First sign!

I've started using "baby signs" (sign language for babies - some of which is standard American Sign Language, some is modified, and I think some are completely created for babies) with Aaron. I've only tried a couple and the main one I use with him is the sign for "more" since I know this is the one sign that all kids whose parents use baby signs seem to pick up.

There are a couple of variations for this sign, but the one I've seen most often is to tap your fingertips together, backs of the fingers facing out, thumb behind the pointer and middle fingers. When he points to the box of Joe's O's (Trader Joe's version of Cheerios), I would sign more and ask "Do you want more Cheerios?" (Cheerios is easier to say than "Joe's O's".) He would watch me sign, then point more emphatically at the box of cereal.

Yesterday, it dawned on me to try one of the variations I've seen for "more". There is one version where you tap your right pointer finger on your left palm. And since Aaron loves to use his pointer, I thought this one might grab his interest. Sure enough, the first time I did it, he watched intently and smiled. And within a few minutes, he had tried to do it himself. He sort of raised both his hands in the air, left hand open, right hand with pointer out, and then brought them down and put his pointer on his left palm. When he did it, I gave him another Joe's O and praised him. He did it a few times, but not consistently and he still reverts to pointing at the box of cereal, but it is a start.

11 months old!

It's hard to believe that in another month, Aaron will be 1 year old. This past year has been the fastest one of my life! For his 11 month birthday, I thought I'd share some random things about Aaron.

Pacifiers - Lately, he is obsessed with pacifiers. We (with my mom's help) introducted pacifiers to Aaron around 5-8 weeks. He now goes to bed with one and I can't remember him falling asleep without one. I also have one clipped to him in the carseat and when we are out, since I know it will keep him quiet in public if necessary (he doesn't always have it in his mouth, just clipped to his shirt). But he doesn't use one just when he is playing in the house - I have tried to limit it somewhat.

When I nurse him in his room in the dark, he will nurse, then struggle to get up. I realized he is looking for a pacifier since he knows we keep a stack on hand on the bed (where I nurse him). So I give him a paci, he grabs it, and turns back to nurse. Sometimes he'll stop, but the plug in for 2 seconds, pull it out with his other hand, then go back to nursing. But lately, one pacifier is not enough. I'll give him one, he'll stick it in his mouth and try to reach for another one. So I give him another one, he'll pull the first one out with his other hand, and then continue to nurse.

Also, when I get him up in the morning or from a nap, I put him on the bed to remove his sleep sack. He immediately tries to get to the stack of pacifiers and then has to suck on each one in succession, pulling it out to try another one. Or he'll put one in his mouth, have one in each hand, yet still struggle to get more.

Crawling - Aaron is still not crawling. We haven't gotten him in to the physical therapist, either. Our pediatrician was supposed to write a prescription for it and fax something to the PT's office, but she didn't. I've called twice about it and if they have finally faxed it over, they didn't notify me. So I need to call the PT's office and see if they have the info for us to schedule an appointment. Otherwise, I will just wait until his 12 month checkup and get the prescription then. I'm not overly worried about it and he is showing progress, albeit slow. Over the weekend, he managed to push himself backwards a little bit while on his hands and legs (not quite on his knees). We clapped at him and he propped himself on his elbows so he could clap, too.

Opening and Closing - Aaron is really into opening and closing things right now, especially doors. When we were at our friends' house last weekend, they had this Melissa and Doug Locks and Latches box, which is a box with doors on all sides and on the top, each with a different type of latch or lock. It is for ages 3+. But with all of the locks and latches undone, Aaron just opened and closed the doors, turning the box to try all of the doors on the sides. Aside from periodically picking up a rattle or other toy nearby, he was largely engrossed in the box with the doors on it for at least 20 mintues, and would have played with it longer if it hadn't been time to leave. So we managed to find the box online and ordered it for his birthday. The great thing about it is that as he gets older and can managed to do the locks and latches, the toy will still hold interest for him, hopefully for years to come. There were other toys that just had doors to open and close and were for children closer to his age, but I figured he would outgrow them quickly.

First Birthday - We are planning to keep his first birthday low key. We figure he won't remember it and he really doesn't need a lot of toys at this point, so we are just celebrating with family. And it will be a joint celebration at that - we are hosting our family's Spring Birthday party this year, which includes 9 birthdays. The box with doors and a wooden infant swing that looks like a horse are the only things we are planning to get him for his birthday. Although I'm sure he will get other gifts from his aunts and uncles. Rather than get him a bunch of stuff on his birthday, I prefer to get him things based on his current interests - like the box with doors.

But one thing I want to give him besides the toys, are two letters - one from me and one from Thom. I think it would be a nice tradition to each write a letter to him at his current age, talking about the things he has accomplished in the last year and the things we love about him at this age. Some day, maybe in the not too distant future, he will like to read these letters (or have us read them to him). And hopefully he will treasure them for years to come. I know I have saved every letter from my parents and especially remember the letters they wrote to me as part of a religious retreat I participated in when I was about 13 and preparing for Confirmation.

Now we are off to Mommy and Me yoga. The other day, I was practicing my Sun Salutations while Aaron was playing. As soon as I raised my hands over my head, he started smiling and watching me. I think he likes yoga. :)

Playdate

On Tuesday, my friends Crystal and Biriz came over for lunch (I made three simple salads - one pasta, one lentils, one green) and a playdate with their daughters Ruby and Alara. Ruby is 6 months old and Alara is 17 months. Aaron had a good time. He seemed to enjoy watching Alara run around (with Biriz chasing after as she approached the steps between the dining and living rooms - which Alara seemed to think she could handle on her own) and he smiled and interacted with Ruby as they sat among his toys. (As you can see, cofee cans are not just popular with Aaron!)

Aaron and Ruby

Ruby and Alara playing with coffee cans
Ruby and Crystal
Aaron chewing on a puzzle piece from one of Alara's books (sorry Alara!)

Cheap toys!

The first coffee can I saved for Aaron, I covered in Contact paper and colored a flower pattern on it in black and red. It was a drum and a rolling toy. We continued to save coffee cans now and then, plus an oatmeal can from my mom, and one day I decided to stack the cans up for Aaron.

Well, that was about the most exciting thing ever! We stack them up, counting as we go, and he gets more and more excited with each can. Then he knocks them all down.

Sometimes he draws it out, bending forward to look at the cans, then looking up at the top, then knocking it down. And sometimes he knocks the stack down when you've only got 2 or 3 cans stacked up.

Oh...the anticipation!

He knocks it down before Thom finisheds stacking them up.

Yea! Daddy is going to build it again!


And finally, a video that captures it all.

Visiting friends

This weekend we went to visit some friends up the coast. Vikas and Christina and their kids came to see us last August and we finally got our act together to go visit them. We went up Saturday morning and came home after dinner. It was the furthest Aaron has been from home. He did great. We timed it so he mostly slept on the ride up. And even though he was reluctant to take his afternoon nap, even when overly tired, he was well behaved and had fun playing with Talia and Luka's toys.

After a lovely lunch in their backyard, we walked down to the pier near their house with the kids. It was a beautiful day out.

Aaron wouldn't face the camera. The ocean was too interesting.

(No, I'm not pregnant, although someone recently assumed I was.)

Aaron was overdue for his nap and soooo tired.

But not as tired as Luka who fell asleep on the walk to the pier.

Talia didn't fall asleep until the way back.

Back to normal

On Sunday, Aaron had a bloodshot eye. Just between the iris and the outer corner. It looked like he may have scratched his eye or something. It was tearing and didn't seem to bother him. But on Monday when he got up, it was darker red, so I called his doctor's office. I had wanted to call anyway since he still had diarrhea after 8 days and he still had loss of appetite. So I left a message for the nurse and after talking to her, she made an appointment for Aaron that morning.

He saw a doctor that we hadn't had an appointment with before. He was great, as all the pediatricians have been that we've seen there so far. He didn't think the bloodshot eye was due to an infection, so there wasn't anything to do to treat it. And he said if Aaron still had diarrhea on Wednesday, they could do a stool sample. He would have expected it to last 4-5 days tops. But he said most likely Aaron just had a bad virus, possibly adenovirus, and he was just taking a long time to fight it off.

Sure enough, by Wednesday he was getting back to normal, and even back to just 2 naps a day. By Thursday, his eye had cleared up and his appetite was back to normal, too. And now he seems like the happy, energetic little boy we had before the stomach flu hit nearly two weeks ago.

Visit with Aunt Mel

On Sunday, we went to the spring bocce ball tournament at my parents' house. My dad's sister, Aunt Mel, was in town. The only pictures I managed to take during our visit were of Aunt Mel playing with Aaron. He had so much fun with this game that he was disappointed when she stopped. You'll see in the 5th photo down that he is imploring her to continue.

(I tried to post these on Sunday and then Monday, but Blogger was giving me grief.)