Ups & Downs

Considering the majority of the day was spent in the car, Eli had a pretty good day. We closed on the house the morning, and Eli did really well sitting quietly while we signed the papers. (Not that allowing him to use Daddy's cell phone for ten minutes had anything to do with it.) He did protest quite a bit as we finished some errands this evening, but to be honest, I wanted to throw a tantrum too. Atlanta traffic was at it's best (worst?) on our commute home and we spent a lot of time just sitting. Eli's 'tude did not help my mood, however, considering I had to listen to him whine and cry in the backseat for the better part of two hours as we ran said errands.

Despite all that, we had a small breakthrough in the area of patience today. Lehr and I have been working on Eli putting his hands together and having 'self-control' for some time now. We've had varied results: everything from screaming while he clasps his hands to him clasping them happily and waiting while we get whatever it is he is furiously reuquesting. After his breakfast this morning I cleared his dishes and wiped his hands, at which point I normally let him out of his chair to play while I clean up his bib and tray. However, the painters were already here this morning (side note: they are 85% done and already I'm loving the transformation!) and I did not want to let Eli loose to bother them or get in their way. Instead, I took his tray and bib and left him strapped in, asking him to "be patient and count to ten". (Another side note: Eli and I count to ten in English, French and Spanish at least three or four times a day while we are driving. Eli's contribution is repeating after me as I say the numbers, but all of his numbers are "dis" or "do".) So back to the 'story'....I asked him to be patient and I took his tray to the kitchen to quickly wipe it and the bib off. I come back around the corner to where Eli was sitting and his hands were still clasped and he was saying, "do. do." Fewer moments have I been more proud.