Eli-Bear

Life with Eli's been going pretty well lately!  He has been very sweet, giving me lots and lots of cuddles and kisses. (The way you know Eli wants to be kissed is he'll stick his head up at you and smile without his teeth showing, like he's fishing for a kiss.)  I always tell him several times a day that I love him, and just recently he's been saying "I love you, too!"  He even comes and gives me random hugs during the day and says "I love you, too!" on his own.  Awww!  What a heart-melter. : )

Playing with Grammie's tiny porcelain tea set.  He loves having tea parties with her when we visit.  : )

Eli and his paci have been hard to separate lately.  Whenever I ask him to hand it over he says "I NEED it!" or "I keep it in my hand."  Ha!  My goal is to have him done with it by his 3rd birthday. Thankfully his paci isn't limiting his speech any.  He's doing such an awesome job talking, you'd never think he was ever once behind!  

I had hoped to get a better, front-face picture of this, but for now this will have to do.  One day at the library they were handing out free plastic construction hats.  Eli just happened to be very into "Bob the Builder: Dino Dig" at the time, so he loved wearing his hat just like Bob!  We also bought a small green rake at a garage sale, and Eli loved raking the floors in his construction hat.  : )

Besides for "Bob the Builder," Eli's other favorite shows have been Caillou (his absolute #1 favorite), Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Road Rally (his first time ever watching Mickey Mouse, and he became quite a fan for awhile!), old-fashioned Mickey Mouse, and an old-fashioned Three Little Pigs.  He LOVES his shows, and if given the option would watch shows all day long!  He often fusses when I turn them off, but generally can get over it soon enough.

Eli's not very good about letting Daddy do things.  On the weekend when David gets Eli out of bed the first thing Eli says is "I wanna see Mommy!"  He used to not even let David get him out (because that would mean David would also change his diaper).  But luckily now I wait til after breakfast to change him, so he at least will allow David to get him out of bed.  But all of the time during dinner he'll ask for something and I'll ask David to grab it for him and he responds with, "No!  Mommy!"  He'll probably be in for a wake-up call when Daddy starts doing a lot more around here soon!

Fell asleep on the way home from the grandparent's.  What a sweetheart!

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We have ward playgroup at the nearby splash park every week.  Eli is much more scared of the water this year.  He HATES getting it in his face, even if it's just a mist.  The first couple times we went this summer he kept saying, "Hold me, I'm big boy!"  Haha.  So he prefers to stay on the sidelines and play in the mud and puddles.  : )  Fine with me!  I'm just happy for him to be doing something outside!  Lately this summer whenever I ask Eli if he wants to play something outside he firmly responds, "No!  I don't want to go outside!"  I find this so odd, as it seems like kids generally love going outside.  I'm hoping he just doesn't love being out in the heat, and that when it cools down more closer to the Fall he'll enjoy being out more.

This picture is funny to me, because right after I took it he tried to move and fell down in the mud!

Eli comes with me to all of my prenatal appointments at the hospital.  After our visits we always stop into the gardens, which have a pond filled with several turtles.  We sit together on the rocks, Eli puts his feet in the water, and sure enough, every time the turtles come swarming and almost bite his feet off!  (I always pull his feet out when they come by, because I think they really are hungry enough to take a nibble!  Eli always yells at the turtles "Don't bite me!"

About a month or so ago I bought Eli his own little toilet.  I've heard some moms say that their kids wouldn't go in the big toilet, but that they would in the small one, so I figured we'd give it a try and see what happened.  Eli had gone #1 and #2 in the big toilet before (we have a toilet seat top), but most of the time wanted nothing to do with the toilet.  As soon as I bought the small one he was SO excited!  He went twice in it that first night!  I'm not at all potty-training right now (obviously not a good time with a new baby on the way).  I just thought we'd spend some time getting used to the potty and then hopefully after his 3rd birthday in December we could give potty-training a go.  Generally the only time Eli goes potty is right before he takes a bath.  He doesn't ever mention it during the day (nor do I remember to think about it either).  Last week he went #2 in his little potty for the first time and boy was he proud!  Since we've bought the little toilet, I've also learned that Eli can get himself on and off the big toilet without even using a stool!  (Very good to know.)  I'm happy for the slow progress he's made so far, and hope that the real potty-training won't be too bad!

Eli and I still faithfully attend Story Time at the library every Monday.  We arrive a little early so he has some time to play beforehand, then we stay an hour or so after for different activities.  For the past several weeks there's been some construction work going on right outside the library, so there are excavators and bulldozers moving that you can see from the main window in the children's section.  So of course, a huge chunk of our time at the library has been spent right at that window, watching the big machines.  : )  It's VERY exciting to Eli, and very fun for me to watch him enjoying it.  After the short story/singing time, there's always a little craft.  Eli and I also do puzzles and read books together, and of course he plays with the trains.

So yes, Eli is still crazy about dumpers and other construction machines. My mom bought him a great book that we love reading called Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site.  

  He also has a pair of dumper jammies that he wishes he could wear every night.  : )

Eli painting with some friends we had over.  Such sweet kids and they all get along so well together!

I bought a kiddie swimming pool for our yard, thinking that it would be nice to have in the afternoons when it's so hot outside, and especially nice for when the baby comes and I don't feel up to leaving the house.  For the first two or so weeks Eli really loved playing in it!  He especially enjoyed filling up his watering pail and watering everything in sight!

Giving the flowers a sprinkle--

Eli used to do so well at sitting for his haircuts (David does them).  But the last few times have been complete torture (for EVERYONE)!  I give him candy and turn on a show but he still gets SO upset and screams, cries, and jerks around terribly.  It's awful!  If anyone has any successful tips for getting your child to sit calmly for haircuts, please let me know!

One evening we brought Eli's old boxes of baby clothes in from the garage to sort through and see if there was anything we could use for baby girl.  Eli was SO cute with his old clothes.  He got so excited to see everything and to hear that they were all things he used to wear when he was a baby.  He wanted to try everything on!  He DID manage to fit into this 9 month size firetruck shirt!  He actually wore it around the house for a few days!  The cutest thing, though, was watching him try on his old hats.  Hehe!  I can't believe he used to fit in them, and has now grown so much bigger.

Eli has gotten so good at saying "thank you" for things on his own.  He's generally very sweet and polite.  What's so cute is that I always respond with "You're welcome," and then he repeats me and says "You're welcome!" in the most adorable little voice!  It's so funny to me that he does this, and hopefully someday I'll be able to get it on video so I won't forget the way he says it.

Along with polite manners, Eli has also started saying sorry for things.  The funny thing is that he generally says it for things that he doesn't need to be sorry for.  I can't think of a real example, but as an idea, if I were to trip and accidentally run into him, HE'D be the one to say "I sorry."  : )

Eli's always wanting to take stuff to bed.  Generally I let him take a car or book for naptime, but sometimes he takes a flashlight, a block, his pointer hand, etc.  He at first wasn't happy about changing rooms, but once his bed was in his new room he was okay with it, and now he enjoys his new room.  He's doing good at recognizing when he's tired and coming willingly to his room for nap and bedtime.  I'm SO glad I still have a few more months of him in his crib!  I don't think there's any way I'll get him to take a nap (or even stay in his room for naptime) once he's in a big boy bed!

David is in the process of ordering a new pair of glasses.  He let Eli try on his old ones--

Boy, it's so weird to think that he'll no longer be an only child.  He has been our complete world for the last 2 1/2 years, and it will definitely be a bit challenging on all of us to add someone new to the mix.  I am so, so happy that Eli was our first child.  It has been quite the incredible experience learning how to parent with him, and he will make such a terrific big brother to his siblings!