Aden Withers Holiday Jugband Special!

It just wouldn't be a holiday get-together without some incredibly cute photos of Aden, and this year proved no different. It was interesting to see the changes in Aden's holiday behavior from past years... now his cuteness is punctuated by phrases like "mine!" "my turn now," and "my present!" Oh, and by the occasional tantrum on top of piles of gifts. Thankfully, he still becomes his cute old self with a little time out playing in the snow.

Spaceship to Planet Aden

Yesterday, when I picked Aden up from school, I asked him "Are you being silly?" Normally, he just echoes me and says "dilly daddy." Not any more. This time he replied "A little bit." Shocked, I asked "A little bit?" which he verified, "A little bit dilly daddy." The rate at which he's picking up new language is just shocking. I'm waiting for the day that I wake up to find that he's built a rocketship in his bedroom while we were sleeping.

Health risks (to parents!)

Wow - I never thought that having a toddler would be so dangerous. And I don't mean the everyday stuff: bumping heads when they're jumping around, throwing out your back when you go to pick them up, spraining your ankle when you try to intercept them. Nope, the real risk is from the grandparents, specifically when you don't upload photos to your blog often enough. Then you get late-night calls like this one: "If I don't see some new pictures of the kid by this weekend, you'll be dealing with the kind of trouble that you can't handle, sonny... oh, and tell Aden that his gwammy-wammy wubs him!"

Consider yourself warned - I know I do!

Bow down before your incredibly cute overlords!

It's not often that we here at Withers HQ feel compelled to blog about something other than Aden and only Aden. What could possibly have steered us off our editorial mission?

One word, people: puppies. Specifically, the mastiff puppies that our friend Darlene is fostering. Holy smokes. There's some serious cuteness going on there.

But since Aden's pretty darned cute too, we're letting him elbow his way into this post as well. He's holding a stuffed puppy, so that's good enough for our lax journalistic standards.

November megasuperupload!

Only two weeks in, and already November has been a powerhouse of a month. Of course, when you start off with a bang, it sets the tone for the next couple of weeks.

November 1st was Aden's one year anniversary at home in Providence. One year. Let me repeat: ONE YEAR! That's just crazy talk, in so many ways. It feels like he's been here for so much longer... part of that is tribute to what an amazingly social little guy he is, and how completely he has woven himself into our lives, and part of that is the sleep deprivation talking.

To celebrate the amazingness of this past year, we had out first annual Coming Home party for Aden on Saturday, the 1st. It was a fun little shindig, with balloons (courtesy of Papa Scott), traditional Guatemalan cuisine, a kay-ray-zee air-travel themed cake (courtesy of Gramma Leslie), and all sorts of fun. Aden and Julian both sported traditional Guatemalan vests for the occasion (though we all agreed that Julian's made him look Bavarian), and the grownups stayed until the wee hours toasting to Aden's health.

On the 2nd, we took a mellow trip to a local farm to let the dogs frolic. Aden took advantage of the day to dress up like a little Guatemalan gnome. Cuteness ensued.

And on the 5th, we got on a plane and flew down to Florida to stay with Nancy & Steve to get a much-needed break from the cold. Aden particularly loved the return of fun in the water, both at the beach and at Nancy & Steve's posh little backyard pool. In fact, he invented a new favorite game, which consisted of hanging onto the pool wall, counting to three (or, as he pronounces it, "muun... duuuuu... pree!") and flinging himself out into the water. He kept doing that, over and over, for about an hour, until we noticed his pre-hypothermic appearance, and brought him out to warm up.

All of those other months had better look sharp - November has set a precedent that's going to be tough to match!

Been a long time since I rock & rolled

Yep, Page & Plant had it right. Been a long time since we rocked this blog. And that reference is doubly appropriate now. Why? Well, we're proud to report that Aden's favorite songs, right after the alphabet song and Old MacDonald, are both Led Zeppelin tunes. Yep, that's right - you can only imagine how proud his daddy is! Aden now asks for "Immigrant Song" by mimicking Robert Plant's "ahh-ah-ahhhhhhh-ah" vocal line. And whenever "Kashmir" ends, Aden immediately says "again!" Last night, we had to play "Kashmir" for him three times in a row. Given that it's almost nine minutes long, that's saying something.

Aden's vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds, though it still requires some interpretation (he knows the abovementioned rockers as "Zhepblah!"). He can say his name, proudly reports that he is two, and will tell you that there are two of anything that there more than one of. He's learning to say "Withers," and will attempt to say the names of all of his grandparents. He looooooooooves the zoo (we purchased a family membership), which he refers to as "zoobarbara" in honor of the grandma who took him the first time.

But don't worry - all of the grandparents have been busy earning their stripes. Papa Scott's tickling skills have earned him constant mention, Grandma Marjorie helped further his current obsession (Mickey Mouse), and Grandpa Bob & Grandma Leslie went over & above the call of duty when they built a life-size wooden replica of Aden to guard their lawn. That's right - the squirrels are running scared now, and for good reason. But enough with the yammering - here's some proof of all of the above:

What month is it?

Holy smokes, folks, September is nearly gone! How did that happen? It certainly was a long and eventful month, from our cousin Rae's memorial to our summer sitters Wren and Joe heading out to California. Luckily, Aden never lost his stride, or his snazzy fashion sense. That kid can rock a KISS t-shirt like nobody's business! Oh, and he discovered a new way to eat corn - once you've chewed the kernels off the cob, just dunk whats left in a glass of whatever you've got handy, and hey presto: corn juice! Brilliant...

Working hard at playing

As predicted, Labor Day Weekend offered a bumper crop of fun for Aden. Highlights included a barbecue at 107 Overhill, and ANOTHER one at Grampa Bob & Gramma Leslie's. Aden chowed down on stuffies, clams (ok, a little bit of A clam) and chowder, proving once again that he's fearless about food. And Leslie made him a blueberry-themed jello cake, topped with a photo taken from this very blog! Aden thought that was pretty hilarious, and thought that the cake was extremely delicious.