Brush, brush your teeth

After Eli's bath every night, I lay him on the bathmat and give him his tiny toothbrush so he can brush his teeth while I put on his diaper and his pajamas. He thinks it is really funny when I brush his two bottom teeth and say, "brush brush."

Lately he has been turning the tables though, and trying to put the toothbrush in my mouth to brush my teeth. It is so amazing that he is interacting like that. I let him put the toothbrush next to my teeth and then I attempt to say, "brush brush." He smiles really big.

Eli dancing to Feist

Michael found this great video of Feist singing "Counting to 4" on Sesame Street. View it here. Eli loves it! I show it to him when I am cutting his nails, but this time I had to stop using the clippers because he was trying to jump up and down -- an early dance, you might call it. He also has a HUGE smile on his face. It is so adorable.

Eli's first hikes

Eli went hiking for the first time on Saturday. We went to Shellburg Falls with some friends, who also have young kids and have to pack 'em in and pack 'em out! It was a great first hike and Eli did perfect in his backpack. At the falls, Eli was wriggling to get into the creek so I took off his shoes and socks and put his feet in. When I took him out a moment later, he started crying but I couldn't tell if he wanted to go back in or his feet hurt because the water was so cold! We took some funny photos of the kids on a log. And Leia and Eli fell asleep on the way back to the car.

On Sunday, Michael and I took Eli on his second hike. We went to some horse trails in Silver Falls State Park and hiked about 5 miles. We didn't go to any waterfalls but it was fun to be in the woods although Eli was "talking" the entire time. It certainly gave us a new perspective on a peaceful wooded scene :) We fed him by a cold creek and then hiked back to the car. Eli slept in the pack for almost an hour. We can't wait to get him out to a backpacking trip!

Tub drain escapades caught on film

Eli was trying to get out of his tub again tonight and this time I caught it on film. It is quite funny how intense he is when he is pushing and pulling himself over the edge. And yes, it's the tub drain that is so fascinating to him.

Grandparents in town

Eli had so much fun this weekend visiting with his grandparents from Southern California. They brought the coolest toys -- a red race car made from bamboo, a wooden rolling "puzzle" that Eli loved to chew on, and a toolbox and tools all made of wood. The toolbox is being saved for when he is a bit older, but he has already shown that he loves the hammer! He is also styling his new "Brooklyn" hoodie (in the photo on the carousel) and it is SO cute.

Eli went to the carousel and rode it twice and then went down the slide at the playground next door. Michael got him a balloon from the ALS walk that was going on at Riverfront Park -- that was a big hit. Although Michael tied the balloon string to his wrist and he kept reaching up to grab the balloon and the balloon would go further away. Frustrating for sure :)

Eli had a fun-filled weekend. We'll post videos soon.

Baby-proofing and interviewing

Today while I was on the phone interviewing someone for a story, Eli was army-crawling around the office. Hmmm... now I think I understand what baby-proof means. Eli went straight for the cord to the floor lamp, the bookshelf filled with books, the computer wires and, get this, the cord for the iron that is sitting on the edge of the ironing board. Oh boy, he is going to get himself in trouble.

I did manage to make sure that he didn't get hurt and I actually completed the interview. Whew.

Smart, silly boy

It is getting a bit harder to leave Eli at daycare because he knows when I am leaving and he doesn't like it one bit! Today after I stopped over in the afternoon to nurse him, he started crying just as I started walking away. And I can't sneak out anymore because he pays too close attention to me. Oh boy, he is a smart guy.

He has been doing this funny thing for the last few days also. He crinkles his nose and breathes really loudly through his mouth and nose. It is sort of like he is laughing but also like he is trying to imitate a mad bull. We can't quite figure him out :)

Picnic lunch in the park

Eli was quite the napper today -- probably a good thing after his 1.5 hours of naps yesterday. He slept for 2 hours this morning and 2.5 hours this afternoon. In between we squeezed in a picnic lunch with Daddy at Bush Park. After Daddy went back to work, Eli went in the swing where he was squealing and laughing and crinkling up his nose, especially when I pushed him hard.

Then we tried the slide. After he went down it on his back a few times (I was holding onto him the whole time), he flipped over and wanted to start climbing up the slide. So I pushed his bottom and he put one hand in front of the other and he "crawled" to the top of the slide, where I would let go and let him slide down. He loved it!

Trouble with sleep...

Eli is again showing us how fast he is turning into a little boy. Today he had a rough time going down for his afternoon nap and when I went in to check on him, he was on his knees and holding onto the crib railing. He was peering over the edge and checking out his room. I'm pretty sure the next step is pulling himself up so that he is standing in his crib!

He is also so much more aware of me and Michael. When I go into his room after a nap, he gives me the hugest grin and a little giggle. Tonight he wouldn't go to sleep and Michael went in to sing to him and Eli let out the sweetest high-pitch squeal ever.

It also seems like he "gets" some jokes. Today when we were having trouble with naptime, I opened the door to his room and put a doll in the doorway. I moved the doll and had her say "Why won't you go to sleep Eli?" and he just laughed and laughed.

Oh, and around 9:30 p.m., when Eli was still awake, Michael went in and found Eli sitting up in his crib crying. Eli wanted to go to sleep but couldn't figure out how to lie down. :)

Mama's back!

So I arrived home very late on Saturday night from my 9-day institute about journalism. I wasn't away from Eli that entire time -- I was able to stop and see him on Thursday night when the institute came through Salem.

But he can already do so many things that he wasn't doing before I left! I read him a book and he was pointing at the pages and characters on the pages; he keeps sticking his tongue out; he crinkles his nose at things (I cannot figure out why); and he can rotate 360 degrees while sitting up.

Of course, the most impressive thing he can do now is army crawl. When we went to the park today he army crawled across the grass to get to Wally's ball flinger.

He seems so much older than when I left 9 days ago and it hits me again how fast he is growing up.

Napping and nursing

Eli napped like someone had drugged him today. He slept for 2 hours this morning -- from 10 a.m. until noon -- and then again from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. I think he makes up for his lack of sleep at day care -- 3 20 minute-naps yesterday -- when he is at home.

He also wanted to nurse a lot today, which was nice because I have to go on a work-trip starting tomorrow and I'll be gone for 9 days. I'll get to see him at least once during the trip because we swing through Salem, but I am going to miss him terribly. Maybe he could sense my anxiety. He started curled in my arms, with his head nestled in the bend in my arm for a long time each time he nursed. While he was nursing before bed for the night, he kept making these sweet Hmmmm noises and swinging his arm around his head. He was making me laugh, which would make him pull off, smile really big and then go "humpf" and latch back on. It was so sweet.

Another tooth?

Yesterday, while I was visiting Eli at daycare, I saw a bit of white on his upper gum. It looks like a tooth had broken through. I still couldn't feel anything, but I think it may be on its way. It will be funny to see him with two teeth on the bottom and one on the top.

A fascinating tub drain

Eli was fascinated with the tub drain tonight and was almost climbing out of the tub to reach for it. He was turned all the way around in his tub, was up on his knees and straining his little arms to reach the drain. I wanted to run and get my camera but the 17,000 warnings on my tub say NEVER leave a child unattended in the bathtub. So you will just have to take my word for it. It was hysterical. And I know I have mentioned this before, but Eli was surrounded by toys in the tub. A bright blue boat. Every color barrel in the world. Foam-letters and numbers. And what does he decide he wants to play with?

Yep, the tub drain.

Feeding the dogs and clapping

It seems that just today Eli realized that the dogs were begging for food from him as he eats. Apparently, Eli is happy to oblige. It's not only fun for the dogs -- but Eli thinks it is a very funny game. Tonight, he taunted Zula with a stick of string cheese, only to drop it suddenly right by Wally. I guess Eli's dinnertime is going to be off-limits for the dogs. A total bummer for Wally and Zula, who probably get 50 percent of their calories from what Eli throws on the floor.

Eli just started clapping! He watched me intently yesterday and then started putting his hands together. He also started paying more attention to my hand when I wave to him and I can see that he is trying to wave -- one time I even "caught" him waving his hand and he was watching his hand closely to see if he did it correctly. It seems like he is really starting to mimic our behavior.