Hands up!

Nonno post: Yesterday Eddie accompanied his mother to a nearby health and natural food store, where they also had a bin of Gummy Bears (health food?).  When Eddie saw the bin, he stopped in front of it and exclaimed, "That's what I wanted my whole life!"  He got toothpaste instead--apparently what mommy wanted him to have his whole life.

This morning Eddie and papa were in the bathroom.  Vincent, who likes to be wherever the action is and now crawls like greased lightning, headed their way, at which point we hear Eddie announcing in a loud voice, "Oh, oh, here comes trouble!"  We decided that Vinci's device should be, Here comes trouble with a smile!

Vincent has mastered the art of waving hi and goodbye on demand, or as the occasion requires, or whenever his fancy takes him.  Yesterday, at the library, after a little boy in a pre-school group (all lassoed together like centipede feet) took a liking to him and talked to him and made funny faces.  Vincent smiled at him a lot and then waved for a long time when they were leaving.  At the supper table nonno sits across from him at the far end of the table and also likes to make faces and strange sounds at him, at all of which shenanigans Vinci smiles indulgently, showing both of his relatively new bottom teeth, and whenever nonno waves, Vincent waves back gleefully.  This evening nonno started bouncing up and down on his chair at some tune (or maybe just for the heck of it).  Vincent soon imitated him and started dancing his torso up and down.  So, we wondered if we could get him to wave and dance at the same time.  Sure enough, while still bouncing up and down nonno waved, and Vinci did the same, boogeying and waving with a big smile on his face.

Eddie has taken to asking who wants something or wants to do something and requiring us to raise our hands if we do.  Mommy made muffins this afternoon.  Eddie: "If you want a muffin, raise your hand!  Nonno, do you want a muffin?  Then raise your hand!"  After supper, nonno turned the tables and asked, "Who wants a fruit bowl?"  Mommy and papa raised their hands, but Eddie was preoccupied eating cherry and grape tomatoes and debating which were the smallest.  When nonno said, "I guess Eddie doesn't want fruit," he soon tuned in and raised his hand.  Then we looked over at Vincent at the other hand of the table, and he had his hand raised way up high too.

And, yes, he did get some fruit.  He is eating solid food now: cheerios, fruit cut up in small pieces, mashed potatoes at lunch today.  It started a week or so ago, when Anne made chili.  They had him try just a little taste, expecting him to spit it out.  Instead he gobbled it up and begged for more, scarfing it all down voraciously: sauce, meat, beans, and everything.  He now eats with his high chair pulled up to the family table.  The only problem is that he is a champion climber and occasionally climbs up on the table to reach something that the others are eating that looks tastier than what they foist off on him.

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!"