ten months and four days

Busy, busy, busy.

That's how things have been and that's what Aaron is all day.

We've been thoroughly enjoying our summer - playing in the baby turtle pool in the backyard, playing in the sunshine, going on long walks (to Starbucks), visiting friends and taking trips to fun places.

In the midst of all of that, Aaron is now an official mover and shaker. He is a professional crawler (forward, backward, sideways, anyway) and is progressing to pulling himself up to standing on anything he can get his grubby little hands on. He's got places to be and people to see.

Here is is being caught red handed in the book basket.

You might be wondering why the book basket is "No Touch".
Here's why:

The kid chews on anything and everything. Like taking-chunks-and-leaving-teeth-prints chewing on things.
You can't convince me that tastes good.

After a few days of chasing Aaron away from everything that is "No Touch", Isaac built a little baby cage on the sun porch. At least there, Aaron has some freedom to move around, albeit a small one. Since we aren't in our own house, it was a little tough to babyproof but we made the best of the situation.
It might not be ideal but baby prison seems like the best solution for my mom's furniture and Aaron's digestive tract.
He's got a pretty sweet set up in there, with his music table and a bunch of toys, plus two padded walls and a padded floor. And a sweet view of the backyard.
But still, it's a baby cage. Sorry bub.
Side note: I did not pose this. It will never be said that this child lacks a flair for the dramatic.
Planning his escape. And standing up (eek!)
Seriously, although it looks like he wants out, he doesn't really mind too much.

He will play there for good long stretches of time, which I am so grateful for! Every day that I put him in there and he doesn't complain feels like a little victory, since it's clear he is rapidly realizing that independence is a very beautiful thing. There have been just a few glimpses into the terrible twos that have left me quaking in my boots. I am very aware that my life is teetering on the brink of insanity. All of you parents can stop laughing at me now.

Some of his other "new tricks" are also evident in this video, which highlights his proficient crawling.



First trick - he is starting to really understand what we say to him. And not only does he understand, but then he responds! Well, most of the time he responds. Sometimes he pretends like he doesn't know we are talking to him. He looks around like, "Who is this Aaron kid?" Or he just ignores me entirely. Like I said, glimpses into the future, right? But, I have to say, it is such an amazing thing to see this development. He is learning and we are interacting and it's the coolest thing ever. At least, that's what I'm telling myself when I'm saying "no touch" for the 54th time by 10am. Again, stop laughing at me. I'm new to this ballgame.

Another new trick is clapping. Ever since he started, he hasn't stopped. We clap when we sit, we clap when we stand (which occasionally causes tumbles), we clap when we eat and we clap when we get dressed. If you need some encouragement, I suggest you come on by. Aaron will give you the hardy round of applause that you deserve.

But that's not all, the clapping is usually accompanied by...

"YAY!!!!!"

Which, I am officially recording as his first word. He uses it in context, which I think makes it count. And I'm the boss of his baby book, so it's a done deal.

What else is Aaron up to?

Well, he has graduated to mostly finger food and table food. I don't think anyone is surprised, but he LOVES garlicky food. Garlic hummus, guacamole, garlic mashed potatoes. Anything garlic and he's THERE. I can't say there are very many things he doesn't like to eat - garlic or no - but I am giving fair warning not to get between this kid and his guacamole.

He loves to eat and we've got the stats to prove it. At his 9 month visit, Aaron was 20 lbs 7 oz and 29.75 inches long. Although we get many comments to the contrary, he's actually only in the 50% for his weight. He is in the 75% for both his height and his head circumference. You can keep your Charlie Brown reference to yourself - trust me, we've heard them all already. Let's hope he grows into that bad boy.

Here is some gratuitous nudity to give you full measure of his adorable chubbiness. This picture was taken four weeks after his doctors appointment, by which he had gained another 2 pounds. Apparently, guacamole and hummus is the diet of champions.

What? You don't bathe in your pool? All the cool kids are doing it.


Speaking of the pool...it's one of our favorite places to be lately. Aaron loves being outside and playing in the water.

Me, I love this face.
Aaron has a firm "No splashing" rule in his pool but the cuteness of the face makes me keep splashing him. It's a vicious, but adorable cycle. He also makes this face when I blow bubbles at him. How can you resist that?

I honestly cannot get enough of that face.


I will leave you with that face for now.
But we'll be back soon to post the pictures of how much he really enjoys the pool when his mean parents aren't splashing him, as well as pictures from our day at the zoo. Gotta go now though, it's pool time!

nine months

Aaron is nine months old today!

I have to say...these past nine months have been so much more enjoyable than the previous nine. Especially the ending. Today feels kind of anticlimatic compared to this moment nine months ago. Nine months in, nine months out. Wow.

We have been super busy with our move, but I didn't want to miss two months in a row. I will try to post more pictures from our last photo shoot at our old house soon. But for now, here is a sneak peek of me and my nine month old!


I cannot figure out where the time went. How is it possible that I have a nine month old child? Three months away from one year?! Attempting mobility?! No, not possible. I refuse to believe it.

And yet, it's true. In just three short months (the fastest months of the year, in my opinion), our little tiny baby will be one year old!

But please, don't misunderstand. While one year is a big deal, we are very busy loving nine months. This is such a joyful age, I'm not sure I want to let it go. For Aaron, and subsequently us, each moment is filled with joy, curiosity and adventure. It's all brand new and it's so exciting. I think I say it in every post, but we honestly are having so much fun.

This past month brought some big changes for our little man.

He got his first tooth.
He has completely mastered rolling over.
He can scooch backwards.
He can spin in a circle on his tummy.
He is eating three square meals a day and starting to wonder if bottles are too babyish for him.
He babbles...constantly.
He growls even more than he babbles. He is part lion.
He loves being outside and enjoys the taste of grass.

I think that's about it. I'll be back at the end of the week to give you some updated stats from his pediatrician appointment. And maybe I'll try to take a few videos before then too. The scooching is definitely entertaining. Especially when he gets caught under furniture. If only he knew how to go forward...

Maybe next month.

the outtakes

"Better late than never" was never more true than in reference to these photos.

I should warn you though. This post is ridiculously long. Like 40 some odd pictures long. Does it make it any better if I tell you that I whittled it down to 40 from around 300 pictures?

I'm his mama, I'm supposed to think he's irresistably adorable. Of course I have enough time to sit and revel in his chubby lovely-ness. But I definitely get it if you don't have that kind of time to devote to his cuteness.
Consider this post mostly for his grandparents, great-grandma and aunts. And for posterity. Because I think this blog is going to play a central role in his baby book. I can't wait.

The photo shoot started with a very happy baby.

Here is the outfit.

We use cloth diapers most of the time, so I picked a pretty light blue color for the shoot. It matched perfectly with his spring themed baby legs. What are baby legs you ask? They are like leg warmers for babies, only they cover their entire legs. The point is that they can wear them with a onesie, in lieu of pants. It provides easy access for diaper changes and adorable fashion statements. I got them free with our cloth diaper order and picked out this delightful argyle pattern. Isaac says they are girly, so alas, Aaron has only worn them once. For these photos. Which will last in perpetuity. Heehee.

Chubby, chubby baby goodness. I know this will start to melt away when he starts crawling, so I'm enjoying it now.


The first photo session prop was Aaron's Sleep Sheep, given to him by his lovely Aunt Sarah. Aaron loves his sheepy friend.

Hi friend! Are you so excited to be in pictures with me?

And then he ate him. Because if Aaron likes you, it means you will get licked, chewed and droobled on. It's how he rolls. At least, that's what I tell myself.
Isaac says...mmmm, lamb chops.

All was well in baby photo session land...until I brought out the bunny ears.
For those of you that have trouble seeing Aaron's resemblance to Isaac, it's too bad I didn't take a photo of Isaac's face when I pulled those bunny ears out of my Target bag. Same.exact.face. Uncanny, really.

He warmed up to the ears though.
And resumed being his true, odd self. His truly odd special self. Gosh, I love this kid.

Oh Mommy, you caught me being silly, didn't you?
Yes, son, yes I did. And I will show that picture for years and years. Because it makes me giggle every time I see it.

As you can see, we were having a few technical difficulties with the ears.
Well, the problem was more the shape of Aaron's head. But we don't mention it. Because Isaac is a bit sensitive about large and oddly shaped craniums. So we'll blame the ears. Silly bunny ears.

I have a lot of photos that look exactly like this. At least we'll never forget Aaron's cute baby stage where he put everything in his mouth. Because he will outgrow that....right??

This one is just gratuitous. He doesn't actually suck his thumb. But isn't that cute?

These next few are for my friend, j.hay. She, more than anyone, appreciates Aaron's modeling abilities. I think it's all of the America's Next Top Model marathons that Gpop and I watched in the last few weeks before Aaron was born. He was obviously paying attention in utero.

Here he is finding the light. He always manages to do that. Except he calls it, watching the sunlight through the trees outside. Tomato, tomahto.
Here he is striking a pose. Work it out, baby, work.it.out.

Then, he fell over and thought it was hilarious.
And makes him scream with laughter. Which is even more hilarious. Are you noticing a cycle here? Many a giggle fest has been the result of this kind of activity.

So then I brought out a new friend to play with. This is DuckyMan, who was an Easter gift from my dear Aunt Shelley - Aaron's Super Aunt ;)
Aaron had never seen him before (he had arrived by mail that day).
So, trusty old pointy slicer came out to examine the new guy. (If you don't know who pointy slicer is, you should read yesterday's post.)

After careful examination, it was determined that DuckyMan was a good guy.
Welcome to the circle of drool, DuckyMan, welcome.

But, alas, all good things must come to an end.

So we took a bottle break, switched locations and he cheered right back up.
Pointy slicer declares this a fine place for some picture taking!

Okay, let's put the ears back on.

Oh, and the DuckyMan.
Hey, I remember you. But I better pointy slice, just to make sure.

I kept saying, Aaron, look at Mommy. Aaron, smile for Mommy.

Do you smell that? I think it's Eau de Patronization.
And I'm okay with that.

Because, even though he isn't looking at me, I can still get money shots. Because Daddy is right next to me being his funny self.

Here Aaron was telling a funny story. I think the punchline was something about how I was going to pay for all of these embarassing pictures once he was able to crawl away from my camera.

Another example of how falling over is always good fun.
You know, as long as you are landing on a comfy soft surface.

I gave up on having those ears stay on his head.
Just as cute, no?

This was my last attempt at changing things up to keep Aaron interested.
Baby in a basket...an Easter basket. Cute, right?
Or not.

The second meltdown was my clue that maybe the photo shoot was over. What a patient little man though. We considered it a rousing success, considering that I had gotten several great shots.

Including this photo.


My goodness, I cannot overemphasize how much I love this guy.

And if you've read this far, I'm sure you do too.

whoops

My apologies...another month slipped by without a post.

But what a month it's been.
A lot has happened.
I'll try my best to get you up to date.

Aaron News:

#1. Aaron started rolling over from his back to his belly. I know, you are probably confused. Yes, he is 8 months old (sorry I missed that post - happy 8 months bud!) and yes, he just learned how to roll from his back to his belly a few weeks ago.
Lots of people have said that it's not unusual that babies are rolling over later because of the Back to Sleep campaign...but I'm just going to call a spade a spade here.
Aaron, in his infinite laziness, didn't see a point in rolling over prior to this point. I knew he was capable of it but he usually lost interest about halfway through the roll.
I personally don't really see anything wrong with that - I have seriously enjoyed these past 8 months with a child who is fully capable of entertaining himself by staying exactly where I put him.
I sense those days are rapidly coming to an end...

Exhibit A.

This is Aaron during naptime. Back in the lovely old good days (a month ago), I would put Aaron in his crib, give him his binky and bubber, turn on the mobile and walk away.
Nine times out of ten, he would be asleep before the first song was over. Occasionally, I'd have to turn the mobile on for another round (by remote! best invention ever!) to get him to sleep, but he'd definitely be out by the time it stopped. That was then.

This is now.


As you can see from Exhibit A., naptime is no longer this peaceful experience. Oh no. Nowadays, I return to his room at a minimum of four times to flip him back off of his belly and onto his back before he can fall asleep.
He gets all kinds of crazy places around his crib - sometimes I find him down by the fish mobile...sometimes I find him up at the top of the crib where a slant of light comes through the window shade.
But, usually by the fourth flip, he has tired himself out enough that he falls asleep. Unless he's really sleepy. Then he just passes out on his tummy. So cute. But rare.
Did I mention that this lovely routine also takes place several times a night? He wakes up, fancies himself a little tummy time and then yells until someone comes to flip him back over and go back to sleep. At 2am, 3am, 4am and 5am. Lovely.
Everyone says he will adjust. I hope so. Do you know anyone who still cries when they find themselves on their stomach in the middle of the night? Please tell me you don't.
But, we think that the reason that this is taking place so frequently is...

#2. Aaron is trying desperately to crawl. He hasn't quite mastered it yet, hence the desperate need to practice at all times of the day. It's actually hilarious to watch. So I videotaped it for you. This video is from last week, so he's actually made a little bit more progress since then.



I can't help but laugh. And then he gets distracted. Whoops.
These days there is less of the swimming on dry land action and more inchworm movement. He plants both feet on the floor and pushes his bum into the air. Unfortunately, he also uses his face as a pedestal, so his cheek gets kind of bruised during the process. But sometimes, he actually moves forward. So we consider that progress. I'll try to video that sometime soon.

#3. Aaron is starting finger foods! Yay!! We started out with diced up banana, which is kind of hard to pick up as I'm sure you can imagine. So we bought puffs, that have fruit and veggie flavors but dissolve in his mouth. He loves them. He's getting much better at picking them up now too. But, like all things, he is hysterical to watch in the process.
Before you see the photo series I created on Aaron's first finger foods, you should know some backstory. Aaron loves his pointer finger. No one really knows why, but he uses it to test out everything. He keeps it at the ready (pointing straight up, like a "I'm #1" sign) and carefully examines everything with it. Isaac calls it his "pointy slicer" because he gets kind of violent about it sometimes. Here is a perfect example of pointy slicer coming out to examine a leaf.


So, now that you know about pointy slicer, be on the lookout. He appears in most photos of Aaron - especially when he's concentrating.
And, for the record, eating finger foods definitely requires concentration.

Meet the puff. Otherwise known as the challenger.

Aaron looks intimidated by the challenger. But looks are deceiving, no?

Time to bust out the pointy slicers.

The pointy slicers circle the puff...trying to find an opening to pounce.

And...they collide as the puff escapes their pointy slicy-ness.

The capture!

!!Hi ho, hi ho, up to the mouth we go!! (that's the standard eating song at our house. what do you sing at your house? what? you don't sing during meals? weirdo.)

Ahhh, the sweet taste of victory!


And that, is how Aaron eats finger foods. We hope you enjoyed it.
Sadly, he learned the pincer grasp a few days afterwards. But the pointy slicers still enjoy chasing puffs around the tray. They just win the battle a lot more often.


#4. Mainly, though, we still spend our time laughing. Aaron is the funniest kid. At least we think so. Isaac and I expend a lot of energy keeping him entertained. His laugh is the best sound I've ever heard. It's the best feeling when you get him going...and we never quite know what will be hilariously funny on any given day. Something that was hysterical yesterday, he is over by today. But we keep on trying. Because when you hear his laugh, it's worth it.
As promised, I tried to capture his laugh on camera. It's a small taste, but nothing like the real thing. Plus, I had to have the camera on underneath the pillow, because whenever he sees it, he clams up. So please excuse the stalker-like video. Please also ignore the weird sound I am making. You see, that day, it was really funny to make that noise. Now, he thinks I'm lame when I do it. But at the time...I was hilarious.





So that's about it in Aaron-land. His next pediatrician appt is June 5th (9 months - holy cow) and we'll get a new number on his height and weight. My guess is 29 inches and 21 lbs 7oz.

Before we go...

Greenslade Family News:

We sold our house! Hooray!! We close on May 29th, at which point we'll move into my mom's house in Wallingford for a (hopefully) short time until her house sells. Then, we'll all (including my mom) move to a new house in Downingtown. We are very excited (about moving...not necessarily about packing). We'll keep you posted on any new developments.

See you at 9 months! Unless, of course, Aaron starts to crawl before then.

And...if you were keeping track, I still owe you outtakes from the Easter Bunny shoot. I'll try to post those sometime in the next week or so. You know, in the free time between moving furniture into our POD and hurriedly tossing our possessions into boxes. I said I'll try.

two fer

Aaron started drooling around 2 months.
Everyone said he was teething. I kept sticking my fingers in his mouth, but
no teeth appeared. And the drool continued to flow.

All the baby books say teething can start around 4 months.
Since then, everytime Aaron was cranky, I would do a gum sweep, but
no teeth appeared. Good thing he's not cranky very often.

Yesterday, Aaron woke up from a nap crying.
Unusual, so I gave him a bottle. He didn't want it. Very unusual.
I put him down to play. He cried. Even more unusual.

So I cried. Who is this baby? Where is my happy kid?



The cause:


Do you see it?

No?

Look closer.

I'll give you a clue.

Bottom right.

Do you see it now??

If the answer is still no, you are just going to have to take my word for it. After watching my baby be inconsolable for ten minutes, I remembered to do my gum sweep. And OUCH, that thing is sharp. I should probably amend his baby book.

"Baby's First RAZOR SHARP FANG : May 19th"

I sent up a thanks to God that I had stopped nursing him two months ago. Oh and another that he didn't take after me and have to wait another 6 months to get his first tooth. Now if we can all pray that he'll miss out on the pug dog jawline, I think we'll be all set in the dental department.

And, joy of joys, it looks like he's aiming to bust through a top one any day now. That is probably the one that is causing him the pain, since the bottom tooth is actually through the gum already. He's going to look awesome, since it's his top left. Two opposing teeth. I don't think you doubted it, but I will definitely take pictures.

And he'll probably keep looking at me like this when I try.


I can just hear his inner monologue:
Here she comes again. Seriously, again? Mommy, get away from me with that thing.

Sorry bub, no dice. At least not while you are so stinkin cute.


**Edit: As with all pictures on the blog, you can click once on the picture and it will take you to a larger view of the pictures. I highly recommend doing this, especially with the pictures on this post, so as to gain the optimum viewing of cuteness. Aaron's eyes are amazing...you can definitely see all the beautiful colors when you are looking at them at 300% their regular size. :)