Fall Birthdays

Last weekend we hosted the Fall Birthdays party for my mom, all my siblings and one brother-in-law, all who have birthdays within a 6 week time frame in September and October. I only had a chance to snap a couple of photos early on.

Before everyone arrived, cousin Elizabeth read Aaron the true story of the 3 little pigs (as told from the wolf's perspective). It is a book my mom brought over. Aaron was enthralled with Elizabeth's story telling and sat still longer on my brother's lap listening than when I've tried to read him stories.

We have the Chinese board game Go, which is always sitting out on the living room coffee table. All the kids who visit make up their own games using the black and white stones. Conner and Barb are playing their version in this picture.

Rice Cereal

Just 10 days shy of Aaron's 6 month birthday, we decided to introduce rice cereal. He's been showing more and more interest in what we are eating and drinking and he's not been nursing as well - he'll stop eating to look around, then take a brief drink, then look around some more, so I'll end the feeding only to have him get hungry 2 hours later. So it seemed like the right time to introduce his first food.

I made sure to nurse him first so that he wouldn't be overly hungry, and then I made up a very thin mixture of organic brown rice cereal and breast milk. The spoon I'm feeding him with was mine. In fact it has my name and birth date engraved on the handle. I believe it is from Gerber. (I can't seem to find spoons like this anymore - they all have a rubber coating on the end, which seems unnecessary.)

The pictures were taken towards the end of the feeding. The video is from the very beginning. He seemed to catch on after awhile and I think he may actually have swallowed about the equivalent of 2 spoonfuls.

Rollin', rollin', rollin', keep them babies rollin'

Aaron just started rolling over this week, but has quickly mastered the task. At least to the left. He does not roll to the right. Ever.

I try to keep him on a blanket on the floor when he rolls (to protect the carpet from spit-up, not to protect him from the floor) but this proves to be a challenge since he quickly rolls off the blanket and into nearby furniture. Since he cannot roll to the right, I just turn him 180 degrees when he gets to the edge of the blanket so he can roll back across to where he started.

Yesterday, he wouldn't go to sleep when we put him down for his afternoon nap, so I finally got him up and let him roll around. As soon as I put him down on his back, he starts rolling. And as you'll see in the video below, he is fussy and tired, but he won't stop rolling. It is almost as if he has no choice but to roll if he is put on the ground.

Singing

Before Aaron was born, I only sang in the car or when no one else could hear me. I can't carry a tune in a bucket. I remember babysitting my niece Mattea with Thom and I wouldn't sing to her if he was in earshot because I was so embarrassed by my tone deafness.

I figured I'd feel the same way with Aaron. But it hasn't taken long to get over it. Aaron loves it when I sing. And I don't care who hears me. All that matters is that it makes Aaron happy. I sing him songs I remember from childhood - Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Mary Had a Little Lamb, The Itsy Bitsy Spider (one of his favorites). And I make up songs, some to tunes I make up, some to familiar tunes. Most revolve around the idea of going to sleep. This one is sung to the tune of Clementine:

Little baby, little baby, little baby, little boy
You are tired
So now it's time to
Close your eyes and go to sleep.

Nothing very creative, but he seems to like it.

So I was really impressed when I saw this video of Anita Renfroe singing lyrics she put to the William Tell Overture. I think all moms will relate.

We've got teeth!!

Aaron and I went out to the local farmer's market this afternoon, stopping at the library, too. When we got home, it was only 2 hours since he'd last eaten, but he was trying to nurse on my shoulder. I thought it might be teething and let him bite on my knuckle. He's been teething for weeks, but he seemed more upset than usual. At one point, I got a peek into his mouth and could just barely make out the tops of two bottom teeth emerging from his gums! I almost gave him infant Tylenol for the pain, but since he kept rooting, I fed him instead, which seemed to help. Afterwards, he was in a smiley mood and not long after he went down for a nap (after we called his father to tell him the exciting news).

Two milestones in one day! My baby is all growed up.

At the park

Yesterday I met a group of friends with their new babies at the park. Aaron had a good time and I'm sure is looking forward to the days when he can help Gabe chase squirrels - assuming Gabe is still interested in such things by the time Aaron can run around.

And speaking of running, he has reached a milestone along the way - he rolled over today from back to front. He was on a blanket in our room playing with a cloth book while I folded laundry. One second he was on his back, the next he was 3/4 of the way turned over. I saw him just as he was landing on his stomach. I actually missed seeing how he did it. I clapped and cheered and he smiled a bit. I think he did recognize he had done something new. But he quickly got tired and was ready for a nap. Rolling over really takes it out of you, I guess.

Sling Baby

On Sunday, Aaron woke up early from a nap and I was doing some chores around the house. So I put him in this handy sling my friend Heidi lent me while I finished up. His dad thought he looked like Yoda being carried around my Luke Skywalker, so he took some pictures. Notice how he is grabbing the sling with his left hand. It is important to always have something in the claw.