Happy Anniversary, Mommy & Daddy!

It seems like life gets busier and busier every week! This week, Mommy and Daddy traded off having late nights, but were also able to hang out together a bit, too.

On Monday, Daddy came home from work early to hang out with Aidan so Mommy could take a conference call with a Michigan University Press editor and then go to a networking event: a Women in International Security happy hour downtown. The call went great (it looks like she is going to get a book contract fo co-author a teaching book on using Lord of the Rings to teach International Relations!) and Mommy met lots of interesting women in her field at the happy hour. Aidan did great with Daddy, stayed at the parks late, drank lots of formula, and was asleep in bed by the time Mommy got home at 9:30!

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Daddy stayed at work late. On Tuesday, Mommy and Aidan had fun going to the Collegiate Church playgroup in the morning (we haven't gone for a while). Aidan loved the guitar and songs by Troy and got to play with many of his friends (Jack, Nate & Dylan, Yuxin, Dakota). Next week we are going to have to splash around in their baby pools! Having playgroup outside in the summer is wonderful.

Thursday was Mommy and Daddy's fourth wedding anniversary! We had a lot to celebrate - this year has been the most amazing one yet! Daddy came home from work early and we all played together at the playground. We ate our favorite take-out Thai food for dinner. And after Aidan went to sleep, Mommy and Daddy had fun hanging out together with a bottle of Rioja wine (2001 Señorio de Cuzcurrita: “hints of dark and red fruits with a never-ending finish”), a plate of cheeses (brie, fresh mozzarella & parmesan), a baguette, and fruit (cherries & blueberries). (We have a lot of fun together when we have a chance to actually hang out!)

Friday Daddy had to go to Washington D.C. for work, and Aidan refused to stay inside the house. He stood at the door and hit it with a flat hand and yelled at the top of his voice until Mommy took him outside! Fortunately, Christa and Johnny had the day off, so Aidan played with John and Mommy talked to Christa for most of the day. We went on walks, played at John's house, and visited the Dolphin Park, where the kids loved the sprinklers and sand. Daddy's plane shuttle home was delayed, but fortunately he got home with enough time for Mommy to be able to be part of a "ladies' night out" with her friends Christa, Jeanie & Sara. Aidan stayed asleep for Daddy while Mommy was out, so we all were happy with how that turned out.

Saturday was Aidan's friend Jack's first birthday party! We brought our "ball-pit" (baby-pool with balls), and the babies had fun playing in that, and in another pool of sand at the party. Jack's daddy is a chef and made delicious food for the party (crab cakes, skewered chicken and steak, potato salad with Granny Smith apples, salad, and more - Jeanie made the devil's food / vanilla / carrot-cake cupcakes with butter frosting - yum!). We had a lot of fun! Daddy came to the party with Mommy and Aidan, despite his upcoming work deadline, and then went to work afterward. So, it was wonderful that we could all be there together.

Sunday, Daddy stayed home with Aidan in the morning so that Mommy could go to their college friend Erin's bridal-shower in Connecticut. Aidan had fun playing at the parks with Daddy, and Mommy was happy to celebrate with Erin at a delicious brunch. Once Mommy got back home, Daddy went back to work.

Daddy's work deadline is today, which is why he has had to stay late so often, and we are all looking forward to it being over! Aidan definitely misses Daddy, and is very dissatisfied when he works late. When Daddy would work late this week, Aidan would be fine until about 5PM, when he would toddle over to the front door, stare expectantly at it, and ask loudly for "Da-da-da-da-da-da!!!" When Mommy tried to explain to Aidan that he wouldn't see Daddy that night because he was coming home after his 7:30-8PM bedtime, Aidan would shout in frustration, do knee bends and shake his little fists, and generally let Mommy know that this was not an acceptable state of things. (!) Daddy was happy that Aidan missed him but wished that he didn't have to stay late either.

(Almost) naked baby picts

Because he is SO cute, and because I could never see him naked enough!!!

Grandma and Ithaca

Grandma Ross stayed with us from last Friday night to early this Thursday morning, and it was wonderful! We had a lot of fun playing together, and Grandma even met a bunch of Aidan's friends (Gus, Dakota, Yuxin, Grace, Jack, and Nate & Dillon) and their mommies! On Monday, we relaxed after a busy weekend and walked to some parks. Aidan got into a band-aid box and had a blast taking out all the bandaids with applause from Grandma, watching her put them back in again, and then taking them all out again.

On Tuesday, Mommy, Aidan and Grandma trained down to 112th street to meet Daddy for lunch. We ate Thai take-out beside the beautiful Fountain of Peace statue next to the St. John the Divine cathedral. Aidan thought the insides of his curry puffs were delicious with jasmine rice, but that didn't stop him from toddling happily around the statue.

On Wednesday, Mommy, Aidan and Grandma took a bus up to the Cloisters and enjoyed exploring it. Aidan was determined to eat the pebbles that grounded the potted plants in one of its courtyards, but we managed to distract him with big wooden benches to pound on, pink marble to pet, and big open art gallery rooms to explore. We met a father with a baby about Aidan's age who was also interestedly squeaking about the art exhibits, and he said that the babies must be having their own conversation about all the artwork!


Grandma left before dawn on Thursday, and we all missed her! We wish we could hang out together more often!!

After Grandma left, we had to get ready for a busy weekend. On Friday, Mommy, Daddy and Aidan drove up to Ithaca, NY through rain, lightning and thunder, and even fog! We made it safely, and Aidan slept for most of the trip, but it was a pretty exciting trip! On Saturday, we celebrated college friend Ari's wedding. Aidan was wonderful during the ceremony in Sage Chapel, and he was awed and excited to try ice-cream for the first time at the luncheon afterward! The ceremony was beautiful and it was fun for Mommy and Daddy to show Aidan Cornell - the place where we first met.

We stayed with college friends Jenn & Kirk while we were in Ithaca at their new house, and it was wonderful to see them. Aidan petted their chickens, sat on their giant horse Thunder, and had fun playing with Jenn and Kirk: he sat on Jenn's lap and let her read more pages of the "Over in the Ocean" book than usual, and he loved strumming and banging on the guitar and piano with Kirk. We're looking forward to seeing them again soon!

One last update: last week we forgot to note that Aidan now has more teeth! His top right one finally cut all the way through to complete the four front (two top, two bottom) teeth, the next one over on the bottom-left side is through, and the matching top and bottom others are on their way! Aidan is starting to refuse food that is too finely diced (after all, Mommy and Daddy don't eat their food like that), and his teeth are helping make this decision one that is okay.

Puppies, parties & papa

We had a very busy week this week! Daddy returned to NY from CA on Monday morning but Mommy and Aidan stayed in Los Angeles to visit Mommy's best friend Julia. Mommy was thrilled to hang out and celebrate Julia's birthday and recent engagement, and Aidan was thrilled to play with her dogs, Guiness and Leroy. He toddled around the house following the dogs saying "daw, daw, daw", and scrunched up his face when they amiably licked his face.

On Wednesday morning, we flew back to NYC. Aidan took a 3 hour nap on Mommy's lap and then was such a star flyer that the businessman next to us declared that he wished Aidan would fly next to him on all of his flights!

Friday night, Grandma Ross came to visit! She is staying until Thursday morning, and we are having a wonderful time together. On Saturday, we all went to the first birthday party of Aidan's friend, Gus, in Central Park. Aidan loved eating birthday cupcakes!

Grandma has pointed out that Aidan is really starting to talk! At breakfast, where Aidan ate bananas, he referred to the banana as "nana", and when he was all done he said "ah dah" (all done). This morning he said "ha dah" and "ha ma" (Hi Daddy & Hi Mommy), and he definitely refers to Daddy as "dada" and is starting to refer to Mommy as "mama" (although he uses this more when he wants to nurse). He also is saying "daw" (dog), "yah" (yeah), and Grandma heard him say "awight" (all right). Most excitingly, he is both saying "toes" and is very interested in finding them! This weekend we've been asking him where his toes are, and he grabs them with his chubby fingers and says "toe, toe" - he knows exactly what they are! It is so amazing that his language is starting to develop in such exciting ways!

Sunday was Daddy's first Father's Day! Aidan's gift to Daddy was sleeping in until 8:30AM (unbelievably late) and then Mommy and Grandma went on a walk with Aidan and let Daddy sleep even longer! We ate Dunkin Donuts, homefries, canadian bacon, and orange juice and coffee for breakfast. After a late nap for Aidan, we all trained to Shea Stadium for what turned out to be an exciting baseball game (the Mets eventually lost after a valiant effort to turn the game around). Then we trained back and got take-out Indian for dinner with chocolate cake and fresh, delectable cherries. It was a wonderful day!

Walking and a Wedding

This week was very exciting. Early on in the week, Aidan started really walking! On Tuesday he realized that he could do it and was able to take 6 steps in a row. On Wednesday, he took 10 steps in a row. And by the weekend, he could toddle across whole rooms, stop and stand to rest, turn 90 degrees, and even run a little bit! It is absolutely amazing! On Tuesday he was very serious about it, while he was figuring things out. But on Wednesday, he smiled ecstatically as he toddled - so excited and proud of himself! He is already getting so good that the excitement is going down (he can now even do bent-leg walking instead of the straight-leg walking that he started out with) but he still has bursts of proud smiles as he walks to Mommy and Daddy. We are so thrilled for him!

This weekend, we all flew to California to celebrate Abbi's Aunt Beth getting married, and that was wonderful. Beth was beautiful, the ceremony and reception were lovely, and Mommy and Daddy loved being able to show off Aidan to Grandma and Grandpa Ross, Aunt Frances, Uncle Jon-Michael, and the rest of Mommy's family. It was so nice to have such a wonderful excuse to see everyone!

Playing

Aidan's ability to play has increased by leaps and bounds these last couple of weeks. He started really playing with his wind-up car last weekend in the Catskills, pushing it forward and back and watching its wheels spin with glee. He has started being totally content with playing with a pile of books this week - he pulls them off the shelf, opens each one, carefully leafs through the pages, and then moves onto the next one. (Daddy read the entire "Lorax" book by Dr. Seuss out loud with Aidan like this!) He is also having a blast roughhousing with Mommy and Daddy in bed: for the past week, he has refused to go to sleep at bedtime, and instead tumbled and rolled with Mommy and Daddy around our king-sized bed, laughing and huffing and puffing in excitement! (Mommy and Daddy love this too, but we need to start doing it *before* bedtime!)

This Sunday we all visited Daddy's cousin Tim and his girlfriend Ulrike in Brooklyn for lunch. Aidan was fascinated by Tim's cat (we don't have any animals yet) and toddled determinedly after it all through the house. At lunch, he loved the sweet potato french fries, and afterward we all visited the slides. We all had a good time!