Monkeys & Crocs & Giraffes, OH MY!

One of Eddie's Birthday gifts from his Grandpa Baker was a years zoo pass. We finally had our first opportunity to take Eddie to the Brevard Zoo this past weekend. When we entered the front gates a lady laughingly commented that Eddie had a smile on his face from ear to ear. He was so happy to see all of the kids running around when we entered. This pretty much set the mood for the afternoon, he was all smiles and very happy to see all of the animals come to life that he's only seen from the pages of his storybooks. Some of our favorites were the monkeys (of course), the huge crocadile, the otter, the friendly birds & our top pic has to be the giraffe who was super friendly. At one point he nearly licked Eddie's face; this is just Eddie's style (up close & personal)! We had a great time and we are exicited to be able to visit as much as we want throughout this year.

The friendly bird

hangin' with the giraffe

Lord, I pray this is the closest he ever wants to get to a crocadile. No crocadile hunters in our family!!

October Fun

I've always loved this time of year. However, it's not quite the same living down here in Florida; no pretty fall foliage, no nip in the air. I do everything I can to reinvent the autumn season I so loved up in Indiana for so many years. I decorate the house for fall, I get the pumpkins, light candles with scents like cinnamon or apple cider and make recipes that scream cooler weather, all the while outside it's still hot, humid and palm trees galore. Who am I fooling? Anyway, this is all Eddie knows for now. I look forward to taking him north someday so he can jump in the leaves and experience the season that I love so much. I wanted to share some pictures with you. There will be more to come as we're testing out a few cameras.

Here he Grows...

This past week Eddie had his 12 month check-up. It went well and we checked out with the Doc's approval. Eddie continues to grow & grow in height but he remains a skinny minnie. He is coming in at 31" high & just above 20 lbs. The height puts him within the 75%tile but not so much for the weight category. He's definately built like his Dada; tall, thin, & tiny hiny. Doc says she's not concerned about the weight because he eats so well. He eats adult size portions of oatmeal and it's no surprise when he eats entire sweet potatoes, avocados, bananas, full yogurt containers, etc. He IS a healthy boy and I'm happy to say that he's only been sick once so far and with all of the traveling we've done over this past year, I'd say that is a HUGE success. I know this probably doesn't excite most of you out there but for a small few I thought I'd post on his health. Eddie is saying a few words now which consist of : Dada, Ball, Dog, Momma & today he has consitently been signing "more" when at the dinner table. Like I said, he likes to eat!

Eddie has 8 teeth and is getting 2 more as I write. You can say a few prayers for this to pass quickly!

I thought I'd also share a cute story (again from the NY trip). We had the opportunity to visit with Eddie's second cousin Josh, who is a really sweety. Eddie loved him as you can see them hugging in one of the pictures here. At one point John was playing a Beastie Boys song on the radio and josh started dancing in his seat (while motioning for his mom to turn around, he didn't want to be teased later), then who joins in....our little Eddie! They are both bopping to Beastie boys while the rest of us are laughing histarically. It was very cute and something you'd have to be there to appreciate fully.

I'm still waiting to replace our camera and I'm dying to take more pictures. As the Reinhold's put it..."if we didn't get a picture of it, it didn't happen".

More of N.Y.

This is a perfect picture to show you the face I get to see every morning. Eddie is the happiest little man in the morning. He's in a stage of pointing right now so when we walk in his room he immediately starts pointing all around the room. He's an olympic pointer and wins the GOLD.

Eddie had a blast on the tractor with his Grandpa Reinhold. I thought he might be a little scared but then I remembered...this is our fearless child!

We spent alot of time swimming and relaxing in the jacuzzi on grandma and grandpa's front porch which had a perfect view of the lake. great on the chilly days & evenings especially.
On our vacation John & I had several opportunities for some personal time which was much needed. Over the past year we've had very few opportunities for dates, etc. We were able to do dinner & a movie one night, Niagra Falls one afternoon, sailing, speed boating, canoeing, fishing, bike rides & more. I only wish we had more chances to date!

I AM 1! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!

(before cake)

WoW, it's been quite some time since mommy posted something on here for me. It feels like we've been on vacation this entire summer so needless to say, we've fallen a little behind on the blog. Since Mommy last posted, so much has happened. We went up to N.Y. state to visit my Oma & Opa Reinhold, where they spend half the year. They live on lake Ontario and have all kinds of kid & adult toys so we all had something to do; speed boats, sail boats, canoes, bikes & toys, toys, toys. As always, I received alot of love and attention and soaked it all up. While we were there, I turned 1! I know, can you believe it? My mommy tells me that I'm going to live up to that song by Johnny Cash titled "I've been everywhere, man". My travels started off before I was even born...still baking in my mommy's belly. When she was 5 months pregnant Daddy & her took a trip to Arizona, Utah, Nevada & even hiked the Grand Canyon. Since my birth I've traveled to Atlanta, Indianapolis, Nashville, Muncie, Union City, Eaton, Chatanooga, Kauai, Oahu, Buffalo, Barker & back.
Whew, this year has zipped right on by. Mommy says I'm a big boy now, but I'll always be her baby. The family threw me a party and I got to try my first bite of chocolate cake, which mommy also tells me I shouldn't get used to. Mommy says, I wasn't nearly as messy as I could have been & maybe I've inherited my Daddy's neatness gene...we'll see.?
We managed to take some pictures before mommy ruined the camera by falling into the freezing lake with camera, clothes & all. Glad she wasn't holding me! Sooooo, here are some of the pictures from our trip. Mommy says she'll keep posting some from time to time since we are camera-less right now. I've had a great first year & I know I'm just getting started. Thanks to all of you who have been a part of my life so far. It's been fun meeting you all.
Love, EDDIE

(CAKE)

(took Eddie to see the animals for his Birthday)

ALL BOY

This has been Eddie's best buddy since he was a newborn. He's really become attached to him over this past year. It's his dog named DOGGIE (very unoriginal, I know). He's actually our second one because we lost the first one in Hawaii!

Eddie is all boy; loves balls, trucks, dogs & hangin' out with Dad watchin' his favorite cartoons. The past couple of days we've been cooped up inside because of the tropical storm. We survived without any damage but others in the area were less fortunate with flooding.

Our backyard flooded during the storm!

Reflections

As Eddie approaches his 1st Birthday in the next few weeks I am so excited at the way he has blessed our lives. I know I've mentioned it before and I'll say it again now -- if I could only grab moments in time and place them in a capsule so in some way I could remember the countless times he's made me laugh and the joy he's brought me. Trying to remember the days before he was a part of our life I can remember feeling content with life. I didn't particularly feel that I needed something else added to my life, I was happy the way things were. I can remember feeling scared that adding someone else into the mix would somehow take away from what John & I had. I knew things would NEVER be the same and the next time that we would REALLY be ALONE, we'd be much, much older and time will have changed us in more ways than I can currently imagine. I felt saddened by this thought. Today, however, I can't imagine our life without Eddie & in a unique way he's brought us closer & stronger. It's true that he has turned our simple life upside down and no, no, things will NEVER be the way they were but my heart tells me that life is only better. Over this year I've read & researched & talked & inquired about what the best approach for this Parenting role should look like. I've grabbed ideas from here & there & went with my gut & only pray that the choices I've made so far are the best for our little man. I take this role seriously, perhaps there is no other time when we have the opportunity to invest in someone's life the way we do as parents. My desire is for Eddie to love the Lord, walk with him each day, experience the love for a spouse that I have experienced with John & to be truly happy & healthy. So with caution I work each day to parent Eddie the best I know how. I personally CELEBRATE Eddie's life each day with hugs & kisses and thank the Lord for how he has blessed me. My heart is bigger & softer & I think I may have a new wrinkle or two on my brain.