Cheerios - Not just for old geezers cholesterol reduction any more - Which is good because I was getting tired of buying cheerios just for my own consumption.

In our first experience giving a cheerio to Aidan we experienced the less then desirable phenomenon of instant gag reflex followed immediately by the ever popular stomach content purging. Over the past two days Aidan seems to have developed a liking for the little tike finger food. Here an 'O' there an 'O' everywhere an 'O-O'. Adian is actually doing pretty well trying to feed himself the golden colored baby snack. Every once and a while he will actually get one into his mouth the first time, slobber it up for a while then have it dribble over his lower lip and on to his bib as he tries to put the next one in - looking slightly confused as the new cherrio is stuck to his hand and doesn't make it to his mouth.
But, he's a determined little guy and after a few more attempts in goes the whole grain oat gem of 14 essential vitamins and minerals. Plus, those that don't make it in Aidan's mouth and instead find the floor after a minor free-fall, are an instant snack for the Mocha, the smaller then a breadbox, fluffy haired pooch we're currently dog-sitting for.

So cheers to Cheerios - the tiny bits of wholesome goodness that provides minutes of entertainment and occasional nutritional value when one actually makes its way down Aidan's gullet.

All the news that snot fit for print
Well, this past few days have been a bit trying on Aidan's parents. Aidan came down with another cold which caused him to be cranky, irritable, restless and not able to sleep soundly. All this caused his parents to be cranky, irritable, restless and not able to sleep soundly - plus each of us seem to have now caught the cold that Aidan picked up from somewhere, probably Mocha the dog. Aidan wouldn't sleep, therefore I was up anywhere from 2 to 5 times a night trying to get him to go back to sleep. Didn't do much for my demeanor. I'm sure it's just part of what being a parent is all about and I should get used to it. Fifteen years from now I'm sure I'll get a phone call, "Mr. Stutz, please come down to the police station - we have your son here having been picked up for eating pizza in public, he was driving your car without a license... and he has a cold."

The worst thing about Aidan having a cold is all the dried snot clinging to his upper lip, his nose, his right cheek, his hands.. pretty much everywhere. He looks like he's just returned home from some 'Fear Factor' episode where the contestants were forced to eat some kind of slime covered something that I've never heard of or would want to. And you can't try and wipe his face clean as that only adds to his already bad mood - shaking his head almost violently from side to side as if channeling a bewildered Washington Huskey fan watching the Notre Dame foot ball game.

Furthering Aidan's poor mood this weekend was his latest discovery - climbing up on the oven door and grabbing on to the handle can cause the door to open downwards and 'bonk!' onto his head. Maybe it's time to read him 'Hansel and Gretel'.

Tooth Update: He now has four fully visible bottom teeth, and two visible top, middle teeth. This continual process of emerging teeth has done nothing to reduce the amount of drool expelled from Aidan. Drool everywhere. Drool here, Drool there, Drool on the carpet, Drool on the floor, Drool on every magazine in the house, Drool covering the remote control for the TV - apparently a very desirable teething item, at least according to Adian.

... This just in...
News flash... We interrupt this blogging... I've just been handed a news bulletin...

Baby Aidan is expecting a sibling in May

Yes, it's true. Aidan will be looking for a little brother or sister in May 2005. This of course means that I will never, ever be seeing a little, black Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolet in my garage - not that I would have ever seen it there anyway, but at least it provides me yet another excuse for why it's not in the garage.

Rock-a-bye-baby... Boy, who wrote that song - let alone call it a lullaby? Let's see.. a baby is rocking on a tree branch (how the baby was able to crawl up there, with a cradle no less, I've no idea and that part was conveniently left out of the story), the wind comes up, the cradle rocks around until it falls crashing to the ground, '...baby and all' - and the story ends there. This is the 'lullaby' that people have been using to try and put their small child to sleep with? Who's bright idea was that? 'Sit back and relax junior while I attempt to lull you to sleep with a story of someone, much like your self, falling from some undetermined height after being blown off of a tree limb.' - ya, that shouldn't cause any nightmares, phobias or cost me the equivalent of a small island in the Caribbean for therapy in his teenage years.

Sleep Update: I don't remember the last night I was able to sleep through the entire night without our little bundle of joy waking up at some point during the night and needing some kind of attention. This morning, for example, I hear him whining about 3am, I get up and go into his room to find him standing up in his crib. Sure, upon noticing that I've entered the room he gets a big smile on his face... but I'm not falling for that old trick. A good 45 minutes and a half bottle of formula later he's restlessly back to sleep. Yippee.

Would it be considered poor parenting if I tied a bungee cord around Aidan's waist and tied the other end to the bottom of the stair banister? Here we looked so forward to Aidan being able to crawl and now I realize that this was a total mistake. The kid gets into everything! By the time I'm done picking up the paper bags he's strewn about the kitchen, he's move on to getting in to some onions kept in a pantry, has peeled the outside, dry layer off of one and is stuffing it into his mouth. Aaacckk! If he were bungeed he'd only make it so far before being pulled back to his starting position... problem solved. Ok, maybe not. I'm sure that would cause other issues, like an upset baby who was denied mobility. Back to the drawing board and putting on a new pair of tennis shoes so I can keep up with Mr. Mobile.

Just another day in paradise
There really isn't that much to report in the life of Aidan this time around. He has his two front, top teeth starting to come in. I'm sure Aidan is tired of having his over anxious father constantly sticking dirty fingers into his mouth to feel for the sharp edges of new teeth. Although it really does provide fun for then entire family on a slow television night.

Television. Aidan seems to like it, much to the dismay of his parents and even more so to his paternal grandmother. Honest, we try keep him from watching it unless we put in some learning video from Baby Einstein, but he will eventually discover when the TV is on and watch it until he gets bored and moves on to something else. Yes, I know it's a bad sign when your 8 month old son is crawling over to the Television set, standing himself up so that his nose is pressed against the glass, hands pressing flat against the screen on either side of his head- and the TV isn't even turned on. Although, when he does this after one of his Baby Einstein tapes is done, and the screen is full of that electric snow.... I just keep waiting for him to utter, "They're here...."

Aidan did have his first, and successful, visit to his Grandmother Stutz's house while the Mrs and I escaped for a rare movie and dinner outing - certainly much appreciated. She was all prepared for the pitter patter of feet, knees and gnawing teeth when we arrived - even breaking out my old crib/changing table for Master Aidan's comfort. Aidan seemed to have enjoyed himself and Grandmother wasn't panting from chasing him around so all seemed just fine upon our arrival back to pick up Aidan.

Just Like a Turkey
Yes, I faintly remember what a full nights sleep feels like - at least I think I do. It may just be a foggy, morphed memory twisted by the ghost of peaceful slumbers past. Good 'ol Aidan ('Mini-Me' to, well, me) still seems to insist on waking up in the middle of the night. We've determined that it seems to be due to his being hungry. Last night, for example, at 12:30a he once again woke up with his now customary crying wale at which I trudged out from under the warm, comfortable confines of our bed to shuffle down the hard, cold wood floor to his bedroom to find him already standing up in his crib hanging onto the vertical slats for balance - appearing as if he was already preparing himself for jail time. All he needed was a black and white striped sleeper and he would have been perfect to play 'Babyface' Malone in some upcoming mobster movie.

I quickly found my way to the kitchen to find him a bottle of formula, tossed it in the microwave for a few seconds, then made my way back to his room where, after downing the entire bottle, quickly went back to sleep. Total time, 15 minutes. A much preferred experience compared to the previous nights 1+hr experience where Mini-Me didn't seem to have any interest in going back to sleep and we once again, as we did in the very early days of his life, became comfortable on the couch and tuned in to see what fantastic, must have, can't live without items were being offered on late night television.

We're expecting the SoloflexGinsuLettuceChopperMiracleMop to arrive any day now - Only 30 easy payments of $19.95.

I put it on Jr's credit card.

After feeding Aidan his post midnight bottle and watching him slug it down like a future WSU Coug thinking it was the last beer on campus, I inserted the designated crib resident pacifier (you'll have to note my reluctance to call anything a 'binky' found in a previous posting) which Aidan immediately began making use of. He sucked and sucked and sucked... reminded me of this years Mariners... until he drifted off to sleep - at which point - POP! he spit the pacifier out and was sound asleep. Just like one of those thermometers that you find in turkeys these days that pop up when the turkey is done - the pacifier being spat out was Aidan's indication that he was done for the night, just like a turkey.

Rip Van Winkle Where are you?
It used to be so nice. Little Mini-Me had been sleeping through the night for so long that I began to take it for granted that was just what he did. Now, through blurry eyes and a grande latte, I am here to report that Jr seems to have suddenly decided he, and as a result his parents too, need to wake up between midnight and 1am. What's going on here? Where is that magic, sleep inducing pixi dust?

And the little bundle of joy doesn't just wake up once, he waits until just about 30 minutes after either of his parents have gotten him back to sleep and have themselves just started to drift off to slumberland - then wakes up again.

As I attempt to fight through the fog within my head, sipping what should have really been a double, grande latte (Tully's only of course - why should I support Starbucks who's ownership of the Seattle Sonics can't seem to make a positive roster move - that and I just don't like their coffee) ... as the sleep weary mind starts to drift..... ok, back again... I wonder if anyone would notice if I took a nap under my desk here at work?

Where was I.. oh, yes "As I attempt to fight through the fog ..." we've covered that part... It's time to recount the continuing development of young master Aidan...

His two additional new teeth are continuing to come in, followed by a flood of drool which would make even the most hurricane hardy Floridian sit up and take notice.

He is crawling all over the place in a rapid fashion. Standing himself up at every opportunity and is even starting to catch himself before actually falling down. He's able to crawl up an entire flight of stairs - much to the delight of Aidan but to the fear of his parents.

He continues to stuff anything he can into his mouth - shoes, keys, toys, my Sea magazines.... all of which are left with the tell tail sign of puddles of slobber and, in the case of my magazine, torn, wet, and missing pages.

He just keeps going.. and going...
Baby on the go Aidan just keeps crawling around better and faster each day - moving from one area he shouldn't be in to the next non baby safe area of the house. How is it that someone who isn't yet a year old already knows all the places in the house he shouldn't be and knows when you're not looking in order to make a bee-line to those areas? Are all the toys and play things in the middle of the wide expanse of space called the floor not exciting enough? Is the fact that none of them have batteries or make annoying loud, obnoxious sounds cause for Jr. to go racing towards all the stereo cables on the far wall and immediately try and fit them all into his mouth? Is it really that much more interesting to crawl up into the center of the end table pushing what had previously existed in that pace off onto the floor? It must be.

Our future rock climber also seems to have been caught by his mother on the second step of the stair case - time to get those stair barriers and make the stairs look like East Berlin before the wall came down.

It's hard not to smile each time he does something he's not supposed to do - mostly because it's new and he doesn't know he's not to be pulling on wires or climbing on stairs - but he also looks so proud of himself for having accomplished the feat. He'll also crawl over to any fixed item, say a chair, couch, or human, and use them to grab onto and stand himself up. Once standing he's happy as anything to just stay that way for a while, seemingly pleased that he's standing like a big person.

NEWS FLASH... This just in... Two additional bottom teeth have been spotted on the outsides of the previously known middle two lower teeth. No further details at this time, however, as this is prime time and we are a news agency, we'll go ahead and speculate, make things up, come to what will later be shown to be completely inaccurate conclusions and provide opinions based on nothing more then the previously mentioned speculation on this fast breaking news story. (I should really write copy for the Fox News Network. )

Here's what we know at this time... Aidan Stutz, 7 month old son of Anya and Brad Stutz, smiled revealing the two additional protruding incisors. Film at eleven.

And that's the way the baby stumbles... thank you and good night.

Aidan On The Go
I've noticed that as Aidan continues to grow older the blog entries describing the milestone events in his life as recounted by his sieve minded father have become fewer and father between (probably because I've managed to stay out of 'Babies R Us'). As a result, having just taking another sip of my tall, nonfat, French vanilla latte in an attempt to stimulate the normally stagnate grey matter, I will attempt to recount some of Aidan's major events of the past week - or ten days - or however long it has been since the last entry.

Break out the radar gun - Aidan's on the go! This past weekend while on the boat in Poulsbo Aidan decided it was time to make a decisive move towards crawling. He would lift him self up on to his hands and knees, as he's done for quite some time, but then he would suddenly lift one arm up off the filthy blue carpet which covers the interior floor and put it back down just a little further out in front of him... then he'd try and do it again - lifting the same arm up off the floor and raising it above his head while semi twisting his body to see if anyone was noticing only to then fall over backwards. He gets that kind of intelligence from me. But only a few days later Aidan had figured out to lift one had up, put it back down and lift the alternate hand up and put it down - finding that it worked much better then trying to lift the same had up every time. I'm sure he gets that from his mother. Soon future Olympian track star Aidan was making his way across the floor, one uneasy movement at a time, up to the point where, today, he just crawls from point A to B fairly well. Sure, he still does the 'Army Crawl' when he wants to get someplace quickly (it helps that with one push off the hardwood floors and he's half way to his distination before he slides to a stop).

What's with all the whining? Monica Selles meet Aidan Stutz. Much like the over enthusiastic grunting Monica was known for during her tennis playing days Aidan seems to have adopted this kind of whining whenever he is putting forth effort or has some obstacle to overcome. Crawl, whine, crawl, whine... It's not that he is terribly upset about anything, he's just having to put forth effort and seems to be whining because of it - he gets that from me I'm sure. It's not really a cry or an all-out whine, it's more a tight-lipped, rounded cheek, squinty eyed loud half grunting half humming - much like an Olympic athlete who was busted for drugs or blood doping (feel free to pick your favorite out of the 20 or so who were escorted from the games this time around) Aidan seems to be complaining, but he doesn't seem to really be complaining about anything in particular. Picking him up seems to solve all problems and he will transform back into the smiling faced, happy baby again. It's just the noise which is annoying - or maybe I'm simply a new parent who is getting his just rewards after having done the same thing to my own parents. Nah, that couldn't be it.

High Five! Aidan has discovered he can get nearly his entire hand into his mouth. Yippie.

Run down to the rusted Ford Pinto three blocks down and cut in, I'll fake it to you. Ahh the ageless line from Mr. Cosby can only mean one thing football season has started. I've recently started taking Aidan for stroller rides up to the local High School to watch all those much younger then me, and with much better knees, hone their skills on the 'ole grid-iron. Aidan seems to enjoy watching all the kids run up and down the field as he crawls around pulling up grass up by the handfuls. He's also made a few friends along the way - younger brothers/sisters of those playing - and Aidan seems to enjoy being around others his same size.

No need for crampons Another one of Aidan's new accomlishments is to be able to climb up the side of something, say the couch and stand himself up. He is all excited when he gets himself all upright - until the point yesterday when he apparently fell over sideways and bonked his head on the floor.. although he seemed more upset by the shock of falling then actually being hurt - he must have a thick head - yet another trait I'm sure he's aquired from my side of the kiddie gene pool.