It's a Bird, It's a Choo Choo, It's an Airplane

Edmund and Mommy with Airplane
(I apologize for the quality. Our camera was dead on arrival. This is the best we could do.)

Last Tuesday Steven and I dropped Edmund off with Granddad and Grandma Kay Kay in Virginia for his first ever sleep away. Steven had a residency interview in NJ on Wednesday and one in NYC on Friday. I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to visit NYC at Christmastime, but it meant one day roaming alone in the city, as everyone I know in NY had to work Friday. As much as I wanted to share my childhood memories with Edmund, I had to be realistic. Steven and I knew Edmund would be just fine with his grandparents. I knew I would be ok too, although I knew I would miss the little guy like crazy. Edmund is with me day in and day out, so a little separation would probably do him good. As Steven and I browsed FAO Shwartz and toured the Museum of Natural History we couldn't help but discuss how much Edmund would enjoy certain aspects of each place. Moments later, however, we came to our senses and realized that after five minutes in these places Edmund's cries of "all done, all done," would ring through the buildings. We know he would have loved riding on the "choo choos," or subways, as they are known to us big people. He also would have been in heaven in Central Park. This year Steven and I didn't even make it into the Park as it was one of the coldest Decembers in NYC in years, so Edmund would have been at a loss. So as much as we missed Edmund, we definitely made the right decision. By Friday afternoon I was fiercely missing Edmund and couldn't wait to get to Harrisonburg to peek in on my sleeping angel. Unfortunately we drove right into one of Virginia's biggest snowstorms on record Friday night. Thankfully, due to Steven's safe driving and lack of ice early on, we made it home without incident. I don't know if we could have stood being away from Edmund one more day.

We were snowbound the next few days in Harrisonburg. Edmund wasn't sure about the cold, white stuff at first, but after awhile he couldn't get enough of it. He constantly ran to the door shouting "outside." After several ventures out into the snow, Mommy had to take a rest from the cold, but Daddy made sure Edmund got his fill. By Tuesday the roads were fine, so Steven, Edmund, and I decided to take a day trip to Washington DC. Steven had remembered going to an Air and Space Museum near Dulles Airport when it first opened, so we decided to head there. We figured since it wasn't in downtown DC we wouldn't have to deal with holiday tourists. Before heading to the museum we made a stop at Tyson's Corner, which houses an enormous mall. We made our way straight to the food court as Edmund was frantically signing and saying "eat." While we were eating he started squealing "choo choo, choo choo." At first we paid him no mind as he often starts talking about his favorite subjects randomly. Then we spotted it. There really was a "choo choo!" A holiday train just Edmund's size was making laps around the food court. Could Edmund's parents pass up an opportunity for their son to ride on his current favorite mode of transportation? Of course not. We decided that I would ride with Edmund, since a ticket cost us $2 a pop. Steven decided to pass on the 2 lap ride around the food court, but he made sure to wave to us in various locations. Edmund waved to people as we quickly, make that slowly, passed them by. When the ride was over we made the lengthy trek across the mall back to our car. Every now and then Edmund would say "choo choo." We'd look up to the food court floor and sure enough, there was the train. I must say the kid has good eye sight.

With Edmund safely buckled in his carseat we headed toward the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, the companion site to the Air and Space Museum on the National Mall. The museum wasn't crowded at all. Best of all the layout is wide open, so Edmund could stretch his legs and wander a little without us worrying. Saying the museum is huge is an understatement. It has to be big for it houses hundreds of airplanes, helicopters, and spacecraft. The first aircraft we came to was a helicopter. Edmund shocked us when he pointed to it and said "elcopper" without prompting. His knowledge and language skills never cease to amaze us. After viewing the helicopter Edmund became fascinated with chairs along the viewing area. Hey a fellow's got to rest sometime. This gave Steven and I a few minutes to read about the aircraft in peace. When an announcement came over the loud speaker that the observation deck was going to close an hour early, we rounded up Edmund and headed to the elevator. The views from the top of the deck were amazing. You could see many miles in each direction. Edmund wasn't as taken by the views as we were. He found a friend just his size to chase around the deck. After corralling Edmund we were able to interest him in the airplanes going to Dulles for landing. They were close enough to really interest Edmund. From then on he was certain to ensure the other museum patrons were aware of the "apanes." Every time a person passed, Edmund would get his or her attention, point out the window, and say "apane," just in case the patrons were unaware they were surrounded by one of the largest displays of airplanes in the world.

Edmund did amazingly well during the rest of our 2 hour tour of the museum. So what if he was more enamored with climbing a large flight of stairs or chasing other toddlers around. He still received one of the best introductory courses on aviation he could get at such a young age. At the rate he's going with his retention of knowledge I wouldn't be surprised if he starts spouting out makes of airplanes in the next few days. He also proved that he handles sightseeing very well. Next up...Edmund takes Manhattan!

Ho Ho Ho

Santa, Edmund, and Rameses

Last Sunday, Steven and I took Edmund to our local mall to visit Santa. There was no doubt in my mind that Edmund wouldn't be scared of Santa, although I knew it would be near impossible to get Edmund to sit on the jolly, old elf's knee. Edmund loves people, especially those who say "ho ho ho." The problem would be that Edmund would fear we were going to hand him over to the man in red and book it, just like we do with those people in the church nursery. When our turn arrived to visit with Santa, I simply held Edmund. Edmund said a "ho ho ho" to Santa and briefly chatted with the man of the hour. When we asked if Edmund wanted to sit with Santa, Edmund shook his head and said "no." We thanked Santa for his time and headed on our way.

The next day I was reminded by a parent in my class that Santa would be decked out in Carolina gear and accompanied by UNC's mascot, Rameses. Steven was in Virginia for a residency interview, and Edmund had shots scheduled for early afternoon, so I figured it best to pass. However, Edmund was in such a friendly mood at his doctor's office, chatting up Dr. Morton, Nurse Charlie, and the office staff that I thought he might enjoy another visit with Santa Claus. Fortunately, I made a good call. Edmund and I only had to wait a minute to see Tarheel Santa. Santa remembered us from the day before and encouraged me to try my young fellow on his knee. Santa asked for a high five. Edmund happily obliged, as well as offered a high five to Rameses. I put Edmund on Santa's knee. At first he reached for me, but after distracting him with some brightly colored jingle bells, he was just fine. However, Edmund was quite the serious lad. His mommy played peek-a-boo with Rameses, made ridiculous noises, and did some silly dances. All to no avail. Edmund didn't even crack a smile, although Santa and his elves were cracking up. When I said "Edmund you did a great job," Santa replied, "Mom you did too." So we didn't get a happy picture with Santa, but we didn't get one of a screaming child either. That's pretty impressive for a toddler if I do say so myself.

Was it the fact that Santa was decked out in Carolina blue that made Edmund so willing to sit on his knee. We may never know, but we're hoping Edmund never turns to the dark side, or in this case, NC State, as his older buddy Michael has. Edmund and I saw Michael's family in line to see Santa later that day. Michael's sister Kelly was enthusiastic about sitting on Tarheel Santa's knee. However, Michael, who used to be the world's biggest Tarheel fan, would only sit on an NC State Santa's knee. I told Michael's parents there was hope for him, as I had once chosen UK over UNC. However, I eventually saw the light and returned to my beloved Tarheels. Edmund watched the UK-UNC game with us recently and began saying "Tucky." We quickly intervened and Edmund is now proudly saying "Alina." So Merry Christmas and Go Heels to you!

Neurologist Report

As I'm sure many of you are aware, Edmund finally went for a visit with a pediatric neurologist last Tuesday after a 3 month wait. Waiting for the appointment wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. The neurologist was exceptional. He got Edmund to show off his skills simply by having Edmund play with a variety of little toys and trinkets (an educator's dream). I told Steven to take note. The neurologist's take on things was that Edmund is simply doing things in his own way and at his own pace. Edmund is stubborn, to say the least. Edmund loves to say "crawl" and pat his hands on the ground pretending to crawl, but no actual crawling takes place. I would have loved to find out why Edmund has such a dislike of being on his hands and knees or why he has more than despised tummy time since day 2, but the jury is still out on that. The neurologist ordered some muscle enzyme tests to be absolutely sure he was correct in his theories. Yesterday we received the results of both tests, and all was within normal range. Thanks so much for your thoughts and prayers during this time. Edmund may not be a champion tunnel crawler, but he is well on his way to becoming a world-class linguist.