Nov 08

--aidan is already trying to decide what costume he’s going to wear for next halloween. he’s gone through ideas such as “black spiderman,” a moose, and has settled (for now) on a “long neck” dinosaur.
--lately, aidan has been saying over and over, “christmas will never come.” he has become a gimme-whiner. he sees stuff on tv, and either says, “maybe santa claus will bring me _____,” or “we’ll get one one day,” or “i wish i had one of those,” or “that looks pretty cool, mommy.”
--aside from the “i want, i want, i want” things going on, we had a good month that was almost arguement-free. he doesn’t always listen to what i’m saying, and he still trys to get what he wants, but it’s not so much of a struggle. he’s not lying so much either, though he will run away when he knows he did something wrong, like knocking over sierra or spilling something. and when he does argue, he’ll (usually) say, “no, i don’t want to,” gets a look and obeys, and then tells me he’s mad at me. “i’m mad at you, mommy,” is something i hear a lot these days. usually i respond with, “that’s okay, you can be mad at me, but you still have to do what i say.” sometimes he tells me, “that makes me sad,” to which i usually say something like, “i’m sorry you’re sad, but you still have to obey.”
--aidan has a cup with his name on it that he uses for meals. he has learned his letters from books and shows, and likes to spell out his name while at the dinner table. one day in the car, he spit out “A-I-D-A-N.” we had to call all the grandparents and let aidan spell his name for them. he was very proud of himself!
--we all flew down to mobile, alabama, for thanksgiving. the plane rides were not bad at all. the kids were super good, read their books, played with some toys, and talked. but still we’d get looks. it really bothered me, cause it wasn’t like they were crying or anything, they weren’t whining (much) or even loud. i’d like to see them contain two kids as well as we did traveling all day. oh well.
--we had a great time in mobile. lots of visiting and relaxing with family. we went to my grandparents’ house one day before thanksgiving so we could spend as much time with them without the chaos of a huge family gathering. we spent most of the day outside, letting the kids play on the swing or with the cats and dog, while we watched and chatted. we went back there for thanksgiving day, but were just a few of nearly 40 people. we had most of my mom’s side of the family there, including all five great-grandchildren (aidan is the oldest it was about 65-70 degrees, so we spent most of the day outside. there was lots of laughing, playing, swinging (young and old), and eating all day long. aidan said the blessing before we ate (and ate and ate…) he was so cute. he had been getting good at it, so i thought it be fun to let him try. he didn’t miss a beat! he remembered every word, and didn’t get nervous at all! (he didn’t get the un-bashfulness from me!)
--one night billy, emily, and i went out with our cousins. it had been YEARS since we’d all been together. granted, we were still missing some of us, (i’m number 4 of 25 grandkids (6 came when one of their parents married into the family)) but we had a good group there. five cousins and three spouses went out one night. had a few drinks and played some pool, but mostly we just talked and caught up. it was really great!
--aidan helped pops walk the dog (“keeper”) every night. they’d be gone for a while, and he felt very important, especially when he got to be dragged by her all by himself! chuck (my stepdad, aka “pops”) came back one night with this: aidan heard a dog howling somewhere nearby, and said he heard a wolf. chuck said it was probably just a dog, there aren’t any wolves around. aidan said, “well, a wolf is a dog. and so is a fox and a coyote!” chuck said he was impressed 1) that he knew that, and 2) that he came back with it so quickly. that’s my animal-lover!! another night, chuck said aidan just burst out with, “i love you, pops.” he does that sometimes…he can’t contain it, and has to tell you at some random time and place how he feels about you. really sweet.
--something else he said while we were down there was, “it’s not in my mouth, it’s in my nose.” i’m not totally sure what that was in reference to…i want to say a straw, but i can’t really remember. i just jotted the phrase down to make sure i got it right. still, pretty funny…whether it was a straw or his finger…
--while we were down south, we also went to see christmas lights. there’s a place like a botanical gardens nearby, and every year they add more and more lights. we went last year when we were down, and aidan remembered specific themes he wanted to see again. (he has a great memory. he can remember what kind of cookies my mom made 11months ago, yet has trouble remembering to turn off the bathroom light…go figure.) anyhow, they both had a ball. sierra was much more into it this year. she rode in the stroller most of the time, and kept saying, “ooooh!” or she’d say something in sierra-language and point all excited. too fun.
--seirra’s goings-on this month are just vocab updates. (she loved playing with her cousins, with the animals, with her grandparents and great-grandparents and great-aunts and uncles, of course, but i don’t really have any specific stories…sorry.
* “ah-do” = bless you (after a sneeze)
* “nack” = snack
* “ma-ow” = mouth
* “bat” = back
* “ hi-eee” = hi (says it to EVERYONE…walking through the parking lot, in church)
* “ha-wo” = hello (will say it all day on the phone, so long as nobody’s there)
* “pee”= please
* “shoe” = shoe
* “num-num-nummy” = please feed me something yummy
* “now” = no
* “bup” = cup
* “up” = up
* “tee-tah” = tick tock (nursery rhyme she LOVES)
* “seat” = sit
* “ah-sah” = outside
* “ha” = hair
* “eye” = eye
* “my-ee” = mine