Eli Goes For The Hat Trick!

This past Friday Eli made like Wayne Gretzky and and did three amazing feats within one day. The first thing happened while Eli was at work with me. He had just woken up from his nap in his play-yard and was fussing on his belly for me to come over and pick him up. When I walked over to get him, I looked in his play-yard and was surprised to see him already sitting up! I was befuddled. I could have sworn he was laying down, but within the 2 seconds it took me to walk around my desk, he had already pushed himself up into the sitting position. I thought I was seeing things, but later that night while playing on the living room floor, he did it repeatedly with ease. Crazy.

That same night while playing on the floor, Eli also showed us that he had learned how to scoot across the floor. It wasn't exactly crawling since he was still dragging that belly of his on the ground, but he was definitely making a bee-line for things around the living room. Check it out:

Last but not least, Eli did what I thought was the coolest thing that day. After his nightly bath, Eli was in his crib for his usual "crazy naked time" in which he rolls around laughing and shrieking before putting on his diaper and pajamas. He had paused for a second while sitting up then suddenly grabbed onto the slats of his crib and pulled himself up into a standing position . . . . then he licked his crib in true rock and roll showmanship. The kid's arm strength makes him an awesome climber (it also makes his hugs pretty awesome too) but now he is starting to finally get some strength in his legs. Maybe he will learn to stand and walk and rock climb before he learns to actually crawl!

Dadaism

This past week Eli made us both very proud parents. He finally said Mama and Dada! Well, kind of. Early in the week Kelvey called me at work to tell me that Eli had said "mama". She said he was trying his hardest to imitate her making "mmm" sounds" and she was super excited to hear him form the word "mama". It was tough for her to get Eli to say it again, but Kelvey was able to coax him into doing it and sure enough I heard him making a "mah, mah, mah" sound. Unfortunately, Eli seems to love his old man's name better because the next day Eli was repeatedly saying "dah, dah, dah" and has not stopped since. I think Kelvey and I have been saying mama and dada equally, even saying it for each other, but apparently Eli finds it easier or more fun to make the "dddd" sound. I still have a hard time accepting that he is truly saying dada because he says it all the time, not just when he sees me, and sometimes it sounds like a "baba". You be the judge:

We have also been trying to use a few of the baby sign language signs for Mommy, Daddy, Eat, Milk and More, but he hasn't been able to do any in return yet. He does the milk signal (you squeeze your hand like you are milking a cow) but he does this all the time and sometimes it looks like he is just waving hello or good bye to you.

Gaining Momentum

Eli has been trying his hardest to get around these days, mainly so he can grab everything he sees, and his greediness has him right on the verge of crawling. He has developed a good method of bouncing while sitting up and then lunging forward for momentum, but he hasn't quite gotten the hang of coordinating his arms and legs to propel himself forward on the ground. He's pretty creative, though, and has found other ways to get around. When he's on his belly, he will roll side to side while stretching his body out and will some how inch his way to the dog toy, piece of fuzz, or remote control he wants to play with. He's very sneaky and will creep up on you if you are not paying attention. Then again, there are some times when he isn't able to move at all and you can't help but laugh at his struggle; like when he locks his legs straight instead of bending them under him and he ends up lifting his butt in the air like he's doing a downward-dog yoga position.

While he may be struggling on the ground, the boy has a knack for climbing. He has perfected his lunging, grasping, and pulling and has quickly become an immediate risk of escaping any confined space. We had to drop his play yard and crib last week because he was starting to hang over the edge to climb towards us or the dogs. Even when we're just chilling on the couch, he will wiggle has way around to grab pillows, remotes or climb the back of the couch. Here is some bonus footage of Eli bouncing around in his crib and tearing up his bumper before we dropped the mattress. You also get to see him do some clapping, his newest trick that he does every time he's happy:

Bon Appetit!

Eli had his 6 month check up the last week of December and we finally got the OK to start venturing into solid foods! This is good because Eli is getting pretty big and it is getting tough for Kelvey to keep up with his appetite. Gone are the days of Eli feeding at the teat for 20-30 minutes. These days he can drain both boobs faster than you can sing "My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard".

We couldn't jump right into feeding him pureed t-bones and corn on the cob, though. The doctor said we had to start off with yellow and orange vegetables first, then move to greens, then finally fruits. Kelvey was über excited after the doctor visit and immediately went to pick out some baby food at the grocery store. First up: Squash. We set him up in his new big boy high chair, strapped on a bib, and mixed a little rice cereal to help aid in the transition. Since it was Eli's first taste of something that didn't have breast milk in it (aside from the bacon I let him lick a few weeks ago), we expected him to cringe and fuss quite a bit. Eli had a sour face the first couple of bites, but he trudged through it and was soon eating like a champ again. By the next day our hungry, hungry hippo was chomping down the squash, followed by the carrots and sweet potatoes. This week we are moving onto green beans and peas which I expect to be a little tougher for him to swallow.

Go Go Magic Mohawk!

If you were to take away Eli's stunning blue eyes, his infectious smile, and his heart melting hugs, there would still be one characteristic left that would still make people swoon over him: his mohawk. Every time we go out, there is, without fail, at least one person that shrieks, "Oh, I just LOVE his mohawk! Did you guys cut it that way or did it just grow out like that?" I have to agree with the masses that his natural mohawk is pretty cute, but we have never really made a big deal about it. It wasn't until recently that I gave in and started fixing it up into a proper mohawk. It's actually kinda fun to play with now that his hair is a little longer and we have been rubbing his head with lotion (which kinda acts like a hair gel) because of the dry weather.

Unfortunately, Eli's mohawk will soon go the way of the dodo bird, the Yugo, and movies in which Jim Carrey is actually funny. The hair around the rest of his head is finally starting to grow in and soon he will be just another long haired Austin hippy. For now I can only enjoy the awkward transition stage because he kinda has a Mr. T thing going: a mohawk with a little over the ears and around the back. I pity the fool that don't like his mohawk.

Eli's First Christmas!

I know we have posted a lot of "firsts" on the blog, but this is the mother of all firsts: CHRISTMAS! Sure, the first birthday is a milestone and it's always cute to see a kid hunt for Easter eggs, but Christmas is the holiday that everyone can be a part of and celebrate with the baby. Everybody has the day off and everyone has that "special gift" they want to give to the baby to make the event even more spectacular.

With this in mind, Kelvey and I set out to make sure both of our families could be a part of Eli's first Christmas. After contacting everyone months in advance, we devised a plan that consisted of 3 Christmases. First, we headed up to the winter wonderland of Boulder, CO to celebrate with my side of the family a few days before Christmas. The trip was awesome (the suitcase crib worked perfect by the way), but I wish we had a little more time to go sledding in the 4 inches of snow that arrived the night before we had to leave. We got back to Austin the night before Christmas Eve and had plenty of time the next day to grab a Christmas tree, finish wrapping our gifts, and make some tortilla soup for Christmas Eve dinner. We finished the night by reading Twas the Night Before Christmas to Eli and explained to him the ins and outs of Christmas. Once Eli fell fast asleep, we piled the gifts under the tree and tried to get a good night's rest ourselves despite our own excited anticipation of Christmas Day.

The next morning Eli woke up at his usual time, had a quick breakfast at the International House of Breast Milk, and then was introduced to Christmas morning. Eli was pretty excited as he was brought into the living room to see all the gifts, but he may have been feeding off of our excited reactions more than anything. Either way, it made for some pretty cute photos.

It was nice to celebrate actual Christmas day with just our family because it was a chance to start our own family traditions. It was also easier than having a lot of family together because we were able to work around Eli's schedule without having to burden anyone else. With all the naps and fits of fussiness, it took us 5 hours just to get through opening gifts! We kinda expected it to go a lot faster because Eli loves to tear up paper and magazines, but he just wasn't into it that morning. Instead, he would gently flick at the loose wrapping paper we had torn to help get him started with one of his little fingers and stare at it. Once the gift was unwrapped, though, Eli had a blast playing with it. The rest of the day was spent lounging around the house and playing with all the new toys and, of course, watching the Christmas Story marathon on TV.

A few days later, Kelvey's family came into town for Round 3 and this time Eli seemed a little more into the gift opening, probably because he had help from his 3 spritely cousins this time. After all was said and done, it was a pretty good first Christmas. Hopefully his excitement for the holiday will grow over the years as he does.