Tomorrow is Lucas' appointment for his allergy test. I felt like since that will probably encompass much of my next post and it seems like Eli has been getting left out a bit, that this post should just be about the littlest member of our family and how he's getting along.
Eli is constantly wanting to be with the big kids. He probably thinks he is a big kid. Whatever it is that the older two are doing, Eli will find a way to do it too. Sometimes he will struggle to get right in the midst of whatever is going on (like when they are playing a board game and Eli will climb into the chair with Clara and scatter game pieces all over the table and floor). Sometimes he will watch them carefully and then when they move on to a different activity, he will go and mimic what they were doing previously (a good example is how he mimics Lucas playing on the computer by just standing in front of the computer and moving the mouse around). Another good example is when the kids are brushing their teeth, Eli will use his whole body to push the older sibling off the stool. It is amazing to me that this little guy can outmaneuver his two older bigger siblings! Of course, I've already mentioned in a previous post how much he is loving being in the same bedroom as Lucas... how he will just smile as he watches Lucas gets into bed. One thing that I find rather amusing is that he will show interest in something just because Clara or Lucas are interested in it, like certain cartoons (he wouldn't watch them on his own, but if they are sitting there watching, you can bet he will be too).
He has recently really taken an interest in activities that require focused attention, like reading books and doing puzzles. Before now, he wouldn't sit still for any stories, except for his bedtime stories (which were always super short, like Goodnight Moon). Now, he has taken a real interest in listening to real stories. His current favorites are Clifford books and Thomas books. He absolutely loves it when the trains in the Thomas books sound their horns: "peep peep" and then he'll repeat the sound, "peep peep". Although he does like puzzles and stories, nothing can quite compare to his cars. Those would easily be his all-time favorite toy. His pattern of play is pretty consistent. He will go and get two cars, bring them to where he wants to play, line them up and then zoom them back and forth, occasionally looking up to smile.
Words are coming... slowly. He still uses "eh" and "mmm" to express much of what he says, but every so often he will mimic a sound or a series of words. Tonight at dinner, I asked the family who was hungry, to which Clara responded loudly "I am", followed almost immediately by Eli's mimicking voice. He doesn't yet articulate, of course, so his "I am" sounds more like "mm mum", but the inflection and tone are exact replicas. His list of words that are understandable has grown slightly to include ball, dog, outside, bite, nose (which he will point to as he says it), and goodnight. There may be more, but that's all that I can think of right now. He also knows everybody in the family by name, including Grammy and Papa (who were just here for a visit), Nana (who he talks to on the phone sometimes) and himself (he'll finish the sentence "and now it's time to say goodnight to..." by saying "eeeei", which obviously is Eli).
I think his teeth are actually coming slower than the words. He still only has 10 teeth, no new ones in over a month, but luckily he doesn't need all of his teeth to eat... he eats just fine normally. In fact, he far out-eats Lucas and at times will give Clara some serious competition. As much as he eats, it seems like he should weigh a whole lot more than he does.
Some other miscellaneous notes about Eli: he loves to walk outside, he hates water coming down on him (i.e. rain and showers), he loves to sing, he hates to have his hands dirty, and he is a fitful sleeper (tossing and turning all night).
I know that things with him will change constantly, but I feel like this gives a nice snapshot of what he's like right now.
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