Happy Holidays!

Now we are on to December, which was also quite busy!

While I ended up decorating a little at a time throughout the month, Eli and Daddy got right to work setting up the Christmas tree on December 1st. That was also the day Eli got his first black eye. It really wasn't that bad and pretty much faded within a day, but still the pictures are pretty cute. Unfortunately it's been so long (and there have been plenty more bumps and bruises with this active kid) that I don't remember what happened. I do remember, however, that he was so good about it. I don't think he even cried.









The first weekend Mike and I went to his work Christmas party. It was at his boss' house, which is HUGE, and was a lot of fun. Mike made his famous sweet potatoes which everyone gobbled up. I think he was a little sad that we didn't have much to bring home. Eli got to play with Clair and Hailee (AKA be babysat by Mel and David) while we were gone. We rarely leave him anywhere, and only with Mel and David. Yes, we know we are paranoid parents, and we don't care. I was a bit worried about him, and Mel and David's sanity, becuase Eli was just starting to get into his "I only want Mommy and no one else" phase but thankfully he was really good for them. At least, that is what they are claiming. He must have been okay, though, becuase Mel has offered to watch him again sometime. That weekend was also Claire's baby blessing. This means we got to see lots of family--my parents and Carol and all of Mike's family except Keith and Leon. It's always fun to get together and see everyone. I especially like it now that Eli is more interactive and learning to play with his cousins. He also learned to climb the stairs in about two seconds flat!



Later in the month I took Eli to meet Santa. We went to our Ward's Christmas breakfast one morning and to our neighborhood's party at the park one afternoon. Both times he was less than impressed with the man in the giant red suit.

The weekend of the 19th was Julie's wedding up in Las Vegas. We did a quick trip again--up Friday and back Sunday, but it was WELL worth it! For the first time in ages all of my side of the family was together--nieces and nephews and everything. Julie was a beautiful bride and the wedding was just wonderful, although I still can't quite grasp the idea that my baby sister is married! Eli also got to meet some more cousins from my side that he hadn't met yet. Who knows when we'll all get together again like that?

When we got back that week we had the Westlakes over for dinner. It was also the night of the BYU bowl game so there may have been some football watching as well. Eli had a lot of fun playing with Karsten. He hadn't been around kids much before this and, though not gentle, was discovering what it's ;ike to play with them.

This week is also when Eli really mastered walking. He was no longer taking just a step here or there but was venturing across the room. It was so cute to watch him learn to navigate the change from carpet to tile. It took him once or twice to figure it out, mostly becuase he was so curious about the difference there. Within a week or so he was not only walking but practically running around the house. Now it seems I can't keep track of him the boy is so fast and so curious. I have to admit a bit of motherly pride when we were at church or other places and people were baffled that he was only 10 months old and moving around so well. Our boy is a genius!

The big event this month is Christmas, but I will continue that in the next post. This one is getting kind of long. :)

November News

So, apparently Mommy forgets that blogging means she actually has to blog. Silly Mommy. For my New Year's resolution I decided to let Mommy do all the blogging from her perspective, so you probably won't be hearing back from me for a while. --Eli

The last few months have seemed busy for us, and I'm going to stick with that excuse for why I haven't blogged in forever. But no matter, I am back now and hope to be doing better at this in the coming months. Here are some things we did in November:

Eli started walking! He's been cruising forever, but in November he officially started taking steps. It was mostly getting excited and running around the couch and then taking a step or two away from the couch, but still it counts.

Eli went to the doctor for his 9-month check-up. When the doctor asked if he was starting to crawl and I replied that he was cruising all the furniture and venturing a few steps the doctor was quite surprised. In fact, I don't think he really believed me. Oh well, I know it's true. Eli weighed in at 18 lb 5 oz and 29.5 inches tall. That means what we can already tell--the kid is tall and skinny! He also got a few shots, with the bonus swine flu shot, but he was mostly a very good boy.

Right before Thanksgiving Eli and I went up to Chino Valley to throw Julie's bridal shower. The sisters all pitched in to throw our baby sister an amazing shower. I am lucky to have such awesome sisters who did so much that night! And, of course, our superhuman Mom cleaned the house, got it ready, and let us take it over to throw this shower. Eli and I went up on Sunday and came back on Wednesday--the shower was Tuesday evening. I usually hate that drive but Carol came with us and that made it so much better! The weekend was a lot of fun, and though Eli is still very attached to his bed and only his bed--he managed to get through the week okay and I only missed out on a few hours of sleep. :)

Of course, we got back on Wednesday and had to get the house ready for Thanksgiving the next day. We had it at our house with Mike's mom and Staci's kids. Mel, Hailee, and Claire were also able to make a special appearance for dinner. They willingly sat through a second Thanksgiving dinner after just having one at the fire station with David. Although, I don't think we had to twist their arm too much to eat some of Mike's delicious cooking. He did all of the food, an as always it was amazing. We had a wonderful time seeing everyone and we especially enjoyed having the leftovers for the next week after! Yumm!

It seems like I am forgetting something but that pretty much wraps up our November.

Things I Like

These are some of the things I like.

• The blue DirectTV screen saver that comes on the TV when it is paused.
• Playing catch. Yes, I can play catch. I am even learning to control which direction I drop it and am getting it close to Mommy or Daddy now!
• Playing with my cousins. I love playing with Hailee and am fascinated by Claire. I even have been able to see Connor sometimes and think it's fun to play with a grown up boy. My cousins are the best!
• Daddy. Mommy and I get up earlier than Daddy does and I always get SO EXCITED when I hear him coming down the hall. Then when I see him for the first time each day I just want to play with him all day long! He doesn't know, but every morning I try to crawl over and wake him up if I am in their bed too! I love my Daddy!
• Playing with Daddy. He will swing me around, throw me in the air, and play on the floor with my blocks. I love the swinging and flying, but I really just love playing with my Daddy.
  
• Jumping. Mommy or Daddy say jump and I do! I especially like it if they are holding me on their laps or I am in my jumper.
• Chasing the puppies. They may not love me yet, but I sure love them! I am trying to learn how to pet them, but still grab more than pet.
• Eating or drinking whatever Mommy or Daddy have in their hands. I just look real cute and usually I get some!
• Giving Mommy kisses. I like to snuggle and hug Mommy and give her kisses--aka slobbers and bites on her chin.
  
• The door stopper. You know, the one that makes a loud twang when you hit it. It's really loud in our tile hallway and I just think it's fun!
• Trying out new sounds and pretending I'm talking. I talk all the time and am learning to make all sorts of new sounds, although my favorite is still Dada, unless I am sad, then I say Mama.
  
• Crawling and standing under our kitchen table and chairs. They are tall and it's like a big cage and I like it.
  
• The remote (or Daddy's phone). I'm a boy, I like gadgets.
  

I'm sure there are lots and lots more, but these some of the things that I especially like--the kinds of things that just make me super excited every day.

Globe Trotter

I went on a trip!! I went to Las Vegas for a weekend with Mommy and Daddy. We went on the weekend of the 11th to go see some of Mommy's family and, the most important part, go to a BYU football game! My parents were worried about how I'd do in the car for so long, but they forget what a good little boy I am. I was almost perfect on both the ride to Las Vegas and the ride home. I slept most of the way both times, and just got a little fussy at the end of either ride--5 hours in a car is a long time for a little boy like me.

My family drove to Vegas on Friday afternoon. We got there just in time to go to dinner with Aunt Julie (and meet her fiance, Kyle), and Grandma and Grandpa Romney. Then on Saturday Mommy, Daddy, and I went to Cesear's Palace to look at the fancy shops. Did you know they have a toy store there! Yep, Daddy bought me a cool wooden dump truck from FAO Schwartz. All I know is that it has wheels and it is fun to play with! The other cool thing was the aquarium. They had a neat fish tank with seating all around the outside of it. I loved looking at the fish swim by. I think that was my most favorite part. Mommy and Daddy seem to really like the dinner we had. We ate at Spagos--a fancy restaurant amidst the shops. I guess it was good, but mostly I ate Cheerios and bread. After our dinner we hurried back to the hotel and got ready to go to the football game. The stadium was close, so we just walked down to the game. Uncle Andy, Aunt Jaclyn, and Madison also came down so there was lots of family to play with. It was also my first time meeting all of them. I had such a fun time at the game. Grandpa even game me lemonade and let me drink from a straw, which I figured how to work pretty quickly. Then on Sunday we drove home. It was a quick trip, but lots of fun. And the most important part--BYU beat UNLV!! What a great vacation!

Adjusting after the vacation was a different story. Earlier that week I had already gone to Chino Valley with Mommy for conference weekend. Then on Tuesday we all drove up to Payson to see Grandma Cox. Her brother and sister and her daddy were in town visiting. The Boerups were there, as well as Claire and her family. It was a busy, fun, and family filled day. It was especially neat to be held by my great-grandpa.

Also that week I learned to stand up in my crib. So, I spent most of a week not sleeping in my own bed, and learned to stand up whenever I was in my own bed. All of this adds up to on cranky baby who did not want to go to sleep in his own bed. After all the travels and getting home from Vegas, Mommy and Daddy discovered it was impossible to get me to sleep in my crib. They lay me down, I stand up. The walk away, I start to cry. I can be stubborn and did not take many naps that next week. I also ended up sleeping with my parents a lot because it was the only way I would sleep. But, after a few days of being home, I got all the crankies out of my system, got back on my old sleep schedule, and have been sleeping great ever since. I even sleep in until about 8 am now. I still wake up almost every night, but most nights I can put myself back to sleep after a few minutes. It's only when it's closer to the morning that I stay awake (and stand up) so Mommy has to come get me.

And then there were two...teeth that is.

Yep, I got a second tooth this week. It's a neighbor to my little friend. Now I have my two front (bottom) teeth and it's not even Christmas! I didn't fuss too much about getting this one. I think Mommy and Daddy appreciated that.

I am also now an accomplished crawler! At the beginning of this month I said I could scoot and sort of crawl once in a while. Well, it didn't take me very long to figure out how this works, and soon after that I started crawling. Once I got the hang of it I started crawling everywhere and now I'm an old pro. I like to chase my soccer ball or other toys around the house. I also like to get into the puppies water dish, chew on the computer wires and cords, crawl into the puppies room to get them and their toys, play with the wall outlets, and my most favorite is playing with the candles on the bookshelf. Every once in a while I will pound on the DVR and receiver for the TV--just to make sure Mommy and Daddy are paying attention to me. Plus they have all those pretty lights on them, so you really can't blame me.

With all of this crawling I keep my parents plenty busy chasing after me too. I give them breaks every once in a while--like when I stop to stand and play with something. That's right, I said stand, but not on my own--yet. I can pull myself up to stand on pretty much anything--including Mommy's legs or even the wall. I have let go a few times and can balance for a few seconds on my own before I realize I'm not holding on to anything--then I just grab hold again. I've even tried lunging for things while standing and have almost taken steps. Not real steps yet, more just trying to get to something and a foot happens to go out to help me. I bet I'll keep Mommy and Daddy really busy when I start walking...and running!!

I am a chatter box and love to make all kinds of noises. For the last few weeks I have been especially focused on my squeals. I just want to see how loud and high I can get my voice to go. I do this a lot, mostly when I am really happy, which is all the time. About a week ago I started really squealing all the time--like all day long. Those were a long few days for Mommy while Daddy was at work and I was making noises. Then on Monday I didn't squeal. And on Tuesday I didn't squeal either. Instead, I replaced the squeal with a trill of my tongue that I've also been working on lately. This is much quieter and more enjoyable--according to Mommy. I haven't squealed all week, until tonight. Mommy and I went to the ward Trunk-or-Treat. I guess with all the kids and the loud noises and everything I just got really excited too, because I started squealing there. Well see what kind of mood I'm in tomorrow... :)

News

Here are some things that are new this past month:

First, I got a new cousin! On September 4th my cousin Claire was born. She is Hailee's little sister. The fun thing about this is that Hailee got to spend a lot of time with me while her mommy was in the hospital. On the day Claire was born Mommy and I spent all day with Hailee and we even had a sleepover at her house that night! The next day Grandma Romney came down and it was fun to spend lots of time with all my family and to eventually meet my new cousin Claire. I think she and I are going to be good friends.

Another new thing is that I got a new tooth! I just barely got this on Friday--although I have been working on this tooth since I was 3 months old. About 2 weeks ago I even got all chompy with my toys and made my gums bleed a little. Mommy and Daddy could see that my gum was getting white and that the tooth was there and ready to pop through. Mommy could even start to feel it a bit, but it didn't really pop through until this past Friday, October 2nd. Now you can definitely feel it and see it!

This is Mommy giving me a cold washcloth with ice after my gum was bleeding


A new thing that Mommy really appreciates is that I am sleeping through the night. After I got over that cold I had a month ago, I got into a really good pattern and have been sleeping all night ever since. I go to bed around 9:30pm and sleep until around 7am. Mommy says she still needs more sleep, but that's just because she stays up so late after I got to bed.

I'm not sure if I mentioned this before but I am also now a good little eater of food--real food! I still eat a lot of baby food--fruits and veggies and cereal--but now I also eat a lot of Mommy's and Daddy's food too. I think I like vegetables more than fruits--sometimes the fruits are a little too sweet for me. One thing I really, really like is yogurt. Daddy helped me discover that one. I also like cheese and crackers, and beans, and Cheerios, and...well, pretty much anything you give me I will eat. And don't worry, my parents are already making sure I get the good stuff like Godiva chocolate, pizza, and ice cream. Although they mostly stick to giving me fruits and veggies.

Here is me eating some cantaloup

The Things I Do

I am now an accomplished cruiser around the furniture, my toys, and especially all over my parents. I like to use them as a jungle gym and climb all over them. I can even pull myself up to standing now on these items. I could pull myself up to standing while holding on to Mommy's or Daddy's hands, but I am excited now that I can do it all by myself.

Another thing I can do is scoot around, and sometimes crawl too, even though these still aren't my favorite things. If I'm in a good mood and having fun playing with my toys then I will scoot around to get them. Daddy got me some Lego's and balls to play with, which make tummy time much more fun. But I get fussy after a bit of this because I would much rather be standing. Mommy says that because I know how to pull myself to standing I should be able to fix this myself, but is much more fun to fuss until she or Daddy fixes it for me. Plus, I need to make sure they know who is boss around here!

Another thing I like to do is talk or sing. If I am playing by myself I am usually talking too. I also like to talk when I am eating, when Mommy and Daddy are watching TV, and especially during church! I like to sing, too. When Mommy and I are driving around I sing in the car along to the radio. Mommy knows I've fallen asleep when she no longer hears me singing. To be honest, I'm pretty good at the singing. I can get louder or softer and higher or lower. And don't tell Daddy, but a lot of the time I am singing along with the Country music Mommy and I listen too.

This is me being chatty after dinner. One of my most favorite things to say is "Dada." I say it all the time, especially when I am in a good mood. And of course, I say it to Daddy in the mornings when he wakes up to see me. I also say "Mama" a lot, but usually I say this when I am fussy and want Mommy to pick me up.