Eddie's Therapy: Session 7

Yesterday, Eddie had another physical therapy session. He seems to have slowed down in recent weeks, not picking up new things quite as fast. He is pretty happy to just crawl around and destroy the house from his knees. However, we are still working on standing. He loves it when we stand him next to furniture, but he hasn't quite figured out how to get down. He is so used to me being right behind him that when he's done standing, he just pokes his bottom out in an attempt to sit down on something. Usually, there is nothing there and he ends up stuck hanging on with his hands with his bottom sticking out, wondering what he should do now.

Julie is having us work on climbing now. This exercise should help strengthen Eddie's hips so that he can be confident in his attempts to stand up. We're also still working on teaching him to get from his knees to his feet. Obviously this depends a lot on the aforementioned confidence. We're hoping that with more practice and increased strength, his weird foot placement will correct itself.


In other news, Eddie now has 6 teeth. As soon as the newest one comes in a little further, his smile won't be so lopsided. He has also discovered that he can bite. He tricks me into thinking he's leaning in for a kiss and then leaves teeth marks in my cheek. So I avoid kisses as much as possible these days.

Eddie's newest words include "bow wow," "meow," and I think I heard him say "cracker" today. We're currently working on teaching him "toes" and "nose." I am amazed at how fast he picks up new words and I am looking forward to the day when he can use these words to communicate and tell me what he wants.

He's Got the Look

Ever since Eddie was born, everyone has said that he looks just like me. When he was only a few weeks old I put together some shots comparing him with some of my baby photos. Kristen felt left out so she posted her own comparison a few months later. Now that Eddie has turned 1, we wanted to do another series, this time including some of each of us. So what does everyone think? Cast your vote now.

Dave vs. Eddie #1

Dave vs. Eddie #2

Kristen vs. Eddie #1

Kristen vs. Eddie #2

Eddie's Therapy: Session 6

Eddie had another physical therapy session yesterday. He is doing really well with standing up from an elevated surface (from sitting on a box next to the table), but still doesn't do it on his own. So our new exercise involves teaching him to get to "half-kneel" (which is kneeling on one knee with the other foot flat on the floor) and then to get him to pull himself to standing. Once he's there, we get to teach him how to get back down from standing. He doesn't like that part. Then, we get to teach him how to move along the furniture once he's standing up. He didn't like that exercise either.

I guess that means that within the next couple of months, he'll be "cruising" the furniture and those table bumpers will really come in handy, as will the word, "bonk."

Here he is standing by his crib, showing off his new Batman jammies.

On an unrelated note, Eddie and I went to the zoo last week. Eddie definitely noticed some of the animals this time (the giraffes and elephants for sure). However, he was more interested in the fences I held him up to while trying to get him to look at the animals.

Here he is sitting on a giant spider at the zoo playground.

What's the Word?

Over the past few weeks, we have started recognizing real words in the midst of Eddie's constant babbling. Here are Eddie's favorite words to say:

Ball

Eddie is getting pretty good at saying this word. It sounds more like "baw," but I know what he's trying to say. Often, he'll hold his ball up over his head with a big grin and say, "Ball." He'll even point to pictures of balls in his books.

Go

I didn't even try to teach him this word. He just picked it up. I have noticed lately that I say "are you ready to go?" and "do you want to go?" to Eddie a lot. That is probably where he got it.

Pup

Thanks to Eddie's favorite touchy-feely book "Puppies," and his furry friends Cobalt and Snots, Eddie knows a cute cartoon "pup" when he sees one. I'm not sure if he would recognize a real dog, though.

Bonk

I have suspected for a while that this would be among Eddie's first words. He hears it a lot... especially when I'm trying to get him into his car seat. Lucky for him, the car ceiling is padded.

Batman

I am happy to report that I am not the only person to have heard Eddie say "Batman." Just ask Eddie's aunt Cheryl and cousin Zach. He even knows who Batman is and can identify him without being asked.

No/Don't

I'm not sure which one he's trying to say, but it sounds like "doh." He doesn't really know what it means, though, so I guess I need to stop saying no to him so much.

Dada

I suppose this means that Dave is the favorite parent. Eddie can say "mama," he just chooses not to. He says "dada" all the time.

Happy Birthday!

Today, our boy turns 1 year old!

We held a birthday bash yesterday for family and close friends. Eddie must've known there was something to be excited for. He slept in until 9:00 yesterday morning (something that NEVER happens) and then refused to take a nap. Eddie's favorite part of the day was the balloons we got him. He happily played with those for more than an hour, even dragging them with him as he crawled from room to room.

By party time, he was a bit of a wreck. Luckily, once he got a little bit of chocolate cake in his system, he cheered up. I made a dump truck cake for him and, surprisingly enough, it turned out cute and delicious. Eddie likes cake, but seemed hesitant about horking it down like most kids do. Instead, he was content to let Dave feed it to him.

Another great highlight was all the gifts Eddie received. He got a wooden toy train from us, a truck that makes zany sounds, a Little People building set, two puzzles, an Artoo Potatoo, some clothes, and several books.

All in all, it was a good day.