Twas the Night Before Christmas

The cookies were set out for Santa,

and the presents were nestled under the tree...

Sweater Weather

Happy Halloween

We had a great time this Halloween with Rachel, Jaden and the Leaps. We were a little afraid that Aaron would not wear his costume, but he wore it the whole night. We scored some great candy, but Aaron is all about the lollipops right now.

The Celebration

We had a little get together to celebrate Aaron's birthday. He had a great time, and loved having such great friends there to share it with him.

Two!

Aaron is officially two. It doesn't seem possible that it has been that long. It's all about Thomas the Tank Engine these days, so we bought a Thomas cake, took him to Thomas town and embraced the whole train thing.

Hey Jen...

As I am running back and forth between two levels of the house I hear Aaron call out to me, "Hey Jen. You (I) need help." I guess we're on a first name basis now. I thought that didn't start for another few years.

Laundry Day

His idea of helping out with the laundry. I guess he did remove the clothes from the basket for me.

Fall Festival

Today we went to a fall festival with the Leaps.

There were animals,

slides,

trains,

and a very thirsty boy.

It's Just a Phase

It's just a phase. At least that's what I keep telling myself. For weeks now, Aaron has been wearing this hat and glasses combo. Figuring that it is not good for the eyes to wear glasses built for Mr. Potato Head, we tried to convince him that regular sunglasses were way cooler. No go. It's just a phase, right?

Dundee Dundee

This sweet little boy has taken to kicking me as hard as he can while I change his diaper. He even made up a name for it, "dundee dundee". I have tried several tactics to diffuse the behavior, but I still find myself yelling, "If you dundee dundee me one more time, you're going to time out." The idea of potty training is becoming more appealing to me.

All Dogs Go to Heaven

We had to say goodbye to Alice this morning. She was a part of our family for seven years, but has now gone up to the kennel in the sky. We will miss her.

Smack!

I was thinking this morning about how there really is a noticeable difference in Aaron's balance with his braces on. He also seems to take more risks with them. Then, as he is running down the driveway, smack! He hit the pavement face first. Luckily teeth are all intact & his nose doesn't look broken. Well, sometimes we take two steps forward then one step back.

New Braces

Since Aaron began standing, his ankles have turned inward. The physical therapist has hesitated to put him into braces until now. He got them this week and has adjusted very well.

This gives a sense of how his feet are positioned without support.



These are the braces. They are technically called supra-malleolar orthosis (SMO's). They fit inside his shoes.


Aaron in the SMO's. Notice he is hiding behind the curtains. It's a new favorite game.


Finally, the finished product. With his shoes on, they are not terribly noticeable.

I'll Take Option #3

Aaron, for some strange reason, doesn't like to climb up and down the stairs. He wants us to "hold you". Today, I gave him two options: walk down holding the rail, or scoot down on his butt. He chose option #3, which was to slither down on his belly. Whatever works.

The Little Gym

Aaron loves going to the Little Gym. It has given him the confidence to be a bit more daring when he is on the move.

The Last of the Vacation Pics

So Mandy took a lot more pictures than I did. I would suggest you hop on over to Leaps' blog to see a few more pictures of our vacation. But, here are a few more of the pictures I took:
Having fun in the sand.




On a pirate cruise. Aaron wanted no part of the pirate gear.


He loved the pirate grog, however.

Aw. A family portrait.