Aiden ever-increasing vocabulary of monosyllabic grunts seems to have lost a member.  “Ma”.

He has been quite vocal lately, and after learning the raspberry, loves to walk around spraying the world with his emerging-tooth-inspired slobber.  He can say “Da Da” (or, more accurately, “dadadadadada”), and “Bubba” (“bububububu”–baby and/or bottle).  We’ve heard some N-based sounds “nuh”, and most of short vowel sounds.  He can smack his lips quite loudly in what we like to pretend is a kiss at us, and he can grunt like nobody’s business, frequently while pointing at some item or place that he wants but probably should not have nor go.

And he used to be able to say “MaMa” (again, “mamamamamamama”).  Tanya tries to extract some form of maternal greeting, and almost out of spite, it seems, he refuses to say it. Even worse, a “DaDa” will come out, making me beam with pride.  Mission accomplished–Aiden loves Daddy the most!

Today is Aiden’s 1-year birthday!  I can’t believe how quickly that year flew by.

We’re going to have a party for lunch, with Aiden’s grandparents over. The decorations look great, and there are balloons all over the kitchen.  He thinks it’s pretty funny that they fall up instead of down when he lets go of them.

Yesterday, while Grandma Alla was cooking dinner, Aiden was running around the house and came into the bedroom, where Tanya and I were talking. He just walked right in, happy as can be, smiling and showing off his new tooth. In that moment, I saw Aiden for the first time not as the little baby we’ve known for the last year, but as a little PERSON.

It is a bittersweet feeling, realizing that your child grows up so quickly. It is amazing and wonderful to watch him develop, both physically and emotionally–he has evolved quite a personality of his own. Yet, he’s my baby, so small and innocent, and I don’ want that to go away.

I know I can’t stop time, so I try to make the most of this stage; somewhere between baby and child.  I can definitely understand why a lot of people have kid # 2 around this time.

It looks like tooth number two is coming in nicely. Aiden doesn’t seem to mind this one as much as the first one, but he sure is drooling a lot from it!

Aiden is getting rather proficient at walking around, and can even “run” to a degree.  We play this game where I get on my hands and knees and chase him around making a quacking sound.  He used to hold on to Tanya’s finger and run around, but now he can do it on his own.  I’ll hide around a corner or behind a couch, and he’ll walk around very cautiously, knowing I’m hiding somewhere.  Then I’ll pop out quacking, and he’ll squeak and take off running.  It’s hilarious.

He even knows when I stop and turn around to start chasing me back!

Yesterday, Aiden figured out how to stand up on his own for the first time.  He has been able to stand upright for a while, using chairs and people to pull himself up.  But now, he’s independent.

He can also walk on his own for 5-10 meters.  He likes to walk back and forth between mommy and daddy–sometimes he’ll start out from mommy headed to daddy, get close to daddy, and decide that he wants to go back to mommy.  He turns around in the middle, and heads back.  It’s hilarious.