Body Parts

Eli likes to show us his body parts as well as show us ours. Belly buttons and tongues are the most fun according to him. This video is the best I could do. He's easily distracted by the camera.

The Chase

This is what we spend most of our time doing. We have a runner! Luckily we live on a cul-de-sac, and we have friendly neighbors with friendly dogs who don't mind Eli exploring in their yard. I love when his arms get swinging in front of him really fast...too cute!

Truck book

A big part of Eli's world is still all about trucks! He recognizes the different types of trucks now, too. Fire trucks are fun because he makes a siren sound when he sees them, but I didn't get it on this video.

Jesus = Dada?

Playin' in the Rain

Thanks to Tropical Storm Erin, we had refreshing rain and cooler temperatures last week, and we took full advantage of it!

16 months

Eli is doing so much now, it's hard for me to keep up! He's so much more interactive now. It's amazing to see his little mind discover things. I've lost count of how many words he has in his vocabulary. It's over 50 for sure. Same with his signs...too many to keep track. He's getting pretty good at repeating or trying to repeat words now, too. His words are also becoming more and more recognizable. I love it!

John and I have been surprised lately at the things he knows. For example, we've been trying to teach him body parts, and he's been able to show us his nose and belly button for awhile now. Yesterday we were naming several body parts for him to point to, and he pointed to all of them like no big deal! I also like the fact that he can now follow simple directions. He only does this when he wants to, of course, but it can be pretty handy for me. I have to take advantage of that. Also, John says that Eli knows his shapes. He said that Eli correctly pointed out the shapes John named in a few different books. Maybe they were lucky guesses, maybe he's just way advanced, I don't know, but he hasn't done it for me yet. Not that I doubt he can do it or anything! : )


Eli likes to put things on and wear them proudly around the house. He usually puts things around his neck, like John's head lamp or my underwear...I know that's a little weird, but it's funny! He also loves to wear hats, glasses, and mommy or daddy's shoes.


Outside is Eli's favorite place to be lately. He doesn't care that after about 2 minutes he's drenched with sweat. Mammy got him an outdoor play set, and I can't wait until we get that set up so Eli will have something else to do in the backyard besides pick up yucky things and try to eat them. Plus, he loves to climb, and it will be much better for climbing than our furniture!

I guess I should mention Eli's fits. He doesn't quite know how to throw a fit...yet. Whenever we tell him no, he'll lie on the floor slowly and carefully and cry some. This lasts maybe 30 seconds and then he either gets comfortable and lies there, or he gets distracted by something else. It's easy to distract him with something else to play with or to see, thankfully.

I can't wait to see what he learns next!

Home Sweet Home

Montana was wonderful, but it is good to be home. Here are some reasons, according to Eli:

Playing with my toys again!


Watching the trash truck!

Getting to wear my new truck shoes...yes, Eli picked them out. He's so proud of them!



The back yard! There are so many things to explore, and there are huge watermelons in our garden!