These Are The Moments....

Even through Eli's tough moments, I really think this is my favorite stage so far in his development. It is so neat to have a sorta-kinda conversation with him and have him add to it. We're not to the place yet where he tells me what he does at school when I pick him up on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but often a few hours later he'll tell me about it in a random moment.

The other night I was upstairs when Lehr, Maddux and Eli were down in the living room listening to music. I peaked my head around to watch Eli dancing and bobbing his head to Joe Bonamassa (one of his new favorites, since he plays the 'tar'). Minutes later, Eli ran upstairs to get a cutout guitar from one of his wooden puzzles so he could play along with Joe. Then a few minutes after that he came up to get his mini drum set so he could play along with a different instrument. Lehr told me later that he noticed Eli taking a long time to get the drums, so he walked towards the stairs to see what he'd gotten into. Apparently Eli got distracted by a book. He looked up from reading and said to Lehr, "book!", and then went back to reading. Once he was done he put it down, picked his drums back up, and continued on to the living room for his encore.

Last night Lehr came out of Eli's room later than the normal bedtime, so I asked if he'd fallen asleep while reading Eli his bedtime books. (It has happened before, btw.) He told me that they were just in there talking and reading. Eli asked for his 'obey' book (a book about disobedience) and while he was reading it to Lehr, Eli looked up at him and said, "Daddy. Obey."

After I picked Eli up from school today, we came home to eat a quick lunch before his nap. I knew he was tired and the molars are giving him discomfort, so I try my best to not get into the 'tantrum zone'. After he ate, I took him out of his highchair and told him to go up and pick his book while I wiped off his tray and put the dishes in the dishwasher. I do this all of the time, but it usually means Eli wanders through the room with toys on the way to the stairs until I catch up with him. Today he went upstairs and when I opened his door, he was sitting on the floor by his bookshelf with his blanket (a bedtime privilege only) and a book, patiently waiting for me. Melt, melt!

One last tidbit: Eli is getting better with showing patience and self-control in non-conflict times. Yes, I know that is the easier time, but for a while he wouldn't do it at all, so I'm excited. When he was about 14-months we started showing Eli how to have patience at the dining room table by folding his hands and counting to ten (even though every number is "2" to Eli). We had great success with this until about 20-months when he decided he didn't like the idea of patience or self-control. In the last month he has pulled that old trick back out and I could not be happier. Several times a day I find myself reminding Eli to 'be patient'. So many times now I look up to see him with his hands folded, eager to meet my eyes for recognition that he is listening and following my directions. It doesn't get much better than that.