Eden, the 21-Month Old

November 15 - December 14

Eden Loves Colby Jack
Eden has always been fond of Colby Jack since she was old enough to notice his existence. But especially lately, she's been super cuddly with him when he walks up to her. Even when Colby is just laying on the couch or the floor, Eden will run up to him and tackle him, giving him squeezes and burying her face in his fur. She always looks at his face and laughs. We know Colby loves the girls, and he just sits there and takes it. He has an uncomfortable look on his face, but he always comes back for more.
She does like to pat him on the head and sometimes she gets a little rough, so we are disciplining her on that. But for the most part she is gentle with him - just annoying :)

Eden Loves iPad
One thing Eden loves more than anything is the iPad. We have several apps just for her, saved in her own folder. She knows how to find them and how to navigate around the apps/games very well.
When she asks for the iPad, she knows to go to her designated "spot" - the ottoman in the living room. She'll go running out there and knock off any toys that are on the ottoman to clear room for the iPad.
We do have to set limits and monitor, only letting her play for a certain amount of time then we take it away. The only way we successfully get it away from her is by immediately distracting her with another one of her toys or by reading her a story.
We've been able to find some great apps that are teaching her letters and words.

Eden Loves Letters
Eden really knows her letters well. She points them out whenever she sees them and can say most them very well.
Her vocabulary is growing too. She can say butterfly ("bwah-bu-wah"), eat, monkey ("key-key"), Santa, hohoho, meow and woof woof. She also uses her sign language for "more" all the time.

St. Nick's
St. Nick came to the O'Neills house this year! We put the girls' shoes outside their bedroom doors and in the morning they both got a handful of change for their piggy banks. In her stocking, Eden got Goldfish and puffs and an Alphabet book and a new toy smartphone that she was immediately addicted to.

Eden Meets Santa
Eden got to see Santa a few times before Christmas. The first time was Thanksgiving weekend at the library. He came up on a fire truck. Eden was not scared at all to sit on his lap, she was just mad we took her toy phone away so we could get a good picture.
The next time was at the mall, we waited in line for awhile, but there was a lot to look at in line. It was a Despicable Me theme so she was all about checking out all those decorations. She sat on his lap like a good little baby and the hardest part about taking the picture was getting her to stop looking at his beard! But we got a great picture of two happy girls smiling with Santa. Very rare, indeed!
Then, we saw him briefly at Breakfast with Santa at Rainforest Cafe. She's say "ho ho ho" when she saw him from a distance.
We're so happy she was not at all freaked out by Santa, as many toddlers this age are. Yay Boopers!