Eko Song 13 - January 2013

Eko's vocabulary has really expanded over the past month. Listen to him say, moon, butter, rainbow, I love you, and mimic a variety of animals in

Eko Song 13

Belly Song

Two years ago today we announced to Jade's parents that we were pregnant. Although we had already known for two weeks, we made the decision to tell our closest friends and family in person using a tri-fold announcement Jade designed. As part of our major public announcement, we began the Belly Blog, which is now called Eko Blog.

The journey to Eko's birth was so wonderful I decided to compile some video and pictures into Belly Song, a precursor to Eko Song.

Relive the experience with us.

Born to Sled

If there's snow on the ground, we're out sledding. Years before we became parents, we'd been known to host sledding parties and videotape our descent down snowy (or icy) hills. Not many winters have passed without us popping an inflatable sled or groaning from post-sledding back aches. So it was to our delight that Eko revealed himself to be a natural sledder.

On December 27th we were hit with our first sledable snowstorm. Eko liked eating the snow and crunching on icicles, but the deep snow and bulky gear made it frustratingly hard for him to move. Out came the sled! Eko watched the world glide by as Mama pulled him around the yard, but he seemed a little bored. Was he ready for the hill? Not wanting to overwhelm him, Jade took Eko down the short, gently sloping hill behind our house. She was prepared for a meltdown, but there was no fuss, no tears, and no fear; instead he clapped his fists together at the bottom to tell mama he wanted 'more, more!' In the photo of Jay and Eko, you can see his giddy little smile peeking through his balaclava. After a few runs there, we tried a steeper, faster ride down the hill next to our driveway. He wanted 'more, more' of that one as well. Finally we slid down the steepest, but shortest hill at the base of our driveway. We even let him sled down the hill by himself on his belly. He loved it all.

Eko had so much fun he didn't even need a sled beneath him—at one point, when we weren't ready, he just went down on his bottom, skooching himself along the packed down path, laughing and proud with himself the whole way down.

The ease with which he took too sledding really speaks for the kind of character Eko is. At 16 months, he's fearless, willing to try anything. He loves being dunked underwater and jumping into the pool, tumbles on the furniture, and climbs the cat's tower. By now he seems to trust that we want to introduce him to fun things. He jumps head first into new situations, sometimes literally, and acclimates to change more easily than we ever expected a toddler would. It's so much fun glimpsing the boy, and later man, he is becoming.

As a treat for Eko, the three of us ended 2012 with a horse-drawn sleighride at Fairwinds Farm in Brattleboro. Bundled up so tight he could hardly move, Eko stared silently at the horses as they pulled our sleigh through the farm's snowy fields and woods. He enjoyed how their bells jingled each time the horses went into a gallop. The following day, we even discovered our group's picture on the cover of both the Brattleboro Reformer and Commons newspapers.

Happy New Year and happy sledding to all. Enjoy the sledding compilation we put together—it will make you wan to run outside and go for a slide yourself.

Eko Song 12 - December 2012

We discovered we were pregnant two years ago today - celebrate with us by watching Eko Song 12, full of dancing, sledding, and lots of kisses : )

Eko Earned His Wings in November & Eko Song 11

It was with a lot of excitement and trepidation that we brought Eko on his first airplane trip to visit his great-grandparents in Ormond Beach, Florida. Though they keep up with his changes online, it was important to us that they finally meet their great-grandson in person.

We have earned many parent merit-badges this year, but the thought of confining our wiggly little new walker to a seat on a plane, popping his ears, disrupting all naps and routines, felt like madness. In preparation, we grilled well-traveled parents and read through pages of FAA regulations. Our fears soothed, we arrived at Bradley International Airport with Jade's father, Gary, and an already under-napped toddler.

Despite concerns of having "that baby" on every flight, we knew Eko would love being around new people and cruising around the wide spaces in the airports, full of new noises and shiny objects. He drummed on the enormous windows and waved at the giant airplanes. We were grateful we'd chosen to get him his own seat, strapped in his car seat for each 2-hour flight. The car seat was familiar and it made it easier to keep him entertained with spoons, little cardboard boxes, and especially his seat's personal light.

Takeoff was fun—the big woosh seemed fascinating to Eko. Unfortunately, he drank the entire day's bottle of breast milk on that single takeoff, which was great for his ear-popping, but meant we had to get creative on the descent..and next takeoff..and next descent... After fighting a nap for the first hour of the flight, he finally gave in, which meant he was asleep for the descent. He woke crying and pulling at his ears. We tried all of our tricks to try to help him—nursing (in very contorted positions), a sippy cup, food to encourage swallowing—but Eko refused it all. Finally, a little breastfeeding after we landed soothed him. On the next flight, we had him sipping a thick airport smoothie through a straw to help his ears pop.

It was wonderful for Jade to give her grandparents hugs after so many years and to see their faces light up as they met her son. The poor little guy was exhausted when we arrived and smiled dazedly at us through dinner from his comfy rented high chair. But bright and early the next morning, Eko was excited to wake up in a new room and begin to explore his GG-Pa and GG-Ma's house. We drove a short distance to the beach where pelicans flew right above the waves and sea foam blew past in the strong ocean winds. Though the waves were long and gentle, an occasional wave was a little stronger than expected and pushed him right over, soaking the well-intentioned jacket we'd put over his wet suit. Mommy held him above the waves while he kickie-kickied in mid-air with glee.

Eko explored the entire house over and over, making his rounds from the kitchen (where he discovered a fascinating whisk), to GGMa's office (he'd wave and say 'hiii' each time he passed the door), through the living room (picking off blossoms of a fake flowering bush before mommy put a stop to it), and into the sunny sitting room where GGPa and GGMa hang out most of the time. He'd then explore GGPa's feet and tables, try to high-5 the TV, and get wrestled into hugs and tickles before taking off once more. Once he discovered the soft carpeted stairs, we had to keep a close eye on him—he quickly figured out how to slide down those on his belly! Gary lovingly and patiently followed him during his rambles. Eko became so quickly accustomed to his grandpa's presence that he'd cry whenever Grandpa got up from a chair to leave the room. Of course, Grandpa would comfort him and take him along for the walk.

Surprised with how cool and windy Florida could be in mid-November, we took a stroll around the private community. Eko pointed at the waving fronds of palm trees with wonder. Big trees were dripping with Spanish moss. Dragonflies zipped right up to our faces. Though the cooler weather made the tiny lizards shy, we spotted some in the bushes during a warm afternoon. Eko was intrigued! Suddenly it began to rain, and a giant rainbow stretched across the highway as we drove home into the little storm.

It was a short visit. Soon we were taking one last 'four generation' photo and saying goodbye to our dear GGs who had been so sweet and loving to all of us, especially Eko! The first flight home was uneventful, but at Charlotte, we had to RUN across the giant airport, all of our bags bumping and the baby bouncing in his carrier, to catch our next flight. There was no time to get the All-Important-Smoothie or let the baby burn off energy! Eko was bundled right into his next seat and made it very clear that he did not approve. Overtired and done with travel, Eko finally blew his top.

You always hear about how cranky people are on flights with crying babies, but we were lucky to be surrounded by sympathetic parents ("Oh we've all been there, he's really not that loud.") and just truly compassionate people. When all our tricks failed and even being out of the car seat and in daddy's arms didn't work, the man directly behind us drew little happy faces on his thumbs and performed a puppet show for Eko! Jade tried to nurse him into a nap in the bathroom, but Eko just wanted to do play with the faucet. Giving up on the nap, a frazzled mama passed the baby to daddy, who saved the day, somehow, with a steady stream of ice chips, crackers, songs and toys that got us through the flight.

We hadn't been back in the car for five minutes, headed gratefully home, before our sleepy, worldly traveler conked out. After this adventure, it's pretty safe to say that we all earned our wings!

Eko Song 11.

Up, up, and away in October and Eko Song 10

Eko is officially toddling!

Last June, Eko was nine months old and had just begun to pull himself up onto the furniture. It was such a startling change from four to two-legged that we wrote, "Don't be surprised if our next post begins, 'Let the walking begin.'" Thankfully for our sanity, he took the next four months to launch proudly into bipedalism.

It's been nothing short of amazing to watch our little guy learn to control his body. At six months, he figured out rolling and wouldn't stay on his back long enough for us to change his diaper. At nine months he pulled himself up from a crawl to peek into the bathtub. For the next three months he built up his muscles crawling around the house and walking along anything that would give him height - a gate, the couch, or the edge of his crib. Until very recently, Eko didn't like when we'd hold onto his hands and 'walk' him around the room. Like most things, it had to be on his terms.

Occasionally we would catch him standing independently, oblivious to his uprightness as he passed a measuring cup from hand to hand. This happened more often as his first birthday approached, and Eko began to notice. He began practicing with gusto. The night he finally stood from a crawl, he crowed and grinned and flapped his arms with joy. Then began the experimental steps. Jay and I were happy to witness his first steps together—all four of them.

We dressed him up as Super Eko for a Halloween potluck, and perhaps wearing a cape inspired him. Suddenly he could toddle across the room. The next day he could bend down to pick up his kitten toy, stand back up, and keep walking. Now, when he isn't examining the contents of the cardboard recycling bin or trying to feed Sasha treats, he's walking, walking, walking. He walks laps around our entire first floor, falling Maggie-Simpson-style and getting right back up.

What a different feeling it is to be able to set him down on his two feet and watch him take off. Or to see from the corner of your eye a suddenly much taller Eko walk out of a room, his feet tap-tap-ing on the floor. In the last few days he's begun perfecting his u-turns and even gets up speed into a kind of run. He's still working on negotiating uneven surfaces. His bear-crawl comes in handy for that. But he's very intrigued with walking (not just crawling) up and down the stairs.

For a peek of Eko's transition from four to two-limb transportation, watch our 10th installment of Eko Song.