Full Speed Ahead!

I guess I now officially have a toddler. I've held off calling him a toddler for as long as possible, but now that he's walking I guess I have no choice. His still my baby though!



Eli is practically doing laps around the house all day. This means trouble for our dog, Boone. Eli has always loved messing with Boone, but Boone has been able to get away quickly before now. Now that Eli can go after him, Boone's in trouble! Eli loves the game of "chasing" Boone and trying to give him things. Boone gets very annoyed, which worries us a little. So we might have to figure out another game, or teach them how to play nicely. Eli's excitement when he "plays" with Boone is pretty funny, though.

Don't worry, Eli's okay after his fall at the end of the video.


Here's Eli and Boone playing Hide and Seek:

Problem Solving

Eli figured out how to pick up his food without letting go of the balls. Impressive!

Backyard Fun

I thought it was going to be fun this summer hanging out in the backyard with Eli in the kiddie pool. Well it is fun hanging out in the backyard, but the interest in the kiddie pool only lasts maybe 5 minutes. Now that Eli is walking and able to explore, he wants to go see everything in and around the yard. So I spend my time following him around, talking about what he discovers, telling him not to put it in his mouth, and then dipping him in the pool to clean him off. Not exactly a relaxing time in the pool but still fun. I guess that's my life now...chasing my toddler around!




These pictures are from a playgroup we had in our backyard. One of the moms brought this cool play mat that shoots water up. Eli sat right in the middle of it and loved it!

14 months old

Another month has quickly flown by, and my baby is now 14 months old. As you saw on the last post, he's now walking. He's still testing the waters in that area because his preferred mode of transportation is still crawling...as of today. I know that will change quickly! He is becoming such a little person with a big personality. His latest thing now is scrunching his nose and smiling at the ladies to make them laugh and think he's real cute. What a flirt!

He is still learning words and signs like crazy. I can't keep up anymore. We're to the point where we have to be careful what we say around Eli because he'll try to repeat it. For example, we were in the car today and John said "shoot" and we heard "shuh" from the back seat. Eli's favorite thing to say lately is "bi tuh" for big truck. He says it over and over like "bi tuh bi tuh". He'll also say a list of the kinds of trucks, which I don't always understand, but every other word is "tuh"...so cute!


Golf balls are also a hit. He's fallen asleep holding his golf ball a couple times. I guess they're the perfect size for his little hands to hold. We also started a music class called "I Hear the World Singing". It's a class for toddlers where we get to sing songs, dance, and play instruments. We've had one class so far, and Eli loved it. He was giving his shakers to everyone...a little social butterfly!



Eli is also working on his molars coming in. I discovered the two little sharp molars on his upper gums a couple nights ago after he wouldn't go back to sleep for 4 hours! It took me awhile to figure it out, but after a little Tylenol, he was out and relieved! We also had a little red flag when Eli broke out in a rash all around his mouth and all over his body after I gave him a tiny bit of peanut butter cookie. So, no peanuts for him probably for a few years. I'm hoping he'll outgrow that and not have a peanut allergy.

Other than that, life is good! We're having lots of fun! I love this stage in Eli's life. Why does it have to go by so fast?

A Step in the Right Direction

This past Sunday Eli thought he'd see what walking might be like. He took a few steps on his own, and John and I looked at each other like "Did we just see that?". Ever since then, Eli's been practicing and perfecting this skill off and on. He's not walking across the room yet, just taking some steps and trying it out for now. His face is so cute when he's walking because you can tell he's so excited and proud!