Blog about Eliot
A couple of weekends ago, Stephanie and I took the kids to the park. They had a great time playing together. I think Eliot would follow Lauren anywhere! They enjoyed the swing and the slide, and some general running around, willy-nilly. Much to my surprise, Eliot knew how to do the big-kid slide like a pro. They both had their teddy bears with them. Steph got a great shot of all four of them (kids and bears) on the slide.
If there's one thing that Eliot loves it's reading. He loves reading with Daddy. Here's a great picture of the two of them catching some quiet moments between Elmo and Blue's Clues.
Here are some pictures from our Early Labor Day Cookout. A fine time was had by all.
Lauren loaned us one of her old toys - hammer ball. Eliot really loves this toy. He can work out some aggression on that ball. Observe his pursed lips, fixed eyes, and determined disposition.
Daddy created a new game the other night, wherein he attaches a pulling device (in this case, it's his belt) to the laundry basket. Eliot rides while Daddy pulls. It's exhausting. We are in desperate need of a wagon.
In order to cut down on some frustration and whining, we've been trying to teach Eliot some new words. The first one was "please". So instead of pointing and screaming, he can say the word ("banana" for example), then "please". He says it with such finality. It's a statement, not a request. "Manny. Peeze." Along with a head-nod. The other thing that we will sometimes hear from the other room is "help! Stuck!" This is not always a cause for concern. Granted, every now and then it's Eliot that's stuck. More often it's some toy he's trying to free from the toy box. Last night I heard his "HEP! TUCK!" He was standing on one corner of bearbear and trying to pull it up to hug it. Of course, it was "tuck" under his shoe!
Eliot is doing so well in the Bluebird class. Every day on the way to school we talk about all the people that he's going to see at school. He'll name off his friends, always starting with Adeline. Then he'll name off his teachers. After only a couple of weeks, he is using a fork and spoon almost exclusively. He's working on his colors - everything is no longer yellow. And now he knows both the number two and the number four. His favorite teacher is Ms. Wendy. She is very sweet (as are all of his new teachers). He will hold his arms out for Ms. Wendy every morning when we arrive. This is such a welcome and pleasant change from the clinging and crying that I'm used to. If Ms. Wendy's not there yet, we still have a little trauma, but it's still a step in the right direction. He's so excited about school, in fact, that he's been insisting on getting out of bed before six every morning.
Elmo never ceases to enthrall and amaze Eliot. Here he is, looking like a little boy, no longer a baby, sitting in the beanbag, watching his favorite red monster on TV.
"No more toothpaste?" you ask. Why? Could it be that he does not like the taste of toothpaste? No, he loves the taste of toothpaste. Has he eaten too much? Has it made him sick? No, while he does eat the toothpaste, it has certainly not made him sick. Does he smear the toothpaste in his hair, thus rendering his bath futile? No, to date there has not been any toothpaste-to-hair incident. Why, then, why would you stop using toothpaste. Well, I'll tell you why. He has decided that he absolutely can NOT go to sleep without his toothbrush nestled snugly in his arm. That's right. You read correctly. He snuggles his toothbrush to sleep. First there was Bearbear. Then Primary Elmo entered his life. Last week Aunt Gaines introduced him to Softbook - just a little light reading before sleep. So now, when it's time for bed, we must go through the check list. Eliot will call out each item - Bearbear? check. Eh-mo? check. Book? Check. We shove the items into his arms one at a time. After he's fully loaded down he says, "too-buss." Check. Now it's time for bed.
Eliot's school was closed last week for their yearly break. They take the time to clean the facility, re-certify the teachers, and generally get things organized. Aunt Gaines came to stay with Eliot all week. They had the very best time! They played in the water, went to the zoo, ran all around the Galleria, went to the park - just general fun all around. Eliot really enjoyed being the only one, and had a little bit of a hard time adjusting this morning when he was back to a class-type situation. Adding to the general excitement of the day, Eliot graduated to the next class - Bluebirds. We had to take a left instead of a right this morning, as he's no longer down the "baby" hallway. The new teachers are really nice! And they had all sorts of fun things planned for the day. They even have a computer in their classroom, and all the kids get a chance to play on it. Despite a little drama when I first left, he got a good report. When I got there to pick him up, he couldn't wait to show me around his classroom, pointing out all of the new things that he had discovered. He showed me the picture that he colored, and the clock on the wall. Then he pointed at the ceiling, which was covered by little paper bluebirds. "Boo-Bird!" he said proudly.
Eliot has made a leap in his understanding. He really "gets" more and more of what I tell him. "get the ball", "read a book", "take a bath" and "time for bed" are old news. He understands those things perfectly. Last weekend Brian told him that Mommy was "using the potty" and he went right to the door, tapped it with is hand and said, "tee tee". Maybe TMI for some of you, but the correlation was certainly good news to me! His advancement was never better exemplified than tonight at dinner. He was eating pasta and sweet potatoes. I told him, "eat your pasta." He, of course, shook his head and said, "no." Ok, whatever; I went to the kitchen to load dishes. A few minutes later he entered the kitchen requesting "mannies". "Eliot, you can't have mannies until you eat your dinner." He looked at me. "Go eat your pasta, then you can have mannies." He went and got his plate and returned to the kitchen. He held it out to me and said, "All gone!" I immediately received the message in the tone of his voice and those two little words. "I did eat my pasta, see? It's all gone. Now, can I have a banana, Mother?" He got his mannies, and a healthy round of praise for his communication skills.
...in all its forms. He loves the bathtub, the swimming pool, a sprinkler - it doesn't matter. He loves it all. I tend to think it's because of the early exposure that he had. But, then again, maybe it's genetic. We're back in swimming lessons now. Eliot has very little use for the formal training. He'd much rather get out and jump in and float around. He doesn't care a thing in the world about kicking and reaching his arms. In the bathtub he's taken to lying on his back. I hope to get a picture soon. He'll lie down and shut his eyes with the most peaceful, euphoric smile on his face. He likes to lie there and listen to the water around his ears with his eyes closed. Sometimes he'll make small humming noises. Those noises sound so neat under water. Then he'll spin around onto his tummy and kick his legs up and down in the water. We have to get really creative to get him out of the tub without a fight. Usually the promise of a book will get him going, though.
