Elliot

Elliot is at such a fun age (22 months), & I wanted to write down some of the things he does so I can remember them.

-He does not like messes. He wipes his hands on his napkin during meals, doesn't like the sandbox, & lets me know if he spills something or finds something on the ground, like a leaf, that doesn't belong. He likes to throw things in the trash, too.

-His communication has really taken off in the past couple of months. He was pretty slow to start out with talking, but now he picks up on new words all the time & is learning how to string them together. It's a challenge sometimes to figure out what he's saying, & funny to hear him really enunciating something - like right now, "reach" sounds like "rea-chuh."

-He loves Sage (he says Sagie, which happens to sound a lot like Daddy when he says it). He likes to play with her & tries to get her to follow him around (which only works if he has food). She's really good with him. For the most part, he ignores Toby, probably because Toby has batted him in the head a few times for touching him.

-He loves his cars, including his ambulance ("anse") & his tractor ("tactor"). He likes to look at trucks in books & asks if they are "big" (hand gestures included).

-He is pretty orderly, which I'm a fan of. He knows where things belong & is good at putting them back, & is good at observing on his own how things should go. He likes to line up his toys in different places - edge of the tub, window sill, any straight surface will do.

-He is really into coloring right now. We are working on colors & although it's hit & miss, he's starting to get them down. He loves to watch us color & has figured out how we hold the crayon so he holds it that way too.

-He LOVES to watch Sesame Street. I'll let him watch an episode in the late afternoon, usually when I'm cooking or doing things around the house. He is a big fan of Elmo & Grover ("Ro-rer").

-He is really a pretty content kid, & always smiles for strangers & doesn't shy away. I do see bits of rebellion throughout the day, & we try to be really consistent with discipline. It's probably the toughest part of parenting.

-He always wants us to kiss ("diss") something if he hurts it. He really has a tough skin when it comes to hurting himself, but I've noticed him getting more upset these days, then he'll ask for a kiss, & after we do, he's completely better. So funny.

-We try to tell Elliot about Jack, & have pointed out that the green frog in the nursery is Jack's, & the infant carseat next to him is his brother's, so he'll repeat those things back to us which will hopefully help in a few weeks when we actually introduce him to Jack. I'm sure we'll have some moments of jealousy, but I imagine he'll take to him pretty well.

I forgot one...
-Elliot always, ALWAYS whispers the word "yeah." I have never heard him say it at a normal volume. I'm not sure why; we certainly didn't teach him to do that. He says "no" just fine. It's funny!