|
There have been years when the only reason I could think of to go to the county fair was to watch the baby pygmy goats butting heads with each other. Those tiny critters were more entertaining than all the side shows in the carnival and all the aluminum siding exhibits in the main pavilion. Put together.
As far as I know, Aiden has never seen the baby goats, but somehow he’s decided he is one. His new game (and his most sophisticated one yet) is to come right at you, square his tiny shoulders, and try to bang his head into yours. He has no concept of pain avoidance, his or yours, so it’s up to you to take any safety precautions.
When he tried it with me last night, I’d never seen him do it with anyone else, so I was caught by surprise. After he banged me in the head he looked up and laughed, then backed up and did it again. I was happy to see him enjoying himself, but I didn’t really want this to go on all night. I could smell trouble a-brewin’, if you know what I mean. He’s only nine months old, but I didn’t find any soft spots in his head any more.
But that’s not his only new Aidenism. If you say “hi” to him, he’ll look at you and wave. Sometimes he’ll have his big Aiden smile when he does it, but at other times he’ll look very serious about it. The wave is a side-to-side gesture at chest level, as if he’s been riding on a parade float for a couple of hours and is just a little tired of waving.
He has the arms-up touchdown (or three-point basket) move mastered as well. Ask him how big he is and he’ll show you. “So big!” with a big grin and his hands above his head. He loves to laugh, but even more than that he loves to entertain. Anything that amuses the big people (or his older brothers) is fun for him, endlessly. And if it’s fun for him, it’s fun for us. | 
