Eli is walking!

First Steps!

I have to brag for a moment - Eli took his first steps today!!! He has been cruising really well and has tried to take a step on his own the past few days. But today, all of a sudden he stood on his own and then took a tentative step, then got his balance and took a couple more before he toppled over. I can't believe he is only 8 months old!! He sure is my mover. It is so exciting to see him learn new things. He is so proud of himself.

No!

Eli is so cute! About a month ago, he learned how to shake his head "no." One night at dinner when we asked if he was done, he kept shaking his head "no".

Moving on up

Eli just realized he can move. That means we should have babyproofed yesterday! He is into everything!!

Sure, Eli could wiggle around our rug before, but now...... now he can move with a purpose. He has been following me around the house. You can hear him coming with the little slap slap slap of his hands on our wood floor. Then he pulls up on the couch, the armoir, ME, or anything he can. It sure is cute, but it is also a lot more work now. Nobody believed he was only 6 months old and crawling so well.

YUM YUM!

Last week, we started giving Eli solid foods, and he loved it, especially the rice cereal I call, "gruel." We gave him apples next, but he didn't seem to like that. He spit it out and gagged. I wanted to get a picture of his grossed out expression, but the last time we gave it to him, he puked! I felt too bad to do that to him again so soon. We'll try something else in the meantime. I have plenty of baby food, since I decided to make my own and have filled up the freezer with different types of baby puree. Brian makes fun of me that I have enough baby food storage to last 6 months, but I just think it's fun to make baby food. Hopefully, he'll like something I made for him. :(

"Ma Ma"

He did it! I heard it! He said "ma ma." I was bringing him in from the car, and I heard, "ma ma." I thought it was a fluke. You know, like the times he screams at the top of his lungs, and manages to get the "ma" sound in. But this time it was for real. I looked down, and he was purposefully puckering his lips, trying to repeat the sound. He did it again and again. I think Eli wanted to give me a special Valentine's present. So I said, "Wait! Let me get the camera." But of course, by the time I got the camera out, he would not perform. Here is the video I did get, which is adorable in and of itself. He is doing the same puckering action, which is my proof that I did not imagine it.

I like to move it, move it!

Eli is our mover! He is all over the place with his boundless energy. He stands, jumps with help, sits on his own, and is starting to crawl. It seems like he is in perpetual motion. And each day he learns something new. Here's his little froggy crawl, which only lasted a few days:



This is Eli just a few weeks ago (end of January). He would do this cute inch-worm crawl to slowly get to his destination.

Eli's Laugh

Well, Brian and I have been trying to capture Eli's laugh on film for almost two months now, but Eli seems to be camera shy. He has a sixth sense to know when we start filming him and he becomes quiet as a mouse.

Here is our new attempt at documenting this adorable little laugh - it sounds like a mixture of coos, giggles, belly laughs, high pitched squeals and deep grunts. It is hilarious!!