finally back

As many of you know, life intervened in our vacation and has given us non-stop challenges with which to deal. I want to start keeping this blog again, but it may be difficult for a while longer. So for now, I just want to record a few firsts for myself --

December 31: Aidan waved for the first time
January 3: Aidan said Mama for the first time
March 15: Aidan said Dada for the first time
mid-February: He learned to pull up to standing in his crib and to cruise around a bit.
The last few days: He learned how to navigate the perimeter of the whole house cruising. He even holds onto walls to get around.
March 30: He played his first game of catch with Daddy. They rolled a volleyball back and forth between the two of them, and Aidan thought it was great fun.

There are more firsts to write about, but for now, those are the ones that I want to record.

sorry

I've been so remiss about posting Aidan updates. We have all been horribly sick for the last two weeks. Thank God we are about to leave tomorrow for our first vacation as a family -- a Caribbean getaway. I will post some cute Aidan beach pictures when I return. Hope everyone is having a good start to 2007!

FIRSTS

The "firsts" are coming fast and furious now. It's like being on a bullet train around here.

On New Year's Eve day, Aidan waved goodbye at Daddy for the first time. He has done it a few times since -- lifting his hand and jiggling it awkwardly when someone waves at him. Too cute.

But the biggest milestone is that he has said his first word. Yesterday he started to say "Mama" when we were together. At first I thought it was just another random syllable, like "babababa" and "yayaya" and all the other babble we've been hearing. But then he kept saying it, and only when I was around and when he wanted me or when I was holding him. His babysitter told me that he didn't say it at all when I was gone, but started again when I returned and he wanted me to pick him up. I'm thrilled. We're thrilled. What a huge achievement.

I will post some new pictures soon, hopefully tomorrow. For those of you reading, you can leave comments about any entry, and of course I'd love to hear some responses to all of our news. Shameless procuring, I know, but what can you expect?

Present Perfect

We have finished celebrating Aidan's first Christmas, a two-day extravaganza of presents, food and visitors. Dan and I confirmed what we had begun to suspect during Hanukkah -- that Aidan loves opening presents. He likes to eat the ribbon, tear off the paper to hear it crinkle, and to insert his gift into his mouth immediately! Sometimes he will stop to play with the wrapping paper for quite a while before getting to the gift itself. Overall, he loves everything about presents. Smart little guy, isn't he?

An update on the teeth. He now has two! Both of his bottom front teeth have come in about halfway ... and he has two little bumps on his upper gums. Strangely his sleep has improved a lot since the teeth actually came through, so maybe at least some of all that waking up has indeed been about teething. I must stop writing about better sleep immediately or I'll jinx it.

We have yet another first as well. Aidan has made his first attempts at crawling. Right now he gets on his hands and knees, and becomes very excited at this new position. There's no real moving yet, but it's an exciting start. Dan and I are going to start babyproofing the house this weekend because once he is mobile, who knows what will happen next.

Introduction

Hi everyone!
There is so much going on with Aidan Michael right now, and he has so many family and friends who love him and who want to keep track of him. So it seems like a good idea to start a blog so that all of you can check in on him easily. I also want to have a record of this precious time. He is growing up so fast, and I want to record all the changes before they slip by us. Creating this blog was inspired in part by a big first that occurred this morning. When we woke up, it appears that Aidan's first tooth has broken through the gum. After all the months of pre-teething, the first one has arrived, and soon that adorable gummy, toothless grin will be filled with teeth!
I'll leave you with the picture above for now. It's recent and shows Aidan while he is being carried in a wrap by Mom. Look for more updates soon. I hope to check in at least a few times a week.