Wow, another month flew by. That little tractor up there at the top of the blog is way too close to the 2! No big changes or events really in the last month. Eli's still talking like crazy and getting better and better at it. He's even saying some 3 and 4 word sentences now! He's been saying his name a lot lately. It's Eli do this, Eli do that, Eli need this, Eli need that...it's still cute. He says it very clear, too. Eli has discovered lately how handy his step stools are. They even have little handles on top so it's easy for him to carry around. Whenever he wants to see something or reach something up high, he runs and gets the stool...even if he's outside. It's handy for him, but not so much for me. Talk about child-proofing! Eli's also become a real ham for the camera. He says "cheeeeese" for pictures as you've seen, and he will also pose when I take pictures, as you see here.
Our chickens finally laid their first egg for us! This is very exciting since we've been anticipating eggs from them for about 6 weeks or so now. Yay chickens, keep it up!
Eli is so excited about his new shoes that we got yesterday. I don't know if it's because he likes them so much or if it's because they are much more comfortable. I feel so bad because he was wearing a 6 1/2 extra wide, and after measuring his feet in the store, I found out he's now wearing a 7 1/2 to 8 wide. His poor little feet were crammed into his old shoes. No wonder he kept taking them off all the time! Anyway, Eli spotted the shoes with firetrucks that also light up when he stomps his feet, and there was no turning back! I couldn't get him to try on any other shoes once he saw those. I'm not too crazy about the light-up shoes, but oh well. As you can see, he's very proud of them. Eli's almost two, and his shoes are already almost as big as mine!
Today we went to the annual Kite Fesival at Zilker park. It was a very windy day, perfect for kite flying. When we were parking, Eli kept saying, "Watch kites, watch kites!". It is an amazing sight to see the hundreds of kites, all shapes and sizes, flying in the air. We met some friends there and had lots of fun! Can't wait for the 3rd annual Perkins Family Kite Day next year! We'll have an almost 3 year old and a 6 month old...whoa!
Here's why there aren't many pictures of me and Eli...John's not the best photographer in the world, he snaps with no warning! And Eli was being wiggly, too.
Eli's puttin' the moves on his friend Bailey. This was just after they danced on stage and he helped her down the stairs. Caught in the act... Silly Face Say Cheeeeeese! Front-end loader, or as Eli says, "fruh lo"...or is it a bulldozer ("boo doh")? Eli could tell you, but I get those mixed up.
Yes, it's true! Eli is going to be a big brother! I'm due at the end of September. I'm still getting used to the idea of having two kids...still an overwhelming thought and kind of scary, but I guess I've got time for it to sink in. John's excited and Eli has no clue.
We had our first doctor's appointment today, and I guess this is for real! We got to see the baby and the heartbeat, which made it more real and exciting. It's healthy and big...a whole 3 centimeters! My family has requested to see the sonogram pictures, so here they are. The head is at the bottom and then you can also see two arm buds and the body, but you can't see the legs in the picture. I had to take pictures of the pictures, so they're not the best quality.
I'll have more updates on the blog. I guess we'll have to change the name of the blog since Eli will be sharing the blog with his sibling...among many other things. We're going to be a family of four, wow!
Okay, this is a week overdue but that's okay. I really like to do these monthly updates on Eli for me anyway. So, as of last Sunday, Eli turned 22 months old. John is already telling people Eli's 2 whenever they ask, which is not okay! I don't want him to grow up faster than he already is! 22 months IS close to 2, but it's not 2 yet. This really is a fun stage. Eli's our little parrott lately. Even when John and I are having a conversation with each other, we'll hear certain words we've said being repeated in the background by Eli. He's able to say all kinds of things now and he's trying to repeat some difficult words to say, which is funny. One very convenient thing that he's got the hang of now is saying "yes" and/or nodding his head. This is so nice when he actually answers 'yes' to a question and means it instead of saying 'no' to everything. Eli's also able to say his own name now, and he loves saying it, too. He even made up a song, and the only word in it is Eli. He also likes saying other people's names. He knows names of family, his friends, his friends on Sesame Street, and others, too. It's also fun to hear how he says things. I've noticed that Eli likes the /f/ sound. A lot of his words start with /f/, like "foomy" for smoothie, "fime out" for time out, "fleez" for please, and others. It's just fun that he's talking so much and even more fun to hear how he says things and how the words sound when he attempts to say them. I've noticed him being able to climb better. I always get a little nervous at playgrounds, but now I'm a little more confident in his abilities. I don't feel like I have to be there to help him up or down as much anymore. It's fun to see him do it. And of coarse, he wants to try it all by himself, too! We're still working on potty training, but casually. He goes on the potty when we think to put him there, but he just doesn't know to go before it's happened. When the weather gets warmer, we'll try going diperless outdoors so that maybe he'll recognize the sensation. I expected this to be a long process. Eli also loves to be our helper. He especially loves to help Dada and be like Dada. He'll copy everything John does. Eli has been really good about following directions...when it's something fun, of coarse! For example, he'll go get his socks and shoes for us from his room when it's time to go outside or in the car. Or, he'll go get my bag for me so that I can get a snack out for him. His favorite thing to help with is feeding the animals (Boone and the chickens). Eli will also put himself in time out sometimes, which is helpful, too! I guess that's about it. Like I said, this is a fun stage because if all Eli's talking and seeing his sense of humor come out. He makes us laugh all the time!
This is a video of Eli saying "blueberry". As you'll hear, he also says "cheeeese" whenever I get out the camera now.
Apparently Eli knows what a dream is and he remembers his own dreams. The other day, Eli woke up from his nap, sat up and said and signed 'goat' and then 'sheep'. So, I asked him if he was dreaming about the goats and sheep we had seen that morning at the zoo. Then he started naming some other animals we saw at the zoo. So, I just thought he must have been remembering the zoo trip. Then a couple mornings ago, John asked Eli what he dreamed about after he woke up that morning. Eli said, "Bobo, Ninny, Grandpa" without hesitation. (This is my Dad, Cindy my stepmom, and their dog, Bobo.) Eli had the same answer when John asked him again. We just thought, aw, how sweet, he's thinking about them and missing them. So, this morning I asked Eli what he dreamed about last night, and without hesitation again, he said "Hello", which is what he calls his music class since that's a song we sing there each time. John asked Eli later that morning what he dreamed about last night and again Eli says "Hello". At first I thought it was coincidence, but it seems to me that Eli remembers his dreams. This is pretty amazing to me that Eli knows what a dream is and that he remembers what he dreams about! I always wonder what he's thinking about, and now I feel like I have a tiny glimpse into his little mind. Hmmm...what could he be thinking about in this picture?
Yes, we now officially have chickens living in our back yard! Have we gone nuts? This is like a dream come true for John. He's been working on the chicken coop for weeks now and finally finished it last weekend. So, yesterday we went to a great store with all kinds of farmin' stuff, including chickens. They were only seven bucks a piece. We got all hens, no roosters. I'm excited about the eggs that we'll be getting for free. We eat a lot of eggs. John's looking forward to the other benefits like fertilizer, aerating the soil, possible meat, etc. Eli loves "his" chickens, too. He calls them "chichens". He keeps wanting us to go outside to look at them with him. Eli also keeps trying to kick the chickens and take their food, so we'll have to work on that. Boone is actually doing well with them. He seems a little scared and unsure of them and just tries to go sniff them. We have even named our chickens: Nugget, Dumplin, Noodle, and Pot Pie...and yes, we can tell them apart. Hopefully they are happy in their new home. It's gotta be better than the dirty, tiny metal cage they were in at the store.
John decided to mow the lawn on Saturday, which was really more like mowing the leaves for garden mulch. Eli was John's shadow that afternoon, that's for sure. When he saw John mowing, he got his little mower out and mowed right along with him. It was the cutest thing! As you can see, Eli is bare-bottomed again (potty training), which made the situation even better!
Eli went to his friend, Faith's, 2 year birthday party on Sunday, which was at the bowling alley. This was Eli's first time at a bowling alley, and when we walked in he said, "ball, ball!", somehow spotting the balls right away. Then when we found everyone, he went straight for the thing that shoots out the balls, picked a ball up with some effort, put it on the floor, and rolled it somewhat toward the alley. He knew exactly what to do! He'd roll it down, watch, then cheer no matter how many pins he knocked down. So, needless to say, he had a blast. Great party, Faith! We'll definitely be making another trip to the bowling alley with Eli, soon! Oh, and I tried to get a video, but it was hard to guide Eli on carrying the ball and rolling it in the correct lane while shotting a video, so no video for now...next time. They even had bowling shoes in Eli's size!
Eli is still growning up too fast. He was officially 21 months old on Thursday. He's doing things that are too big boy for me, and he looks like a big boy while doing them, too. It's fun to watch him grow and be able to do more and more on his own, but I'll miss the baby boy stage. He's been riding his tricylcle everywhere, but can't push the pedals quite yet, so I've been pushing him all around the neighborhood. This is exactly why I got the tricycle with the nice push handle that we'll remove once he gets the hang of it. Then instead of pushing, I'll be chasing! Eli also likes his helmet and enjoys wearing it around the house. It's cool because it's like Daddy's helmet!
He's also still working on potty training, which is a slow process, but we're making progress. We've been doing potty training drills outside (and inside) lately, which means bare-bottomed outside with potty ready. The warm December weather has been nice for this. He's been taking off clothes with no problem, and getting dressed by himself for the most part. This is very entertaining for John and I as you can see in the pictures.
Eli's gotten pretty good at brushing his teeth now as well. He continues to help around the house, like feeding Boone, putting things away, picking up his messes, finding things for us, telling me when he's hungry, thirsty, etc. There are several things like this that he's been doing for awhile now, but now I'm noticing that he continues to master these skills, and that he really can do these by himself and doesn't really need my help. This is to be expected, I know. His vocabulary and verbal communication is taking off as well. I know that he's always been listening and storing up words for later, but now they're coming out! All of a sudden he'll point out something and tell me about it and tell me what it is. I get so excited when this happens! I should also mention that his favorite phrase lately is "No, mine!" I'm not too excited about that one!
As you can see in these pictures at the computer, Eli thinks he's a big boy! There was nothing on the screen, but he pretends he's working and knows exactly what to do. I don't know what that face is all about in the first picture!
It sure is fun to watch the things he does and how he goes about doing things. I can see his mind working and problem solving. He thinks he can do it all himself and his way, but we know that's not exactly how it works. I guess that comes with the territory. It's so fun to watch all this growing and learning, but it's bittersweet.
Eli has officially had his first haircut as of this past Saturday. I know you're thinking he doesn't have much to cut, but it was enough! His hair was hanging over his ears and the cute curls in the back had turned into a matted mess that was starting to look like a rat tail. So, I gave him a little trim, and I can really tell the difference...much better! All I did to keep him occupied was sit him in the highchair outside and gave him food. He kept pretty still, too. He kept saying "ow ow" because I think when I started cutting I said "See, it doesn't hurt"...guess I shouldn't have said that b/c now he thinks it should hurt! Oh well.
