A post about Ian

I've been sortof heavy on the Aaron posts lately, so I just wanted to add a little "update" post about big brother!

Ian is learning new words by leaps and bounds. He uses correctly probably 5 or 6 words every day that I've never heard him say before. We've been reading the "Richard Scarry big word book" (Or whatever it is called) and he is proving to know FAR more words that Roger and I thought he knew. It is SO fun (and really awesome) to sit back and watch Ian's language explode before our very eyes.

Ian loves to dance. He's starting to pick up on dances his friends on the television do. For instance, the part at the end of Shrek where they are dancing to "I believe." Ian will do all the dances he sees on there, including the Macarena. It is so funny. He also has the opening musical number to Madagascar 2 under his belt. And of course, there are the many dances Ian does on his own, especially while he's singing his own songs. He also loves to sing.

He has finally *almost* mastered the Alphabet. It has taken a LOOONG time, but he's almost there. He can count to 20 now, even though he almost always skips seven, eleven, twelve, and seventeen. He gets to 20.

He loves his brother. Every morning he wakes up and asks where Aaron is. They also play together, make each other laugh, and give unprompted hugs and kisses. Ian shares his snacks, his milk (ew! I wish he wouldn't...) and his toys. They are becoming best friends and it is SO neat to watch it happen.

Ian loves school. He doesn't cry at dropoff anymore. In fact, this week, he cried at pick-up. he didn't want to go home!

Ian can dress himself almost fully, including socks & shoes. I often don't let him, because it takes 14 years for him to get it all done, but he can do it, given the chance.

He sleeps incredibly now. Given his past, this is HUGE for him. If you had told me a year ago that Ian was going to sleep so well now (for naps and nighttime) I would've called you a liar! Even just one short year ago Ian was waking 3-5 times per night, taking 2 hours to fall asleep for bedtime, and needing to be driven around in the car in order to fall asleep for nap... and then only napping in pure silence with even the distant bark of the neighbor's dog waking him and starting the whole process over. Those days are gone. Those days are GONE!

He loves to draw, paint, color, and otherwise be artistic. In fact, I'm willing to go ahead and say it is favorite thing to do. Sure, he loves to make believe with his wooden castle, play cars & trains, and go to playgrounds, but given the choice: playground or painting, he'll almost always choose painting.

Ian is going to LOVE Disney World. I think it is partially why Roger & I are getting so excited about going...Ian is just going to LOVE it.

Ok, everyone is tugging at my pant legs, asking for some attention, I'm going to oblige them! Tomorrow, we will celebrate Aaron's first birthday with a small gathering of friends and family. (Even though he's not officially one until the 22nd.) There will be many, MANY pictures to come!