TRUCKS

Eli has been all about trucks lately. It seems like all I hear is "tuh" all day long, it's great. He likes to practice saying it all the time...as soon as he wakes up, when he's eating, when he's playing, and also when he actually sees or hears a truck, too. He recognizes all types now and knows what they sound like. As I mentioned before, car trips are very fun because there are alot of trucks to spot, and pickups count, so they're everywhere! I think Mammy is the one who taught Eli about trucks when she was here for his birthday and was sitting with him in the backseat pointing out all the trucks. I think that's when he started saying "tuh". The highlight of his week is when the trash truck comes. This week when we went outside to watch the trash truck, he was in awe. He just stared with wide eyes, mouth hanging open, and completely silent. Eli's cousin Grayson also loved trash trucks when he was about the same age. So cute! I hope you can hear him say it in the video...you have to listen closely.

Makeover

Since it is the second year of Eli's blog, I thought it would be appropriate and refreshing to update it a bit and change the look of it. I'm not very computer-savvy, so this took me FOREVER, WAY too long! After I was very frustrated and thought I'd messed it all up and lost everything, John came to the rescue and fixed it. My hero! I hope you like it because I don't want to try to change it back. Change is good!

Big Time

For Eli's birthday, I turned his car seat around to face forward. This is a big milestone for him...well maybe more for me. He's been in his "big boy" carseat since he was 6 months because he outgrew the baby carrier that was supposed to last until he was one. The car seat has had to face backwards, but now that he's one he can turn around and see the road and everything around him from a new perspective! How exciting! He absolutely loved it. Trucks are much easier to spot now. All I heard from the backseat was "tuh" and giggles. Eighteen wheelers are very exciting! I got some pictures, but don't worry, John was driving when I took them.

Birthday Zoo Trip

Eli and I took a trip to the Austin zoo for his birthday. It was his first time to go to the zoo, and he loved it! To him, the trees were just as amazing as the tigers! He kept trying to tell me what he saw by lifting his hand up and saying "duh". I think his favorite animals were the goats. As soon as he saw them he started mooing, which is what he does when he sees a cow. They're similar to cows, right? He loved it when the goats talked back! It was a fun birthday for both of us. I hope to continue the special Mommy/Eli time for his birthdays to come. I'm thankful for times like those.

Eli is 1 year old today!!

Can you believe it? I can't! He's so much fun right now...now that the teething has subsided! He's on the move...crawling and content with that for now. His language is taking off, and he's becoming quite the communicator. He's trying to repeat alot of words, and they actually sound recognizable. The most recent favorites are: truck, book, and Boone. He's still signing, too. I love when he is babbling in long "sentences" while looking strait at me with wide eyes like I'm supposed to know exactly what he's telling me. I of coarse I act like I know and have a conversation with him.






We had Eli's birthday party this past Saturday, which was supposed to be at the park...ha! We had to move it to my house due to the weather. I can't believe it was sleeting that day!! We had the party with Ellaiden, our friend who was born the day after Eli. We had about 40 people at the party, and it was so fun.


The best part was watching the two kiddos smear cake all over their faces. Well, Ellaiden wasn't too into the cake, but Eli had chocolate cake all over him. He loved it! He was overwhelmed with all the people in his house at first and was a little clingy to me, but after he got his cupcake, he was happy! He was attached to my hairbrush that day, so I let him have it for comfort since he was overwhelmed. Therefore, most of the pictures at his party, he has his brush. I'll be explaining that to him when he's older and looking at the pictures. Thanks to all who came to the party inspite of the weather and for all the fun gifts!

We also had a baby dedication at our church's Easter service. Eli and his three best friends (Ellaiden, Cash, and Naomi) all were dedicated together. It was very special and meaningful. I'm very thankful that we have them and their parents as friends. Thanks for being our friends!

Dancin' Machine

This is hilarious!

Signs and Books

Eli is now signing and trying to say words. He signs more, drink, dog, light, and all done. If he wants to sign something but doesn't know how, he just moves around his hand in a circle. He says 'deh' when he's happy or thinks something is funny, says dada to John, and says 'buh' for book and Boone. Sometimes he says mama to me, but only after I say it, so I think he's just repeating. He also loves books right now. He likes to turn the pages, touch things in the books, and is content sitting in our laps listening to us read. That is, as long as it's the book he wants to read!
He'll pick up the books he likes and hand them to us, it's great. I hope the interest in books lasts. He's also into cows lately. He'll point to a picture of a cow and say "hmmmmm", like it's mooing. I love to see him make the connections. It'll be fun to hear him talk!

This video demonstrates his side-stepping abilities. The motivation is to get the books!

Giggles

Honestly, it's been a rough couple of weeks. Eli has continued the teething and has another tooth. We also found out that he has eczema, which is basically dry skin that causes a very itchy rash. So, both of these things have resulted in fussy days and sleepless nights. Poor little guy, he can't help it. Thank God for Eli's contagious laugh and cuteness! Only John can tickle Eli and make him laugh like this. It makes my day!

11 months old

Eli is now 11 months old as of Saturday. I can't believe it's gone by so fast. I know I say that every month, but it's true. Not much has changed since last month. He's still 24 lbs. according to our scale, and I don't think he's grown in length. He's perfected his ability to pull up and crawl. He's still not walking or talking, but that's fine by me. I'm still Eli-proofing, it seems, and telling him "no touch" alot. He's a pro at exploring and getting into things. Oh, and he also got another tooth...on the top to the right of the big one...I think it's technically the lateral incisor or something like that. I'm pretty sure he's working on the one on the top left now. I'm not looking forward to when the molars come in b/c these teeth have been painful for all of us already! So, we'll see what this month has in store!

Mommy and Me

Spring Time!

We've been spending alot of time at the park in this beautiful weather. Here are some pictures of Kite Day at Zilker Park and also Eli in the swing a couple days ago.

Funny Pictures

Musician?

Eli has discovered that he can reach the piano keys and make music. Some of his songs are really good. I think it's natural talent...from his Daddy! I like when he plays the piano because I know right where he is.

10 months

Eli turned 10 months old on Saturday. I measured him on our scale, and it said he weighs 24.5 lbs! The scale isn't very consistent, though. I bet he's close to 24.5lbs...big nonetheless! I also tried to measure Eli's length, but that was impossible b/c he wouldn't lay still. He's probably close to 29 1/2 inches. I don't think he's grown that much since last month since his clothes still fit. He's been too busy exploring and moving to grow!

He's now crawling mainly on his hands and knees, and can go really fast! Pulling up is a breeze now. He's starting taking some side steps when he's standing and holding on to the couch or ottomans. So, it probably won't be long before we see some steps with no hands. I still spend my days chasing and redirecting Eli as well as Eli proofing, which is an ongoing process. It's fun though...tiring, but fun! I think he's testing me and learning NO!


He's also acknowledging and identifying things, but not actually saying the words for them. For example, he'll raise up his hand with his palm facing up to the lights like he's going to say something very profound and all that comes out is "bah", but he definitely knows it's a light. He also tries to say Boone (our dog), but it comes out as "bah". He does the sign for dog though, but only in the morning when he wakes up and wants Boone to come in the room. Once Boone comes in, he squeels and laughs. It's so cute! Boone just looks annoyed and tolerates it.

It's so amazing to see Eli grow and become more and more of a little person. I'm growing and learning each day right along with him. Being a mom is definitely a growing and learning process!

Best Buds

Here's Eli and his friend Ellaiden...Big E and Little E. I think they make a cute pair!

Standing Tall

Snooty Face

Eli is making pulling up on things look easy now. He's really got the hang of it!

Peekaboo with Daddy

Noisy Eater

It's good that Eli is a noisy eater because I can tell when he's eating something he shouldn't. For example, the other day he found a clump of dirt from the carpet and ate it. I didn't see him, but I heard him. He didn't seem to mind the dirt!

Ice Alert 2007

We've been iced in since about noon yesterday. The news is calling "Ice Alert 2007", which I think is pretty funny. Today we woke up to alot of ice, and about midday today it started snowing huge snowflakes. It wasn't much, but I got a few good pictures of our house and yard. I told Eli he probably won't see it like this in Austin until he's 10 years old! It's been fun staying warm and cozy inside and finding stuff to do, but I think we're getting a little cabin fever. I think it's supposed to be bad again tonight and even tomorrow. It's a good excuse to relax and do nothing. Wait, I don't really get to do that...Eli doesn't let me! Oh well! It's nice to at least stay inside and not worry about venturing out into the outside world for now.

Here's what happens when you get cabin fever...you get creative...new toys!

9 months old

Eli is 9 months old today! He's accomplished so much in the last month: sitting up by himself, commando crawling, exploring, babbling, waving, clapping, playing with toys, and pulling up. I feel like most of those things have happened since last week...whew! It's fun to watch his curious little mind work...it does wear me out at times though. All he wants now is to be on the floor so he can explore. This leads to many bumps and falls, so we've taken many trips outside to distract him from crying!

We went to the doctor for Eli's 9 month check-up today. He didn't have to get any shots, thank goodness, but he did have to get his finger pricked, which he didn't like at all! The bandaid on his finger was fun to chew though! He got good report from the doctor, and he's pretty average developmentally. His weight and height have actually tapered off some. He's only gained a couple pounds and grown 1 inch since his 6 month check-up.

Here are the stats: 29 1/2 inches long, weighs 23.2 lbs, and his head measures 46 1/2 cm. These are all in the 75-90% percentile. The doctor said he's very proprotionate.

This is why it's hard to get a video of him. I have to be ready to catch!

Here's one of him pulling up

Exciting Times!

Well, it's been an eventful week to say the least. Eli has been very busy! Let's see...on 01-03-07 he was able to sit up by himself from being on his stomach or back, on 01-04-07 he learned to clap, on 01-05 and 01-06 he started to pull up on things, and 01-07-07 he got better and better at pulling up, and 01-08-07 he is starting to pull up, climb up, and stand! This is all since last Wednesday! So, yesterday, I spent the day gradually moving things up and out of the way. I'm going to invest in shelves up on the wall for breakables, get rid of our coffee table, get some bumper pads for the fireplace, and buy some soft storage ottomans. We've already had many bumps and falls. I knew the day would come. It's just happening so fast!
The first video was taken Friday. He was crawling then sitting and just started to pull up. And the second video was taken Saturday when he was showing off his clapping. I can't seem to get a good video of him pulling up to standing since he's still unstable so I feel like I have to be ready to catch him.