Triple threat in slopeside antics

Last weekend, Aden went on his first ski trip. He didn't hit the trails, but based on his high-energy antics over the weekend, it won't be long before he's swooshing down the bunny slopes... and then it won't be long after that until he's bombing down the black diamonds!

This trip, however, was all about getting to know the joy that is ski-in / ski-out accomodations. It's easy for the adults to watch a kid when there's so many folks around. More people = more distractions for the little dude. Case in point: Aunt Jess jumpstarted Aden's gymnastics career by helping him climb up her front. His buddies Julian and Leo came along too, so they all got to hang out and chat about their nutty parents... and lay around and eat their feet. You know - what all the cool babies do.

Words fail me every day

Yep, it's been a while since we last posted... but it hasn't been for lack of activity. Things have been abuzz around the house, let me tell you. The biggest news has been of the bipedal sort: there's some serious walking action going on in Aden's direction. In fact, today he was pretty much jogging laps around the house.

All of this has been pretty exciting, and pretty exhausting. He's managed to draw blood three times in the past four days (mouth, eyelid, and mouth again), all from falling. It hasn't slowed him down much, though. I don't think that anything can slow him down much.

So, while there are literally hundreds of photos for me to sort through, I'm only posting two. Think of them as Dr. Aden and Mr. Hyde - two opposite (but equally hilarious) poles of a tiny personality that's evolving very fast. Feel free to come up with your own captions for the two sides of Little Mr. A, and if you think you've got something that captures his particular brand of je ne sais quois, post it in the comments...

08ification

Today, I received this frantic e-mail from a reader of this blog: Dear Jeremy - since your last post indicates that you, Melissa and Aden were trapped in the snowfields of Maine, we assume that you remain there today. As such, we have contacted the police, the National Guard, and the Mounties to find you and bring you home to safety. Hang in tight, buddy - help is on the way!

However, not to burst anyone's bubble, but we're not trapped in the snowfields of northern Maine at all. In fact, we've been through quite a few adventures since that last post, and we've been safely back home for many days now. Here's the short-form to catch you back up to speed:

1) Aden got to visit Cape Cod to meet all of his extended relatives, and had a great time. He loved hanging out with his many cousins. David, Julia and Emma were all very helpful, and Aden was psyched to meet so many friendly people who were only a little bigger than him.

2) After meeting the fam, Aden celebrated the New Year in Providence. At least that's what we thought. We were surprised to wake up on January 1st, 2008 to find the NYPD on our front doorstep, holding a very sleepy and cranky Aden. Apparently, they found him in Times Square after the ball dropped, trying to bite Ryan Seacrest's ankle on national TV. We're not quite sure how he got out of the crib and found the keys to the car, be we sure are proud of our industrious little kid.

3) Aden's gotten to go to daycare a couple of times now, and loves it. Except for the part where we drop him off. And the part where we pick him up. Everything in between, however, is totally awesome.

4) Aunt Wren and Uncle Joe have been hanging out here in Providence, and Aden has been exceptionally happy to get to hang out with them. Yesterday (and I am totally not making this up), he even exclaimed "Aunt Wren!" Of course, we haven't gotten him to say it since, but it was pretty darned exciting.

5) Slimy and Slimier is no longer Aden's favorite game. His new favorite is called "Hide Under a Table or Chair, Jump and Giggle With Surprise When an Adult Peeks Down and Finds Me." We are currently accepting submissions for a shorter name for this game.

And that's about it... we will be sure to update sooner next time... especially if he manages to get a chunk out of Seacrest's ankle. Now that would be some serious news!

Aden's big cold adventure

Normally, I think that the day after Christmas may be my favorite day of the holiday season. Usually. You know, the pressure's off, there are presents to enjoy, there's probably some nice leftovers. All the good stuff. Today, however, started off a little differently. For one thing, Aden woke up at 3 a.m., and wouldn't go back to sleep. Thankfully, I was able to persuade him to nod back off with 7 oz. of formula, but the die was cast for me for the morning... after getting so knocked out of my sleep cycle, I didn't feel human again until nearly 10 a.m (with the help of three or four cups of coffee).

Melissa and I were determined to salvage the day, though, so when Aden finally got up from his pushed-back nap (he went down around 11, was back up around 1:45), we suited him up and took him out for a walk with Nugz. It was nearly perfect out - cold, but not bitingly so. I didn't even need to put on gloves. We trekked a ways up the ice-covered road, came back, and went past Mom & Papa's cabin to the abandoned property next door. There was still great snow cover there, so while Nugget frolicked, Aden got to play in the snow for the first time in his little life. He thought it was hilarious! Once he realized that you could eat the weird cold white stuff that he was crawling on, he couldn't stop bending down to lick it. Each time, he'd come back up giggling. Pretty great. When we got home, Melissa passed out on the couch, while Aden and I spent a little time playing with all of his new toys on the floor.

And when it was finally time for him to go to bed, Aden went to sleep without a peep of protest.

Special holiday bonus!

There's something to be said for hanging out in a remote location, far from work and regular life... if nothing else, it makes blogging a hekcuva lot easier. Hence, today's spectacular double-posting action, something not seen around these here parts for quite a while.

The rest of the day went very smoothly, thanks very much - people roused themselves from slumber, stumbled downstairs in various states of coherence (or were carried down, in Aden's case), and we got back to the serious business at hand... of opening presents. That was followed by some holiday video IM'ing to Joe's family back in Cali (yay modern technological holidays!), an awesome turkey dinner, and a little DVD viewing. Oh, and some serious Christmas cleanup. Lots of wrapping paper to take care of, folks, lots of boxes. In fact, I'm sort of shirking my duty right now. That also helps inspire blogging.

Well, back to work (I don't want any of my stocking stuffers to "accidentally" get lost in the shuffle). Good night to all, and to all a good night...

Christmaspalooza!

True to his usual rhythms, Aden woke up at 6:30 this morning... which would have been fine, of course, if everyone other than us had gone to bed before 5. Of course, as per our families usual rhythms, most folks (besides Melissa and Jeremy) were up all night getting the house ready for Christmas.

But the rest of the family straggled awake in good humor, and by 8:30, things were hopping. By 10, everyone (including Aden) was exhausted. So massive napping is now underway, and the bulk of gift unwrapping will wait until this afternoon. Stockings and a few particularly entertaining baby gifts have been opened, and a good time was had by all. One great thing observed about presents under the tree: when you're less than three feet tall, it looks like they really are a mountain of gifts. Aden greatly enjoyed rappelling up Mout Giftington.

And now I must head off to take my own nap. Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays, everyone - here are some snapshots of this mornings brief debauchery.

Land of the Ice and Snow

I doubt that Downeast Maine is what Page & Plant had in mind when they wrote "Immigrant Song," but it sure fits at the moment. I can't help but wonder at how far away this all seems from Guatemala City, but Aden has adjusted as well as always. Basically, as long as there's a window he can smush his face up against, he seems to do all right.

Nugget is in total constant canine joy mode whenever we go outside - this is, after all, what he was made for. Bounding through snow, smelling stuff, rolling in other stuff - that's his Christmas gift right there. I'm already excited for next year, when we can watch Aden toddle along the snowbanks, chasing after Nugz.