Summer is here!

Summer is here and I am so excited to share it with my little man. Last summer, Eli was pretty much a cute looking blob who couldn't really do much other than poop and smile. Now, we have a whole world of fun summer stuff to explore!

Today was my first solo day with Eli in more than a month, and we've made the most of it. He woke up early (how come he only sleeps in on the days Daddy is watching him?) and we went for a morning walk so we could move the car (booo to alternate side street parking.... yaay to the thought that ONE day, I will have my own driveway). Nap one was short, but I was able to make some banana/granola/walnut muffins for Daddy and co-workers. (I'm on a baking kick right now. I especially enjoy baking things I don't like so that I'm not tempted to eat them). After lunch, we headed to the park for a long overdue playdate with Sawyer. It was SO cute when they saw each other. Eli literally screamed with glee and started laughing. They have a lot of fun together. We brought Eli's mini blue stroller and they took turns pushing each other's strollers around the field. He still prefers the pink one, I think, but we won't tell Daddy that. :) There were some little boys playing ball nearby and Eli ran right over and introduced himself ("AHHHHHHH!") and joined right in. I love that he's such a social little guy and hope that continues.

We went to the playground and climbed up and down and up and down the slide. He now LOVES slides and ramps and stairs. The other night when we were at Lolo and Lola's house, he literally spent about 30 minutes just climbing up and down the steps. He can't quite figure out how to get down yet, so it's good he has mommy or daddy there to hold onto! But I digress...back to the park. We were caught in a HUGE downpour, but it was kind of fun running through the rain. And we didn't even melt. Truth is, it helped to cool us off cause it was really hot out there! (Yay summer!).

Our new favorite discovery of the day is putting our fire truck up on the coffee table and then pushing it off so it goes crashing to the ground. We then carry the fire truck to a new location, push it on the ground for 5 seconds, and then carry it back to the coffee table...repeat. GREAT fun. (Sorry neighbors downstairs!) We also really enjoy unpacking the contents of the under part of the stroller today and have done it about 5 times today. Mommy learned that we can no longer keep snacks in little ziplock bags and we are now attempting to chew through the plastic to get to the cheerios/snacks. Lovely. Good thing we have some fun snack containers.

Our favorite word (other than the ever popular "Dada") is ball, and we say it whenever we pick up or see one of our 4 balls. Eli got Daddy a mini basketball for father's day, but because it's a little heavier than the other balls, he usually ends up throwing it behind him.

I thought he left a destructive path when he played before... HAAA...that was NOTHING compared to how quickly he can turn this place upside down now.

Still eating like a champ! This morning for breakfast, he had a banana, an orange, a piece of toast and some cheerios. When you aren't moving fast enough (most of the time he eats faster than I can cut), he screams "NAAAA" and points at whatever food you are keeping from him. I don't usually get to eat until after he's done now, cause if I stop to take a bite of my own food, he's already done with his food. One day he'll learn how to chew properly, right?

He can now consistently point to his nose (but usually sticks his finger UP it...greeeat) when asked and is starting to be able to do ear and eye. The eye part is creepy, though, cause it looks like he's poking his eye too hard. Also, if you ask him "What does a cow say?" he'll reply "moooo." Super fun.

One more thing - whenever he sees a dog these days, he makes his mouth into a little circle and says "OOOOOO" while pointing at the dog. Super cute.

:)

In California!

We survived our first plane ride as a family to California! A 5 hr 45 min flight that I was absolutely dreading turned out to be totally manageable, thanks to my brave little traveler. I couldn't fathom how a child who can't sit in my lap for more than 5 minutes was going to do it, but he made it.... 2 naps and about 5 mini-meltdowns later, we were in LA, ready to see family.

Staying with Tita Carol has been wonderful. She lives in Brentwood (west LA), not too far from Santa Monica. It's been SO great to meet and see family and we're so glad we made the trip.

I'm tired and don't want to make this a long post... just wanted to update with a few things before I forget them!

-Eli is 13 months old today!!!! (Happy Birthday, Grandma!)

-About 5 days ago, Eli started doing the cutest thing.... when he picks up my phone, he'll hold it up to his ear and walk around babbling, as if he's really having a conversation. I guess he's seen me and Mike talk on the phone enough times that he learned how to mimic it! He'll also hold it up to his ear if you say "Hello!"

-About a week ago, Eli all of a sudden turned into a mama's boy. My child now spends part of his day standing at my feet crying, begging for me to hold him. My child who previously would go to anyone acts like I am dismembering him if I hand him to someone other than me. On the plane ride, I was the lucky ONLY person he would allow to hold him. This will hopefully pass.

-Auntie jenn taught Eli "Hands up!" and "Near.....Far." hands up comes in quite handy when it's time to put him in the high chair. It's also a fun party trick. Near and far is just super cute. If you say neeeeear, he'll walk up and put his forehead up to yours. Say faaaaar and he'll back up. Too cute. I also taught him to put his hands on his head whenever i say "Oh my goodness!"

-His favorite thing in LIFE right now is carrying around the little green disposable diaper bags after I've changed his diaper.

-He does NOT like tomatoes.

-His favorite word at the moment (ours too) is "Nanda." Sometimes it sounds like he's saying Nada. :)

Ok...off to bed - just wanted to jot some things down as I remembered them.