so I guess he's alright!