The Best 2nd Christmas Ever

Happy belated Christmas! We had a fun and relaxing Christmas with family. I've realized how much fun it is being a parent at Christmas time. It was so fun to see Eli rip open presents and then say "waaaoow" each time. John and I have tried and wanted to make Christmas special and fun for Eli this year. John even put lights on the house for the first time! I can't wait to start new traditions and see what our future Christmases bring.
Here are some Christmas pictures, featuring Eli's new tricycle!

The Amazing Fire Station

Eli and I took some Christmas cookies that we made to the firemen yesterday. Eli was in heaven...and I think the firemen enjoyed Eli, too! The firemen were so nice to show him everything in and on the fire truck. He took it very seriously as you can see in the pictures. He kept pointing to the fire truck and telling the firemen "truck", "red truck"...or as he says it, "tuh", "wee tuh"! It was great. When we were there, they got a call, so we got to see them put on their gear, hop in the truck, and drive away! I'm sure Eli could have stayed there all day. We'll definitely have to visit again sometime.

Christmas Cookies

We had good, messy fun making Christmas cookies with Mammy while she was here. I think the pictures say it all!




Boone helped, too!

I put a t-shirt on Eli to prevent icing from getting all over his clothes, and he pulled it over his head like a hood and kept it like that for awhile.

Helping Dada

Eli had a great time "helping" John fix the car this weekend. It was so cute, once he saw what John was doing, he wanted to be right next to him (or on top of him) and work. He even had his own tools out there to get the job done. Eli took this job very seriously as you can see.

Shoes

Eli loves trying on our shoes and wearing them around the house. I think he's tried on every pair that John and I own. These red heels are some of my favorites on him. Whatever keeps him entertained is fine with me!

Eli's Best Friend

I don't think the feeling is mutual. Boone is a good sport though!

Bath Dance!

You might remember the first edition of this dance released around Eli's first birthday. Well, this is the updated version of Eli's "Shake that Booty" dance!

20 months old

20 months sounds too close to 24 months! Well, as you've seen in the videos, Eli's talking more and more. Colors are a favorite thing to say, especially colors of cars or trucks. He's saying new words everyday, which still surprises me even though I know it's he's at the vocabulary spurt stage now. It's just amazing that his brain is taking everything in and storing it, identifying it, then remembering the name and how to say it. So cool! Eli's still signing words to, which is also fun.
Naturally, at this stage, in Eli's mind it's all about Eli. He's become his own little person, which means that he knows what he does and doesn't want to do. This leads to some tantrums! He's gotten better at those. Redirection doesn't always work anymore. So, we've started Time Out, which is just a way for him to take a break from the situation. I know that I need time out sometimes, too! It's working pretty well so far, and he's actually getting better at staying in the chair or the spot where I sit him. He's getting it, and I think it's helping! The whole idea of discipline is overwhelming to me...how to do it, what "methods" to use, how will it affect him, when to do it, etc. I know it's an ongoing process that takes patience and adjusting.

As far as potty training, we're taking it slow, not forcing it for now. We're not sure if he's totally ready. He's still going pee pee on the potty, but I think it's more because it's something new and different. As you've seen in the videos, I do let him hang out around the house without a diaper to get him more aware of when to run to the potty! I've captured some nice blackmail pictures of this!
Ah, the adventures of being a mommy never end...no pun intended!

Videos

These are just some funny videos taken of Eli in the past week.
I really want to get a good one of him talking, but this is the best I could do.


These are just funny...and shorter!

Bus Ride

Eli got to ride on the bus last weekend, or as he says "buhhhhhsss!". We wanted to go to the Christmas tree lighting downtown, but didn't want to mess with parking, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to take Eli on the bus! What an adventure!

The guy taking our picture didn't really understand the camera, so we got this picture...oh well!


I wouldn't let Eli push the button to tell the bus driver to stop because we didn't need to stop yet!

It's Potty Time!

It's a big day in the Perkins household! Eli has pee-peed in the potty for the first time! He was running around nude before bathtime as usual, and when I went in to turn on the bath water, I asked him if he wanted to sit on his potty. He did, but this time he actually peed, and he knew what he was doing because he looked down and then made his surprised face. You can sort of see his expression in the first picture. John and I made a point to get very excited about this, so hopefully he'll try it again. After he got up from the potty, he then climbed up on the big potty and peed on top of it (with lid closed). I guess he is definitely aware of what he's supposed to do. Here comes another learning process for all of us!

Tickle Time!

On the drive back from our short Thanksgiving trip to Ft. Worth, we got bored and sleepy...well, John and I got sleepy. So, John started entertaining Eli by tickling him. Lots of laughter ensued!

Sweet Boy

19 months

Another month flew by! The past few weeks have been rough because Eli has been getting his canine teeth all at once. This means that he doesn't sleep well and is also grumpy, but I don't blame him because that's gotta hurt! It's just a challenge for all of us. He's got one more canine tooth to pop through...then we wait for the two year molars!


In the last month, Eli has become a little artist! He discovered the fun of markers while we were at cousins Grayson and Garrett's house. He has to try them out on his skin before coloring the paper. Crayons are also fun, but Eli likes to eat them while he colors. We're also working on coloring only on the paper. Oh, it's so fun to color on the walls! I love washable makers and crayons!














Speaking of colors, Eli has learned some colors. He knows blue, red, yellow, green, orange, and brown. He can sign them correctly most of the time, but he doesn't always say the correct name of the color. He'll usually say blue ("boo") for most things, but sign the correct color, then he'll say the right color after I say it. I love seeing this whole learning process!
He is still a little copy cat. He is getting really good at it, too. This comes in handy for getting him to brush his teeth, put on his shoes, or help out. He's been giving us kisses lately by saying "mmmwah". I didn't realise we did that until he started doing it. He loves when Mama and Dada kiss each other, too! Eli has also been giving other kids hugs, but it turns into more of a tackle. You can see him hugging/tackling in action on the Halloween post.

It's cute except when he tries to hug smaller kids or babies! I guess we'll work on giving gentle hugs. Eli's giving his "cousin" Reese a kiss in this picture...or maybe it's the other way around.
So much learning going on! I think I have a little big boy now.