Self Control

Since Eli was about Maddie's age, we've worked on the issue of self-control. For us, that means Eli folds his hands in front of him and doesn't talk or make other noise. This is something we've tried to teach as it is a necessary skill for doctors' office visits or school or church. When we started, we'd ask that he held this control for ten seconds at a time, usually right after a meal. He eventually worked up to a minute or so, but then we got distracted with moving and Maddux being born, and other consuming things like that. It came to my attention a few months back that Eli was seriously out of practice where self-control was concerned. Also, Maddux is now at the age when she needs to start learning it, so I decided to tackle them both at the same time. Mad Dog is working on it. It helps that she has a great example in Eli. She is at the ten-second stage now. Eli has been able to demonstrate self-control for five full minutes so far. Awesome!! I am so proud of him! Recent company threw our practice a little off, so we're back down to a minute or so (usually after meals), but we're working our way back up!

Lip-Lock

Here it is: here is the video of Eli and Gracie making out last night. The two were obviously very enthusiastic about their affection for each other!


Eli & Gracie's Lip-Lock from Nicole Eliason on Vimeo.

Puppy Love

Eli loves Gracie. Gracie loves Eli. For as long as they've been on this side of the womb, that is the way it's gone. Just like Harold and Maude, just like Jim and Pam, just like Joey and Pacey...Eli heart Gracie. Always and forever.

Tonight the two betrothed reunited for the first time in several months. We try to get them together as often as possible, but that always turns into a few times a year due to the distance between them now. (Click here for other posts about their visits.) We had to wake Eli up because Gracie arrived before he'd woken from his nap, but he snapped right into motion when he realized she was waiting for him downstairs. The two played inside and out, getting to know each other again. After dinner they really got into the swing of things, playing guitars upstairs and dancing to some music on the computer. At one point Lehr asked them to sit on the couch so he could snap a picture. That's when the fun started. We suggested Eli put his arm around Gracie, which he did. Then Gracie's mom said maybe Gracie could give Eli a kiss on his cheek, which she did. Eli thought that was kinda cool, so he reciprocated. And reciprocated. To the point where Gracie finally put her hand over her cheek because it was enough already. Then the two wiggled off of the couch and started running around. But anytime they were near each other, they would give each other a kiss. On the lips. Holy Mole, Guacamole!! It's a good thing Gracie's dad was present, or Eli might have been in some hot water! I know most of it was fueled by the fact that the four adults present could not stop laughing at the antics....it was really cute to see them grinning and being so sweet with each other! We caught some of this action on video....I'll post it tomorrow. For now, here are more pictures of their love.

Run, Eli, Run!

Eli ran his first official road race this morning! OK, so he only ran 700 yards (actually more like 700 feet), but he had a number, there was an official gun-shot start, and he took home a t-shirt. I got up early to head downtown for my 10K while Lehr got the kids up to meet me about an hour later. Eli's race didn't start until two hours after mine, but I had read there would be some activities to entertain the kids. When the three arrived, we got Eli's number and pinned it on his shirt. This got him really excited. Then I ran him through a few quick stretches. He seemed to get a real kick out of bending and twisting like Mommy.

From there we walked over to a small putt-putt golf course. This totally occupied Eli's attention for the next ten minutes. In fact, when I pulled him away to get his shirt (before the rush that would happen after the race), he was a bit unhappy. Lucky for me, the mascots showed up about that time. Right after Eli's race, there would be a mascot race (same distance) for local business mascots. Eli's favorite was the Planet Smoothie one. His costume was hard to run in though, and Homer (the Braves mascot) easily placed first. We had a short warm-up (dancing the 'chicken dance') and then it was off to the start line. Eli was pumped. He kept telling me, "Mommy, I gonna run faaaast." The official gave us a "On your mark, get set..." and then he shot the gun for us to start. A girl about 7 or 8 easily won, but Eli had a blast and ran all the way to the finish. He received a green "winner" ribbon and we let him put on his race t-shirt right away. On our way back to the car, we walked through the parking lot where the old Braves Field is outlined with concrete. Eli and Maddux had a blast running the bases several times. Eli ran around the bases without stopping: that's a long way! This was by far the best race I've done in my life...I cannot wait to do more with Eli and Maddux.

She Doesn't Stand A Chance

Poor Maddux. With Lehr and I in charge of her safety, she has a tough road ahead of her. The bad news is: she's already been dragged along that road. A few weeks back she had a car accident, leaving her face all banged up. Her scabs healed in a week, but the sensitive pink skin underneath is still recouping. Today I took the kids for a hike after breakfast. The weather is so nice and I thought it would be a great day to take some pictures of the two of them. Minutes after we were on the trail (two minutes, to be exact), Maddux fell down for the third or fourth time and landed her forehead on a rock. It wasn't a hard fall, but the rock hit her on her scar, which is still fragile skin, and she now has two more small scabs. Seriously. Who trusted us to leave the hospital with her 16 months ago!?!?

The walk down to the trail obviously proved to be a bit steep and rocky for Maddux, so I carried her down to the pond. Once there, however, roots became the next obstacle. There are lots and lots of huge tree roots protruding from the ground and until very recently, they have been a problem even for Eli. Speaking of Eli, all he wanted to do was 'run wiff my sis-ser'....but she was so tired of falling that she moved at a cautious snail pace (very unlike Maddux).

After about an hour of walking around the pond, fishing with a stick found by Eli, throwing rocks in the pond, and falling several more times, we loaded back into the car and drove to the church where we met Tyler and his mom for lunch. The boys had a great time playing baseball. The first 10-15 minutes found them sharing and playing without any need for adult intervention. WOW! Maddux and the boys ate lunch and played a little more before we returned home for well-deserved naps.

Field of Flowers

That is my end goal for Maddie's room. Right now it is a field of grass with a section of flowers. While Grandma Cathie visited, I snuck away one morning to work on the paint in Maddux's room. I only got a section done, but Maddie loves it. She runs in there each day while we're playing upstairs and points to the flowers...especially the bigger ones.


Maddux Room from Lehr Eliason on Vimeo.

Life. Is. Good.

It's not even funny how much I love that kid. Eli is causing my heart to grow so much more each day. We've had a great week or so...lots of great family times and many memorable moments between the two kids. Today Eli was sweet to his sister (unprompted) yet again: when I was preparing lunch, Eli was building a track with his wooden train tracks. Maddux ran over to investigate and, as she often does, disrupt. Eli had been territorial and cross with her five minutes earlier when she did the same thing, but this time he took a different approach. "No, Maddie, no." (Said in a softer, gentle voice.) "Don't take dose...be careful! Don't hurt yourself!" I'm sure he was just as motivated, if not more, by his need to control the pieces as he was to keep his sister safe, but at least he opted for a softer tone.

Just now I put the kids down for a nap, which allows for a short one-on-one time with each kid. Most days, I put Maddux down while Eli reads in his room, and then I come read to him five minutes later. Right before I left Eli alone, I gave him his new National Geographic for Kids (Thanks, Aunt Linda!!) magazine that came yesterday. He is really starting to get into these small rags, especially because they include 6-8 small collectors cards in each issue. The cards show a color picture of an animal on one side and a 'fun fact' about the animal on the other. Eli and I spent most of the time reading about the animals and talking about their facts. Maybe half of them were related to dietary preferences this month. So when it was time to wrap up our story time, I asked Eli to pick out his favorite card. He picked a beetle and then he picked every other card also. After he told me each of them was his favorite, he told me what they were (badger, crab, dolphin, etc.) and then he told me what they ate. His perception of what they ate anyway. The dolphin eats rice, the crab eats worms and mushrooms, the squirrel eats trees and rice and pasta and tomatoes and worms and trucks. That last entry caused him to smile as he knew he was being silly at that point. I really did not want to leave his room because we were having such a good time. This age is sooo fun. There are tantrums. There are battles. There are hard times. But the vocabulary explosion and new comprehension of SO much makes it my favorite stage thus far. Thank you, Eli.

Teeth, Teeth, and More Teeth!

I think it's common knowledge that for the first two years of a child's life, they are pretty much always teething. The intense pain does come and go though, and Maddux had her share of that in the last few weeks. She was a drool machine, and her nose resembled a faucet as well. Sometime during the week of Halloween things got better and we saw a front tooth pop through her upper gum line. I was quite concerned about how much she struggled with that tooth because it was only a front tooth. Eli didn't really have teething issues until he got his back teeth and molars...the front ones didn't really phase him in the pain department. So tonight when I put Maddux to bed, I decided to do a finger check in her mouth to see if I could feel any back teeth pushing on the gums (explaining the belly-aching she's done recently). I was totally surprised to find two more teeth popped through! She now has one on each side, towards the very back. No wonder Mad Dog was so mad!

Be Still My Heart

Eli is a sweet kid. Yes, everyone says it about their children. It is still the truth. Most days he thinks about other people's feelings and sometimes he actually makes decisions based on those feelings! We've taught Eli about "Ladies first", but so far no major action in that area. If I'm up to it, I'll scoot in front of him before he runs through the garage door and gently remind him, "Eli, what should you say to Mommy when the door is open?", but a reminder is always needed. So after we had lunch today I needed to clear the table before joining the kids on the back deck. I told Eli he could go out ahead of me, so he opened the sliding glass door. Instead of yelling, "Noo. NOOOO!" when Maddux advanced towards the opening, Eli moved to the side and said (in the most gentle voice ever), "You wanna come out here wiff me?" She did and he followed through the door after her and closed it behind him. Had I not seen it with my own eyes, I might not have believed it. Not that Eli can't be sweet and not that I don't believe he has that gentleness in him, but for the whole thing to play out in the way it did...amazing. Life is good.

Lazy Sunday

Ah Sunday. Even though it signals the end of the weekend, it is usually my favorite day because we spend it together. The morning starts with church, but then it is usually lunch on the back deck and a nap followed by some family activity. Today that activity was a favorite of mine and Eli's: mowing the lawn. I'm not a crazy person who likes yard work, but in the last year I've taken on the responsibility of mowing and Eli almost always accompanies me. As I was pushing the mower today, he followed closely behind, adjusting his controls every few minutes. When I stopped to empty my bag, he always told me, "My bag is full too, Mommy." So we had to empty his mower into the can after we emptied mine. During one of these drops, Eli made my day. Possibly my year. He looked me in the eyes and said, "Mommy, I like mowing wiff you." Sometimes I wish I could pause life and just live in certain moments for an extended period of time....

Super Saturday

What a great day! Grandma Cathie flew home this morning, so we had the whole day to just hang out with no plans. The weather was AWESOME, so we made sure to be outside at all times. After breakfast we went outside to rake leaves and play in the yard. That turned into a soccer game which led Lehr and I to discuss Eli's future soccer career. We have a state-of-the-art soccer complex and organization just a few miles from our house, so we want to sign Eli up for the spring session (the earliest he could play, given his age). I am trying to use that as a dangling-carrot to entice him to seal the deal on this potty training thing. He is so close! Anyway, as we were talking we decided to drive up there with a few sandwiches and let the kids watch a few games. Maddux and Eli loved it. During the first game we watched, Eli shouted "GO!!" to one of the players and then snuggled into my arm, as if he was embarrassed by his sudden outburst of team spirit. Too funny. Maddux focused more on the food than the soccer, but she seemed to enjoy watching the soccer players run around also.

A few new phrases and words from Eli in recent weeks:
- "Aftername" We carved our pumpkin with a pattern titled, 'Flack Jack'. Eli reversed the names, always referring to him as 'Jack Flack'. One day he said, "Mommy...dere's our pumpkin. His name is Jack...ummm...Jack..... Mommy, what's his aftername?"

- "Sud-eee?" Eli loves to ask us "Sud-eee go to get bagels?" "Sud-eee pway baseball?" "Sud-eee mow da grass?" He is attempting to ask "Should we?", but his s-plus-additional-letter-words aren't perfected yet.

- "Soak" On that same note, most words that have another consonant after 's' at the beginning are hard to understand when they are coming from Eli's mouth. "Soak" is how he says 'smoke', "soothie" is 'smoothie', and "sie-ders" is 'spiders'. I think that one is my favorite. "Mommy!! Look at the sie-ders!!"

Donation Corner: Operation Christmas Child

I spotlighted Operation Christmas Child last year, but it's such a neat charity that I had to include it again. Every year, Samaritan's Purse collects thousands of shoe boxes (or plastic storage boxes of similar size) filled with gifts for children living in poverty. I personally love this opportunity to donate because it is a great way to involve the kids. Eli (and now Maddux) gets to pick out some toys, socks, toothbrushes, and other little goodies for 'udder kids' (as he calls them). Then he can easily sort them into boxes based on gender or age. Even though we don't know what country our specific boxes will go to, we talk about a few of the places they might go, and I try my best to explain to the kids why some people need us to send them hats and books. Some great conversations have come out of this donation of time and materials in the last two years, and I can only hope it's helping Eli and Maddux to be more aware and giving people. The collection week is fast approaching (November 17-24), so you don't have much time left to donate this year. If you miss the cutoff, you can donate year round by mailing your boxes to OCC's headquarters. If you finish your box by the 24th, you can drop it off at any number of collection sites.

Happy Halloween

What a day! Eli had school this morning, and I had a photo shoot, so Maddie spent most of the AM hours with Grandma Cathie. The four of us picked Eli up and went home for lunch. Eli decided to show me that he'd had enough of the crazy schedule for the last week or so by throwing the WORST temper tantrum he's had to date. It ended when he ran into his bathroom, picked up his toothbrush holder, and smashed it on the floor. I put him in his crib and closed the door behind me. Using the time to read to Maddie before her nap started helped calmed me (despite the crying and screaming from Eli's room) so I could rationally deal with him. I'm not going to sugar coat it: I was pissed. Very very very mad and frustrated that Eli would resort to breaking something out of anger. So when he had calmed down a bit, I went in and asked him if he was now ready to use the bathroom. He was, so we walked in there together. He had to step over the broken toothbrush holder because I had left it right where it landed. After he finished his business, I asked him what needed to be cleaned up. He told me the holder and then he walked around picking up the pieces. We then had a discussion about how the holder broke. I went over (and over and over) that we do NOT throw things, hit people, or scream out of anger. I reminded him that it is ok to be mad, or sad, but it is not ok to hurt things or people when we are feeling that way. We discussed a few 'cool down' options for him the next time he felt angry. Then I told him he lost privileges for baseball until he could demonstrate to us that he could keep himself in control, even when he is mad. It ended on a good note, but it was a tough afternoon.

After naps, the kids got into their costumes and we went outside for a few pictures. Not many turned out due to Maddie's runny nose and Eli's love of running through the leaves. Ten minutes later we gave up on pictures and walked up the hill to the start of the neighborhood parade. All of Eli's friends were there, so the kids ran around checking out all of the costumes. We walked the one mile down to the pool parking lot where more kids and families awaited us. With pizza!! A few pieces later, the kids were ready to run around. Eli spotted a daddy dressed as 'the man with the big yellow hat' and his son, Curious George, and he kept tabs on them the rest of the night. Most of Eli's time was spent with his next-door buddy, William. Maddux just wanted to wander. She didn't care much who she followed...she just wanted to walk. I entered her in the costume contest at the last minute and she won first place for the 0-2 division. Not bad for something we didn't plan!

After the contest, we loaded up the BOB and started the walk back to the house. Trick-or-treating happened along the way, though it was slow going in the beginning. Eli didn't really get the concept until Lehr went up with him a few times. Maddie, however, seemed to know exactly what to do. She ran up to the door, held out her bag, and retreated as soon as she received a goody. Then she'd plop down in the driveway and pick out treats to hold in her hands. Once Eli got the drill (walk up to the door, knock, say "Trick or Treat!", get candy, say "Thank you", go back to Mommy) he seemed to really enjoy it. Especially when we saw jack-o-lanterns on the porches. And he knew he'd get to pick one special treat to enjoy once we got home, so he was always re-evaluating his stash. He kept coming back to a small tootsie roll until the very last house when he received a tootsie roll pop. Then the switch was made.

Close to 7:30 we returned home and changed into our PJ's. Then we popped some corn and had a quick Family Movie Night: It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Eli loved it, especially when Snoopy was on the screen. Maddux just enjoyed the popcorn...she couldn't get enough.

Gym Class, Monkeys and Candy, Oh My!!

This morning was quite a busy one! Eli's school had their annual Halloween Parade and school party today, so Eli needed to wear his costume (a monkey) to class. I got him dressed and he told me he didn't want breakfast because "Monkeys no eat Cheerios." Nice. Later he told me on Halloween he gets to eat candy. When I told him that can't be: monkeys don't eat candy, he realized had some back-peddling to do, but he seemed quite convinced in his own mind that monkeys eat candy (but not Cheerios). After I dropped Eli off at school, Grandma and I took Maddux to her weekly gym class. She was her usual monkey self, climbing over all of the mats and apparatuses. She has really come to love the balance beam; she walks on it at least twice each class. Maddie's favorite part of class is still ball time. She loves to throw and kick all of the balls, but what she loves even more is putting them back into the trash can at the end.

Maddux Gym Class from Lehr Eliason on Vimeo.

We rushed from Maddux's class to Eli's school so we could be there for the Halloween Party. It turns out there was a birthday party to celebrate in Eli's class today also, so sugar was everywhere. I decided to hang up my sugar-police hat for the 30-minutes we were there and let Eli have what all of the other kids got. My son must have realized he had a small window because the amount he consumed in that half hour was impressive: one Capri Sun, one LARGE (even by adult standards) piece of cake with layer icing, two chocolate chip cookies, two chocolate bon-bon-type candies and two minutes of sucking on a Tootsie Roll pop sucker. Yikes! He had a blast though. He and his friends were trick-or-treating with all of the other classes in the Fellowship Hall when we got there. We didn't see Eli at first, but finally we spotted him and his buddy, Sanjit, in the corner, just hanging out. Once they were done, we walked back to their class for their own party. Maddux even got in on the fun, sitting in one of the empty chairs and eating a little bit of cake.

Another Date

Several weeks back, when Eli found out Grandma Cathie was coming to visit, he informed me, "I gonna take her on date." We thought it was so awesome that he came up with that on his own, so we went full-force with it. Eli said he wanted to take her to "Ed's" (Ted's Montana Grill) and he and Lehr decided that Eli would pay. Every day for two weeks Eli reminded me, "I need some money, Mommy. I gotsta pay for da food." He asked Grandma over the phone if she'd go on the date with him. He told her he was going to pay. She then asked him if he was going to drive also. Eli said, "No, you gotta drive. I ride in back seat."

So tonight was the big night. Eli woke up from his nap and the two of them took off. First they went to Target so Eli could pick out a new pillow (his old one was lost due to a pull-up incident), and then they ran errands at the mall. The final destination was Ted's, where Eli talked my mom's ear off. They sat in a booth across from each other, but Eli told Grandma, "I wish you sit over heeeere." Of course she joined him on his side. He ordered sliders (three little hamburgers) and fries. I've been told that Eli asked Grandma Cathie, "Where my money? I need to pay for da food." That shocks me given Eli's memory: he and I put money in his jeans' pocket minutes before they left the house. The two of them had a great night and Eli is now dreaming about being the center of attention for yet another night....

Festive Sunday

This whole weekend turned out to be quite Fall/Halloween themed! After our great fall walk yesterday, we continued with the autumn festivities today. After church we had a quick lunch and nap. (Just the kids napped. Grandma Cathie and I ran to Old Navy where their costumes are $5. Seriously, people: $5!!!) We woke the kids just after 3PM so we could attend a neighborhood Halloween party. Playground equipment, a jump castle, a table set up with mini pumpkins and stickers, and more kids than I could count kept both Eli and Maddux very entertained. Maddie loved the jump castle, even when it got a bit rough with the over-eight-crowd. Eli had a blast too, telling me he was jumping with 'da big kids'. He took a short break to decorate a pumpkin with stickers and foam stickies. Maddie opted to decorate her face and shirt instead of a pumpkin. And she cried when we took her out of the rough jump castle to take her home. But we had to do it in order to get in more fall madness. From the party we drove to a nearby church to pick out a pumpkin. I decided to not put a size constraint on Eli's choice this year and I paid dearly for it. I paid $16, to be exact! The pumpkin is so heavy that I can barely lift it!

After dinner (Pumpkin Pasta, to keep with the Halloween theme.) we set up paper and trash cans on the back deck to start the jack-o-lantern creation process. Eli wanted to cut it 'all by self', but that was obviously not going to happen. I did let him use a smaller, pumpkin carving tool on his small pumpkin. He shredded the poor guy, leaving him with many scratches and stab-marks. Lehr gutted the big pumpkin and then I let Eli chose a pattern from my carving book. He chose 'Flack Jack', and I got to work. Eli alternated cutting his pumpkin and watching me. Maddux ran around the deck, giving us a heart attack any time she went near the stairs and proposed a jump. 8PM came and now the house is quiet. Life is good.

Date Night!

Eli and I had a date tonight. Schedules have taken over and we've been so busy recently that dates have not been happening as often as they should. Since we have reinforcements right now (Grandma Cathie), I took Eli on a date I'd been planning for a while: bowling. I didn't tell him where we were going ahead of time, just in case it didn't happen due to parties or leagues or whatever. Lucky for us, we walked in and got a lane right away! Eli was sooooo excited. He was excited about Mommy's bowling shoes (they didn't have any small enough for him), he was excited about picking out a bowling ball ("I want the boooo one!!"), he got excited about me entering his name onto the screen, he got excited about watching other people bowl....there wasn't anything he didn't get excited about! The smallest ball I could find was a 9-lb ball, but since I knew he'd just be rolling it, I figured it was no big deal. Eli showed me that he could not only carry it himself, but he threw it (aka dropped it) instead of rolling it half of the time! I requested the bumpers be put up, which allowed him to score above 50 in each of our three games. I threw a few balls, but only at Eli's request. ("I wanna see it go fast!") He was fascinated by the ball retriever/returner. "It go under da ground, Mommy?" And I only had to tell him once about not sticking his hand in it. We had a woman playing next to us, so we discussed bowlers etiquette, and Eli was quite good at respecting her space and waiting (patiently) for her to take her turn. If she was bowling, Eli would come and wait back at the ball returner with me, which is a good thing considering it took a full two minutes for his ball to make it's way down the lane. The g00d news is, I never once had to throw an additional ball down to 'prompt' a stuck ball.

After an hour of bowling, the two of us headed to Eli's favorite joint: The Flying Biscuit. Eli had eggs, chicken sausage, potatoes, and (of course) a wheat biscuit. I also gave him almost half of my garden burger. He was a little moody before our food arrived, but I'm pretty sure it was hunger talking: I was starving too. During dinner we talked about our plans for Sunday: pumpkin carving after dinner. Eli tells me we are going to carve a happy pumpkin. Or a scary pumpkin. Or a sad pumpkin. Depending on when you ask him, the answer varies slightly.

A Horse Is A Horse, Of Course, Of Course....

This morning we took the kids for a fall walk to see the horses. The last time I did this, Maddie was not such a fan. She got a little spooked by the horse's forwardness. Grandma Cathie is in town, so I figured one of us could hold her and 'protect' her while the other helped Eli to pet the horse(s), as that's his main focus. The weather was gorgeous, and so was the walk. As soon as we finished, Eli ran down the long dirt driveway to find the horses. He got a little sidetracked when he heard a tractor. We looked through the fence to see the grounds' owner on a fertilizing tractor. Eli could have watched him all day. When we finally did find horses, they were off in the back of the field, grazing. From past experience, I knew it would only take a few minutes of standing at the fence for the horses to come say 'hi'. Sure enough, three minutes after Eli stuck his head through the opening in the fence, two white horses moseyed on over! Maddux has really started to enjoy dogs and other large animals, so I had hope she'd be friendly with the horses today and I was right. Although she requested holding a hand, or being held, she definitely had an interest in seeing the horses up close. She even put out her hand to pet them a few times! Eli loved petting them, of course, and he wanted to find more horses. Unfortunately for him, the only other horses we saw were too far out in the field to notice us. But he got plenty of horse petting in with the two willing subjects at the fence.

A Day For The Books

No plans today. These days are very rare. If nothing else, I usually have a walk or a trip to the park planned. But it was cool and very windy this morning and I thought that might be a bit much for the kids. So after breakfast and a quick blanket time, I loaded them into the car for a Costco trip. We were in need of a few staples and I figured it would be a good diversion for the morning stretch. The kids did pretty well while we shopped, though Maddie was not in the best spirits. We did walk by the pre-lit Christmas trees though, and both kids were all bug-eyed and gaping-mouthed. It was lunch time as soon as we got home, so I heated up some soup and we were all done by 1PM. Maddux promptly had a melt-down at that time because I wouldn't pick her up and carry her while I was trying to clean the kitchen. After about three minutes of her crying and me kneeling down to comfort her (but not picking her up), Eli ran towards us with a toy. "Dis make her feel better, Mommy?" Man, that kid is sweet!

Five minutes later, Maddie settled down and began to play with Eli. He was using a pitcher as a blender for some of his food (and animals). I'm not sure of the smoothie flavor, but he was really into it. And he let Maddux put objects into his pitcher, so she got into it also. Before I realized it, ten minutes had passed and I had the kitchen picked up and dinner half-way prepared. I stopped a few times, in awe, to watch the two kids playing so well together. Even when Maddie took something Eli was playing with (as she often does), he was pretty nice about it. Towards the end of our time downstairs, Mad Dog took an animal and ran (like she always does when she knows Eli is going to protest) and Eli chased her. It was all in fun; both kids were giggling and having a blast. At one point she came over to me in the kitchen, for safety I think, and Eli came in and said, "Come chase wiff me, Mad!!" (He now calls her 'Maddie', 'Max', 'Mad', and 'my sisser'.)

To end the morning, we all went upstairs for bathroom trips, one song on the computer (due to potty success) and stories. I left Eli in front of the computer as I put Maddux down. When I do this, I always tell him, "When this song is over, please go to your room and read a book until I come in." As any good first-born would do, this kid obeys that rule like none other. I had Maddux's door cracked and when I heard the end of "Grease Lightning", I saw him turn and march to his room. Halfway there, he stopped and picked up Maddie's doll. He came into her room, where I had just put her into her crib, and said, "Maddie needs her baby doll for nigh-night. Here-go, Max!" It's days like today that make me so aware of what a true gem he is.

Angels

I am pretty under-the-weather tonight. I'm not sure if it is food poisoning or a cold or both, but it is not fun. Lehr was so awesome to do dinner and baths with the kids so I could just lie on the couch and not move. I chose to do that upstairs so I would not disturb the balance between Daddy and kids. (If I am visible, it makes it more difficult, just because.) It was so awesome to sit upstairs and listen to the amazing things happening below me.

Eli was so sweet. I heard him play with Maddux and have a great time overall with Lehr. Then Maddie started with her crazy (sinister?) laugh. Then some odd sounds came from her that lasted longer than a laugh. Lehr later told me she was walking around carrying the toy horse when she made those, so he suspected it was her imitation of what a horse sounds like.

Then they all came upstairs for baths. While in the tub, Eli said, "I want my mommy to rinse my hair." Not in a whiny way; he said it more as a statement and when Lehr told him I'd do it tomorrow night, Eli said, "Ohhh-kaaaaay." After baths, Eli came into the room where I was laying and said,"Mommy, you no feel good? Here some water...help your tummy feel better." Melt melt. After Lehr got Maddie ready for bed, she came running in to see me also. All smiles and giggles. At one point each kid climbed up on the couch and got horizontal with me, to snuggle. I invited Eli to stay with me and read books while Lehr put Maddux down. When Lehr came out of Maddie's room, he told Eli it was time to say good-night and go to bed. Even though we still had a few pages left in our book, Eli said "OK!!" and sauntered off to his bedroom. I guess sickness brings out the best in the kids??