Sometimes Peter eats without using his hands. He just puts his head down on the table and works at getting that food in his mouth. It's hard to do; I tried it! Sometimes he reverts to this method after struggling to pick up a particular morsel. Sometimes he just eats without using his hands. We call it eating like a duck (that's what Eddie calls it), and it makes us laugh! Silly Pete-ch!
Watching it go.
See Peter's enthusiasm for getting that thermometer again.
Peter is fond of tight spaces. He is a big fan of crawling under our end table. The lamp that's in the way never stops him. The blanket that is often stashed under the table doesn't stop him. This isn't the only place he does this. He always crawls around our chair on the side that has the wall, rather than the side that has the open space. He is always crawling under the table between the table legs and the chair legs, even when more open spaces exist. Though he does get frustrated when it is too tight. Today he crawled under the crib and couldn't get out. He loves to crawl through our tunnel, and his favorite slide at the park is the tunnel slide! This kid loves tight spaces!
Peter is our resident waver. It's his favorite thing to do, and he does it very well. He used to wave by moving his hand up and down, but now he usually opens and closes his fist. Here are some specific reasons Peter waves: someone waves at him, someone says the word "wave" or "hi", he sees someone (anyone-today he saw a clock with a face on it, and immediately he had to wave), he sees a reflection(he waves at himself every time we pass a mirror or even when he can see his reflection in the window while in the car), he sees movement (today he waved at a flock of birds), he sees a light a fan or a tree (all these things get waved at every time he sees them!). Often when Peter waves, he says 'i (hi) or heh (hi). If you say bye to him, he will still say hi to you as he waves. He has an adoring fan base, and he is eager to keep them happy! We love your waves, Pete-chy Peach! (I just wish I could get better pictures of them!)
Eddie likes to act out everything he sees and learns. This picture was taken after we read Quick as a Cricket by Audrey and Don Wood. One of the pages says "I'm as busy as a bee". Eddie learned about stingers while reading this page. After reading, we "bzzz-zupped" (cuz that is what bees say-comes from me singing "I'm Bringing Home a Baby Bumble Bee"; I always start the song by flying my finger around like a bee and saying "bzzz" then using my other hand to catch my finger bee. I say "zup" when I catch the bee.) around the house and gathered nectar and made honey in our beehive. Eddie held this cup on his bum as a stinger. Adorable Edison!
Eddie has this happy dance he does every time he gets excited. He alternates moving his fists up and down while saying "yay, yay, yay". If he is standing up he will also alternate picking up his feet. When he does this dance, he likes Mom and Dad to join him. When this picture was taken, Eddie was dancing because he was getting chicken nuggets for lunch. Yay, yay, yay! 
Peter hit his nine month mark yesterday. Somehow this mark seems so significant. Having him out of me longer than he was in me makes me melancholy. While he will depend on me the rest of his life, his most dependent 18 months of life are over forever, and he is just going to be doing more and more on his own. The really exciting developments are just starting, though, and so many are coming. Just this past week Peter started waving and now says his first word. It's "da da" (of course it's not "ma ma"; I don't even think he knows my name-whenever I say "Eddie" or "Daddy", he looks at them. If I say "Mommy", he just looks confused.). Every time Ben leaves the room, Peter stares at where he disappeared and says "da da" continuously. I am so happy to have Peter as my son. He is such an example of happiness to me ! He brings us so much happiness! I love him!!!
Eddie played his first official game yesterday. It was Memory, and, with only three or four pairs going at a time, he does really well! He understands the rules, takes turns, and loves when he gets a match and when he doesn't ("That's NOT a match!"). He does get a little sad if an especially cool match goes to me or Ben. I have looked forward to this day for so long. I am happy it is here!
