Little Helper

Sharon needed the day off yesterday, so Eli and Tori stayed home with me. We cleaned house. I wasn't sure Eli would cooperate, but he did, following me from task to task, playing along the way. He finally tuckered out at 1:30 and was not pleased to be woken up at 4:30. He went to bed at 10 and slept with his dad from 3 to 5 this morning. Tonight is my turn to sleep with him, unless he fools us and stays in his bed all night.

Must Move

Eli must move. At dinner time he gets in his chair, eats (with a fork or spoon now) and gets down. There is no waiting around for him. He is so eager to move that as soon as his tray is removed from his chair, he turns around and climbs higher into the chair. Unfortunately, this continues through meals out as well. Most of the time his Mom doesn't get to eat her food because currently she's his favorite and HE HAS TO MOVE! We've never strapped a kid in a grocery cart. Guess what happens to Eli...STRAPPED! He doesn't fight this one extremely hard, but he still gets out.


He's also become king of the mountain. He'll climb on the kid sized chairs and stand on them, grinning and screaming to get our attention. He thinks he's so big and cool. He'll also climb on the chalkboard table to play. Then he'll scream at you to get off the table because he doesn't want to do it himself. He's almost tall enough to climb onto the couch, but just can't get his leg on top of the cushion to get himself up. He yells at you to help him. Once up, he's not done, Oh No! He climbs over the cushion and onto the sofa table behind the couch. This is a great place to play because he gets to pull the light chain, throw small objects off, then scream that he can't reach them. So he climbs down the couch (sometimes he falls on purpose) and retrieves what he threw, then repeats the cycle until it gets old. The boy never stops, he just must move.

A Thing For The Ladies

Apparently, Eli is rather attached not only to me but to the sitter. He sits beside her when she watches TV and whimpers when she leaves the room. Eli sure likes the ladies, except for my sister Annie. He isn't too keen on her, at least not yet. That should change, just like it did with the other two.

Mr. Active

Eli is all over the place, fussing at this and that and looking for me at every turn. I cannot leave the room for very long. On another note, he has shower radar. Turn on the shower, and you can bet he will be there in five minutes or less. He hops into every shower, sometimes more than once a day, and is super clean. I no more got upstairs and got into the shower last night than he was there banging on the door wanting in. He took a shower and then hopped into the tub with his sister. He is water bug!

Much to Huts' dismay, Eli wants his mama. He screams when I leave the room and demands to be on my hip 24/7. He also screams out at night so I will come get him and snuggle with him. Finally, I get a child of my own/. Tori was a daddy's girl, so it's been a while since I have been the favored one. Huts is not enjoying it, but maybe after his leg is healed. Eli will go to him again.

Night Owl

Eli stayed up until 10 last night, rarely fussing. I don't know where he got his energy, but after a few hours of fun with Tori, he roamed around downstairs playing and sitting with us. He was super content, which is so unlike him. Huts and I were amazed, even more so when I put him to bed and he fell asleep quickly!

Climber

Eli is our little daredevil, climbing everything possible. He gets onto the couch and up on the sofa table. He gets up on the chairs and table. He gets up the stairs and yells from me to come and get him down. He pulls down toys and pulls things with cords everywhere. He is one busy guy!

Little Person

Eli may only be up to your knee, but he is a little person now. He may not talk, but he lets you know what he needs and want. He screams when he is mad, smiles when he is happy and grunts for everything he wants. He walks everywhere and climbs up and down the stairs like they're nothing. No more baby!

The Inquisitor

Eli's 1 year appointment was yesterday and other than his head gash, he was in tip top shape. He is in the 50% in height (30 inches) and weight (23 lbs) and his head was in the 75%. He's got a big head. I don't know if that's from all the egg's on his head swelling it up a bit or if that is its normal size. One thing the doctor did say was that he was very inquisitive. Which we already knew by all the bumps, bruises and cat scratches that he has collected in the past year.

The good thing about all of this is that it has made transitioning things a very easy on us. While his siblings were gone, he started sleeping through the night. For the most part this is still true. He'll still wake up if he's uncomfortable, but he's been sleeping through almost 3 weeks now. Its also making the transitions from bottles to sippy easy. He didn't get a bottle at all yesterday for the first full day and he didn't care. He also fell asleep on his own in about 15-20 minutes after we laid him down last night. He's growing up so fast, its hard to tell sometimes where our little baby went.

Not Again!

Much to our dismay, Eli fell yesterday and busted his head on the fireplace. No glue or stitches needed, but a nice little cut and big Band-Aid. ugh. Huts is going to do something with that fireplace tonight. We are both going to try to keep dare-devil in line. That boy is worse than the other two. He has a bump on his head and a bump on his nose from a dive off the couch, bruises and scrapes on his head from a tumble with a bar stool at the babysitter's, a cut on his arm from a tousle with Splatter and bruises all over from the constant trying to run and falling. He also squishes himself through the barricades to get up the stairs and climbs on top of any and everything he can. He is brutal, and his little body proves it!

How To Eat Your 1st Birthday Cake

Lick 'n Kiss

Mommy and Daddy gave each a kiss last night. Eli saw it and decided to join in. He held open his mouth, with tongue down, and gave Mommy a lick n kiss. She squealed in delight and laughed and laughed as he did it again and again. Then it was Daddy's turn. As soon as Mommy and Daddy kissed again, Eli repeated his antics. This went on for about 20 minutes. What a riot! If you're in the mood for a kiss and don't mind a lick, too, see Eli. He's got plenty to offer.

Almost 1

Seven more days, and Eli will be one! He is walking, screaming and chattering. You cannot miss him. He is a rough-and-tumble, likes to play with cars kind of boy. He pushed his cars along the floor and turns everything else into a battering ram. He also makes vroom noises. He's a real hoot, and I can't wait to see him dive into his little birthday cake.

All By Himself

Eli is finding out what it is like to be an only child this week and next, and so far, he is doing well. He has the two of us to himself, and he has taken full advantage of the fact, demanding our sole attention until bedtime. He has also started to sleep through the night. He beat Tori's 18-month record. Woohoo!

2-Step

The time has come for more mobility for Eli. He's a speed demon at crawling. He cruises along furniture without slowing down. Now, he's starting to walk! Last night he was snacking on the living room rug when he stood up. Not a big deal, he's been standing by himself for awhile now. Its been trying to get him to take a step that's been the issue. Up to this point, he'd reach as far as he could to avoid taking a step. Last night, he took his first baby steps to get to us. They weren't far, but it was a giant leap forward in his mobility and his ability to keep up with his siblings which he is dying to do.

Two nights ago his siblings were running around downstairs and he wanted to join in. He crawled after them furiously, but they lapped him several times. Now the gap will be closing the closer he gets to walking. In a short amount of time he'll be annoying them as well with his constant presence.