Eddie Gives the Best Hugs

Here is a sweet picture of Eddie giving his Daddy a hug. Eddie is a very sweet-hearted boy. He gives us many hugs and cuddles all day long. While he is hugging us he says "ooohhh". It is so sweet. Sometimes I call him "my huggy boy", which I know his Grandma used to call his Dad as a boy. He never lets his Dad leave without requesting a "hu'" and a "tiss". I think these days he is probably more likely to give his Dad unrequested hugs and kisses, although I am not lacking in the hug department. Ben definitely gets the most unrequested kisses, though. I always tell Eddie he gives the best hugs. Each time I say it, he nods his head knowingly. I love this kid!

Sleepy Boy

I know every child eventually falls asleep in random places, but I could never imagine it happening to Eddie. He has always had such a hard time falling asleep. He tries hard, but it takes a lot of work and and time. Last Wednesday, though, he actually feel asleep in his chair after eating lunch. I couldn't believe it. I washed him off, got him out, changed his poopy diaper, and put him to bed-all while he was asleep!

Our Valentine's Day

Eddie and I began the day before making a Valentine for Ben. I had thought we would make Valentines for other loved ones, but it seems that making Valentines may be a better project for next year. Eddie was much more interested in writing on the table and on his shirt, as you can see here.

Eddie and I both really enjoy the flowers Ben surprised me with! Eddie loves to smell them and say "flars...prittee".

The best part of our day was meeting Peter, our new baby who is scheduled to join our family around May 12. We had our 3-D ultrasound; I don't know what it is about seeing your baby that makes it so much more real. I think Peter looks a lot like Eddie, especially in the broad forehead, basic head shape, and chin. He definitely has Ben's nose, though, which is really fun to see. We got to see him open his little mouth. I am so excited to have my little Peter. Eddie is equally excited about the Peter in my stomach as he is about the Peter in his stomach. Yesterday, when he was hungry, he grabbed his stomach and said "Peter". Before going to bed last night, Eddie was insistent that he say goodnight to the Peter in his stomach.

Eddie tried his first jello. I think you can tell from this picture just how excited he was about it (notice the spoon he pulled out of his mouth after having a bite), but you can't tell that he was equally weirded out. He kept touching it (and wanting us to touch it) and saying, "It's cold!". He had a hard time swallowing it because of the slippery quality.


Last night we decorated some heart-shaped cupcakes. Eddie loved the sprinkles the best, as you can tell from his lips and the table!

Our Musical Genius

Eddie loves to play his harmonica. It is just one of those Kindermusik harmonicas, so it isn't difficult to play. I am still surprised, though, at how good he is. Not to mention cute!

First Reading

Eddie actually enjoyed reading books with me at the library on Monday (usually he isn't there for the books-he likes the carousel horses and the children's computers). He even chose one he wanted to take home. He carried it all the way to the counter, handed it to the librarian, got it back from her, and carried it halfway to the car. He was really excited about his book. It was "Have You Seen My Cat?" by Eric Carle. It is a predictable book. On each page the boy asks someone, "Have you seen my cat?". They point to a cat, and the boy says, "This is not my cat." He had me read it to him many times that day. Eddie actually read the book to himself, too! He read it by turning pages, pointing to each cat, shaking his head no while saying "cat". Here is a picture of him reading his book at his spot (he sits in this one corner of the couch with the cushion off). I know this is just the beginning, but it is really exciting to see him start to read!

At least he likes to be clean!

Eddie is quite a fan of napkins. He asks to have one with each meal. He wipes his mouth after almost every bite. If he spills on his shirt, he will wipe at it with his napkin. He also likes to use the napkin to wipe the table between bites. I guess he has cleanliness issues.

Hat Obsession

Every morning when I go to get Eddie dressed, he says "hat" and wants this hat on first thing. This particular day, I put on the whole ensemble. It isn't that cold outside here, and all of his pants were in the wash. I think he looks pretty cute!

What a good Daddy Eddie will make...

We have been diapering Eddie's stuffed animals for months now. Yesterday Eddie realized that there are many more things we can be doing with them. He enjoyed putting them in his booster seat, so they could eat. He enjoyed holding them up towards the tv so they could watch his shish movie. He enjoyed holding them up at church so they could watch the music director lead the music. It's sweet to watch him take care of his stuffed animals.

Scripture Reading

Last night I experienced one of those proud moments as a parent. We were late for bed, as usual. Ben read us our family scriptures as I put Eddie in his pajamas. Usually after we read our family scriptures, we read a page of Eddie's scriptures (the Book of Mormon picture book). Then we brush teeth, read books, and go to bed. I chose to bypass some of these tasks to get Eddie in to bed faster. So I told him to choose a book to read before bed. He ran-not to his book basket-but to where we keep his scriptures, grabbed his scriptures, and brought them to me. Somehow it is sweet and touching as a parent to realize the things you are doing each day really are making an impression on your child. I hope his desire to read the scriptures will grow as he does until he has a deep love for them, as I do.

Blueberries and Yogurt

Eddie loves blueberries and yogurt for breakfast. He keeps asking for more blueberries (blueba-y-like saying bluebaby without the second b in baby) after he finishes all that he has in his bowl.

Shish

Eddie already has a movie. He asks everyday to watch "shish". He is saying fish, and he means Finding Nemo. He watches to the exact same point (where Marlin takes Nemo to school) every day before he gets up and moves on. If we leave it on, he will watch bits and pieces here and there. He laughs at the same parts every time he sees it (he especially likes when the fish chase each other). He loves parts where the fish are just swimming around. He can mimic the "ah ee ah oh ah oo oh oh" that the aquarium fish say when they are initiating Nemo into their club. He asks for that part in particular. He can also mimic the seagulls saying "mine mine mine". He loves that a mama fish carries her fish to school in her mouth. He talks about that part all the time. He now recognizes clown fish in books and points to his movie. He also points to his movie when he sees a shark in a book. While watching yesterday, he ran to stand by me at a scary part. I am amazed at how much he comprehends, remembers, and communicates.

Eddie's First Guitar Lesson

Eddie is now a big fan of playing his dad's guitar, as well as listening to his dad play it. He says guitar perfectly. Here are some cute pictures.

Our New Vacuum

We bought a new vacuum last week. Our vacuum hadn't been working well for a long time and hasn't really worked at all this past month. Luckily, we were out of town for two weeks of that time. The rest of the time was spent trying to get the vacuum fixed and stressing out about what to do about each failed solution. To make a really long story short, it was going to cost $53 to fix the old vacuum (on top of what we had already spent in attempts). I bought a cheap one, and saved us some money. It has a one-year warranty, so I am not too worried about getting our money's worth out of it. Anyway, Eddie loves the new vacuum and asks to vacuum all the time. He is really helping us keep our floor clean. He now also surprisingly likes his toy vacuum, the one he used to be scared to death of. Here are some pictures (all pre-haircut).


look how full it is after one use-yuck!

Eddie's First Haircut

Many people agree it was about time we cut Edison's hair. I have always been nervous to actually do it, not to mention sad to see the curl go. It doesn't look good often, though. So after his bath last night, Ben held Eddie on his lap and distracted him with the hippo song on the computer (thanks, Chad!)while I used normal scissors to cut Eddie's hair. Eddie was a little nervous, especially when I tried to cut around his ears. It was my first time to cut hair. I know it isn't even, and I worry it looks like a cute little girl a-line. Overall, though, I am impressed with our first haircutting experience.
before
the lost curls
after

Buster Moves

Eddie has been trying out some new dance moves recently. I've been attempting to film them for the past week, but usually he stops as soon as the camera is out; he wants to see the picture that he hasn't even let me take yet. Anyway, for your viewing pleasure... And, since we don't have sound, it might interest you to know he was dancing to Milli Vanilli.

Eddie's Favorite Places to Play

the sink
the dryer
the microwave

Hide-and-Seek

Eddie now not only runs when I attempt to change his diaper, he also hides. Usually he ducks behind the rocking chair. His hiding spots are pretty obvious. Once I actually didn't know where he was, though. He was hiding between the bed and the wall, and I couldn't find him right away. Here he is hiding between two kitchen chairs.

Our Little Reader

Eddie began pretending to read the other night. He picks up anything with words on it, stares at the print intently, and says "ummmm", as if "ummm" was what was written. He is really proud of himself every time he reads. I think it's adorable.

Baking

Baking, and cooking in general, is quickly becoming one of my favorite things to do with Eddie. He is young still and can be as much a hindrance as a help. Yet the potential is there. He loves to pour, stir, and taste test at every step in the process (he even tells me that plain flour is yummy!). The point is we both have a lot of fun every time we do it.
Baking a cherry chocolate cake with Aunt Michelle at Grandma's house. Notice all the "spoons" he uses and leaves in the batter.

Baking Daddy's late birthday cake. See how well he pours while he stirs? It doesn't always go so smoothly!

Gingerbread Houses

On Christmas Eve we decorated gingerbread houses. I was surprised at how much Eddie enjoyed the experience and how much he really was able to help. Here are some cute pictures.

Of course, he loved licking the frosting off his fingers...


and eating the candy!


Eddie was responsible for making our pathway red with the sprinkles (we had a killer karate kid theme). He did a great job.


He decorated the roof with candy!



We had lots of fun and will definitely do another one next year.

Eddie's Second Christmas

Eddie loved unwrapping presents this year. Luckily, he only unwrapped presents we told him to unwrap. I was worried about this, seeing as how he got up an hour before his cousins and aunt and uncles. He did spend his hour playing with the unwrapped presents Santa left his cousins!! He very much approved of Santa's selections.





He loved the presents he received and the presents his cousins received. He especially loved all of the balls, of course. He liked his new books. I was pretty pleased to his reaction to the one present we got him, the wooden spoons. He loves to stir!



We had a very merry Christmas! We look forward to next year.

First Writing on Self

If you look closely, you will see Eddie's first scribbles on his body. He was writing on paper until he discovered the pen also worked on his belly. He was pretty proud of his work and insisted on waking Dad (this happened fairly early Saturday morning) to show him.

Our Little Snow Man

It is time to start posting some of our holiday pictures. Here are Eddie's experiences in Utah's snow!

Eddie's first time to touch snow! He giggled in response.

We love this picture. He really did sink waist-deep into the snow. And he is so adorable in his funny snow clothes.

He loved shoveling. He had never seen a shovel before, yet he knew just what to do with it.

He loved making prints in the snow with the snowball thrower.

He loved his first snowfall. So precious.

18 Months Old

Today is Eddie's 18-month-birthday. It feels significant, so I want to acknowledge it. I can't believe we have had Eddie in our lives for a year and a half already (and yet I can't imagine not having him.)! These 18 months have been the happiest, most rewarding of our lives.


I never could have fathomed, as I held him for the first time, how much I would grow to love him and enjoy, literally, everything about him. We have the best son in the world. We love you, Edison!