All About Ayden

Photo courtesy of Sweet Little Love Photography

How did my babies get to be 18 months, officially a year and a half?  Ayden is a big boy!  At their check up a few weeks ago (yes, I'm late posting this!), Ayden weighed in at a whopping 28.4 lbs.  This put him on the chart in the 92 percentile!  Doh!  The thing is, I've actually had moments that I had thought he was getting skinny!  He doesn't have those baby rolls or a big belly.  Rylee's actually the one with the belly!  lol.  Ayden is also tall though.  He's 33 inches, which puts him at the 69th percentile.  And of course, he's still got his super big noggin at the 99th percentile.  His head is almost off the chart!  He's had a big head since the very beginning though, so we know that just makes him super smart.  :)

He's wearing size 5 diapers and his clothing ranges anywhere from 18 month to 2T.  He's starting to grow out of his 18 month clothes though, and is mostly in 18-24 month size.  He still has chunky, wide feet that I struggle to find shoes that fit.  I have yet to find a pair of slip on shoes/sandals that will work.  He's currently wearing size 6 shoes.

Photo courtesy of Sweet Little Love Photography

Ayden is still a pretty smiley boy that charms the pants off complete strangers.  Neither one of my children has any sense of stranger danger.  He loves people and has no problem joining other families that are picnicking at the park.  Of course he's usually trying to steal their food... When I (rarely) take them grocery shopping, he is always quick to reward people that talk to him with a smile.

While he is super happy when we are out and about and with other people, Ayden is also going through a huge whiney, clingy phase while we are home.  The boy is just not happy unless his Momma is holding him.  He somehow has completely forgotten how to walk from his bedroom to the living room by himself and throws a complete fit if I have the nerve to set him down.  Same thing when I'm trying to cook or prepare a meal.  He is constantly pulling on my clothes, or trying to squeeze between the cupboards and me.  Unless I give him a snack.  Then he is completely happy!  He absolutely loves to eat!  I guess that's why he's in the 92nd percentile!  Some of his favorite foods are blueberries, mango, pineapple, watermelon....basically all fruits, but he also loves pasta, Mexican chicken, and kids Cliff bars.

We got a referral from the pediatrician for Early Intervention to help with Ayden and Rylee's language skills.  Ayden still doesn't really have any words.  He has lots of sounds, but no real words.  He says dada, but not necessarily to Tony.  He says go, go, go but not because it means anything.  He does say hi sometimes.  He definitely talks and jibber jabbers.  He just doesn't have any words.

He can sign "more" though!  He's been doing that for several months now and is VERY good at it.  His "more" has lots of meanings behind it.  More means "I'm hungry," "give me whatever YOU are eating," (even if we have the same exact food, he wants it off of OUR plate!) or "I'm thirsty," and sometimes it does simply mean "I'd like more of that."  Bottom line is that he is able to at least communicate something and we know it means he's either hungry or thirsty.

Ayden is starting to master eating with a fork and spoon.  Of course he still needs a lot of practice, but it's a work in progress.  He also does a fairly good job of eating off a plate now.  If any food falls off his plate onto his highchair tray, he even picks it up and puts it back on his plate where it belongs!

Ayden is constantly on the move and getting into something, or climbing on something.  He is a busy, busy boy that LOVES to explore.  I have to always be on my toes when we are outside because he loves to run away and it's usually in the direction of the street, no matter where we are at.  Many park trips have been cut short simply because he wasn't content with actually staying IN the park.  It becomes a challenge when there are two you are chasing... I've figured out a new trick this last week though.  If he is running off, I can call his name, open up my arms big and ask for a hug, and he will come running back to me and give me a hug! I love the hugs and he seems to love giving them!  At home, Ayden's favorite thing is to climb on and off the couches.  And I'm not talking about the normal way.  No, he has to climb over the sides and BACK of the couch!  He's also starting to figure out how to move things around and use them to climb up to whatever it is he thinks he has to have.  We now have a few of our kitchen chairs hidden in our bedroom.  I have found a way to hook the two chairs left in the kitchen around the table legs so that he can't push them around.  At least he hasn't figured out how to untangle them yet...

Ayden got his first haircut today!  I was ready to get it trimmed, but we actually HAD to cut it very short in the back at the recommendation of his pediatrician.  Much shorter than I originally had planned on cutting it!  He's developed a bad habit of playing/twirling his hair, most often when he's eating which also results in him EATING his hair.  It had gotten to the point that he was pooping hair.  Soooooo, we had to take away that option.  Unfortunately, we've also had to put away almost all stuffed animals because he's been chewing the fur off of them!  He is a weird little kid, what can I say?  Remember when we first moved into this house, he was eating the carpet?  He doesn't do that anymore, so hopefully this hair eating, teddy bear chewing thing will be short lived as well.  He looks so handsome and grown up with his new haircut!  It's amazing how much a haircut can change the way a person looks.  He doesn't have a baby face anymore!

Ayden may not be up to speed with his communication skills, and he might be a big momma's boy, but he is definitely a smart little cookie that loves figuring things out.  It is so amazing to watch him learn and understand new things on a daily basis.  It especially tickles my heart when he gets so proud of himself for being able to do something.  I love this kid to pieces!

Photo courtesy of Sweet Little Love Photography

Photo courtesy of Sweet Little Love Photography