February . . . er March Update

So I think we all know I could never make a career out of blogging.  I'm just not frequent enough.  Unfortunately for all of you, that means you have to wait to get updates on our adorable little Edward.  Kim actually threatened to call Grandma to get her to ask for an update.  She plays dirty. :)

So anyway . . . now on to the parts you all want to see.

Our little crawler is no more - he's now a WALKER!!  Over the last weekend, he went nuts on the walking, and he is just amazing at it now.  He only crawls when he falls down and is on tile with his socks (can't get the foot purchase to get back up), or when the front door opens up and he wants to get there fast!!

He's also in his explore everything phase, and it's so much fun to watch - as well as a bit scary at times.  It's fun to watch his attention span though.  He has the attention span of . . . well a 14 month old. :)

Ooohhhh . . . look at my book!

Oh wait . . . is that a container of wipes?

What's over there?

Oh look, there's mom!

Woah mom, what's that?

All of these took place within a matter of minutes.  I'm only guessing at the thought process, but I'll bet I'm close, wouldn't you?















Thankfully, my little one is very addicted to books.  Of course, being our son, he's also addicted to electronics! 

I know I can get this to balance

Oh well, it looks nice on the floor too.

Hmmm . . anyone have an idea how to get it open?

 Did you know that fans can blow over toddlers?  Then again, it might just be him getting so excited that he falls down.  He's so cute when he's excited!


Since I'll have to publish another March one (I don't think Kim will let me call this the March post) I'm going to end this here.  Everyone enjoy their Edward fix!

First Steps!!

Edward has been working on standing (ok, so we've been working on standing with him) for the last few weeks. He is getting pretty good at balancing for a few seconds at a time. Kasey even managed a picture this week.

He is even doing a good job at this point of balancing himself when he starts to fall, so he stays up a little bit longer each time.  He's to the point now where he'll stand up and then let go, where a few days ago we had to let go of him.

It's actually really cute because every time we let go of him, or get ready to, he gets all giggly and has trouble because he's too excited.  Edward is definitely an adrenaline junkie, but that's a story for another time. :)

So today when we were helping him stand, Kasey had ahold of him and he was facing me.  Kasey let go, and Edward took 3 distinct flat-footed steps before he toppled toward me.  Now this is different from what he's done up till now, where he falls and his feet help break his fall.  These were purposeful steps.

I turned him around, let go, and he fell forward and Kasey caught him.  He may have taken a step, but it was that "break my fall" type of step.  Kasey turned him around again, and he took three more flat-footed steps toward me.  We both decided this counts as first step!  Of course, both times he got lots of praise and hugs, which he absolutely adores!!

Obviously, no pictures, since we were both involved in keeping him upright. :)  We'll work on pictures for a later date, but I just had to share today's major milestone!!

In other fun news, Edward had his first taste of chicken nugget today, and he thought it was pretty good. 

Edward and giggles

So I keep meaning to post an update for Edward's monthly "growth" but I so haven't gotten around to it.  Ironically enough, this is also not that post. :)

However, you can all thank Kasey for being quick with the video camera.  Edward and I got into an impromptu game of peek-a-boo (basically Edward was crawling around the footstool and I showed up on the other side and sent him into a fit of giggles).  Since this went on for a bit, Kasey grabbed the camera and caught it on video.  Because of that, I have video to share!  So as I said, thank Kasey. :)

I have this amazing video camera and software that allows still shots to come from video, so I picked a few frames out for pictures to include.  Kasey says it's too bad Edward doesn't like me at all. :)

The face-off - mostly Edward catching his breath

Mom, this is so much fun!  Can we keep doing this forever?

This is the moment Kasey thought we were done, because Edward had seen the camera.

And, without further ado, the video!!

Edward Christmas

You would not BELIEVE the grief I have gotten for not posting Christmas pictures yet.  Then again, if you're reading this blog you may be the one giving me grief. :)  Regardless, I have pictures of Edward, and as always, they are adorable!!!

Edward thought the Christmas tree was marvelous this year.  We had to put it up on a table to keep him away, and we still had to tell him no about a dozen times a day.

By the time the Christmas season was over, Edward was shaking his head whenever we told him no.  He knows what it means, but it doesn't mean he listens very often. :)

I made the whole family Christmas hats, and Edward looked adorable in his.  Of course, he didn't keep it on any longer than absolutely necessary, but I managed to get a few pictues.

We all went to Andrew's classroom to help make Gingerbreak houses.  Andrew wasn't so happy to have us there, but Edward sure had fun. 

Kasey got this picture of Edward - almost in his hat (or almost out of his hat).



Edward got a late birthday present shortly before Christmas, and he loved it!  I think it was his favorite gift of the entire holiday season.  It came from Grandpa Dave, but anyone who sees it should know that.  I mean, if you're Grandpa Dave, what else can you send Edward but . . . his own police car!!

I call this his cop face.

Christmas morning was a very sleepy Edward, but he still did good - especially when Daddy was holding him.

Hanging out with the family made the vacation time sooooo much fun!!

Do you know how cool it is to be little?  I can go wherever I want to, and people just let me!!

That helps to make Christmas morning a great time for me!!

Edward also got some quality time with his . . . ok Grandma, help me out on this one.  It's his cousin's daughter, so that's his first cousin once removed, right?

And, of course, because it's Arizona, no Christmas is complete without a trip or two to the park.  Parks are getting to be more fun now that I can go down the slides, play on the swings, and sit in the grass with mom.  I think we should come to this place more often - OK?

Edward's First Birthday!

I can hardly believe that Edward's one year old already.  In some ways it seems like we've had him forever, and in others it's just been the blink of an eye.

He's become such a little toddler! :)  It's been a fun year of learning new things, like how to deal with a social one year old.  He so loves people, and can be such a ham!!

But on to the pictures, which I know is what everyone really wants. :)

Standing up is one of his new favorite activities.  Would you believe that the TV stand is the best place in the house for this?  We tend to disagree, but Edward assures us it's perfect!

Here's our typical chair picture.  He's getting so huge, and you can really see that in this picture. 

Because of that, I decided we need to add a new picture to the list, so we took this next one.

Look at how tall we are!!  It's just so amazing to me how quickly he slimmed down and sprouted up.  He looks like a completely different kid than he did even a month ago!

And as you can see, he's oh so proud of himself!

Andrew was a huge helper when it came to Edward's birthday. 

He helped blow out the candle, and he even helped open the presents.  Of course, when all was said and done, he wanted to help play with the presents too, but luckily Edward didn't mind that much. :)

We opted for cupcakes this year, so Edward could have his own, and the rest of us didn't have to eat after little fingers got into everything.  They worked out well, and this one held a candle just perfectly!!!

 

Aunt Karen was great to come over and help us celebrate Edward's birthday, and to hlep him learn how to play with his new toys!

One thing we've discovered about Edward - he doesn't lack for toys.  He manages to litter the floor with them on a very regular basis.  He's typically very proud of himself afterwards too!

We went to the park last weekend - yes, in Phoenix we can go to the park and not wear jackets on Sunday afternoons!  We all had a marvelous time, and Edward got to ride in a swing and down a slide for the first time.  He had a blast, and we are heading back just as soon as we can . . . tomorrow maybe?

The last two pictures are of Edward in the santa hat that I made.  He takes it off just as soon as he thinks about it, but at least I get a few pictures first. :)

Videos!!

This second post is a birthday present for my grandmother - Happy Birthday Grandma!!  Here's Edward (and Andrew) in motion.  Hope you enjoy it.

As an aside, we love our little video camera.  It's called a Flip Video, and it's so very convenient and small.  I can upload the videos directly to the computer.  It only holds an hour of video, so it wouldn't be good for a musical or anything, but for around the house, it's perfect!

 The first is Edward's infamous crawl.  My flip share software let me put music over the video, so you don't have to listen to us talking in the background.  This is pretty typical of how Edward crawls, but he's a lot faster now then he was when we took this video.

The second video is from last night, and is Andrew and Edward playing "tag" for lack of a better word.  Mostly Andrew ran circles around Edward, but he didn't mind at all.  I thought the music oddly appropriate - both because it feels like a chase and because in Phoenix this weekend was the Nascar race.  It was a lot of fun to watch.

11 months old

Can you all believe Edward is already 11 months old?  The time just seems to fly by, and I can't believe we're already talking about what to do for his first birthday party.  This has truly been a month of milestones for Edward.

He is now, officially, mobile on his own!  While not strictly crawling, Edward has his own way of maneuvering around the house.  It's this combination crawl, walk, scoot thing.  He uses both hands, one knee, and one foot.  It's tremendously hard to describe, but looks adorable and hard all at once.  When I described it at work, one of my coworkers said her daughter used to do something similar when she was trying to crawl while wearing a dress, so if you've ever seen that, it's close, but in shorts. :)

This means, of course, that he's into everything, and all sorts of trouble.  But it's just so cute to see him navigating the floor!  (Kasey really still wishes he had held off until after Christmas, but that was never terribly likely.)

 This is one of those "trouble" pictures, where he was just a few feet from cords, so I was holding my breath while taking the picture.  He's just fascinated with my chair.  It has lots of moving parts, and he loves anything he can make move.








These next few pictures have Edward in an outfit courtesy of Aunt Kim.  We love this little outfit on him.  He just looks so sweet, and like he is a little future farmer. :)

 I had some fun cropping the one on the right and blurring everything but Edward.  He was intent on his books that day.  He loves books, and we love that.







 He has a spinning top that he absolutely adores.  I'm pretty sure the top came from Aunt Kim as well.  He can't make it spin in the traditional manner, but he loves to hold it, swing it, and he really adores us making it spin for him.













Isn't he just a cutie??  I have lots of pictures for today, so you'll get way more pictures than words.  And hey, who really wants to read my words when they can look at the adorable boy anyway, right?




As far as Edward is concerned, the coolest place in the entire house is Andrew's room.  It's a forbidden room full of treasures galore!  If Andrew leaves his bedroom door open, he considers it fair game.  One of the times he got in, he came out with one of Andrew's fire engines.  It makes noise!!

 Does he not look like he knows he has something that doesn't belong to him?  He is one happy kid with this toy.





 Edward was Tigger for Halloween, but his little head was too big for the hood, so he didn't wear it.  This made him look more like a tiger, but he didn't mind.  He got more candy than he can eat (especially since he doesn't eat candy), and he enjoyed chewing on the box of Dots that the first place insisted on giving him.

We got him a Mickey Mouse halloween hat, and he looks just adorable in it.

He preferred playing with it to wearing it, but I got a few pictures, so I was happy.

This is just another picture of Edward enjoying being mobile.  He really is all over the place. 

 And the one on the right is my two little guys in their pajamas, just before bedtime.  I love this picture!




 The highlight of this month actually occurred last night.  We took both boys outside to the back yard to play, with Edward in his walker and wearing shoes (this boy almost never wears shoes, and he didn't like it at all until he realized he was going "out").  Mobile has a whole new meaning outside, and he had a total blast.






 But as fun as it is being outside, it's much more fun when your brother comes out to play.  From watching Andrew on the trampoline







 to chasing him around the patio, Andrew is by far the best entertainment that Edward can have.












 Of course Andrew thought it was hilarious he could run from his brother, and Edward only caught him a few times.  (Really wish we had a picture of that event, but we were too busy playing referee when that happened.)

 And now for the official Edward chair picture.  He's getting bigger and bigger compared to this chair.  And he loves being in the chair - so he can try and climb out of it.

 Just look at the face of that boy.  There is some serious mischief on his face.  I'm totally blaming that look on Kasey, because we all know I'm sweet and innocent, right? :)

I did, however, manage to get two pictures of him sitting as opposed to climbing out of the chair.  Well worth the wait.

Hope everyone enjoyed the Edward update.  I'm working on how to get video on my blog, so when I pull that off, you can see him moving!!