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!