  Here's another entry in my endeavors to keep track of the kids' development. I'm happy and relieved to say that Eleanor is no longer (pardon my pun) walking the line between scooting and walking. She's now fully bipedal! She's so funny as a walking girl! I think she was really frustrated by her slow mobility and, as of the past few weeks, she began standing up and staying up, whereas previously she would take a step or two then hit the knees and take off on her knees.
She walks around in circles and laughs at herself. With the development, Aidan's lost out on one of his biggest care taking duties: holding Ellie's hands and walking her around. I think he'll compensate. Ellie's crib is put away in the attic and she now has a real bed. It's big anyway--a full sized bed--but it looks huge with her sleeping in it. She actually spent one whole night in it last Monday, but since then it's been back to the 1 a.m. transfer to mom's bed. Why such a big bed for such a little girl? I wanted one bed in the house to be big enough for a visiting couple, I wanted the kids to be able to sleep together and cuddle on lonely nights. A full is just a foot or so wider than a twin anyway, and it'll still scoot under Aidan's loft bed.
Speaking of Aidan's loft bed, it's found a new function as the only place Aidan can get some private time in our little house. His sister can already climb up to the second rung of the ladder though, so his private days are numbered. Hopefully she'll be old enough to understand respecting a person who wants to be alone by the time she can climb the whole ladder. Jumping off the ladder yesterday, Aidan seems to have caught his penis in some crevice and the poor thing is pretty bruised!
I thought he'd been racked when he cried to me that he'd broke his penis. But after examination I realized it was the penis itself that was hurt. Boys sure seem to have a delicate appendage! But there's no keeping Aidan from jumping off things these days. He climbs the highest fencing around the playground now, and even jumped off the top of the twisty slide.
Or carefully fell. I didn't see it too well. I keep thinking of the commercial that played during the olympics where the kid liked to jump off heights and his parents decided to encourage and direct it rather than squash it and he became a professional ski jumper. So I stifle my yelps and Aidan stops the hearts of all the parents at the park who are most worried their kid will follow his lead. Aidan's other big development is writing. He's getting very good at his letters, and he's good at making up letters when he doesn't know them. A,B,I,L, and T are pretty legible, but the others need some explanation. Either way, he's "writing" away and I love it! 
