What's A-happening... Random Events

So Chris decided to take me on a date Friday, Oct. 30, which of course included Aubin. One thing we have quickly discovered about being away from any and all family... no babysitters! At least not for a while yet. We have to actually trust the people we live our kid with. Weird, I know. Anyways, so when the announcement was made that Chris was taking me out for dinner, I quickly got on my computer and started searching for restaurants. The nice thing about this area is that good restaurants are abundant, the not so nice thing is the significant hole many of these restaurants leave in your wallet. That being the case, I was careful to check for a nice restaurant that was actually within our budget. I came across a charming sounding British restaurant/pub. Sounded like good down-home cookin' and a fun atmosphere. I informed Chris where we were going, and we headed out. The place was great! Every corner and cranny was decked out with British memorabilia and festive Halloween decorations. Our table was right next to a fake British soldier, and between that and the general atmosphere we hardly had to watch Aubin at all. He was too busy watching everything else! Particularly a pretty-faced waitress that kept walking by. She apparently noticed him too and stopped by to say hi. Oh jeez. We have known for some time that Aubin is a flirt, but this was over the top. As she knelt down to look him in the face and tell him how cute he was, Aubin donned the most dramatic bashful smile we'd ever seen. She eventually had to go back to work, but she came back later as we were preparing to head home. Again Aubin threw on the bashful face, and shoved the picture he had been coloring into the girls' hand. She, of course, thought that was so cute, and Aubin seeing his success proceeded to hand her his crayons one by one. Deciding that he could do one better, he mustered up all his sly skills and very casually pulled the waitress down to his height and slid his arm around her neck. We are in SO much trouble. We had an idea before, but now I'm really scared! The whole think was so dang funny though. Other events of the evening included Aubin's enthusiastic chowing of his dad's calamari and mini fried octopus. Sick, I know. But Aubin LOVED it, and so did Chris. I opted for a veal lamb shank, and was happily pleased. We ended up having a great night, and hope to go back there again.

This just in. After singing the alphabet at least 15 times on Wednesday, Nov. 4, Aubin decides to join in. During a brief pause, Aubin exclaims "w". Completely clear and unmistakable. Then he points to the letter on his alphabet book, and repeats "w." Chris and I both froze and sat staring at him. As soon as we came to our senses we applauded him and encouraged him. But he was done. He said what he had to say, and was ready to move on. What an experience though! We have known for quite some time that Aubin is fully capable of saying pretty much whatever he wants, but he just hasn't wanted to say much yet. He is absolutely obsessed with letters and the alphabet. He has since repeated the letter many times and continues to sing the alphabet along with me. Or at least parts of it!

Call me the bird lady. Some of you may know that while we live in California we have to leave our dog, Rhodri, in Washington with my folks. It's not a happy thing for me, but it is what it is. I at least am comforted in knowing that he is having tons of fun and not at all lacking in the love department. That all being said, I don't have a pet! There have been only 3 years out of my entire life that I have not had a pet, and that is because I lived in BYU housing and couldn't have one. So I've been trying to figure out how to fulfill this aspect of my being when I realized all the pigeons I have seen wondering around our complex. I have seen several on our neighbor's balcony perusing the area for any kind of sustenance and in general curiosity. I decided to buy some cheap bird food (it was only $1.50 for a 5 lb. bag!) and set it out on our balcony and see what happened. I now have several pigeons who come every morning and wait to be fed. Sometimes they get impatient and peck at the sliding glass door, but I don't mind. I think it's awesome! Some Bluebirds have been in attendance lately too. Aubin loves to look and the birds and watch them peck around the deck. From inside, of course. Chris hates it. He continues to lecture on how birds carry diseases, and now they're on our deck, and Aubin's going to get sick. I think he's uptight, so I ignore him :) Plus Aubin doesn't really play on the deck anyways, and c'mon. Let's be honest. Birds are everywhere and on everything. It's going to be okay. So I'm now happy to say I have pets after all. They just don't live in my house. And I'm just fine with that!

Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver, and the other gold.


Buried treasure. Aubin has several bins in his room to hold all the gobs of toys he has accumulated in his almost 2 years (say it ain't so!) of life. They may be meant for toys, but one of his favorite things to do in them is hide. He dumps out all of the contents, climbs in, and masterfully folds and bends his body so the bin can be fully closed. When he hears "where's Aubin?" He gleefully bursts out of the bin. It's pretty much one of our favorite things. He's kinda awesome.

Hold on, I think I hear a nutcracker dancin' this a-way! Probably one of my favorite moments with Aubin, ever, occurred a couple of weeks ago while I was trying to keep Aubin occupied. He was starting to get tired, but I had to finish doing something before I could put him to bed. I decided to put The Nutcracker ballet on since he loves to watch dancing, and especially ballet. That definitely did the trick, and I was able to finish what I needed to. I looked up and saw Aubin holding on to the entertainment center and sticking his leg up in the air. It took me a while before I figured out that he was trying to dance like the ballet dancers! He kept lifting his leg up and down and swinging it. It was so stinkin' cute and funny. I was laughing so hard, and so sad that I had nothing to capture it on tape with! But then it got even better. All of a sudden he began to squat down and thrust his chest out and up. He was trying to jump around like they did too! Complete with arm movements. Oh, I think I died a little watching that cute boy. Ever since then, he has been determined to figure out how to jump. So fun.



From black eye to black mouth! On Monday night (Nov. 9), I was chatting with a long lost friend on the computer focused completely on my own thoughts when I heard Chris exclaim "what the?" I immediately looked up because I could tell that whatever it was he was inquiring about was not good. My eyes finally found Aubin...looking at me...with a black mouth...and a marker sticking out of it! I immediately grabbed the marker from him, and Chris swiped Aubin up and into the bathroom. Luckily it was a non-toxic marker. I couldn't help but laugh. Aubin looked so funny, and Chris was so upset. It just made me laugh! Chris tried to wash Aubin's mouth off, and out, but wasn't having much success. I quickly snapped these shots before taking the boy to have a bath. Fun times!

"Uh-oh!"
Once he figured out that mom thought it was funny... dad was never fully convinced.



Veteran's Day. Not only an important day of reverence, but also an important day to spend with family and our #1 soldier. We were going to take Aubin to the children's museum, but they are closed every Wednesday, so we decided to take him to climb on the rocks at Lover's Point instead. Aubin is a monkey. Quite literally! Here are some pics:


My two favorite guys.

Doin' his thing.

No words. I feel sorry for the girl who gets this look. She's a total goner!

Scoochin' and peakin' over the edge of the very high cliff.

Trying to go over said cliff. Luckily dad isn't behind a camera for a reason.

I think he does this pose on every big rock we've ever come across.

Holding him tight and showing him the crashing waves below.

He decided he had to get that camera away from me. But I didn't relent!

We were able to take Aubin to the museum on Thursday, and had tons of fun. It's times like those that I realize I live with more than one kid ;)

Aubin loved playing with these babies. I think he will be an absolutely thrilled older brother someday.
It's an Aubin-sized bubble! He was giggling like crazy!
The two kids, intent on their next rescue!
More with the babies.
Giant Operation! How fun is that!
He's lost in conversation.
When we took Aubin back to the museum a couple of days later, he went down this slide at least 20 times and just giggled and giggled!
He is so good at climbing ladders. He did this all by himself several times in order to get to the slide.
I think he could be a farmer.

This was after we came home. He likes to crawl behind the couch, cover himself with the drapes, and play "peek-a-boo!"

Amen! Aubin's new favorite way to get food. I've never taught Aubin how to pray. I figured he would just pick it up eventually and figure it out himself, and he has! Chris and I have been so impressed with how good he has become during prayers to be quiet and attentive. He folds his arms, and even sometimes bows his head and closes his eyes. But usually he folds his arms and watches us. He apparently caught the pattern of praying before eating, and when I was in the kitchen the other night I looked over to see Aubin standing with his arms folded. I usually have the gate up in the entry to the kitchen so that Aubin can't come in, and so he was just standing on the other side... Waiting. I asked him what he wanted, and he pointed to the fridge and quickly folded his arms and bowed his head. Chris and I burst into laughter, and then quickly helped Aubin say prayer before handing him a cheese stick. The things kids think of. I have to say though, it's so far the nicest way he's ever asked for food.

ABCDEFG... Aubin's singing constantly! When I said he's obsessed with the alphabet, I wasn't kidding. His alphabet book is now his favorite book, and the only reading he wants at night. He points to letters and we tell him what they are, and then we sing, and then more pointing and telling. I am very glad that he is so interested. And while I sing the alphabet I usually point to the letters as I sing them. Aubin now does this as well, only in random order.

I...love...you! Monday (Nov. 15) Chris, Aubin, and I were in the family room playing... and I thought I would try something out. He's been mimicking so much lately, so I thought I would see if he would repeat "I love you". We just went one word at a time, but he repeated each word very clearly! My favorite was "you" because it came out "ye-ooo!" We just love his sweet little voice.

I think Aubin has decided that he is a bouncy ball! He loves to scale up the boxes he has set next to the couch, then jump off onto the couch, and roll down to the ground. Lately he's really been enjoying bringing the step stool out to the front room, setting it a foot or two away from the couch, and leaping forward onto the couch. He sits on the back of the couch, the armrests, crawls behind the couch. He climbs up onto the dining room chairs, then onto the table... basically if there is something he can climb on or jump off of, he's there. He goes up and down the stairs by himself at least 20 times a day, and even slides down every once in a while. The other day he even decided to leap down to me from 4 stairs up. Very scary. He's extremely trusting of Chris and I, which is good until you take heights into account.

Snuggle, love bug. Aubin is slowly becoming a little snuggler. There has been several times when as we sat on the couch eating or some other thing, he looks at me, leans in, puts his arm around me and rests his head on mine. It's not uncommon for him to grab your face and kiss you either. Irresistable!

Clothes on, clothes off, clothes on, clothes off! Aubin is driving me nuts! He is constantly taking off his clothes, and more specifically his pajamas! When he takes off his clothes during the day, it's a little frustrating, but not really a huge deal. At night, however, it's very frustrating. We haven't turned on our heater yet, and are trying to avoid it as long as possible. Even though we are in California, it's still pretty cold in the house. At night it's often at 60 degrees or below, and he insists that no other blaket be touching his beloved blankie. In an attempt to make sure he still stays warm, I usually put socks and a onesie on under his fleece footie pajamas. He takes everything off though, and then can't get everything back on by himself. This often means I have to go re-dress him. Even if he is already asleep. The other night I walked in to find every last article of clothing off (luckily not his diaper), and Aubin fast asleep tucked in tightly under a blanket. I was amazed at how tightly he wrapped his blanket around himself, but since he was already asleep, I just left him the way he was and placed two more blankets over him. He actually didn't wake up once during the night! But that's not usually the case, so I look forward to when he completes his fascination with his clothes and leaves them on!

Car, please,purple, red, yellow, green, and other previously unspeakable things! "Yeh-yow!" "Boo." "Gh." "Reh!" "Puhr-pl!" "Tain-tou!" "Poo-poo!" "Pa-nanas!" That's how Aubin speaks. Wish I sounded that cute!

Every once in a while I forget that children, while learning everything there is to learn in this world, interpret things differently than an experienced adult might think. For example, I asked Aubin to pull up his pants the other day. I didn't give it a second thought until I saw Aubin make an obvious "if you say so" look. He clearly thought that was a strange request. However, being the good boy that he is, he continued to bend over and slowly pull his pant legs up and away from the floor. How cute is that? I couldn't help but laugh at the pure genius and innocence of the moment. At that he was indeed unsure of his situation, but nonetheless proceeded to join in my humor by flashing a mischevious smile complete with one eyebrow raised. I asked him to come over to me, and then I showed him what I had actually meant by "pull up your pants." He now pulls up his own pants frequently through-out the day, and always especially after his diaper has been changed. Ah, to be a child again!

My mom made a comment about Aubin when we lived with them, and it has stuck with me ever since. She said that she had never seen a kid be SO hungry, right first thing in the morning, all throughout the day, in all her life! I was thinking about that the other day, and was struck by how true that is. Aubin is never full. There is no "full" with Aubin. There is distracted or satisfied, but never full. He'll eat 3 cups of oatmeal and a cup of milk, but the second you walk by with anything else... He wants that too! Likewise, there is no, nor has there ever been, a state of hunger with Aubin. Only pure starvation! He will lead you to believe without a doubt that he is going to die of hunger any second as soon as he spots something he wants in his mouth. Scratch that actually. He doesn't have to see anything, he just decides he needs something. He eats just as much or more than me for breakfast on a regular basis, and from then on, it just depends on his mood or what we're eating. He love breakfast food though. I can't really complain too much though. He has a very well rounded diet, and I am grateful for his enthusiastic appetite... Even if it does keep me in the kitchen all day!

More alphabet improvement! On November 30th (I mark dates for my sake... not to be annoying!) Chris and Aubin were on the floor playing with Aubin's blocks when Aubin picked up a block and said "C", and sure enough it was the c block! He proceeded to do the same right after with the B and V block. We were so amazed and so proud! I guess when you repeat things over and over, they get in there somewhere. We'll see if it ever happens again, but pretty cool!