Hartman Happenings : *Update*

I'm so horrible at this thing. I started this mainly to have a way to keep everyone connected with Aldon so they could take part in all that he does as well, but obviously I'm not a blogger at heart. So while I've got a few spare minutes (praise God, baby Jesus, Buddha, Allah, Mohammed, whomever cause Aldon is still sleeping in his crib on his own!) I'll make a quick note of what's new around here:

Aldon is ONE! A whole year old! I can't believe it was a year ago that we had this tiny 5 lb, 12 oz little sprout. It's amazing. We threw him a Dr. Seuss themed first birthday party and he had a blast. Highlight moment: while unwrapping gifts I stuck a bow in his hair to be silly, and he actually loved it and every bow he took off a gift after that he put on his head. He didn't even care about the new toys, just making sure the bow stayed put. Love him.

And he is talking! He can say: dada, daddy, mama, blackie (don't ask), doggy, thank you, love you (on occasion, he doesn't hand those out very much), more (as in when he's eating and wants some more), and as of two days ago he learned 'cookie', and what an actual cookie made with real sugar (!) tastes like versus his arrowroot, healthy-and-good-for-you cookies lol. He's slowly learning to say please, but so far he's said it maybe once and it comes out 'eeee'

Like I said, he is sleeping in his own crib in his own room. He is so regular in his sleep habits that it's unreal. Strict 7pm- 6am bedtime and a 9:30-10:30 nap in the morning followed by a 1:30-2:30 nap in the afternoon. It's no nice.

His favorite foods are: peas (he goes NUTS for fresh peas), bananas, chicken, milk, and most recently he discovered chocolate lol. He's like a hoover when there's chocolate around. He mastered his straw sippy cup so now he can drink out of a straw just fine, which makes dining out a ton easier.

Favorite books: Still his Dr. Seuss books. For his party I bought about thirty different books we didn't have by Dr. Seuss for a penny each on Amazon, and each night we read a different one before bed.

Favorite toys: Mega Blocks!! He got two different sets for his birthday, and within a day figured out how to put the pieces together to make them stack. He can only get two together, hasn't figured out how to do three or more and it takes him a while to get them lined up just right, but it's been amazing watching him figure it out. He takes after his engineer daddy :) He also loves kicking his mini soccer ball around the living room and chasing after it. Surprisingly, he doesn't even fall or trip.

Aldon loves to wave, blow kisses, and give you kisses. He even knows how to milk it when he's caught doing something naughty and will either blow you a kiss with a cheesy smile or pull you in for a series of sloppy baby kisses. And ya know what? I fall for it.

He hates wearing clothes! Just today I finished getting him dressed and he walked over the couch, held on to it, and took of his socks and pants. Just pulled them down and walked away, like no big deal.

He loves to help cook and help with the laundry. He'll sit in the kitchen in his Bumbo and 'stir' his 'food' in a little pot or dish we give him. And if you're folding laundry with him in the room be prepared for it to take ten years longer than normal. He'll take each individual piece of clothing out of the hamper one by one, play with it for a bit, and then eventually bring it to you to fold. He can carry his clothes to his room and likes to, but he carries one at a time of course and obviously unfolds it in the process. But hey, he's cute.

As for Keegan and I, life is busy keeping up with Aldon and school. Keegan has a bunch of interviews lined up since he's graduating in a few months. Next week he'll be out of town all day Wednesday and then he flies out on Thursday and will be gone for the weekend. Boo. :(

Here's a few pictures of Aldon's Big Day and a few of some family pictures we had taken last week, by Mallory Kate Photography (HIGHLY recommend her, absolutely fantastic work and great business overall)