playtime

Here are some of Eliot's favorite games right now.
1. "Where are you?" He'll walk into another part of the house, but not far. Then, from the adjoining room, I'll say, "Eliot? Where ARE you?" And he'll burst from the next room with a squeal.
2. "Who's got a belly button?" He lifts my shirt to reveal my belly button and pokes it. I giggle. He lifts his own shirt so we can observe his belly button. I poke it and he giggles. He goes to Daddy and looks for his belly button and pokes it. Daddy giggles. This could go on for hours, and with whoever will reveal their belly button and giggle.
3. "I'm gunna getcha!" An old favorite that endures the test of time. I'll start chasing Eliot down the hallway saying, "I'm gunna... GETCHA!" and commence tickling. He'll squeal with laughter then start off again. If I don't pursue, he'll look over his shoulder at me with a coy smile and keep running until I give chase.

vocabulary

I just can't believe how smart Eliot is. He surprises me every day with a new word. Here are just a few of the words that he knows, and uses regularly.
Baw-buhl - bubble. This is his absolute favorite. As soon as I say bath time, starts in on "baw-buhl!". He'll stop whatever he's doing, head toward the stairs (and up them, too) saying, "baw-buhl!"
Bawl - ball. He runs around the house throwing and chasing balls, all the while calling out their name.
Doh-gheee! - doggie. We all know that he's good at DOG, but now he's started calling them doggies. The "ghee" part is where he puts the emphasis, and it's very high-pitched.
Teee-tee - Thank you. He's good at saying thank you when you give him something, but you have to really listen for it, it's usually kinda quiet.
Bow-bot - robot. Eliot surprised us with this gem the other day. Brian was wearing a shirt with robots on it and Eliot pointed right at one of them and comes out with "bow-bot."
Beah-beah - bear bear. This is what he calls his teddy bear.
E-I-E-I-E-I-E-I... - "E-I-E-I-OH". We are trying very hard to teach him the OH part. He thinks it's funny when we do it, but doesn't seem interested in doing it himself.
He can also meow like a cat - a very high-pitched "na!" He quacks like a duck, but he does not say "quack", he makes the daffy-duck quacking noise. Last night he learned to baaaa like a sheep. But it sounds a little more like, "eeeehh". And he also knows that both frogs and bunnies go "dop, dop, dop" (hop, hop hop).

fifteen months old

Eliot had his 15-month checkup on Friday. He got a perfectly clean bill of health! He's now right on average weight-wise at 24 lbs and 9oz. Height-wise he's in the 75th percentile at 32" - tall and lanky!

However, he was none-to-happy to be at the doctor's office on Friday afternoon. Maybe it was that I pulled him away from a very entertaining music time at school. Maybe it was that he knew he was there for the dreaded shots. But as soon as he got undressed for the nurse he started whining. He walked over to the door and banged on it, while looking back at me as if to say, "if you don't get me out of here you are going to be sorry!" I put my belt on him and that made him happy until Dr. Stansell came in, immediately noticing my child only in a diaper and belt. "Nice belt." "Well, it makes him quit crying." "Then by all means, wear a belt!" So Eliot went through his entire exam with a diaper and belt on. By the end of the exam even the belt was not enough. He was in full-on tantrum mode - arched back and all. "I'm sorry about this!" I yelled over the screams. "Don't worry," he hollered back, "I'm used to it! I'm both a pediatrician and a father! It doesn't bother me one bit! But," he added, "I sure don't miss it!!"

Eliot continued to scream while we waited for the nurse to deliver his shots. After his shots, before I could get him dressed he reached down and ripped the band-aids from both legs at once. While looking me directly in the eye, he threw them to the floor with a scream. I didn't even bother with his shoes and socks. We just packed up and left. Right as we rounded the corner to the waiting room, Eliot quit crying and transformed back to angel as quickly as he had become a devil. The lady at the cashier window even commented, "what a good baby!" All I could do was laugh.

high fashion

A couple of mornings ago, Eliot was watching Brian get ready for work. He observed intently as Brian slid his belt through the beltloops. He toddled off to the closet and quickly found one of my belts on the floor (where I keep my belts, of course). He carried the belt out to Brian, holding it up with both hands. "This. This." So Brian tied the belt around his waist. He had to knot it a couple of times, but when he was done Eliot was very proud of his new fashion statement. He walked into the bathroom to show me, head held high. "This! This!" he said, pointing at his waist. Ever since he's been wearing it around whenever he has a chance. Here's the final result. As you can see, he was VERY happy with himself.

overwhelming cuteness

When I went to pick Eliot up from school today the class was outside, enjoying the beautiful afternoon. Several kids were playing on the playground and then some younger kids were on the bye-bye-buggy, relaxing in the shade. I walked to the playground, expecting to find Eliot on the buggy. As I rounded the corner I was surprised to find him NOT on the buggy with the LITTLE kids, but playing with a large pile of toys with his friend Adeline. They were walking together, clearly with a purpose. As if they had devised the plan before they set out. They saw me talking to their teacher and both headed toward me (on all-twos). Just as he approached me, Eliot changed course and headed for the Playschool lawnmower, giggling and talking and making all manner of noises. I said something to the effect of, "look at him walking!!" Ms Youvanza said, surprised, "you haven't seen him walk?" I admitted, "well, I have, but I'm still overwhelmed by the cuteness whenever it catches me off guard." It's so true! Sometimes it just takes me by surprise how funny his gait is. And I'm amazed by the fact that he's leaving baby-hood and turning into an actual little boy.

all-two's

Eliot is (dare I say it?) A WALKER. He's now walking more than he's crawling. When he falls down he stands right back up and keeps going. Before, he'd walk a few steps, fall, then start crawling. I am attributing this sudden advancement to his new toy. My theory is that he didn't really realize what he was missing until he was able to walk around the house at-will (with the toy's aide). He gets his little arms up close to his chest, fists clutched. He sticks out his tummy so far it practically enters the room before he does. He laughs and giggles and talks while he walks - SO proud of his new skill. Yesterday he was throwing a ball down the hall and chasing it on "all-twos" (as opposed to "all-fours") reciting "ball, ball, ball, ball, ball" all the while.

story time

At daycare, this week is Book Week. They've asked parents to sign up for a day to stay a few minutes in the morning to read a book to the class. I think this is a great idea, and I signed up for Thursday. Well, when we got to school this morning nobody had signed up. Ms. Diana asked if I would mind staying just a few minutes to read a book to the class. I'm a sucker for books, so I obliged. If you have kids in daycare, you know the chaos that is usually going on during free play - the time in the morning when you drop off and the time in the afternoon when you pick up. Children everywhere - talking, screaming, climbing on things... As I approached the "reading chair" the classroom came to a screeching halt - children frozen in their tracks. All of those tiny little eyes were on me! I sat down with the book and they all started coming toward me, zombie-style. "Stoooory Tiiiiime... Uuunnnggg." Mustering my courage, I battled them with the only weapon I had - a picture book. They all stood mesmerized as we read about YELLOW (ducks, bananas, sunshine), then RED (strawberries, fire trucks, apples). The kids pointed and giggled and attempted to repeat the words. Aha! Their weakness is story time! I had them in the palm of my hand! Once they were all tamed, I really hated to go. But Ms Diana took over story time as I left.

growing a halo

Yet again, Eliot grew a halo in the nick of time. After a week and a half of whining, fussing, and throwing food on the floor, suddenly this week the tail and pitchfork has been replaced by the wings of a little angel. We've had glowing reports from school - Eliot has been eating all of his lunch and then crawling over to his cot and putting himself to sleep. He's smiling and talking and helping to clean up toys. At home he giggles enthusiastically at the mildest of jokes. When we put him to bed at night he gives me a kiss on the cheek (mmmmm-ah!), hugs his teddy bear and goes to sleep.

new toy

Here's a picture of Eliot enjoying his new favorite toy. It's a push toy. We're calling it a late Easter present. He feels so independent when he's playing with it. Like he can go anywhere - conquer the world! It's well worth the $20 that we paid for it just to see the look of pride on his face when he realizes he can walk anywhere - just like his mommy and daddy.

Enunciation

I think we made fun of Eliot too much for his pronunciation of DAAAWWWWG. He's been working on it, and now he says "daw-G" with emphasis on the "G".