New Things Learned

September was a month full of learning fantastic new things! A few days before Aaron's first birthday, he took his first unassisted step, after which he promptly fell. There was still much celebrating and jubilation at this progression.

After spending the following weeks trying to figure out how to take more than just a few very wobbly steps, he was able to walk the width of our living room just yesterday with no assistance and he can stand up from a seated position without using anything to steady himself. He is very proud of himself, as well he should be, and grins the whole time.



Aaron has also continued to develop an adorable sense of humor. He has now started sneaking up on me and laughs every time I appear startled. I even think he tells jokes; although, I have no idea what they are. He will babble on and on and then break out laughing like he just said the funniest thing. Of course, I laugh too because he's just so darn cute!

He has mastered going up stairs, but still has quite a bit of difficulty going down. The difficulty is that he refuses to go down feet first and backwards and I freak out every time he's close to going down head first. We both need some work in the area of going down stairs. The advice from mothers before is to just let it happen and then he will learn that he can either get hurt or go down backwards and feet first. I am struggling with that idea...a lot. (Maybe one day I'll be able to, but not today.)

One of Aaron's latest favorite discoveries is the wrinkles on my forehead when I raise my eyebrows. Whenever he wants to see them, he comes right up to my face, looks at my forehead and moves his head up and down almost in a nodding motion, but more circular movements. It's really kinda cute; although, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about him loving my wrinkles so much. I guess the ones on my forehead are better than those in other areas of my face.

First Artwork

Aaron made his first drawings on September 12th. He'd never shown any interest in drawing before and, where these are his first, I thought they were note-worthy. He's quite the artist, isn't he?

(So, the top half isn't his, it's actually what was used to keep track of his birthday presents and then I wrote a note to myself to explain what they are and why I'm keeping them.)

Party Time!

Aaron and I celebrated his birthday together at home on the 8th. I got him a small cake, which he very quickly demolished. I saved his presents for his party that weekend, but he still had the best time! I was rewarded afterward with LOTS of hugs and kisses! It was so great!

He got a call from his Aunt Jeni and cousins in Washington later that night. They sang "Happy Birthday" to him. He had the biggest smile the entire time! He also got to talk to each of them for awhile. He had a lot to say and, if I had to guess, I'm sure he was telling them all about the cake experience.

Aaron's 1st birthday party was a blast! His dad, sister and two of his brothers came. We also had lots of aunts, uncles and cousins there.

We had an Elmo theme and I had found an Elmo pinata. It was safer (for the person in charge of holding it) because it had strings that were used to break it open instead of hitting with a stick. No getting hit in the head, stomach, or, well, other places that hurt a LOT! I thought it was going to be great! And it was, until the kids started tearing him apart to get to the candy. Aaron started crying and screaming at the kids while reaching for Elmo. I was not prepared for that reaction. Poor guy!

Luckily, his cousin, Tiersa, was thoughtful enough to go in the house and get his stuffed toy Elmo, which he immediately grabbed onto and kissed and hugged with all his might. Thank you so much Tiersa!

(The pinata event was video-taped, so still pics to go with the story.)


After the candy had been gathered and the older kids were well on their way to a sugar high, we opened the gifts. Aaron got some great things from everyone and we appreciate all of them. He has already gotten quite a bit of use from everything but the clothes. There will be plenty of time for him to wear them out.

I made some punch from Kool-Aid and lemon-lime soda. The fizzies from the soda made Aaron shudder every time he took a sip, but he absolutely loved it and kept going back for more!

Then it was time for cake! Yippee! Aaron was much more careful about eating the cake, using only one hand most of the time. When he was using his other hand, it was mostly to stash away some of the cake down below...where no one will ever find it and he can sneak back for a snack later.

1 Year Old!

My baby boy turns 1 today (a sigh and a tear...okay a LOT of tears!). This has been the most amazing year of my life...and of Aaron's, so far. Getting to watch this little boy grow and learn new things almost daily makes me feel so blessed. He really is an incredible person, especially for one so small still.

He's got such a fun personality and a great sense of humor. He also has quite a temper when he gets frustrated, which is any time something doesn't do what he thinks it ought to be doing. You can imagine how often that happens. With all the ups and downs that come with being alive, I have to admit our ups are far more frequent and long-lasting than our downs...and they are some really great ups.

In the last year, Aaron has taught me to love more deeply than I thought possible, to overlook things that used to bother me, to be more patient than I've ever been before and to watch how I react to difficult situations. (You wondered where he gets the temper?)

In the last year, I have also been able to witness his deep love for the people who come into his life, his fascination with, well, everything around him, his intensity as he observes boys and men, his compassion, his joy, and his ability to draw people to him.

He adores his family, both immediate and extended. He seems to know them as soon as he sees them. He observes so much more than I've seen most babies take in (or, perhaps, it's because I am observing him so much more and with more frequency than I've watched most babies).

He is particularly watchful of boys and men. There must be an innate sense that he will become one of them and he wants to know how they are...their behaviors, their interests, and their mannerisms.

He is also very aware when someone is upset or sad. Just the other day, we were doing our shopping and passed by a little girl in a cart who was crying. He turned quickly to see her and tried to get her to smile by smiling, making his silly faces and waving at her. It didn't help her to feel happy, but it was fun to watch him try and made me a very proud momma that he would do so without any encouragement from anyone else.

My little boy is already becoming quite an amazing man. I am looking forward to seeing what exciting new things await us in the next year and the next and the next.....




One Year Old Pictures - courtesy of JSA Photography