molar madness

On the teeth front, first of, I forgot to mention that Eddie got his 8th tooth (the bottom right incisor) around mid-July. Now he is getting his molars in. I have felt the uppers as I was sweeping his mouth after he attempted to eat a rock, and I think I see the lowers coming in because his gums are swollen. Overall his behavior is not too bad as he only has about 2-3 moments a day when he sort of freaks out in pain. He rubs his fist over his mouth or clutches to a toy in his mouth and shakes his head as if he is mad - and I mean mad in the true sense of the term - a little bit crazy, a little bit angry. And he has been a tad needy, wanting to breastfeed more and waking more at night. But the other crazy sign of teething that he has this time around which he has never had before is loose poops. For the last two days he has pooped three times a day and the third one is a tad loose. It is pure nastiness. It is molar madness.

party, morning after

We celebrated Eddie's birthday here in Chicago this past Saturday with a small afternoon open house and bbq. The weather was a tad on the cooler side for August, in the mid-60's, but luckily comfortable enough to be outside. I chose the theme of "The Hungry Caterpillar" because it is one of Eddie's favorite books and I think the transition from caterpillar to butterfly can symbolize the momentous changes that occur in the first year of life. You can see in the photos how we carried out the theme from the cake to the decor. We further extended the theme by showing Eddie's transformation in year one by putting all of the "Eddie and the Bear" photos on display - who knew the simple gift from Grandma Bonnie and Grandpa Rick, which was delivered to us in the hospital, would have become our measuring stick on Eddie's growth throughout the year. We also hooked the computer up to the tv and had all of our photos of eddie running on a slideshow to one of the playlists I created for his birth. It truly was a tribute to E4.

The guests included Nonni and Gramps, Uncle Mike, Aunt Evie, Cousin Noah, Greg Buth, Tj & Jill Gliha (with baby in utero), Bryce & Hilary Prosser (also with baby on the way), our doula and friend Peyton and her kids Hope, Bowen and Jake, Tommy Carideo with sons Santino and Benicio and our friend from music class Madeline and her mom Debra. The afternoon flew by and Eddie seemed oblivious to the fact that he was the guest of honor. He seemed mesmerized most by the fact that we had our sliding door opened to the deck the whole day and so he kept going back and forth from deck to house and found much pleasure in doing so. Singing 'Happy Birthday' to him did not seem to phase him as he stoically just sat there. And he had no interest in the cake really - after being served a piece he started to cry and wanted out of the high chair. We only opened a few gifts that evening, and of the few opened, the favorite seemed to be the Gumby - coincidentally it's a great teething toy. So we opened the majority of gifts the next morning which had a whole Xmas morning feel to it as Eddie paraded around in his pjs and we watched him play with his new trucks, blocks and all the balloons. He loves his gift from his Uncle Charlie - a duck that waddles around to the tune of "Camptown Races." We will have to take a video of Eddie with this toy because it is hilarious - he dances and mimics it and when it stops he tries to figure out how to turn it on again. All in all it was a nice party. Of course I over stressed myself with all the cooking and preparations but I did have time to enjoy myself and chat with guests. My only regret is that I didn't have the chance to capture more of the day on film, namely our guests. Luckily my sister took some great photos with her new camera which are posted above. Enjoy.

stink eye

Eddie has this new expression, which I caught on film the other day, that we call the stink eye. He wrinkles his nose up...trying to figure out if it is something he sees me doing or what, and whether or not it is cute or annoying ugly...

8,700+ hours

To think that it was one whole year ago when our little bomba emerged, opened his eyes and mouth and let out a big newborn "whaaaa." A year. The 365 day calendar that dictates our lives in one way or another, that helps us celebrate holidays, make appointments, relish weekends and in most geographic locations, indicate climate and potential weather. It is sort of a wierd arbitrary thing though when you think about it: basing our lives on 12 months, 365 days, a little over 8,765 hours. And to think that I have literally spent probably a total of over 8,700 hours of this year with my son, my first child. Some may call this spoiled. To others it is labeled attachment parenting. To me it just feels natural. I have literally observed these hours of my guy's life in wonderment and awe, and most of the time in blissful glee. All who get to know him remark on his cute personality and the joy it brings them to literally just watch him. Even total strangers remark that he is a "cute baby" and find pleasure in acknowleding him because he acknowledges them first with his bucky tooth infectious smile. On our flight back from Maine we were seated in row 17, the last row of the airplane, next to the lavoratory. Ick. Or so I thought. Turned out it was a blessing in disguise because it kept Eddie busy throughout the flight as the in-flight entertainment; every person that walked by to go to the toliet received a playful smile from Eddie and every person smiled back. Babies truly bring out the best in everyone. People are nicer to you while waiting in lines and make small talk like never before. Even grown men will strike up a conversation with him. At first it sort of annoyed me, but now I realize that it is just because my guy is too darn cute, and therefore impossible to ignore.

Observing Eddie is all I do. And I feel so lucky. As both of his grandmothers have recently exclaimed, it is so much fun just watching him, just watching him do simple things like eat and play. Is that true about all babies? Not sure. Maybe. All we know is that Eddie has developed into a really fun baby and truly a happy baby. I no longer worry that he is an introvert - his social skills seem very keen as he passionately interacts with babies and adults alike. He is now clapping his hands in joy, pointing at objects and photos and is even laughing at appropriate times in adult conversations. Today he heard two Chinese women having a conversation and sat there listening intensely for several minutes, as if to acknowledge that it was another language. I was impressed. I cannot wait until his "da"s turn into words and ultimately phrases and sentences. He says "ma ma ma" when he wants something, like to be fed or picked up by me. He seems to know "dada" too but for some reason his syllable of choice to express anything whatsoever when he is playing is "da" so it is hard to tell whether he makes the association with his daddy, unless in his mind daddy=play, which is true most of the time. He is a major explorer and loves to crawl on all surfaces, even rocks and brick and sand - we met a year old baby today who is walking yet will only walk on carpet - weird. Eddie has no tactile issues, that is for sure.

He still does not sleep through the night, waking typically once but goes back to sleep easily after some boob. And he is still taking two naps a day and showing no signs of wanting to eliminate the morning nap, actually that one is the only one I can really count on. He loves to eat and truly eats everything - black beans, lobster, arugula and eggplant are some of the recent foods. Because of his chompers, he can eat things whole like corn on the cob and today he ate a whole peach. But what he really loves to do is play...and he plays hard, with bruises to show for it. Loves his little backyard pool, balls, and anything with wheels. For the past couple of months whenever he plays with trucks or cars he makes a car noise...crazy, how do boys just know how to do that?

Weirdly I am not very reflective these days, not very emotional about motherhood or that my baby is now a toddler. Sometimes I think it is part of having a boy - it makes you strong. Sometimes I wonder if it is because of his natural birth and my ability to withstand the pain of labor. I find myself looking ahead, levelheaded with an internal strength and filled with excitement for what this next year will bring...another 8,700+ hours of observation...wow.

maine...vacationland

Our family vacation in Maine ended last Wednesday, sadly. It was Eddie's first big trip and first time meeting all of his Washuk and Clark relatives. He was the life of the party, always smiling, always willing to be held by anyone and gladly accepting of new surroundings and tons of commotion. All week long people kept saying "he's such a happy baby!" The other big talk about Eddie, at least from the younger cousins, was how he had so many teeth. They would be like, "this is Eddie. he has teeth!"

There were so many fabulous memories, most of which I captured on film...too many photos to post here, but I posted a ton on Facebook, so feel free to check them out . Some of the highlights of the vacation include: getting the VIP priority service at O'Hare, watching Eddie and Gizmo play (Grandma Bonnie's shih tzu), watching Eddie play with Ella and share his healthy food with her (she went from eating Fruit Loops to kale after a week with us!), watching Sydnie read books to Eddie and make him laugh by her infectious smile, watching Tanner play the piano, jetskiing, playing Donut with the Grays, meeting Charlie's Katie, hanging out on the lawn by the lake and feeding Eddie picnic-style, watching Eddie and his Grandma Bonnie bond, going to Primo with my husband, the lobster bake at Uncle John's, swimming with Carly and Sydnie, visiting Grandpa Beano (Eddie's Great Grandpa) and spending time in his home and veggie garden, DNKY dogs, Uncle Charlie's stories including the boat ride with Great Uncle Dick, meeting Ellie Bird Hardy, going to the beach two days in a row and watching Eddie play in the sand and water, breakfast with the Turgeons, watching the morning ritual of Eddie's breakfast with Grandpa Rick, playing with Lucy's cage, Maine blueberries and Eddie's "almost one" birthday party at Grandma Bonnie and Grandpa Rick's.

the trip

Reporting here from our "camp" in Maine, a beautiful lake home surrounded by loons, lush green forests and farmhouses with stone walls and natural perrenial gardens. Our flight out of o'hare went probably as smoothly as possible it was almost a tad strange - we pulled up at curbside check in and saw the massive 100 person line and then looked at one of the workers and he said, "would you like the v.i.p. service?" to which Eddie eagerly responded, "yes." It consisted of not having to wait in any lines and being escorted through priority...not sure how we managed to get such royal treatment but it made us want to travel with a baby all the time. Eddie did really good on the flight. Of course he loved the commotion of the airport and after a little boob, fell asleep on the plane right after take over for about 30 minutes. The rest of the flight he truly was a "lap child" and stayed contently in our laps playing with his books and chewing on toys. The only struggle he had was with landing - I tried to offer him some boob, bottle and a chew toy but he didn't want any of it. All in all, he was a very good boy and I was surprised and impressed that he did not want to squirm away and crawl all around. I, on the other hand, was a mess - felt nausous and had to use the bathroom like three times and the fasten seat belt sign was on the whole flight because of bad turbulance. I guess it was all the nerves of traveling with the baby for the first time. I found myself using the labor breathing techniques to get through the flight.

We have been here on Lake Cobbossentee since Saturday evening and our place has been the beacon to which all the relatives have swarmed, so we have had visitors day and night. Eddie loves it. He has no stranger anxiety whatsoever and can be held by anyone. He loves watching the older cousins play and move about, and often tries to join them as they all climb the stairs or run around the deck. We have brought him into the water several times and he clings onto us pretty hard because the water is a tad cold...at least for babies. For me it is perfectly refreshing and brings me back to our childhood trips to Crivitz, WI. We have all enjoyed swimming and taking the jet ski out. More fun to be had as the next few days have in store for us a lobster bake party, a pool party and our trip to Portland where daytrips to coastal beaches are on the itinerary.