Eddie's Best Friends

Eddie absolutely loves his friends, Luca and Stella. They have been friends for longer than they can remember and they go to the same preschool this year. This morning, Luca and Stella got to come over to play before I took them all to school. They get pretty crazy together, but luckily are to the age where they can play without constant supervision. Here is how I found Eddie and Stella at one point this morning:

Reading The Little Mermaid

The other great thing about having them so close is that we often trade babysitting. The other night after leaving Luca and Stella's house, Eddie told me "Luca is my best friend." And when I asked about Stella, he replied, "I just love her." I hope they stay friends forever!

Ramble On

Eddie talks so much that his voice is kinda like white noise to us at this point. Of course, every so often he says something so ridiculously absurd that we have to take notice and laugh. Here are a few choice exchanges:

Eddie: We should build a nest for some birds down there (in a storm drain).
Dave: But the holes are too small for a bird to fit through.
Eddie: We could try it. Let me call some birds… BIRDS!

Eddie: How come we only got two kids?
Kristen: You think we need another one?
Eddie: Yeah, we're gonna have a baby boy… next week.
Dave: Wow, that's fast.
Eddie: His name is gonna be Jordan Conflutes.

Eddie: Tangled is a long movie.
Kristen: Not as long as McQueen.
Eddie: He doesn't sing! 'Cause he's just a car, you remember?

Eddie: We should get a dog.
Dave: Aren't you scared of dogs?
Eddie: (Pause) Well, we could just build him his own bedroom in the hallway and close the door.
Kristen: We just won't get a dog.
Eddie: I just need one so it could lick me.

Eddie: We're going to fly up to space!
Kristen: Will we go to the moon?
Eddie: No, that's not real! We'll go to the next Earth… Africa!

Eddie: What's Goofy? Is he is a dog?
Dave: Yeah.
Eddie: He's not really a dog. Pluto's a dog.

Kids Books We Love

We love the library! We visit at least once a week. I love wandering down the aisles and choosing books based on their cover. I have found some great books that way.  Lately I have been thinking of trying to get some of my own writing published, so I have been researching various children's book publishers and reading their titles.

The children and I sometimes have very different standards when it comes to books. Eddie tends to favor books featuring his favorite TV characters, regardless of the quality of the writing. Violet tends to like books with crisp, colorful illustrations. I appreciate clever stories with interesting illustrations.

Here are some of our favorite children's books that we have discovered over the last few months:

Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site
by Sherri Duskey Rinker & Tom Lichtenheld

Eddie absolutely loves this book, and so do I. The illustrations are great and the text has great rhythm and rhyme. I love reading kids' books that are easy to read aloud without stumbling over awkward near-rhymes. I especially love this book because it is a great bedtime story for kids who love tractors and trucks. It seems like most kids' books involving tractors are boring, but not this one. Eddie and I highly recommend it!

A Dog is a Dog
by Stephen Shaskan

This book caught us all by surprise. When I checked it out as part of my research, I certainly didn't expect to like it as much as I do. It is so simple, but so entertaining. The first time I read this book to the children, Eddie and I both laughed out loud. It is still great on repeat readings and Violet loves to look at the pictures. I hope to see more by this author in the future.



Learning to Ski With Mr. Magee
by Chris Van Dusen

Here is another book that has great rhymes. I appreciate children's authors who don't try to dumb their writing down for kids. This book uses the word "succulent" and it totally works. The illustrations are amazing, the story is funny, and we all love this book. Van Dusen has written other "Mr. Magee" books as well. We have also read A Camping Spree with Mr. Magee and Down to the Sea with Mr. Magee, both of which were good, but not as good as this one. I also just read The Circus Ship by this author and thought it was great as well.



The Princess and the Pig
by Jonathan Emmett & Poly Bernatene

These days, I am always searching for good books for girls. I especially like books that teach kids positive values and that it is okay if things don't work out quite the way you think they should. This one definitely fits the bill. It is a story of mistaken identity as a princess and a pig switch places. I love that in the end the princess is happier not being a princess. The illustrations are a lot of fun, too.

There's Nothing Like a Puffin
by Sue Soltis & Bob Kolar

Violet absolutely loved this book. I didn't find it terribly interesting, but the illustrations are simple, but wonderful. The other thing I like about the book is that it teaches kids about comparing and contrasting. And reading it to Eddie led us to learning all about puffins on the internet.

Totally Tubular

Since Violet had 5 ear infections in less than 6 months (4 since November), she got to have tubes put in her ears this morning. She and I got to Riverton Hospital at 7:00, surgery was at 8, and we were home by 9:15. Everything went really well and every person who encountered her at the hospital had to comment on how cute she was. While we waited for the nurse to take her back for the surgery, a child life specialist hung out with us and brought toys for Violet to play with. The only time she got mad was when they weighed her. After they were done getting her vitals, she got to play and really warmed up to the child life specialist, dancing for her and giving her a hug at one point.

Waiting for surgery
She had to remove her binky so that she could "read" the book to me.

Then when the nurse came to take her away, she didn't even cry. A half hour later, they brought her back to me all groggy and sleepy. We snuggled for a while before I made her wake up and get dressed so we could get home and send Dave to work.

The doctor (the father of one of my good friends from Price) said that she really needed the tubes. Her ears were full of fluid that was not draining, so they would've kept getting infected a few days after every round of antibiotics. We have high hopes that the tubes will help her finally start sleeping through the night consistently.

11 Months Old!

Violet is 11 months old today! In celebration of this event, Violet took her first step! She also got an ear infection… again. Since she has now had 4 ear infections in 5 months, she gets to have tubes put in. That will probably be happening in the next couple of weeks.

Besides being a lousy sleeper (hopefully because of the ear infections), Violet is a very happy girl. Some of her new favorite things are driving toy cars around the house (with sound effects), spinning in circles, hanging upside down, and trying to figure out how to use the remote control. She still doesn't have any teeth, but one is threatening to pop through at any moment. I maintain hope that it will come through by Christmas. She is becoming very curious. She loves exploring the house and getting into everything that she should not get into. She has discovered the one cabinet in our kitchen that is not locked and loves to bang it open and closed. She dives into the toy box trying to reach stuff in the very bottom. She removes movies from our drawers daily and throws them all over the living room. She has what I call "gate radar" because she always knows when the gate is not in place at the bottom of the stairs and makes a break for it. And she has been trying to figure out how to climb on Eddie's bed. Luckily she hasn't succeeded yet.

She is also becoming quite the chatterbox. Here are some of the words she says that we've been able to identify so far:

Eddie

I think that "Eddie" was Violet's first real word. Usually the only times I hear her say it is when we go into Eddie's bedroom or when we get into the car and Eddie is not with us and she sees his empty seat. Apparently she knows where Eddie belongs.

Dada

Violet's babbling always sounded like, "da da da," but I think that "Dada" was among her very first words. Ever since our Portland trip, Violet is not so anti-Daddy as she used to be. She gets very excited when he gets home in the evenings.

Mama

The only times I have heard Violet say "Mama" are when she has been in some sort of anguish. The first time, she was trapped under one of the drawers on our entertainment center. The next time, she was being prodded by the doctor. She doesn't say it very often.

Uh-oh

This is probably her most frequently used word, which I posted about a few weeks ago.

Batman

Yes, as mentioned in the previous post, Violet says "Batman." The first time I heard it, I thought she said "Mama," but the more she said it, the more I could tell the difference.

What's that?

Violet says "sat?" when she makes her surprised face. I am sure she got this from me and Eddie because every time we hear any sort of noise, we always make funny surprised faces and say "what was that?!"

Good girl

When Violet follows verbal instructions (i.e., come down the stairs or sit down in the tub), I say "good girl!" Now when I say it, Violet responds with "goo ga!"

Dance dance

Violet loves music and will dance to any sort of beat. There is a little segment between shows on PDS Kids called Dash's Dance Party which Eddie always sings along to. That got me started on singing the Dance Party song every time Violet dances, so now she sings it, too. She also sings along with The Cat In the Hat song, "go go go go!"

Little Weirdos

Our kids are weird. Really, they never had a chance to turn out normal. I just didn't expect the weirdness to exhibit itself so early in their lives. I have said many times that we are raising Eddie to be a nerd. Here is proof (as if proof was needed):

Eddie is frozen in carbonite

Since the rest of us are nerds, Violet has a very slim chance at normalcy. She already says "Batman," and has always loved playing with R2D2 and C3PO. Her newest quirk is her surprised face. On Tuesday, she woke up from her nap and started being surprised about everything.

Violet is surprised

It took many tries to get this face in a photo because when she gasps and makes this face, she also shakes her head around and whispers "zat! zat!"

Ten Months

Violet is 10 months old today! She amazes me with how quickly she learns new things. Just this week, she started standing up by herself (without needing to hold onto something to pull up). There's not much point to it since she just stands there for a minute, then sits back down, but I guess it is a step on her way to walking. It is one step that Eddie skipped, so it was a bit unexpected. I really think she could start walking any day she decides to, but she hasn't tried yet. She did learn how to come down the stairs backwards, so she doesn't fall down them as often. She loves to go up and down over and over, stopping at the bottom to clap for herself. Violet has started saying several words including hi, Eddie, uh-oh, Momma, and Dada.

Violet is turning into quite the little weirdo. She still loves hair so much that it is ridiculous. She has now figured out that she has hair on her head she can hold onto, too. So when she's sleepy, she'll hold whatever hair is nearest. She also holds things on her nose when she's tired. It started with hair, but has extended to other items as well. My favorite was when she held a bag of salad on her face while we were grocery shopping last week. She has also been known to hold chunks of food on her nose if she gets tired while eating.

In Violet's opinion, it doesn't get much better than this.

Violet also loves fuzzy things. She loves our touchy-feely Puppies book. We took it with us on our plane ride to Portland and Violet sat there, running her fingers through the puppy's hair, groaning loudly. When she does this, she gets zoned out and groans louder and louder until one of us can break her trance.

Violet loves to play peek-a-boo. She often lifts her shirt to hide behind it. And she occasionally entertains Eddie in the car with a good game of peek-a-boo. She likes playing with our phones, too. She will hold the phone on my face while I say "hello" over and over again.

Violet is still a Momma's girl, but has started to like Dave more since our Oregon trip. Apparently she figured out that he's not just some guy who comes to our house for a couple hours every day. She still seems to prefer me at night, though, which is something I am trying to break her of. I now refuse to nurse her at night and have cut her down to 3 nursing sessions per day after she got a little too aggressive about getting the goods in the middle of the night. Once she started trying to remove my clothes, I put my foot down!

The Ice Age

After meaning to use some discount passes to the Ogden Dinosaur Park for months, we figured last weekend would be one of our last chances to go before winter hit. But large snowflakes started falling as we crossed into Davis County. In no time a full blown blizzard was raging, but still we pressed on.

Luckily, once we got to Northern Ogden, the snow had slowed to a gentle flurry. It certainly was a strange juxtaposition seeing all the dinosaurs and their surroundings dusted with snow—almost as if the ice age was just descending upon them.

Eddie does a pretty convincing T-Rex impression.

Violet is so rosy and plump, she would make the perfect afternoon snack for a hungry dino.

It actually turned out to be quite lovely having the park all to ourselves as fall and winter collided.

Nine Months Old

Violet is now 9 months old! Eddie and I took her in for her check-up this afternoon. We have all been sick for over a week now (and Violet has an ear infection), so I think that her weight isn't as high as it would've been under normal circumstances, but she still weighed in at 19.9 pounds (71st percentile). She is 28.74 inches tall (87th percentile). Here's some fun stuff about Violet:

Favorites

Eating Out

When Eddie was a baby, he would get totally overstimulated by restaurants, but eating out with Violet is hilarious. She sits in the high chair, dancing like crazy to whatever music is playing, smiling at everyone, and eating everything we put in front of her.

Eyes

Violet loves eyes. She likes to poke the eyes on all her dolls. And if a doll has the type of eyes that close when the doll lays down, those eyes will entertain Violet for a long time. She also likes people's eyes, but we try not to let her play with that kind.

Outlets

We have had most of the outlets in our house covered since Eddie was a baby, and he never really showed any interest in them. Violet, however, finds all the uncovered ones and tries to stick her little fingers in them. Once I can find the rest of our outlet covers, Violet's efforts to electrocute herself will be thwarted for good.

Bathrooms

Violet loves to explore the bathroom at every opportunity. Luckily, we have been able to train Eddie to close the bathroom door most of the time. Every once in a while when things get too quiet, I find Violet in the dark bathroom, patting the stepping stool. She has not yet discovered the wonder of the toilet and I hope it stays that way for a few more months.

New Things

"Momma!"

Yes, Violet said, "Momma" for the very first time this last week. That is the only time I have ever heard her say it. She doesn't even babble "ma ma ma," so that makes me think she said it intentionally. She loves to crawl over to the drawers under our TV and pull out the bottom one. She had pulled it out, but got herself wedged underneath it, so she looked up at me with an anguished look and said, "MOMMA!" It was a lovely word to hear.

"Uh-oh!"

Violet has started to say uh-oh when she "drops" things. When we think she is ready for a nap, we take her into her room, put in her binky, and hand her Dora doll to her. If she is ready to lay down, she will quickly place Dora's hair against her face and lay down without a struggle. If she doesn't want to lay down, she will throw Dora on the floor, then remove her binky and throw that, too. So then I will rock her while she continues to throw the binky and the doll until she gives up. Now when she drops one of them from the rocker, she has to peer over the side at it and say "uh-uh," and continue to look at it until I pick it up so she can drop it again.

Stairs

Violet learned to climb the stairs. Luckily, she started doing this the day after we brought home a gate for the bottom of the stairs. Now her favorite place to play is on the landing, holding onto the gate. Unfortunately, she doesn't understand how to come back down, so she has fallen down a few times and gotten a few bruises. She can no longer be left in the living room alone.

Real Food

We have almost given up on baby food and instead, just feed Violet whatever we are eating. Since she has no teeth, it's a bit complicated, but she eats a lot of bananas and bread. She also likes cheese and grapes. Most meals, she eats more than Eddie does, but that's not really saying much.

Preview of Coming Attractions

I have been getting really excited about Eddie & Violet's Halloween costumes. Eddie is going to be Sheriff Woody and Violet is going to be Little Bo Peep. Eddie's costume has been relatively simple to piece together since he already has boots and a vest (seen here). So all we had to do for him was buy a shirt, a hat, a holster, and a badge.

Violet's costume is a little more complicated. Lucky for us, I found a pink & white polka dot princess costume at Kid-to-Kid. With a few alterations, it is going to work great. The biggest issue was making her bonnet, which I completed today. I was planning to make it solid pink, but then I decided to add a little lacy embellishment that was cut from the sleeves of the dress. I think the final product turned out pretty cute.

Now we just have to figure out how to keep it on her head.