We've been dealing with a lot of sickness lately. A couple weeks ago Eli had a bout of diarrhea that lasted several days, along with the WORST diaper rash he's ever had. That was the only symptom, so I assume he just caught a virus. But now he's got it again! He's teething right now and has a cold, so I thought the diarrhea was in relation to that, but it's been so much that I'm not sure if that's possible. It's really crazy how often little kids get sick, though. I read that most children average between 6-10 colds per year! Gah!
Eli had his evaluation with First Steps this week. A couple of therapists came to our house and played with him and asked questions for an hour. Eli was shy and clung to my leg for about a minute, but as soon as they started playing with him he opened up and was a laughing, smiling, hoot. They evaluated all criteria, such as his cognitive thinking, fine and gross motor skills, etc, and said that he was at or above where he should be in those areas. They also thought it'd be a good idea to do some speech therapy for a short time. They weren't at all concerned about his speech for the long run, but thought having a few sessions would give him a good push. I'm glad it went so well and that Eli responded so cheerily to their interactions with him. He really is doing better with his language. He babbles so much more, and the list of words that he's said at least once is close to 20 now. (Generally I hear him say a word once, and then I rarely or never hear it again, but there are a few he says frequently.)
Eli now seems to really love having his blankets or stuffed animals on his face. I came in one morning to find this sweet picture (his head was sticking out at the top)--
He often pulls his stuffed dog over his eyes when I put him down to sleep. And recently he's also started covering his eyes when he gets scared or doesn't want me to do what I have to do (like brush his teeth or wipe his nose). The other day he was walking back and forth between David and I, and on his way to me he put his hands over his eyes! He was giggling while he did it, but he almost ran into the door!
Eli's discovered the joy that is licking batter off a spoon. : ) He always insists on helping me make food in the kitchen. I let him stir things for a while, which makes him as happy as a clam, but as soon as I take it back he throws a fit. Playing with all of the pots and pans is still one of his top hobbies.
Another top hobby is checking out the goods in Momma's purse. He LOVES my wallet, and pulls all the cards out (which has caused more than one embarrassing and frustrating grocery shopping experience when I've realized I didn't have my credit card way late in the game). My mom gave him a wallet and put some old keys and cards in it, but he still prefers mine.
The "independently stubborn" toddler behavior is showing its not-so-pretty face more and more lately. I even had my first experience with a public temper tantrum! We were at Kroger picking up a couple things, so I decided to let Eli push a kiddie cart for the first time. He was SO stubborn with it! Whenever I'd touch it to make sure he didn't run into something (or someone), he'd fuss at me. At one point he just lost it and had a fit. It was humiliating. Thankfully I had his paci and that calmed him down. I've also read how toddlers love to be pokey and take their time, and want to stop at every interesting thing they see. Boy does that explain our life! Much of the time I don't mind, but it's sure a pain when we're in a hurry! Oh, the joys of toddlerhood!
One of Eli's favorite things to eat is the chili mac we make. He is so cute as he eats it that David whipped out his camera to catch some of that cuteness.
Loves to play peek-a-boo with his bibs--
We spent a lot of time this past month at the dentist office for the complications of my wisdom teeth. I had to have three sets of medicated dressings for my dry sockets, which brought our total visits to about 5 times. I am SO thankful that Eli just thought every trip was such an adventure and absolutely loved going. I'd always let him push the handicapped buttons to open the doors, and push the buttons on the elevators. In the Dr. office they had little tables with mugs holding pens, and that kept Eli entertained for a long time. During one visit he laid flat on the floor and drew on a pad of paper. Other times he'd just carry the mug of pens around, offering it to the patients. EVERY time he put on a show for them, tried getting them to play peek-a-boo, and in general loved every ounce of attention he received.
I bought Eli a fire truck and new puzzle at a thrift store. He's SUPER into anything with wheels, especially when we see it it real life. Every time we got outside he excitedly points out the big trucks, bicycles, and motorcycles. He was in HEAVEN a couple weeks ago when we went to Lowes and let him sit on a tractor. : )
Eli's getting quite talented on his feet. Besides for walking backwards, he now loves to walk around in circles. : ) It's pretty cute, and he loves to "perform" it for someone. He's also such a fast walker at times that I think it might count as running!
I recently started trying some new lunch foods with Eli, some of which being chicken nuggets and mini corn dogs. I got him to eat them by dipping them in a little sauce. Now he's pretty crazy about BBQ sauce and ketchup, and likes to take them out of the fridge and carry them around.
Since we've had such an incredibly hot summer, we've made sure to go to the splash park several times. Eli's never shy at all and practically runs up the hill just to get in that water! Here I caught him running from the sprinkler as it came on when he was a bit too close for comfort--
Whenever the water would turn off, he'd crouch down and wonder where it went.
Uh-oh! It got him!
Before long he'd start shivering, but he still wanted to keep playing!
Eli loves the book Bedtime for Frances. Here he's lying down pretending to go night-night, just like Frances is lying in her bed.
Eli's transitioned really well to our new house and seems quite happy here.
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