.eighteen months.

11.4.19 Eighteen Months

Eli turned 18 months old on Monday. I've been looking forward to this day because it means I can officially sit in church for an hour by myself! Haha! (Although he doesn't like me leaving him in nursery so that won't actually happen until I can get him comfortable!) We sure love this boy! He is pretty good at holding his own against his siblings. He definitely has his own little attitude and he is so stubborn! He says "uh oh" "mom" "mama" "Bull" (Bullet) I think "esh" is for the kids. Yesterday he was looking through my camera and he kept saying "eese!" (cheese). He signs please and he gives THE BEST kisses and hugs. Every night at bedtime he goes around to all of us and passes out our kisses. I've even noticed the other kids passing out hugs to everyone...including each other...which is kind of a big deal since they usually turn down affection from their siblings! He can almost keep up with the big kids! He likes to chase them down the hall growling or whinnying or flying with them, which usually ends in tears for him because the big kids aren't always that careful...especially Axel. He has a pretty good pout when he's not getting his way. He pikes his bottom lip out and folds his arms with a little *humph*. It's so cute!

He loves to play with cars and he is starting to show some interest in coloring. Unfortunately, his favorite thing to color with is markers and somehow he always manages to find the one marker that his sisters didn't see when they were putting their coloring supplies away.

He is such a busy body. He doesn't like to sit still for more than a few seconds. Unless it's bedtime. He loves to wrap himself up in his blanket while we are changing him into his jammies and then the first chance he gets, he brings himself all wrapped up and plops himself into my lap, unless Dad's home, then he sits himself in Dad's lap. He LOVES his daddy! He gets so excited when Matthew comes home from work. It doesn't matter what he's doing, as soon as he hears the front door close, or the sound of Matthew's voice, he drops what he's doing and runs, squealing to his dad. It's probably one of my favorite things about him! 

Eli has a sweet tooth just like his Mom and his brother. He loves suckers. The first place he runs when he wakes up from his nap is to the pantry where our treats are all stashed. He is a pretty good eater...at least in the sense that he will try anything. He doesn't always like everything but he always tries it...for now. He is getting really good at operating a spoon and can eat a whole bowl of cereal by himself (which is kind of a bid deal for me.) He keeps crossing all these milestones like putting himself to sleep and sleeping through the night, which he has obviously been doing for quite a while now, and walking and feeding himself, and I am celebrating each one of these milestones because the selfish side of me is looking forward to not having to do these things anymore. But then there is a part of me that is breaking because it means I don't get to do these things anymore. My babies are growing up!   

Eli loves to be outside and he loves his puppy. He gets so excited every time we let Bullet in the house or when Bullet comes downstairs with me to get Eli out of his crib. He goes straight to the stroller whenever we are leaving the house and gets mad at me when I put him in his car seat instead of the stroller. He would rather walk than be in the car. He wants to do everything that everyone else is doing and wants to be where everyone else is. And that's just fine with me! I sure love having this kid around all the time!

We love you sweet boy!! Happy half birthday!