The Diagnosis

Eli has a viral infection that has "settled in his throat." The doctor expects the fever to continue for the next four days, but praise the Lord he seems to already be pulling out of it. He also has a pretty nasty infection between the fingers of his right hand from keeping it in his mouth the last couple of days. Hopefully that will clear up when his throat stops hurting so much. Thank you for your prayers :)

Sickness Abounds

Eli woke up this morning with scarlet cheeks and a fever of 103. Poor guy just can't seem to stay well. Something about chewing on other kids and their stuff, I suppose.

The Destroyer

Eli is a madman. He can't touch anything without giving in to his primitive urge to rip it to shreds. He even has a hard time feeding himself because after a bite or two, he can't control himself any longer. He mashes and crunches and grinds and crushes. When it can't possibly be mutilated any further, he rids himself of it and sends it flying through the air. He breaks toys, even those that are seemingly unbreakable, and empties tabletops and bookshelves in record time. He bangs and throws and crashes and clangs all day long. To top it off, he has an anger problem. When something just won't break he loses it. Likewise when something does break and I take it away. Man can that boy scream. Bang. Scream. Crash. Scream. Crunch/mash/throw. Scream. The result- One incredibly noisy and messy house harboring two quiet, anal females living just one broken hairbow shy of a breakdown.

Sunday of Sam

Yesterday afternoon Patrick and Eli went to Sam's Club to get a couple of gallons of milk while I stayed here and Chloe napped. They were gone for what seemed like forever, so I figured they were having a grand time. When they got back Patrick's excitement was barely contained, he was dying to tell me the good news. He had discovered the key to a successful Eli feeding time once and for all! Just take him to Sam's! They did the sample circuit and Eli ate a cup of Hormel chili, a bite of vanilla latte granola bar, a bite of a mocha granola bar, and an entire taquito, in that order. Perhaps the most disgusting Sunday dinner in the history of mankind.

Mama's Boy, Take Two

Thursday afternoon, after an entire day quarantined in my bed, I came out for a little human interaction. Eli, who had begun to believe I no longer existed, was beside himself with joy. Several times throughout the day, I could hear him scratching and whining at my bedroom door like a little puppy. So when I finally appeared, he absolutely could not be contained. He flung himself from his Daddy right onto me, where he rested on my tummy and laid his head down on my cheek, only lifting up occasionally to plant kisses on my lips. It wasn't until about ten minutes later that he finally returned to normal and started bouncing and mauling and biting me again. It was however, a sweet, sweet ten minutes,

11 months

At 11 months old, Eli is more energetic than ever. He is into everything, keeping me very busy. He is very intent on perfecting his newfound walking skills, and pushes anything that will move. He likes to push around our Fisher Price Learning House, something that is obviously not meant to be pushed. He looks like a football player at Spring Training. I used to think because of his tall gene he was the Tyler Hansbrough of his generation, but now I'm not so sure. He could be a Willie Parker. Or maybe he will be like the Spice Boys and play on both fields. As long as it's a blue field it doesn't really matter which one.

Remarkably, just this week he has added several new skills to his game. He is beginning to repeat words, saying things like "bath" "all done!" "hey tootie" and "bubbles" for the first time. He also started eating very well from the table and throwing less on the floor. This week was also when the push-walk started, leading us to think a developmental spurt is the culprit responsible for an outbreak of sleepless nights.

Mommy remains his favorite playmate, but he is beginning to broaden his horizons somewhat. He likes to play with Chloe's kitchen, pulling all the pots and pans and plates from their places, much to Chlo's dismay. He likes to do the same thing in my kitchen, stressing me out a little too. He loves making music, clapping in time, giving high fives, waving like a ninety year old man, and laying big fat wet kisses right on your face.

In just one little month I will have an one-year-old and a two-year-old under my care. Sometimes I wonder where the time has gone, then I realize it's there, in my memory, in one big sleepless blur.

Another Look

My mom took this over Christmas. I think it just captures the essence of Eli.. dirty, stinky, rotten, mischevious, and still pretty darn cute!

Perfect Present

You may have seen the most recent Consumer Reports carseat tests on the local news. Not good! As soon as I saw the story on WRAL the other night, I immediately knew our seat had to go. After much stress and shuffling we have both kids in pretty safe seat situations. We bought one brand new one today, and threw two old ones in the dumspter. We still need to buy one more new one. For everyone who has asked what Eli wants for his big day, contributions to the carseat fund would be much appreciated!

Counting Down...

11 months old in a couple of days
10 months of no sleep has left us in a haze
9 times out of ten he eats from my hip
8 ounces of milk he downs in a sip
7 days of the week he wants all my attention
6 hours with chlo causes him tension
5 big teeth shining clean and bright
4 bruises I have from the strength of his bite
3 more little nubby teeth poked through last night
2 little words is all he can say
1 more month until the big day!

A Christmas Look

One Step, Two Step

Eli has been practicing his standing lately, and is really starting to gain confidence. Tonight Patrick and I were "walking" him back and forth between us when he let go and took two steps completely on his own!! So exciting!