subject and verb

Recently, Eden has discovered the power of the basic sentence.

Some examples ...

When Ashley is drinking milk, she will often say "I want milk, too."

After we take her clothes off to get ready for bath, she has been known to declare, "I'm naked now." (Then she slaps her belly a few times and runs around.)

When we ask her to come inside or do something she does not really want to do, she kindly asks for an extension of what she was enjoying by saying, "For one minute, please."

When asked what she saw in a picture of Ashley and her, she correctly answered "I see Mommy and Eden."

which of these things ...

just doesn't belong?

ARP

The photos are up!!

For those of you who asked {and those of you who didn't}, here's the link to Eden's  two-year session at Allison's studio a few weeks ago. Once you're on the site, click on clients -- you -- then type in bodie2 as the password. For fun, enter bodie as the password to see E's 3 month photos. I'm about to spend the next little while watching them again myself. I know she's mine, but these photos of E are just amazing! How are we ever going to decide our order?

If you feel so inclined, definitely leave us a comment and let me know which ones are your favorites. I would say which one is your favorite, but there is no way to pick only one.

Hope you enjoy.

today

Unkee Bebop

This afternoon, Eden's Uncle Bebop stopped by for a quick visit as he drove from Pensacola {where he and Whitney had a few weeks of living in the same place!} to San Antonio {where he and Whitney will be living for the summer}.

I told Eden early this morning that her Uncle Bebop was coming to see her. I forgot to think about the fact that she has no concept of something happening a few hours later in the day, so our morning was spent with me reminding her that Uncle Bebop was in his car on the way to our house and that Aunt FeeFee was at her house for the day. Guess the little one was hoping for a visit from the both of them.

By the time Uncle Bebop arrived, Eden was beside herself with excitement. He wasn't even able to make in the door and sit down before she was bringin him toy after toy for him to inspect. Thankfully, Uncle Bebop was quite entertained with Miss E's excitement. She even showed off her mad spin-around-in-a-circle-and-fall-down skills, which she doesn't just show off to anyone.

The visit was way too short, but we were all excited to get to see Bebop for at least a bit. Eden kept talking about him all afternoon even after her nap. Guess that just means he has to come back!

{ajb}

push me

This little scene that happened on Tuesday just cracked me up ..

 

You see, someone brought a little plastic car to the park, and it was too tempting for Eden to pass up. I don't know why Russell and Keegan thought it was so great to start pushing her but boy did they have a few little meltdowns over who got to do the pushing. It was quite amusing. Eden kept looking behind her saying, "Pus' me, Russell."

She did eventually push one of the boys around for a bit, but by then the magic had worn off. Watching a motorcycle drive by was much more exciting ...

Russell is in E's class at PDO, and Graham reports that Russell and Eden often turn circles in the morning and get themselves dizzy. Oh, and Russell asked me to take this photo ...

To end the afternoon, Eden had to take some pictures of her own. Baby Conner and Ms. Marie were her favorite subjects ...

Somehow, we didn't end up with a picture of Lenae and Tommy, our friends from church, but they were also at the park with us that day. Such fun for some of my new friends to actually meet each other.

{ajb}

how I swing

Can't remember when Eden first saw someone swinging like this, perhaps it was Josie, but she now loves to swing on her own any chance she gets. At our favorite little park, there is one swing just 6 inches or so off the ground that is perfect for an independent little 2-year-old {this is also the one she pushed me in}. Anyhow, this is how she swings now.

- E's Momma

des(i)tin

I was walking back from the library a little while ago and read a girl's t-shirt. It said ...

DES

TIN

My brain went, "Desitin [insert mental image of white, creamy baby diaper ointment] ... des-i-tin ... des-ah ... Where's the I?? Oh wait, ohhhhhh, Destin."

I was thinking baby diaper cream. It was a t-shirt she probably got on spring break while at the beach.

Oh my.

ashley

not her momma's skin (volume II)

Although we showed proof that Eden did not inherit her skin from Ashley several months ago, she has grown. Did she grow out of her tan skin? Not a chance. She is still darker than Ashley (which is no feat really). We're hoping she takes after her Grandaddy, Aunt FeFe, and Big Daddy - skin that does not tend to burn.

 

a few new things

Lately, it seems that Eden has been adding new things to her repertoire of cool stuff at a very fast rate. Here are a few recent examples ...

 

1. For the past week, Eden has been asking, "What that Mama/Daddy?" She points to things she knows and to things she doesn't, and sometimes she responds "Oh." when you tell her what the thing is. Another favorite response when asked a question is "ummmmmm" while holding a finger to her mouth.

 

2. For a while now I have been playing the Daddy-is-sad card to get a kiss and hug. I'll say, "Daddy is so sad" then I'll pout and wait for Eden to run over and make me happy. It's a fun game, and she plays it for several rounds. Sunday morning we were at a friend's house (another story we'll post later) eating quiche. Eden loves quiche, especially the crust, and if you're not careful she'll eat the entire pie crust leaving others none.

 

She had already eaten her crust and asked for mine. I told her to eat some more of the egg. She responded, "Eden so sad." then pouted. Of course I had to give her the crust ... the girl learns fast.

 

3. Speaking of eating, everything that Eden eats is "very hot" and needs to be blown on. "Very hot Mama/Daddy. Very hot." Blow. Eat. Repeat.

 

4. This afternoon Ashley and Eden strolled into the kitchen after Eden's nap. The first words out of Eden's mouth? "What you doin' Daddy?" "I'm cooking Eden." "What you makin' Daddy?" I told her, then realized that we had our first real back-and-forth, multiple question-and-answer conversation. Wow.

 

5. Speaking of asking questions, when she does she sometimes says, "What that my Daddy/Mama?" It's fun to respond "A dog my Eden." Perhaps she is trying to learn the concept of possession.

 

6. In the car the other day I put my foot on the accelorator then very quickly heard "Slo-o-w down, Daddy!" Great, another backseat driver.

 

7. When something is not working, Eden very aptly lets us know - "It's broken. It no workin', Mama."

 

8. Sometimes when I am following Eden she lets me know that wants to be on her own - "Stop right there, Daddy." Of course the command would be incomplete without the upheld hand that goes with it. Nice. She really loves the word "right" these days, and she loves to hold out the right to accentuate what she's saying. As in -- "put it right there" and "on the table right here" or "it's right there"

 

9. A few nights ago we were all sitting on the bed like normal, getting ready for bed [actually Ashley and I were lying down]. Eden wanted a book. So, in our lazy genious, we told her to go get one book for bedtime. Eden walked into the dining room where she has two shelves full of books. A few minutes later, she came back with The Complete Adventures of Curious George - it's about 400 pages. We had to laugh ... and read a small section.

 

10. She also loves one minute. For a while she has been telling us she'll be "back in one minute, wait right here" and lately she has also started using one minute when asking for things like "in the car, one minute."

Bonus ... On Sunday, Eden had a new reply to what unfortunately has become a common question ... "Hey baby, do you have a stinky diaper?" To which she replied by squeezing her arms and little body as tight as she could and then said, "See, no poo poo" when nothing happened.

Word of the Day: Heavy

Today Eden and I went to the store to get a few things. One of those things was a large box of wipes. When we were checking out Eden wanted to hold the box of wipes. Okay. I put it into her lap. She started whining and saying "No Daddy." I asked her if it was too big while I put it into the main part of the cart. She responded by saying, "Heavy."

She said heavy again tonight - once when Ashley was giving her a bath to describe the completely soaked hand towel that was in the bath with her and once to describe The Complete Adventures of Curious George as she tried to move it on top of another book on the bed. I guess that is her new word.

In other word-related news, Eden also knows synonyms. When Ashley and Eden were playing with Playdo, Eden commented on the "baby balls" that Ashley was making - she then called them "little." Ashley is over-joyed.

peabody - ducks - sleepin'

After Eden's photoshoot and staying the night in historic Holly Springs, it was off to the Peabody and its famous ducks. We watched the spectacle from 5 feet away from the fountain, and Eden loved it. We told her that the ducks had to go to sleep (so as to avoid the possibility of camping out on the Peabody rooftop) ... after that if we were in the lobby Eden would tell us that the ducks were sleeping by putting her finger to her mouth and saying "Shhhhh. Ducks sleeping Momma/Daddy."

Other than the ducks, the Peabody had other ammenities like free drawing paper and utensils ...

... nice comfy beds ...

... and adjoining rooms - at least for the first two nights with Eden's CC in the next room. The last night we were there we finally experiened life with a toddler trying to sleep while her parents were in the same room not sleeping. Pretending to sleep is an art, one that we have yet to perfect. On Friday, I had to give in and let Eden nap in the big bed - there was no napping in the pack-and-play and constant "Big bed, Daddy." She sure did look cute under the covers in that big bed.

visiting friends

In addition to our new duck friends, we also saw old friends while we were in Memphis including Will and Elaine and their son Jack (Emma was at school). Eden and Jack played quite well together in Emma's room ...

On Thursday night we took a trip into Germantown to see a high-school friend of mine, John Bass - John also played at our wedding.

It was a great date night thanks to Eden's CC who hung out with Eden at the Peabody and put her to bed while we went out on the town. Ashley says it counts as a real date -- we had an appetizer, meal, dessert, and even one dance.

Graham's "15 minutes of fame"

The Advocate (Baton Rouge's local newspaper) picked up an LSU press release about me and my students and our recent attendance at a conference and used it in their editorial today. People tell me that this section has a large readership, so it's rather exciting. Go team!

http://www.2theadvocate.com/opinion/90715489.html

wish we could rest

We are back from what felt like a whirl-wind trip. Wish we could rest, but it's back to work tomorrow. We'll try to write up our memories of seeing family and traveling to the conference soon. Isn't she a cutie-pa-tootie?

ashley

travels to the North

After me going to New Mexico and Ashley to Oklahoma, we figured Eden deserved to get out of town for a bit. So, we packed the car and headed north. We left around 6 pm on Monday night with Eden in her pjs. She finally fell asleep around 9:45 (not exactly to plan, but nothing these days is).

We landed in Oxford, MS at midnight. When Eden knew where we were (Uncle Britton and Aunt CoCo's) the first thing she said was "Angie. Angie." That's their dog. Indeed, we saw Angie (and her parents), and Eden finally settled down to bed around 1 am.

We woke up at 7:15, had breakfast and showers, and got back in the car headed north again - this time it was to Olive Branch, MS and the studios of Allison Rodgers Photography.

We had a photo shoot at 10:30 - Fable was there to help entertain Eden.

After the shoot Eden and I had well-deserved naps. Then it was outside to play. Allison and Jeff have a great backyard with lots of playthings.

After play time and dinner, we drove the 30 miles to Holly Springs, MS. Eden's CC had reserved a room at a bed and breakfast, and it was a perfect resting place for the night. Eden especially enjoyed the blueberry muffin they provided ...

She also enjoyed skipping around downtown Holly Springs ...

... and the big stairs.

After breakfast, we went back to Olive Branch, made a quick run to Target, and played a while with Fable at the studio ... when Eden saw the bassinet, she had to play "baby" for a while.

Aside from having Allison shoot Eden's two year pictures, the "real" reason we're here is for the Southern States Communication Association Annual Convention. We both have papers (and get to visit with friends we have not seen in a while). We'll try to post while we're here and keep you updated on our many adventures.

Happy Easter!

As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. "Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.' "- Mark 16:5-7 (NIV)

He is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

 

When Mommy's away, Eden and Daddy will play ...

Ashley left town on Thursday morning for Boston's official ceremony marking his entry as a pilot in the Air Force. Thursday morning turned out to be a beautiful day, so Eden and I spent the morning outside.

First, we watered the plants ...

Then we picked flowers.

Then we played in Hank's yard (our up-the-street neighbor who has a little fenced in front yard that Eden loves for some reason).

Easter Egg Hunt 4.2

This morning I took Eden over to her friend, Josie's, house. Then, we all went downtown to the Easter Egg hunt put on by the Red Stick Market.

They had all the kids stand outside and then rang a bell. That is when the mass chaos started. Josie and Eden were quite calm, holding hands and moving very slowly to the entrance.

As soon as they saw the eggs, they let go a little.

Eden was quite picky with the eggs she would accept in her basket (see video). She did, however, find a "golden egg." She got lots of goodies!

This was her second hunt - perhaps her pickyness was a sign of her experience.

Two New Games

This video shows Eden playing two new games. The first clip is her playing "stick on fence." The second clip is her playing "look inside eggs to make sure there is something good."

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com