18 Month Letter

Dear Eli,

You’re a year and a half old and there are so many, many things I want to remember about this time! You are growing and changing so quickly now, it seems unreasonable to blink for fear I’ll miss something. Just a few things that I especially want to remember…

You learned to blow kisses about a month ago. You love to blow kisses to Maddy, to cars driving by, to Bailey when we’re going upstairs, or anyone who you think is leaving. You are such a sweet, affectionate boy! Little Lambie definitely still gets his fair share of loves and still goes EVERYWHERE with you. Though he now has some company...Big Lambie and your blue blankie also go to bed with you every night.

You’re vocabulary is beginning to grow! You can say shoes (zoos), cheese (sheez), bird (bur), cat (dat), teeth (deef), more (mo, mo). And just yesterday I swear you were saying, “no, no, no” after I told you “no” and helped you crawl off the dishwasher door…You can say the sounds for horse, pig, sheep, bear, duck, cow and chicken (which is no surprise because you absolutely love reading animal books, watching your Farm Animals movie, and pointing out all of the animals on our walks.) Your signed vocabulary is growing even faster than your spoken vocabulary. You can sign drink, eat, please, ball, hot, dog, cat, horse, bird, bear, toothbrush, fish, book, baby, blanket, bath, flower and you’ve made up your own sign for gum.

It seems like you’ll be ready to potty train soon. You’ve gone to the potty on the toilet almost every night for the past two weeks. Your favorite part is “wiping” which to you means pulling off handfuls of toilet paper and watching them drop between your legs into the toilet. You’ve also become very aware of dirty diapers and always let me know right away when you’ve gone poo-poo.

In the past month, you developed an aversion to all vegetables (Unless you count potatoes and sweet potato French fries, which I don’t!). You’ll take a bite, then spit it right back out, sometimes even wiping off your tongue to be sure it’s all gone. The other night I thought I could get you to eat lettuce if I covered it in enough ranch…oh, you ate it all right! After removing all of the ranch, you carefully spit each piece of lettuce back onto your tray. At least I can always get you to drink a fruit smoothie. One new food that I would have never guessed that you’d like…gum! After discovering a piece in mommy’s purse, you quickly figured out what it is all about. You can chew a piece for up to an hour before swallowing it!

When you’re upset, you can have a serious temper tantrum! If you’re really mad, you’ll still bonk your head, but have also discovered hitting, kicking and throwing. Mommy and Daddy are hoping that you are learning patience as much as ours is being tried! However, you bounce back quickly from disappointments and overall, continue to be a laid back, easy going guy.

We went to the park for the first time and you couldn’t have enjoyed it more! You love to slide down the slide (all by yourself with mommy catching you at the bottom) and even try to crawl back up the slide as soon as you’re finished. When we go for our walks, you point to the little playground by our house and say, “mo, mo.” You love being in the stroller and seeing all the sights, but the playground is an even greater thrill.

Each day brings something new and exciting for you. And each day we love you a little more. Of all the things you’ve learned to do these past two months, I think my favorite is the way you reach up and hold my hand. There’s no place I’d rather be than walking alongside you as you journey through life.

Love You Buddy!

18 Months

Eli is a year and a half old! I'll post his letter in the next couple days, but until then, take a peek at what our growing boy has been up to....

A blessing indeed!

Playing a little tune on the piano (currently a favorite activity!)

"What do you mean I'm not supposed to move the table OR climb on it!?"

Eli LOVES to watch his DVD about farm animals (which also happens to be his only DVD...hmm, maybe he just likes watching movies?). It's a special treat that I usually try to save for clipping his finger nails, but last week he was so tired and grumpy, I caved.

I found a backpack at the consignment shop and couldn't pass it up! We have to keep it hidden in the closet-if Eli sees it, he thinks that means he should be in it. It's already proven worth every dollar!

One cool dude...even in pink, heart shaped sunglasses!

Eli loves playing with his food! Especially when he can do it with cool utensils like these! (Thanks Marilyn!)

This is how Eli sleeps every night. Big Lambie under one arm, little lambie under the other and blue blankie close by. So sweet!

Reading is definitely top on the "To-do" list right now. Eli usually asks to be read to (as in toting a book over to me and holding it up until I sit down and read it to him), but is increasingly more interested in reading to himself.

I LOVE this picture! It's just so Eli!

Digging it!

Before...

What to do when you already have so many flower beds you can't keep up...oh, how about plant another one? Seriously, though you have to admit we needed a flower bed by this porch!

Eli loved digging! He kept putting "shovel fulls" of dirt into the wheelbarrow. If any dirt clumps fell on the grass, he carefully picked them up and returned them to the nearest flower bed.

Hard at work... After....
Eli helping Daddy mow the lawn. (He rode with Shane the entire time!)
"Daddy's digging, so I'll just take care of the rest."

Welcome Wyatt Grant!

Jeff and Rebekah's newest addition, Wyatt Grant.

A New Nephew!

Jeff and Rebekah had a baby born at 3am this morning! He is 8 lbs. 12 oz and 21 inches with a headful of dark hair. Mommy and baby are both doing well. They are trying to decide between two names, but wanted to get a little sleep before they picked. Hopefully we'll be able to get out and visit them in the next few days!

Fun With Food

Ready for Summer!

We are definitely ready for summer around here! Shane has been sick with the flu all week and I am starting to look forward to summer break. Actually, right now I'm most looking forward to being done with Professional Certification program...only one week to go! More posts to come later...I've been wasting too much time on Facebook lately!