And So It Begins...

Many of you may remember that we spent the majority of last winter dealing with colds and croup and ear infections. Once the weather warmed up, Eddie's health improved a lot and we haven't had to deal with very many illnesses over the summer. I was hoping that all of last winter's diseases would have built up his immune system until it was impenetrable. Clearly, I was wrong.

It is now fall and Eddie is now sick. I thought he was just teething, but as more and more symptoms emerge, I think it's time to stop being in denial about it. Dave and I are preparing ourselves for the next six months to be just as bad or worse than last winter.

Wish us luck!

Unleash the Beast

Before I became a parent, I always thought that parents who put leashes on their kids were being ridiculous. Now that Eddie is walking, I have come to terms with the necessity of having a baby-leash. Lucky for us, my friend Mary gave us a cute puppy leash for Eddie.

Today while I was contemplating a solo trip to the library, I decided it might be time to get the leash out of the closet so that Eddie could get used to it. More and more, Eddie insists on walking instead of riding in the stroller. So I can either let him out of the stroller and chase him everywhere, or I can leave him in the stroller and listen to his screams of agony. I am hoping the leash will provide a mutually agreeable solution.


Here is Eddie trying on his new puppy "backpack." The only problem I see with it so far is that he wants to hug and kiss the puppy, which is difficult when it is riding on his back.

New Words

Eddie has been learning a lot of new words lately. I think he is almost to the point where he will repeat everything we say... almost. So here are some of the newest or most frequently used words in Ed's vocabulary:

No

By far the most well-used word that Eddie knows.

Moon

I am surprised to see how many children's books feature the moon. Eddie learned this word because of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which has a giant moon on the first page. Now, he points out the moon or anything that looks like the moon in every book we read. The problem here is that he is now confused and thinks that cows say, "moon." He is always very careful to pronounce the n.

Spoon

Like every other kid, Ed loves playing with the kitchen utensils. That is how he came to learn this word. The only problem is, it sounds just like, "moon," so we have to interpret based on context.

Fishy

In the past few weeks, Eddie has become more interested in our annoyingly boring fish, Tad. He will walk over to check Tad out several times a day. He also loves to eat goldfish crackers, so it was inevitable that he would learn this word. He's not so good with multiple syllables yet, so it sounds like he's saying, "she."

Buh-Bye

Months after first learning to wave goodbye to people, Eddie finally learned to say the words. This one came from hearing me say it so much. Every time Eddie walks away from me, I say, "bye bye Eddie." Now he finally started saying it back.

Papa

My niece and nephew (Riley and Dax) call their grandpas "Papa," so that is what my dad is known as in our family. Now that Eddie loves looking through our photo albums, I try to name people and point people out to him. He always manages to find "papa" and point him out. This past weekend when my parents were in town, this was all Eddie said all weekend. "Papa, Papa, Papa, Papa." Needless to say, it made Papa happy.

What's That?

Eddie's first two-word phrase! Of course, he combines the words into one that sounds like, "zat!" The only problem with him knowing this one is that he points at everything and everyone and says, "zat?"

Eddie's Therapy: The End

As of today, Eddie is officially done with physical therapy! Julie came by for the last time today to conduct a huge test and Eddie passed with flying colors. His feet are doing a lot better, so we are just going to keep using the sample insert that Julie let us borrow for another month and if he doesn't get any worse, he will be able to be done with that, too.

The test was a little ridiculous, but they have to test him in all the developmental areas before he can be done with therapy. The test itself took over an hour. It might not have taken so long, but Eddie was woken up from his nap by the ridiculously loud rain storm we had from 1:44 to 2:00 today, so his nap was cut short, and he was a wreck. Julie tested Eddie's cognition, perception, communication (both receptive and expressive), and fine and gross motor skills.

Julie started with what we knew he could do already and then worked her way up until we found what he couldn't do yet. It was gross motor skills that put him in therapy in the first place, but now he is in the 63rd percentile! He blew us away with some of his fine motor skills. Julie brought out some big beads and a piece of string and showed him how to thread the bead on the string. She said, "This is hard. He probably can't do this." Then we watched in amazement as he concentrated really hard and got the string in the hole. I also learned that he knows how to put lids on bottles. Where he learned that, I have no idea.

The area he scored lowest on was "self care," which includes things like feeding himself with a spoon, removing his shoes without help, etc. Mostly he scored low on that category because these are things I haven't really given him the opportunity to do. So I guess we'll work on those things.

The only other thing we need to work on now is curbing Eddie's blossoming temper. Dave and I are at a loss as to where all of Eddie's rage comes from, but it has been getting worse and worse over the past weeks. I have suspected that the anger stems from his desire, but inability, to communicate his needs and wants to us. Julie confirmed my suspicions. She recommended that we try to always offer him a choice between two things that we think he might want. That way, he knows that we understand that he wants something and then we don't give him the opportunity to say "no." We'll see how that works out.

Overall, Eddie is doing great. So now we'll be focusing on communication and anger management.

Eddie likes wearing this "hat."

Just Monkeying Around

With our Tracy Aviary membership, Eddie and I can get into the zoo for free the first Thursday of every month. We avoided the last couple of months because of the heat. Lately, Eddie has been showing a lot more interest in animals (mostly in puppies), so I was interested to see his reaction to the zoo. We went along with Christie, Josh, Neil, and Kyle.

Eddie and I got there about 5 minutes before the others, so we went inside the front gate to wait. I let Eddie out of the stroller so that he could have some time to walk around and explore. He walked around in a big circle and eventually I was able to contain him by saying, "Eddie, look! A ball!" He was mesmerized by the ball-shaped water feature, so that is where we spent the rest of our time until the others arrived. He especially liked that he could see his reflection in the side of it.


Once Christie and kids arrived, we attempted to set off to see the animals. I tried putting Eddie back in the stroller, but he refused. I thought he might be okay walking down the hill to the elephants, but two steps into it, he fell flat on his face, banging his forehead on the ground and making his nose bleed. So I carried him to see the monkeys.


Luckily for us, Eddie loves monkeys, so they helped calm him down after his incident. I was surprised that Eddie recognized that all the different kinds of monkeys were, in fact, monkeys. He just kept pointing at them, saying "ah-ah." Besides monkeys, Eddie also liked the bears and the tigers.


The tigers were my favorite part this time around. There are three tiger cubs that were born in June and they've only been out on display for a couple of weeks. We got to see them up close since their mommy was feeding and bathing them right by the fence. They were ridiculously cute. Eddie showed his approval with a point and a "pup!"

Eddie's Desert Island Books

I have heard that it is perfectly normal for toddlers to want the same books read over and over again. Lucky for us, Eddie has picked some pretty good books to want repeated. I have most of these memorized and have contemplated trying to multi-task while "reading" to Ed. We've read them so many times that sometimes he will even tell me what is coming up on the next page.

Where the Wild Things Are // Maurice Sendak

Eddie loves all the "pups" in this book. He thinks that Max is a pup because he's dressed in his wolf suit. He thinks the wild things are all pups, too. Plus, this book has an added bonus: the moon. We're not sure why (perhaps because of the moon in The Very Hungry Caterpillar), but Eddie loves the moon and always has to point it out when it shows up in his stories.

"Oh please don't go - we'll eat you up - we love you so!"

Oh, The Thinks You Can Think // Dr. Seuss

My mom and I discovered this book the first time we went to Universal Studios Islands of Adventure and visited the bookstore dedicated entirely to Dr. Seuss in Seuss Landing. I absolutely love this book because it is all about encouraging imagination and thinking of ridiculous things.

"And what would you do if you met a Jibboo?"

Puppies

This is an Usborne touchy-feely book. Eddie loves puppies, so naturally he loves this book, which is filled with all sorts of hairy, fluffy puppies.

"Most puppies like to sniff, but not this one."

Sheep in a Jeep // Nancy Shaw

This book was a baby shower gift from my cousin, who told me that she let her sons pick out the book. It is a fun rhyming book about a bunch of sheep driving a jeep rather recklessly. Thanks to this book, Eddie can say "beep beep."

"Oh dear! The driver sheep forgets to steer!"

Hippos Go Berzerk // Sandra Boynton

A gift from Eddie's aunt Cheryl, this book was a hit from the start. It is a counting book about a bunch of hippos that get together for a party and... you guessed it... go berzerk. Eddie likes this book so much that he attempted to eat it the other day in the car. Luckily I caught him before he ate through any of the words.

"All through the hippo night, hippos play with great delight."

Good Night Gorilla // Peggy Rathmann

This book is all about the pictures. Eddie loves it because it prominently features a gorilla (aka monkey, which Eddie calls "ah-ah") and a lion, which Eddie always thinks is a "pup." I even taught Eddie to gasp at the right moment -- when the zookeeper's wife realizes that all the animals are in their bedroom.

"Good night armadillo."

Life's a Beach

Since Dave currently has the "luxury" of not working on Fridays, we like to go out and about on Fridays when most other people are at work. Today was just such a day. We spent this afternoon at the Oquirrh Lake beach with Dave's sisters, Cheryl & Christie, and their kids. There are two beaches at Oquirrh Lake -- one with an adjacent playground and one without. We had originally planned to meet at the beach by the playground so that Eddie could enjoy his daily swing, but upon arriving, we found a bazillion people already there and no parking to be found. So, we decided that Eddie could go one day without swinging and went to the other beach instead, where we almost had the whole beach to ourselves.

I slathered Eddie's exposed areas with sunscreen, making sure to get his face and ears, arms and legs. Then we set him loose in the sand. He had a blast, digging and splashing with his cousins, while I enjoyed sitting on the grass talking to my sisters-in-law. After a while, I started to feel like I was getting sunburned, so I applied more sunscreen. Then I took the sunscreen to re-slather Eddie. He didn't look pink at all, so I just put a little on his face and let him get back to business.

After a little over two hours of digging, splashing, lake water drinking, duck chasing, sand throwing, bee stinging fun, we decided to call it a day and packed up and went home. We did our best to de-sand Eddie's crevices and got him dressed. After a little while, we noticed that one of his cheeks was red. I said to Dave, "maybe he got a little sunburned." A little while later, the other cheek started turning red. Then we noticed that one side of his head was burned as well. Clearly, I didn't do as good a job with the sunscreen as I thought. What do you think?


He already looked like he's been in a fight due to the bathtub fall bruises on his forehead and the front porch fall scab on his nose. Now he looks like a red raccoon! At least he's still in good spirits, but maybe it's only because he hasn't looked in the mirror.

Just a Little Off the Top

Like all future first time parents, when Kristen was pregnant with Eddie we discussed all sorts of plans for our new baby. One thing we agreed on was that we wanted to let his hair grow and grow, even if other people mistook him for a girl.

Well, Eddie's hair has turned out to be super thin and wispy (one of the few really obvious traits he inherited from his momma). Recently his head has just been a giant ball of fuzz, so we decided it was high time to give him his first haircut. This experience played out in three distinct acts, which I have captured in the following video (and lightly accented with the film music of Bernard Herrmann).

What I Love About Being a Mom

As a mom, it is easy sometimes to let oneself feel unappreciated and overlooked. The past few days I have been feeling this as Eddie has taken a liking to looking through our photo albums. He will point out "Dada" on every page and will even point out "Papa," which is his Grandpa Andrews. I keep trying to get him to point me out. I'll say, "Where is Mama?" or "Who is this?" and he will either point at someone else or ignore my questions altogether. So I was feeling a little bummed out, thinking that Eddie takes me for granted. Then yesterday evening, he flipped open an album to a photo of me, pointed, and said, "Mama." It helped me realize how grateful I am to be a mom... even if Eddie doesn't yet know how to show his full appreciation. I really love being a mom and here are my top 10 reasons why:

10. Having a very good reason for not working full-time.

9. Having my patience tried every single day, but knowing I wouldn't want it any other way.

8. Feeling a sense of accomplishment when Eddie learns something new.

7. Having no choice but to agree when people tell me I have an extremely cute son.

6. Holding conversations with Eddie in jabber language.

5. Reading stories with Eddie and seeing how smart he is.

4. Making Eddie laugh so hard that he gets the hiccups, but still doesn't want to stop laughing.

3. Seeing Eddie do things that remind me so much of myself that I just have to laugh.

2. Snuggling in the rocking chair and singing songs when Eddie will allow it.

1. Hearing Eddie say, "mama" and knowing that he appreciates me in his own little way.

Eddie's Therapy

Eddie had another therapy session this afternoon. In just the past two weeks, Eddie has gone from a boy who could stumble 5 steps to a boy who can walk back and forth across the room. Walking is his new favorite thing. If I ever want him to stop whining, I take his hands and say, "let's walk" and he takes off across the room chanting "dada, dada."

We are supposed to be putting his shoes on him every day, but I am bad at being consistent. However, I have found that he is much more stable when he wears his shoes. Because of Eddie's foot situation, we have discussed getting shoe inserts for him. We have hesitated to get them before now because they are $25 per foot and we have been hoping Eddie's ankles would strengthen as he learned to walk. They have improved, but aren't quite normal yet -- with his left foot being substantially worse than his right.

While Julie was here today, she pulled out the sample insert that she carries with her to show parents what they are. It just happened to be a left foot insert that is very close to the right size for Eddie's foot. So she let us borrow it for the next month. That means I have to be diligent about putting Eddie's shoes on him.

Since he is quickly outgrowing his current shoes, Eddie and I went shoe shopping after Julie left. Eddie is now the proud owner of some stylish new Converse All-Stars.

(Not Eddie's actual shoe)

We are hoping that by the end of September, Eddie's feet will have improved enough that he will be able to test out of physical therapy. Once they determine that he is caught up in all five developmental areas, then he won't have to have therapy any more. We aren't too concerned about the other areas besides gross motor skills. He is good enough with his fine motor skills to catch the tiny black ants invading our house. He is becoming quite the jabber-box lately as well. More details on that will come in a future post.