Boxing day

This morning, Eddie ran straight out into the dark living room where the presents were left, saying "Truck! Truck!" After the lights were on, he pulled out some toys and said "Fun, fun, fun." Later I found him rocking on a rocking horse, talking to his grandma. "My mommy sleeping," he said. "Mommy coming."

Later, he was eating breakfast, and the grate was open on the stove in the fireplace so we could see the flames. "Fire hot," he reported, several times.

After his cousins got up, Eddie and Stephen had an argument. Stephen was sitting in the high chair, eating, and apparently Eddie didn't approve. He said "No!" Stephen turned around to regard Eddie severely and said "Make an S and close the gate, that's the number eight eight eight!" Eddie insisted "No!" and Stephen said "EIGHT! EIGHT! EIGHT!"

Lately, Eddie's been asking us to sing "This old man" a lot. He does this by saying "Singing old man" or sometimes just "Sing old man." Or maybe he just wants me to sing: "Sing, old man!" The latter theory might be supported by this:

Eddie had pulled a little kiddie chair up to the raised hearth, which was at about the same level as the seat, so he could put his feet straight out onto the hearth. He pulled another kiddie chair up to his, so that Papa could join him, and said "Sit old man!"

In the afternoon, we visited Eddie's Bisnonna. On the car ride there, he started saying what sounded like "Take, take." After we arrived, he kept saying it. We figured out he meant "Cake"—he remembered getting treats there on Sunday, and when we told him we were headed to Bisnonna's house, he was ready! We let him have two cookies. He also ate a whole apple and banana.

While we were there, he ran around and climbed up on the couch and pretended to take a nap, lying down and saying "nap." But Zia Franca wasn't fooled—she said "Your eyes are open! Close your eyes!" Eddie evidently understands this, because he screwed up his eyes and pretended to close them, but we could still see them slitted open. Zia Franca said "You're cheating!" and he laughed.