Out Early

After a long weekend of fun, Eli fell asleep quickly last night. We spend much of the weekend working on our kitchen, and Eli helped “fix” things and paint. He also played in the sprinkler and ran around outside a lot. All of this eventually took a toll on him, and he sacked out on our bed around 7 last night. Huts put him into his bed, and we didn’t hear a peep from him until early this morning. He wanted Daddy and he found him on the couch. Tonight he sleeps in our room on another mattress so Annie and the new kitties can sleep in his room. Huts and I need our bed back, and Dreamy, the mother, needs her mom Annie to sleep with. Just 2 more weeks and Dreamy and her kittens will have a new home and their own room to sleep in I’m sure.

My Birthday Coming Up

Eli is catching on to all of this birthday stuff, and he now knows that his birthday is coming up soon. He told me and his dad about it. He also asked me what the name of it was. It took me a while to figure out what he was asking, but he wanted to know what month his birthday is in. I told him August and his dad’s birthday comes right after his. He seemed happy about that. Goodness knows what he will want, as he often gets distracted in the toy store and leaves with nothing. He’s got all of the tools and automobiles he’ll ever need; not sure what he will set his sights on next.

Ewiiiii

Eli now says his own name, telling me all day yesterday who he was. Like most young kids, he turns the “l” into “w.’

Our little talker also told Gama yesterday that he was going to the toy store for a gun to shoot the bugs. He didn’t go, of course, but he did get a water gun to shoot the ants down. He must have spent a lot of time washing away the ants and it must have wore him out because around 5 he climbed up on Ollie’s bed and fell asleep with Hum the bunny in hand. He slept for about and a half and then had some dinner.

Of course, this late nap kept him up and he ended up sleeping with me. Ugh. He moved all over the bed and poked me several times in the head and ribs. He must have gotten some sleep somehow because he woke up happy this morning, ready to go. Ollie went with him, and Eli was happy about that!

Shicken nuggats, friiies, shocolate milk

Eli has turned into a major talker, just like his sister. He talks a mile a minute about most everything, and sometimes you can make it out and sometimes you can’t. It is becoming clearer, however, as his recent request for a McDonalds Happy Meal revealed. He knows what he wants, and he asked for it in his own, unique way. Did he eat it? Not exactly. He is a lousy eater, especially these days. He picks at his food and often avoids supper altogether. We hold back snacks from him until he eats dinner, but that doesn’t always work. He knows what he wants, and if he doesn’t want to eat, he is not going to—no matter what the consequences. SIGH! He can be so stubborn. Wonder where he gets that from?

Jabber Box

Eli has turned into a non-stop talker. Most of the time you can understand what he says, but at times it is still difficult. Most of the time it'll involves movies. He'll ask for Supa babies (a Dora DVD), Iego (Dora dvd with Diego), Punbob (Spongebob), Shek (Shrek - he's watched all 4!) and Caillou. He'll also ask for TV, VD (dvd) and tell us when his show is over whether it really is or not. He tells me when the light turns green to go "Green...go", comments on the busses, trucks and tractors we see while in the car. He likes "yewow bus", "Big Truck" and "Trac Cor". His current favorite movie is Despicable Me because "it funny". He tries to tell us many other things, but we don't get them all most of the time, so he still has to show us. Usually he needs a "nackie" (snack) or "dink" (drink) and will tell you what kind of each.

We are happy that he is getting to the age where he can tell us what he wants/needs so we can stop guessing. Sometimes we still have to guess, but at least its getting better.

Step Up, Step Down

Eli did not get a new bed, but it hasn’t fazed him. He loves tromping up and down the steps on both beds and throwing things off. He also likes hanging out underneath the beds and playing with his brother and sister. I thought we were going to have a problem there for a while because he kept asking where his new bed was. Once we got them into the rooms and put up, he never asked again. Guess he is still happy with his bunk bed and the ladder he can climb.

It rained all weekend, so Eli didn’t get a chance to go outside. Poor kid. He loves outside. Maybe this week he’ll get a chance to help his dad mow. Keep your fingers crossed that we have a few dry days.

Eva Time

Sharon went on vacation this week, so Eli has been staying with her sister Eva. He loves Eva, and she loves him. I think he is having a ball being the old kid there with Eva’s complete attention.

Going to get an M&M jar to see if we can get the potty training going again. Maybe he will do it if he knows he gets chocolate every time. He loves chocolate—A LOT!!!!!!

All Asleep

Eli is doing better about going to bed and staying there. Of course, he will be sleeping with his dad this weekend, so that will probably take him out of the routine.

He also seems less crabby. Now if we could just get him potty trained. He has little interest in it these days. I know he could do it if he just would. I think I am going to have to get a jar of M&Ms to see if that will peak his interest and get him going on it again. I may have to get a jar for the sitter’s too. Speaking of that, Sharon is off to Florida next week, so Eli gets to stay with her sister Eva. He loves Eva, so he should have a good week with her.

Part Boy, Part Girl

Eli got Flicker and Rip for Easter, along with some cars. He carried the tools all over the house, outside and to the sitter’s this morning. He loves Flicker the Flashlight and told me he needed a new one (Grandma already fulfilled that wish for Christian’s birthday). He loves his Handy Manny tools.

When he wasn’t fixing something, Eli was hanging out with his sister, carrying her new purse and playing with the dollhouse. He helped me set up all the furniture and told me where to put the people. Then he did the same for Tori. He followed her around for a few hours, playing with whatever she told him to and singing her songs.

Tori has been teaching Eli his colors, and what’s the first color he has learned? Pink! Everything is pink, though he does know the color blue. Yesterday, he ate all of the pink candy he could find and identified everything that was pink. The girl is rubbing off on him!

Another Cold

Eli rarely gets sick, but he does get colds, and the radical shifts in temperatures had brought on another. He has had a hard time sleeping, and Huts has spent many a night in his bed with him and alone. Sometimes Eli wants his dad to sleep with him, and sometimes he wants to sleep with me in our bed. We’ve had a lot of restless nights here lately. Wish the weather would get warm and stay warm, and Eli’s cold would go away once and for all!

Just A Little

When I got into the car yesterday, Eli was fussing just a little about his brother and sister not being there. Late that night, he got a little sadder when I asked him if he missed them. He seems to, but not much. He played all night long, enjoying the fact that he had Mom and Dad and all of his toys to himself. At this rate, he may never want them to come home!

Busy Little Bee

Eli is a night owl like his dad and sister. Seems like when 9 o’clock rolls around and his brother and sister are in bed, he perks up BIG TIME! He plays and plays and plays, chattering the whole time and always begging for 5 more minutes. It is getting harder each day to get him to settle down and snuggle up by us on the couch. Too much adrenalin I guess. What does seem to wear him down is playing outside, so hopefully, he will get lots of outside time this summer and get into the habit of going to sleep at a decent hour and sleeping in his own bed all night long! Can you tell how much Huts and I long for sleep?

Better This Time

Eli was a monster the last time we had parent-teacher conferences. He squalled and wriggled around. This time we had a sticker/coloring book for him, and that seemed to help. He got a little restless in the second conference, but he much better there than he was last time. He got lots of Chinese rice and fortune cookies as a reward. He also got some candy from Christian’s teacher.

Snakes

That’s what Mom came huffing and puffing about to Huts last night. Piper, our little yellow cat, found herself a baby garter snake and brought it up on the deck. The kids, Mom and I watched Huts sweep it into the shovel and toss it across the creek. At first, it appeared to be dead, but eventually it started wiggling and Huts swept it up into the shovel.

Christian refused to come downstairs and see it. Tori and Eli watched from inside. They were both pretty scared and Eli kept telling Piper “No more nakes, Piper.”

It did not scare me as much as an adult snake, but it was definitely gross and gave me the willies. Piper seemed really confused that we weren’t happy about her little gift. We kept her inside in case she had plans to go get the rest of the family. She stalked around from window to window, eager to find her way back outside. I don’t know if Mom let her out today or not. If so, I hope the snakes had made their way elsewhere.

That cat. She will go after anything that moves. This is not the first time she has played with a snake or brought one up on the deck. Last time, she dropped it in the kitchen and Huts pushed it out. Ugh!

Got A Cold Again

Eli felt like crap on Monday and stayed home. Now he has a cold, lots of coughing and a runny nose. Poor boy! He just can’t get a break. He couldn’t fall asleep last night and Huts said he was all over the bed. He wants his daddy this week, so I am not much help. Maybe he will switch parents tonight and Huts will get some rest. We’re hoping to get some yard work done and it would be nice to be awake enough to do it.