First tooth

Vincent's first tooth started to show today! It is a bottom front tooth; just the edge is visible through his gum.

He started babbling a lot more last week, making sounds like "Baba" or "dado" and so on.

He also started puffs and mum-mums—his first foods that need chewing! He's been doing a great job. Yesterday, when he had picked up all the puffs on his tray, he said "All done"—at least, that's what Papa heard!

Cracking wise

Nonno post: Eddie was fiddling with a screw-type nut cracker when he noticed flies, or bugs as he calls them, buzzing around the house.  So he holds out the nut cracker invitingly and says, "Bugs, fly in here and I crack you."

When papa points out that the most difficult part of his project is to get the flies to obey the command, he turns to the one that must be obeyed and implores, "Mama!"

Pulling up

Today, Vincent pulled up on the sofa to stand on his feet, all by himself! (He was trying to chew on his brother's magazines.)

Brotherly empathy

Eddie was sitting at his little red table while Vincent started pulling up on the table leg. Suddenly, Vincent flung an arm out dramatically, leaned his head way back, slowly toppled over, and started crying. Eddie looked down and observed this, then looked up at me. "I didn't do anything to him," he reported.

Meanwhile, it seems like Vincent's first word might be "Eddie." He's made pretty clear "Eh-dee" sounds several times now (sometimes while drooling on one of Eddie's things.) Papa has mixed feelings about this.

Food sticks

Eddie had a ketchup packet we picked up at a burger truck. He decided he wanted to put it on some food. "What can I put it on?" he wondered.
"What do you think?" I asked.
"Hmm. I know! I will put it on sticks!"
"Sticks? Sticks aren't food!" I told him.
"Not sticks. Food sticks!"
"What are food sticks? Fish sticks?"
"No, not fish sticks. Food sticks."
I thought for a minute. "Do you mean French fries?"
"Yes!" said Eddie. "That's right. French fries are food sticks!"

PS: Reading this later, the dialog sounds un-natural, but this is actually the way Eddie was talking then.

Eddie on sharing

At the playground, Eddie and I had a conversation about Vincent's newfound mobility.

"He likes to chew your toys," I noted.

"But he can't do that!" Eddie declared.

"You have lots of toys," I told him. "You have to share with him."

Eddie seemed unconvinced.

"Do you like to share?" I asked.

"Yes, I like to share lots of things!" he said.

"Good!" I said. "Sharing makes us happy."

Eddie expanded on what he enjoys sharing. "I like to share Luke's toys!"

Vincent on the move

After batting the ball, Vincent decides to head towards some things Eddie had made out of his magnet tiles. Eddie set up several boxes containing toy cars, and a Christmas-tree-shaped thing, last night, and said it was his "morning Christmas" that he was leaving out to find in the morning. Vincent got up before he did, and was intent on demolishing the Christmas before Eddie got up.