Montana Boy continued

Here are some pictures from our last day in Montana. We went on a hike with Gramma and Grandad, and Eli had fun playing in the dirt and getting very dirty. We've loved it here. It's hard to leave!

Montana Boy

We are still enjoying beautiful Montana. We're back from Glacier Park now and staying with Gramma and Granddad again. Glacier Park was a blast! We did a few hikes, swam in the freezing water, threw rocks in the lake, and ate rocks, too. For some reason Eli loves to try to eat the rocks. Eli has become quite an outdoors man with his scraped up knees, dirty nails, and bruised legs. He loves being outside, especially here. I guess the rocks taste better here, plus he gets a little pine needle in there, too.



Eli has been a real trooper. We went on a couple hikes which took most of the day, and he fell asleep in the hiking carrier. He's really surprised me with how well he's done without naps and going to bed late. All of the new experiences and things to see help keep him interested enough that he forgets he's sleepy, I think. It's been so fun to have him here. John and I realized that it's our first big vacation with Eli, as a family. I can't wait for more!

There are so many stories to tell and pictures to show, but I don't want to spend my vacation blogging. Here are some pictures we've taken, mostly in Glacier Park:

Mountain Man

Hello from Montana! It's beautiful here. Nice and cool, although the locals say it's very hot. The weather has been sunny and in the 90's, but since the air is drier it doesn't feel as hot as the humid hot air in Austin. At least it cools down into the 50s at night, which feels great!

Eli did amazing on the trip up. He slept 45 min. on the first plane and then over an hour on the second plane. I think both plane trips were about 2 hours long. Our 6:00 AM flight got cancelled, so we got an 8:00 AM flight, which was much better. I was nervous about the plane trip, but we had no problems at all. Eli liked entertaining people and playing with the boy's hat in the seat behind us. Let's hope the trip back will be just as nice.

So far we've taken a couple hikes with John's parents, gone on some picnics in the woods, lots of site-seeing, and went to a little historical villiage in Eureka. Gramma and Grandad have a nice little house in Fortyne, MT. Eli's highlight so far has been "Uncle Orvis", Gramma and Grandad's chocolate lab.

Here are some pictures we've taken so far:





I love this hiking carrier, and so does Eli! He looks so cute in it. I think it is also relaxing for him. John says it's not too bad carrying him either.

Tomorrow we go to Glacier Park for 4 days to meet up with my sister and her family and my dad and step mom, then back with John's parents after that for a few days. More adventures and pics to come!

15 months old

FYI: this post is lengthy...I've written alot of this for me so that I can look back and remember things : )
Eli is doing so much now, it's hard to keep up! Now that he's walking like a pro he's into everything. His curiosity is bigger than ever, which means that I have to keep an eye on him 99% of the time. Now I know why I've heard that moms have eyes on the back of their heads! The Eli-proofing is never-ending. Eli's learned to climb. I walked into the kitchen to find him on the chair and getting into things on the table. So, I've taught him how to get down safely by going feet first. It's a very good thing to teach a climbing toddler. He's gotten good at it, thank goodness!


We're also trying to teach him to be gentle with things, especially Boone. We're still working on that one. Eli's also learned to throw. John and I got excited when he discovered how to throw the ball to us, but then he realized that he can throw a lot of different things. Now we're working on just throwing balls and soft toys. Another fun activity in the Perkins household lately is dancing! Eli loves to dance as do his parents! I'll have to get a good video of Eli's dancing. Eli has also become very good at flirting with the ladies. He knows how to capture their hearts by scrunching his nose and smiling that big smile with his bright blue eyes...gets 'em every time!
Here's Eli with my mom, "Mammy"...he LOVES his Mammy and even has his own sign for her!


Eli is saying about 35 or so words now and uses almost 30 signs. He tells me when he wants to go to take a nap now by pointing toward his room and saying "nai nai". He's also even gone to the rocking chair a few times and said night night. He's starting to know what he wants and discovering likes and dislikes. This is where his signing and vocabulary come in handy. Distraction and redirection are key when there is a dislike, and he's not happy about me saying no. I'm seeing him gain a little independence, but he's still very much a mamma's boy, and I love it!

Eli now has 12 teeth, including 4 molars that are visible, but not all the way in yet. This is good for eating, but not good for me b/c he likes to bite me! He only bites me and sometimes John. It's not out of anger or frustration either. I think they're love bites, but they hurt. I've got bruises all over, too. I've got to find out how to stop it.


A report from the doctor check-up: Eli is big!...no new news there. He's 33 in. tall and 26 lbs., still on the top of the charts. The big kicker is that we're pretty sure he has a peanut allergy. The doctor said that he'll most likely always be allergic, but I'm still holding out hope that he'll outgrow it. We have to get an Epi pen to have if he has a severe reaction, and we also have to go see an allergist. I'll keep you posted on that.

I'm sure there are more things I could post for 15 month accomplishments, but I can't think of more. I'll just have to be better at doing more posts to keep up with Eli!