Ebbs and abs

Eli doesn't have signs right now of hand-foot-and-mouth disease -- thank goodness. He did sleep for a long time this afternoon: 21/1 hours!

In the bathtub before bed, Eli was on his knees facing the tile wall and practicing his sounds. He said "ebb," "ebb," "ebb." Then when I put him to bed and came downstairs, Michael and I could hear him practicing his "b" sounds some more. He was saying "ab," "ab," "ab." He still starts everything with a vowel, but we are hoping those consonent sounds come soon!

Hand-foot-and-mouth disease

The teachers at daycare think that hand-foot-and-mouth disease, a common childhood virus, is going around daycare. I am praying that Eli doesn't get it. I guess the symptoms are sores on, guess where?!?!, your hands, feet and mouth. Apparently the sores in the mouth can be so bad your child doesn't want to eat. Oh dear, that would be terrible for a boy who loves to eat!

We put him to bed early tonight and we are hoping he sleeps away any sickness. Go Eli!

Burping and giggling

At lunch today, Eli burped in between bites and I giggled. (Yes, I realize that this is not appropriate behavior at the table, but I can't help it.) My giggle made him laugh, which made me laugh. For a good 3 minutes, we were sitting at the table laughing at each other laughing. The harder he made me laugh, the harder he laughed. It was like we were both in on some silent joke. I loved it.

When Michael got home from work and we ate dinner together, Eli did a similar thing with Michael. Michael was making faces at him and Eli kept laughing and laughing, which made Michael laugh. It was so fun to watch.

For the first time today, I dropped Eli at the Kids Court, a daycare room at the gym. I went to yoga and Eli played in the playground. Apparently he did well in the room so I am planning to do that more often. It gives Eli a change of scenery and I get some (desperately needed) exercise.

NW Kids Club

Eli tried out the NW Kids Club today. It is an indoor playpark that has a huge sandbox, tricycles, a slide and playground area. In the infant area, there are soft cushions to roll around on and infant-sized toys. Stefanie and Alex met us there. And I ran into Brandi and her son Tiernan -- Brandi was in my ball-bouncing mamas exercise class last summer when I was pregnant.

Eli had a blast playing with new toys and I had fun getting out of the house. Eli gets bored and cranky when he is in our house a lot so it is good to know there are some places to take him this winter. The only thing is the cost: $5.50 to get in. Ugh. I think they run coupons a lot so I am going to have to search for those :)

Eli is getting really good at high-fives. It is so amazing to see how he learns things like that. I am hoping he starts learning some of the signs I am trying to teach him: so far I've used the signs for water and milk with him.

Library card

Eli and I went to the library today and he got his own library card. He thought it was a very fun toy and chewed on it for a bit. We checked out seven books with his card -- two of them are the same series of dinosaur books that he loves. The one we own is "How do dinosaurs say Good Night?"

When I read him the "How does a dinosaur eat?" book, he seemed confused and then kept reaching for the one we own. It was like he was saying, "this is not how this book goes!"

Pumpkins, pigs and .... naptime!

Eli went to a pumpkin patch for the first time today with Sarah, Elliot, Alicia and Rowan. We went to EZ Orchards north of Salem. Eli loved the baby pigs, who were snorting and oinking the entire time. A small goat nippled on Eli's foot and he thought that was pretty funny.

We looked at pumpkins in the pumpkin patch and Eli even stood up by himself for a good 3 minutes while leaning against a particularly big pumpkin. He looks like such a big boy when he is standing without help. We didn't do a hayride, but Eli sat on a big stack of haybales. He didn't really like it -- the hay was poking him and he wanted off!

The trip must have really worn him out because he fell asleep on the car ride home and stayed asleep for another 2 hours and 15 minutes after I put him in his crib. Whew, pumpkins and pigs really make ya need a nap :)

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.