Matthew's New Job

Matthew has had several careers in his short working life. Today, he moves on to yet another chapter: He is now working in the art department. Recent history had him as a Technical Writer, then an Editor, and most recently, he was a Consultant (what does a consultant do, anyway?).

He is still with the same company, but he has a new title (and the responsibilities that follow). His official title is now Graphic Designer/Web Developer.

Aidan Update

For the last few weeks, Aidan has been incredibly moody; usually a sign that a tooth is working its way through. Renee is very excited about the prospect of a new tooth erupting, and is always eager to declare its presence. After much debate (well, not really; just being dramatic), we have declared today the day that tooth number three arrived.

A quick call to our family tooth expert (Aidan's Aunt Sandra), and we learn that it is the "g" tooth, also known as the primary left canine or eye tooth.

Aidan Update

Some of Aidan's teachers from day care are saying that it sounds like Aidan is talking. Around home, it sounds like he may be, too. Most distinctive is "what's that," (maybe more like "was da"), since he is usually pointing at something when he says it. He seems to get "mom" and "da" said in context pretty frequently — frequently enough to make us think that he's got it, but we're really not 100% sure....
Aidan has also been showing off some of his physical talents lately. He's been putting rings on his Fisher-Price ring pyramid, playing peek-a-boo by pulling sheets or blankets over his head, he likes to give you a toy he's found (like a ball), but only if you give it back to him...

...and he also likes to shake his head.

Aidan Update

It is impossible to change Aidan's diaper or clothes lately. He squirms and crys and is generally a major handful. However, we have learned that if we tell him what we are going to do (and sign it for him), then he is nothing but cooperative.
Speaking of signs, Aidan seems to be grasping more and more of the signs and he is starting to use them himself; we're pretty sure that he can sign "up" (as in "pick me up") and he definitely understands the sign for nursing, but it's difficult to know if he is making the sign or not, mostly because if he is doing it, he's not particularly articulate, and it is fairly similar to other hand gestures that he seems to "naturally" make.

Aidan Update

Aidan is nine months old, and today was his regularly scheduled well visit with his pediatrician. Overall, Aidan is doing very well, and his ears are the clearest (meaning, no infection) that his doctor has seen in a while.

Here are some of Aidan's stats:

One other interesting bit: Matthew was carrying Aidan around the house with him the other day (yesterday?) and was looking for a snack; eventually he settled for a pickle. Aidan, being the curious baby he is, wanted to know what his dad was eating. Matthew knew that Aidan wouldn't be interested in a pickle, so he did his best to keep it away from him. Yet Aidan kept opening his mouth, looking for a taste of this mysterious thing. Realizing that Aidan only wanted to satisfy some curiosity and little harm could come from tasting a pickle (at worst, Aidan would probably make a sour face and forget about the food), we decided to let him try it.

To our surprise, Aidan took it! He sucked on it and was even able to get his two bottom teeth into it (and managed to pull out a few small chunks)....