Little Man

Since the day he was born, people have always commented on how Ayden is such a "little man." I actually thought he looked a little like Mr. Magoo in his early days (the cutest Mr. Magoo I had ever seen, of course). This past week, the changes and developments that we have observed really do make him seem like such a little man!

He is starting to attempt to repeat what we say all the time. If we say, "1,2,3!" he'll say, "Dee, dee, dee!" while mimicking the same tone and cadence of our voices. He does the same thing with, "The End" after we read a book, "I love you" etc.

He is such a helper when it comes to throwing things in the trash can. He is also a bit of an over achiever. Along with any trash, he also enjoys throwing away books, shoes, kitchen utensils, make up brushes. You name it, Ayden thinks the trash seems like a great place to keep it.

When we were reading one of his favorite books yesterday, we got to a page where a goat is eating a sock. The farmer's wife is running up the hill, wearing a worried expression on her face with her arms out. We spent a good 15 minutes discussing how she's probably yelling, "No, no, no! No Thank you! Don't eat my socks!" (we say no thank you to him). Ayden would point to the sock and point to his foot, shake his head and say, "no, no, no" while making the all done sign with his hands. He totally gets that eating socks is not the best idea.

Speaking of books, that particular book is a pop up book and when he found it after we accidentally left it in his reach, he just sat quietly flipping through the pages like it was any other book. Where did my baby who always tried to tear out the pop ups go?

Ayden has discovered that he can carry my mom's little black step stool wherever he wants. I was prepping some kale for kale chips when we got home from the grocery today. He pulled his stool up and was ready to help. So. Cute.

David walked out of the closet wearing his gardening jeans that have a hole in the knee. Ayden pointed to the hole and said, "Oh, oh!" which is his way of saying, "Oh no!" Where did he learn that holes are not allowed in clothes? David and I cracked up.

He has a lot of fun practicing his running. If he sees me jog down the hall or across the house, he laughs and chases after me. He runs outside as much as he can but falls a lot because the ground is so uneven. It must sneak up on him. He just gets up and goes again.

A funny thing that happened today: We were in Hobby Lobby and they have artificial grapes out to decorate all of their kitchen decor displays. Ayden kept signing more and saying, "Teese? Teese?" It has to be confusing that he gets free sample grapes at Whole Foods and then isn't offered any grapes at Hobby Lobby, especially since there seemed to be plenty to go around.

Ayden has slept like a champ the past two nights and it makes such a difference. The past two days have been over the top pleasant and I have been more productive too. When it comes down to it, the more sleep we all get, the more human we are!! Now if only I can realize that is what's wrong WHILE it's happening...

I think the biggest change that lead to all of the fun listed above is a leap in his receptive communication skills. He is understanding SOO much.

Tomorrow is the big day! It is my 29th birthday and the day we get our bees. It is the first big step, besides the garden of course, towards our new adventure and we are so excited!

We are ready for our girls!
{can you guess whose is whose? haha}

~Sarah