Walking, standing, being naked and being in Seattle

Eli is walking more and more these days. He can sometimes take two steps at a time, sometimes four! Today while I was cooking dinner, he stood by the refrigerator and played with the magnets, and he wasn't holding onto anything! He is very anxious to be able to walk around by himself -- he practices every day and he get frustrated when he falls down. Not long now!

For several weeks now, Michael and I have instituted family time in the living room. Most of the time Eli is naked, which he loves! He and pulls himself up on the couch and laughs and laughs as he crawls all over Mama and Daddy. It is very fun and very cute.

This past weekend we were in Seattle visiting Daphne, Will, Perry and Noe. Pete and Makie and their new baby, Sophia, came also. It was a fun-filled weekend with the kids. Eli loved to "draw" on their easel, ride on their green tractor, push their walker and climb up their stairs. What he didn't like to do was sleep. We aren't sure what was going on but he kept waking up and one night he just cried from 4 to 6 a.m. Ugh! I think he just wanted to keep playing with Perry and Noe :)

Officially crawling

On Friday, Eli turned 8 months. It was his last official day in the infant room, and he must have been feeling pressure to learn to crawl because ...

He crawled on Saturday! We were in Seattle visiting our friends Will and Daphne and their kids Perry and Noe and right before Eli went to bed we were playing with him on our bed. He put his forehead on the bed and pulled his knees up under him and then scooted forward. He did it over and over again. He was very proud of himself and had a huge smile on his face. Will recorded it so I am hoping to post a video soon ... stay tuned. I am now afraid that Eli's adventures will take on a new level as he gets into all the things he shouldn't :)