Poetry Interlude

I received this poem in my email this past weekend. I thought it was encouraging, so I asked the author for her permission to share it with you all:

Ayden!

It is such a joy to follow the life of your precious boy!
The time will come when well he'll be
and all of us Ayden will see!
In the meantime, know many prayers are spoken
and will be til his heart's not broken!

~ a BA friend

 

I look forward to the day that people can meet our amazing little boy!

Mouth of the South: Toys

THE LION
Ayden had one favorite toy for the longest time, a round giraffe head shaker. That particular toy was a lifesaver on numerous occasions. He has since outgrown that giraffe and has replaced it with a new animal, the Bright Starts' Snuggle & Teethe Lion.

I won't physically interact with toys while sitting up.
I have to be either flatback or somewhat elevated.

I don't really like tasting stuffed animals.

I cross my eyes to drive my mother crazy!

THE FROG
Ayden has been most enamored with items that are orange, red, or yellow (lions and giraffes). When I bought Baby Einstein's Click Clack Frog, I was somewhat skeptical of him liking it. I was wrong. He loves interacting with this toy, and, of course, he enjoys eating the frog's eyes.

THE GIRAFFE
When I was pregnant, I was most aware of families with babies. I made a lot of observations and even asked questions of a lot of strangers. I noticed, in particular, that a lot of babies in Nashville had Sophie, the giraffe made by Vulli. Parents raved about the toy, so my mama bought Ayden two. If you know this toy, it sounds and looks a bit like a squeaky dog toy, and I'll admit that Ayden wasn't at all interested in it... until now. He is now capable of  holding Sophie, and though he isn't sure that he likes the way she tastes, this chew toy is somehow enticing to him.

Mouth of the South: Hands

What do hands taste like?
Ayden doesn't really like the way his hands taste, but that doesn't keep him from repeated trials. He doesn't know to suck his thumb. He actually tucks his thumb in his fist and usually tries to put his whole fist in his mouth.

Trying...

Trying...

YUCK!

"Tea, a Drink with Jam and Bread"

Mommy's favorite dinosaur is the triceratops.
She even has a song that she sings to me about his three horns, beak, and neck frill.
(She doesn't sing very well. Shh. Don't tell her I said that.)

"One million dollars"

Mouth of the South: Pacifier

Ayden has always loved the pacifier...
On Day 1, Bryan wanted Ayden to have the pacifier. With every major event in Ayden's young life, it was important to Bryan that Ayden continue to suck on the pacifier. Though I was initially skeptical of pacifiers, I am now glad that Bryan has been so insistent. Ayden's willingness to suck on the pacifier is probably one of the primary reasons that he is willing to take a bottle.

All of these pictures probably look the same,
but Mommy gets excited with the camera.

I have five WubbaNubs:
Frank (dragon), Clifford (dog), Frog (frog), Geoffrey Melman (giraffe), and Alex (lion).
I need five because Mommy is always dropping them in the floor!

Mommy first heard about WubbaNubs from Jude's mommy, Ms. Diana.
Jude has a monkey named "Monkeypaci."

Mommy & Daddy took me for a walk at 7:00am this morning.
I'm still in my pajamas.

This is really only the third time that I have been outside for any lengthy duration.
Usually it's too hot outside, or there are too many bugs.

I haven't quite woken up.

In this video, Ayden exhibits his talent of sucking on the pacifier. Denise, his speech pathologist, often compliments Ayden on this ability. Ayden has such a strong suck that, as Bryan told Dr. Kavanaugh, "we have to pry it from his mouth when he is sleeping."
Grancee says Ayden is going to be a drummer. As you see in this video, his recent enjoyment is keeping time with his right hand. (Okay. Okay. It looks like he is just beating up his right leg!)

Did you see Ayden put his pacifier back in his mouth?!?!? What a relief to us! We don't have to babysit the pacifier as often! Did you also see him cross his eyes? That's new too. I'm not a big fan.