Eddie is #1! (Well, #4, but he is 1)

There's something of the miraculous in Eddie. I'm sure there's no way to describe it well, but he was born at the front end of a rather tumultuous time in our lives. He was born early in a summer when Kevin was going through rapid change and new responsibility at work, I was preparing for a new job and in the middle of writing my dissertation, and my family experienced a complete upheaval. The year proved a difficult one overall.

And here was this sweet, content, wonderful baby. I'm not just saying that. It is an objective fact. He's my fourth baby and I have seven nieces and nephews--I've seen many kinds--and Eddie's an easy one. His first morning home from the hospital, he woke up in my arms, looked at me as I sang the "Good Morning" song, and smiled. A real, happy, smile. I know--babies don't smile that early. But it's true. The girls' piano teacher swears her two-weeks-overdue son smiled at the nurses at the hospital, and I never believed her until I saw Eddie do it. And he's hardly stopped since. Kevin's nickname for him is Eddie Smiles.

Not just that--he's also perfectly happy to watch the other kids or entertain himself. If you've ever seen Disney's Phineas and Ferb, Eddie is our Perry. Several times a day while I'm cooking or cleaning or whatever, I realize I don't know what he's up to and I ask the other kids, "Where's Eddie?" And he's just off playing ball or dropping pieces of chalk into empty paint cups or sitting in the dog kennel. I actually would not be surprised if, like Perry the platypus, he's a secret agent.

His favorite place to hang out. I really don't know why.

Anyway, I'm not sure how I would have managed a high-maintenance baby this last year. God knew what he was doing, and His timing was perfect, though it didn't always seem so. He sent us this little guy who just seems to ooze a "life is good" mentality.

And now he's one! As I told Kevin, birthdays just seem to be made for a kid like Eddie. Easy-going and unassuming, he's happy with whatever. It was great to celebrate him for the day.

Eddie was actually pretty grumpy on his birthday (teething), but Kevin managed to get some happy pictures before the complete meltdown.

 Let's see, what else...at his checkup he was 22 lbs. 14 oz. and 30.75 inches tall--not a whole lot bigger than at eight months. He's sleeping better but still wakes up at night. His first words were "ball" and "yum." Funny stuff. Now he mostly says, "Uh oh _____." Like, "Uh oh Daddy," or "Uh oh baseball." Eddie loves his blankie and his big brother and sisters. He loves playing ball. He's not walking yet, but he's been butt-scooting around for months and will crawl when he feels like it. He can climb stairs and get on the couch on his own. He's crazy about brushing his teeth. Aunt Emily is probably his favorite non-parent grownup--they've spent a lot of time together this year, after all.

We're so thankful Eddie's a part of our family, and I can't wait to see what the next year holds!

His first time camping! All he wanted to do was climb in the chairs. 

Chillin' poolside

It took awhile before we noticed Eddie scooping macaroni and cheese out of the dish and into the water glass while out to eat at our family vacation.