Birthday Boy!

Somebody turned 2! We didn't have a party with friends or anything (although several of my piano students wanted us to because they wanted to come play with him!), but we did celebrate at home.

Aidan LOVED blowing out his candles! He actually asked us to re-light them about 4 times.

This is my favorite video - you can see how proficient he is at tearing open the wrapping paper. I also love the excited shriek when he realized it was a stuffed dog. ("Dog! My dog!")

And this one is kind of long, but it's especially for Grandma and Grandpa Steele.

For the sake of posterity, Aidan right at 2 years old:

• has NOT hit the terrible twos yet. He is still fairly compliant and sweet.
• DOES have a sense of humor. Loves to figure out how to tease Mom and Dad, and sometimes pushes the boundaries to see if we think it's funny or not.
• is talking a LOT! Three- and even four-word sentences seemed to come up out of nowhere about a month before he turned 2. He also loves to label things and will point to new things to ask their name all the time.
• is not even close to potty training yet (although he does occasionally ask to wipe himself at diaper changes).
• is still enamored with all dogs. He cannot see one without asking "ped da gog, ped da gog!" (pet the dog).
• loves hiding games, and is finally getting the hang of "shhhh."
• regularly asks to visit the library, the play place, and the fish store.
• Is a decent eater (although veggies are still a struggle). Favorite foods include string cheese, pretzels, and goldfish crackers.
• loves to read. (Hmmm, where did he get that from?!)
• constantly copies both mom (cooking, vacuuming, cleaning) and dad (sanding, mowing, scraping).
• loves playgrounds, climbing, and sliding. He even mastered ladders last week!
• loves to play with balls (putting them in nets, hitting them with a bat, playing catch) - must be a little boy!

Happy birthday to my sweet little boy. I'm so glad to be your mother!