Bath Time

Eli loves bath time! He likes to splash in the water and play with his duckie. I got some bubble bath recently, and Eli had a blast with all the bubbles. It is a little difficult keeping Eli safe because he always wants to stand in the bathtub. We have a non-skid mat on the bottom to help, but it would be better if he would sit. Any suggestions?

Arboretum

For a belated Mother's Day present, Brian took some photos of Eli and me at the Arboretum.

Eli uses sign language to tell us when he wants food. He does the sign for 'food' by pointing to his mouth.

And here are some random photos I took at the Arboretum, trying to practice my photography.

Go Dodgers!

On Saturday, we went to the Dodger game with the Brian and Amelia Smith. Of course we picked the hottest day of the year for a noon game! Ugh! When we got there, some nice people moved over so we could sit in the shade. It seems there are some perks to having a baby with you. We brought a TON of water bottles, a spray bottle and a fan to help keep us cool. I was pretty worried about Eli, but he seemed to handle the heat alright.

Eli started getting really tired towards the end. He rested on daddy's shoulder.

While Eli was resting, I had fun with some creative shots of the game. Then I 'posterized' them with my editing program. What do you think? Neat effect or just cheesy?

(This Dodger--Jeff Kent--is in our ward at church. It was fun to see him play.)

Well, they didn't win and it was a shame. They were tied until we left after the 9th inning. Then the Dodger's got creamed in the 11th inning: 2-7 I believe.

Playing at the Park

Each morning, Eli and I go to the park for our exercise class--Stroller Strides. I look forward to it every day! In the class we walk or jog to different areas of the park, and then we park the strollers and do some cardio or strength training. It changes every day, and I love it! It gives me so much energy during the day, and I can tell I'm getting stronger (hopefully, losing weight too). The other reason I look forward to this class, is the great group of moms that go. They are all so nice, I've made several good friends to hang out with. Sometimes after the class, we'll sit at the park and let the kids play.

On this day, Eli decided to practice his head-stands, which he has been doing lately. I've been wanting to catch his cuteness on film, but before this he wouldn't cooperate. You can't exactly bribe or coerce a baby to do head-stands. :p

Our instructor, Kristy, brought a hand held bubble-maker. Eli loves bubbles! We should get something like this to entertain him.

Sneak

Eli is a little sneak. He knows what he shouldn't get into, and when I'm not looking, he makes a beeline for it. Luckily, the things he shouldn't do aren't dangerous (hopefully we've removed most of those dangers). It just means a mess or more work for me. Like our food cupboard. He loves to open it and pull out all the food on the bottom shelf. I've tried to stock it with things he can play with, so I don't worry.

I used my special night vision film* to capture Eli's nighttime shenanigans:

* This 'night vision' setting is really just my way of making grainy, poorly lit photos a little more interesting.

Playing at Home

Eli is now 10 months old. It still feels like he should be a little peanut so small in my arms. But he doesn't want to be... He is turning into a toddler before my very eyes. He toddles around, picking up cheerios, waving 'hi' or 'bye bye' to everyone. It is kind of sad, but at the same time it brings to much joy to my heart to see his personality emerge. I can imagine it will only get better and better as he grows and becomes a wonderful little person with his own ideas and mannerisms.

Right now, he loves to play and explore. He likes to figure out how things work. It's almost like I can see his little brain gears moving and turning, trying to take it all in and figure things out. The past few days, he has been fascinated by this little train. He pushes the button on the top and the balls inside come out and spin into the hole. At first he would get frustrated, as they would disappear before he could grab them. But he has gotten fast at grabbing them as they come out. Just recently, he has realized he can drop a ball in the hole and it will reappear at the top. Now, I just have to keep bigger balls out of sight, or they get stuck. :p

Water baby

Eli loves the water, especially if he can splash in it. So I have been taking him swimming at his grammy's pool several times a week. I let him play in the sprinklers and splash in the pool, and then I take him in with me to swim. I want him to get used to floating and be able to hold his breath under water, so we've been practicing. We only do about 5 or 10 minutes at a time so he doesn't get too cold or frustrated, but that doesn't stop my mom from teasing me that we are drowning her grandson.

Eli is walking!

Boo boo

Today, Eli got his first big boo boo. He likes to stand at the screen door and look out, especially if we are outside. He was leaning against the screen when my friend tried to open it, and he did a big face plant onto our porch. I saw it happen slow motion, but couldn't stop his fall. I felt terrible, but after he got cleaned up and had a cracker Eli was fine. Now he's got a real boo boo on his nose and forehead to go with his birthmark.

First Tooth

Eli is finally getting his first tooth. It is just barely showing through. He's been a pretty good sport about it, only a little lost sleep.

ETA: I didn't realize how long it takes for the tooth to actually come in. It's been almost a month now. Here is a better photo of the new tooth:

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