Another Sneaky Moment

Eden knows that when she tells people "Go away!" then she gets in trouble....

Eden: "Mom, go away! I'm talking to Kylie."

Mom: "What?" (I was talking on the phone)

Eden: "Ummm....Mom, you should go see dad cause you miss him so much."

Sneaky Sneaky

Blessings

Mom: "Who wants to bless the food?"

Eden: "I do! I want to bless the food cause I am the Priesthood."

Words of Wisdom

Eden: "Sometimes we do what is right. And sometimes we cry."

.5 Year Old

To celebrate Leila's .5 birthday we decided to introduce her to solid food.

And she LOVES squash. Never seen a bowl of squash gone so quickly.

Naked

Tyson's family had a Sunday dinner with lots of family. And apparently during that time, Eden decided that she didn't want clothes. She had taken off all her clothes....

Eden: "I think I just want to be naked."

Mom: "Maybe we should put some clothes back on."

Eden: "I think I just want to run away. RUN AWAY!!!"

And off she ran...naked down the hall.

Breakfast

(Eden has toast and egg on her plate for breakfast)
Nana: "Do you want me to cut up the bread for you?"
Eden: "No."
Nana: "Then how are you going to eat it?"
Eden: "Fast, if you put syrup on it."

Eden's Version of "Sharing"

Eden and I are sitting down having lunch. We're eating leftover pasta with broccoli and chicken.

Eden decides that she only cares for the noodles after a while. So, she sticks a piece of chicken and broccoli from her plate and puts it on my plate saying (in the sweetest voice she can),

"Mom, I can share some of my food with you."

How nice...and how sneaky.

The Squeal

Leila has developed this SQUEAL that she does when she doesn't like something. Some day I'll have to record it.

Times I KNOW I'll hear "the squeal":

• Take her out of the tub
• Getting her dressed
• Put her down when I know she just wants to be held

A Hard Day

Eden came up to me with a LEGO man inside one of those LEGO doors. He was stuck. Eden then said,

"Mom, he's having a hard day."

I'd sure say he was.

If you look at this picture you can see how Eden's little fingers are in there trying to get him out.

Only a Child of a Med Student...

Play time conversations with the daughter of a med student...

Eden: "Let's go to school mom!"

(go inside play house)

Mom: "OK. What are we going to learn about?"

Eden: "White blood cells."

Mom: "OK."

Eden: "White blood cells are called leukocytes."

Mom: "Oh, and what do they do?"

Eden: "They fight off the bad germies."

Shopping

Going to the store with Eden is pretty funny.

Things she often says at the store...

"This is pretty cheap."

"I think we need this."

"This place is BEAUTIFUL." (toy section)

And her favorite stores are Target, Foods Festival, and Hobby Lobby.

Whenever we go to Target she asks to see "the pigs" (piggy banks) or "the snow globes". And she LOVES the little $1 section at the beginning of the store.

Whenever we go to Foods Festival she asks to go to the bank cause they will sometimes give her a lollipop.

Whenever she goes to Hobby Lobby she wants to look at all the grapes (cause a lot of their displays have plastic grapes on them) or she'll say, "Let's go see the fabric".

Spinning in Circles

I was singing in the kitchen and Eden was spinning in circles to the music.

After spinning a while she stopped and grabbed a hold of my leg, obviously dizzy and off balance.

She looked around the kitchen and then said with a worried look on her face,

"Mom, what's happening to the kitchen?"

...dizziness is funny.

Poor Leila

Eden occasionally likes to take a horse-y ride on my back and we'll sing a little horse-y song.

The other day I was doing something while Leila was lying on the floor and Eden was playing in the room.

...Then I hear her sing this horse-y song....

I turn to look....

Leila had rolled over to her tummy and Eden laid on Leila pretending poor Leila was the horse.

Poor Leila.

Role Playing

Eden's latest thing is to pretend she is someone from a book or movie that she likes.

Her current favorites tend to be Kipper (a dog from a tv show), Evil Dr. Pork Chop (Toy Story), Frog or Toad (from a book), and Ming Ming (the Wonder Pet). There are others that come and go on occasion....

The only downfall is that she'll make sure I'M also a character from the show. The worst one is from Kipper. His best friend is a pig...named Pig. On "Kipper days" she'll always refer to me as "Pig". "Come over here, Pig.", "Watch me do this, Pig.", "Pig, I need some breakfast."

How NOT flattering....oh well. Its all fun.

Washing Dishes

One of Eden's new favorite things....when I'm doing dishes she wants to "help". She'll pull up a chair next to me and take a scrubber, then basically play with water and few dishes.

Today while playing she was transferring water from one cup to a bowl and she said,

"I'm trying to be like Jesus.

I'm turning water into wine."

Veteran's Day

Tyson told Eden about Veteran's Day today.

Later she went around saying,

"Happy Veterinarian's Day!"

Close...

Be Nice, Daddy.

When I go into Eden's room after she wakes up from nap...she often starts talking to me right away about whatever is on her mind.

The other day's wake-up-from-nap conversation:

"I took a good nap!

Now I can go on mommy and daddy's bed and watch a movie!

And daddy won't tickle me.

Cause I'll say 'Be nice daddy!'."

Magnet Man!

This morning while making breakfast Eden yelled "I'M MAGNET MAN!" and ran into the family room. I went in the family room later to find this....

Those would be magnets all over our lamp.

Testimony Meeting

An older gentleman got up to bear his testimony during sacrament meeting.

Eden caught a glimpse of him and got very excited.

She climbed up as fast as she could on the chair to see better.

Then yelled, "Look! Its the PROPHET!"

OK, it wasn't SUPER loud...but definitely loud enough that I know AT LEAST the row in front of us AND the row in back of us heard.

It least it wasn't as loud as the time the nursery brought her over to me in the primary for a diaper change. She saw me and from the back of the room tried to get my attention by saying, "MOMMY! I HAVE A POOPY DIAPER!" And then all the kids snickered as I quickly got up to change her.

Why Are You Laughing?

Lately I've been singing Leila to sleep. Sometimes she likes it, sometimes she doesn't.

For nap today I wrapped Leila up tight in a blanket, rocked her, and started to sing.

Leila would cry and try to get away.

Then laugh.

Then cry again.

Then laugh again.

I couldn't figure it out. What was going on? Why was she laughing?

Then I figured it out after a bit.

I have this "thing" where I can't seem to use my mouth without instinctively raising and lowering my eyebrows at the same time (I've been mocked about this before).

Every time my eyebrows went up while I sang, Leila laughed.

She was laughing....at me...and my eyebrows. Soon my singing stopped, because I couldn't help but laugh too.

New Words and Correct Grammar

One of the chairs in the kitchen is a bit wobbly. Of course, this is Eden's favorite chair to sit on.

"I want to get on the wobbly chair."

(Sits where that chair USUALLY is.)

(Tries to wobble around.)

"This chair isn't wobbly."

(Tries to wobble it again.)

"See? This chair doesn't wob."

I love when she tries to figure out new words and correct grammar by herself. Then we get words like "wob". She was close....the right word would have been "wobble".

Heaven

(Eden talking to mom)

"Remember when I was in Heaven?

When I was in Heaven, I was a spirit.

I was in Heaven's belly.

Then I came to mommy's belly!

Then I was born."

Candy Makes You Sick

Eden: "My pumpkin (trick or treat basket) wants candy!"

Me: "Tell your pumpkin that he shouldn't have more candy or he'll get sick"

Eden: "I want candy too."

Me: "You don't want to get sick either."

(Eden pauses and thinks.)

Eden: "Pumpkin, I want the candy to make me healthy and strong!"

Doctor's Appointment

Eden and Leila both had a doctor's appointment Wednesday.

Their Stats:

Eden

Height: 34 inches

Weight: 26 3/4 lbs

Head: 20 inches

Leila

Height: 25 inches

Weight: 17 lbs

Head: 16 1/2 inches

Overall....Eden is about the 25th percentile overall. Leila is about 95th percentile overall (except her head is more like 70% I think).

Nightmare after Halloween

After all the scariness of Halloween, Tyson and I were SURE she'd have a nightmare about it all....sure enough she did.

Although, it was a different nightmare than we expected....

(Eden cries in the middle of the night.)

(Dad goes in to check on her.)

Dad: "Eden. What's wrong?"

Eden: "Mommy took all my candy away!!!"

Obviously her candy is very important to her.

"Mom"

Leila says "Mom". But I don't know if it really counts cause she may just know how to form those sounds and not really calling for me.

But I like to pretend that she's calling for me. :)

Sitting Up

Leila's been doing really well lately at sitting up with little support. She'll of course fall forward and backwards after awhile, but overall, she's doing pretty good!

Monster Apples and Mummy Dogs

Today Eden and I made a "Halloween lunch". We made monster apples (cut out a mouth, filled with peanut butter, added marshmallow teeth, raisin eyes, and coconut hair) and mummy dogs (hot dogs wrapped in strips of croissant rolls).

When she saw the mummy dogs come out of the oven I pretend to have it "walk" to her plate. She laughed and said,

"Lazarus is not dead anymore!"

Rolling Over

Today Leila rolled over (for ME this time) from her front to back AND her back to front! She's definitely starting to realize the possibilities that come from rolling. Cause I think she's really trying to do it more to reach anything and everything!

Daddy's Doctor Stuff

Tyson pulled out some of his doctor stuff to show Eden. They pulled out the otoscope to look in each other's ears.

Eden looks in Tyson's ear....

"Daddy. I think you have a booger in your ear."

Ear wax....booger....close enough.

Snake

No matter how hard I try to change her mind or get her to forget about it....Eden keeps insisting that I should be a snake for Halloween.

I can't get myself to do it.

Going to the Museum

After going to the WWI museum a little while back (which, thanks to her Snoopy book, she calls the World War 1 Flying Ace museum) she's been really into talking about the museum.

Obviously the impression the museum gave....

(Playing with dolls)

"Let's go to the museum"

(Pretends to have them walk somewhere)

"OH! Look at all the GUNS!"

But then she extended her museums....

I was working on some sewing projects and she came into the room with some of her dolls.

"We're going to the sewing museum!"

(Puts her dolls on my sewing basket full of stuff)

(Has a doll be a "guide")

"This is thread."

"This is a needle."

Etc....

Except she had to ask me what the name was of most of the other items...like "thimble", "bobbins", etc. Then I'd tell her what it was called and she'd continue the tour and tell her dolls.

Compliments

Eden's quite the complimenter (and good at sucking up to her mother).

Recent compliments:

"Mom, you look so beautiful today!"

"You look SO lovely."

"You're a good mommy."

"Good job mommy!"

and then add in the occasional....

"Mom, I love you so much!"

(These are the times that make it worth it to be a mother.)

Doll Role Play

This is how Eden plays with her dolls recently....

"Daddy, you going to school today?"

"Yeah, I gotta go to school."

"Daddy, are you taking the car?"

"Yeah."

"But I need the car today to go to Foods Festival (our local grocery store)."

This just goes to show how often Tyson and I have this conversation as well as gives a reminder that we need to be REALLY careful what we say around the house cause she's listening!

Ghost-y

Eden has a book that she loves called My Amazing Body.

(This on its own has been funny because she often will say things like "mommy has an amazing body" and I just smile and think "well thank you Eden!")

She also has a beanie baby ghost that she loves, especially now that its Halloween time.

When she woke up from nap today I could hear her talking...to her ghost (which she calls Ghost-y).

"Hi Ghost-y.

I have an amazing body.

This is my amazing body.

But you don't have an amazing body

because you're a ghost-y."

A Rough Few Days

Eden's into "testing her limits". If I tell her not to do something or she knows she's not supposed to do something, then she'll often look straight at me AND DO IT. The punk.

A little list of examples (I'm sure there are more):

• Swallowing toothpaste
• Dumping water out on the floor or other places
• Spitting
• Saying "NO!"

AND...

Leila has decided that she's had enough of her pacifier. She REFUSES to take it and will SCREAM if I try to give it to her. And she doesn't like going to bed. If she sees the signs that its bedtime then she totally go against it.

On the positive side, the past few nap/bed times I've found that if I SING to her, then she's more likely to calm down and eventually go to sleep. *Cross my fingers that it continues*

Sticker Chart

Eden has a "Sticker Chart" that we use to motivate her to do things like help pick up her toys, brush her teeth, make her bed, etc.

Her stickers are smiley (and non-smiley) face stickers. But she almost ALWAYS chooses the smiling ones and will avoid all the funny faces, angry faces, etc.

But tonight after she brushed her teeth, this was the conversation:

Me: "OK! Let's get a sticker for your chart! Which one would you like?"

(She points to one with a frowny face)

Eden: "The sad one...cause he's sad he has to go to bed."

Oh, she knew it was bedtime and though she was being very nice about it...she was sad, just like the sticker.

Time to Clean Up

One of the nursery leaders told me on Sunday that during play time Eden came up to her and said, "I think its time to start cleaning up now." She was rather shocked cause most kids would rather play than clean up.

This morning we played with a bunch of toys and made a decent sized mess in our family room. While passing by later she said to me, "Uh oh. The family room is messy. We need to clean it up." And she and I cleaned up the room. She even found a stick that she brought in from outside and said, "This doesn't go in here. We better put it outside."

I wish more days were like this.

New Testament

Tyson's mom got Eden a children's version of the New Testament. Eden LOVES it. Its lots of stories about Jesus and she's really quite fascinated with Him. :)

The other day we read the story about the woman washing Jesus feet. And later on I found Eden playing with her doll house and the "big sister" was washing "daddy"s feet and also putting oil on them.

I love when I realize that she listens to all these stories really well and understands them.

Potty Training

I attempted potty training Eden today. (I had nightmares about it all last night.)

To make along story short....didn't happen. Eden's back in diapers.

Rolling Over

Leila rolled over from her front to back yesterday....TWICE.

At least that's what I hear. Tyson was the only one to witness it....

Wild Jungle Animals

Eden was playing in the tub and looked through her "goggles".

Eden: "I'm looking at WILD JUNGLE ANIMALS!"

Mom: "Oh! How exciting! What animals do you see?"

Eden: "Cows!!"

Wild jungle animals....I definitely think cows fit that category....

Playing Outside

Mom: "Time for lunch."

Eden: "I don't want to eat lunch. I just want to play in the backyard again."

Mom: "But we need to eat lunch. Leila's already sitting in her bouncer."

(Eden walks up to Leila in her bouncer)

Eden: "Leila, do you want to go outside again?"

(Turns to mom)

Eden: "Leila said she wants to go outside again and doesn't want lunch."

Halloween

"I want to dress up as a mommy for Halloween!

And I'll have a baby in my tummy!

And my tummy will get bigger and bigger and bigger!"

Yeah....my 2 year old wants to be a pregnant lady for Halloween....bad idea.

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Eden was recently introduced to grilled cheese sandwiches. I've made her one the other day with a slice of turkey in it. She also tends to think its "girl cheese sandwiches" which doesn't surprise me because my dad always called them that...except for boys it was "boy cheese sandwiches".

For lunch today she was trying to tell me that she wanted a grilled cheese sandwich....but was struggling to figure out what they were called. She looked in the fridge and said, "Mom, umm....I want a....umm.....sandwich. A good girl turkey cheese sandwich".

Leila

For the past week or so, Leila has been really reaching for her toys and sticking them in her mouth. She also talks a lot and blow a lot of bubbles out of her mouth.

She went to the doctor the other day and she is 90 percentile in height and 97 percentile in weight. She's a chunk weighing in at 15 lbs.

Lunch Break

We were eating dinner and Tyson got a phone call.

He was talking on the phone and mentioned something about his "lunch break".

Eden then said, "Lunch break?"

Pretty soon I looked at her and she was taking her food (starting with each little bean on the taco pizza) and squishing it saying, "Lunch......BREAK!"

She definitely played with her food more than eating it that day.

Faucet

I was feeding Leila when Eden came up to me.

Eden: "Mom, are you feeding baby Leila?"

Me: "Yep."

Eden: "Is she drinking milk?"

Me: "Yep."

Eden: "Milk comes out of there?" (points)

Me: "Yep."

Eden: "Leila's drinking milk out of your faucets!"

Well...I don't think I've ever thought of myself as a "faucet" before!

The Way You Say Things Makes a Difference

Today Eden has been a really good girl. Even when she asks or tells me to do something she seems to think it out before hand....cause she knows that the way you say things make a difference (making it hard to say "no" at times). Things like,

Me: (Talking on the phone)

Eden: "I'm going to sing my mother a song."

(Picks up harmonica and starts playing)

Me: (Still talking on phone)

Eden: "Mom. I'm singing. Stop talking. Its not a very nice thing to do."

Or...

(Eden wakes up from nap and I come in)

Eden: "I took a good nap! I love you!

And I'll give you a hug and a kiss!

Then I'll get to watch Caillou!"

Awkward...

Oh no, please don't tell me we've hit this stage....

Our neighbor came into our house today because she hadn't seen Leila in a while and wanted to take a look at her.

As we were talking to our neighbor there was a small break. Eden started talking...

"You have a big tummy."

Followed by awkward silence....

Oh man, what do we do about that?

Secrets

Eden was playing with PlayDoh and she was cutting it into little pieces.

Me: "Oh, what are those you are making?"

Eden: "They are secrets."

Pajamas

Eden was in the kitchen getting ready for breakfast.

Dad was trying to play around and tickle her.

Eden got upset and said,

"Dad! Don't touch my pajamas! They are very special to me!"

Putting on Clothes

I asked Eden to put her clothes on for the day. She came in saying, "I put my clothes on mom!"

(Notice, her shirt AND skirt are on her head.) She knew she was being funny.

Fixing a Broken Heart

I went on a walk with Eden. She stopped and hung her head low.

Me: "What's the matter Eden?"

Eden: "I'm heartbroken."

Me: "Oh no, what happened?"

Eden: "You broke my little heart."

Me: "I'm sorry! How can we fix it?"

Eden: "I need my doctor kit."

Losing My Mind

Eden's been going through some terrible twos.

Today I almost lost it after being sick with little energy, Tyson gone all day, Leila only wanting to be held, and Eden not wanting to do anything she should be doing.

I finally started to get a little angry....and finally calmed down enough to say, "Eden. Mommy REALLY needs you to be nice to her and love her."

Eden was very nice when she saw how stressed I was. She held my hand and said, "Mom, I love you so much!" as well as "I'm a good girl and be obedient."

After she said that I asked, "Then will you help me out by eating your dinner?"

She looked at me with concern, still holding my hand, and gently said...

"But mommy. I don't want to eat my dinner."

Ugh...

Spitting

Leila has learned to blow bubbles. She often has her tongue out of her mouth.

Eden saw Leila spit some bubbles...looked at her very seriously...and said,

"Leila, its not good to spit."

Flattery

Eden watched The Testaments again on Sunday.

This is starting to perhaps cause some problems...like learning flattery.

(In the movie...for those unfamiliar....the "bad guy" uses flattery to get Jacob to work for him as artisan.)

After I made Eden lunch today, I placed in front of her. She grabbed my hand and said, "You have the gift." (I could tell by the way she had my hand and the way she said it....that she was quoting The Testaments to give me her compliment aka: flattery).

Although, this has also caused other problems...such as false doctrine.

Eden occasionally holds her hand in the air and tries to baptize her stuffed animals....

We'll just call these "teaching opportunities".

Leila's Favorite Thing

Leila's new favorite thing to do is....smile and talk to herself in the mirror.

She actually also prefers to talk to mom and dad through the mirror as well sometimes. She'll look at us while in the mirror and talk and smile and talk some more.

She loves it. We love it too.

Stuck In My Head

I started to sing a song in the kitchen while getting breakfast ready.

Eden: "Don't sing that mom."

Me: "Sorry. I have a song stuck in my head."

(Worried look on Eden's face.)

Eden: "Are you OK?"

I'm pretty sure she thought I was hurt. I guess having something stuck in my head doesn't sound like a pleasant thing to a 2 year old.

Personal Prayer

We bought paint for Eden and Leila's room. Eden's excited to paint.

Today's personal prayer included:

"Please bless that we'll paint a shark on my wall."

Hmm....

Sleeping in the Bouncer

So...Leila falls asleep more often in her bouncer than in her swing. Seems much more uncomfortable in my opinion....

Beanie Babies

We went to a friend's house yesterday. She has a collection of beanie babies that she got out for kids to play with. Eden enjoyed them.

She would often ask "What does a _______ say?"

I wasn't sure how to answer when she asked "What does a buffalo say?" I told her to ask her dad. Her dad told her to ask Seth, a school friend who loves learning about animals. He gave a low grunting noise.

Later she asked me, "Mom, what does a platypus say?" Not quite sure, I made a noise that I thought seemed like a good platypus sound. Then she replied, "No mom. The platypus says, 'Hi! Welcome to my house!'." Ohhh....is THAT what he says...

Fist Bumps

Its pretty hard to get Leila to laugh...but something she found funny...

Fist bumps.

One day her hands were in fists, so I made a fist and bumped her little fists and make a sound like it exploded.

She found this really funny and would laugh every time I did it...until I got my camera out. She was over the excitement by then.

Traumatic Dreams

Bad dreams that kids have....

Eden woke up this morning and said, "Daddy put my friends in the washer!"

She was rather traumatized as she told me about it.

9th Article of Faith

At the end of church, I was late coming out because I was helping the primary kids pass off the 9th Article of Faith in order to win prizes in the treasure chest.

Eden saw the prizes and immediately wanted one.

Me: "Sorry Eden. Its for primary."

Eden: "Can I PLEASE have one of those?"

Me: "Those are if you know your articles of faith."

(Eden looks at me with sad and confused eyes.)

Me: "You can only have one if you can say the 9th article of faith."

Eden: (thinks for a second) "The ninth article of faith. Can I have one?"

Me and my big mouth. She said what I told her to say...

Luckily one of the primary girls who passed off her 9th article of faith came up to Eden and said, "I passed mine off but I don't want anything from there. She can have mine." Eden was extremely happy.

Helicopter Man

We went to Eliza and Chuck's house today.

Their son, Jack, just got a new toy....a helicopter with a pilot.

Eden enjoyed playing with it...but definitely in a GIRLY fashion.

(Holding the pilot and pretending he's talking)

"Where's my hairbrush? I need my hairbrush."

(Takes the helicopter man out of the helicopter)

"Oh, I forgot my purse. I'm gonna quickly go get it!"

Only a girl plays with a helicopter and pilot that way....

Spitting Goose

I've got a secret sister in my ward and this week she gave me a ceramic duck with a small bucket next to it.

Eden was playing with it when I heard spitting sounds.

Me: "Eden, what are you doing?"

Eden: "Spitting."

Me: "You're not supposed to spit honey."

Eden: "The duck is spitting his toothpaste into the toilet."

Guess that's what you get when you tell her that the only time spitting is ok is when its toothpaste in the toilet.

Daddy Always Wins...

I felt so good today during lunch when Eden said,

"Mom, you're my BEST FRIEND!"

Until dad came home...

(I was in the other room feeding Leila when I heard this...)

"Dad, you're my BEST FRIEND and I love you so so much!"

Man, beat out by Tyson again.

Laughter

Within the past two days, Leila has laughed out loud at Tyson and me. But not when Tyson tries to tickle her...she gets really upset when you do that. But if you talk to her and she's happy then sometimes she does a breathy laugh that is adorable!

Old McDonald's Farm

Eden likes to sing songs...especially in the car.

She often sings Old McDonald. And lately she's been getting creative. Old McDonald not only has cows and sheep and chickens....Old McDonald also has a spider, Eden, baby, mommy, etc.

Today's version:

Old McDonald had a farm. EIEIO.

And on his farm he had a mommy. EIEIO.

With a cook cook here.

And a cook cook there.

Cook cook everywhere.

Old McDonald had a farm. EIEIO.

Obviously I'm known for my cooking.

Oh No...

We went to a craft store today...just to get out of the house....

And for the first time ever, Eden BROKE something.

Luckily it was only $2.

But I had her take it to the cashier and say, "I broke it. Sorry." I offered to pay for it but they were nice enough to say, "don't worry about it". I had to her do all that even though I don't think she understood what was really going on. But she did realize when she broke it that she did something bad....I could tell by the little look on her face as she looked up at me and said, "I broke it."

Little Miss Muffett

Eden looking at a piece of paper in the car...

Eden: "I'm reading a book about spiders."

Me: "Oh, what does it say?"

Eden: "Little Miss Muffet sat on her...stuff.

Eating her curds and whey.

Along came a spider...and ate her.

And scared Miss Muffett away."

Feeling Boring

While lying down and watching a movie, Eden turned to me and said,

"Mom, I'm feeling boring."

Pretty Little Dancer

Eden stretched out her leg as high as she could and held it up with her hand.

Then she exclaimed,

"Mommy! Look! I'm a pretty little dancer!"

Letting Mommy Sleep

Some nights are worse than others for me in terms of sleep.

This morning Eden woke up earlier than I was hoping.

She asked for some milk and I decided "why not" and gave it to her. I tried to stay awake, but I was struggling. All she wanted to do was get on my bed and play around with me.

So I said, "Eden, I'm really tired today. If I put on a movie, will you let me sleep some more?" She said, "OK mom." I put on a movie and she didn't come into my room until after it was over to say, "Mommy, the movie is all done."

I very much appreciated that.

Growing Up

After vacation there was a rough "adjusting" phase for Eden.

Then an idea hit me....she's growing up and doesn't want to do the same things she used to do.

Now one of Eden's favorite things to do is "help mommy cook". She also tends to eat the food better knowing that she was a part of making it.

Family Pick Up Time

I decided to install a new "activity" to our nighttime schedule. Its called "Family Pick Up Time".

If you haven't already guessed, after dinner we go around the whole house as a family and put everything away back in its place....making things much easier on me.

I was afraid that Eden wouldn't take to this idea so well...cause she doesn't like helping to clean up and pick up her toys, etc. But turns out, she really likes it! She excitedly reminded me about it the other day and today she even turned off a movie right in the middle so she could clean with everyone.

Awesome.

p.s. I realize that this may just be a phase...but I hope this phase lasts a long, long time.

Lava Caves

We went to the Lava Caves during the family reunion. Tyson would call it, "The Cave of Wonders!" (said like on the movie, Aladdin).

When asked later she said,

"We're going to the Cave of Wonderfuls!"

There was another cave called the Valentine Cave.

Eden called that one,

"the Happy Valentine Cave".

While in one of the caves, Eden became quiet. Her imagination started.

Then she said to herself,

"There are no ghosts in the cave.

Ghosts are nice."

Soon after saying that she started to give whimpers and tried to persuade us to turn around and leave the cave. We turned around a little early to head back. Poor girl was a little scared.

Diaper Change

We slept over at Tyson's parent's house today.

Eden slept in Lydia's room. When they woke up, they had to sneak into our bedroom to get a new diaper. They got a diaper and Lydia said, "Eden, lets get your diaper changed." And Eden replied with "That'd be GREAT!"

Man, wish I could get that response from her during diaper changes...

Eden and Trey

Eden gets along with her cousin, Trey (with exceptions of course...I mean, they are both 2 year olds after all). During our trip to Oregon they got to spend a decent amount of time with each other.

Trey and Eden stories:

On our trip to Oregon we made a stop halfway through at a motel. The next morning while packing up we all let the kids play. Later we saw the kids...without Trey and Eden. We though, "Where's Eden?" A little bit later my brother in law shows up with Eden and Trey and said, "I saw these two walking out front of the motel together, holding hands." Then Eden said, "Trey was holding my hand to help me down the stairs. Trey is so nice."

Every morning in Oregon when Trey woke up, he came over to our apartment and knocked on the door. And every morning he would say, "Eden?" and we'd say, "She's still sleeping." Followed by a little disappointed face saying, "Oh..."

While having a family dinner outside we looked out to see Trey sitting on the grass. Eden was laying on across his lap with her feet in the air. And Trey was helping her take off her shoes for her. (She's such a princess that likes to be helped with everything).

Oh Dear...

While on our long drive to Oregon, I looked back at Eden in her carseat. She had her blankie over her. Then she looked up and said...

"I'm feeding baby Leila."

Punishment

Eden and I were at Tyson's parent's house. Their cousin, Blake, was staying over. Blake was asked to help drive some people places...and Tyson's dad started giving Blake a talk about what to do if you get in an accident (since he was borrowing their car).

While Blake was getting drilled with questions and information...Eden sat and listened. Tyson's dad ended basically saying to be safe and not get in an accident

...and Eden added in...

"Or you'll get a spanking!"

(Which is funny cause we don't really use spanking as a form of punishment...)

Taking a Ride

While walking downtown, Eden wanted to ride on her daddy's shoulders. She said, "Daddy, I want to ride on...on....your...." She struggled to find the right word (shoulders). Finally she said,

"Daddy, I want to ride on your clavicles."

You know she's the daughter of a med student when she thinks of the word "clavicle" before "shoulder".

The Winds of Change

Eden's favorite quote from Monsters, Inc. is when Randall says, "Hear that? Its the winds of change!"

While visiting Tyson's family it was getting late at night and was dark outside. Someone knocked on the door and Papa took Eden to answer it. Eden burst out in tears and screamed saying,

"The winds of change are at the door!"

"I don't like the winds of change!"

"Big Fish"

My grandma has a large, ceramic fish in her house that Eden has grown to be afraid of. I'm not even sure how she first spotted this fish because its almost a little hidden.

But several times she has cried because the "big fish is scary". We've daily had to remind her that the big fish is nice. Other days she'll refuse to pass by the fish and we'll have to convince her that we'll just "run past it". My little scaredy cat....

One of the days she talked herself into passing the big fish by saying, "Got to be brave. Got to be brave." over and over until she passed it.

Leila

Leila slept 6 hours during the night. She's also had a few nights where she's slept 4-5 hours.

Red Velvet Cake

Tonight we had a BBQ. Someone brought some red velvet cake...which Eden LOVED. Aunt Kylie shared her cake with her and asked for more. When people said she shouldn't have more she took things into her own hands.

She reached up to where the cake was and was able to grab the cake spatula and started eating the cake off of it!

After that she asked for more cake and one of the neighbors gave her a piece of cake.

Later that night someone asked her if she knew how much cake she ate. She replied, "I had SO MUCH cake!" with a LARGE smile on her face. She knew she had won.

Chick-a-Boom

My sister was singing a song to Eden...

I said a boom-chick-a-boom.

I said a boom-chick-a-boom.

I said a boom-chick-a-rock-a-chick-a-rock-a-chick-a-boom.

Eden's Version:

"I said a boom- hit the rock - hit the rock -a-chick-a-boom!"

Fireworks

We saw fireworks yesterday. Eden wasn't entertained much just by watching them.

But she did find it entertaining to try and guess when the fireworks would burst and she would point at them and say, "POP!" as if she was the one making them burst.

"What's Your Name?"

Eden now says her full name, Eden Emishi Finlinson. But she says it like this, "Eden Mishi Eden Finsin".

Although, the other day when asked, "What's your name?" she responded:

"Eden Mishi Happy Finsin"

Missing Daddy

Eden and I came to Utah a week before Tyson.

Towards the end of the week, Eden started to miss her daddy and would wake up crying and saying, "I WANT MY DADDY!"

Story Telling

Eden has been really into story telling. She'll often come up to me and say, "Tell me a story." This is often how it goes...

Me: "Once upon a time there was a..."

Eden: "Princess named Eden" or "Princess named Mommy"

Me: "She decided to..."

Eden: "Go for a walk" or "Go swimming" or something else

Me: "Then she..."

Eden: "Ran into a bear" or "Swamp thing" or "Monster", etc...

Me: "He was..."

Eden: "nice" or "scary"

Me: "So Princess _____...."

Eden: "Said, 'HI!'" or "ran home", etc.

Me: "The End"

Buddy Bear's Birthday

Sometimes when Eden wakes up, I'll wait a bit before getting her and talk to her through her door.

Today's "through the door" conversation:

Eden: "Mommy!"

Me: "Yes Eden?"

Eden: "I have a question for you."

Me: "Oh, what's your question?"

Eden: "It's a money question."

Me: "Yeah? What is it?"

Eden: "Its Buddy Bear's birthday. He needs balloons."

Luckily my mom was downstairs baking cookies.

(I came into her room and turned on the light.)

Me: "Well, we don't have balloons for Buddy Bear's birthday. But grandma made him some cookies!"

Boy, Eden was sure glad that it was Buddy's birthday so we could have cookies!

Eden and Leila

Eden has learned quickly that her new sister Leila does something very well....sleeps. When Tyson would take her home (leaving me and baby in the hospital) and he'd ask her about Leila she'd say, "Her's sleeping." She also once said, "She's a sleepy camper." (We often tell her that she needs to be a "happy camper".)

Eden also loves to get really close to Leila's face and whisper, "It's OK. It's OK." Just to comfort her.

On the way home from the hospital today I heard Eden talking but I couldn't quite hear what she was saying. So, I said, "What did you say Eden?" She said, "I'm talking to Leila mommy."

Back Seat Driver

The last comment Eden made about daddy's driving:

"Daddy, you're a good driver!"

The last comment Eden made about mommy's driving:

"WOAH, MOMMY! WOAH!"

Well, obviously Eden knows who is the better driver...

The Testaments

Lately we've had Eden watch The Testaments before church while I do her hair and get ready. She really likes it.

After church on Sunday, we were invited to a friend's house for dinner. After dinner Eden was playing. All of a sudden she put her hands over one of the guy's eyes and said, "Say believe".

We were really confused for a while but then realized that she was imitating Jesus healing the blind man and telling him he needed to believe to be healed.

Gee, Thanks...

I was lying down.

Eden came up to me and collapsed on my belly.

Then she said, "I'm climbing the mountain!"

Gee, thanks Eden.

But I admit...some days I feel like a mountain.

Dark and Light

As bedtime approached Eden told me that she wanted to go play outside.

Me: "We can't. Its getting dark. Its time to get ready for bed."

Eden: "Its not dark. Its light."

Me: "Look outside. Its getting dark."

(Eden runs over to the touch lamp and touches it so it goes on.)

Eden: "Look, its LIGHT!"

Clever girl...

Prayer Time

Eden doesn't often like to pray, even though she can but the other day she told me she wanted to say the prayer for lunch.

Part of her prayer was:

"Thank you for buddy bear and blankie."

Obviously they are very important to her.

Share the Love

Chuck and Eliza (and their son, Jack) often babysit Eden while I go to doctor's appointments and occasional other reasons. She's learned to LOVE them.

I asked Eden the other day,

"Who is your favorite person?"
Eden's response, "Eliza dear."

Yesterday I went to pick up Eden and stayed to talk a while. Eden had me pick her up and said,

"I love you mommy."
I responded, "I love you Eden."

Then she turned to Chuck and said,

"I love you Chuck."
Chuck responded, "I love you Eden."

Levels of Stubbornness

Depending on Eden's level of stubbornness depends on certain responses I'll get to questions...

Eden: "I want to play with sidewalk chalk!"
Me: "We can't, its too cold outside."

Un-stubborn day: "Yeah, its probably cold and raining."
More stubborn day: "No, its not cold. Its just right." (often followed by whining)

Doll Play

Eden was playing with her doll house and decided that the doggy needed to be put in "time out".

Me: "Why does the doggy need to go to time out?"
Eden: "Doggy was playing with the lamp on the table."

Eden had daddy and big sister giving each other a hug.

Eden: "Hug!"
Me: "Oh, that's nice."
(Eden has both dolls bonk heads)
Eden: "BONK! Oh, that's not very nice!"

The other day she set up the table and chairs. Then she put big sister and baby sister in the chairs.

Me: "Oh, are they going to eat?"
Eden: "No, they are playing with playdoh."

Movies

As my pregnancy progresses, Eden also finds herself more often in front of a movie. Not necessarily something I'm PROUD of....but I do try to not overdo it.

But it is interesting to see what she picks up on and finds entertaining and worth quoting.

Eden's favorite lines from movies...
(I only expect people to REALLY understand this if they also have "movie watching children")

Kung Fu Panda: (whispers) "Secret Ingredient Soup"
Finding Nemo: "EEOOOWWWEE" (speaking whale)
Horton Hears a Who: "We're headed for DISASTER!"
Monsters Inc.: "Shh...shh...the WINDS of CHANGE"

It took us a while to figure out a bunch of the things she was saying. Cause she says "Secret ingredient soup" like "secwetgweensoup". After asking her a few questions like, "Who say that?" and "Where do they say that?" and getting the answer "The duck on Kung Fu Panda says it." we were finally able to figure it out.

Eyebrows

I was in the other room cooking and Eden was drawing with markers. She's usually very good with markers. But she had recently observed mommy putting on her make up and daddy plucking mommy's eyebrows.

All of a sudden I hear her say,

"I'm drawing my eyebrows purple!"

Tyson ran to her...to find this...pretty, purple eyebrows.

Visiting the Hospital

Today Tyson, Eden, and I went to the hospital to take a tour of the labor and delivery. While in the labor and delivery room the nurse started talking about what to expect while our stay there.

Eden was apparently listening carefully....during the discussion she turned to me and said,

"Mommy. Its going to be OK."

She's so concerned for her mother.

Birthday Presents

OK...I'm not sure how it all happened...but Eden is REALLY getting into this birthday thing.

Today at the store Eden found a toy that she apparently really wanted. She picked it up, handed it to me, and said...

"I want this one. I want this one for my birthday, OK?"

Best Friends

Today, Eden and I took a walk over to the swing set by our house.

Eden was walking beside me and she grabbed my hand. Then she looked at me and said,

"Mommy, we're best friends!"

She's also been saying "I love you mommy" and "I love you daddy". I love it!

Going to the Doctor

I try to not take Eden to my doctor's appointments. She usually gets a little upset at doctors and nurses poking at me. And even though she loves being babysat and who usually sits her, she often tries to talk me into taking her to the doctor with her instead. Sometimes she's very sneaky with her persuasion tactics...

In the car to the babysitters:

"Mommy. I go to the doctor, OK? I think I don't feel well. I'm sick and I need to go to the doctor with mommy. I need to lay down at the doctor's cause I'm sick."

(When she talks about laying down, she realizes that at some point I always have to lie down on their little chair/bed thing they have.)

Birthday Wishes

Eden's very excited for her birthday. Its on the 12th.

One of her favorite songs is "Happy Birthday"...which she often sings to HERSELF.

When you ask her what she wants for her birthday she responds with "presents", "chocolate birthday cake with candles", and "balloons". She obviously recognizes what a birthday party should look like.

She's even been more specific with me on occasions saying she wants a "pink balloon". She's going to be one HAPPY girl on the 12th!

Legos

Eden has a box of legos that she LOVES.

Today Tyson made a large base with a boat on top. Then to make it move like it was on a boat, he stuck wheels to the bottom.

Eden started playing with this (now rather large) boat. She put a few Lego people inside and started to push the boat forward. Then took them back out and said,

"That's probably dangerous."

She was just making sure her Lego people were being safe.

The Bladder

Tyson was studying and there was a picture of a baby bladder birth defect.

Eden took interest, "What's that?"

So, Tyson told her and explained where her bladder is ("in your tummy under your belly button")

Later on we went outside to walk around and play a little. Eden started to walk away on the sidewalk and said,

"Bye! I'm going to the doctor!"
(lifts up her shirt and puts her hand on her belly)
"The doctor has my bladder! Bye!"

Bones

After Tyson joked about teaching Eden about her kidneys...we've been having fun trying to teach Eden some other anatomy.

Tyson has this "bone box" from school with all the bones of the body in it. It was lying around so we opened it up and were playing show and tell with Eden.

Eden's favorite is wiggling her fingers and saying "phalanges". I say that one more often because its one of the only bones I know.

Yesterday after dinner she went to the bathroom and said, "I need to wash my phalanges!"

Last Night

Last night Eden woke up around 11:00. She was screaming.

I had my computer out at the time (was just about to close it down and go to bed). She just wanted to cuddle with mommy, listen to music (which as been something she loves to do...listen to music on my computer) and look at pictures on people's blogs (something else she loves to do).

Later we decided that she needed to go back to sleep. She said she was hungry, so we gave her some food and put her back down to sleep in her room.

You know, its time like that where I really wish she could just sleep with me all night and cuddle. But I realize that in the end it would result in a bad night's rest for all three of us in the bed. Pity.

Driving

Eden keeps telling me and Tyson that she wants to drive the car.

"Daddy not drive the car.
Mommy not drive the car.
Eden drive the car."

I tried to explain to her that she needed to be older to drive. So I asked her today:

Me: "Eden, how old are you?"
Eden: "Seven."

She's apparently ready to be older than she is...

Washing in the Rain

Yesterday Eden gave a good suggestion:

"Let's go outside. Get soap and water and get washed in the rain. Scrub a dub dub!"

So Subtle...

Eden wanted me to get her marbles from downstairs to play with. Her very subtle way of telling me was ,

"Mommy. I need my marbles. They are downstairs. Go and get them for me. OK! Thanks. See you later!"

More Drama from the Drama Queen

Eden's learning different ways to try and get what she wants....

Yesterday Eden and I went to Wendy's (which isn't normal for us) and she was eating chicken nuggets and fries. Then she noticed the Frosty...but didn't know what it was. She asked to try some and when she did she got all excited saying, "It's ICE CREAM!"

I told her she needed to eat her chicken nuggets before the ice cream so she put on her best act for me....

She put her hands over her face and started to fake cry. Then she said, "I'm crying! I need some ice cream!" I convinced her that she could have a few bites AFTER each chicken nugget.

Thunder and Lightening

Today has been quite stormy. But Eden really likes it.

She looked outside for a while watching the rain.

Then there was lightening and she heard the loud thunder. That was her favorite. She said, "There's a BIG NOISE in the sky!" She's like her mommy...I love rainstorms with thunder and lightening.

The Monologue

*As a warning...this may be a "you had to be there" moment.

While eating at a friend's house Eden started to monologue. (Tyson was studying at school like usual.)

Eden had a VERY concerned look on her face...and you could tell she was very serious about this whole thing....

"In the dark you bonk your head on the wall. And...and...bonk your head and get an owie. And then you have blood and bleeding. And need help from a doctor. Jesus won't help you. Cause you bonk your head on the wall and bleeding. There's blood in your hair....."

(Granted, it was much longer cause she repeated everything about 3 times and went back and forth in her story.)

This probably went on for about 5 minutes...and Eliza and I just laughed (tried to hide it in so not to hurt Eden's feelings because she was OBVIOUSLY very concerned and this was very serious.)

And had I not been laughing and thinking "What in the world is going on in her head?" then I would have made a point out of her "Jesus won't help you" and tell her how Jesus can always help you.

Opinionated

I went to Target today to get some clothes and Eden came with me in the dressing room.

She didn't mind me trying on clothes while she played on the bench or with the change in my purse or whatever she felt like doing.

But there was one dress that when I put it on she immediately came up to me and said, "No mom. Don't put on that one!" And she would try to take the dress off me. I tried on a few other things and she didn't say a word.

A while later I decided to try that dress on again (cause I didn't REALLY get a good look at it with Eden trying to take it off of me) and once again she started to say, "No mommy. Not that one!"

Apparently she really didn't like that dress...she's definitely got an opinion.

And needless to say, I didn't buy that dress.

"Just Right"

A while back I wrote about how Eden calls her feet chubby whenever she wears her flip flops. She still calls them chubby...

The other day she was wearing her flip flops and I was wearing mine. She called her feet chubby and then noticed that I was wearing my sandals too. I said, "My feet are chubby too" (cause after walking a bit my feet start to feel the size of basketballs).

Eden then said, "Mom, you're feet aren't chubby. They are just right."

Oh, thanks Eden.

Making Up Words

Lately Eden's been making up words...and she just thinks its hilarious. She'll be talking and say something random like, "Boo ba da da doo la" and laugh. Then she'll look at me and say, "I say boo ba da da doo la."

I think this might be a part of her "growing up denial" that she's going though. She almost always chooses to be called a "baby" instead of a "big girl", pretends to cry like a baby, and if she wants something (for example, a cookie) she'll say, "baby wants a cookie."

How to Spell "Eden"

Eden will sometimes pretend to "write" things. She'll draw squiggly lines and say she's writing (usually people's names). The other day she was writing her name...

Usually she'll say while writing something like this... "E-D-E-D-E. Eden."

But today she was writing and said, "E-D-E-D-E-F-G. Eden."

Well...at least she understands the first part of her name and she is also learning the alphabet. :)

"I'm Still Sleeping!"

I had an appointment to go to today, so I had to wake up Eden from her nap (which she was probably gonna get up soon anyway).

When I went into the room, she was lying on the bed, eyes opened.

Eden: (pulls blankie over her head) NO MOMMY! I'm still sleeping!"
Me: We gotta go somewhere hun.
Eden: I not wake up. Close the door. I'm still sleeping.
Me: You can sleep in the car if you want.
Eden: No sleeping in the car. I want to sleep in my bed.
Me: Please come with me? I have a sandwich and grapes for you.
Eden: No, I want to sleep mommy!

This protesting went on for a while. I felt so bad and wished she could just sleep. Needless to say, I ended up a little late to my appointment...but surprisingly not THAT late.

Hills and "Bumpy"s

A Milestone for Eden:

Eden has finally become daring enough to walk on the grass that slopes. She's usually really quite strict with herself and stays on the sidewalk because she says the grass is "too bumpy".

After trying to teach her that she can walk on the grass, she's finally overcome the fear of "bumpy grass" and will even go DOWN the hill in our front yard. She's slowly becoming more active and daring when it comes to the physical stuff.

Another "I'm Impressed" Moment

Sometimes I get these moments when Eden remembers things that I NEVER would have expected her to remember...

Yesterday she started to throw her arms around and said, "fighting!"

I told her that fighting wasn't a good thing to do.

She then started to recall a story from the Book of Mormon, "Fighting is not very nice. People fight with swords and then throw them in a pile in a hole."

I was impressed that she remembered that story. At her age, I don't think I could have remembered it.

Ants

Today the family went out in the front yard to let Eden run around.

She has been fascinated by the ants (for all of you who know me...I HATE ants with a passion...). But today I actually kind of felt bad for the ants for the first time ever.

Eden's conversation with the ants:

"Ants! I kill them!"
"Ants are scared. Scared of my foot."
"Where is the ant going? Running away."
"Ant hide in the crack."

Then later she decided to be nice to the ants. She picked a dandy lion and kept trying to put the stem in front of the ant saying, "Make a couch for the ant." Of course she wasn't quite fast enough to ever get it in front of the ant and ended up more poking the ant along its way. Poor ants.

Baby Sister

Sometimes Eden is nice to her baby sister...sometimes not so much.

The Good:
Today Eden got her doctor play stuff to check on the baby's heartbeat. She put the stethoscope to my belly, made little heartbeat sounds, and said, "Baby sister is a good girl."

The Not-So-Good:
Eden's really been into lying on my belly and saying "Squishing baby sister!"

Construction Work

Eden's really been into dramatizing her statements....like....

"That's my FAVORITE."

"She's SO nice."

"That's REALLY cool."

But today she said a new dramatic phrase...

While driving we hit construction and were almost at a stand still. She looked to the side at a large pile of rocks and she said, "Look! Lots of rocks! Rocks are the BEST IN THE WORLD."

Such a drama pants.

Girl's Night

Tyson was out studying all night last night, so Eden and I had a girl's night.

We got pizza, ate upstairs in my bedroom, and watched Arthur.

This isn't THAT abnormal...often when we have a girl's night or Eden and Tyson have a daddy/daughter night then we'll take her upstairs to eat dinner on the floor and watch a show on the computer.

This time she recognized what was going on. As soon as I mentioned pizza she said, "Pizza and eat upstairs?!" She was PUMPED.

We got the pizza and I put it at the top of the stairs. Then I went downstairs to get some plates and cups and things. I heard an unfamiliar noise and went to go see what it was.

Eden was SO EXCITED to have pizza and a movie that she raced up the stairs, grabbed the pizza box, and carried it (sideways...almost dragging it) all the way to our bedroom to the computer.

She was in heaven. And luckily the pizza was only pepperoni and it wasn't damaged while she carried it.

"Nap Time"

Today instead of napping I listened to Eden FOR AN HOUR...(mind you, she wasn't upset...rather just talking...and I could hear that she was still just laying in her toddler bed the whole time)

"Mommy?"
"Where are you mommy?"
"In the bathroom mommy?"
"On the potty?"
"Mommy?"
"Please open the door, please."
"Mommy?"
"Where are you?"

Happiness Comes in Packages

We borrowed a neighbor's small fold out chair for a day to sit outside (it looked like a frog). Eden loved the chair and continued to ask for it after it had been long gone back to the neighbors.

Eden: "Where'd my frog chair go?"

Mom: "We had to give it back to the neighbors. Its gone."

(Eden's not satisfied with that answer and keeps asking)

Mom: "Maybe we'll get you one. Maybe for your birthday."

Eden: "I get a frog chair for my birthday in a package."

Apparently, we don't give her many presents...the Easter bunny doesn't seem to give many presents, but she knows that grandparents give presents...and they appear on our doorstep magically in the form of mailed packages.

Easter Peeps

The first thing she says this morning when she wakes up... "Marshmallows?"

The first thing I hear when I ask her what she wants for breakfast... "Marshmallows?"

Randomly throughout the day when I think she's finally forgotten about marshmallows... "Marshmallows?"

Before, during, and after dinner... "Marshmallows?"

Ugh....didn't give her much for Easter...

but what she got, SHE WANTS.

(Unfortunately there were a few tantrums to go along with a few of these episodes when I tell her that she can't have marshmallows right then.)

She finally eased a bit after I told her "You can have a marshmallow when daddy gets home." So, of course a great majority of the day was spent with her saying,

"Marshmallows when daddy gets home."

Spiritual Communication

During conference Eden found Tyson's old earphones and put them in her ears and said, "I'm listening. I'm listening to the Spirit."

Well, I guess the Spirit communicates in all sorts of ways....even headphones.

Subliminal Messages

The past two days Eden has been trying to give us subliminal messages after dinner.

After eating dinner Tyson and I hear faint whispering...

Eden whispering: "need a special treat. chocolate."

Tyson and I were just talking and not paying any special attention when we heard these little whispers and then actually heard what she was whispering. Guess she really wanted chocolate...enough to send us little messages.

The Daddy Walk

One day while playing outside Eden says, "I'm walking like daddy!"

I watch as she puts her little hands in fists and moves her arms up and down while stepping side to side.

(I laugh because it looks like she's strutting and showing off muscles...can't wait to tell daddy how Eden thinks he walks...)

Tyson and I later realized that she's imitating daddy ON THE TREADMILL. That clears things up a bit. Although it was funny to think of daddy always walking with a strut and hands in fists.

Mommy and Daddy's Conversation

While watching Eden play with her little dolls she picks up the mommy and daddy and they have this conversation together:

(she holds mom in one hand and dad in another)

Mommy: "Hello daddy."
Daddy: "Hello mommy."
Mommy: "How are you?"
Daddy: "I'm good."
Mommy: "Love me?"

Then Eden gives a shy little giggle.

Apparently I ask Tyson if he loves me on a pretty normal basis....enough that its now a part of a normal "greeting".

Chubby Feet

A while ago I bought some flip flops for Eden. I actually bought 2 different sizes just in case. I put on the smaller ones and said, "I think you're feet are too chubby for these."

Its been nice enough weather that I brought out the sandals. I put them on and she said, "My feet are chubby."

The lesson learned: Don't ever tell a girl she's chubby...even little girls.

Bumblebee

There is a swing set nearby and we went there a few days ago. Her favorite part was watching the cars down below drive by, saying what color they were, and singing songs with mommy while swinging.

Today seemed like a good day to go swing. I asked Eden if she wanted to go. She said, "Go swing and look at cars!?!?" She was very excited.

When we got there she watched mommy and was trying to learn how to pump herself. She would lean back really far and then forward really far. She stayed forward for a while looking at the ground. After a while she said, "Look Mama! I'm flying like a bumblebee!"

p.s. She's still pretty afraid of bugs, there are lots of ladybugs here. She's interested in them, but she keeps her distance. If they start to move towards her, she doesn't like them at all and often says, "The bug's getting me!"

Thank You Dr. Seuss

We just got new curtains in our living room. We put them up when Eden was asleep last night. She woke up this morning and I read her some books in our living room. She did a double take when she noticed the curtains and said,

"Curtains! I see a Jurtain in the Curtain! He's a nice Jurtain in the Curtain."

I think half of the things Eden says you can track back to a certain book that we have. This one was brought to you by "There's a Wocket in my Pocket" by Dr. Seuss.

Picky...but Polite

Eden's developed a sudden "I don't want to eat any meals EVER" type attitude recently. Partially cause she's getting over a sickness...and partially just because I think she's getting to "that age".

But for the past two mornings when I say, "Let's go eat breakfast!" or "What would you like for breakfast?" She'll respond "No thanks mommy. No breakfast, no thanks." She'll repeat this over and over until she feels that I've got the point that no matter what I offer...she's doesn't want to eat it.

Dinner Time and Play Time

When we told Eden to come to the kitchen for dinner time she didn't want to.

She said, "No dinner time. Play all day."

Finally we got her to sit down and eat a little....

When she got out of her chair she BOLTED to her toys and said, "PLAY!"

Reading Mommy's Book

I was bored and pulled out the book "A Child is Born" to see what it said about where I was at in my pregnancy.

There was a picture of a baby in the womb and Eden took a look.

Then she said, "Baby's in an avocado!"

Tubby Time....for Daddy

Eden woke up and Tyson was taking a shower.

Eden: "Daddy's taking a tubby."
Mommy: "No, daddy's taking a shower."
Eden: "No, daddy's taking a tubby and playing with duckies."

Baby Talk

Today a friend of mine told me a funny Edenism story that happened a few Sunday's ago in nursery while I wasn't around...

Apparently all the little nursery kids were sitting around the table having snacks. Chatter was going on amongst the kids (which most of the kids are either quiet or aren't forming words or sentences...more baby talk than anything).

Eden is definitely one of the more VERBAL kids. (Getting her to stay quiet is usually the problem we have.)

I guess Eden decided she wanted to join in on the conversation that all the other kids were having so turned to my friend (an adult there with her son) and said, "Goo Goo Ga Ga".

Guess she wanted to socialize any way she could....

Saying Prayers

Eden's become pretty good at saying prayers for meals. Usually her prayer goes something like this:

"Heavenly Father.
Thank you day.
Thank you mommy and daddy.
Thank you food.
Please bless food.
Name Jesus Christ, Amen."

*She's also added in "Bless daddy at school. Be safe." But only once. Then she'll also say other things when we help her out.

The Drama Queen (part 2)

Eden and I went to the grocery store and she wanted to get one of those carts with a car that the kids can play in. Since this was going to be a quick "in and out" trip to the grocery store to get a few needed items I said, "Sorry...not this time Eden."

Eden started whining and making a sad face. Then she said, "Mommy broke my little heart."

The Drama Queen

Coming home from the store Eden said,

"I got a boo boo!
I need a band aid!
I'M DYING! I'M DYING!"

"Pokey"

For some reason the word "pokey" would make Eden laugh so hard today. She would say "The catepiller is pokey" and LAUGH. "Eden poke daddy's backpack" and LAUGH. Even when dad just say "Hey Eden.....poke!" She would LAUGH and LAUGH.

Bow-Chick-a-Bow-Wow!

Thanks to Tyson, Eden occasionally says "Bow Chick a Bow Wow!" or just "Chick a Bow Wow!"

Sneaky Sneaky

While grocery shopping, Eden started to get cranky. It was totally my fault because I TOTALLY forgot to feed her lunch after she had a late nap and it was almost dinner time. She wanted to get out of the cart...I thought "why not give it a try". She was really good and didn't cause problems.

But when I looked in my cart a little later she had sneakily thrown in a little yogurt that she apparently wanted. I caught her when she tried to put the LARGE yogurt in the cart. She's obviously a fan of yogurt.

The Mommy Song

While in the car I turned on the radio. Every time I changed the station Eden said, "no....sing song." So, I turned off the radio and said, "What should we sing Eden?" She said, "Sing mommy song." I said, "The mommy song?" She then proceeded to sing "MOMMY! MOMMY! MOMMY!" in a sing-song fashion.

The Toddler Bed

Today I decided to try the toddler bed again....this time for nap instead of night time.

She got inside the bed nicely and I thought that maybe if I took a shower then she'd fall asleep to the noises (sometimes that helps her).

I got out the shower....quiet....did it work?

A few minutes pass by and I hear...singing...

"Ten little alien boys...and girls."
(She says "aliens" instead of "Indians")

Followed by...

"Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday to you!"
(repeat over and over)

Followed by...

COMPLETE silence...

Guess she got tired of singing and zonked right out.

Two hours later she woke up from nap right where she left off....singing Happy Birthday....