Edmund Asserts His Indepence

Edmund Receives a Football From Granddad

A month ago I had grand visions of writing about Edmund's first Christmas upon returning from vacation. While Christmas and the holiday travels with Edmund were memorable, they are easily summed up. Edmund opened an abundance of gifts from friends and relatives far and near. Christmas day went by rather slowly as Steven wanted Edmund to open each and every present by himself. Edmund never quite got the hang of unwrapping the presents and had to take breaks in between every few presents to eat or sleep. I have a feeling next year's present opening will go by in no time, as well as commence even earlier. Let me take this time to mention that Edmund's parents did not get their little son anything for his first Christmas (shame on us), but he still raked in the gifts. The day after Christmas Edmund took a week long trip with his parents to make his rounds visiting relatives. His first stop was Harrisonburg,VA where he visited Granddad and Grandma Kay Kay. Upon his arrival, Edmund got to "open" more presents. Next he traveled to Hershey, PA to visit aunts, uncles, great-grandparents, and cousins galore. In Hershey he experienced yet another Christmas with present opening. Finally, Edmund traveled north to State College, PA. There he met his great-grandparents Casida for the first time. Guess what? Edmund got to open more presents. Aside from an exciting first trip to Hershey's Chocolate World, the above is Edmund's first Christmas in a nutshell. Edmund also proved an amazing traveler, reminding me again how blessed we are with our little man.

Since returning from vacation a week ago, Edmund has achieved two new milestones. On Wednesday night Edmund suddenly began saying "da da da da." By Thursday he was saying "da ba da ba." Now once he gets going he won't stop. Unfortunately he has yet to say "ma ma" except when he is upset. Steven likes to brag that "da da" is for happy times and "ma ma" is for sad times. I'm going to root for "ma ma" to soon take its place in the happy time category.

Edmund also recently discovered he can shake his head back and forth. He often does this at random times, smiling as he does so. This particular action is quite adorable. However, Edmund has also learned he can shake his head when being offered peas or avocados, his two least favorite foods. This has made for quite difficult, not to mention messy, mealtimes. Both of these new achievements remind me that Edmund is his own little person. He will soon be talking and asking "why, why, why" as he discovers the world around him. He has also learned that he is no longer an appendage of his parents, but an independent being who can express his displeasure. Fortunately for Steven and I, "no" is not a word that has entered Edmund's vocabulary as of yet. We're hoping "why" comes first!