Active Little Eben

Ever since little Bode has come around, I feel that Eben doesn't get much blog attention.  He's just too darn difficult to photograph, but he sure is fun to be around and I know I have a lot to say about him (but I will keep it relatively brief).

We went for our first walk of the season yesterday evening - what a wonderful feeling!!!  I guess I shouldn't call it a walk because I had an agenda...camera and a few photoprops in the stroller and two boys dressed to coordinate with each other, I was determined to get some one year pictures of Bode outside.  It was quite windy so we walked to a little path in the trees which boasts an adorable wooden bridge-y walkway.  I tied up some (homemade) bunting across the walkway (you will see those pics next week) and tried my hardest to get some great pics of the boys.  Eben kept running through the bunting, messing it up, getting in the back of the pics (not in a cute way), and not listening to anything I am kindly asking him to do...nor did he listen when I not-so-kindly asked him to do it.  Lost story short, active little Eben made the photoshoot incredibly difficult - but he is 2 1/2 and that is what he does...but when I would stop for a second, mentally remove myself from the shoot, I noticed how incredibly adorable he was being.  Not annoying and destructive, but just being an active boy who LOVES the outdoors and this very fun little area we had all to ourselves to explore.  I decided to just relax and let things go the way they were going and let him have fun (but of course kept my camera out for some of it).   



It's amazing how much fun a stick can be.











Eben's speech is getting so good - and boy is it fun or what?! Full sentences, questions, and he knows so many objects that I often am so surprised what he names off.  He also retains things amazingly.  He recites parts of books he has only read a few times and sings parts of songs he hasn't heard very much.  He loves to sing or hum while he plays (usually the ABC's, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Twinkle Little Star or Farmer in the Dell - and recently the Little Einsteins theme song).  He sings to Bode any time Bode gets fussy - hilariously he almost always chooses the ABC's and it often does make Bode calm down and smile. 













Some moments with Eben can be incredibly frustrating - of course because he is a toddler - but almost every night after he goes to bed, I reflect on our day and think about how lucky we are to have such a good little boy.  He is SO giggly, smiley, fun-loving, smart, and kind.  The fits he does throw really aren't that bad and most of the time he is quite entertaining!







Trying to lift the rock...not a success.





"Look, Mommy, a pine-tone!"

Just kidding about keeping it brief...