Old Summer Post...Coffee Table Exercise

These pictures and this video were taken during the summer when Eli was just learning to cruise around our furniture. Now he's cruising SUPER FAST and even letting go to take a couple of steps. It's fun to watch him learn and master new things, but it's kind of bittersweet, because it makes me realize that my baby boy is quickly growing up. I keep begging him to stay little for just a while longer, but he is intent on growing up on me. He just seems so little to be able to move around furniture as quickly and agilely as he does. He's still not completely steady (although, he thinks he is), but he does a pretty good job of getting around. When I was trying to get Eli to practice cruising, I discovered that Gerber Puffs made walking around the coffee table in the living room much more fun. I scattered puffs all around the edge of the table and Eli had a great time walking around it, picking up puffs, and gobbling them up. It was so funny to watch! I figured that this exercise would help him master his new skill even more. Before long, I'll be posting the walking video. Sniff, sniff :'( He seems to have grown up and turned into a pre-toddler overnight!

Getting Into Everything

Life these days at the Wilson household has been a lot of fun. Eli is having a blast finally getting his hands on everything in our house that for months he's only been able to stare at and dream about one day touching. He does not stay in one spot very long and is intent about seeing just how many bruises and bumps he can get on his poor little head. You'll see a couple in some of these pictures, in fact. He thinks he is so much bigger than his britches, but you can see how proud he is of himself every time he pulls himself up on yet another piece of furniture. Josh and I have tried to make our home conducive to all his exploring, but Eli always seems to find a way to live a little dangerously. He is crawling everywhere and, during the day, will follow me from room to room as I do chores (don't laugh, Josh!). Eli has an infectious laugh and now every time he spots something he wants and begins to crawl towards it, he lets out a loud squawk and then races to get what he spotted. I am enjoying being home with him so much! I can't believe how fast summer is flying by, so I'm going to make sure that I enjoy each and every day with my little man :) Here are a few pictures of Eli and all the fun he's been having exploring!

Eli playing peek-a-boo under his exersaucer

Who knew dining room chairs were such a delicacy?

I probably had just told him "No" about something he wanted.

Turning on the DVD player. I guess he was ready for some Baby Praise.

Trying Gerber Puffs for the very first time. I love this face!

Baby Jerry Lee Lewis playing his piano (ALWAYS standing up, of course!)

What happens when you try to play with two toys at once?

You get S-T-U-C-K!
(Don't worry, I rescued him after I took this picture)

The face I get when a certain little boy wants Mommy's camera and she
does not give it to him.

But his obsession with Daddy's iPhone and Mommy's Blackjack did earn him
his very own Motorola cell phone. It's one of my old ones, but he doesn't care!

Eli's new favorite sport: Guitar case jumping
He LOVES to crawl on top and over Josh's guitar case all the time.

A Very Busy Week

This has been a very busy week for our family. Eli has had many new experiences and has learned some new tricks, too! I was going to do several posts on each experience, but I decided to forego that and instead do one long post :) Those of you who don't like to read all my many words, you may begin skipping to the pictures. You're welcome! :)

This week our church is having Vacation Bible School and Eli and I are having so much fun! Our theme this year is the Boomerang Express (a train that goes around Australia). It's been so much fun learning about Australia, learning the lingo, singing the songs, and watching about 150 kids learn more about Jesus. I am a co-director of our church's VBS, so Eli has been coming with me every day this week to VBS. He's loving every minute of it! Usually, he starts off his morning in my little "kangaroo pouch" (A.K.A. Baby Bjorn carrier). He loves being able to look out at all the kids, especially all the pretty girls. He's such a little flirt! He helped me earn my nickname, AMANDAROO, because of him being in his "pouch" all the time. After our opening songs, Eli spends the rest of VBS in the nursery playing with the other babies. He's doing great there, except for he doesn't really sleep. There's so much going on and the 4 and 5 year olds are just 2 doors down from the nursery, so it's hard keeping them quiet, especially when they are having so much fun. It's okay though, because everyday Eli comes home, drains a bottle, and promptly goes to sleep for at least an hour. WOO HOO! I love VBS for that reason alone :)

"AMANDAROO" and Eli

Since it's summer, I've been trying to let Eli have lots of new experiences. Monday we went to the pool. I've already blogged about that experience. He loved the pool and we will definitely be going back. Tuesday afternoon, he tried out his new "pool" I bought him. My blog friend, Audra, posted pics of her boy Drew playing on this water-filled mat that squirted water. She gave me the link for it, but when I was at Wal-Mart the other day, I ran across this one and thought we'd try it out. I slathered Eli in sunscreen, put on his swimsuit and hat, and we went outside to play in the water. He had an okay time. He's not in love with it, yet, but I think he will enjoy it eventually. He was really tired at this point and pretty much just wanted Mommy to hold him. I did get him to sit and play in the water for a couple minutes before he decided he'd had enough.
We're going to be using this a lot this summer, I hope!

Eli LOVES touching grass. Let's hope he's not allergic like his father!
So far, so good!

I tried my hardest to get him to smile.
He just wanted to look at everything outside.

Not only is Eli having lots of fun experiences this week, but he is learning something new almost every single day. I guess I can say he's crawling now. He's not going all across the room, yet, but he definitely is taking two or three solids steps before he goes back into his army crawl. He enjoys sitting up so much though, that now he'll "crawl" about two steps and then he pops up into a sitting position, and it just keeps repeating. We are definitely realizing that our house is not "Eli proof" and already he has heard the words "No" lots of times. He is so nosey and wants to investigate everything he can get his tiny little hands on. He is just growing up so fast!

Speaking of growing up fast, this afternoon I placed Eli in his crib to play while I hung up clothes in his closet. All of a sudden, I hear a squeal of delight and turn around to see my little man STANDING UP in his crib! Yep! We're officially pulling up now. WOW! That happened so fast. He was so proud of himself, too; it was so cute to see his whole face light up every time he pulled up. Josh's mom said it won't be long before he's crawling over the crib bars...oh goodness! I don't doubt that my little monkey will figure that out very soon as well.

My little monkey :)