Eli at 20ish Months

Dear Eli,

I kept close records of all your milestones and accomplishments, big and small, during your first year of life. I haven't done as good of a job at keeping records of all these things during this second year, though. But there are things about you that I never want to forget- how you are right now, right this second, right at this age. So here's a little summary of some of my favorite things about you at 20ish months. (And just for the record, I could go on and on and on with things I love about you!)

-You have started to pretend. You play "nigh-nigh" with your animals and with any person who will play with you, and you pretend to pick imaginary food up and feed it to yourself and others. I love watching your imagination begin to grow.

-You "fix things" with your tools. Uncle Steve and Aunt Autumn gave you "Handy Manny" for Christmas, complete with his very own tiny tool kit. You get out the screwdrivers, flip over your little tricycle, and work on it with your tools. It's adorable! But the thing that is most impressive is that Daddy and I never showed you how to do this- it's something that you came up with all on your own! You love tools, and you love watching your Daddy use tools- "fixing your bike" has come naturally to you!

-Your vocabulary is growing. You know tons of words and will use them clearly and appropriately from time to time, but I really think that you just don't care much about talking! :) You use the word "dee-dee" for a host of things- I think it's just your go-to for words you don't want to try to pronounce. You have just recently started repeating most of what we ask you to repeat, and when you decide you want to say a word right, your pronounciation is right on. But most of the time you just don't care much about words, so you babble with a made-up language all your own. You also know a lot of signs, which helps us when we can't quite figure out which "dee-dee" you want. :) You are just beginning to put two words together, too.

-You loooooooove to be outside. This has been true of you since you were just a baby. You love to take long walks, pick up sticks, throw rocks, and climb over anything you can find. We try to spend as much time as we can outside, both because you love it so much and because you have plenty of energy you need to burn off!

-You adore your Daddy. "Dadda" is the first word out of your mouth in the morning and the last word out of your mouth at night. You wake up, get out of your crib, and immediately begin to search the house for Daddy. Sometimes, when my words, "Daddy is at work" finally sink in, you get so sad that you cry! The two of you have a really special relationship, and I can't wait to see it continue to grow as you get older.

-You are a climber. You are strong and tough, and you love to climb up on anything you possibly can.

-You are a neat-freak! This is probably built into your genetic code, since both Daddy and me are super neat freaks. And I guess it's just natural for you to want to keep things clean, since you've seen your parents always try to do the same. But it's hilarious for us to watch you search for missing pieces to toys, throw away trash, and wipe up spilled juice- not because anyone tells you to, but because you just want to! :)

-You sing and dance! We love to watch you dance and "sing along" with songs that you hear. Yo Gabba Gabba is your favorite video right now (You call it "Babba."), and you dance your way right through it!

-You are a true joy. In all honesty, I couldn't ask for a better kid! You are mellow, compliant, eager to please, helpful, and so happy. You are, 99 days out of 100, a breeze! You have your moments, of course, but you are truly the joy of our hearts. You have a personality that is like sunshine- bright, clear, happy, warm. What a blessing it is to get to spend every day with you!

I love you, my sweet boy! I can't believe that you will be two years old in just a few short months. Time is flying by too quickly. But no matter how old you get, you will always, always be my baby.

WIth a heart full of love,
Mommy.

Nigh-Nigh

One of the few words Eli repeats is "nigh-nigh" (night-night). He has recently started playing "nigh-nigh," lying down and pretending to sleep (with his eyes open, ironically) and then suddenly popping up and laughing hysterically. He'll go "nigh-nigh" in his high chair, on the bathroom floor, anywhere the mood strikes him.

He will also, at any time, point to any person near him and command, "NIGH-NIGH," meaning that you must lay your head down, close your eyes, and pretend to snore until he tugs your hair to "wake you up," at which point he laughs for a bit and then chooses his next victim. It's adorable. I love seeing him begin to "pretend" like this.

At the zoo this week he got a little stuffed giraffe. (He calls it "AAAAAAAHHHHHH," which is essentially a loud, prolonged growl used to signify giraffes, lions, tigers, and bears. Great vocabulary, I know. :) ) This morning he was sitting on the floor of my bathroom with his beloved blanket and the giraffe, waiting for me to get ready for work. I looked down when I heard him say, "nigh-nigh," and I watched as he laid his giraffe down on the floor, covered him up with his blanket, and then gave him a kiss. My heart melted! How cute is that? Of course, the giraffe was then rudely awakened by being flung into the air by little toddler hands, but I'm positive that he enjoyed being put to bed by the sweetest little boy I know. The boy who makes sure to give kisses before going to sleep. Oh, how I love him!

Synopsis

I have been totally absent from the blogging world lately! And now that I look at this blog again and realize it's been quite a while since I've posted, I realize that I still don't have much of interest to report. :)

What have we been up to lately?
-Youth group retreat: I went last weekend to help with the church's youth retreat at Pine Cove. Though tiring, for sure, we all had a great time, and I'm really impressed with these kids!

-NFL Playoffs: This has been a great draw of attention, especially for Eric. :) After Sunday's slaughter, though, my interest has waned.

-Zoo: Eli and I took a trip to the zoo yesterday with Sarah and the kids. We all had a blast.

-Burgers: This is seemingly inconsequential, but let me just say that the Kobe burger at Cheesecake Factory is the best thing that you will ever put in your mouth. Eat one.

-Walking: Long walks are Eli's absolute favorite activity in the entire world. We take a good many walks during the week, and I don't even need to bring a stroller any more. Eli just walks along, picking up sticks as he goes, and burning off all kinds of energy. It's heavenly, especially in this warm January weather that we've been having lately!

-Colds: Can I just say that I strongly dislike cold/flu season? My kid needs a break!

-Trying to grow: Eli has had some trouble gaining weight lately. He actually lost a few ounces last month, which is always difficult for me to hear. With one cold after another, he just has trouble keeping his appetite up, and all the coughing makes him throw up a lot, too. Plus he's super-active, running around every minute that he's awake. And he has a tiny appetite to begin with! All that adds up to difficulties gaining weight. And that means a Mommy who is worried about her child's growth and the ever-looming possibility of a feeding tube. :( Eli is healthy and strong, just small, and we just continue to pray that his appetite increases and he hits some sort of growth spurt! We would LOVE to see some progress in this area, and we would appreciate all the prayer we can get!

I'm going to try to be a little more frequent with updates, so until the next one, have a great week!

2010 Begins

I, for one, loooooove a clean slate, which is why I love the New Year! I love packing away Christmas and seeing how neat and tidy my house looks after everything is back in its place. I love getting back into a normal routine and normal eating habits after weeks on end of get-togethers and parties and eating vast quantities of extremely unhealthy things. :) I love how crisp and cold January typically is, and I love looking forward to spring, to the bulbs under the soil just waiting to come up, to the camping trips in warm weather and the trees starting to bud again. I love a New Year!

On New Year's Eve we were extremely wild and crazy. We went to my parents' house along with my sisters and brothers-in-law, ate a variety of yummy snacks, and talked until 11pm, when we celebrated the ball drop on Eastern time and then promptly went home to bed. I told you we were wild and crazy! :)

On New Year's Day we went to a big family gathering at Uncle Albert and Aunt Kathy's house (Eric's side of the family). They always cook a huge Japanese feast and play games and eat and laugh all day long. It was so much fun!!! Fresh, homemade california rolls, suki yaki, a vast assortment of Japanese snacks and candies, and mochi with sweet sauce for good luck- it was heavenly! Eli loved being there, too. He had a blast playing with the kids and Uncle Albert while Eric and I just enjoyed talking with everyone and eating the awesome food. We had such a great day!

We spent much of Saturday with our dear friends Nick and Sarah, celebrating a joint birthday for Sarah and me. We ate at one of our favorite places, Istanbul Cafe, and talked forever. It was such a treat to be kid-free (thanks, grandparents, for the babysitting!) and have a long, leisurely lunch with great friends.

We went to church this morning and then came home and finished packing up all the Christmas stuff while Eli napped. Our house is super-clean from top to bottom- the only time it will be this clean all year. :) And this afternoon we watched the Cowboys beat the Eagles in a shut-out game! It was the perfect way to end the holiday weekend. :)

I hope that you are all having a great start to 2010. May we all learn much from the Lord this year and listen closely to His voice in any and every path on which He leads us.

Happy New Year!

Christmas '09

We had a wonderful Christmas this year! On Christmas Eve the joy level was so high I though I would explode, actually! :)

On Christmas Eve, Eli and I spent the day together here at home, baking and just enjoying being together. And the best part of the day was that it was SNOWING! Eric got home from work early in the afternoon, and we went to visit our neighbors, bearing Christmas cookies. It was fun to walk around outside in the snow!



Before Eli's bedtime, we each opened our Christmas Eve gifts (pajamas) and read the Christmas story. Then, while Eric put Eli to bed, I cooked dinner (everything but the steak) for Eric and myself and Phil and Kelly. We did it up right- garlic parmesan mashed potatoes, spinach and artichoke dip, green salad, ribeyes grilled by Phil, champagne cocktails, and cheesecake for dessert. This has become our Christmas Eve tradition, and it is so much fun! A fancy table with fancy food on the best night of the year- perfection! And after a wonderful dinner, Santa came! :)



Eric and I opened our presents to each other on on Christmas Eve night, which was really nice. As always, Eric gave me great gifts, and I think Santa got him a few good ones too. :)

On Christmas morning Eli got to open his presents from us, which was so fun to watch. His big gift was a rocking horse.



He was most concerned with picking up all the wrapping paper and putting it in the trash. It was hilarious, and it reminded me not a little bit of me. :)



After that, we headed next door to my parents' house, where everyone gathered for the most insane gift-giving extravaganza I've ever seen. :) Three 18 month-old boys make for a crazy Christmas, for sure. :) My parents, as always, were so generous, and we had such a fun morning being with everyone!



We ran home after that and changed clothes and then headed to Eric's mom's house for a late lunch. She gave him this big stuffed lion for Christmas that he loves.



And finally, we drove to my uncle's house for dinner with my dad's side of the family, another big, crazy, super-fun get-together. Eli, however, had had a little too much Christmas by this point- he was worn out! We headed home and put him right to bed. He had a great day and was such a trooper as we went from event to event.

And, of course, no Christmas can be complete without a midnight showing of Avatar, right? Wrong. Well, wrong for me at least. :) Eric, Phil, Jonathan, and my dad went to see it late, late on Christmas night while the rest of us slept soundly in our beds. And that was our Christmas! Crazy? Yes! Perfect? YES!!!

Christmas Letter

My sweet Eli,

Merry Christmas, baby! I am so excited to celebrate with you this year, because this year you will actually know that there is something really fun going on! Last year you just laid in the wrapping paper and watched as we opened your gifts for you. But this year? This year you will run into the living room on Christmas morning and notice a big pile of presents under the tree. You will get insanely excited as you rip the paper off of the boxes. And you will have a blast playing with all of your many new toys. You'll love running around with your cousins at Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop's house later in the morning, and you'll bask in all the attention lavished on you when we go see Daddy's side of the family later in the day. You will be the delight of our day. Christmas is just so much better with you!

I want to remind you of a couple things, because I imagine that someday you'll read back through these blog entries, this digital journal that I'm keeping for us, for you. First, I want to remind you of your precious Savior Jesus Christ who was born for you on Christmas day. Eli, there is no gift I want more in this entire world than the gift of seeing you trust Him as your personal Savior. He came for you, baby! He took on flesh and all the limits of humanity, all the horrible persecution we inflicted on Him, all the pain and agony of death on a cross... for you! For us! We open presents and get together with family on Christmas because we are celebrating the indescribable gift of Jesus Christ. We have talked about this so much already, opening one little drawer of our advent calendar every day so that we can help to tell you the story of the birth of Christ. We pray that in the coming years you will understand more and more fully what Christmas really means.

The second thing I want to remind you of is that I love you! I love you for who you are, and nothing could ever change that. But I also love you for what you do! I love your big personality, all the adorable sounds you make that comprise a language all your own. I love that you lift up your shirt a thousand times a day to see your belly button, asking "Where is it?" until you find it and then waving "bye-bye" to it as you pull your shirt back down again. I love that you wake up yelling "DAD!" I love that you take my hand when we walk and say "Mommy" over and over again when you sit in your stroller, just to make sure that I'm still there. I love how you climb all over everything, my little monkey! I love how smart you are, remembing what everything is and where everything goes, learning shapes and colors and words and sounds. I love how you adore your cousins and can hardly contain your excitement when you see them. I love that you love to wrestle and be tickled and chased and scared by us when we play hide and seek with you. I love that you call your toes "wee-wee," because we've played "This Little Piggy" a thousand times, and that last little piggy goes "wee-wee-wee-wee, all the way home." I love your affinity for sticks, how your favorite toy right now is piece of PVC pipe that is taller than you are. It stays outside, though, because you also love to knock things off the counters with it inside! :) I love your strong will and determination, and I also love your sweet spirit that is tender and teachable. I love YOU, Eli Wilson, from the top of your white-blond head to the tips of your adorable, tiny toes.

You are the joy of our hearts, baby, and we are waiting with childlike excitement to celebrate your second Christmas with you. I remember not being able to sleep as a child on the night before Christmas because I was so excited to see what was under the tree. This year I won't be able to sleep either, but now it's because I can't wait to see your reaction to what is under the tree! You will make this Christmas perfect.

I love you, sweetheart!

Mommy.

Weekend Update

(I can't help but think of "Weekend Update with Norm McDonald" whenever I write a post about our weekend.) :)

This weekend was fantastic!!! It started off with a bang, because my sister Kelly had her second baby! Charlie Joseph was born early on Friday morning, a handsome, healthy, absolutely adorable baby. See for yourself:



They're all home now and doing really well. Charlie is incredibly precious, a perfect addition to our family, especially at Christmastime! We are all fighting over holding him already. :)

On Friday night my parents kept Eli so that Eric could take me out for my birthday. We ate at Blue Mesa, one of our favorites, and then went to see the Blind Side, which we loved. It was a fun, romantic evening out.

On Saturday we just enjoyed time here at home, wrapping presents, playing, and getting ready for the coming week. And then in the evening we watched the Cowboys beat the undefeated Saints! I think we all almost suffered heart attacks in that last quarter- it was so close!

Today we had our usual big Sunday breakfast, just the three of us, and then we went to church. Afterwards, Eli napped while Eric put together his rocking horse (Christmas present) and I finished wrapping all our gifts- finally! Wrapping is one of those things that always sounds fun to me in theory, but when I sit down to actually do it, I can't stand it. :) Tonight after Eli went to bed we watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, which, by our estimation, is perhaps one of the most quoted movies of all time. Classic.

We had a wonderful weekend and are super-excited about the coming week! I hope you guys are all doing really well, too!