I need to find a cryogenic freezer to put Eli in for a while because Eli needs to cool the f--- out with all the cuteness. I mean, there I am just minding my own business and doing the crossword puzzle when Eli comes up and sits next to me with last week's crossword and a pen and pretends to write the answers. How cute is that?! I'll tell you how cute it is: It's so cute it makes me want to never have another kid again because I am sure Eli absorbed every single drop of of our cuteness genes and our next kid is bound to be pure evil.If that wasn't enough, Eli is now comforting US as we try to put him to bed. Since he's too big to cradle in our arms and rock to sleep, we now just hold him against our chests with his head on our shoulders as we rub or pat his back. One night as I was holding him and patting his back, he began patting my arm and rubbing it in a similar way. It was so cute I didn't want to put him down, but I eventually broke the evil trance he had on me and put him in his crib. Maybe that was his genius plan all along: if he's cute enough, we won't want to put him down, and he can sleep comfortably in our arms all night long. Well not this time buddy. Let some other chump like Grandma or Nana fall for that.
That's not even the worst of it! Dig this: a few weeks ago Eli and I were hanging out in the living room while Kelvey was sleeping in, and Eli goes ahead and pulls the ultimate bonding moment on me without warning. He was doing his usual morning routine of pressing as many buttons as he could find, but when I sat down to play with him he walked up to me and gave me a big hug. I picked him up and sat him in my lap in the easy chair and together we watched the Disney channel in utter silence. This moment of silence was highly unusual for Eli because he is usually making his way around the house as soon as he gets up. So there we were, watching TV together with him slouched in my lap and just enjoying the peaceful morning. I give him a little hug and rub his belly a few times just to let him know how much I love him, but when I stop rubbing his belly he gently grasps my hand and moves it back and forth over his belly indicating that he wants me to rub it some more. I oblige and when I stop again, there is a slight pause and then he grabs my hand again without taking his eyes off the TV. It was one of those moments that you never want to end. It still makes me a little misty eyed just thinking about it.
Since my past attempts to surgically replace my hand with our camera have been unsuccessful, I can only show you the random acts of cuteness we are able to capture. Without further Apu (that's a Simpson's reference by the way), here is Eli trying to put on my shoes:
