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| Love this cutie pie!! |
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| He loves to pose! |
I decided to write a post on Ayden's half-birthday, if anything, just so I can document all the wonderment that is Ayden Christopher at this age! I can't believe he's on the countdown to FIVE!
-Ayden has to be the most talkative child that ever walked this Earth. The moment he opens his eyes in the morning, he starts talking, telling stories, asking questions, etc. His talking gets him into trouble sometimes, because he is SO stubborn, he won't stop telling a story to do something he is being asked to do.
-He starts stories/conversations with, "Momma (or Daddy), can I tell you something?" And then off he goes!
-He loves to talk about when he grows up. He will say, "Someday, when I'm a grown-up a daddy, I'm going to..."
-He says he is going to marry a little girl in his class who is "so beautiful" and they are going to have 3 kids: Guyboo, Sally, and Michael. They are also going to have 3 parrots, and 2 cats named Snowball and Harry.
-As of now, he wants to either be a "builder man" who builds houses, stores, and restaurants, or he wants to work on a computer like daddy.
-He is so inquisitive and asks such detailed questions, like, "what are the floors made from? is concrete sticky? where do we go to buy cars? how will I get to the car store? How do I buy a house when I grow up? How did I eat when I was in your belly? and SO many more, I could spend all day on this!
-He wants a baby sister very badly. He wants to name her Hannah or Sally. He is not open to the fact that Jesus might give us another baby boy someday. He says, well, I will just talk to Jesus and ask for a girl ("grill")
-He adores his baby brother and can't wait for Ethan to "get big like him" so they can play Candyland together. He wants to get bunk beds and share a room with Ethan. (something we are discussing down the road).
-His behavior this year at Mom's Day Out has been SO much better! He is very well-liked at school, when we arrive in the morning, all the kids shout "Ayden's here! Ayden's here!" and greet him at the door. He stays on "green" 99% of the time, with an occassional move to yellow, I guess just to test limits. We take his behavior at school very seriously and discuss it everyday after school, reinforcing why it was good or bad. So far, no "red" behavior this year!
-We adopted the "Green, yellow, red" system at home and have a chart posted on the fridge. It has worked SO well. Ayden is strong-willed, but is the kind of child who does very well with structure and consequences. We also have his chores and "Ayden's rules" posted on the fridge that we go over every morning, and it helps him so much. He knows the consequences of yellow and red, and he knows green for a week means reward (Jump Zone, Chuck E Cheese, Movie, etc). He loves his "chores" and is so proud of himself when he does them. (Makes his bed, goes potty, brushes teeth, and dresses himself before coming downstairs; puts his dishes in sink after eating; lets dogs in and out to potty; helps daddy feed and water dogs; puts away his folded clothes in his drawers; puts dirty in clothes in hamper)
-Ayden goes to bed in his own room every night and comes to our bed usually sometime between midnight and 2 am, which is fine with us. This in itself is a big step for kid who has co-slept with us since birth! He is such a cuddler!
-We have started attending church where the boys go to MDO. Ayden loves Sunday school and his teacher, Mr. Jack.
-He has become very interested in the sounds letters make (something they talk a lot about at school) and is always asking what things start with. He is very good at figuring it out on his own when you help him sound things out. He can't wait to learn to read!
-Because of where his birthday falls, we still have 18 months until he starts kindergarten. He loves to talk about "big school" and can't wait to go! Hopefully I will be ready by then!!
-His favorite things right now are superheroes and dinosaurs, and any type of imaginative play involving these things. He loves to play outside and help daddy work outside.
-His favorite TV shows are Ben 10 (about a boy that turns into a superhero), Wild Kratts (an educational show about animals on PBS), America's Funniest Home Videos, Scooby Doo and Max and Ruby. Quite the variety!
-He does NOT like going shopping and protests it as much as possible-- bargains, begs, and pleads to not go. Just like a man! If he does go, he constantly asks, "okay, is it time to pay yet? How many more things do we have to get?" And Lord help us if we have to go to more than just one store!!
-He is very cautious, just like me. For example, we are planning to go to my friend Angie's house to ride horses sometime this Spring, and when I was showing him a picture of her horses, he said, "I want to ride the smaller one, he looks safe" lol! He is absolutely terrified of bees.
-He is still very much his momma's boy, and still lets me rock him sometimes. He'll say, "okaaay, mom, I'll let you rock me". He tells me he loves me "all the way to his heart" everyday. Before bed, we have to have 4 kisses: Butterfly kisses, Eskimo kisses (that he calls "Mio" kisses, fishy kisses, and then a "regular" kiss. Such a little lover boy!
-He is still a picky eater with a strong gag reflex. He can't eat anything for about the first hour he is awake because he gags too easily. I hope this is something he will eventually outgrow!! His favorite foods remain PB&J, cheese, yogurt, waffles, turkey bacon, cereal, nutrigrain bars, granola bars, macaroni and cheese, fish sticks, chicken, pepperoni pizza, spaghetti and meatballs, hot dogs and corndogs and meatloaf. He loves ketchup and is a big milk drinker, plain or chocolate, he loves it!
-He weighs 52 pounds, is 45 inches tall, wears a boys 6/7, size 13.5 shoe, and still rides in a 5 point harness carseat. He is getting taller but his weight has stayed pretty steady for awhile now, so I think he will be able to wear many of his clothes from last summer again this year. Unless he hits a huge growth spurt between now and then, which is possible I guess!
He is SUCH a joy, I can't even remember what life was like before this bundle of energy, personality, and love came into our lives! Happy Half-Birthday Ayden Christopher!!
