Eden, the 18-month old!

Walking....false alarm?
We were so excited once Eden took her first steps and assumed since she took so long to start, she wouldn't look back once she did.
She went from one step, to four steps to 12 steps in that very first evening - but by the next day she only walked a handful of times. It was like that for a few days, then we went up to Milwaukee for the weekend and everyone was so excited to see the newly-walking Eden! Well, she did not deliver. She didn't even stand up on her own, just crawled everywhere like that's the only thing she knows to do.
Could be because of the new environment, could be because all the people? But it was a little damper. For the next couple weeks she walked half the time, then shortly after it was mostly walking, only resorting to crawling if she really wanted to get somewhere fast or was a little unsure.

Football Sundays
We're training our daughters well :) The girls know Sundays are Football days! With Bears and Packers games on, sometimes right after another, and us both being in Fantasy Football, we dominate the TV from noon til bedtime on Sundays.
Sounds like abusive parenting, right? Well, in our defense, it is seriously the only time the girls AREN'T dominating the TV! We never watch TV til after bedtime, so Sundays during football season are our days. We will still play with the girls all day, of course. Eden doesn't seem to mind at all. She enjoys watching the games and points and babbles at the TV a lot. Or just hangs out and reads her books. I think she just enjoys hanging out in the living room with us all there!

Eden, the 17-Month Old!

Eden's First Vacation!
At the end of July, we went on a family vacation for the first time since Addison was around this age (we went to Galena). But this was our first weeklong vacation since our honeymoon over 5yrs ago - yikes!
This vacation was part of Grandma G's 50th Birthday celebration with the whole family. Even Great Grandparents Kathy & Jim were there too and Great-Grand Aunt Donna! We headed up to a rented house on Carpenter's Lake in Eagle River, WI.
We were concerned how Eden would be on this trip, being that she was still crawling, and there's not much that entertains her other than toys and TV. So we packed a ton of toys to make it feel like home for her. We brought along baby gates too as we'd need to Booper-proof the place!
Eden did mostly hang out in the living room and play with her toys. I took her for a few long walks and she did play on the beach a couple times (it was chilly!). She really enjoyed everyone's company too and would interact and laugh with them.
Her favorite was cousin Erin, anytime she'd play her flute. Eden was mesmerized by the sound of the flute and by the flute itself. She kept taking it away from Erin to study it. So cute! Anytime Erin brought it out, Eden would crawl over and sit right in front of Erin, patiently listening. She sure is a musical little girl!
We were also worried that Eden would be bad in the car. She isn't under normal circumstances, but this was a 6-hour trip. Much to our surprise, she was great! She was quiet and would either sleep or just look out the window or play with her little toy iPod, etc. I guess we shouldn't be surprised anymore when Eden is easy-going, that's just who she is...and we love it!

At Last...
And of course, I can't forget to mention the single most important moment of Eden's 17th month....On her 17 month birthday, EDEN WALKED!!!
After months of walking all over with push toys and upside down tables (yes, that was her favorite walker!), we finally got Eden to take a few steps on her own. In the same night, she went from 4 steps all the way up to 20+. She would still resort to crawling if she really wanted to get somewhere fast in the weeks following, but as the days went on, it was much and much less frequently. 
We are so happy and proud of our little walking Boopers!