{repost}That's just the way it works, don't you know?

{more words of wisdom from Aidan, orignially posted on 9/06. he cracked me up. old soul.}

According to Aidan:

"Sometimes kids lose their manners and they get hyper. That's just what happens. Then you say nicely, calm down. And you don't yell. That's the way you do it."

"We're just little kids. We can't listen all the time. We're trying."

Flirting.

My son is 9. NINE.  And I witnessed him flirting. FLIRTING! This morning, my daughter's 6 year old friend came down to breakfast and as she sat down, Aidan said, "hey there, shorty.", complete with a Joey {friends} chin lift and how YOU doin' eye squint.

9 years.

On Saturday at 6:57am, my firstborn will mark the day that he entered our lives 9 years ago. I am having a super hard time wrapping my mind around this. It seems like just yesterday that he was my baby boy.  I miss the sweet baby boy he was. He was the best little boy ever. The sweetest. The boy who wouldn't sleep in his bed for anything. The boy who would cry until he vomited. The boy who slept in our bed until he was almost two, us creeping out of the room on all 4's, in the dark, and sitting silently in the dark until we knew he was good and asleep, frustrated as all getup, but also knowing this was a phase and we'd get past it somehow.  The boy, who at age almost-9, still asks to sleep with mom and dad (heck, yeah!) and loves "tickles" on his back and whose teacher says he's the most kindhearted, compassionate, caring child in his class.  Of course, we're not without our struggles. We struggle with independence, talking back, and naughty talk, all things that he gets from TV and friends. All a part of growing up. But we just hold on to the hope that we're doing it right and helping him grow into a good person. Because in the end, that's what you're striving for, right? A happy, well-balanced, caring, kind human.

Of course, I still ache for the baby when I see photos like such...
He was such a beautiful baby and tot! Oh, those eyes!

32 weeks- Mag Sulfate Face. He really wanted to come, but a weeklong stay in the hospital and then bedrest until 37 weeks helped him stay put.

 

Sweet Baby Aidan Thomas. 3.5.02 6:57am, 7lb, 15.3ozs, 20" 

4-5 months

6 months...the first night away from him and the day of the car wreck w/ grandma :(

 17 months...what a character

 

17 months...had to hit the pumpkin patches w/o mama b/c I was on bedrest w/ the twins.

 

Sleepyhead at breakfast.

 

 My boys, reading books in bed. He had such a fondness for his binkies.

 

Age 2. He LOVED books. Still does. Thank goodness he was always so content to have me read, both when I was on bedrest at home, in the hospital, and when I was nursing the twins.

Beaming with mama pride

Once in awhile, its nice to get a sign that we really are doing *something* right. That we're not totally screwing them up, right?

 two sweet letters from Aidan that he typed up and printed recently

 

Norah's letter to Aidan that she tucked into his backpack after he went to bed tonight

A letter we received from Norah's teacher today

(i feel bad not representing E, because he's equally awesome. i just didn't have anything photographed)

You know your baby is growing up when...

... he gets up on a Sunday morning and at 7am, walks roughly 5 blocks to the local bakery/coffee/pizza(at night) shop with a neighbor friend, and brings back a big box o' donuts, including mama's favorite, the cruller.

Wasn't it just yesterday that he was my sweet little Aidie? And now he's almost 9.

We are the champions....again!!

Go Aidan!!!

Last year (with Darth Taiter) he took 3rd in the pack, but this year, Aidan won 1st place for his den in the pinewood derby race.

The trophy and winning car (the car is a spin-off of the Milwaukee Brewers, obviously)

The Case of the Missing Teeth

My Little Baller
Originally uploaded by flabonganator

It was before Christmas that Aidan was singing, "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth." And yet..... Santa failed to deliver. Now its the end of March. And still no sign of those front teeth.

Oh yeah...he's a pretty good little ball player, too. The basketball hoop was definitely the perfect gift!!!!

Success!

I thought I had blogged about it, but I guess I didn't. A year ago, in Mar/April '08, Aidan started a new swim class at the Y. Since he had just turned 6, he was no longer in the preschool class, and was now a youth. Youth=swim class in The Big Pool. I didn't think anything of it. He knew how to swim across the width of the little pool. But woah nellie...one would have thought we were trying to throw him in hot molten lava and telling him he could never come home again. He cried all class. We tried it again the following week. More tears. So they allowed him back into a preschool class. When that session wrapped up in early June, I stopped enrolling the kids in swim lessons all together. I needed a break. Between that and N&E not listening to their instructor and refusing to get out of the pool at the end of class.... yeah.

Fast forward to today. First lesson of this session. I figured that the Mar-June session was as best a time as any to stick them back in, seeing as how summer is coming up. I hope.

I could tell that Aidan had a few reservations, but was nothing like last year. He was stoked that one of his JK friends, Dane, and he were in the same class. I kept my eye on him and he was aok throughout the whole class in The Big Pool. At the end of the 45 min class, I saw the instructor walk them down to The Deep and explain what they were to do. I could see Aidan telling him that no, he was not going to do that. However, once Aidan saw his classmates and Dane do it, he crawled up on the platform, shaky as all getup, and low and behold, HE JUMPED! In the 10 ft deep water!!!!! I was so stinkin' proud of the kid. He overcame his fear. We celebrated his success tonight. Big boy, he is.

The sensitive one

We had conferences on Friday. All went glowingly well. Going into Aidan's, I was already up to speed because we had just had his IEP the week prior, and a lot came up in there.

Aidan is a good student. He's one of those kids who follows the classroom rules. If the teacher gives the strategies for being a Strong Reader, he follows all of them. He does every step, without skipping one. And because of this, he's moved up 2 reading levels in less than a month. We're so proud of him.

Aidan is a shy kid. Not so much with adults....he can sit down and talk an adult's ear off (hello, Uncle Ryan!). But it takes him a long time to build up a friendship that he's comfortable with. Or at least, that's what we see on the outside. His teacher says that he interacts just fine in the classroom, which is wonderful to hear. However, one of his very best friends is a girl. And there are some cruel boys in his class who have taken to taunting him for this, calling them boyfriend and girlfriend. Said boy has also critiqued Aidan's kicking and running skills when it comes to recess kickball. I'd like to have a word with the kid's mom, but that's not here nor there. Thankfully, Aid's teacher called a meeting to try and put a stop to the behavior by talking about how you treat your classmates and how boys and girls can be friends and its ok.

After the first meeting, Aidan and I were walking home and he was telling me about it. He was saying how 'J' has not been well behaved since the first day of school and he's just not very nice. I said something to the effect of, "Well, that's ok. You're not going to be friends with everyone. That's just part of life." And he chewed on it and said something like, "Well Mommy, he is still my friend, he's just a boy who does not make good choices most of the time."

Wow. He's so sweet...always willing to give someone another chance and the benefit of the doubt. I hope it doesn't bite him in the butt as he goes through life. I hope that he manages to stay a non-cynical person with a positive outlook.

Too bad he's so hard on himself. We need to work on that...

We are the champions, my friend-

Aidan took 3rd place overall in the Pinewood Derby. So he won all his races (6) and they averaged his times to get his place. He was thisclose to 2nd place!!

Go Darth Taiter!

aidan in uniform

aidan in uniform
Originally uploaded by flabonganator

Aidan's a big boy now...he takes Tae Kwan Do once a week for an hour and really likes it. He has to practice during the week, and he has to learn how to count to 10 in Korean and learn the TKD creed. Serious stuff!

Chivalry is not dead

Last Friday, Aidan went on a field trip to a nature preserve with his class. One of his female classmates forgot her jacket, so he offered his to her and let her wear it until they got back to school.

Off to school...

What a bittersweet day it was. In some ways, I feel like I've been looking forward to this day for 3 years now. And in other ways, it feels like this day has snuck up on me too quickly. Where has my baby gone? It seriously seems like just yesterday that Aidan was this little stubborn bundle in my arms, making his "eh eh" noises and thrashing his head around. This is the little dude who slept with us for years on end because he didn't want to leave our sides. This is the little man who cried when I took him to preschool every morning, and chased me down the hallway, unless his teacher was holding him.

Boy have times changed.


Aidan was so excited for his first day of kindergarten. He practically ran to school. Watching him walk to his classroom in his class line....wow. That is my 4.5 year old. He hung up his backpack and went and sat down on the carpet with the rest of the kids. I hugged and kissed him and he didn't shed a single tear. I left.

I can't believe it. I really can't!!
When we picked him up later, he said he had a fun day. He talked about the popcorn snack, about the book they read (something about animals and underwear), and said that they played. We let him pick where he wanted to go to lunch as a treat, as well (even though daddy tried to sway him to mexican. Aidan had his mind made up! )

Tomorrow: day 2. I still can't believe it.
Oh well....at least he still crawls into our bed in the morning to snuggle. I still have that. :)

Her mommy's daughter; his daddy's son...

We set up Miss Norah's big girl bed this weekend. Once the cool new bedding was on it, I called Norah in to show it to her and her reaction? "No, dat not Norah bed. DAT [pointing to her crib] Norah bed!" Uh oh.
Yep - she's her mama's girl. She's strong willed, stubborn, and feisty. She is *not* a morning person. She wakes up and needs time to acclimate herself to the world before she comes out of her crib. If you go get her prematurely, hell hath no fury like Norah.
Norah loves her fruit and could likely live on fruit and the occasionally piece of chocolate. She shuns all meat.
Her mama's girl? You betcha!

And Aidan....he may look like his mama and her family, but he's his daddy's boy through and through. He's a morning person...up early, in a good mood, and ready to play. He loooooves carbs. If I gave him a warm baguette loaf, I would venture to guess he'd eat the whole thing. And watch out! If this boy naps, there is nothing more ornery than Aidan (or his father) when they wake up. Its best to stay at bay for a good 30 minutes post-nap. They are real grumpalumpaguses.

You did WHAT?!

Aidan, my darling 4 year old. You're about to start kindergarten in 2 weeks. You're smart as a whip. You can crank out 100pc puzzles faster than I can change a diaper. However, I have to question your line of thinking when you put that penny in your mouth. I've got to ask you, "WTF were you thinking?!"

Wednesday, 8/23, Aidan came rushing into the living room with a worried look on his face, saying, "oh no, mommy! i just ate sumfin' that was money." I started freaking out, thinking it would mean a call to 911 due to a coin being stuck in his windpipe, and asked him what he ate. He said, "it was gold like the water" (what kind of water you lookin' at, boy?! ew!). I asked him if he could breathe and he said yes, and said the money was now in his belly. Ugh.

Little Sponges

Friday morning, Aidan greeted me in bed.
A: "Mommy! Quinn [our cat] puked on the living room carpet! I saw it and I said 'geez!' and daddy said, 'jesus christ'!"
From the other room, I hear "I DID NOT SAY THAT!!!"
Well, whether he did or didn't, I am guessing Aidan picked that expression up, in its correct context, somewhere!

I guess I've called Norah a big girl enough times for her to decide that is what she is. So now if I see her climbing on something and I make an offhand comment like, "are you my little monkey?" she will say, "No. I a big girl." Or if she is purring and meowing (like she was in the car yesterday for about 15 minutes) and I ask her if she was a cat in a past life, she responds with, "No, I a big girl." If she's being goofy and I say, "you're so silly!" I bet you can guess her response! Yup.... "No, I a big girl!"

Yesterday we were driving home and the radio was on, but I could hear Norah singing something to herself. I turned it down and yup.... she was singing the ABC's. It was quite cute. Of course, she stopped once she caught me sneaking a peek.

Aidan's line of questioning seems to be neverending. Man. I thought maybe we skipped the "why" stage. No such luck. And the worst part is that I have no answer for some of the questions, like "why does red mean stop and green mean go?" But then there are the other questions. Questions like, "why do trucks and buses have big engines?" and "why do babies say mama and dada and why do they cry?" and "why do old people drive slow?" and my personal favorite, "daddy, why did you drive the wrong way that one time?" (he wont let him forget about it! ha ha!). Or this weekend it was, "daddy, why do you keep doing things wrong?" (not sure where that one came from!).
And there is nothing worse than getting scolded by your 4 year old. We were bickering in the car and he said, "would you two just stop it!" errrrr. oops.

Thankfully his kindergarten teacher will absorb some of his whys in 22 days. Whew.

And just a little misc. to end this entry: One of Aidan's favorite things to do right now is to re-enact the 'Hot Chocolate' scene from Polar Express. Its quite funny. He also likes to sing and dance a number from Jungle Book. But the boy has no rhythym. He's white through and through.

"Sharing", as defined by a 4.5 year old

Let's set the scene:
Aidan is quietly playing with Lightning McQueen, driving him down the streets of a play city.

Elliott asks for some cars. Mommy picks out the cars that he requests.

Aidan spots Elliott having fun with one particular yellow car.

Aidan: "I want to play with that car."

Elliott: "No, my car. Ay-yee-yit pwaying wif it."

Aidan whines. Mom tells Aidan to patiently wait his turn.

All is quiet and suddenly, Elliott comes running to mommy, screaming. Aidan isplaying with the yellow car.

Aidan: "Look mommy. I am sharing. I gave Elliott the helicopter. See? I am a good sharer."

Um, not even close, bud.

Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handy. er, Aidan, age 4.5

"Mommy, why do chairs, couches, and airplane seats have arms, but pottys don't?"