Cleanliness is Next to Chloe-ness

Chloe is becoming such a good big sister. She is so very sweet about sharing toys and taking care of Eli. When he is sitting in the living room floor, she immediately surrounds him with every toy in the house. She lays them in neat circles all the way around him, making a target of sorts, with Eli as the bullseye. Eli sits and plays happily, moving from one toy to the next. Then, inevitably it happens. Chloe can't take it anymore. Too .. much.. clutter... must.. pick... up.. toys.. "Keen Up EI!" Chloe proclaims. She frantically scurries about the room picking up all of the toys and putting them back in their various toy boxes, Eli staring on in utter confusion. Within seconds he is left all alone in the middle of the floor. Dazed, confused, and toyless.

Love On Demand

It's so fun to see brother and sister showing affection toward each other. It's a nice relief from the everpresent squawking, whining, and hitting that have become staples in our house over the past few weeks. After Eli woke up from his nap this afternoon, Chloe walked into his room, demanded that she be put into his crib with him, sat down, turned to Eli and authoratatively said, "EI, Kiss!" Immediately, he opened his mouth hippo-wide, leaned over and laid a big, fat, wet kiss on her face. Chloe giggled and squirmed around and announced, "Good boy EI!"

On the Move

It's official! Eli can move! Yesterday he scooted halfway across the living room, and upon meeting the desk chair, slowly (we're talking six minutes) figured out how to pull himself up to stand. Once he got up, he had no idea what to do and was proudly stuck with his face plastered against the back of the chair, his little arms shaking and voice whimpering. I finally helped him down and gave him much praise.

Today Eli scooted all around playing with different toys. At one point, he made it into the dining room, then turned around, came back into the living room, then pulled the bottom drawer of the entertainment center open. He played alone for a solid five minutes.

His crowning moment came tonight. He saved it for daddy who had never evesomuchas seen him scoot... ELI CRAWLED! He crawled with his belly off the floor for five big crawl-steps before he collapsed in a little proud heap. Time to secure the quarters!

Sunday Best

The boy is rotten, no doubt about it. When I picked him up from the nursery tonight Kimberly chattered on and on about what a sweet boy Eli is. How cute. How wonderful. How great it is that he can play on his own for so long. How nice it must be to have such a happy baby. How she felt bad that she wasn't paying him any attention, yet he just happily scooted around the room playing with toys and keeping himself busy.

Seriously?!?!? I think I've got a Sunday morning Christian in the making...

Mercy

God's mercy is an amazing thing. Perhaps one of the most amazing aspects of His mercy is that He puts up with stuff for a long time. I mean, a really long time. An exorbitant amount of time. To the point that when you finally get it, it's embarrassing that God let you go for so long. I mean, really, sometimes He should give me what I deserve. Here's what I mean. Eli hasn't done a whole lot of moving, and I always quickly attribute it to his laziness. The fact is, he is a very active baby, nearly impossible to hold. He loves to flip out of your arms without any warning whatsoever. He is never still. The lazy ones are his parents. For months now, at least 4, Eli has been able to sit up. When Eli sits up, his head has been higher than the railing on his crib. A big, big no-no. For months now, his daddy and I have said "We really need to lower that rail. He is going to flip right out of there." And for months now, the mattress has stayed at its highest setting. See? Lazy.

Yesterday, after a couple of months of my complaining that Eli hasn't yet pulled up in his crib, it hit me. God has protected Eli from my negligence for a loooong time. God has given grace to Eli, but to me He has given great measures of mercy. I deserved to have my baby flipped out of the crib onto the floor. I really did, yet God protected Him. Still even after this realization, I didn't truly get the magnitude of the situation. I knew what I needed to do, but I still decided to put it off until the weekend. Well, God decided no more... well, maybe a little more.. but it became very clear that is was time for me to stop being lazy and get to work. During his "nap" today Eli pulled up in his crib and was hanging his top half over the side, yelling and grinning his big hippo grin. The time had come. I had to pull out the toolbox.

Eli is asleep right now as low as the mattress will go. Praise God that He doesn't give up on His children easily. Praise God that He protects my children from my many parenting gaffes. Praise God I'm not Britney Spears. Its times like these I actually feel sorry for the girl.

All Boy

Eli has finally found an activity that makes him happy for at least small amounts of time.
The JohnnyJumpUp.


(With my Carolina degree in mind) I truly didn't think there would be any"boy/girl" differences between Chloe and Eli at such an early age. I actually took exception to the phrase "all boy" and to moms that would say "just wait until you have a boy..." In my mind, everything was linked to personality, not gender. Needless to say, I have been more than a little surprised.

Chloe: hated jumping, hated flying, hated movement in general
Eli: wants nothing more than to be thrown into the ceiling at blazing speeds
Chloe: made consonant sounds early, had to be taught animal noises
Eli: has consonant sounds but uses them sparingly. prefers to growl and grunt
Chloe: sat quietly with ankles crossed looking at books by six months
Eli: sits loudly thrashing legs and throwing books by six months
Chloe: quiet
Eli: LOUD
Chloe: listened to the word "No"
Eli: grabs everything before you even know it's there for the grabbing
Chloe: never pulled hair
Eli: pulls hair. a lot. it hurts.

It's become clearer and clearer.. I've got a boy on my hands.

Dinner Theater

Supper began as usual. Eli in his high chair, bib on. Mommy at
her post, jar and spoon in hand. Spoon of sweet potatoes moves toward mouth.
Jaws lock tight. Head jerks left-right-left-up-down moving this-way-and-that avoiding any contact with spoon.

Enters Chloe wielding a construction-cone-orange flyswatter, yelling.
"Flyyyyyy, Flyyyyyyyy"
Eli stares in amazement.
"Flyyyyyyyyy, wheredyago fly?"
Swats table. Then Chair. Window.
"Flyyy. Hi, Fly!"
Eli locks eyes on Chloe, forgets he hates eating. Opens mouth. Eats. Enjoys?

Chloe begins to exit
"Flyyyyy, Flyyyyy"
Eyes return to mommy. Lips lock shut. Head jerks around.

Dinner over.

Two New Teeth

..came through on the top middle last night. Must be why he was so eager to move on to tablefoods :)

Puree Pique

Eli woke up this morning and decided that he is tired of being a baby. He's had it with the way his life has been going this far, and he wants to be grown-up now. So, his first course of action was to put a stop to the consumption of jarred baby foods or anything else that requires a spoon for consumption. And as if that isn't enough maturity for one day, bottles are completely out of the question now as well. That's right, Eli is a big boy now. Or so he thinks.

This morning "the boy" as we affectionately call him got up and refused his morning bottle. Annoyed but not dissuaded, I tried to feed him his morning yogurt. He would have no part in it. He squirmed, he kicked, he screamed, he threw the spoon, he spit on my face. He went into hysterics. At this point, it had been almost 15 hours since he last ate or drank, and I was desperate for him to at least drink a little. I forced down 4 oz. from a bottle, let him play awhile, tried again without any progress, and put him down for a nap. Again I understand why we need commercials to remind us shaking babies is bad. When he woke up, I tried again. Bottle. No. Turkey and vegetables from a jar. No. Forget it. Not happening. I am at the end of my rope. In one last desperate push, I gave him a little bit of his sister's banana. He gobbled it right up and wanted more. Score one for mommy! In the end he ate 5 Ritz crackers, 1/3 banana, dry cereal, and drank almost an entire sippy cup of water. Anyone need some pureed peas??

Covert Fun

I love the sounds of my kids laughing together in the living room while I am working in the bedrooms or kitchen. It is truly one of the greatest joys of being a mommy. I just wish I knew what was so dang funny. I learned long ago that they have no desire for me to join in their fun. An appearance from Mommy leads to instantaneous wailing on the part of Eli which results in Chloe taking her toys and going elsewhere. Apparently seeing me reminds Eli of how much pain and agony he is in when he is not attached to my hip. Today while I was making Chloe's lunch, I could hear the kids having the best time. They were squealing and giggling and shrieking.. it was a riot. I waited as long as I possibly could, but I just had to know what could possibly be so funny. I decided to go the long way around and just peek my head around the bar to try and get just a glimpse. Chloe was singing Wheels on the Bus and doing the motions with Eli's hands! It was so precious. And as always, so short lived. I was caught. The screaming must begin. Eli rared back and let it loose. Chloe instantly collapsed in a heap on the floor and started crying. Oh well. At least I got to know what all the commotion was about.

8 Months

Today is Eli's 8 month birthday. Poor guy has a little cold, so he just hasn't been himself the last few days. He has been such a hard baby, but such a joy at the same time. I don't think there is a happier baby on earth. His smile is like a hippotamous, mouth wiiiide open and the rest of the face disappears. He is so happy to see everyone. The best thing is his laugh. Huge and guttural, it always makes me laugh right along with him. No matter how frustrating he can be, I love him deeply, and always will. He is truly such a joy. He just makes people feel good. I love to see how much he loves his big sister and how much she loves him. Precious.

His fine motor skills are right on schedule. He enjoys feeding himself cereal, green beans, and fruit dices. He can get a spoon of food in his mouth and drink from a sippy cup with a little help. He leans in and gives me big, wet kisses. He waves and claps his hands, and can reach out and grab anything before you realize it... his favorite thing being his sister's hair.

His gross motor skills leave a little to be desired. He has been able to get on his hands and knees and rock for long periods of time for over a month now, with little to no forward motion. He just doesn't seem interested in trying. He loathes tummy time; always has. He spends most of the day on my hip or sitting up straight surrounded by toys. As soon as the toy he is interested in moves out of immediate reach, it's all over. The alarms sound. Deafening screams ensue until he is picked up and rescued from his misery. Trying to reach for the toy is completely out of the question. I can't wait until he takes off. I don't think there will be any stopping him once he finally decides he is ready to go.

He has two teeth. Bottom front and center. A third (also on the bottom) has been playing peek-a-boo for the last few days. The most exciting thing that has happened lately is that within the last couple of weeks he has begun to fall into a semblance of a schedule, including sleeping all night long. Meaning a full night of sleep for mommy and daddy, making for a much happier home :)

Intro

I thought it only fair Eli got his own space, free from his big sister's reach. This page will be true to it's name- Everything Eli.