My E-I!

Omigoodness! I cannot believe that my Eli is going to turn one in less than a month! I know we are not supposed to compare children, but that is so hard when your kids are only 15 months apart. I keep thinking and saying, "When Caedyn was 11 months old..." She was extremely verbal and into everything! Eli is definitely going to be a baby longer than Caedyn was, and I love it! Eli is a snuggle bug! He crawls and cruises wherever he wants to go, yet he still likes to be held. Here's what Eli is up to these days:

1. No more baby food. Eli has moved into the world of real people food. He has been eating only table food for about a month now. He loves to eat, and will eat anything! I love that he is such a good eater. Caedyn lived on Pasta Pick-Ups until she was 18 months old it seems. (There goes that comparison thing again - oops!)

2. We are trying to get Eli to use a sippy cup, and he is not taking to it so well. He will drink out of it, but we have to hold it for him. He has just started grabbing it and putting it to his mouth, but he doesn't tilt it back enough to get anything. We have been offering him milk since he was 9 months old in hopes of being bottle free by March 10 - Bday! I don't think that is going to happen. He only has 3 bottles as it is, and until he can use a sippy cup, I don't think we can take his bottle.

3. Did I say that Eli eats EVERYTHING! Yeah, well we have to keep his paci in his mouth so that he doesn't eat everything he finds as he crawls around. He is so determined! He tried his best to eat Caedyn's crayons the other day. I hid them behind me and even sat on them, but I couldn't fool him. I knew where they were and wouldn't give up until I took him out of her room and distracted him.

4. Last time I updated the blog on Eli, he was army/belly crawling. Well just before Christmas I noticed that he could sit up from this belly position. I am not sure how long he had been doing it; we were at Gary's parents', and I noticed as he was playing he would crawl and then sit. (The poor 2nd child doesn't get near the attention of the first - by anyone!)

5. Early January we were at church and I happened to notice that Mr. Eli was on his knees crawling in the nursery! So, he is a knee-crawler now!

6. Eli cruises everywhere - under and around the kitchen table, at the little table, all around Caedyn's room - everywhere! He also has started standing for short amounts of time without holding onto anything. I can't say he is too close to walking. His feet are pretty planted when he lets go, and he won't let me hold his hands and help him walk. I am not sure he sees any need to walk right now. He gets where and what he wants for now.

7. The other day I took Eli into our bedroom. Gary and Whisper were both on the bed. Eli looked right at Whisper and said, "Kee Ka!" (It sounded like kitty cat plain as day!) Eli makes a lot of noise, but pretty much just says, "Da Da" for everything. He says Bye Bye, but it sounds like da da sometimes too.

8. Eli starts waving when we put his coat on, open the door, or when I walk into his class at daycare in the afternoons. It is so cute!

9. Eli loves to play Patty-Cake and give Fives! He also starts clapping when he hears music or singing.

10. Eli can play the kazoo! No kidding. I will have to get a video and post it because it is so funny!

11. Finally, Eli is Caedyn's shadow. He mocks everything she does. He can't say the words she says, but he will mock her tone and volume! He will even "sing" along with her!

I LOVE this stage for my E-I! He is learning so much each day! I want him to stay a baby and let me cuddle him, but it is fun watching him learn too! Kids are so exciting. Having two is the best! I love that they are so close. They are both growing so fast that I can't even imagine what our lives will look like this summer when they can both walk and run and drive me crazy! I love it!