tschoos

We're still adjusting a little to Eliot's move up to the Sunshine class. We have to learn all the new rules and schedules. Last week, for example, his teacher told us that now that he's in the walking class, he's no longer supposed to wear his Bobux shoes to school. He has to wear thick-bottomed shoes. So we went to Sikes to get him another pair. (I mean, a kid can't have just ONE pair of shoes - what would his friends say?!) Although we were in the market for a pair of red Keds, the only shoes in the entire store that would fit his meaty little feet were a pair of New Balance tennis shoes. Eliot is SO proud of his new tennis shoes. When it's time to put them on, he'll hold up each little meatball-of-a-foot and point his toes. He watches intently as I peel the sock up over his cankle, and adorn each little meatball with a running shoe. Then I'll say, "Eliot, where is your shoe?" and he'll point proudly at his foot and say, "tschoo".

scared in the night

I normally don't report sad stories on this blog, but this one is kinda sweet. Last night Eliot had been asleep for about an hour. I was eating dinner when I heard some commotion. I looked at the baby monitor and saw that Eliot had rolled over and gotten his head caught up in the blankets. He was pulling at them to try to get them off. I put down my plate and headed upstairs to rescue him. By the time I got up there he was sitting up, pulling the blanket forward. Of course, that just made the situation worse because the more he pulled, the more there was covering his face. He emerged from the blanket just as I was reaching for it. He sat for a moment, unable to figure out what was going on. Then, very slowly, he started whimpering. "eh-heh, eh-heh, eh-heh" - his arms and chest bouncing with each breath. With his eyes barely open, he reached his little arms up to me. I think it really scared him a lot! I couldn't get him back to sleep for almost thirty minutes. Every time he was almost asleep he'd remember the trauma and start whimpering all over again.

I felt very bad for him, I hate to see him scared like that - really I do! That being said, I have to admit that part of me feels good knowing that just holding him in my arms makes it all better. I don't think I've ever experienced that - the ability to make everything better with a good, solid holding. When you get older things get so much more complicated. Not only do you need to be held, but you need to talk, to retaliate, to over-think the situation... But last night with Eliot, the only thing he needed was to be held. That is how babies say "I love you" before they are able to speak.

miscommunication

A few days ago I posted that Eliot is learning some sign language. At school they use signs when they say "eat", "play", "sit" and a number of other simple statements. At home one of the main words we've been working on is "finished". We wanted to teach him some way to tell us that he was done with something besides screaming. We taught him to wave his hands in the air, and now he does it pretty well. We've noticed that near the end of dinner or when he has been playing with something for a while, he'll swipe his hands over the object several times. Assuming he is fussy or frustrated, we always tell him, "don't swipe at your food, tell us you are finished (waving hands in the air)". And he'll wave his hands in the air to indicate the same. Come to find out, the sign they use at school to mean "finished" is to move both hands in front of you, one over the other, palms down. Sort of like the SAFE signal in baseball. Deftly putting two and two together, I realized that THAT is what Eliot has been doing. We've been instructing him to tell us he's finished, and that's what he's been doing all along!

natural performer

There's a story about my sister Gaines. When she was barely able to walk, she went to a rehearsal at Birmingham Festival Theater with my dad. She walked to the edge of the stage - right up to the edge of the empty audience seats, raised her arms in the air and said, "Here I AM!!"

Taking his cue from his Aunt Gaines, today Eliot (with his newfound skills) stood up all by himself in the middle of his classroom, grinned ear to ear, and started throwing kisses to all of his classmates and teachers.

new tricks

Eliot is growing and learning so quickly - it just boggles the mind. I never thought I'd be so excited that someone I love knows where his nose is. IF he's in the right mood, and IF there's nothing distracting him, and IF the planets align perfectly in the heavens, Eliot can point to his nose, his ear, and his mouth. We are working on "eye". He can also point to Mommy, Daddy and Eliot, when you ask him who's who. He can play ball unusually well for a one-year-old. He can throw it back and forth several times before he gets too excited and attacks the ball with the full force of his body. He can stand up on his own, and can walk with someone holding his hands. He can put the sippy cup in his mouth and hold it with his teeth - Look ma! No hands! He is starting to say a few words, albeit somewhat incoherently, but we few seasoned listeners can discern "juice" from "fish". He's even learning a few words in sign language. He opens and looks at books all by himself, He nods his head and bounces his bottom in time to music, and he's learning to brush his hair and teeth. It is truly astounding how much a kid can learn in one short (or long, depending on how you look at it) year.

UH-OH!

Eliot has a firm grasp on his first word - "UH-OH!" First at dinner he threw each of his meat stick into the floor with an "UH-OH!". In the bath he methodically threw his toys out of the tub, one at a time, saying, "UH-OH!" after each disappeared over the edge of the porcelin. When getting ready for bed, his stuffed animals suffered the same fate, "UH-OH!" as each fell to the floor. In the crib, his blankets and pillows, discarded one after another, with a solemn "uh-oh" until sleep overcame him.

the troll

This weekend Eliot learned to be a troll! He screamed to be picked up; he arched his back to be put down. He threw his dinner on the floor. He wouldn't get out of the bathtub, he wouldn't go to sleep, and wiggled out of my arms when I tried to dress him. We endured so much screaming that our ears rang. As a testament to how grueling our Tuesday morning routine was, it was after lunch before I realized that I had been wearing my sweater inside out all day. Then, just as we were about to find a loving yet gullible band of gypsies to send him away with, he miraculously transformed into a perfect angel straight from heaven. For some reason he decided to eat every bite of food without throwing a single morsel onto the floor. He smiled lovingly as I lifted him from the highchair. He happily played with spoons while I unloaded the dishwasher. He joyfully threw socks into the dryer as his father did the laundry. And when I cooked supper he chatted with the refrigerator magnets, periodically looking up at me to smile. He played with his toys, giggled and grinned, and chased the cat around the house. I don't know what happened - but he's got perfect timing!

the ball pit

A few days ago I posted that Eliot got a ball pit for his birthday. He loves it, it's true! He likes to throw the balls in and then throw them out. This takes up plenty of time, being that there are one hundred balls in there all total! What I DIDN'T post was the story of getting the pit set up.

On Eliot's Birthday Eve, we unfurled the monstrosity in the living room and looked at one another. It was much bigger than I expected, even deflated. This thing actually had SECTIONS - each with it's own air-nozzle. There were eight sections all together.

"Well?" said I, to my patient and loving husband, "go get the battery-powered air pump from the basement..." He looked upon me with all of the fortitude and understanding he could muster, and broke the news, "Kim, our air pump won't fit these particular valves." We stared at each other for a few more minutes, both thinking what neither of us wanted to admit out loud - we were going to have to blow up this colossus the old fashioned way. As I got started on the smaller sections, Brian made a futile attempt to attach the bigger pump to the smaller valves, covering the gaps with scotch tape. If any of you want to try this, heed my advice, it does not work. By the time I had all of the smaller sections inflated Brian gave up the whole idea of using the battery-power for the big section. So we took turns blowing our very own air into the seemingly endless void that was the Ball Pit. An hour it took us. By the end, we were a sad sight. We were sprawled on the floor, staring glassy-eyed at the ceiling with the giant castle on top of us, passing the valve back and forth after just one or two turns.

I suppose in the end it was worth it to see the glee on Eliot's face in the morning. But we are definately going to invest in an air compressor before he gets much older.

sunshine

Yesterday was Eliot's first full day in the Sunshine class. This is the THIRD class at Hand In Hand. He's already moved up THREE GRADES! I'm really happy for him, and I know he'll do well, but we'll miss Ms Valerie, Ms Kela and Ms Wanda SO much. They have been WONDERFUL over the past six (or so) months. I think it's important to keep him challenged, though. When he visited the Sunshine class and had to return to Morning Glory, he reverted back to some old behaviors. He wanted to be held and wanted a bottle instead of a sippy cup. He saw the younger kids doing all of those things and wanted to do it, too.

Also in the Sunshine class, they do not have baby beds. They sleep on cots. COTS! WITHOUT SIDES! His new teachers say that he does very well with the whole cot thing. I can tell, too, because on his reports he's taking longer naps than he did in the baby bed. That could also be because they do more activities and he's more tired. Either way, good for him!

As is the routine, both classes are combined first thing in the morning, until everyone gets to school. At about 8:30, the Sunshines cut through the hallway to their own room. So this morning I watched Eliot cut through with all the other kids. Most of them are walking, but he was right in line with all of them, scooting along on all-fours. He jabbered away as he scooted - presumably talking to one of his friends in their own little language. Since I couldn't drag myself away, I watched for a few more minutes from outside the door. They all sat in tiny little seats, around tiny little tables - ready for snack. They don't use high-chairs in Sunshine, either. I don't know what happened, but all of a sudden everyone at Eliot's table started clapping. He looked like such a big boy, starting the process of socializing.

update!

I've added birthday pictures to the gallery, so you can all quit harassing me! =)

birthday boy

I know, I know!! It's been over a week since the party and I have not posted anything about Eliot's first birthday. Pictures are still not up, but if you want, you can venture over to Phillip's website. He's got some really cute ones there.

We all had a great time! Eliot's big present (and I DO mean BIG) from us was a ball pit. Luckily, this pit doubles as a sandbox and a baby pool for the summer months. Right now it's taking up most of our den, which is relatively large, so that's saying a lot. The kids played in the balls for a while before lunch was served. We had some Jim N Nick's BBQ, with all the fixins. Eliot liked the baked beans the best. Then, it was toy-opening time. Eliot really racked up. Blocks, books, balls - it was overwhelming! I put up some of the toys he's had for a while to make room for the new stuff. I figured I could pull out the old stuff after a while and he'd think it was new again! After presents, we cut the cake. My mom and my sister made the most wonderful cake. It was a VERY tasty sheet cake with a teddy bear on top. The bear was also made out of cake, and it held a real-live helium balloon. Eliot was timid at first with his piece. As usual, he had to test the poke-ability of it. Poke Poke! Yep - it's pokable. Then he pinched a piece of icing off the side and tasted it. That's all it took! In no time, there was icing and cake all over creation!

Needless to say, about an hour after cake - when most everyone had left, Eliot collapsed from the sugar overdose. He just laid limply in Holly's lap, drinking a bottle and dazing off into space. Then he drifted off for a very long afternoon nap.

It was SUCH a good time! I am so thankful of the supportive and loving family and friends that we have. Eliot is a very lucky boy to have been born into such a wonderful environment! I want to take the time to mention everyone that came, since you all mean so much to me. The family that came were: Mom and Dad, Sharon, Grandmother Galloway and Gaines. Kate was there in spirit, even though she couldn't be there in person. She called to wish Eliot a happy birthday. =) Friends that came were: Holly, Steph L and her daughter Lauren, Steph and Phillip, Pete and Mandy and their daughter Sarah, Angi and Tom (even though they are night-shifters, they shifted their schedule to be there), and Burt and Leslie. Also there were some good friends of mine from work - Tracey and Sonya, and Elizabeth. That's twenty two people all-together! There are people that don't make twenty-two friends in their lives, and Eliot has already made as many in a year.