Totally independent.  Toddles off in the park to mount the teeter totter all by herself despite it being far from Mom or Canaan.  My friends call her "Todo terreno" because she won't have the older kids doing anything without her and thinks she has no limitations. 

When she's had enough of Canaan's intensity she's also happy to toddle off to another room to play by herself for awhile.  Lately Canaan has had a few play dates and things that have given me more one on one time with her.  It's quite a marvel to both Nate and I to have a baby/toddler who does play by herself and chooses to do so at times.

She and Canaan have just started to play better together.  If he can't get either of us to come play, Eden is his next best bet and they'll sit in the yard playing with dirt or out at the yellow table with his cars sometimes for 20 minutes without incident.  She loves to be chased and tries to keep up with her brother.  There is nothing better than the sound of their laughter as they scream and fall and giggle at home or make faces at each other in their car seats.  The first thing she does when you get her up from a nap is ask "Nanaa?"

She is talking a bit more.  Her brother's name is one of her favorites, although she also said, "Pau" as in "Pauli" for the first time yesterday.  She is obsessed with poo: her own and dogs.  So she will point to herself and say "Poo" or stand in the park ignoring all the playground equipment as she points out all the poo on the ground to me.  Possibly her favorite sentence, though, is "No, no, no" with a finger wag thrown in for good measure.

She eats quite well for her age.  We can't complain.  She has a bowl of peas after her nap almost daily and loves them.  She'll eat almost any fruit.  She eats most of what we eat for dinner though chicken is hit or miss and other meats are definite "no"s.  She is far more interested in food than her brother and if she sees something offered she will ask for it.  It's hard to tell when she really is hungry!

Currently she loves to spin and doesn't stop until she is fall-over dizzy.  She also loves to climb on top of any chair or table, falls frequently, and likes to pretend to jump from small ledges.  Stairs are a constant temptation and she's up them in a flash if we leave a baby gate open.  She recognizes the sounds of big vehicles and, through the influence of her brother, is often the one to point out a dump truck or run to the window if she thinks she hears a digger.

She is utterly attached to a blankie her Abuela Taube knitted for her.  About a month or two ago I put it in her crib on one very cold, cold day for a nap.  She burst into tears when she couldn't take it downstairs after her nap and she hasn't let a nap or night go by without begging for it.  Forget a bedtime song, just give me my blankie mom!  I didn't know a kid could form such a strong attachment to a sleep aide a year after taking away any such thing from them.

I haven't been as good at posting the milestones since Eden turned one, but she's still growing and changing.

She is walking, running and CLIMBING everywhere.  She's learned Canaan's technique of scooting a chair all around the kitchen and house to get where she wants to go.  She will climb anything, anytime.  My play group friends say, "She counts now."  This is a clear sign she's not a baby anymore but a moving and opinionated toddler.

She isn't the pickiest eater but she isn't the easiest.  And boy can she be obstinate, refusing food she loves if you make her eat one bite of something she doesn't love.  She still sleeps fairly well, except when teeth are coming in (like right now).  They she needs medicine at bedtime or she cries.  Otherwise it's 7p-6a for her and a 2 hour nap in the middle of the day.  We've been spoiled by her older brother's need for more sleep always but I think we can safely say she just needs less and that won't change!

She doesn't talk a ton, probably because her brother spends the day talking our ears off and interpreting for her.  She does say mama, papa, hola, moo, bye, agua, woof woof regularly.  She also does an elephant sound and sometimes will identify cluck cluck (duck, duck) or quack quack (dack, dack).  Canaan is very concerned and dying for her to start saying his name but he comforts himself almost daily saying, "Eden can say my name when she's older."  She spends her days signing "more", "eat" and "all done."  And she continues, as she's done since about 8 months old to communicate primarily with earnest head shakes that include raised brows in the no or yes direction.

She's spunky and tough, but cuddly.  She loves her brother like none other and offers many sweet kisses and hugs.  But she also spends her days frustrated by him, alternately screaming or hitting him.  She's fully aware of what a time out is and sometimes puts herself in time out when we are merely telling her is she does something again she will end up there.  I love her to death, can't get enough little baby squeezes in during the day and often marvel at how she can be both so personalitied and yet so very chill when playing.

Nate has commented that he thinks she is a good problem-solver for her age.  I notice that she has perseverance in many things.

Photo credits:  Carla Ackermann

My very favorite picture from the whole day.  She captured little Edes eyes so perfectly.

My cousin said this next one is very Lady Gaga!

Let me start by saying that from this day forward I will forever sympathize with my parents for having a child with a December birthday.  Even though Eden's birthday is early December, planning and executing it in between Thanksgiving and flying to the US for Christmas was pretty crazy.  I worked A LOT ahead.  I think I started some of the decor in October and slowly when I had 20 minutes here or there worked on different aspects.  Despite the crazy at the end this was one of the first parties where I felt like I accomplished all of the ideas I'd hoped to incorporate in some small way.  More importantly, it was really fun to think about Eden and do this for her!

Theme: Ice Cream

Photographer: Carla Ackermann (best splurge ever to not have to worry about catching photos while hosting while watching Eden take it all in)

Mixed crowd: English and Spanish speakers, ex-pats, Ecuadorians and Uruguayans, different social circles but it went surprisingly well and I was most impressed with Fransisco and Carol for being really friendly and speaking English with other friends.  It was also just fun to introduce some of our American traditions, like the cake smash, to them.

Food:  Afternoon snacks.  Tomato and Mozzarella Bites, Stuffed Pizza Mushrooms, Goat Cheese and Cranberry Poppers, Popcorn, Watermelon & Strawberries.

Drinks: Sparkling Green Tea Cranberry and Homemade Eggnog (Francisco drank about half the batch and based on this and his appreciation of my Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake I will cook for him any day!)

I loved chatting with my play group friends who feel so comfortable now after almost a year together.  I loved watching Eden perform by walking back and forth between people, something she started doing just shortly before her birthday.  I loved seeing Pauli double-fisting her dessert with a big cupcake in one hand ice cream in the other.  That girl is a sugar nut!  And watching Carol's eyes grow bigger with horror at each new sugary item since she doens't let her kids eat ANY sugar.  I liked watching Carol try to amuse the big kids while the babies played in the circle.  And the horror of my latin friends for letting Eden sit outside with no shirt on.  I liked watching Canaan be a classic big brother and take over all of Eden's toys.  (He still says that this bath penguin was a gift to HIM from Pauli.)  I liked that the party was short and non-stressful because we didn't plan it to be something huge.

Eden's cake smash was totally anti-climactic.  She never got into it and was mostly interested in ripping the cone off the cake.  She doesn't much like sugar and she doesn't like things with texture like bread ... or cake.

Here's party pics and because I couldn't narrow down favorites I'll do a second post of her birthday photo shoot!

Love how she smiles and makes herself laugh.  Love how she is toddling around.  Love how she is starting to hold her own with her brother.  She's going to keep him on his toes.  Love her mischievous peek-a-boo face.  Her gap-toothed smile.  Love crawling around behind her and watching her collapse in giggles before she can get away.

And for my records, she is walking now.  It happened about 1.5 weeks before she turns one.  Not just taking steps but walking.  (I call it walking when they initiate taking steps on their own and can actually get somewhere).  Also for my records is the fact that within about a day of walking, she started pulling herself onto her feet from the floor.  No chair or rail or anything needed.  It took Canaan about four months of walking to get to this point.  She learned it all at once.

Eden, you turned 11 months old and now you're almost a year!  We took your monthly pictures but I'll be posting them late since I'm keeping them under wraps for now :)  

You love to giggle and often times you'll crack yourself up without any help from us.  You've been sick a lot and then you are clingy but when you aren't sick, you are happy as a clam to scoot, crawl and explore ... as long as one of us is within sight.  You don't like anyone else to hold you and you'll start sobbing almost immediately.  You're less curious than your brother, but you're more determined and persistent when trying something new.  

You give high fives to your dad, you shake your head "no" and the other day I swear you sang "Roll over, roll over" along with Canaan's song.  You love your brother but you also know he's not quite safe.  Lately you are holding your own more with him and you demand your toy back.  He loves to see you, asking where you are in the morning.  He's paranoid you'll steal his toys but he also wants you to play with him.  He's also constantly trying to do what you do.  Demonstrating he knows where his head is all over again.  Trying to "walk" to us or walk holding onto our fingers.  He's started signing "more" as we encourage you to do it.  You've finally caught onto this sign though it's more of a clap with you.  We'll take it though!  

You've started taking steps and this morning were asking to do it by yourself.  You are learning to balance standing.  

You've got lots of nicknames that nobody would ever call you but us:  "Lil-E", "Ee-ster", "Ee-ster Leester", "Edes" and more.  Fortunately you respond to all of them.  

You now hate chicken which you formerly loved.  You don't like soft bread and prefer preservative-filled wheat bread toasted and off mom's plate.  When you are sick you eat like a bird and when you aren't you make up for it with double meals.  I stopped nursing at 10.5 months not because I was ready but because I got a bad bacterial infection that required some heavy meds.  

At ten months you love to pull up on anything and try to walk along it.  At times you let go just for an instant.  You can stand (sometimes) for 10 seconds on your own before collapsing to the floor.

You are on Day 6 of a fever.  You are miserable. 

You are really finicky about food.  One day you love pears, the next day you hate them.  And on it goes.  We never know.  You'd much rather be hungry than eat something you don't like today or drink an extra bottle.  You point one little finger and wave us away if it's something you don't want.  You also love to use that pointy finger to point at us and love when we point back. 

You've learned that your brother often is rough and so you've taken to screaming when he gets near you regardless of the intended action on his part.  And OH do you hate when someone takes away the toy you want.  But the two of you love to take baths together and splash around and you're generally a good sport when he dumps a cupful of water over your head.

You can say Momma and Papa'.  You know what a kiss is and lean in and then make smacking sounds.

Dear Eden,

Today, at the young age of 9 months, 27 days you had surgery.  Not something I imagined doing with my infant and yet as we got ready for this yesterday I thought about how minor this surgery was and how blessed we've been with two beautiful, healthy children.  And yet ... at 2am your dad and I were both awake and tossing and turning in bed thinking about what would happen in the coming hours.

You had surgery on your right ear and it helped that the doctor was completely nonchalant about it.  We started our day at 5:40 in order to be completely ready and out the door in order to drop Canaan off with Katie Tassy so your dad and I could both be with you.  We weren't able to feed you after 2am so your dad woke you and did that.  You were okay for awhile in the morning but by 8am you were cranky and hungry.  I could kick myself for not taking our camera but your dad said it was a weird thing to record before we left the house.  However, you in a teeny, tiny hospital gown with the Backyardigans on it was more adorable than I would have imagined.  

Only one person allowed to take you in so I got in some scrubs and let you to the operating room, where all of the nurses cooed over your blue, blue eyes.  Letting them strap the mask over your mouth was hard, watching your eyes roll back and your body go limp was harder, and walking away when they told me I had to leave was the hardest.  The doctor said your surgery would take 30-40 minutes, but we didn't hear anything until 1 hour and 10 minutes later.  I know this, because I was staring down the clock by that point.

When they let me know you were done I pretty much jumped from my chair and raced to the OR where you were sweaty, crying, confused and being held by two nurses and the anesthesiologist trying to put oxygen in your face.  Your cry sounded different and scratchy from being intubated.  You settled quickly into my arms and fell back into a dazed sleep.  The surgeon said everything went great.  Multiple nurses came and tried to cover you all up and I'm not going to lie, I definitely hoped you wouldn't pee on me since they hadn't put a diaper on you yet, but I fended them off as you were still all sweaty and warm.  

They had me wake you and feed you and I was glad that you're still nursing because this was something I could actually DO for you on this confusing day.  After about an hour I was able to take you back to the room with your dad.  Soon after we found out that we wouldn't be released as soon as expected so your dad left to pick up Canaan and get more food for you.  You played with an animal cracker and used my stomach as a pillow while a soccer game your dad had left on blared in the background.  Soon you lost interest, rolled onto your stomach and settled on top of me and fell dead asleep.  Something that would NEVER happen in real life.  I give you all these details of what will soon, hopefully, be a no-big-deal day in your life mostly because I want to remember those moments of you sleeping.  You're getting older and more independent and having a peaceful hour of you sleeping, your breaths shuddering in and out while constructions noises wafted through the window and soccer blared was a little bit of peace in the midst of our life right now.  And I'm glad I got to experience it with you little Edes.  

Since leaving the hospital at 1:30pm you've napped a bit more than usual but other than that you've been your happy self, pushing off and trying to stand determinedly, refusing any pureed foods in favor of solids to our consternation.  We're keeping a close eye on Canaan around you as we've explained how much it would hurt if he touched your head.  So far he's fascinated and asks to see your "owie" about every 20 minutes.  He wants a band-aid like yours.

Love,  Mom

At nine months and a little you are pulling yourself up to standing quickly now.  You like standing but don't show much interest in walking.  

And you now have FIVE five! teeth.  That fifth one popped in while you were working on the fourth and we never even noticed it til it was all the way in.  

You are just starting to sign "more."  You have learned to scream when you  are around your brother, regardless of whether he has pushed you in any way or not.