Tiny Tops

What does it mean when your 21-month-old son can fit your glasses?

 Well, first it means he's incredibly adorable. It also means I might have a small head. Eli's head is just smaller than average for his age. So what's that saying about my head?

Eli snatched these off my desk and ran away before I could grab him. He ran over to Mike while trying to put them on his head, so, naturally, Mike helped him. I hope he never needs glasses, but if he does he'll sure be adorable in them.

Thanksgiving and Throw up

We went up to Chino Valley for Thanksgiving. I always love going to my parent's house, especially when a lot of family is around. And there was plenty of family. Eli got to play with tons of cousins and eat tons of food, and unfortunately we did not take tons of pictures. We didn't take any pictures...opps! But the day was wonderful, the food was delicious, and the family is always fun to be around. Eli even got to see a bunch of animals--that's the beauty of where my parents live. We went with some of his cousins to a neighbor's house who had a bunch of kids...er...baby goats. They were adorable and all the kids (baby humans) loved playing with the kids (baby goats). There were some mommy goats there too, and they all just wanted some attention. It was a fun-filled day.

The only real surprise of the day was finding out that Eli gets carsick. Oh yeah. On the drive up, just as we were coming out of the windy Black Canyon, Eli turned into Mt. St. Helens, and it was not pretty. Thankfully I had some extra clothes, and he was such a trooper through it all. And to be even more grateful (it was Thanksgiving after all) he didn't throw up on the way home! Yay!

Halloween

I know it's December and I'm a bit behind, but here's our Halloween update. I'm not a big Halloween person--it's just not a holiday I get all excited about. This means I don't really care about dressing up and don't want to spend a lot of money on Eli when he doesn't know what's going on. Okay, maybe I'm a bit of a Scrooge here, but that's a different holiday.

Anyway, we did still celebrate and Eli did get to dress up. We had this Chargers jersey for him, and I just added a little eye black (mascara) under his eyes. Give him a football to play with and viola! we have a football player. He was actually pretty darn cute. We went to our ward Trunk-or-Treat party on Saturday night. Eli had a blast running around with his cousins, but he wasn't so sure about all these adults that wanted to talk to him and give him things. Once we got home and he discovered it was candy he was elated!

On Halloween we just stayed home and passed out candy. Eli had fun seeing the kids come over, and he especially loved when people had dogs too.

I've Been Crowned!

How to earn a crown:

It takes: 10 months, 3 doctor visits, 3 ENT visits, 1 consult with an oral surgeon, 3 dentist visits, 4 endodontist visits, 2 root canals,  5 rounds of antibiotics, 1 allergic reaction to antibiotics, 1 round of steroids, 1 CT scan, 3 X-rays, 2 scopes up my nose, 1 numbed nose, 3 shots in my mouth, swelling in the roof of my mouth and on my face, and more cold tests on my teeth then I'd care to remember.

All of this for a tooth that had no decay, no cavity, and nothing visibly wrong. The roots just decided to die. So much for religiously brushing and flossing my teeth. No one ever told me that your teeth can just decide to quit on you anyway.

So, maybe it's just a crown on my tooth, but after this whole ordeal, I feel like I deserve a royal crown as well!

The Zoo

Because the petting zoo at the farm was such a big hit we thought Elijah would love to go to the zoo. We took him the last weekend in October, and while he had a good time, I was a little disappointed that he didn't love it as much as we were hoping. We also went during his nap time, but he was a trooper and never got fussy. His favorite part was seeing the free range animals: birds, squirrels, birds, peacocks, birds, birds, and birds. He tried to chase them every chance he got. Even though it was two days before Halloween it was incredibly HOT out, and we were all a little pooped by the end of the day.

Ooo,giraffes!

We watched this little fox wake up, streeeetch, and then wander over to the window where we were standing. It was so cute!

It's hot!

Look, a bird!

This is Eli falling INTO the monkey exhibit. Yes, I win Mother-of-the-Year for this one. Thankfully I was able to grab his foot just before he fell all the way over. Yikes!

You're a baboon, and I'm not.

This little guy was falling asleep right next to the window. It was adorable!

Z is for zebra!

Birds in trees!

They have this cool squirrel monkey exhibit where you walk in with the monkeys.

This little guy ran right in front of my feet.

Looking for the elephant, who was put away while they were cleaning the exhibit. Bummer

!

The elephant is coming out!

Pumpkin Patch

We went to Mother Nature's Farm with some friends in mid-October. Eli LOVED the petting zoo. He tried to climb into every cage there and loved feeding the animals. We also went on a hay ride and walked through a hay maze, which Eli walked on more than in. Then Eli and his buddy K got to pick out and decorate their own pumpkins. Ours has been on our front porch and Eli loves playing with it every time he sees it.

Let me in! Let me in!

He would feed the animals, then try to eat the hay himself. Gross!

Setting a good example for his buddy.

This one, please.

Just like Daddy.

Things I Love

These are some of the things I love about Elijah:

How he pats my back when he is sleepy or sad and I'm carrying him. It's what I do to him, and it's like he's giving me comfort too.

When he pumps his fist and says "me, me, me, me, me!" after he's done eating. I have no idea why he does it, but he's so excited when he does it and it means he's ready to get down.

How he LOVES chocolate. No matter where he is in the house, he KNOWS when I am getting some chocolate and he comes begging. "Choc?" "Choc?" "Choc?"

That he loves to snuggle with me. If he's sad, or sleepy, or knows I just need a snuggle moment, he will curl up on my lap and we can snuggle for a bit. If we're reading a book or if I'm sitting near him he'll come and sit right next to me, then put his foot on my leg or his head on my arm, or both.

How much he loves to read. If he's sad or getting into something, or if I'm tired and don't have the energy to play I can say "want to read?" and he'll go running to grab some books.

That he loves the moon. It is so sweet how is says "moooooooon" and always looks for it. And he is so creative he can turn anything into the moon--the letter C, the tail on his hippo, the Pepsi logo, anything.

When he tries to get me to do something. He has started to try to pick me up or move me. If I'm sitting he tries to pick me up by the torso, if I'm standing he tries to move my legs. He is just so tiny and so determined to get me to come with him.

That he is so attached to me right now. It's not always ideal to have him get so upset when I leave or always need me, but I do appreciate it because I know it won't last forever.

When he says "oooOOOooo." It's is a sweet and excited little noise that he says several times a day. Whether he saw a car on TV, or we're giving him a treat, or he's found a toy or book he hasn't seen in a while, he's sure to let out an "oooOOOooo" in approval. 

How he likes his Daddy's picture. He's not nearly as attached to Mike as he is to me, and when Mike leaves for work he's lucky to get a waive. But at some point during the day Eli will grab the picture of the two of them, which is on our entertainment center. He might kiss it, or bring it to me and say "Dada!", or just bring it over to where he's playing, but it is clear that he is missing Daddy at that moment.

When he gets the giggles. He will just laugh and laugh and laugh. Sometimes it's becuase of something I said, like "shoo fly". I'll say it, he'll laugh and laugh, and then say "again" and we do it all over again. This could go on forever it seems, and his laugh is so infections it's hard not to laugh with him. Sometimes he'll read one of his books and just start laughing every time he turns the page. I love it!

His happy dance. Throughout the day he will do a little wiggle. He could be sitting, standing, walking, it doesn't matter. He just wiggles his upper torso back and forth with a huge grin on his face.

Getting a snuggle when I get him dressed. I have him stand up now to put on his pants, and when I do he puts his arms around my neck and gives me a big hug while his pants on.

This list could go on and on, there are so many things I love about this boy. I just felt like gushing about him for a minute. But he's ready for a snuggle and I am not going to turn him down.

Potty Break

With the hopes of one day far, far away getting Eli potty trained, we got him his very own potty. It is a Lightening McQueen potty chair from the Disney movie Cars. He loves that movie and loves Lightening McQueen. And he was thrilled to get the potty seat!

Look, Mom!

What goes in here?

I love this hat, Mom! Thanks!

Um...yeah. We're still working on the "what it's for" part. But at least he likes it...and is using it...for something. Although he refuses to sit on it.

You Know You Live in Arizona...

When your son doesn't know what a long sleeve shirt is.

I was getting Eli dressed for bed and put him in some long sleeve pajamas becuase it is finally getting cool around here. I pulled his arms through the sleeves and he immediately got concerned.

"Momma tuck! Momma tuck!" he repeated over and over again. (Mommy, I'm stuck.)

I tried to explain to him that these were his sleeves, but he was sure there was something wrong. He kept pulling at the sleeves and saying "tuck."

I got to thinking about it and realized that he probably hasn't worn a long sleeve shirt for over 6 months. So, yeah, he has no idea why his arms are stuck in those sleeves. I gave up trying to explain it to him and instead just pushed his sleeves up above his elbows. He was much happier. Problem solved.

Scar Face

Eli decided to memorialize a particularly bad week for me at the end of July by hitting his head on our fireplace. All he did was bend over to pick up his ball. Unfortunately he did not correctly calculate the trajectory of his head and he smacked it on the corner of our tile fireplace hearth.

Just a flesh wound

That was a horrible moment--watching your child get hurt and realizing there's nothing you can do about it. Eli cried and popped back up and I managed to stay surprisingly calm. The gash was wide becuase he was moving down, but it actually stopped bleeding pretty quickly so we didn't take him to the doctors. It healed pretty quickly, but now he has a nice little scar on his forehead. I guess the world couldn't handle such perfection and had to add a little mortality to his face. Oh well, he still looks perfect. And with that scar he is already getting girls oodling over him. Oh brother!

About a week later

About a month later.

Guideline or Rule?

I know you all do it. You see the "Dry Clean Only" or "Not Dishwasher Safe" warnings and decide that, just this once, you'll ignore them. One time can't hurt, right? I mean, those are really just a guideline more than a rule. You'll be careful and put the heat on low. You won't even dry it. And you KNOW your nice, new water bottle will be juuuuust fiiiiine.

Well...sometimes all it takes is one time.

One of these things is not like the other. One of these things is smaller than the rest.

From Diapers to Depends

This was my conversation with Eli this morning after changing his third poopy diaper in two hours.

Me: "Are you going to go poopy in the toilet soon?"

Eli adamantly shakes his head no.

Me: "Are you going to go poopy in the toiled when you're bigger?"

Eli shakes his head no.

Me: "Are you going to use the toilet when you're as big as Daddy?"

Eli shakes his head no. Now I decided to see if he's just saying no to everything I ask.

Me: "Are you going to wear diapers when you're grown up like Daddy?"

Eli smiles really big and emphatically shakes his head yes.

I guess we're not potty training any time soon.

Trip to Utah

Eli and I went on a big adventure up to Utah. We drove, so I was a little worried about the long road trip with just me and him, but it worked out and we had a great time. It helped that he had a nice set-up in the car.

Thank goodness for laptops and the Cars movie! And when I got tired, I let him drive.

But mostly he slept.

Our final destination was Provo, but we stopped at Andy and Jaclyn's house in St. George on the way up and back. It was so nice to be able to break up the trip. And it was wonderful to see them and Madi, too. I didn't get any pictures of them, but Eli sure did love their stairs.

We made it up to Utah in time to go to my old roommate Nancy's wedding reception. It was awesome to see her and meet her husband, and to catch up with old friends.

Unfortunately Eli was exhausted from all that driving, so we had to stick him in the window during the reception.

See how happy he is now?

Or maybe it was Aunt Julie that made him happy.

We also got to roam around the BYU campus. Eli fit right in.

Sometimes he got bored, but then he discovered they have stairs. Everywhere! Uncle Kyle let him play on them while I checked out my old TA office...ahhh the memories.

To thank the Barker Clarkers for putting up with us for a few days we took them out to dinner.

And Eli provided the entertainment.

And then we came home. It was such a fun trip. We are lucky to have such awesome family to let us crash at their houses for a couple days. Next time our trip won't be so last minute and we'll make sure Daddy can come with us.