Redact! Redact!

(First off, if you don't watch The Office, you should. Especially the second season.)

So I post earlier about Eli being less-than-enjoyable for the last few weeks and then he goes and wakes up from his morning nap in a great mood. We spent an hour in his room after his slumber reading, playing with blocks, and just goofing around in general. While we were in there he looked out the window and started signing "flower". Sure enough, there were flowers a few doors down that he could see: he knows he can hit a soft spot with me when he displays intelligence! Then he proceeded to make "ooh. eee." sounds (like a monkey) for me. Melted my bad mood right away.

Calgone....You Know The Drill

This teething stuff is obviously hard work. Otherwise someone came in to my house one night and switched out my baby for a more whiny, easily-bored, complaining one. (I hope it's the former.) Eli is such a mess....I play with him and he whines, I leave him alone and he whines, I take him for a walk and he whines, I feed him and he whines. Do you see a pattern here? It's one of those times when I wish he could talk a little more to tell me what is causing his mood and 'tude. If it is pain, I'll give more meds or at least be sympathetic. If it's need for attention, I'll give it...just tell me!!

Here We Go Again...

After trying for just a month it appears we are expecting again. Just like with Eli, I'm completely shocked which seems quite contradictory, but I am. Of course because I got this news today Eli has been out of sorts causing me great stress and concern over the thought of adding another to the mix. Gotta love that! Eli and I went to Barnes & Noble this afternoon to buy a book titled: "I'm a Big Brother" to 'give' to Lehr tonight as a way of telling him. Last time I didn't do anything neat or creative, so I tried harder this go-round. My first appointment is set for the first week of December and I'm relieved it is so soon. I'm not sure how it's possible since it has been just over a year, but I've really forgotten most of the do's and don'ts that I was so versed in when I was pregnant just over a year ago. I guess it's true that children make you lose your mind!

So Much for Separation Anxiety!

So I decided to enroll Eli in a Mothers' Morning Out program at a local church. I'm not committed to any set number of days, but the plan is to bring Eli there once/week for a few hours. The only 'non-mommy' time Eli gets is on Sundays when he is in the church nursery, so I wanted to increase that time a little in the spirit of gradual transition from 100% Mommy Time to Pre-school in a few years. (Yes, I'm aware that at this rate the gradual will be V E R Y gradual.) I planned to only leave him there for two hours max today, so that he could get used to it. (However, on my return visit I overestimated how long the drive would take and ended up cutting Eli's time to only 90-minutes.) When I brought Eli to the classroom he clung to me for a fleeting moment until he spotted a walker identical to one he has at home and crawled over as quick as he could. He never looked back.... When I went to pick him up, I had to search to find him as he was in a pile of toys, totally engrossed. Once we made eye-contact he held up the wooden banana he was playing with, said "Nana", and returned to playing. Since there were no tears, even upon re-entry, I think I can safely say that Eli will enjoy his next visit when I leave him a bit longer.

Double-Header

So last night Eli had another meltdown, very similar to last week's incident that ended in some blanket QT for Eli in his crib. Lehr was home to witness this one, and he was just as baffled as I. Once he calmed down we brought him back to the table to eat some dinner before we bathed him and sent him to bed. This morning Eli was a little testy also. Right before his morning nap I found the culprit: two molars have popped through. The poor kid was probably in major pain! I've been wondering when more teeth would show, since his moodiness HAD to be a symptom of teething (I refused to believe it was just Eli's new 'personality'). Anyway, now we can be certain the cause of some of his recent temper tantrums and meltdowns. Also the reason we've had a lot of sullen faces posing for pictures this last week.

Halloween, Take II

We planned on trick-or-treating with Cooper on Halloween night, but sickness foiled those plans, so tonight the boys got dressed up in their costumes again so we could get pictures of them together. Strangely enough, the best photos of both boys came when they switched costumes. Eli started as a pumpkin and Cooper came dressed as Dumbo. But once Cooper put on the orange suit, he strutted around like he was in a fashion show. And as much as Eli loves his pumpkin costume, the ears on Dumbo were quite intriguing to him.

Welcome to the Monkey House

So Eli is normally a monkey. He's all over the place. He makes funny noises. He makes odd faces while eating. He crawls like an ape. He climbs up and down anything he can.

But today he was a monkey for other reasons. This morning I took him to his first gym class at The Little Gym. His music class is over and I figured before we started swim lessons again we'd try something new. (If I don't get out and see other adults once a week I go nuts, and I've learned that Eli feels the same if he doesn't get out and see other kids. We are trying to rotate activities so we always have something going on, but only one thing per week, as to not overwhelm our bank account or Eli.) From the minute we walked in, Eli was in awe. Mats and bars and beams a plenty. As far as thee eye can see. Once we entered the play area Eli made a bee-line for the lowest balance beam, which he scurried under at breakneck speed. (Eli often crawls under any obstacle he can. Last week I found him crawling under the shorter side of our kitchen chairs, just for kicks.) The class started with a few songs/activities on the main mat, but Eli was far too busy investigating the equipment for most of that. There were a few structured activities on the equipment. Eli passed the first one with flying colors. The kids were to walk sideways on the balance beam (with an adults support around their waist, of course.) I didn't even have to prompt Eli's feet, as the instructor told us to. She was so surprised she even asked me how long he'd been taking gym classes (which he hasn't). I figure the dexterity he displayed comes from hours of inching around the guest bed, the coffee tables, the walls, etc. in our home.

The second part of Eli's monkey transformation today was in the form of speech. We've been working on animal sounds forever, but with no distinguishable comprehension. Today as we were reading a book with pictures of monkeys, I said to Eli, "Monkeys say 'Oo Oo Oo Oo. Ee Ee Ee Ee'." Eli looked at me and said "Oo Ee Oo Ee". I pulled out a few other books and went through the same process with the same results. Another case of Monkey See, Monkey Do.

Letting Off Some Steam

So after last week's *challenge* with Eli not seeing Lehr two nights in a row, I decided to make the most of today, since Lehr would get home after Eli went to sleep. Luckily, the weather in Atlanta was very accommodating: sunny and 70 degrees. Eli and I went for a walk by the river after lunch so he could see all of the dogs and ducks. And after his nap we went to a new playground near our house. Lehr has taken him a few times, but this was my first visit. It is WONDERFUL for younger kids because all of the raised areas are completely closed in by wood fences (no space at all), so I can let him climb inside without worry of him falling and hurting himself. Eli had a blast climbing to the top of the slide and then going down all by himself. I tried to show him how to turn his body around once he got to the top so that he would slide down feet first, but once left alone he *forgot* and went down head first. He seemed to have a blast either way....

New PJs

Now that the temperatures are dipping I've had to re-vamp Eli's nighttime attire. During the summer we would just dress him in a diaper and a sleeveless cotton sleepsack (to protect the crib from his bar more than anything). He needs more than that now that winter is upon us. Eli has two long sleeved pajama-ish outfits from the spring that still fit him, but just barely. So on a weekend trip to Old Navy I picked up two new pair of 'big boy' pjs. Tonight Eli posed for several pictures in them as if he were in a photo shoot (wherever would he get that idea?!?!)....kneeling and putting his back to us, only to turn around and look over his shoulder at the camera. What a poser!

Pumpkin Love

Eli loves his Halloween costume. Plain and simple.

Since Halloween Eli's pumpkin costume has been on the floor in his closet (the closet floor is the 'pile' of outgrown clothing to be boxed up). Well, one of Eli's favorite games is to open his closet doors and play with all of the items in there: his shoe basket, his cowboy hat, his extra diapers, and now his pumpkin costume. About a week ago I noticed that the first thing Eli would do when he opened the closet door was giggle and crawl right over to the costume (the puffy pumpkin part) and lie his head down on it to snuggle.


Oh, and Eli started signing "bath" this week....this kid is on a roll! I couldn't get him to do it for the camera, but he did sign "flower" on command for me today:

Donation Corner: Never-ending Need

In case you haven't noticed there is a link to the right of this post for a grassroots organization called Emergency Communities. Their work in the relief efforts after Katrina have continued to help the many affected. This is a cause very near to our hearts as we have loved New Orleans and appreciated its culture for many years. There used to be a link underneath that one to the Atlanta 2-Day Walk for Breast Cancer. Now that the walk is over, I've removed the link, but I still feel strongly about that cause also. I've come to realize that there are many charities and organizations that I want to help by way of listing them on Eli's site, but I worry that such a long list will overwhelm my readership. In an effort to remedy this, I plan to change my "Donation Corner" at the beginning of each month. I'll do my best to choose charities/organizations that are truly worthy, and if you would like to suggest one to me, I'd be glad to read up on it.

This month I'm going to maintain the Emergency Community link. I know it's been over a year since Hurricane Katrina, but there is still SO MUCH to be done in the Gulf communities. Thank you to everyone who has supported or will support any of the causes on Eli's website. You are making a difference!

Cribs

Eli has had a pretty uneventful few days. His teeth have been bothering him more than normal (though I fully realize the first two years he will ALWAYS be teething), so there have been some fussy days in recent past. On Friday Eli spent the entire morning (from 9:15am until 11:00am when we had to leave for his music class) in his crib. It was not a punishment; it was completely Eli's preference and choice. In the midst of breakfast Eli started pitching a major fit and didn't stop when I took him out of his high chair, when I put him down, when I picked him up, when we went upstairs....you get the picture. Finally I thought, "I'll put him in his crib for a minute to see if that calms him and then we'll move on from there." (Note: Eli has a blanket that he sleeps with that he absolutely loves. (I've nicknamed it the "magic" blanket.) It's use is restricted to the crib only though, except for rare exceptions like a plane ride. Sure enough, once he was in the crib with his blanket he immediately calmed. Even though he wasn't acting tired, and he'd only been up for 45 minutes with a full 12-hour night's sleep under his belt, he put his head down and stuck his thumb in his mouth. (That is another trick of the blanket. Eli doesn't typically suck his thumb, but once he sees or feels his blanket, the thumb is like a magnet to his mouth.) So he calmed and reached out his arms like he wanted out of the crib. I picked him up but he was barely over the rail when he started to complain again and reach back for his crib. We repeated this three or four times before I realized he just wanted to be in there and he was happier in there. I walked away and started laundry, coming back to check on him every few minutes. He was happy as a clam, singing, humming, pointing...all the while clutching his blanket. That kid stayed in there (un-entertained by me) for almost two hours. He did nod off at the end, getting a short little snooze before we left, but for the most part, he was awake, disproving any theory I might have had about him being tired. Go figure...sometimes this kid just wants to lie around in bed all day!

Another oldie but goodie in his crib: his aquarium. Eli not only knows how to turn it on and off, but he knows how to adjust the volume and how to change the 'station'. (There is a button to toggle the music/sounds available). It is rare for me to come into Eli's room in the morning and not find Eli lying on his blanket, on his stomach with his knees under him and his thumb in his mouth as he stares at the aquarium which he turned on minutes before.

Donation Corner: Previous Spotlights

Here are the links to charities and organizations previously spotlighted:

• 
  
• Medals4Mettle
  
• Reuse-A-Shoe
  
• Operation Smile
  
• The Jessica Project
  
• Angel Flights/Air Charity
  
• MercyCorps
  
• Idol Gives Back
  
• Orphan Foundation of America
  
• Atlanta 2-Day Walk for Breast Cancer
  
• Walking On Water
  
• Make It Right
  
• World Vision
  
• Charity Navigator
  
• Operation Christmas Child
  
• My Sister's House
  
• AnySoldier.com
  
• Atlanta 2-Day Walk for Breast Cancer
  
• Shepherd Center
  
• Fugees Family
  
• MUST Ministries
  
• Angel Flight America
• Ronald McDonald House Charities
  
• Ready, Willing & Able
  
• Emergency Communities
• Atlanta 2-Day Walk for Breast Cancer

Fish Out of Water

Eli and I went to the Georgia Aquarium today. It's been so neat to see how much more he gets into the fish and other aquatic life each time we go. Today he was so excited to see the sea lions as they zoomed past him in their tank. Also the tropical fish caught his eye; he watched them swim around and around for a good ten minutes.

I've mentioned before how much Eli likes the water to run for his entire bath. We usually fill the tub up enough for his bath and then let the water drip for the remainder. His favorite activity is placing his open mouth underneath the stream of water. It doesn't matter if the water is dripping or on full blast - he wants to drink. Since I usually let Lehr bathe Eli his 'new' trick might not be that new, but yesterday was the first time I noticed it, so my label is sticking for now. I often place the wet washcloths on Eli's back or head, like a cape or hat. He usually pulls it right off, but last night he put it back on his head again and again. Tonight he repeated this trick for me several times.

Signs, Signs, Everywhere There's Signs....

I forgot to mention Eli's newest sign in the post about our trip: flower. This is a sign that has been viewed by Eli at least three times each day since I began signing with him because of Eli's love for flowers. Everytime we go to the grocery store we stop at the flowers outside and/or inside so Eli can point and giggle. Last week we came upon some flowers and Eli started to move his hand near his nose (as close to the sign for "flower" that I've ever seen from him), prompting Lehr to recognize this as Eli communicating. He's also become more specific with his "more" signs. When I'm feeding him from two bowls at home he'll sign "more" and then point to which bowl he wants "more" from. (Quite demanding, isn't he?) Also, his "please" has become more frequent. We still have to request it from him, but he complies more often now. Like most of his signs, "please" is not quite correct. Instead of rubbing his heart, he rubs his stomach.

Happy Halloween!!

Eli enjoyed his first Trick-or-Treating experience tonight. We were hoping Cooper could join us, but he was a bit under the weather today so we'll have to wait until next year for that. After dinner we got Eli dressed in his costume and we sat on the front porch handing out candy to a few neighbors. Eli was quite taken with our jack-o-lantern. He could see the flame inside and he wanted to touch it. (Even though he knows it is "hot" and will sign that to you, he doesn't quite understand the concept of "burn" yet.)

Once we started making our rounds Eli turned comatose on us; he was a complete mute with a total lack of expression on his face. I guess the whole routine of going up to houses and meeting new people was overwhelming enough to make him shut down. He never fussed though, even when we prompted him to walk holding our hands for some of the houses. Eli did enjoy seeing the other children in their costumes. That was probably the highlight for him. That and the house that gave him a box of Nerds (he loved to shake it like his egg shakers).

When we returned home Eli finally got to see what all of the neighbors had been putting in his pumpkin carrier. He was quite interested in the different colors and shapes of wrappers. I'd think by now you'd all know me well enough to know Eli will NOT be eating any Halloween candy this year.
Yup.
That's right.
I'm a horrible mother who is undoubtedly scarring my (fourteen-month-old) child by not letting him eat processed sugar products for which he has no taste and therefore does not realize what he is (or is not) missing. I can only imagine the hours of therapy he'll need....

Here is some video of Eli's first 'official' Halloween.

Like My Own Little Puppet...

So I mentioned in my blog about the weekend that I've been trying to teach Eli how to crawl off of higher up surfaces by going down feet first. Even though he tried to climb down the front porch steps head first this afternoon (at which time I corrected him and he proceeded to comply), he did his first unprompted dismount tonight. Lehr had Eli on our bed after his bath (Eli's bath, not Lehr's), and Eli went to the edge, turned himself around so that his legs faced the drop-off instead of his hands and face, and lowered himself off. Our bed is pretty high, so he could still hurt himself if no one is there to supervise, but I have to think any injury sustained from the backwards dismount has to be less in severity than a forward falling one. Lehr said Eli performed again unprompted twice before he summoned me upstairs to view our prodigy.

Vacation, All I Ever Wanted...

We were fortunate enough to travel to Watercolor in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida this last weekend. Even though the weather didn't cooperate 100%, it was another phenomenal experience. Eli was not crawling at all the last time we visited, so this trip was much more exploratory for him. Unfortunately it rained on Friday, but we still managed to get to the pool and beach on Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday before we left. Eli really enjoyed the beach this time around. He didn't eat much (if any) sand, but he did discover the birds. He loved to chase them (doing his best ape-walk, of course) once they landed on the shoreline. Of course they never let him get close enough so he could touch them, but he sure tried! He also got much more courageous regarding the ocean. Although it was too cold for him to go swimming until the last day, he would crawl to the edge of the water and start to 'chase' the waves a little. Lucky for him, he never got completely soaked.

Eli spent a little time in the pool also, and he was MUCH more adventurous there. He liked to crawl to the edge and put his hand down to test out the water. Of course, then he wanted to lower himself in. I've been trying to teach him how to crawl off of couches, chairs, stairs, etc. by turning around and lowering his legs down first, but that only works half of the time. One afternoon by the pool Eli tried to climb out on top of the water and ended up swimming by himself for a few seconds. He actually stayed up pretty well considering he had no help. Another pleasant surprise: he didn't freak out or get scared enough to cry.

We rented a 'co-pilot' attachment for our bikes again, so Eli would have a way to enjoy the bike rides with us. He absolutely loved it. Before we left today, Eli and I went for an hour-long bike ride through Seaside and Watercolor, and all I could hear the entire time was Eli singing, laughing and talking.

The house we stayed in was amazing. We rented it with three other friends which turned out to be a great arrangement because we could cook at the house, saving money on restaurants and such. We brought along one of Eli's walker toys, which he used constantly to explore the house. There were several large screened-in decks for him to play on; one included a small Adirondack chair just for him!

Our ride home was not terrible, but Eli only napped for 40-minutes the whole (5 1/2 hour) time. Since he's been in the larger car seat he has not been able to nap long-term. One of the payoffs to getting older I guess.

Gone to the Beach....

Back on Monday....

Drop It Like It's Hot

A few things I've neglected to mention in the last couple of posts...

#1 - Eli 'drew' his first drawing last week. I bought him some washable crayons and let him go to town. I honestly didn't even have to demonstrate what to do; I just let him pick a crayon and away he went. He picked four crayons (and drew with each one) before he decided he was done. The masterpiece is currently hanging on our fridge.

#2 - Eli is signing hot all of the time. He knows what objects are hot, but he signs it even for objects that aren't, as if he's asking us, "Are these things hot?" The other day Lehr walked into the room and Eli signed "hot". Right on!!! I've been trying to convey the meaning of hot to Eli, so he would realize it's not just something that refers to objects, but rather their temperature. I often give him a warm piece of food and wait until he touches it and looks at me quizzically before signing to him "hot". We've gone through this process with the laundry too. As soon as I open the dryer door I pull out a warm towel and let him touch it while I sign "hot". Today was the first time I think he understood. I gave him some lunch that was warmer than normal (not on purpose) and he went to pick it up and dropped it quickly and signed "hot". NICE!!

#3 - Eli says "nana", as in BAnana, almost every time he sees or eats one. Last night he was pointing towards the counter (as pointing is his favorite sign) throughout his dinner. After he finished most of it I went over to the counter and picked up a banana and asked him if he wanted one. He said "Na-Na", very slow and deliberately. Same thing this morning. He likes to say it and then have me say "banana" back.