18 month, nearly 19 months, post

And.... we're back.

Hopefully I can stay on track a bit better over the next few months.  I'm not sure how long this style of post will exist for us, but we'll see.  I just love being able to read back as Eli gets older, and I'm sure I'll refer to them with #2!

The last "month post" I did for Eli was 14 months!  EEK!  SOOOOO much has happened and changed since then! 

Quick Stats:
75% Head -- 19.5 in
95% Height -- 34.25 in
40% Weight -- 24.75 lb

You're still long and lean, but you're starting to really shoot up in height.  This has presented quite the challenge in finding long pants.  :)  You outgrow Gap pants in length after a couple of months, where a 6 month wear-time is intended.  I have found that Carter's brand pants (while not as cute) tend to fit you better and longer.

Walking with Pops

You LOVE climbing!  You often sit up on the top of the couch.

Love my little cowboy!

Ch Ch Ch Ch -- turning the drink dispenser into a train

Things I love about this stage:

* You walk around randomly counting -- "two, three, four, five,... daddy, seben, daddy, nine, TEN!".  So far, you have not once said "one".  :)
* You still LOVE reading books.  We read about 15 every day.  Your current favorites include either "fooball" or "tractors".  When we read the OSU book, you start singing on the page that includes the words to the alma mater.  It's pretty sweet.  You also point your finger when we say "Go Pokes!"  If we are reading about tractors, you say, "Daddy, Tractor, Papa, Tractor" while pointing at each one we see.
* You also know where there are tractors along our common routes and will yell "TRACTOR!" when we pass them - even if it's 10 pm outside and you can't see a thing!
* You also love to sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and do the motions for the spider.  There's really nothing cuter.  :)
* You are really getting into trains and love saying "ch ch ch ch" when you see them.
* You LOVE driving cars, tractors, etc.  When your daddy gets home, you often run to the door begging to be taken outside.  Once outside, you stand by his door until he puts you inside.  You could pretend you are driving for hours!  It's pretty funny to start my car and have to immediately turn off the windshield wipers, blinkers and bright lights.  :)
* We've introduced a baby doll to call "sister" so that we can practice being gentle, etc and you are SO sweet with the doll, giving her kisses and hugs and shoving the bottle in her mouth.  :)  I cannot wait for you to get to meet your little sister!
* You insist on using utensils at every meal, and if I'm sitting next to you, you prefer to use a grown up sized fork or spoon.  You call them all "spoon" at this point.  :)  You are mostly self sufficient at meal times - I really only help when you eat yogurt simply b/c I don't like cleaning up the mess.  :)
* There's nothing sweeter than you grabbing a book and immediately backing up to sit in my lap.  I just love it!
* You had all 16 teeth by the time you were 16 months old.  I'm so relieved to have a bit of a break from teething - those molars were real doozies!
* You love stacking your blocks and counting with it.  You rarely pass 6 blocks before you knock them all "dowwwwwww" and laugh!
* This week, you said your first Spanish word, "agua".  It's pretty cute!  Sometimes you say "water" and other times "agua" -- I couldn't be prouder.  ;)
* You are heavily dependent on your "night night" these days.  Luckily I have 4 of them, so we rotate pretty regularly.  I'm considering cutting one into four squares (they're aiden & anais swaddle blankets, so quite large) to see if you can handle a smaller version.
* I bought a big boy bed for you recently.  We're going to work on that transition here in the next couple of weeks.  The intention is to be transitioned before sister arrives.  We'll see about that.  ;)
* You love walking around saying "Mama, Daddy, Eli (pronounced "I-li" -- all the kids in his PDO pronounce it that way for some reason)."  I'm trying to get you to incorporate "sister", and sometimes you'll add "baby".

Your current schedule is:
7:30 - Wake
Breakfast of yogurt, raisin toast and fruit
Play
11:30 - Lunch
12 - 2:30 - Nap
Play
5:30 dinner
Bath
7:30/8 Bedtime!

You LOVE:
Watermelon
Grapes (Baps)
Apples (you request "apple" all day long - you eat at least one a day!)
Bananas
Green Beans
SPAGHETTI
Peanut Butter (you are my son, afterall)
Pizza (you easily eat 3 pieces!)
Cheese
Toast - another request you make throughout the day
Crackers
Broccoli
Party Burritos at Bueno (we're raising you right with the Bueno influence)  ;)
Pistachios
Chips & Dip
Chicken - especially nuggets from Charlie's Chicken or My Place
Blueberry Muffins
Cheese Enchiladas



You are adding new words and phrases every day.  Today, you said "I don't know" and held your hands out, copying me.  I also asked you to slow down while eating the apple this evening, and you started repeating "slowwwww" in a very dramatic tone.  It was pretty funny.  :)  We called your daddy today and you sang the ABCs with me, and we both held the same letters - "A, B, C, D, E, F, Gggggggggggg; H I J K L M N O Pppppppppp; Q R S T U Vvvvvvvvvvvvv; W X Y and Zzzzzzzzzzzz.  And we crack up after each long letter (if this is making any sense.)  I'll try to record it and put it up here.  Mind you, he's just mumbling noises with each letter until we get to the one we hold.  :)  Just so you don't get the wrong idea about his genius status.  ;)

You definitely have a stubborn side (go figure) and have started screaming when you get upset.  It only lasts a second, and you look at me immediately after doing it.  I'm torn between getting on to you for doing it, or just ignoring it.  Suggestions welcome.  :)  You also had your 3rd haircut attempt -- only the very first one was successful.  Your daddy WILL be taking you next time - or at least accompanying us there.  For now, your hair is a little bit "poofy", but better that than buzzed off!  I just can't bring myself to do that to your sweet blond hair!

We had a few swimming play dates this summer - I think the size of the pool was a bit overwhelming to you.  You started to get the hang of it, but definitely prefer your little pool in the backyard and the bathtub.  :)

I mean, come on.

Lucky boy with unlimited watermelon!

First OSU game - wasn't quite sure what to think of it all! 

Wearing your hat, like Daddy, and "driving" the truck!

I'm hoping that by posting more often, they won't all have to be novel sized.  I let this one keep slipping by each month to where it was almost too much for me to remember and overwhelmed me... you're just growing and learning and changing so much!

Your daddy and I are BEYOND smitten with you, little man, and we love you more than either of us thought we possibly could.  While we're officially worn out at the end of each day, there is no one else we'd rather hang out with than you!

Love you!
Mama