Bragging on our little girl

Yesterday, after a very long (to Aidan) open house at her school, we went out to eat. Aidan was a little wound up, but managed to settle after a little walk outside with Mama. At this cafe, they have etch-a-sketches for the kids to play with. Aidan thought this was SO COOL! After dinner, as we got ready to go, she hugged it to her chest and said, "MINE!" This is toddler short hand for "This is the coolest thing I've ever seen and I would really, really, really like to take it home and have it forever....PLLLLLEEEEAAASSSEEEE???" Christianne and I calmly explained that we had to leave it at the restaurant because it didn't belong to us but we would come back again so she could play with it. I asked her to put it in the basket with this other ones. And here's the bragging part: Our little girl bravely marched over to the basket (without help), her little lip starting to tremble, and put the toy back (and didn't grab it or any other toy back out again). She then promptly burst into tears. We gave her lots of praise for doing the right thing even though she really didn't want to and what a big girl this makes her. It was really a moment in which I could see her make a choice to do what she knew was the right thing to do (listen to her mommies) even when everything in the 20.5 month old body was telling her to grab and run the other way. We really are proud of her.

It struck me as I was thinking about blogging this little moral milestone this morning that blogs are the Gen X and beyond baby books. These are all things the Boomers would have recorded in a lovely book somewhere. Our lovely book is somewhere, but on this blog are most of Aidan's major accomplishments, her growth stats, pictures, and descriptions of major events in her life. I hope you all enjoy sharing in the chronicling of her life. And, I know, more pictures! :-)

She is growing up so quickly and developing a lovely balance of sweetness and spitfire. (The morning, she took off running across the parking lot a daycare - should have seen me shed my high heels and take off running - that was a spitfire moment.) She started this sweet thing of when I ask her to say she's sorry for something, she says, "Sor-ree" while gently patting the side of the person's face. It is so sweet.

The other day, another mom from daycare told me that Aidan gave her daughter a hug when she arrived at daycare for the morning and must have hugged her for 30 seconds. Fortunately, the other child didn't seem to mind. It sounded like it was very sweet and pretty funny. Aidan seems to be loved and adored by nearly everyone at daycare - children and adults alike. Everyone seems to know her name and be excited to see her. I hear that she greets all of the after school kids when they come in the afternoon with a big "HI!" Last night at the restaurant, she said hi to everyone who walked by the window. Such a little extrovert!

We'll upload more pictures soon.