1st Birthday

Aaron had his first birthday on the 11th. It's been a long year but it's hard to believe that Aaron is already 1 year old. He's grown and changed a lot.

Anyway, I just wanted to share two cute videos of Aaron.

You might need to turn up the volume but Aaron is saying his Mum mum ma's.

Today, Aaron caught hold of a kitchen stool and had a blast. We didn't get the camera out in time to catch him laughing but you can tell he's having fun.

Our new prediction for Aaron's favorite sport: rowing.

The Fourth

This weekend we went up to see my grandparents. It was nice to be there and spent some time with them. It was the first time that they had seen Aaron and they seemed pretty pleased to meet him and play. We took a picture with four generations of Hart boys: My son, me, my father and my grandfather.

My folks were also up here for the weekend. They came to help my sister with wedding plans and play with Aaron. Grandma was playing peek-a-boo with Aaron and got him to play along:

Then this last video was actually taken about a month ago. It was just some fun time with Aaron while his is playing with his magazine.

As you can see, we are already subjecting him the pressures and expectations of popular, materialistic society... or he likes to rip paper and old magazines are good ripping toys. Either way, he's still pretty funny.

Speaking of Weddings...

My mom recently cleaned out her freezer and found our wedding cake! I knew it was in there somewhere! Most couples will try their frozen wedding cake on their first anniversary, but most couples are WIMPS! We instead tried ours on our (nearly) fifth anniversary. Because we're awesome.

Wedding cake then...

   

...wedding cake now.  

       

Cutting the cake then...

...cutting the cake now.

Slice of cake then...

...slice of cake now.

Eating the cake then...

...eating the cake now.

If you're curious about what it tasted like, imagine tasting a five-year-old piece of cake. Yup, that's pretty much it.

California!

Last week we went to California for Alex's brother Curtis' wedding (which, by the way, was absolutely beautiful). It was a fun trip, though a bit busy and tiring. Here are some of the hi-lights: 

Aaron went swimming for the first time. He loved it! He wasn't sure about it at first, but once we started going he was laughing and having a great time--until he swallowed some of the water, which was really nasty. Then he was done.

Swimming, woohoo!

For the wedding, we found a little tuxedo for Aaron. It was the most adorable thing in the world. We even got little black shoes for him, which lasted about ten minutes. Ha. 

At the church, before the wedding started.

At the hotel, sans shoes.

Matching Best Man and Best Baby.

Aaron dancing with Mommy at the reception.

At the reception, all the groomsmen "Night at the Roxbury"-ed Curtis. As you can see, it was pretty silly.

Alex's face is priceless.

So there you have it. We're so glad we could go. And of course....congratulations Curtis and Christine!!

9 Month Update

It's been a while (again) and Aaron just passed the nine month mark. This last week has been pretty good. It's always a struggle to get him to eat and sleep enough but the passed few days have been really nice.

We have some cute Easter pictures we'd like to share.

While on his belly, Aaron will often lift up his arms and legs (you can kind of see it here) and just rest only on his tummy for a few seconds. It is usually accompanied by kicking and some silly sounds.

Here is the whole family on Easter.

This is a video from today. He was just sitting there playing with his kitty book.

I almost forgot to add this video. Aaron was kinda tired and Jo was opening the mail. He got a kick out of the envelope being opened and then ripped.

Kitty Drama

We've been adopted by a new kitty. Gray Kitty showed up sometime around Christmas and hasn't left. At least not for more than a day or two. As stray kitties go he's actually pretty nice. He comes, eats Leia's food, lounges in Leia's spots, and generally acts like he lives here. He even tries to be friends with Leia.

Leia, however, has no desire for kitty friends. She seems to tolerate Gray Kitty, unless he gets too close to her (although I did catch them bumping noses once, without any hissing from Leia). 

The development of their relationship has been funny to watch. At first Leia would stay as far away as possible from Gray Kitty. And Gray Kitty would keep trying to get closer to Leia. Sometimes we'd hear Gray Kitty meowing (he has a very distinct meow) on the back porch. We'd look out the window and see him meowing at Leia, who was warily huddled in a corner. We'd open the door and Leia would come running in. A couple seconds later we'd hear Gray Kitty meowing again, only now he's sniffing around the spot where Leia was, then meowing at the door. 

We usually put Leia in the garage at night, and one or twice we've accidently locked her in there with Gray Kitty all night. We'd go out in the morning and find Gray Kitty nonchalantly lying in one of Leia's usual spots and Leia scrunched up as close to the door as possible meowing like crazy.

Now they frequently nap in parallel on the back porch. This is a huge social step for Leia, who usually runs away from any strange animal. This may be the closest she'll ever get to being friends with another kitty.

It seems like every day there is a new chapter in the kitty drama. And we laugh and laugh.

The Latest Goings On

First of all...spring is finally here! These are the first daffodils that have blossomed in the yard:

Aaron has been loving the nice weather. We go outside and play on a blanket in the shade almost every day now. He likes it, and I think it helps him sleep better. Woohoo! Here he is on St. Patrick's Day

When he's not playing outside these days, he likes to play in his jumeroo

or veg in front of the TV with Mommy and Daddy.

Ah, our little couch potato-in-training. We're teaching him well.