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.

First Haircut!!!

Tonight, Eli got his first haircut! Woohoo! Mike has been against it because he truly liked Eli's rock star hair. I didn't mind it too much until the last couple weeks.... it's been really getting in his eyes and has been hard for him to see.

So yesterday, Mike agreed to let me get his haircut... if he did it. I didn't know that he was a good barber... but he told me that in his college days, all of his friends would come to him for touch-ups.

We put eli in his high chair and put him directly in front of the TV... with Sesame Street playing. He was INSTANTLy engrossed and was even laughing at Grover, dancing with Elmo and trying to sing with Big Bird. It was the cutest thing ever. I still don't want him watching tv until he's 2, but when he's 2, it'll be fun to watch Sesame Street with him! I also now have renewed hope that he'll do ok on the plane if we let him watch a movie :)

Mike did an AMAZING job. I loooooove it. He can see now!!!! He looks super cute. And we're not going to have to pay for any haircuts until Eli gets old enough to care. Yaaaay!

We're off to CT tomorrow to visit with Jenn! We get to spend the whole week with her before she continues on her world travels. Yay!

Eli's 12 month check-up

Eli's 12 month check-up was today! I had to wake him up from his nap so that we would make in in time, but after the initial shock, he was fine and happy to be in his stroller. He still LOVES being on the subway (this kid will take any extra opportunities to flirt!) and was literally screaming at people to look at him today. He likes to play peek-a-boo with everyone on the train.

His appointment started off bad, because he had to get his finger pricked (to check to make sure he's not anemic). You would have thought they cut his finger off based on all that screaming. They then put a band aid on his finger and he was SO SO SO upset that it was there. Every 10 seconds, he was trying super hard to get it off. Once Dr. Grant came in, he was fine... a new person to flirt with.

His height (30.5 inches) looked great (62nd percentile), but she was concerned about his weight. At 19.8 lbs, he's dropped down to the 8th percentile. I told her that both me and mike were really skinny little kids AND assured her that this kid EATS WELL. She was less concerned after hearing that, but wants us to up the bottle feeds to 8 oz if we can. sigh.

She was very impressed with his social skills (he kissed her at least 10 times) and his language skills. yay! We were very excited to hear that aside from choking hazards, he has no more dietary restrictions! Eggs, honey, shellfish and peanut butter, here we come!

After the doc appointment, we went to Subway and shared a sub (so cute... I love that he can eat real food now). Then we headed over to the park and met up with Sonali and Tita Ritika. I think Eli was feeling sore/tired from the shots, because every time I put him down, he'd cry and then sit down. Poor baby. He seemed to like the swings for a few minutes....we're working on it!

We had a GREAT time at the farm yesterday with Joanna and Bryce.... AND we got to go over to Dexter's house! It was a busy two days, but fun! Tomorrow, we have NO plans and I'm so looking forward to just hanging out with my little guy. I only have to work Sat and Sun this week because Eli and I are driving up to CT on Monday to PICK JENN UP! Woohoo!

So much is changing!

Every day, I feel like I come home to a new kid. He's such a LITTLE BOY right now.

This guy is CONSTANTLY on the move. he does not sit still. He likes to carry his new puzzle pieces or small toys around to different locations, take his helium balloons (he loves the strings from the sky!) around, take books off of his shelf, bring me books to read (he now stands in front of me and does a little impatient dance as I read them), play with his new fridge magnets (thanks, grandma!), try to hand the balloons or balls to Riley... and as of tonight, spin. (He just kept spinning and spinning...and then he'd stop and fall down.).

Daddy taught him how to make a basket, so now he takes his little basketball over and slam dunks the ball in the hoop. We break out into a large cheer of "yaaaaaay"... he looks at us, so proud of himself, and then goes to get the ball again. Toinght, I told him "Go get the ball" on a few occasions, and he DID. Coincidence? I don't know! It's so wild how he's really starting to understand us.

He still likes to make his kissy face, but isn't responding as much to our requests for a "kiss kiss."

Ooooh - we tried whole milk for the first time today! We're completely out of formula, so it was time to switch cold turkey. He wasn't too interested in any during the day, but I gave it to him at night and he didn't even bat an eye. Just drank the bottle as if it was the same as his formula. Let's hope that continues! SO SO SO SO SO much easier and cheaper!!!! YAAAAY!

Eli has his one year well visit on Thursday. I'm eager to get some questions answered about his diet (are we overfeeding him?). I am not looking forward to the shots, but my little guys is usually a trooper about them.

His Birthday party was SO FUN! It was great to have the babies all together - finally! Tommy's girlfriend Kathryn made a fabulous monkey cake and Eli loved it. He didn't have his second nap that day and started to crash a few times, but he was able to keep it together. :) His buddy Sawyer got him a blue stroller, so now Eli can push it all around, just as he loved pushing Sawyer's! It's cute to see him in here... he prefers to push it around one-handed and make crazy turns with it.

His "Favorite" books have changed these days... he seems to LOVE "Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb," "Red Hat, Green hat" and "Daddy Cuddles." He's at the age now where he likes me to read a book over and over. He looks at me when I'm done as if to say - Hellooooo - why are you STOPPING?

Tomorrow, if the weather permits, we hope to make it up to Muscoot Farms to spend time with the Monte babies.... Bryce and Joanna. Should be fun!

I can't believe my baby is 1!!!

Eli's birthday came and went....time is just going SO fast these days. I can't believe my little baby is ONE.

His birthday was great - when he woke up, we took him out to the living room to open his presents. He had more fun trying to eat the wrapping paper than anything else and had to be re-directed about 40 times, but we got through them all. We got him a bunch of new books, the popper thing that I had when i was a kid, and a basketball hoop so Daddy can start teaching him how to play. (It was cute....he instantly picked up the ball and started carrying it around. He doesn't understand the role of the hoop in the game but he does like to go around bouncing the ball and then chasing after it!). When he unwrapped the box, he saw the baby on the box and said "baby!" for the first time. Mike and I just looked at each other like - wow, did he just say that? (Of course he hasn't said it again... just enough to taunt us). For breakfast, I made him pancakes (a first for him!) and he scarfed them down (like he does with all foods these days).

After his nap, we got ready to go over to Lolo and Lola's house for his party. We had a very small celebration with Lolo, Lola, Tita Ann and Kuya Jaymin... very fun! Jaymin was so excited to see Eli arrive - it was super cute. I had dressed Eli up in his birthday boy shirt and bib...and to my COMPLETE surprise, he kept his party hat on for most of the time. Shocking. I guess he didn't know it was there. We gave him noodles for lunch (filipino tradition meaning he will have a long life) and then brought out the cake! when we were singing to him, he put his hand in the cake and tasted the icing. Well, just like mommy, this kid loved the icing and instantly went back for more. I broke off a small piece of the cake and he took a little piece... then went back for the rest (in one bite!) He CRAMMED it all in his mouth- so funny. Daddy gave him a second piece and he did it again. Super cute. He also succeeded in rubbing icing all over his face. Good times. NOT fun to clean up. His pants had to be completely changed. We got some nice pictures. He also enjoyed everyone singing to him. :)

When we got home, I gave him his favorite dinner - banana and prunes!!! Mmmm. He loves em. He was tuckered out after his bath.... the day just flew by!!

On Saturday, we're having a little party with his buddies.... Sonali, Dexter and Sawyer. It will be a super full house, but I can't wait!!!

Other happenings....

Now if you ask him "Where's Eli's nose?" ... he'll point to his nose! He then immediately points to his mouth. Cuteness.

Words he can say: "baby" "dada" "mama" "baba" "daddy" "Truck duck" (though it is not by any means clear). "little" (what? i don't know how he can say little and not mommy...but whatever).

He is big into giving kisses right now. If you say "Kiss kiss!" to him... he'll come over and open mouth kiss you on the cheek. super cute. Have to take advantage of this now before kissing becomes "yucky." I have trained him to kiss all of his stuffed animals. He can also give high-5s (and low-5s now!) all the time.

If you say "yaaaay" he stops whatever he's doing and starts clapping. :)

Getting his diaper and/or clothes changed is still the worst thing in the world.

He's figured out how to flush the toilet. If he hears the bathroom door open, he hightails it into the bathroom and goes right over to the flusher. Great.

All this week, we've been playing "I'mmmm gonna get you!" He looks at me and starts laughing and then runs off. He sometimes runs toward me, anticipating the tickle, but he always picks up his speed. Super, super cute and my favorite thing to do. :)

Let the adventures continue!

One hour away!!!

In one hour, my baby will be one. I absolutely cannot believe it. All day, I've been taking myself back to that looooong day when I was in labor with the little guy (aka the day Eli decided he wanted OUT). I remember that day so clearly. I can't believe it's been a year.

Each day, this little guy amazes me in a whole slew of new ways. Yesterday, for example, on a whim I said to him... "Eli, go get Truck Duck (his favorite book)." He looked at me and then walked over to his books, picked up Truck Duck and brought it to me. Coincidence? Maybe. He did it again today. Double coincidence? Maybe. But amazing all the same!

Our favorite thing to do together this week was the following:

Me: "Eli...I'm gonna get you! I'm gonna get youuuuu."

Eli takes one look at me and then takes OFF, giggling the whole way. When I get about halfway there, he turns around and runs TOWARDS me and crashes into me. Super cute.

He's starting to copy more and more words, though most of them still come out as "dada." He's getting closer to being able to say "tita" and can now kind of say "out." He was trying really hard today to say "truck duck" so I think that's next on our list.

His favorite song is still the ABCs and singing it can always, always calm him down. He also likes Twinkle, Twinkle....but oddly won't go for Baa Baa Black Sheep (same tune).

I took Eli this week for the shoe store for the first time! What an experience THAT was. Try to get a pair of shoes on a screaming child. We were in the outlets, so we ended up getting two pairs instead of one. yay! Indoors, he's still barefoot, but outdoors, we have the shoes!

I don't know if I mentioned this last time, so forgive me if I did... He had playdates with Sonali and Sawyer this week and had his first kiss!!! Haha. We were telling Sawyer and Eli to go for the kiss.... Sawyer leaned in...then Eli leaned in.... then kept going and ended up kissing her nose. Super cute and I got it on film! On Friday, he learned how to do the pucker kiss and was kissing away on Saturday and Sunday. At one point, he leaned in to give Sonali a pucker kiss, but she was playing hard to get and just stood there. Haha.

Mother's Day was great!!! I'm not used to being on the receiving end of those wishes! so fun. :) I had to work, but then we went over to Mike's sister Ann's house for a BBQ. Yay! Eli was full of kisses for everyone. He LOVES playing with the big kids and follows his cousin Jaymin all around. So fun to watch.

Ok - more to talk about, but I have to get to bed - the big day is tomorrow!!!

New Favorite things

Eli's new favorite things: taking clothes out of drawers and throwing them, putting toys up on higher surfaces....looking at them for a minute...then taking them back down, making the scrabble box bang to the ground no matter where mommy hides it, moving that silly barricade out of the way so he can get to the kitchen where mommy is, trying to give his toys to Riley, biting the table, etc. :)

It is nearly impossible to get this kid's diaper changed these days. Heaven forbid I should need more than 5 seconds.... our latest distraction that buys me 10 extra seconds is letting him just pull out the wipes from his box... i figure 6 or 7 wasted wipes is worth the price of a smooth diaper change. When both of us are home, it usually takes two of us to change him .... especially if we have to...gasp...also change his outfit.

He learned how to stand up all by himself without holding onto anything, so now there is NO slowing him down.

Eli went to his VERY first Yankees game with Daddy and Lolo (mommy had to work) this Sunday!!! Daddy reported that he had a good time... he loved watching everyone clap, and then after everyone was done, he'd clap. Anything for attention. :) Lolo made us a great movie of the day.... can't wait to show him when he's older!

We're heading to the park to play with Sonali today and will meet up with Sawyer on Thursday! I love baby play dates!

:)