Back in Boston

We're safely back home in Charlestown, after another good plane trip.  The flight was delayed waiting to be de-iced, leaving over half an hour late and arriving about 20 minutes late.  Eddie was very playful while the plane was on the tarmac, playing peekaboo with the other passengers and climbing all over us, but he fell asleep right before takeoff and slept almost the whole flight.  He seemed very happy to get home, crawling around and reminding himself of all the mischief spots.  After a nice bath in his familiar tub he is going to sleep - only four hours late - to wake up in a new year!

Car trip

On our way to the airport, Eddie is getting restless. He plays with his bunny Beatrice then tosses her aside.  I ask him "Where's Beatrice?" Eddie considers this, then looks down in the crack by his seat where Beatrice has fallen and says "Hi!"

Social butterfly

Eddie had a very busy social calendar today! He visited some ladies for coffee, and cordially thanked some of them for helping at his parents' wedding.  Then he came home and had a quick nap, waking to find that Nonno had come to visit!  Eddie was surprised and pleased to see him. After Nonno left, Eddie eschewed a nap in favor of leaving to see his Bisnonna!  But he fell asleep on the way.  So we had a nice drive around a wooded park and scenic snowy hilly roads while he slept. When we got there he slumbered still, but when he realized that people were waiting to see him he woke up and came in.  Bisnonna was happy to see him. He fell asleep again on the way home but we did not drive around because it was snowing and the roads were slippery! He was excited to have another chance to play after having already fallen asleep, gamboling as we tried to get him in bed.

Playtime

Eddie has been having fun - mostly - playing with his cousins.  Sarah loves to give him hugs and kisses, and if Stephen is around and sees her doing it, he does, too.  Eddie is not so sure about all these hugs!  He usually makes his characteristic "get outta my face" gesture.  Early yesterday morning, Sarah was hugging him, and Eddie got both hands on her chest to push her away.  I said "Don't push, Eddie."  In case he wondered, I added "That's not nice."

A few hours later:
Sarah: "Eddie!"
(Sarah gives Eddie a hug.)
Sarah: "Don't push, Eddie." (pause)  "That's not nice."

Stephen is 4 months older than Eddie, and only a few months older than some of the babies that Eddie knows in Charlestown, but interacts with him much differently.  Stephen tries to toss a ball with Eddie, share toys with him (or take whatever Eddie has picked up), and show him how to do things.  The other babies Eddie knows seem to mostly crawl around ignoring one another, beyond occasional accidental or toy-related violence.

The cousins got a terrific circus tent for Christmas, about four feet tall and a great size for several kids.  Eddie likes to play peek-a-boo from inside.  At one point, all three kids were in there: we adults could just hear the rambunctious noise and see the tent swaying back and forth.  Then Eddie's face emerged from the flap as he started to crawl out; we heard Sarah say "Where are you going?"; then Eddie was inexorably dragged back into the big top.

Snoring

Eddie was snoring a lot last night.  I guess it's due to lingering effects of his illness over the weekend - extra mucus in his nose, throat, and lungs - but nonetheless it was cute (kind of bathetic.)  He's going to be just like Daddy!

Life with other kids

While Anne was sitting with Eddie on her lap in the bathroom (just checking out the ambiance), he reached into the nook for the toilet paper roll.
This is not unusual at home, either.  The usual result, when living with one kid, is toilet paper unrolled all over the floor.
The result when staying with other kids: Eddie's hand re-emerged containing a cheese stick!

See some pictures of Eddie at Unca Karl's blog: http://www.karl-wick.com/2012/12/eddie.html

Dinner party

Eddie was a good bear for the drive back up to Chardon.  He napped in the morning, then stayed awake through the afternoon, but didn't cry or complain much until we were almost there.

In Chardon we all went to a dinner party at Unca Bo's and Aunt Wendy's, along with Unca Karl, Aunt Patty, Sarah and Stephen, the grandparents, and neighbor John.  Eddie started following Sarah around the coffee table, but despite ardent crawling she easily lapped him.  He sat back to consider the problem and then Stephen came to race around the table with Sarah.  Eddie, sitting just to the side, seemed to feel a little left out.  He's just going to have to learn to walk!
When he joined in again, crawling around, Stephen tried to help him up by grabbing Eddie's hands and pulling them up.  Stephen kept trying to get Eddie up throughout the night, sometimes knocking him over and making him cry.  Then Stephen gave Eddie some nice hugs and kisses to make him feel better.

After eating some delicious beef stew, playing with everybody, and climbing through the legwork of a table a few times, Eddie was pretty tuckered out! Sarah noticed and said "You tired, you baby? You tired, you little baby?"

Trip to Oxford

Yesterday, Eddie continued his traveling adventure by driving from Chardon down to Oxford to see his Nonno and Grandmom Subie.  He was a good sport and slept most of the way.

A little north of Columbus, we stopped for lunch at Arby's.  Guess who showed up but Uncle Karl, Aunt Patty, and cousins Sarah and Stephen!  They were nearing the end of their three-day, 35-hour epic car ride from Arizona to Chardon.   We all had a nice visit and Eddie got to meet his cousins.  He was a little overwhelmed with all the new faces he'd been seeing, and cried a bit, but he cheered up.  Sarah helped by making sure he had enough water and food to eat.  She also helped Anne finish her curly fries.

We've had a great time so far in Oxford, including a turkey dinner with all the trimmings!  Eddie got his share, too.

Eddie enjoys some turkey dinner

Basic wants some too!

Eddie on the go

Ready to travel

Eddie is riding his horse Rosie (short for Rocinante.) It's a birthday present from Grandma and Grandpa! Thanks!

Travel

Eddie is up past his bedtime, about to depart on his first airplane trip!
Correction : Eddie has completed his first airplane trip! He's a pro. Everything went smoothly and we are now sitting in the plane at Akron.

First Words

Eddie's favorite word is "Hi!"  He says hi to people, toys, animals, and especially to himself, in the mirror.  Yesterday, he said "Wow" for the first time, when we got home and found out what Mommy was up to!

He also says "Da da da da da" to scold us when he thinks we're about to do something he doesn't approve of (take away a toy, or not give him some food, or the like.)  Very occasionally, he says "Yeah" in response to a question.  More frequently, his response to questions is remaining silent, a roar, or shaking his head no.

When he makes the sign for "water" (putting his hand to his mouth), he also vocalizes a word which somehow sounds about halfway between "acqua" and "wa-wa" - words that don't seem all that close, till you hear him say it!

Want a Cheerio?

Want a Cheerio?

The Rolo Incident

So we have a bag of Rolos on the kitchen table, well back from the edge.  Nonetheless, Eddie somehow contrives to get it down while I was in the bathroom.  I come out to find the bright gold foil wrapped candy all over the floor, with Eddie romping in the middle of it.  Unsurprisingly, one is in his mouth.  So I remove it - which he surprisingly tolerates - and start picking up Rolos.  Eddie helps by grabbing another one, and puts it in his mouth.

So I remove this one, but this time I notice that there's another Rolo already in there...and another...and another.  I pull at least 8 Rolos out of his mouth - still in the foil.

Now I would have thought that his mouth could fit two Rolos max.  It is not a large mouth.  Every cubic angstrom was filled with Rolo, squashed into shape.  It's a miracle that he could still breathe.  Nonetheless, Eddie is convinced that more Rolos in his mouth are vitally necessary for survival.

After I've pulled this heap of Rolo out, Anne takes him away from the scene, as he screams bloody murder.  With drebs of chocolate and caramel all over his chin and clothes, he kicks and bawls for longer than any baby is supposed to be able to remember anything.

Our son may not have a "sweet tooth" so much as a "sweet uncontrollable self-destructive impulse."

Renard's Adventure

Eddie has a father-and-son pair of stuffed foxes, named Sherlock and Renard, whom he loves a lot.

Sherlock (the father) often goes with him in his stroller, and yesterday, Eddie brought Renard (the son) along when I took him downtown in his carrier, strapped to my chest.  Eddie was clutching Renard under my coat; he often carries toys around like this, and usually has no problem keeping hold of them indefinitely.

But yesterday, imagine my consternation to arrive home and unzip my coat to find Eddie empty-handed!  Oh no!
We had stopped at the North End Library to get out and play a little bit, and Renard left with us.  Then we walked through the bustling Haymarket, where several people bellowed about Clementines right by our ears.  (One lady seemed positively offended that anyone would not buy Clementines at two dollars a box.  She couldn't fathom it.  Convinced that the only explanation was that, inexplicably, we hadn't heard her, she heroically increased her volume still more.)

Passing by Quincy market, we saw the lights on the trees blinking a lot, and I thought there was a bad connection.  Then I realized that lots of trees were blinking, in time with music, and we stopped to watch.  Eddie was quite enraptured with the lights on the Christmas tree, which changed color and did "waves" up and down in time to the music.  When the show wrapped up, we walked down to the other end of the Market, where a truly immense tree was all lit up (where Eddie saw a tree last year.)  Then we said hello to some horses, waiting around to pull carriages; browsed in a bookstore; picked up dinner; and went home.  But somewhere in the excitement, Renard was left behind!

Well, Eddie was quite distraught to imagine poor Renard out somewhere in the city all alone.  We had walked a couple of miles, so I thought he'd probably dropped Renard somewhere on the street, and we wouldn't see him again.  I didn't want to discourage Eddie, though, so this afternoon we set off in search of him.  We retraced our steps all the way to the bookstore, where I asked if they had found any stuffed animals.

"Do you mean a fox sort of thing?" asked the guy.

We enthusiastically affirmed this.

"Haven't seen any," he said.

Well, no, he didn't (but he should have.)  He said that they'd assumed someone had left it as a present for the cat.
Eddie was overjoyed to see Renard again, and forgave him his AWOL day playing with Rusty (the sleepiest cat in Boston.)

Retrospective Video

It's a little past Eddie's first birthday, and Picasa let us make a face movie showing him growing over time.  We put it on Youtube!