Fascination with all things water

Most babies have this favorite toy that they cuddle up with when they are ready for bed, usually a stuffed animal. Aiden also has one toy that he absolutely must have along with him when we put him to bed. But contrary to what you might believe, it's not a stuffed animal, rather it's his water bottle. He will absolutely not go to sleep without it. In fact there are nights when he will fall asleep while still holding on very tightly to his beloved water bottle. Not sure how this came about but it could have something to do with the fact that his Dad has a paranoia about running out of drinking water. On any trip, be it road, biking or hiking, I always have to have twice as much water on me as the regular person. I can't for the life of me understand how my wife can drive a car that never has any drinking water in it.

This obsession with water has led him to be fascinated by all things water. In fact his favorite word is 'Ocean'. He somehow manages to direct every conversation to the Ocean. Any body of open water, even if it's a lake or just a pond is deemed an ocean, he will remind you ever day that the water in his bathtub ends up in the ocean, the rain water drains into the ocean etc. All this is because when he had once inquired about a drain along the sidewalk, we had casually mentioned to him that the drains help empty the runoff water into the ocean. Little did we realize that this thought would get stuck in his head. Now anytime he sees a drain, he stops dead in his tracks and proceeds to do a thorough inspection of it. Here he is stealing a ride on a friend's brand new little red bike for the very first time but then along comes a drain.