Friday, February 26, 2010

What Does Daddy Say?

Eden likes the song "The Wheels on the Bus". The other day I said, "What do the daddy's on the bus say?" She said, "Wah! Wah! Wah!"

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Cleaning

Eden will sometimes pretend to clean and say, "Eden's cleaning. Eden's sad." Obviously I don't portray cleaning in a very happy light.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

The Guessing Game

Eden and I share a room while sleeping at the Finlinsons. We got a pack-n-play for her. This morning she woke up and saw me on the bed next to her. I was faced the other way so she couldn't see who I was and I didn't stir because I thought maybe she'd go back to sleep....but then the guessing game begins...

"Mommy? ...Lydia? ...Lydia? ...Macie? ...Daddy? ...Daddy? ...Papa? ...Nana? ...Grandma? ...KyKy? ..."

I decide to just lay there and listen until she says "mommy".

Finally after many guesses later..."Mommy?"

I turn to see her. "Mommy!"

Monday, February 22, 2010

"Take" vs. "Stole"

When mommy takes something away from Eden because she's not supposed to have it she sadly says, "Mommy take it."

When daddy takes something away from Eden because she's not supposed to have it she upsetly says, "Daddy stole it!"

Eden and Eva

Eva and Eden love each other. Eva is social and likes a little friend. Eden...I think she likes not being the smallest.

Today they were playing with a ball. Eva was carrying the ball and Eden went up to her and stole the ball. Then said, "Thank you!"

She kept doing this over and over.

Kisses

Eden doesn't always like to give Tyson and I kisses when we ask.

But lately she'll occasionally pretend to go somewhere or sometimes just randomly she'll come up to me or Tyson....or whoever is around...and say "need a kiss" and give a little pucker.

Then she'll leave and go back to doing whatever she was doing.

Singing in the Car

Eden loves to talk, talk, talk...

But when in the car she sings, sings, sings...

We took a few longer car rides since spring break in Utah. We went from the airport in Vegas to St. George and today from St. George to Orem. The whole way we heard lots of singing. She would often make up her own songs...which goes something like this:

"AOOOEEEAOOO. Walk to grandma's house. MMMEEEOOOEEE. Apple pie in the sky. AHHHEOOO..."

Or she would sing her own version of Old McDonald...which goes like this:

"Had a farm. EEEEO. Had a cow. EEEEO. With a moo moo here, and a moo moo here, and a moo moo here, and a moo moo here...."

*I wish I had a video but my camera currently has a problem AND I can't seem to get my videos to download on my blog. This makes me very sad.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

The "Head Bob"

In the car Eden was saying "dancing". I looked back and she was doing a head bob to the music. I said, "oh, you are head bobbing to the music". She picked up on it and likes to "head bob" in the car.

While driving she noticed me doing a little head bob to the music and she said to me, "Good head bob!"

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Saying Prayers

Today Eden woke up from nap time talking to herself....pretty normal. So, I walked in...but she didn't hear me. Eden was kneeling with her face to the ground and hands together. Then I hear her say:

"Father. Christ. Amen....Listen. Obey....Good prayer. Good prayer."

Eden does also LOVE the Book of Mormon that we read to her every night. If you ask her who her favorite person is she'll often say "Nephi" and if you ask what Nephi does she'll say "Build a ship". She also SOMETIMES recognizes King Benjamin as the one who "stand on a high tower" and Abinidi as the one who was "tied up".

Past Edenisms

02/14/10
Eden says "Happy Valentines Day" but she often think that means to color on little heart shaped papers.

We tried Eden out in the toddler bed last night. She woke up a few hours later crying and said, "no big girl bed". Guess that means she's not ready yet. I'm ok with that though.

Tyson and I got little butterflies to hang all over Eden's walls and in the night when she woke up she said "See butterflies. Pretty." We turned on a light to see them then she said, "It dark. Butterflies sleeping."

02/07/10
Eden kissed one of the boys in nursery.....WAY too early for this problem to be happening.

02/05/10
Eden put on one of my t-shirts so it went around her waist. She said, "Eden princess!" I walked past her and said "Excuse me Eden." She corrected me and said "Excuse me Princess."

Eden was whining because both mom and dad were busy (getting dinner ready). She finally gave up getting our attention, grabbed Balou the Bear (a rather large stuffed animal), stuck him on the kitchen floor, laid down with him, and moaned and groaned with him.

Once again Eden shocked me with her memory. She was off "reading" a book when I heard her say "Eileen Chrislow". I thought, I know there's a book where Eileen Chrislow is the author...but does she have the right book with it? Sure enough, there she was "reading" Five Little Monkey's Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Chrislow. I had to check the book because I wasn't sure of the author! She did also say "Marc Brown" for one of the Arthur books.

Eden occasionally sings a made up song "I love you...so much. I love you."

Eden loves to play doctor. Today she's been taking my hair elastics and putting on either her leg or her bear's leg and saying "Bandaid. Hurt. Bleeding.", "Doctor help.", as well as "Poor Eden!" or "Poor Bear!"

02/04/10
Eden went to Enrichment with me (she wouldn't stay in the nursery). She was really loopy and crazy. She ran a few feet away from me when the closing prayer started. She ran to the person saying the prayer and loudly started going "SHH! SHHH!" to everyone.

On the way to picking up Tyson from school, Eden sang (which is pretty common). She sometimes sings songs she knows, but this time she just made up a song. It went something like this (and all the ....'s mean she was singing non-words or holding out notes) "Daddy school....Time out...see bunny rabbit...miss Lydia....miss KyKy...grandma....papa...see papa....no, don't."

On the way home from picking up Tyson from school, Eden told us an entire story that went like this "I see bunny rabbit! In a hole! Peek the hole! See bird! Chicken! See bird! Monkey see bird! Cow see bird! Daddy see bird!" When daddy asked "why is everyone looking at the bird?" She said, "Scary bird! Rawr!"

Eden picks up on most EVERYTHING. Yesterday I was joking with Tyson and took a little stuffed toy of Eden's and threw it at daddy. When he turned around I said, "Someone's throwing things" (like on Emperor's New Groove). The next day...Eden threw a little toy when we weren't looking, folded her arms and said, "Someone throw stuff". Oops...my bad.

Like most people, Eden rubs her eyes when she's tired. After night prayers and time to go to bed she rubbed her eyes, said "rub eyes", and then rubbed my eyes for me as well.

02/01/10
Eden was drawing on some paper. She often pretends to write things like people's names. She made the squiggles that indicate she's "writing" instead of drawing. When I asked her about it she said "writing. gold plates." She's loves the Book of Mormon.

01/31/10
So, as "punishment" we do a time out. Its been hard to find a way that Eden understands and doesn't just act like its no big deal. We've recently started to have her stand in a corner. But instead of just standing there she seems to think she also needs to put her arms against the wall with her legs spread like I'm gonna handcuff and arrest her. Its kind of cute..and yet sad.

But she's also a little confused. Yesterday I swept the floor and had the pile of stuff to put into the dust pan. She accidentally stepped in it and I pulled her aside and said "oh, don't want to get messy". She took that as "stand in the corner" and went straight to the wall. She did that again today when I told her that she needs to back away from the oven so she won't get burned....to the wall she went without being in trouble.

01/29/10
Eden's into chanting people's names. Today in the car after chanting a few names she started chanting "Nephi! Nephi! Abinidi Abinidi!"

01/28/10
Eden will try to take her books off the shelf herself to read but some of them have covers and they will rip if she isn't careful. Today I found one book where the cover wasn't on right and was starting to rip...I started to explain to Eden that she's breaking the books and needs to be careful. She leaned down, gave the book a hug, and said "sorry".

01/27/10
So I realized something the other day. When Eden says her prayers "Father. Toys. Amen." I think she's actually trying to say "Father. Christ. Amen." Because she's improved and now says "Christ" instead of "Toys". I was curious where she got that from. She also knows that you're supposed to close your eyes and bow your head.

Eden likes to replay life as she sees it with her dolls and doll house. She put the baby to bed...then saw the mom and said, "cuddle mommy" and put her in the bed with baby....then she saw the dad and said, "cuddle daddy" and squeezed us all on that little plastic bed. She really loves cuddling with us.

I made a little step by duct taping an old phone book to help her practice going up and down small steps. She's learned to put that step next to her little step stool and put it next to the couch so she can get on the couch by herself. She's been loving that. She'll often get a book and take it to the couch and "read it" by herself.

When in the car Eden will often sing. If you look back at her she'll stop and very seriously say "singing" as if to explain herself. Sometimes they are real songs, sometimes they aren't. Lately she's been into singing "Daddy. School. School."

01/26/10
Eden's really into saying "Stole it!" and starting to fake cry or whine to get it back. She OFTEN says "Daddy stole it!"...pretty much if he has anything in his hands.

01/25/10
A few days ago we cleaned out some closets and Eden found her old Bumbo chair.....and she hasn't gotten out of it since. Ok, she has...but she spends LOTS of time in that chair.

01/23/10
Usually when I read a kids book to Eden I will say the title and author. Today Eden was just playing by herself and pulling out some books, pretending to read them. She pulled out Go Dog Go, looked at it and said "P.D. Eastman"...who is the author.

I also set up a twitter for Eden...just for fun cause I was bored. I've never twittered so thought I would give it a go.

01/19/10
Eden is into trying to put on her own shoes and socks. She found some tights and put them both feet up to her ankles. She tried walking around a bit and thought it was the funniest thing ever.

She's also really into asking "One more?" and hold up a finger. Or else "Two?" Or she'll often say "Just one." when its something that she knows I'll let her have one of (like her gummy vitamins, a tissue, etc).

Eden will be drawing on some paper and she'll often say what she is "drawing". Sometimes its realistic like "circle" or "snake" (for a little squiggly line). But the past few days she's been really into drawing and saying "octopus".

Last night Tyson and I were cuddling in front of Eden. Eden laughed a bit saying "hug". This morning she positioned her little plastic mom and dad dolls in her doll house she they were cuddling. She sat them down next to each other and kept trying to push them together as close as they would go.

01/17/10
When Eden knows is bed time she tries to procrastinate it by saying "Sing song?" I'll sing a song and she'll say "One more?" I'll sing another song and she'll say "One more?"....and it would go on forever if I let it.

01/13/10
(Catch up on the past few weeks...these in no particular order)

Today Jack, Eliza, and Chuck came over for dinner. Eden apparently forgot who they are because she cried and cried when she saw them. Finally I came in the room and picked her up. She said, "No crying." and stopped crying. I guess I tell her that often...

There's a coloring book that Eden took on the airplane with Disney princesses on it. I'm flattered because she'll often point to them and say "Mommy".

Eden is a good talker. But sometimes she gets talking so much and wants to say sentences that they come out "mo'keys do dum dee doo da bed." Meaning "Monkeys jumping on the bed."

Eden loves to sing songs. She sings "I am child a God", "paddy cake paddy cake. Roll it. Pat it. B. Me me me", "abcde" (she only knows to "e"),etc. There are several songs that if I sing she'll fill in blanks.

Today Eden was singing a lullaby we learned from Tyson's mom "nana" as Eden calls her. The song usually goes "Rock-a-bye. Don't you cry. We're on our way to grammy's." Today instead of "grammy's" she inserted "nana and papa's".

For Christmas Eden got this doll house that she loves. Two days in a row she came up to me holding the daddy and the potty. The first time she said, "Daddy. Potty." Sat him down on the toilet and said, "poopy. WHOOEE. Stinky!" The second time she stood him to the side of the toilet where the flusher was and made flushing noises.

Today, for some reason, Eden insisted there was a guy in our bed. She kept saying, "guy in the bed". We'd ask her "What's the guy doing in our bed?" She'd say "sleeping. attack!" or "watching a movie. Nemo." And she kept wanting me to go upstairs to see the guy in our bed.

Anytime Eden sees some kind of sport going on she says "Go Cougars!" and "BYU!" She had a really small LEGO basketball hoop and a head of a LEGO man. She put the LEGO man's head through the hoop and said, "Go Cougars!"

Eden loves to listen to music and dance. She stiffens her body, rocks side to side, and with stiff arms she'll move them the opposite of her body. She's not very graceful...she gets that from here parents.

Eden is afraid of most everything nowadays...except the water. She thinks she's invincible when she's in the water. She'll dive right in, doesn't want any help, swims to random people even when they aren't looking at her, and McKell even taught her to "bob" in the water (so she'll dunk herself under and say "bob in the water").

Eden can be a super cheese-ball. She loves to say "HI!" to most anyone and anything. She'll say "Hi mom!", "Hi dad!", "Hi doctor!", "Hi man!", "Hi shopping cart.", etc...it goes on and on. She say "Bye bye.", "Goodnight!", "See ya", and/or, "See ya later." often naming things specifically that she's saying bye to.

Eden started moving her legs and arms. I said, "What are you doing Eden?" She said, "Exercising! 1-2-3-4!" I guess that must mean I'm doing pretty good at exercising lately.

12/22/09
Eden watched the BYU game with her daddy and learned to cheer and say "GO COUGARS!"

Eden DEFINITELY knows what presents are. She even figured out a present under the tree that is hers. She'll carry it over to me and say "open present".

12/21/09
Eden can sing Santa Claus is Coming to Town...although it sounds like "Santa Taus is toming to
town".

(Poopy warning)
Eden and Eva were taking a bath together when Eden started to flip out and try to climb out of the tub. Then she started to point to something in the tub. One of them had pooped in the tub. When asked who did it she replied "Eva did it." Eva can't speak up for herself yet...so guess we'll never really know.

12/18/09
Eden still can't say "Finlinson" but she can say "quesadilla".

12/17/09
While giving Eden muffins for breakfast I sang "Do you know the muffin man?" At the end of the song she just looked at me and replied "No." At least she listens to song lyrics.

We went to my niece's preschool Christmas program. The first song was Once There Was a Snowman. During the entire song and the song following she would yell "TALL! TALL! TALL!" with her arms over her head. She obviously likes that song...

12/16/09
The Finlinsons have a statue of Santa kneeling over the baby Jesus. Grandma Fin (or "Nana" as she's called) showed her the statue and said, "What is Santa doing?" Eden said, "Praying. Father. Toys. Amen." Nana said "I think he's saying "Heavenly Father, thank you for Jesus. Amen." Eden looking at the statue for a minute then said, "No. Father. Toys. Amen."

While brushing Eden's teeth, she grabbed my empty contact case, pinched her little fingers in the hole, pretended to put something in her eyes, and said "contacts".

12/14/09
The Stratton's babaysat Eden and Eva while we went to the Messiah last night. She apparently was pretty sad for a while until they took her out to their farm and she got to see the cows, horses, and chickens. She told us all about the chickens and how they ate her cracker and she picked an egg from them.

Whenever we have family prayer with the Finlinsons Eden always tells her own prayer over and over while the prayer is said...which goes like this, "Father. Toys. Amen."

During one prayer she said this over and over. Everyone was trying not to laugh. Then Eden caught Uncle KJ peeking during the prayer and said, "HI!"

Eden really wanted milk but I knew if she had some it would spoil her appetite and she wouldn't eat dinner. So, I told her she couldn't. Then Eva got a bottle of milk. She stared right next to her saying "milk." Lydia said, "Yeah, she gets milk. She was really sad." And I could imagine her fake crying to get some milk so I said, "Yeah, but if you're really sad you get soup." She gave me the worst crusty I've ever seen, went "PHF!", and walked the opposite direction from me.

12/13/09
Her cousin Eva has a furry jacket that looks like a dalmation. When Eva put it on she pet Eva and said, "Puppy."

12/04/09
Eden said she wanted to say a prayer before going down for nap (which we don't normally do for naps). She also wanted to SAY the prayer. She said "prayers", folded her arms, said "Heaven Father. Thank you. Name Jesus. Amen."

12/02/09
I put Eden in her chair to eat a peanut butter sandwich and I went to the living room to clean up a bit. Then I hear Eden say, "Make up!". Confused I went in there to find her smearing peanut butter on her eyelids.

12/01/09
(This is going to make me look like I constantly throw up now a days...but I swear that I don't). Today I instantly realized I needed to throw up so I ran to the bathroom. Eden came running behind me and while I was leaning over I felt her nicely rub and tap my back to give me help and support.

11/30/09
Eden's been doing this for a while but I haven't written it down. When Tyson or I are in another room and she wants to get our attention she yells, "Honey!" Funny how kids pick up on things their parents do.

11/28/09
While Eden was playing she ran into the bathroom and spit in the toilet a few times and said "throw up". We can thank morning sickness for that educational moment.

11/26/09
Thanksgiving Eden learned to say "Happy Turkey" and had her first M&Ms as she stole them off of my bingo card when I wasn't looking.

Eden also played with another kid her age for the first time. Drew would go up the stairs and wait for Eden to follow. Then at the top of the stairs he showed her his room and his night time book. Eden was so excited and told me all about it on the way home. "Drew. Fun. Room. Book."

11/23/09
We all got flu shots. Eden definitely didn't like it...except the end when the nurse gave her a sucker. On the car ride she was silently devouring the sucker. When her sucker was all done I looked back at her and with a large smile on her face she just said, "Happy!"

11/22/09
We set up Christmas early this year cause we're not gonna be around very long to enjoy it. Eden was excited to see the tree. And when dad put the star on top she started singing, "Twinkle, twinkle..." I finished "little star." She looked at the star, then at me, and she said, "BIG star."

11/20/09
Tyson and I were trying to teach Eden her full name. For "Finlinson" she kept saying "Finlins". Tyson kept trying to get her to add the "on" at the end. I said, "It could be worse...her last name could have been Sakamoto." Then Eden said, "Sa-ka-mo-to". That stinker.

11/18/09
I take off all of Eden's clothes to eat (for good reason). Todayshe realized that noodles stick to your belly. She stuck a bunch on her belly, smiled, and said "pretty!"

Tyson drew a little smiley face on my leg yesterday (defiling my temple, shame). Today Eden came up to me, holding a pen, while laying on the couch. She lifted my shirt to show my belly, held the pen up, and said "I do it." as if to draw on me. Bad example daddy!

When Eden really likes something at that moment she's often carry it around and say "favorite". She found daddy's school note cards (bound with a rubber band) and carried it saying "Book. Favorite." and carried them everywhere.

11/17/09
Eden's trying to put sentences together. They often need translation and is more like broken English, but she's trying.

Eden thinks the pet store is the greatest place in the world.

11/16/09
Eden loves to pretend to cook and eat food. Lately she's made a lot of plum soup and yogurt. And she's eaten plenty of salsa. She also thinks its really funny to feed it to her stuffed animals.

Eden isn't afraid to go up the stairs anymore. She'll say "climbing. climbing. climbing." the whole way up. But she's still scared to death to even go CLOSE to stairs that are headed downward.

11/11/09
Eden's really into saying "I got it!", "I like it", "I miss it", etc.

There are specific books that Eden likes me to read ALL THE TIME. I had put away all the books and when she asked for one specific book I said, "Go find it, then I'll read it." (thinking she'd get distracted and find another book instead)....after she rummaged for a while I hear "I FOUND IT!" She's getting good.

11/09/09
Eden's starting to sing songs randomly. I'll occasionally hear her singing while she plays. Sometimes real songs (like today I caught her singing "head, shoulders, knees, and toes") and other times just random words in a song like way (like "Eeeden likes draw. Draw. Eeeden.")

She also decided to name her bear "buddy".

11/06/09
If you ask Eden what a whale says she'll reply "AAAAHHHOOOOEEEEOOOO", move her head around, and stick out her tongue on occasion. Thanks to Finding Nemo.

Today during bathtime she would fill up a cup with water and pretend it was "juice" or "corn" or "beans" and pretend to eat it and feed it to her rubber duckies and rubber whales. Then after she'd SMACK her lips and say "AHH!"

11/05/09
Eden woke up from nap today crying. When I went in there she said, "Daddy! Bully!" Must of had a bad dream about dad...he was at school at the time.

11/04/09
Eden is really into answering HER OWN questions the way she wants them answered. Example: she'll come up to me and say "book. read it!" then to help me with my response she says "alllllright" or "otay". (She mimicks me when she does it and says it like I do with the attitude, "I guess I'll read you this same book that you've asked me to read 3 times already today.") Its really cute, I'll have to video it someday.

The Book of Mormon has taught Eden words like "wicked". She will sometimes point to people and say "wicked". She looked out the window the other day at some people and said, "Wicked. HI WICKED!"

Eden's getting attitude. She says "no" more often, will drop her food on the floor when she's done with it, and whines. She's also learned what to say when she's in trouble with automatic responses like "sorry. didn't mean it."

11/03/09
Discovered a few new teeth in Eden's mouth today! One on top and one on bottom!

10/27/09
Eden loves to read the Book of Mormon each night. She calls it "Bormon".

At the zoo, Eden tried to give several animals what she was eating. That's very kind of her...definitely not a good idea...but very kind.

10/21/09
I told Eden when I was lying down that I was sick. She said, "sick...Jesus". We have a book that says that Jesus heals the sick. She's wise beyond her years...if you're sick, go to Jesus for help.

(Poopy warning)
Today Eden pooped in the bathtub. Not fun. But she gave me fair warning by saying "change" which she says when she wants a diaper change. I didn't really think it over. I went to get her towel and she pooped all over. She felt really bad. When I finally got her all cleaned up she went to the bathtub and said, "poopy", "uh oh", and "didn't mean it".

10/19/09
We bought Eden some gummy vitamins that she LOVES. She's also learned that she can only have one. So, she savors the one she gets. She asks for the "vi-mins" says "one" (cause she know its the only one she gets), gets really excited, stick it in her mouth...then out of her mouth...shows me the "vi-min"...in...out...in...out. Then after much persuasion, she'll eat it.

10/16/09
Eden's become quite dramatic lately. She loves to exaggerate excitement by saying "WOW!" and "OOOH!" Or doing a fake, exaggerated laugh. Its cute.

10/13/09
In between flights when going home from Salt Lake Eden was playing with little figurines. She put them all on her lap, folded her arms, and said "prayers". She started to mumble a bit and then said "amen".

She also sold 2 stuffed animals that roll on the floor and laugh at a store in the St. Louis airport. She loved to watch them (from a distance...got too close and she said "scary"). But two people saw her playing with them, thought it was cute and decided to buy one.

10/01/09
Eden loves the new Costco diapers because they have a zebra on them. She always points and says "Zebra" *pause* "diapers".

Eden's also become quite the clean freak. She won't sit on her chair and eat if her chair or tray are messy. Sometimes I think I can trick her by wiping it with a dry towel, but she'll examine it and find anything sticky that was left on it and say "messy".

09/29/09
I've been able to successfully get Eden to keep "pretties" in her hair (on the days that she tells me she wants to wear them). But several times I have to persuade her to keep them in longer by saying, "We can show daddy your pretties!" She'll get really excited all day to show dad her pretties when he gets home. And she did want to show her friend Jack her pretties once too...he didn't seem to care much.

09/28/09
Eden still loves to draw. She always asks me to draw things for her by saying "help me", hand me the crayon and she'll always say "sheepie" because she wants me to draw a sheep. After that she'll sometimes want me to write "mommy" "daddy" and "Eden" and on special occasions she'll ask me to draw a "circle" or "star" or "froggy" or "snake".

She also can or will try to copy any word now. And she's enjoying learning actions to songs and singing.

09/23/09
Eden learned to turn in circles. She also says the word "circle".

09/20/09
Eden's got church to an art (and asks to go to church everyday). When I put her in a dress or I wear a dress she says "church" and asks to put on "shoes". After we sing she'll say "prayers" and fold her arms. Then when the prayer is done she says "amen". When sacrament comes she'll say "bread" then right after say "water".

09/16/09
Eden often refers to Tyson has "Doc Goose" because my grandma gave us these wooden geese. One is a mommy and baby (for me and Eden) the other is a doctor goose. She realizes that's supposed to be her dad. When Eden pretends to talk on the phone to her dad she'll usually refer to him as "doc goose".

09/14/09
I love that Eden talks. Things I get to hear every day. "Daddy. Home." (when she wants dad to come home from school) "Shoes. Church." (She wants to put on shoes and go to church) "Baby. Watch." (She wants to watch Caillou). "Jesus. *lays head on my shoulder*" (She wants me to sing I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus." before going to bed).

Eden is also much more demanding. She always says, "Hold you" (hold me), "Get it" (and points), "Up", and "Help me".

09/07/09
Eden has a little friend named Jack. She often will ask to go visit Jack but she actually doesn't like to play with HIM...rather his toys and their cat. She probably figures that by saying she wants to see Jack is the only way I'll let her go see the cat...cause Tyson and I are against cats. Sly little girl.

09/05/09
Two new teeth popped out on top of Eden's little mouth.

09/01/09
I never noticed until today that Eden says a few things in phrases. She can say "upastayas" (up the stairs) and "downastays" (down the stairs) and "holdu" (hold you...meaning hold me) or "holdeat" (hold it) and a few other things.

Eden loves her daddy and is so sad that he leaves to school every day. I think she loves me to read the book "Bernstein Bears Go to School" because she knows that's where dad is. Lately she's been saying, "Daddy?" I'll say, "He's at school." And she'll say, "Home."

08/20/09
Eden is starting to want more independence and choices. She loves running around naked and saying "Nakey" but the way to get her to put a diaper on is by giving her the diaper. She'll open it up and then sit on it. Then she'll let me do the rest. At least MOST of the time it's that easy.

08/17/09
If you ask Eden what a shark says or sometimes to scare someone she'll do the Jaws theme "da da....da da....da da..."

08/09/09
Eden is definitely walking (although she would much rather be carried). But apparently she's still gotta practice because she face planted and also got her first bloody nose today. :(

Tyson and I were quoting Nacho Libre and said, "NACHOOOO!" and we tried to get Eden to say "Nacho". In reply she would only say, "Taco!" I guess that's close enough...

Eden has these Seasame Street flashcards that have become her new favorite thing to go through and say what they are. She's one smart cookie! She also LOVES reading books.

When I spoke in church I could hear Eden clear from the back yelling and pointing "Mommy!"

Eden is loving soy milk (she's still allergic to cow's milk) but calls it "Nilk". We tried to get her to say "MMMilk" and it came out "MMMM Nilk".

During the white coating ceremony Eden was babysat by a non-family member for the first time. She did great with the exception that she didn't want to go to bed so she stayed up until 10:30 but went right to bed once we got home. But apparently she was really good the whole time, even when tired.

Eden loves stuffed animals and always makes sure to have her blankie and at least one stuffed animal with her for naps and bedtime. She likes to choose which one to sleep with that night. She often chooses different ones every time although there are a few she loves more than others.

07/20/09
When naptime comes Eden usually protests or is really good about it. Recently she's developed a pattern of saying "no no nap". Or if she wants to sleep I'll put her in bed and she'll say, "night night" to herself until she falls asleep.

07/18/09
Eden has a teddy bear that she loves. The arm ripped a long time ago and finally we decided to fix it. She'd point at it and say, "owie". So, grandma (calls her "nana") got out the needle and thread. When she first poked the bear with the needle Eden looked at me with a horrified face and said, "OOOWW!"

She's also developed taste buds. If she doesn't like something or it doesn't seem to chew fast enough then she's learned to spit it into her hand and give it to mom or on her plate.

07/16/09
Our little family was driving somewhere and in conversation
Tyson said, "Brilliant!" Followed by a little echo in the back seat saying, "Brillian....t!"

07/14/09
Eden has really started to love stuffed animals and dolls. She loves to feed them, put them to bed, give them hugs and kisses, and play with them.

07/08/09
When someone is laying on the ground Eden loves to say, "TAAK" (attack) and body slam them...over and over. Today I was pretending to sleep on the ground and she fooled me by first putting her finger to her mouth and saying "shhh" and then when I closed my eyes...she attacked!

Usually in the morning she won't leave bed without her blankie. This morning she clung to two stuffed animals in her crib. Then later found 2 sippy cups and clung to them all morning....I even let her take a nap with them...she just wanted to hold them and take a sip once in a great while.

07/04/09
Eden watched Tyson's mom pop Kylie's back and decided to learn the art of chiropractics. She took her baby doll, turned it over, and started to push on the baby's back making cracking noises.

Eden thought it was so funny to pick up a leaf and tickle people's noises. She even said, "tickle tickle!"

07/02/09
Eden tends to have constapation problems (poor thing) and I think it makes her afraid to go. Lately before she poops she puts her hand on her diaper and says, "poopy". Today in the car she had some gas and said, "poopy". Must have been mistaken...

07/01/09
Eden was sitting on a towel and trying to flatten it out perfectly. She would get upset if anyone wrinkled her towel and once again begin to flatten it out. I think she got a little OCD from her father. :)

06/30/09
Tooth #4 is popping out! And Eden survived a 11-12 hour drive...and did pretty well!

06/26/09
Eden learned to raise her arms and say "TA DA!" and also when she wants something she'll look at it and say "OOOH!"

06/24/09
Eden seems to speak much more. Thanks to cousins she's learned to use "no" much more. But she also learned to count to 3, a few more animal noises, and names of family.

06/18/09
Eden survived a 8 hour drive...and did surprisingly well.

06/17/09
A third little tooth is popping out on top!

06/16/09
Eden LOVES Aunt Lydia. She recently learned how to say her name...but it comes out slurred. Lately she loves to just YELL her name to try and get her to come...for no reason at all really. Today Lydia wasn't home and Eden was yelling, "LYIA!" I tried to tell her she wasn't home, but she had me pick her up and she led me to Lydia's room while yelling her name, just to make sure. She had me do this twice.

06/15/09
For the first time, Eden went from sitting to standing without using any furniture or anybody's help.

06/14/09
We went to church with my family this Sunday. Eden loves my dad and calls him grandpa or papa. My dad said the opening prayer in sacrament and during the whole prayer she pointed and yelled "PA PA!" I tried to tell her "shh" but there wasn't much else I could do....

06/12/09
Today Eden was with grandpa Finlinson and opened up his button up shirt a little to find his chest hair. Confused she looked and touched it. When dad said, "Did you find grandpa's chest hair?" She gave a worried look and quickly closed his shirt back up to the point where grandpa was almost choking to death. Then she peeked at it again and quickly closed it a second time.

If you ask Eden how old she is then she'll stick out one finger and say, "one!".

Eden has really been into these Jungle Book stuffed animals. She hasn't seen the movie, except one part, and she can says, "Balou" and "Bagera". These stuffed animals are nearly as big as she is, but she often INSISTS on carrying them around with her.

When you ask Eden, "What does a cat say?" Then she hisses...like a cat. We joked originally to teach her that...and she apparently caught on really quick.

Daddy inherited a hand-me-down t-shirt with Strong Bad on it (for all of you who know HomeStarRunner). Eden loves the shirt. She will point to it and in a deeper voice say, "BAAAD!"

Eden has developed a sass. She definitely tells you what she wants, when she wants. The best is when dad says, "no no no" then she often replies back, "no no no".

Eden has a fettish with toes. For some reason if she sees Tyson or my toes then she will try to bite them.

Eden has always loved to scare people, say "boo" when people aren't paying attention. But today we joked, "Go scare daddy!" and she ran up to him, said "rawr!" and BIT him.

06/09/09
Eden has learned to say "please" to get most anything she wants. Its really cute and hard to reject.

06/06/09
Eden has developed a fear of flies. She'll watch it closely (pointing to it and saying, "bug") and if it gets too close she tenses up and starts to panic. Today she paniced when she saw a raisin on the floor and thought it was a fly...but when we showed her it was a raisin she quickly calmed down and ate it.

06/05/09
Eden's learning to communicate! If she is hungry she'll point and pretend to take a big bite of something. She's also pretty good at saying "yes", "no", and "more". She also says "thank you" (kind of) but she just repeats it after I say it...so I don' t think she understands what it really means.

06/03/09
When Eden is tired she ususally gets really loopy. She talks (more babbles) more, walks more, and crawls more. It's really cute and sometimes it's hard to want to put her to bed...but you gotta do it before she starts getting more upset and unwilling to go to bed.

06/01/09
Eden loves to blow kisses. Sometimes she makes the lip smacking sound and other times she just puts her hand to her mouth. When you tell her to say goodnight she'll often blow kisses over waving goodbye.

Eden has also started babbling a lot more. I don't know what she is pretending to say, but she likes to talk. She's also saying LOTS of new words like "KyKy" for her Aunt Kylie, "Pears", "Popcorn", "Juice", "Moo", "Quack", "Dog", "Duck", etc.

05/26/09
Eden took 3 steps by herself today! She can take 2-3 steps by herself as long as she stays put long enough to stand and balance herself first.

05/21/09
Eden is becoming much better at trying to imitate words. She usually just says the beginning letter but sometimes says the actual word. The words she says more frequently are "wawa" for water, "papa" for grandpa, "Bubu" for bubble.

05/15/09
Eden has learned how to pretend to eat food. She puts it up to her mouth and makes a clicking noise. When she really eats she's learned to make chomping noises when she bites down.

Eden has also realized that she doesn't have to stay still in her pack n play and yell until someone gets her. She actually stood up and looked over the edge at me coming and another time I saw her yelling for me and playing with some toys in there at the same time.

A while ago Eden put this little play pea pod on her head (makes her look like robin hood). I said, "you are so funny! we should show grandma!" She knew right where grandma was and started to TAKE OFF to show her. It kept falling off and she would stop and put it back on and start going again. She KNEW she was being funnyand will do anything to get someone to smile and laugh at her.

05/12/09
Eden's 1st birthday! HOORAY!

05/11/09
Macie, KJ, and Eva left for CA. Eden loves Eva. Macie emailed some pictures of Eva to us and when Eden saw them she got really excited and started playing peek-a-boo with her picture on the computer.

05/08/09
I was able to put a pig tail in her hair without her pulling it out instantly. I was so excited. But when she woke up from nap later that day she just looked up at me from her pack n play, smiled, and handed me the elastic and clip I had previously put in. That stinker.

05/06/09
Eden is learning Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree. She also loves smelling flowers and eating handfuls of peas and carrots. She calls popcorn "pop pops" and bananas "nanas" and says, "mmm" if she likes what she is eating.

05/05/09
Eden loves riding in this red wagon. She loves it. I pointed to it and said, "look, the wagon!". She pointed and then said, "Wagon!" Clear as day.

05/04/09
Eden is becoming girly. She recently started blowing kisses and playing with dolls and doll houses. She loves to gives dolls hugs and kisses, put them to bed, etc. I love her girly side.

05/01/09
Eden doesn't talk much and I don't think it's because she CAN'T but doesn't WANT to. These are all the words that she has said (whether it be once or several times). "Mom", "Dad", "Diaper", "Grandma", "Ball", "Boo", "Balloon", "Shoes", "Jesus", "Yes", "This", "Bye Bye", "Yay", "Vroom" (car), "Woof" (dog sounds), "Bock Bock" (chicken), "Ssss" (snake), and "Rawr" (bear).

Three Weeks to Eleven Months Old

3 wk – Sleeps through the night
5 wk – 1st smile
2 mo (7/6/08) – Baby blessing
2 mo – 1st trip (Park City)
3 mo – Play with toys
3-4 mo – Drinks from cup
4 mo – 1st solid food
4 ½ mo – Rolled over
5 mo – Drinks with straw
6 mo – 1st word “mom”
6 mo – Stopped pacifier
6 mo – Put herself to sleep
7 mo – 1st time playing in snow
7 mo – Sit up by herself
8 mo – Gives high 5
8 ½ mo – Dances
8-9 mo – Walks w/ someone’s help
8-9 mo – Waves “hi” and “bye”
9 mo – Talks on phone
9 mo – 1st tooth
9 mo – Army crawls
9 mo – Claps hands
9 mo – Plays peek-a-boo
9 mo – Does hand signs to “5 Little Monkeys”
10 mo – Helps with chores
10 mo – Takes care of babies
10 mo – Plays with dolls
10 mo – Gives hugs and kisses
10 mo – Pretend sneeze
10 ½ mo – Crawls
10 ½ mo – Tries to use spoon
11 mo – Draws on paper
11 mo – Goes from sit to standing
11 mo – Crawls up stairs
11 mo – Scares people saying “BOO”