Edmund Takes a Dip in the Pool

After a week of little internet use due to a defunct modem, I am finally posting this entry.

Last Sunday we decided to try out the new Aquatic Center in Chapel Hill. The center has a lap pool and a warmer pool for splashing and play. Since Edmund is such a fan of the bath we thought he would love kicking about in a larger quantity of water. When we arrived we took Edmund into the family changing room to strip him down and put him in a very fashionable "Nemo" swim diaper. Edmund is a big fan of stripping down to his diaper and found the experience of a family changing session quite amusing. I can only imagine what was going through his head. "My mommy and daddy have brought me to a strange place and now we're all taking our clothes off. How silly!" Edmund quickly discovered that the family changing room echoed and soon he was jabbering away, shaking excitedly each time his voice reverberated off the walls.. Finally we were all decent enough to make our way to the pool.

Steven held Edmund as we walked into the pool. I knew I would need time to adjust to the water. The Aquatic Center's idea of warm is not the same as mine and I didn't want to plunge Edmund into the water in the midst of my adjustment. Edmund took to the pool immediately. He kicked his legs like an Olympian swimmer. Several parents with children greeted him as we helped our little fish glide through the water. Again I had to chuckle as I thought what Edmund must think of this experience. "Not only did we come to this strange place to put on silly clothing, but now we're taking a bath in a giant bathtub with strangers. My mommy and daddy aren't just silly, they are downright crazy." Edmund clearly moved beyond our craziness as he found swimming a blast. Imagine what he'll think of the ocean.

Edmund Experiences a Snow Day

Edmund Ponders His Encounter with Snow

Tuesday, January 20th was a momentous occasion in many ways. Not only did the United States witness the inauguration of its first African-American president, but so did Edmund witness his first snowfall. I must add Edmund's mommy was shouting "hallelujah" over her four day weekend. I knew there was a strong possibility of snow, but I prepared to go in for work as usual. The last two years I have been disappointed by the promise of snow yielding to a melty slush and a trek to work. I thought that by not getting my hopes up I had a better chance of snow and cancellation of school--yes I know, faulty logic. Despite my illogical thinking, I still got my snow day.

After feeding and dressing Edmund I bundled him in his snowsuit, hat, and mittens to go see the wintry white stuff blanketing our front yard. Edmund was not thrilled with being bundled and was quite a bit fussy when we made our way out the door. His fussiness turned to confusion as he looked at the white world before him and then back at me. I showed him how he could stick his tongue out to catch a snowflake. To my amazement he even tried this childhood rite of passage a few times. I then helped Edmund touch the snow with his mittened hands. At this point he looked at his mommy as if she were crazy. "Why would you think I would want to touch this strange, cold stuff?", he seemed to ask. Thus our first foray into the snow came to an abrupt end.

Around 11:00 I settled Edmund down for a nap. It then occurred to me I could watch the inauguration live. I got about as far as former President Carter making his entrance before young Master Edmund awoke. I have been very good about sticking to my "no TV" rule for Edmund at our house, but after realizing that listening to the inauguration on the radio was not the same as watching it, I decided to make an exception. I figured it was important for my baby to see this historic occasion, an occasion he will not remember, but important nonetheless.

We made two more ventures out into the snow that Tuesday. On the second trip my baby again looked at me as if I were crazy. "Why would you bring me out here again, silly lady?" On the final trip Edmund sat in the snow while daddy videotaped the adventure. The below picture about sums up Edmund's thoughts on his first snow day.

Mommy Rescues Edmund After He Topples Over in the Snow
At Least He Was Cushioned

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!

Edmund's 1st Visit to the Museum of Life and Science

Edmund and Mommy Check Out "Rhapsody in Blue"

Steven and I both have two weeks off for the Christmas holidays, so we decided to make the most of our time with Edmund. We received a coupon in the mail for free adult admission to one of North Carolina's hands-on science museums, The Museum of Life and Science, and decided it would be the perfect place to spend one of our days off. This was not because we thought Edmund would necessarily get much out of the museum at his age, but because his mother uses any excuse she can to visit. For those of you who don't know, I love museums.


When we arrived at the museum Edmund was fast asleep. Steven decided this would be the perfect time to explore the space section. The museum has recently added new exhibits and done an excellent job of updating, but the space exhibit has remained fairly stable for the last ten years. Steven showed me all his favorite parts from childhood while Edmund slept. I'm amazed that in a few months he'll be able to show these exhibits to an Edmund who will actually appreciate them.

After a relatively short nap, Edmund awoke. Our first stop with an alert Edmund was the museum's new section for children 6 months to 6 years. When we entered the young children's area, a little girl was pumping water through a big tube, which in turn created bubbles. Edmund was mesmerized by the bubbles. Steven and I took over pumping when the little girl decided she had had enough. Edmund would have looked at the bubbles all day, but after about five minutes of pumping his parents had had enough. As there was not much else Edmund could really do until he began crawling, we left the area to go view the Holiday Springs and Sprockets exhibit. The exhibit was perfect for Edmund. It involved a bunch of random materials linked together to create movement. To give an example, one of the installments looked like the scene in the movie "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" where Professor Potts makes breakfast for his children (let me know if you get the reference). With that we concluded Edmund's first trip to the museum.

There is much more to see and do outside, a butterfly house, a petting zoo, a wind exhibit, a nature exhibit with bears and lemurs, etc., but seeing as we chose one of the coldest days of the year thus far for our visit, we decided to skip them until Edmund is a little older. Believe me, I can't wait!

Edmund Gets in the Spirit of Christmas

Edmund and Santa

As the holidays approach it seems as if time has flown by much too quickly. When I was a child Christmas couldn't come fast enough. Now that I'm an adult, I simply want time to stop or at least slow down, so I can accomplish all I want. There has been so much I want to expose Edmund to during his first Christmas season, despite the fact I know he won't remember most of it. It is important to me that I establish traditions, as it is the Christmas traditions I look back on fondly, not the presents.

During my childhood one of my favorite Christmas traditions was visiting Santa at Macy's in NYC. While I had no intention of taking Edmund to NYC this year, I did want him to visit Santa. Edmund is currently at an age where he knows who his mom and dad are, but will go to new people briefly. I was willing to stand in line with Edmund at our local mall knowing with almost absolute certainty he would not scream when we handed him to Santa. Edmund slept forty minutes out of the hour wait and spent the other twenty minutes watching the "big kids" and making friends with their parents. When we finally arrived at Santa I wondered if I would live to regret my decision to wait in line. I had watched at least ten babies around Edmund's age go ballistic upon being handed to the jolly old fellow. I sat Edmund in Santa's lap facing out to make sure he could see me. Since Edmund was not quite himself on account of his shots the previous day, it took several rounds of the laugh provoking "ah tu tu tu tu tu" to get him to smile, but smile he did. We got our picture, so I went to retrieve my baby. I thought Santa would hand him back right away, as he had been none too quick to give the other children back to their parents. Instead Santa turned Edmund to face himself and started asking him what he wanted for Christmas. Edmund studied him intently, and made a reach for the beard. Fortunately he didn't grab hold or we may have had an angry Santa on our hands. I don't think Santa wanted to hand over my baby as this may have been the first cooperative one he had all day, but I thought a few minutes of bonding time with a stranger, Santa or not, was plenty. Santa promised Edmund a Thomas the Tank Engine set. Santa sure is a better gift giver than Edmund's parents who think a box and wrapping paper will be just perfect for his first Christmas.

Edmund had quite the morning with Santa, but that evening would top it. Edmund was to play Baby Jesus in our church's children's musical, "The Perfect Gift." No pressure there! Since I assist with the musical I knew the child playing Mary well enough to know she would do just fine for the few minutes she was to hold Edmund. Unfortunately, when I agreed to the acting gig I forgot that Edmund was getting his shots the previous day. He had no problem with his last round of vaccinations, but this time the flu shot was added into the mix. I have yet to know a baby who doesn't react at least somewhat negatively to the flu shot, regardless of their disposition. Steven did all he could to make sure Edmund's understudy, the doll, would not fill in. He brought Edmund to the musical well rested and fed him during the first few minutes. Edmund was doing great until the scene prior to his appearance. Edmund started to get fussy. Did I mention his debut was to occur at 7:15, right at bedtime? Edmund hadn't reached full meltdown mode, so I gave him his pacifier and passed him off to Mary. When the lights came up Edmund looked stunned, but no crying did he make. Despite the modern socks and pacifier, Edmund made quite a wonderful Baby Jesus. As his Aunt Becca commented, "the 2nd best Jesus in history." Little Mary was so relieved when the scene ended, she exclaimed backstage, "He didn't cry!" Edmund is quite the little actor. He makes a repeat engagement as Baby Jesus on Christmas Eve, this time with an even bigger role. We hope to see you all there.

Edmund Chows Down

Edmund's Dedication Sunday

Last weekend was an eventful one for Edmund. On Saturday Edmund took his first bite of rice cereal. I had really wanted to wait until Edmund was 6 months old before he got his first bite of food, but his signs of readiness could no longer be ignored. He had been trying to pull the fork from my and Steven's plate for several weeks. At Edmund's 4 month check-up (much closer to 5 months) he chugged the rotavirus vaccine causing the doctor and nurse to comment that he would probably take to solids well. At 5 1/2 months we decided to take the plunge. Steven put a bib on Edmund as I carefully mixed Edmund's cereal and milk. After deciding the consistency was perfect I brought the cereal to Edmund's mouth. To my shock he opened his mouth wide and leaned toward the spoon. He didn't even give a face of disgust when the cereal hit his tongue. I'm hoping Edmund is as thrilled with the homemade peas his mommy is going to make for him this weekend, as he was with the rice cereal. I'm also keeping my fingers crossed that this means Steven and I won't have a picky eater on our hands.

Edmund also had a weekend surrounded by grandparents. This marked the first weekend he has had both sets of grandparents together since he was one day old. My mom and dad traveled from Harrisonburg, VA for Edmund's dedication at Chapel Hill Bible Church. We feel so blessed that both sides of the family could be there for this important milestone. Aunt Becca was unable to make it as NYC is quite a drive for a weekend, but she was there in spirit as Edmund donned the argyle socks she got for him. Edmund was quite the well-behaved baby as he stood with his mommy and daddy on stage. He even refrained from spitting up until the final parent/baby introduction. Way to go Edmund!

The next few weeks bring many more firsts for Edmund as he celebrates his first Thanksgiving and Christmas. We are so fortunate to be surrounded by such wonderful friends and family, and look forward to establishing new traditions and ushering him into the old. I want to thank you all for helping make the first six months of our life with Edmund such a joy. It really does take a village to raise a child, and what a phenomenal village you all are.

Edmund Develops a Sense of Humor

Edmund the Comedian

I have recently taken to going to bed immediately after putting Edmund down for the night. After spending much of the day with Edmund and six other roly-poly babies I am exhausted. In order to go to bed after giving Edmund his nighttime kiss, I have started doing my nighttime routine while Steven plays with Edmund. This means that when I go into Edmund's room to start the bedtime routine I am wearing my glasses.

One night last week I went into Edmund's room and sat down in the rocking chair while Steven finished putting Edmund in his pajamas. When he was done, Steven handed Edmund to me. Edmund studied my face intently for half a minute. I thought he was going to cry, perhaps because he wasn't accustomed to seeing "glasses mommy" at night. To my surprise Edmund didn't cry, but quickly reached his hand up and yanked my glasses off my face. Edmund looked intently at "no glasses mommy" for a few seconds and began to laugh hysterically. I took my glasses from Edmund and quickly put them back on, since without my glasses Edmund was simply a blob. Edmund stopped laughing, and again with a quick motion yanked off my glasses. If Edmund was capable, I'm sure he would have been on the floor rolling with laughter. I let this exchange go on a few more times before putting it to a halt.

Although it wound him up a little more than I would have liked before he went to bed, I saw this "glasses on-off" game as a cognitive milestone. For the first time Edmund laughed at something he caused, and not simply his mommy or daddy saying "ah to to to to to."