A lion and sheep kiss

Yesterday, Eli was playing with his plastic sheep and lion. He was very intently having them "talk" to each other and Michael and I were having a blast watching him without taking part in his play. Then he put their lips together and made a kiss sound. It was adorable, and the first time he had ever done something like that.

I guess he doesn't realize that his plastic lion would actually tear that plastic sheep's throat out.

A lovely Mother's Day

Today was the most perfect Mother's Day. Eli and Daddy let me sleep in until 8:45 a.m., when I got breakfast in bed. Then we spent most of the day working in the backyard. Once Michael had fixed the garden faucet, Eli spent some time making sure it worked properly and leaving big puddles of mud everywhere. Then, just to make sure that the puddles weren't spreading out and becoming too shallow, Eli stepped in them. When I realized how muddy he was, I took off my shoes to get the hose and hose off his feet -- but I turned my back for a millisecond too long because Eli was trying on my shoes BEFORE I had gotten the hose :)

We also took a walk to the Crooked House playground in Bush Park, where Eli shunned the "baby" slide and started climbing the 9-rung ladder to the big-kid slide. Even when two little girls were impatiently waiting behind him (and telling me that he should really be on the baby slide), Eli was not deterred. At the top, he slide down head first. And he kept going back for more. It seems he likes the rush of being utterly terrified. He does the same thing in the tub: asks us to pour water over his head, looks terrified while we do it and for a moment afterward and then asks for more. Oh dear...

Oh, and check out the mac-n-cheese video. Eli was in heaven eating it today for lunch. You would have thought we put crack in it.

More and edamame

Eli uses his sign for "more" all the time. If we see a bus, he says "more." If we see a truck, he says "more." If I pull out all the stops and find him a truck, bus, helicopter, motorcycle, plane and ship, Eli says "more."

Tonight, Eli tried edamame for the first time. He kept asking for more until we realized he had eaten half of the huge amount we had put in the bowl. Even after it was gone, he kept asking for more.

Blowing kisses

Last night, Eli and I read books, rocked and he drank his bottle before bed. He was being super affectionate and touching my face. When I got out of the chair to put him in his crib, I kissed his cheek and he kissed me back. Then we I lay him in his crib, he blew two kisses to me, rolled over and tucked his knees under his chest and went to sleep. I am not sure when he learned to blow kisses but he likes to do it a lot now although this was the first time he did it before bed. He often blows kisses to say good-bye, but the timing is usually several minutes off. Like when Michael goes to work, Eli will blow kisses a good three minutes after Michael has left :)

A visit from Gaby!

Gaby came to visit from Arizona and Eli fell in love with her. We took lots of walks on our street together, where Eli showed us that he knows how to open doors through the handicapped access. Yes, I guess he can read the "Push to Open" sign on the button. He showed her how to throw rocks in our "pond," how to open the back door and climb out through the doggie door, and how he swims. He, of course, loved her long red fingernails :)