Art

Eli and I took the bus home from school/work today and after we started our ride home, I asked Eli, "How was school today?"

"Yes," he nodded.

"What did you do today?"

He looked up at me, said, "Art." And then showed me with his hand how he drew.

It was the first time he said, "art," and it was a very fun conversation where I actually got information from him that I didn't know when I asked :)

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

Michael took the afternoon off on Monday and we took Eli to the Oregon Zoo. We went straight to the new Serengeti exhibit, where a cheetah paced in front of Eli a few times. In case you've never seen a cheetah in real life, a cheetah is about as tall as Eli! Eli was fascinated and scared at the same time.

Eli loved the elephants, especially the baby. He kept saying "baby, baby" over and over again as we watched the mama and baby elephants eating hay. Eli also fed some parrots and watched a very slow-moving tortoise get a drink of water.

Of course, his favorite part was in the petting zoo area where he got to sit on a tractor and pretend to drive it. In fact, he didn't want to get off the tractor even though the zoo was closing. We had to drag him off it, screaming.

Of cattails and praying mantis...

The Casper family went to Ankeny Wildlife Refuge Sunday afternoon for a short jaunt to see some birds. Alas, no birds were to be found. But we found cattails and a praying mantis. Who knew one little boy could have so much fun with cattails and a praying mantis?

A trip to the Oregon Coast

On Sunday afternoon, Michael, Eli and I met Sarah, Jeremy and Elliot in Neskowin for a sandy outing. It was so fun. Jeremy dug a huge hole, which Eli and Elliot loved crawling in and out of. They dug in the sand for at least an hour. Later that day we built a fire inside the hole and roasted hot dogs, brats and marshmallows.

The only bummer was that we hadn't gone to the coast sooner this summer.

It's like the Princess and the Pea...

At night, Eli and I sit in our rocking chair and read books before bed. He is in my lap, leaning against my belly and chest. We've had this bedtime routine since he was about 6 months old.

Now, at 21 months, he notices if I am wearing a belt. He says, "OWWW" quite loudly, pulls up my shirt and points to my belt. Then he points to the ground.

We can't continue reading books until I've taken my belt off and he is sufficiently comfortable. What a little Prince...

Whoa!

"Whoa!" has become a unit of measurement for Eli. It started when I asked him, "How big was the snake we saw in the grass?"

"WHOA!" is how Eli responded.

And at first, he only used "whoa" when discussing how big the snake was (it was quite big, by the way). But then one day Michael asked him, "How much does Mama love you?"

"WHOA!" is how Eli responded.

Now he uses it anytime we ask "how much" or "how big."

I like it. I like to think about a scale where a loud "WHOA!" is on one end and a teeny, tiny squeak is on the other :)

Two-word sentences...

Eli is definitely working on his verbal abilities. He continues to repeat everything we say but now he is also coming up with his own sentences. Today, when his eggs were too hot, he said, "Daddy, blow" to get Michael to cool off his eggs. This evening, he said, "Mama please" to get a cookie. And he's been identifying himself more. "Eli ride" he said today about wanting to get on the bus. "Eli walk" when he wants us to put him down. Of course, he doesn't quite say Eli. More like "E-i."

He is back in swim lessons again and he loved it today. Mama's arms are a bit tired though from having to go through all of the songs with a much heavier child! He is really good at getting out of the pool on his own and getting his ears wet. He kicks a bit but still doesn't move his arms too much. We've got 5 more weeks though...

Words, and lots of them

Eli says all sorts of new words these days. After getting a moose in the mail from his Grandpoppins in Minnesota, Eli now knows how to say "moose." If I tell him I missed him while he was in school, he says "miss." Yesterday I cut up some ham for Eli and he kept saying "haaam." He sounds British when he says it. Anyway, it is super fun to listen to him try out new words. Today for the first time, he put two words together: "mama" and "drive." I was taking him home from school. We are working on getting his subjects and verbs to agree :)