Here is Edward at 16 months. He's clearly pleased with himself. His parents can't share his joie d'vivre this evening.

Two inches of rain since 3 p.m. yesterday. More expected tonight and tomorrow. Our backyard is saturated and apparently, so is the ground beneath our house. We are the proud and beleaguered owners of a new six-gallon wet/dry vacuum. John went to the basement for another reason after dinner and discovered the water. It wasn't deep, but it was spreading so he went to work moving/rescuing various items and mopping up what he could. At quarter to eight, after giving Ed a bath and putting him to bed, I went to see what I could do. The hardware store down the street closes at 8 so we decided not to gamble on things getting worse overnight. I dashed out for the equipment while John kept mopping and wringing and dumping the 5-gallon bucket out in the alley.

Ed's new rainy day toy is much more fun. This is something he got for his birthday but we'd stored it away since he was just overflowing with new things back in December. I had a feeling we'd need a little diversion sometime and this week was the time. The living room feels quite small when it's filled with Edward Energy! He wasn't sure what to make of this at first since it was singing the Alphabet Song to him, but he figured out how he could make other noises and then he noticed that it came with 25(!) animal pieces to carry around and deposit around the room. Or, in this case, to bang on the metal folding chair for the delightful noise it produced.

Today's other news was a clean bill of health at his 15-month well-baby check. Yes it was a month late, but who's counting. All we know is that he is continuing on his mid-range weight and supersize head trajectory. After the results come back from lab tests, we may be able to stop the iron supplement, which would be nice. It's not a big deal, but just another thing to keep track of, as we have been giving him the medicine three times a day. We're supposed to give it with juice because the vitamin C helps with absorption so a little bedtime sippy cup has become part of the routine. We may keep that even when we lose the medicine, since it's clearly part of how he unwinds.

No new video lately, but if you need a fix, I highly recommend checking out Ed's cousin Katherine who really knows how to bust a move. She's got rhythm!

Yesterday's WalkAmerica in Iowa City could not have been more perfect. It was sunny and warm, with a light breeze to keep the sweat at bay as we trudged up the hills (yes, we do have hills in Iowa!) Many friends joined us to walk the six miles in memory of Will, in honor of Edward and in support of the important work of the March of Dimes. We have so much to be thankful for, and the love and support of our family and friends tops the list.

This is Edward just after the walk. Does he look tired to you? Riding in a stroller can really sap a guy! Not just riding in a stroller, but riding and snacking on the various treats at the water stations along the route. Edward apparently loves chewy granola bars with chocolate chips. He also managed to drink a little water from his sippy cup without soaking himself. Good thing because he had several layers to soak through. That could have gotten uncomfortable and heavy. I didn't really know how to dress him for the walk. I knew we'd be warm enough from the exertion, but wasn't sure what he'd need. He ended up shedding a couple of layers toward the end as the day grew warmer.

It was just as warm today so we tried a new look--shorts! For most of the day he had shoes on outside, but here was a brief barefoot interlude. He's engaged in a new favorite outdoor activity. We started with a jar of bubbles on Friday afternoon. He loved the wand, but didn't care too much about the bubbles I blew for him. He just wanted to dip and dip and dip the wand. It made quite a sticky mess. So today I wised up and gave him the wand with a jar of water. That was fully satisfactory, and as a bonus this jar mouth was wide enough that he could stuff his whole hand in and watch the overflow. It was loads of fun.

Some rain this evening brought some cooler temperatures and we're not expecting to wear shorts again this week. This is actually fine with me. I'm not at all prepared for true summer. My summer clothes are still in storage so I've been wearing whatever comes out of the bin when I reach in and tug on a t-shirt, which is why I cropped myself out of this picture! I'll savor the breezes though--love having the windows open. Except when the neighbor decides that 1 a.m. is the best time to drag race his motorcycle. What a scourge of a vehicle!

This is the result of allowing Ed a sippy cup in the car. Now, you might think, "A sippy cup is spill-proof. How could he get so wet?" Well, he has figured a way around this feature. That is, the spill-proof quality only applies to the liquid while it is in the cup. Once you have sucked it out of the cup and into your mouth, all bets are off. Swallowing is optional!

I know he is a sloppy drinker, but I had no idea this was what he was perpetrating in the backseat this afternoon. He was cranky, I passed him the cup, he was quiet. Luckily it was only water and we were on our way home anyway. I actually don't think he was crying about being wet. It was more about the fact that I pushed our afternoon outing a bit too long, and he was ready for dinner. A quick change to dry clothes and then a quick reheat of some leftover chili solved this problem. John came home in the middle of this drama and said he'd take us out for dinner. Ed finished his first dinner at home and then had his Teddy Graham dessert while we had sandwiches and fries. Actually he had the grahams while we waited for our meals. Once he saw the fries, he demanded that we share. When he saw John dipping his in ketchup he was intrigued. So John dipped one and then handed it to him. Ed put it in his mouth a bit tentatively, sucked for a bit without letting go and then pulled it back out for another dip in the ketchup. And another generation is introduced to the all-American condiment. Uncle Joe will be so proud!

Here are some photos of Edward's new favorite kitchen activity. The box of lids is forgotten as this new territory is explored. We must be careful as the weather warms and he goes around barefoot though. One of these to the toe and we could have a repeat of Uncle Joe's babyhood severed toe incident. These are way heavier than a jar of Skippy!











Speaking of Uncle Joe's digits, we recalled that story ane many others from his childhood as we shared "The Joe WE know" with his fiancee, Brenda, at a luncheon in her honor this weekend in Evanston. We had a great time and are so excited to welcome her to the family. She unfortunately had a crash course in life with a baby however, as we were all staying at my parents' house and Ed chose to start his days even earlier than usual--pre 6 a.m. That's just not good for anyone--even the earlybird himself! He was so tired Saturday morning that he fell asleep again by 7:30--this time laying on Gram. He was so comfy he settled in for a good two hours (and she wasn't complaining!) That meant his first afternoon sans nap. In fact, while all the women were at the luncheon, the men were home with the kids (Ed and his two cousins), none of whom napped! They all survived, though everyone was pretty worn out. It wasn't warm enough for a park visit. That's a long afternoon of togetherness.

Later that evening, Ed had fun rediscovering an old favorite--the exersaucer. We put ours away several months ago when he became mobile and wasn't interested in confined play anymore. However, this weekend, he discovered a whole new use--climbing toy! You can see the mixed results in this series of photos. Note the steadying parental hands, ensuring that the saucer didn't tip as he climbed.

We had a happy Easter with a visit to Grandma and Grandpa Kenyon in Des Moines. The Easter Bunny found us there with lots of treats for all! Edward is well-equipped for summer fun with his bucket, shovel and watering can. Also a new favorite book, "Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb," which is the first (of many to come we presume) that he demands encores of after each nightly reading. We get to the end and he turns it over to the beginning and starts bouncing to the anticipated rhythm. "Dum ditty dum ditty dum dum dum!"
He needed some help to bust open his eggs to reveal the hidden treats (Teddy Grahams), but knew just what to do when they spilled out on the table.
This was on "Easter Eve"--clearly he spent too much time slobbering over the eggs and not enough practicing how to open them. These didn't have any treats though, so little incentive. He climbed into this box on his own and then giggled as John pushed him around the room in it. We thought he and his cousin might have a face off in the two boxes the next day, but they didn't seem to pay too much attention to each other except to steal each other's toys.

Oh, we also discovered that Grandpa needs to brush up on his "patty-cake." There were several improvised lyrics, but you can see Ed didn't mind.

Edward has been steadily increasing the number of body parts he can identify. Thus far he's found his head, tongue, ears, eyes, nose and belly. Tonight, when Mary was getting him ready for bed, he took a moment to admire his own girth. Anyone who would like to contribute to his future therapy bills, please e-mail me.

As you can tell from recent posts, Edward has been constantly on the move and usually offering some sort of running commentary in the process. What follows is a multi-part video that captures just a small portion of his day today.

1) Edward walks from the living room to the kitchen, climbs a stepstool, climbs down and then climbs into a cardboard box.
2) Edward plays hide-and-seek around the stepstool.
3) Edward chatters a bit as Mary and I get ready for dinner.
4) Edward laughs wildly because he thinks he's pushing himself and his highchair across the room by pushing his feet up against my knees.

It's a very long video, and I put the laughter at the end. Hope it's worth the wait.

Here you see Edward today demonstrating his rediscovered walking skills that have kept him very busy and made him very tired. We had a cold snap over the weekend that sent us in search of indoor play, which included two trips to the mall. On Friday he was in danger of being run over as he crawled around at the Children's Museum (unfortunately located at the mall), but by Sunday he'd found his sea legs again and toddled all around the mall's soft toy play area. Then after he'd had enough of the toys he climbed up the two steps to get out into the open mall walkway and just started walking along like it was no big deal. I kept him corralled toward the side so he wouldn't slow down the actual customers. I hate the mall, especially when I'm trying to get in, get my shopping done and get out and I get stuck behind some slow walker, or worse, three or four slow walkers abreast that you can't get around! I did not want to cause such stress in others, but anything to keep him entertained this weekend was worth the effort.

You might think from the short sleeves in the picture above and in the previous post from last week that spring has fully arrived here in Iowa. You would be wrong. These were his daycare spare clothes left there last week when it was warm and sunny. This morning as we were leaving the house we were pelted by snow flurries. We're not supposed to see 50 again until next week. Then again, some might consider that the definition of an Iowa spring. Oh well. We'll just appreciate the real thing even more when it finally gets here. Meanwhile the daffodils are shivering and the tulip leaves have shrivelled.

The Children's Museum has great potential, but we'll try to go at a less crowded time in the future. This was our first visit after friends had said their kids of similar age enjoyed it. It was "Free Family Night" with lots of family activities at the mall, including free admission to the museum so it was very crowded. Luckily we discovered a little play kitchen kind of tucked in a corner and hid there for a little while. Edward really liked the farm room--maybe I'll have a helper for my garden this year? It was a cute set up, with little holes that the kids could "plant" the plastic vegetables in. Edward was more interested in dumping the vegetables out of the wheelbarrow.

It's funny how Edward started walking a few weeks ago and then gave it up and went back to crawling. It was like he didn't trust himself on two legs. I wonder if he'll always be that cautious-ha! But ever since Sunday he's been walking all over, and even turning around midstream or bending over to pick things up. John also has him working on kicking the ball (which continues his pattern of "lefty" behavior--he uses the left foot.) I am amused by this since John's not a big soccer fan. But anything that keeps Edward active also makes him tired. He's been sleeping like...well...a baby lately!

We're working on getting some video of Edward's latest verbal skills. It's all still gibberish, but he's so emphatic about it, we just know he's trying to tell us something. Stay tuned...

Several of Edward's biggest fans got to see him in person this weekend when he and I went to Evanston. But for the rest of the blogosphere, we apologize for the lag since the last post. It's been a busy time. Spring arrived while we were gone and by last night when John got home from work it was actually shorts weather. (Living in a college town you tend to get a skewed view of this since the college kids pull out the shorts and flip flops as soon as the mercury rises above freezing.) It was almost 80 yesterday and Sunday with breezes and sunshine. So refreshing to get outside. John got home early (still recovering from his weekend Ed withdrawal) so he and Ed went for a walk while I made an early dinner before my class. They made it about half way around the block, but since Edward needed to stop and explore every set of steps along the way it was slow going.

That's what he learned at Gram and PopPop's over the weekend--steps! He could go up pretty well, based on his experiences at the park and on the daycare playground. But he needed a little coaching on how to go down and he had the best available teachers plus a pretty rockin' staircase. His own house is woefully lacking in stairs, except for a few outside. He does have a ramp outside (remnant of the former owner of this house, a senior citizen; we thought we'd get rid of it when we bought this house five years ago, but we took one off and it was such an enormous pain that we decided we could live with the other one!) He likes to crawl up and down, but it makes us nervous because the sides are wide open. It's not high, but still, we'd rather not have him tumble, so we walk practically on top of him as he makes his way. John also noticed that there were some nails that needed a few extra whacks with a hammer to make them flush with the wood. So he took care of this while Ed and I explored other parts of the yard. Then Ed found the hammer when we came back and thought he'd help.

Note the outfit, complete with sandals (we don't think "mandals" is appropriate terminology for such tiny footwear, Joe.) The benefits of having a cousin nine months older who lives in Arizona!

Later, after a chili dinner that sent his pants straight to the washing machine, Ed was lounging in his t-shirt when he thought that a puzzle piece would make an excellent dessert. I believe there was also an NCAA tournament game on the TV that he found quite captivating.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Oh yeah, apple juice in the sippy cup.
That's the good stuff!

The fever returned today so we took ourselves back to the doctor, where the verdict is...drum roll please...

DOUBLE EAR INFECTION!

Not that it's cause for celebration, but at least is a more concrete explanation for why our rambunctious one-year-old has been alternating between three-hour-naps and flopping listlessly on any available parent for three days. John got the antibiotics home in time for a dose before bed. (Edward's bedtime, that is. John only wishes he went to bed at 6:40 tonight after a 4 a.m. playdate with Edward today.) We're hoping for some overnight magic, although today's fever (101 at 1 p.m.) means he still can't go back to daycare tomorrow.

Interesting note: Edward is such a little porker (24 lbs. at Monday's weigh-in, fully clothed, no shoes) that it takes two bottles to supply enough amoxicillin for 10 days--9ml twice a day. Or maybe they were just out of the big bottles at the pharmacy. Either way, it was interesting to get the official weight. Just recently people have been asking how much he weighs and we've only ventured our best guess. He'd been a steady 22 lbs. for several doctor visits in a row so we weren't sure.

Edward had a great weekend, visiting Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa on Saturday, where he found a new table to play under, and walking up and down the block with his walker Sunday as the temperatures climbed to late-spring levels.

But now he's been sick with a fever for two days, and I think we're both exhausted by this virus! It started Monday morning at a very low grade (about 99) and we thought it was teething because he'd spent the weekend with his fingers in his mouth. But after only half an hour at work the daycare called to say it was 100.2 and that he only wanted to be held, not play or eat, so I went to pick him up. He took a nap for two hours and when he woke up it was up over 101 so I called the doctor and they said he should be seen, given that he'd had a runny nose and cough recently. Ear check!

When we got there around 2 the fever was up to 102, despite two doses of Tylenol. They said his ears were not the problem and his breathing sounded fine too. They did a CBC in the lab and the results indicated a virus so we were to go home, continue alternating doses of Motrin and Tylenol and push fluids. Easier said than done on the fluids! When he doesn't want to drink, he pushes the cup away no matter how we try to cajole him. Overnight we gave him Tylenol again at about 4:30, but otherwise he slept fine until about 7, when his fever was down again around 100. He has to be fever free for 24 hours before he can go back to daycare so I stayed home with him again.

He took another long morning nap and actually felt cool for the first time when he woke up. His temp was only 96.5! I wondered if such a large swing was normal, but a quick call to the doctor calmed my fears. The nurse who called back said it's not only normal, but a good sign and that the worst should be over. We took a walk with the stroller to enjoy our first 75-degree day of spring (!) and stopped in the park for a few trips down the slide on the way home. He seemed fine, but was getting tired so a quick snack and then another nap when we got home. He was warm again when he woke up with his temp back up to 101. So I guess it's not over and he can't go to daycare again tomorrow. Ugh! He wasn't interested in any of the drinks we offered, but did eat a whole container of yogurt and some jell-O, and has had wet diapers all day, so I guess he's staying hydrated.

It's so sad to see his sick eyes and know he doesn't feel well and doesn't understand why. He is getting lots of cuddle time and even some TV, which is usually a rare event. He seems to like Thomas the Train on PBS and it's nice that it's broken into 10-minute segments because that's about all he can sit still for. There's an engine named Edward on the show, but we haven't see him yet (only heard his name in the theme song.) Since it takes three sittings to get through an episode, we haven't seen very much so far.

He has had some playtime though and one of his new favorites is a Yankees bat and ball from Grandpa Kenyon. (Warning to Geraghty Cubs fans--the American League indoctrination has begun!) Also, with the warm weather we had to bust out the short-sleeve shirts, including this Kenyon College t-shirt, a gift from friends. This will be a short-lived wardrobe shift though as we're headed back to the 40s by week's end. Let's hope the cold will kill off the remaining germs so we're ready for St. Patrick's Day!

Team Kenyon will be back in action April 21 for the annual Iowa City WalkAmerica event for the March of Dimes. This event raises both awareness and funds for the fight against prematurity, which has touched our family so deeply. We're proud to walk each year in memory of Will and in honor of Edward and we'd love to have as many people join us as possible. Last year a core group of dedicated friends and family walked through a steady drizzle and raised more than $1,000. We and the March of Dimes appreciate whatever support you can offer, whether physical (by walking with us or in your own hometown), financial (by making an online pledge toward our fundraising goal) or moral (by encouraging us to get up and get moving in preparation for the 10K walk.) Clicking on the Team Kenyon link above will take you to my fundraising page where, if you scroll to the bottom, you'll find links to donate and/or to register to walk with us or in your local WalkAmerica event.

Edward is already in training, though I'm not sure he'll be up for the full 10K on foot, especially if we have any hope of finishing. We might have him carry our water bottles though. His new thing is that he likes to hold something in his hands while he walks. Here it's a blanket.



Often it's a shoe or a puzzle piece. The other day he was carrying a large stuffed snowman by the carrot-shaped nose and then figured out he could have his hands free for waving if he carried it by the nose in his teeth. (Oh, by the way, we forgot to note here that he got two more upper teeth last week.) This week I would say that Edward is definitely an independent walker. He doesn't need one of us coaxing him forward and waiting to catch him. He'll let go and head in any direction he wants. He doesn't go too far before he looks for a hand hold, if only to steady himself for the next segment of the journey. Pretty good timing on this milestone. I'm sure the living room soon won't be big enough for his mobility so we'll head outdoors, where we're definitely on the upswing toward spring.

Edward is a champion sleeper. I think I've said in previous posts that at his daycare, nap time starts around 11:30 or 11:45. Since I pick him up shortly after noon, he tries to wait until he gets home for his nap, playing in a different part of the room away from where the others are sleeping. Sometimes, like today, he just doesn't make it. When I picked him up his teacher said he'd been playing at a low shelf with toys and she suddenly realized that she wasn't hearing him anymore. She looked over and he was asleep with his head on the shelf, still kneeling in front of it. So she picked him up and held him until I got there. Then I took him, put his jacket on, carried him out to the car, buckled him in his seat, drove home, unbuckled him from the seat, carried him in, put him in the crib, and took off his jacket, all while he slept. A couple of times he kind of rolled his head around and peeked, but he basically stayed asleep through all that. Amazing!

I suppose he comes by it naturally though. John's parents are still amazed that they used to have to wake him up on Christmas morning when he wanted to keep sleeping. He says, "Well, I knew the presents would still be there!" There are many family stories about my childhood sleeping habits, including falling asleep behind the living room curtains, sleeping on the couch while my brother and a friend jumped on it, and only making it halfway up the stairs before falling asleep on the landing.

Sorry for a post with no photo. After all he went through, I thought it would be too mean to add a camera flash to his nap interruption!

If we used the "title" feature on this blog program, this post could correctly be titled "avoidance" but for whatever reason (expediency?) we've always ignored that text box so you'll just have to imagine at the top of this post. Tomorrow is my accounting midterm, and I feel that by now my brain is full. Anything else I try to cram in will only result in something getting squeezed out, so I'm going to just go with what I know and hope it will be enough. Just to be safe, any of you who happen to be "numbers people" (and you know who you are!) please send some of your karma my way around 6 p.m. tomorrow!

Edward took some long naps this weekend, which meant some solid afternoon study time. He was worn out from entertaining us, and also because he has another cold. Ugh. One more reason I'll welcome spring with open arms whenever it decides to arrive (50s in the forecast this week--hooray!) He was also quite busy with one new toy and one new use of an old toy. His play tunnel arrived with blessed speed last week and was immediately opened and "set up" (that is, we pulled the velcro tabs and it sprang into full shape.) It's basically just a huge spring covered in tent fabric. He didn't know quite what to make of it at first, but when I got down at one end and called him, he figured out that he could crawl through to find me. Then I really blew his mind when I looked in through the "window" (a bit of mesh--the black part you can see in the photo) and when I scratched the top of his head through the fabric. He really liked that--especially the sound of scratching on the fabric, very swishy. It's a hit for sure, though it hasn't stopped the under-table adventures. I think he's kind of figuring out what we mean when we say "don't touch the cord" because sometimes he goes under the table and seems to be heading for the cord, but changes direction or just turns around to sit and observe the world from that vantage point. But I don't kid myself that this challenge is behind us. There are at least as many times when he totally ignores our instructions and heads straight for the cord with both hands.

His other toy adventure this week was figuring out how to dump his wagon full of blocks. Up to now he's been content to push it around or take the blocks out one at a time. I think the first dump was accidental, but then he realized how much fun it was and the wagon was never full again. Then he took it another step further and discovered that he could balance the handle against the basket in dump position and have a full-height push toy. He was extremely satisfied with himself pushing this all around the living room.

In addition to his cold, Edward's other current health news is low iron. He had some labs drawn at his 12-month appointment back in early January and they showed his hemoglobin just slightly lower than the desired range. The doctor sent us a letter explaining this along with a prescription for iron drops to be taken three times a day. We thought that since he was so close to the desired level we should try being more diligent about giving him his vitamin, which contains iron, and got the doctor's go-ahead to try this for a month and then repeat the labs. We haven't missed a vitamin dose since then, but his repeat labs showed the level hadn't increased enough, so now he's on the three-times-daily iron. Our doctor says this is not unusual for kids his age, since they are still working up to a well-rounded diet. That is certainly true in Edward's case. There are only a few things he'll eat consistently--fruit, yogurt, spaghetti, cheerios--and the rest it's anybody's guess as to whether he'll take it in or turn up his nose. Even something he previously ate and seemed to love can fall victim to his fickle palate. The beef stew that survived last weekend's power outage made three appearances (love the left-overs!) and was only enthusiastically received on the second go-round. He had his first Lenten fish on Friday (Van de Kamps) and loved it. Tonight when offered mashed potatoes and roast beef he would not open his mouth (I even tried putting ketchup on the roast beef--yar!) Instead he ate a squished cheese sandwich (what's this?). I made broccoli because every time they serve it at the daycare they report that he eats two or three helpings. But tonight, nothing. He did enjoy playing with it though--squishing the pieces and picking them apart. I know there's something about watching other kids eat that encourages him to eat more at daycare. We're also thinking that maybe his big meal of the day is lunch rather than dinner so we may adjust our weekend meal plans and see what happens. Ultimately though, we know he's not going hungry (!) so we'll just keep offering a variety, and he'll eat what he wants when he wants to. I feel my grandma's watchful eye when tossing the portion he rejects, but then I consider a recent University of Iowa study that showed parents have poor eating habits compared with childless adults, in part because parents eat their kids' leftovers or, more generally, eat the unhealthy items kids love like hot dogs and chicken nuggets. So it seems to be a choice between throwing it away or adding it to my own waistline. That's definitely a no-brainer!

We have survived the Ice Storm of 2007 with no lasting damage other than fewer branches on our trees. However, it did start to feel as though the walls were closing in around us as cabin fever set in. Edward has not left the house since we got home from work/daycare on Friday. I left once yesterday and John left once today. John also spent time outside clearing the walks--some shoveling and a lot of salt throwing. (Ed wanted to get a closer look, so we let him stand on the bookshelf with both of us standing with outstretched arms just out of view of this photo! He actually didn't try to move much except up and down rubbing his face--and tongue--against the window. Good thing I keep them so clean--yeah, right!)

It was quite a spectacular storm in terms of paralyzing our area. A section of Interstate 80 was closed as well as parts of a couple of state highways in our area. The ice-coated trees brushing against our roof sounded like some sort of monster trying to scratch his way into our attic. The wind blew the branches enough to cause chunks of ice to fall off onto the patio and in our yard. Lots of us lost power, but our tale of woe pales in comparison to our hardest hit friends and neighbors. We had a 15-minute outage around 3 p.m. and a 3.5-hour outage from about 4:45 to 8:15 p.m. Others were still without power this morning and may still be now. Hotels are full of stranded travelers as well as locals seeking warmth while waiting for their power to return. The only good thing was that this happened on a weekend so most of us could just stay where we were, keeping the roads relatively clear. For myself though, I must say I've never looked forward to a Monday more. I love John and Edward and we had lots of fun together this weekend, but it's really time to get out of the house and talk to other people!

Our power outage coincided with my departure to lector at 5:10 mass. It wasn't my turn, but one of my fellow lectors called around 1:30 to see if I could possibly sub for her, as she had no hope of safely traversing her mile-long (!) driveway. I have less distance than that between my house and the church and it looked like cars were OK on our streets so I said I'd go. Just as I was stepping out (wearing my YakTrax, purchased lovingly by my husband for my winter pregnancies because he knows my checkered history on ice) I heard a loud sound that we know to be the beginning of the end for power. Sure enough I turned around and looked back in the house where all had gone dark. Still, John said he and Ed would be fine so I kept going. Once in the garage, I realized I had no idea how to open the door without power. A quick call (oy!) back to the house and John instructed me to look for a rope to pull to disengage the motor. A ha! That proved the most difficult thing about the trip to church. The roads were really fine and even with no power for the stop lights, it wasn't bad, since, as I noted, hardly anyone was out. There were about 80-100 hearty souls at mass, amazingly enough. Power was out when I first got there and we were all set to have our seminarian intern hold a flashlight for the essential reading, but just before mass time the lights came back on.

Unfortunately, they did not come back on at home. When I got back there were candles flickering in the kitchen and I called from the front door back to John, "You guys OK?" "Well, we're just playing lids by candlelight." Ed took the whole thing in stride, sensing nothing abnormal about playing in the near-dark. He enjoyed the flashlight when we turned it on occasionally (not wanting to use up batteries since we didn't know how long it would last.) He also was fine with a dinner of yogurt, a clementine, bunny crackers and milk. The planned beef stew sat half-cooked in a pot on the stove. He played some more after eating and then we dressed him in three layers and put him under a down blanket for bed. If it got too cold, we figured we could bring him into our bed, but wasn't necessary. Just after John and I finished a cheese and crackers dinner and were contemplating putting some fridge essentials in a cooler outside before starting a game of candlelight Scrabble, the lights came back.

So all's well that ends well. One of Ed's ice-weekend discoveries was the fun of playing with the couch pillows as seen in this video.


One of the things that made the weekend particularly long was his fondness for crawling under the table to grab the phone cord and other power cords. After what seemed like the millionth "No, Edward!" of the weekend, I got online and ordered him a play tunnel, which I hope he will like so much he'll forget the table. But I may be delusional on that one. The first section of this video ends just as he's reaching for the phone cord, since I had to stop the camera and crawl under to drag him out.

I've fallen behind again in my blogging, but lucky for me I have lots of encouragement to keep going. No excuses this week as our illnesses seem to have passed and we're none the worse for wear. Edward is back to normal eating and sleeping for the most part (though he did have a 3:30 a.m. wake-up call for John the other night and then refused to be put back in bed. Thankfully, these are relatively rare.) Here's an example of some "normal" eating. The other night he ate half a "squished ham & cheese sandwich," a whole clementine orange and eight grapes for dinner, with about three or four ounces of milk. For the uninitiated, "squished ham & cheese" is one slice of bread, one slice of ham and one slice of American cheese. You fold the bread in half over the ham and cheese and the press down to "squish" it all together so the component parts can not be picked apart by curious fingers. Then small pieces are broken off and left for said fingers to find on the tray and deposit in the mouth. This might not sound like a lot of food, but here's some perspective: without revealing too much, let's just say that I am roughly six times Edward's weight, and I am not accustomed to eating that meal times six--that is, three ham & cheese sandwiches (squished or not), six clementines and 42 grapes! He doesn't always eat like that, which makes meal preparation quite tricky. Some days he drains the bowl and demands more, and he doesn't take kindly to having to wait for the next portion. Other days he just kind of plays with what's offered and subsists primarily on Cheerios, which he now likes to serve himself by the fistful from the bowl.

Another new trick is crawling under things--anything will do, tables, chairs, even the walker, which is not terribly satisfying given that your head is all the way through before your butt even enters the tunnel. Needless to say, this is not a favorite parental activity as it means lots of chasing and redirecting, since there are generally cords or other dangerous items accessible from under the tables. Also, chairs have been, up to now, useful in blocking access to things like bookshelves, not all of which have been Ed-proofed. But sometimes he just likes to tunnel and doesn't get into trouble. Then it's kind of funny to see the effort it takes to crawl through the chair legs and maneuver from crawling to sitting position under the table, looking out with a satisfied mug.

Above you see him looking out the bedroom window. This is in the 1920s era section of our house, where the long double-hung windows are low enough to the ground that he can pull himself right up on the sill and check out what's happening in the yard. This provides minutes of enjoyment. Then he realizes he's in our bedroom where there are SO many things to explore and destroy. The door to this room is most often closed so whenever he can he likes to see what is behind it.

We may get out to the yard for real pretty soon. Temperatures in the 40s this week are quickly melting the snow. Of course that means lots of puddles so I'm not too sure how outdoor play will work. First we have to get Ed up from his afternoon nap and fed his afternoon snack with enough daylight time left to accomplish an outdoor adventure. He's been taking substantial naps these days, clearly exhausted from all the effort he's putting into walking. Yes, walking. He's not fully independent yet, but he's definitely advanced beyond the "step-step-flop" phase. He'll now arrive at his destination upright, turn around and walk back. He still has balance issues though so he needs a soft surface to land on. You'll notice that the video ends abruptly, which was due to my needing to catch him as he fell tooth first into my knee. This was unpleasant for both of us, but only drew blood on one (he cut his lip.) No worries though--a little TLC and a few minutes of pacifier sucking and he was on the go again.

Welcome to the infirmary. We spent the weekend at home resting and recovering from the week's ills. Ed seems to be doing a lot better, though he did take a few extra naps. He is not coughing as much and he's back to his usual eating/drinking habits. Unfortunately, as he was recuperating, I was stricken with an entirely different germ. His was respiratory. Mine was gastro-intestinal. Unpleasant. Enough said.

Ed and John did get out to storytime at the library on Saturday morning, allowing me an extra hour of quiet sleep. Thank goodness! I also slept through Ed's entire naptime Saturday afternoon--for those keeping score, he averages about three hours in the afternoon. Then after I got up with Ed's 6 a.m. wake up call today we ended up taking another nap from about 7:30 to 8:30 when I could think of no other method of getting him to stop crying after a quiet interlude for breakfast and kitchen play, so as to stay far from the bedroom where John was catching his well-earned "late" morning snooze. It worked. Guess he was a little over-tired too.

Afternoons were better, as you can see here. Ed and John worked on some walking, with Ed starting out leaning against the chair and then propelling himself forward. I managed to capture the most exciting forward motion, but the battery was running low, so these images are not very high quality--probably won't print well, for those who might be inclined.

And here's another from earlier this week. I named it "multi-tasking" as you can see there are quite a few entertainment items being employed here. He doesn't stay focused on any one of them for terribly long, but if there are enough spread out around him, he's happy moving from one to the next.

One funny thing from this weekend--Ed figured out when we were imitating him and it made him laugh. We think he might have a few more teeth on the way because his fingers are in his mouth constantly and there's lots of drainage from both mouth and nose. So at one point, John was holding Ed and Ed was chewing on his finger. John put his own finger in his mouth and pretended to do the same. Ed thought that was hilarious and then we of course thought his hilarity was hilarious. As I noted earlier, we didn't get out much this weekend. And finally, Ed discovered a new taste treat--pretzels. I was eating them in an effort to add something innocuous to my ailing stomach, and he reached up for the bowl and grabbed one. I was too wiped out to object and waited to see what he'd do with it. He ate it...eventually...after stopping at various points to spit it into his hand to observe the mastication process firsthand. Food and a toddler, what an appetizing mix!

Edward is doing better today, though still not up to full speed. He gets crabby a lot more easily and he's nowhere near the eating machine we know and love. I think he's getting enough liquids through my attempts to force feed him. His diapers have been wet and he still has plenty of tears and drool! We tried a few other foods that are "liquid like," including Jell-O, pudding and sherbet, but all were roundly rejected. John was happy to eat the left-over Jell-O and sherbet, but he passed on the pudding after I told him that Ed plunged his hand into the cup. It was quite messy. These two green shirt photos were taken only moments apart, demonstrating today's mood swings. Strangely, one of the only things to hold his attention today was playing with my slippers, taking them off my feet and then attempting to put them back on. Also trying to grab my wiggling toes. Weird kid.

The snowman sweatshirt photos were taken the other day. Edward frequently finds his own shoes and offers them to whoever is nearby to hold for a moment before he grabs them back and replaces them on the shelf above his books. He also loves the box of books Gram got him for his birthday. The books are all songs (Itsy-Bitsy Spider, Old MacDonald, etc.) and he like to "chair dance" while I sing them to him. But more than anything he likes to take them out and put them back in the box. He doesn't quite get the concept of putting them in vertically and will smash the book flat against the box frustrated that it won't go in. Spatial relations are apparently a later skill.