Chad and I have a theory that Eden’s fear of loud noises began about 7 weeks ago when her little brother joined the family. Ever since then she has been particularly sensitive to noise. Perhaps it is because she saw a bunch of loud fireworks right at the time her life turned inside out and upside down. It is just a theory.

Eden is very cognizant of sounds: sirens, trains, planes, helicopters, thunder, the AC unit, the vacuum, and just about anything that makes noise. She says “It’s loud!”

Today while at the hardware store we passed by some Halloween decorations. She recognized a witch from her Each Peach Pear Plum book and then we walked to the next isle. There was a full size skeleton that opened its mouth and said bwahahaha!. Eden lost it. She started to scream and cry and was so terrified. “It’s loud!” We immediately turned around and went back the way we came. This time the Witch let out a cackle. Add insult to injury. The poor girl was so completely frightened that I couldn’t help but get choked up myself. It was awful. She has been talking about the scary witch all evening. Hopefully she doesn’t have nightmares because I will be so heartbroken to see her scared and have so little ability to help!

Eden has become our little parrot. She will repeat all sorts of things we ask her to. We are also discovering that she will repeat things we do not ask her to as well.

Much of Eden’s speech is still that – all her own – and we have to try and decipher what she means. The other day I could not figure out what she was saying. Then I realized she was repeating something I say quite often (when ever something doesn’t go quite how I wanted it to or expected it to). Eden was saying “Bummer dude!” I am glad that is the phase she has decided to pick up.

We are also working on using this parroting thing for listening skills and disciplining. Maybe I am just brainwashing her. I have been telling her something like “this is the last time we will swing” when she doesn’t acknowledge that I said something I continue “say, ‘okay mama'”. It seems to be working pretty well.

It is amazing what a swing set can do for a young girl. It encourages practicing counting, reciting the alphabet and learning the proper usage of the word “please”.