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.

Mr. Crabby

Eli stayed at home Monday because he was sick. He is better now, but he is awfully crabby, and the only person he wants is Daddy. Poor Huts. He has to carry Eli everywhere while trying to make lunches, fix dinner, etc. Eli sounds like he is getting a cold, so maybe that is the reason he is so crabby. His sister is getting a cold, too, and that’s making her tired and crabby in the mornings. Ugh! Spring better come soon so the kids can get well and stay well!

Me Too?

When we get into our subdivision, we tell the kids they can unbuckle. The older two usually say yay and unbuckle their seatbelts right away. Eli always wants to know if we mean him too. I don’t know why he thinks he would be excluded from this; he isn’t excluded from much. We tell him that he too can unbuckle and it takes him just a second to get out. Then he tries to climb into the front to mess around with things. Sometimes he succeeds and sometimes he doesn’t, which usually ends up with him throwing a fit!

Last night he didn’t get to unbuckle. He fell asleep once we got to school and he slept for a couple of hours on the couch after we got home. That made for an easy dinner for the rest of us but a crabby Eli later. He was very whiny but fell asleep rather quickly. We were worried he was going to stay up until midnight.

Pzzzzzz

Like his sister, Eli also likes to pick out things. This weekend, it was a Star Wars gun, which he could not work much less would play with. His way of getting us to buy toys—PZZZZZZZZ (please) with an earnest look on his face. Sometimes it works, but not this weekend. The gun got put back on the shelf and he turned his attention to the games set up. He played with those for a few minutes, or rather fought with his sister over them, before it was time to leave. The trip was worthwhile because we got a microwave and an idea for an Easter toy for Eli—another tool from Handy Manny.

Eli loves Handy Mandy tools. This weekend, he got out his hammer and helped me move the kids’ stuff around on the walls. I would hammer the nail and then he would get on the stool and hammer it a couple more times for good measure. When I put my hammer away in the closet, Eli put his little blue hammer on the shelf below mine. He is quite the handyman!

Moving Toward 3

It’s hard to believe, but Eli will turn 3 in August. He is talking a lot and letting us know what he thinks about things—man, is he loud. He is running around with ease, up and down on stools and stairs like they are nothing. He even tries to put on his own clothes and shoes and often succeeds. I have to remind myself constantly that our house is now baby and toddler free. We have a little boy on our hands now. He even got a big boy haircut a couple of weeks ago, sitting on the bench instead of his dad’s lap.

No more babies, no more toddlers. It’s kind of sad, but liberating. By this time nest year, Huts and I will be free of diapers and hopefully sleeping through the night—Eli is still working on potty training and sleeping all night long in his bed. We haven’t had six months of uninterrupted sleep in nearly eight years. How great that is going to feel!

No Nap

Eli missed his nap on Sunday—wouldn't take one for anything. Then when we got to the sitter's, we learned that he and Jayden had missed their naps yet again. Too hyper I guess. They finally crashed around 4, but that's when we arrived so Eli was asleep for about five minutes. He was a bit crabby that night and did his best to stay up, but Huts finally got him to crash around 9. That boy! We're starting to think he may be done with naps. He's not even 3 yet!

On another note, it is warming up. The snow is melting big time, and the days are growing longer. We can finally see the grass, and before long, the kids will be able to go outside and have some fun!

My Pie

I wanted a French silk pie for my birthday, instead of cake, and Huts and Eli stopped off to get it on their way from the sitter’s. Eli likes pie, so it was his pie, not Mom’s. “My pie,” he told me over and over, even after we got home and he got a couple of slivers. We accustomed to him wasting more food than he eats, so we gave him just a dab. He asked for more, but I don’t think he ate much of it. “My pie” is almost gone, so Eli will soon be sad.

Eli also had fun in the snow, but I didn't get too many pictures of him in it. Below is the video of what we got this past week. Over 14 inches! Hopefully we don't get anymore this year!

Snowed In

Aunt Diane took lots of pictures of the snow when she came up for Christmas. Uncle Travis shoveled the driveway and deck in no time. Well, you two and all of other readers, you ain’t see nothin’ until you see the head-high piles on our driveway now. We were in the path of the blizzard, and it took us a whopping two hours to dig ourselves out. Good thing we shopped for groceries on Sunday. The kids went to school Monday and haven’t been back since. I am betting they will be going tomorrow, but we’ll see. It all depends upon the temperature.

The snow was like powder and easy to shovel. There was just so much of it that we tired quickly. The kids played in it for a while, but eventually, we all made our way back inside where we stayed until this morning.

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.