Three years unfolding before your eyes in 2 minutes. Watch Eko grow from a chubby little newborn to a daredevil toddler to the song Older by They Might Be Giants.
Making these milestone videos has been so much fun for Eko's daddy. If you enjoyed this one, check out the other bonus videos from our Eko Song collection:
Two Year Song
Return to Eko Song (One Year Song)
Belly Song
The Eko Song Playlist
The Roller Coaster Kid
Right away, we visited Great Adventure in New Jersey with Auntie Maureen and the twins, Nicolas and Gabrial. We especially wanted to take him on the Off-Road Safari, a safari bus ride. Half-way through, we stopped at Camp Aventura, where we watched lion cubs run around and fed a giraffe some ice cream cones. Eko was already so tired, he fell asleep on the ride back and managed to stay asleep through the music blaring from game booths and people screaming as they splashed by us on the Log Flume.
Eko had a blast and it was great having auntie and the twins there for his first roller coaster experience.
At first Eko was a little upset that we weren't visiting the same park, but that changed once we got there. After a failed attempt on the carousel (what's with the horses that don't move?!), he got to ride in some more planes and helicopters. This time around, he was very interested in the costumed Looney Tunes characters, even though he's never seen the cartoons before. He really liked how soft they were.
Being July, the water park was now open, so we spent a lot of time on this hot day in the wave pool and kiddie water slides.
We ended the day with greasy food and a firework show.
Two Year Song Reprise
Eko is going to be three in two weeks and it'll be some time before I put together his three year review. Until then, I've improved our Two Year Song video by adding a new ending.
The Scavenger Hunt
We decided long ago that we would incorporate scavenger hunts into our children's life as a way of gifting. Our methods will evolve as Eko ages, but while he's young we've decided to lay trails for him to follow, at the end of which could be found a special present. For his first hunt, we thought we'd put Eko's trail marker following skills to the test.
One day last February, while Eko was napping, daddy cut red construction paper into rectangular trail markers and laid a path of them sticking up in the snow all the way up to and past our horse barn. At the end of the trail we left a shiny red bag with a surprise inside.
Eko had so much fun spotting the next marker from the last. He was too little to grasp the idea that leaving the markers in the snow allowed him to follow them back down again, so each time he pulled one out and handed it to us we returned it to the snow once he began heading toward the next blaze.
When he spied the shiny red bag, Eko exclaimed, "Mommy, look, a BIG
one!" thinking it was just an oversized trail marker. And inside the bag he found a toy saxophone. He was psyched.
His second hunt took place in May, after our friend Dave cut down a dozen trees on our property. Eko was fascinated by Dave's chainsaw and would often pretend little pieces of wood were his own chainsaw. Using tree marking tape, we laid a trail for him to follow though our lower woods, at the end of which he found a toy Husquavarna chainsaw stuck in a tree stump (a la Excalibur!). Even Oma and Gramdpa got to see Eko's excitement at the end of the hunt.
Eko doesn't have to set out on an adventure every time we buy him something—we've also set-up his 5-piece drum set in the night for him to discover in the morning, to huge WOWs! and lots of delighted noise! Most new toys are given one at a time to allow him to really focus on them individually, which suits his personality well. But we're seeing that the activity combined with the acquisition of a new toy fosters a relationship with the object he may not have otherwise developed. He seems to remember the experience of receiving more than when we just give him new things. He also loves making things so much that we try to include him in the making of new toys, like mixing up playdough and sewing up his giant Totoro pillow (but those are toys for another post!).
Scavenger hunts are such a fun way to discover a new treasure—the experience is as much fun (and sometimes more fun) than the discovery at the end. It's a great way to experience anticipation and creative problem solving. We're really looking forward to making the hunts more complex as he learns to read and work out riddles!
Eko had so much fun spotting the next marker from the last. He was too little to grasp the idea that leaving the markers in the snow allowed him to follow them back down again, so each time he pulled one out and handed it to us we returned it to the snow once he began heading toward the next blaze.
His second hunt took place in May, after our friend Dave cut down a dozen trees on our property. Eko was fascinated by Dave's chainsaw and would often pretend little pieces of wood were his own chainsaw. Using tree marking tape, we laid a trail for him to follow though our lower woods, at the end of which he found a toy Husquavarna chainsaw stuck in a tree stump (a la Excalibur!). Even Oma and Gramdpa got to see Eko's excitement at the end of the hunt.
Eko doesn't have to set out on an adventure every time we buy him something—we've also set-up his 5-piece drum set in the night for him to discover in the morning, to huge WOWs! and lots of delighted noise! Most new toys are given one at a time to allow him to really focus on them individually, which suits his personality well. But we're seeing that the activity combined with the acquisition of a new toy fosters a relationship with the object he may not have otherwise developed. He seems to remember the experience of receiving more than when we just give him new things. He also loves making things so much that we try to include him in the making of new toys, like mixing up playdough and sewing up his giant Totoro pillow (but those are toys for another post!).
Scavenger hunts are such a fun way to discover a new treasure—the experience is as much fun (and sometimes more fun) than the discovery at the end. It's a great way to experience anticipation and creative problem solving. We're really looking forward to making the hunts more complex as he learns to read and work out riddles!
Blueberries for Eko
Picking blueberries has become a family tradition since Eko entered our life. Here are some photos from the organic fields at Green Mountain Orchards.
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| 2014 |
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| 2013 |
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| 2012 |
Halloween 2011-2013
Eko has participated in three Halloween's so far and we wanted to post some of the costumes many never got to see.
2011
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| Eko and the bunnymen (6 weeks old) |
2012
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| Moon and Stars |
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| Moon and Aurora |
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| Super Eko |
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| The Night Sky |
2013
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| Gigi cat |
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| Gigi cat |
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| Tree Service Guy |
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| Chucky from Child's Play |
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| with Super Mommeeo-Bop |
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| Super Eko |
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| with Super Daddeeo-Bop |
Sledding Song
A compilation of sledding shenanigans from our 2013 Snowflake Shuffle set to Winter Song by the Crash Test Dummies. Thanks to everyone who participated and a special thanks to Jay's sister, Maureen, for filming the hijinks. Waffles, dancing games, and sleds were enjoyed by all.
The Two Year Song
Presenting our third bonus Eko Song video - the Two Year Song. It's amazing to watch how much Eko has changed in only a year. He had not yet begun to walk by his first birthday, but by 2 he was running, jumping, and even walking backwards.
Come relive the year and dance with us to Icona Pop's All Night.
Come relive the year and dance with us to Icona Pop's All Night.
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