Eli's been doing well this past month, except that he's had a snotty nose for at least two weeks now. He's so good about patiently letting me wipe his nose over and over. Whatever he's doing, if his nose starts to run he points to it, looks at me and says "Tissue" in the sweetest little voice. He also has sneezing and watery eyes off and on, but thankfully nothing worse. We're hoping he can get all better in time for our Thanksgiving trip to California next week!
We had a beautiful, but short, Fall. One day when we were at the park I noticed how pretty the leaves were, and I saw this tree stump and placed Eli on it for a picture. How cute is he?!
Eli's talking so much more!! I love it! One of the things he's started doing is pulling mine or David's hand to where he wants to go while saying "Play!" I'm usually very glad to hear this word, because if it's not "play" it's "show." I always put on a show for a little while in the morning while I get ready, but lately Eli asks for a show all the time. We'll be in the middle of having fun doing something when he just stops and says, "Show!"
Eli FINALLY started saying animal names and sounds! This was really exciting, because we've worked on it a lot in therapy but he wouldn't budge for a long time. I knew he knew them, he just wouldn't say them. Now he gets SO excited at every animal he sees, names the animal and its sound. Makes me proud! Also in regards to speech, Eli has stopped calling me "Mama" and instead tries to call me Mommy. Except his way of saying it is "Mahee." The funny thing is he calls his favorite show ("Harry the Bunny")--"Amonee." It sometimes gets a little tricky telling the two of us apart. : )
Boy oh boy does this kid love his cars! He loves when I sit and drive cars with him and we crash them into each other. : ) He's really good at distinguishing his different cars--bus, tractor, semi, dumper, fire truck, jeep, etc. He loves to 'honk' or 'beep' for the different vehicle. : ) Eli's had a lot of fun with this little garage/slide toy.
Another fun new toy Eli acquired this past month was legos! He's doing better at getting the hang of them, and especially likes playing legos with Daddy because he builds the best houses. : ) Here's a cute video of Eli and David building together. You'll hear Eli say "yellow" a few times. This is one of his favorite words. He thinks everything is yellow. : ) (Oh, and don't mind him in just his diaper. We had just finished dinner, so his clothes were off to save them from staining.)
Eli had his eyes on these cars attached to the shopping carts for a while. The first time I let him ride in it he had a ball, and was all smiles and content. The second time he only lasted 20 minutes before he was throwing his shoes overboard and trying to climb out, which resulted in me having to take him out and then keep track of him roaming around the store while maneuvering the extra load on my cart. : / So we stopped using the car-carts. Now I always set him in the cart seat, and do my best to keep him happy for as long as possible, and then closer to the end of our shopping I let him out to run around. It's a bit stressful when he has freedom, but he usually does pretty well.
Before a few weeks ago, the only drink Eli had ever had was water or milk (besides for some pedialyte). He'd never had juice before. But then he stopped drinking milk and sometimes wouldn't drink much water. We had some apple cider and so I gave that to Eli (watered down, of course). He quickly fell in love with it and always begged for "cier." Even when we'd go to the store, he'd spot the cider, run over to it, and never want to leave!
A very ugly habit that Eli has is his little temper. You do NOT want to be around that kid when he's mad. He will try to smack David or myself, and/or throw anything and everything in sight. Of course I don't put up with this behavior, and he receives a stern "talking-to" and a warning of time-out if his behavior continues. But generally redirecting him to something else works the best. He also gets into funky moods when the answer to every question is "No!" Oh, the joys of the "terrible twos" . . .
David bought some boots at Goodwill for Eli to use this winter. We tried them on to see how they fit. Eli was a fan!
A beloved hobby of Eli's is staring out our kitchen window. It seems there's always something exciting to see, whether it's a vehicle like a bus, mailman, or garbage truck; people walking their dogs; the black cat who roams around the neighbors' yards; or the garages that are open. Now whenever Eli sees an open garage he says, "Zzzz-zzz. Garage." (That first part is him making the sound the garage makes when they open and close.) : )
Eli's getting a lot better at talking on the phone. When I call David during lunch, I put Eli on and he says, "Hi, Daddy! Love you" blows a kiss, and says "bye-bye!"
We've sure got a reader on our hands! Eli absolutely adores his books. As soon as he wakes up in the morning he talks about the books we read the night before and wants to look at them again. He will put off nap and bedtime as late as he can so we can keep reading more books. Some favorites this past month have been Harold and the Purple Crayon, Dabble Duck, Goodnight Moon, Sammy the Seal, Nursery Rhymes, Swimmy, and Gregory, the Terrible Eater (which means these have basically been the only books we've been reading over and over, as he goes in cycles of ones he loves to read). In the picture below, he sat and "read" Gregory one day while I was cooking dinner!
This past month Eli finally started feeding himself from his spoon! A big accomplishment. He LOVES his "yogi", and generally eats it every morning. His other top favorite food is cheese. I probably hear a request for "Cheeeese" at least 5 times a day. Here's a video of him feeding himself yogurt. Generally he makes a HUGE mess when he eats. I always strip him down first now, and have to scrub the floors, walls, highchair, and HIM after every meal.
While we were checking out an antique store, Eli made himself at home in the kids' toy room. He found lots of antique cars and other pull-toys that he enjoyed playing with for a long time.
For some reason we ended up with a couple of these plastic candles that light up when you turn them on. Eli thought they were the funnest things!
For a few days, Eli became quite attached to his piggy bank. He took Mr. Piggy around with him everywhere, and even insisted on napping with him one day! I'm sure Mr. Piggy liked getting such special attention. ; )
A not-so-cute thing that Eli has been doing lately is taking his clothes off during nap time, or first thing in the morning before I get him out of his crib. THANKFULLY I have yet to find him with poo everywhere (though I know it's bound to happen). Although maybe he's doing better, because today when I picked him up after his "nap," his clothes were off but he kept his diaper on! One place where he doesn't mind pooing is in the tub. David's had to clean up a few of those lately. And while we're on this topic, Eli has sat on the big boy potty three times! Believe me, he's nowhere near ready for potty-training, but sometimes when I go to the bathroom he says "Potty" and shows that he wants to sit on it. So I take off all is clothes and diaper and sit him down for a few minutes. He holds on to me for dear life, but he's happy testing it out, and I excitedly tell him that one day he'll be able to go potty on the big toilet. I think it's a good sign that he's at least taking more of an interest in the act of going potty, instead of just wanting to flush toilet paper down the toilet. : )
Here's a funny video of Eli in the tub. For the first minute he's kind of in blank mode, but then he talks a bit, obsessed about bubbles being in his boat.
Eli's such a good helper, and is now at the point where I can set him on the counter while I'm cooking and he'll stay put! He's always loved watching the washer fill up with water. We had to get a new washing machine, however, and the door has to be closed before it will start. Eli kept asking "I see," so I set him on the washing machine and he loved being up there to see what was going on.
Here's a video that, in the very beginning, shows how Eli and Daddy golf (head down...). Then Eli got very silly . . .
Eli is doing so, so good at the library storytime. He's even getting into singing and doing some actions himself! He loves "The Wheels on the Bus," "5 Monkeys in a Tree," "Little Bunny Foo Foo," "Itsy Bitsy Spider," "Once There was a Snowman," and "Popcorn Popping." I always sing him a few Primary songs before bed. Just recently he's started "singing" along with me! I sing him "I am a child of God" and he repeats words he hears me sing. : ) One of the cutest things!
One day after church David wanted to take some pictures of me and Eli. I'm so glad for special moments he caught.
I am simply bursting with anticipation for that second birthday to arrive! Oh what fun it is to watch this little boy grow up!
Super cute pictures and videos. It's impressive how he eats his yogi so well. Great pictures of you two at the bottom!
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