Dear Eli,
This summer together has been one of my favorite summers ever! You are so much fun and I have LOVED spending every single day with you watching you play, learn and grow right before my eyes. I look back at pictures of you when school ended and compare them to the way you look now and it's hard to believe that you could grow up and change so much in just three short months, but you have! It's all happening quite too fast in my opinion, but I feel so incredibly blessed to be able to watch you and be a witness to all the wonderful things you are doing. You make my heart smile so big!
In three short months, we'll be celebrating your 2
nd birthday! WHAT? How did that happen? The first year flew by quite fast, but the second one went at lightning speed. I can't believe that my baby is now a toddler full of smiles, laughs, and giggles that melt my heart. You are so sweet and so precious to be around. I love being able to experience things all over again through your eyes. Here's how you're growing!
Eating: You still weigh around the same, but your eating habits have gotten SO MUCH BETTER! You love fresh fruit, green vegetables, mashed potatoes, chicken nuggets, hot dogs, cereal, cheese, yogurt, peanut butter,
Nutella, crackers, waffles, pancakes, cinnamon rolls, and
popsicles. We usually leave you alone at meal time because you want to do it all by yourself, or as you always say, "Aw-
wah do!" (You still have yet to say your name the right way. I guess Molly's way sounds so much better.) You are even getting much more accurate with your spoon and fork at meal times. You like milk and drink it without any hesitation. I still give you one
Pedia-sure drink every day and if you do have chocolate milk, I mix it with
Ovaltine. Hey, a few more vitamins and minerals can't hurt and it really does taste the same as the Nestle stuff.
Sleeping: You still love to wake Mommy up in the middle of the night some nights, but you are going to bed so much easier now. You actually WANT to get in your crib and go to sleep at the end of the day and you don't fight it anymore. PRAISE GOD!!!! Our routine has stayed pretty much the same. You eat your dinner, get a bath, get your
jammies on, read a couple of books, say our night night prayers, and then you get into your crib. I turn off the lights, turn on your Praise Baby
Sleepytime Lullabies CD and sit in the chair for about one song before leaving the room. The first time I did this you kept saying, "Ma-ma sit
cair?" (Momma, sit in chair?). It took you about 4 or 5 songs before you would go to sleep on your own, but now you're out before the first song ends. Lately you've actually skipped the books and gone straight to bed after your bath. I don't argue with you at all. I'm just thrilled that you're going to sleep on your own without having to be rocked! We bought you a toddler bed (we would have gone to a twin, but you are a WILD sleeper and I have enough gray hairs for now, thank you very much!) but since you're doing so well in your crib, we don't see any reason to upset that routine right now. We'll have the toddler bed on stand-by if we need it now :)
Physically: You mostly wear 18 month clothes, but some 2T shirts fit you. Your little waist and booty are so small though that you probably won't be in a 2T short/pant for a long time and if you do reach it soon it'll be because you need the length. Everyone that knew your Daddy when he was a little boy said you are built exactly like him...long torso and skinny everywhere else. I think you look small but when you get around other children your age you are actually quite average in height. Your latest thing is jumping. You want to jump off anything and everything you can. You don't just jump off things either, jumping from the floor is fine with you, too. You barely clear the floor, but you make a BIG show of it. It's the cutest thing I've ever seen! You absolutely think you're jumping super high every time and we all act like you do, too! You don't walk anywhere anymore. You run, jump, or do some weird skip-hop thing you created. Walking is so overrated anyway :) To get you to go places with us we usually challenge you to a running race and it works magically every time. You are getting much better at hitting the ball off the tee, shooting the basketball, kicking a soccer ball, and hitting a golf ball. YOU ARE ALL BOY!
Temperament: You are so determined. Yesterday, you tried to walk across those concrete boulder things (the things that are in parking spaces to let you know when you're close enough) about 100 times. I was so worried that you were going to fall and bust your head open, knock your teeth out, get a concussion, or all the above, but every time I tried to help you, you'd push my hands away and tell me, "No, Ma-ma, go sit." Yeah, you were sidelining me already. You're not even 2 and you're doing that; what am I going to do with you when you're a teenager??? Not that I listened to you...I'm still the Mommy, after all! You finally walked across them by yourself-with Mommy nearby-and you were so proud of yourself. Keep that determination, my sweet boy. You will need that drive to help you achieve your goals one day. You're also very short tempered (you don't get that from me). We have now reached the point in your little toddler life where if something isn't working out to your liking you chunk it across the room. I can't tell you how many times you have been to time out because you've thrown something in anger. We're trying our hardest to work on this but I have a feeling it's going to take a lot more time outs. You're an outdoor lover. You could stay outside in the 100+ heat and it would be perfectly fine with you. That's one of the things that's been the hardest about this summer is that you want to be outside all the time, but you have a hard time understanding why you can't. This is why we've spent so much time at the pool. If I'm going to be outside, I at least want to be near a body of water! I've also let you play on your own on the back patio and to you it was the greatest thing ever. You played your little heart drawing on the concrete with your chalk, playing with Maggie, mowing the grass with your mower, and playing with your toys. I watched you from the window and every time I asked you if you wanted to come in you'd shake your head back and forth saying, "No tank-do, Ma-ma." (No, thank you, Momma). You are also very happy. You are always giggling, laughing, and smiling about something. No matter what your moods though, like the book we always read, I love you through and through!
Verbally: You completely understand everything we say in normal conversation and usually repeat our words still like a mockingbird. You know so many words now and I love hearing you talk. I can't wait until we can start having full conversations with each other. I know you have so much going on in that little head of yours :) and I'd love to hear all about it!
New Changes: Since the beginning of August, you've been going to a new daycare. It's a home daycare and the lady there came highly recommended. The first few times you went there it was kind of rough...mostly because you were in a new place, with new kids, and a lady that was not your Mommy. With time it's gotten much better. You don't cry when I leave you there anymore, which makes leaving you much easier. Mrs. G says you nap with the other kids just like you're supposed to now (for the first 2 weeks you napped on the couch in her living room) and you're eating really well. You do music, crafts, and even Your Baby Can Read. I love that you're getting so much socialization and making lots of friends-friends you'll probably have for a very long time! You brought home two papers the other day that you "colored" during craft time the other day and I completely
goobed out and put them on the refrigerator immediately. It was your first piece of "work" ever! I wonder what I'm going to do when you start
pre-school in a couple of weeks and you bring home your first "work" there :)
Isn't his rainbow nice?
