Pooh Fan

Eli liked the Lady and the Tramp movie so much Huts got out Winnie the Pooh, and he loves it! He says Pooh all of the time now. After a few days of the DVD, Huts decided to switch things up and put in the Lion King this morning. Eli seemed interested, but we’ll see this afternoon. Sometimes, the movie has his undivided attentions and sometimes it doesn’t. He seems to like animal movies, but I don’t know if the lions scared him.

Mr In-Trouble

Eli was fairly good last night, playing with his brother and sister much of the night. Of course, there were fights—there always are—but he did not whine nearly as much. He did get into the cabinets and refrigerator a lot, scarfing down some things and wasting others. Then, he did something we were not happy about. Huts had the teakettle going on the stove. Eli climbed up onto the counter and grabbed the kettle. Miraculously he did not burn himself—thank you, God. Huts scolded him, and that was that for a while.

Once the older two went to bed, the turmoil began again, this time with Eli getting a real spanking. He hasn’t been into that much trouble in a while, and he was very upset. It took him about half an hour to calm down and then he snuggled next to Huts and fell asleep tight. He stayed in his bed all night and was not pleased that he had to get up early this morning. By the time we left, he was his usual chipper self, happy to be watching “Lady and the Tramp.” He loves dog movies, so ‘101 Dalmatians” it is next.

In All Fairness

Eli can be just as sweet as he is rotten. After telling you “No!” and running away, he sometimes returns in two seconds and give you a huge smile and a peck on the lips. He will bring you tissue, clippers and most anything else you want. He will help you cook and clean—much more willing to put things away than his siblings. He can be nice to his siblings, sharing his toys with them and his food.

The best time is when he is tuckered out and climbs onto the couch next to you. He snuggles in tight and drifts away into dreamland, leaving you wondering what he’s thinking about and what he will be up to next.

The Epitome

Obstinate...Check!
Forceful...Check!
Unruly...Check!
Tantrums...Triple Check!

Eli has become the epitome of the terrible two's. Most of his response's to our requests are an emphatic "NO". He doesn't do what we tell him, he runs away when we try to get him to do anything, he is picky and we are always wrong. He'll get a snack, then not eat it and repeat the cycle. He'll undress from his jammies nightly and run around in a diaper, then throw a fit while we force him back into them at bedtime. While he is cute when he stuffs his Grandma's possessions in his jammies and runs around with them, he doesn't take it well when we tell him to give them back.

Christian and Tori version of terrible two's were not this pronounced. I have to put that up to their demeanor being so laid back. Eli is anything but laid back. He has to be involved in everything and will fight (including hitting, but no biting) his siblings for his things. He is going to be a bear to teach about sharing. Time-outs when he turns into the Tasmanian Devil don't help, swatting him sometimes aggravates the situation, distraction seems to be our only ally at the moment and it is temporary in a lot of cases. He just goes back to being aggrieved when he remembers he was crying and screaming. You know, because we are monstrous parents who force him to do things he doesn't want to do like sit in his car seat! He's a Category 5 Hurricane of terrible two's and we've got 6 more months of stormy weather, I hope he grows out of it in that time.

Sick Christmas

Eli was the last to get the Christmas bug. He was able to open his presents without any problem and he seemed to like most of them. He got a lot of Spongebob, Handy Manny and vehicles for Christmas. He got sick in the afternoon after a glass of milk, but after his bath seemed mostly OK, just a bit clingy. He was a bit shy with the new people around but warmed up to them all by Saturday night, just in time for them to leave. By Monday he was ready to go and he was mostly a good kid on the trip to KC. The DVD player in the car kept him entertained and kept the DVD's intact for the entire trip. It was a long trip, but he made it in pretty good spirits, even with a short nap.

With the long trip, late dinner and slow service he was a bit crabby by the time he got fed that night. He was ready to got the next day, but his shyness kicked in when the babysitting kids started to arrive. He was mostly OK as long as we were in sight, but a few times he got antsy even when we were around. Once we got to Monkey Business, he was all about playing. He started in the toddler section, but eventually moved to the big kid bouncies. At 2 he is just like his brother...mostly fearless. He climbed to the highest slide they had by himself and went down it. Another long bouncy had multiple hills (6 and 8 feet tall) and multiple obstacles to navigate. He went through it 3 times before he tired out. It was a lot of work for a 2 year old! He and his cousin Sophia came home and fell asleep quickly for a long nap. They both were worn out.

Eli's shyness returned that night when my siblings and spouses showed up. All the new people scared him a bit and he didn't have time to get to be comfortable around them. He enjoyed ripping his presents open and finding all the vehicles and gadgets. However, he hated the Monkey! It scared him once it started rolling on the floor, so that was one of the last times he saw the monkey. He made the trip home with little issue and an early nap. He made it through our last celebration on Thursday. He only made it to 10 on New Year's Eve (we weren't going to let him stay up), so he was ready on New Years Day bright and early. He was pretty good the rest of the weekend and was ready to see his friends at the sitter's today even though he didn't want to get up. Hopefully he'll be back to his normal routine after tonight.

Mr. Chatterbox

Everyday Eli spits out a new word, often more than one. This morning it was back seat. He wants to sit in the back seat with his sister, but it’s the third row and he can’t buckle himself into his seat like Tori can. That’s why we put him in the second row. We can get him in easier there and hand him what he wants. He wants to be a big kid like his brother and sister and keeps getting on the scale. He is not yet 30 pounds, but as soon as he gets there, I am putting him in a booster seat. Then he will feel like a big boy, and soon he may even be able to sit in the third row and buckle himself in.