Another memorable day...

Elias went to the hospital again yesterday. Daddy sang Happy Birthday for him in the morning (11 months) and later in the afternoon, it was his turn to ride in the ambulance with him. Now we are even, and lets pray that we are done!
The two of them were on the bike, riding downtown on a sunny day. They started the trip and Elias was singing in the backseat, but by the time Tino approached the colleges, he heard the baby grun and choke and looked around to find the blue lips and shaking body that terrify. Daddy quickly tore off baby's helmet and clothes and put him on the cool grass and called for help. Daddy had no cel phone at that moment, but luckily, everyone else in the world does, so it wasn't long before the ambulance was on the way. I feel a little like a schmuck. Partly I heed the words of doctors that some babies just seize easily, but partly I feel like a negligent parent. He is healthy now, healthy as a horse, but that doesn't change the fact that a day after this scare, I am home with Elias cleaning, and he crawls over to the wall and starts trying to plug the vacuum cleaner in! Sheesh! Then, crawls up four stairs to reach me while I am moving things upstairs. Ha ha. I think phew, crisis averted, but nooo. The fun has just begun...
Other fun things Eli has done this past week, he sings the tune of "No more monkeys jumping on the bed" and he shakes his finger like the Dr.
He woke Rhyan up and smiled at her and said, "Hello!"
He says "Hi" and "Mambo" "Poa" a lot, says bottle often when he wants a bottle and is pointing to family members by name.
Now, this isn't ALL the time, but he does it, has done it, and it is amazing to see what he is capable of. It doesn't surprise me that he can understand complex swahili and complex english at the same time, actually. But it is the third language of Spanish that I wonder about and was recently warned about.
Elias's favorite toys are, putting the tiny caps on ball point pens, drawing with them, playing the flute, putting the shapes in the right hole (still a challenge, but he gets into it!). I feel satisfied because although he gets frustrated, it seems to be a sign of pride and determination with his work, but it doesn't seem to be overriding his efforts. I am so glad.

Another thing I find interesting is that Elias's tendency is to put things together (like the pens) and to put things back (he likes to put things in a box, his toys in a basket, to file books back on the shelf.)
I am not saying that he won't create chaos, and certainly, I expect him to be a typical child with toys that are always in the middle of a game, and so, in the middle of the floor. But I am interested to see how this initial tendency might play out for him. The deal I made with him anyway was that he would have to help me keep it together if he came into the world as my son. Son, you will be the one who gets me places on time.

This is the challenge I lay upon myself in the coming week, as a tangible change I can make now that will dramatically effect my life. GOOD LUCK!

We love you Eli, you are so much fun to be with !!

Tino likes to say that Elias always wakes up with a new idea. It is amazing to watch that clothes and pajamas that fit him yesterday, I was squeezing him into last night. When he wakes up, he calls to us, and stands up in his crib, peaking over the rim, smiling at us. He eats well and sleeps well and grows well and at 10 months no longer fits into his 18 mos pajamas. And he always wakes up with a new idea. He has always smiled sweetly at his stuffed animals, but now he picks them up and cradles them! He likes to repeat what we say, and, while I thought we would be using the sign, or the word for milk in whatever language, he now distinctly says 'bottle.'
We are so lucky, again and again. Not only is Elias the healthiest baby, he is the happiest, and whenever we go out, he is filled with smiles and songs. When it comes to mealtime, he will eat anything, but he needs to feed himself or be fed only what we are eating. He's a big boy. His favorite finger food right now is peas or edamame.
We read to him of course... all the time, and his favorite books are:
Brown Bear, its a favorite for all of us. He loves to hear it, but you can't trick him and read it twice! Since he was a few months old and we would read it, as soon as you start up again with Brown Bear, Brown Bear, he would shut the book on you! He slaps the pages to the rhythm of the book, he will imitate a 'woof woof' and a 'meow' and sometimes a 'quack quack' but not consistently yet, and he will point to what I point to, but not what I say. I feel like pretty soon I will say 'Point to the yellow duck,' or 'Point to the nose,' or 'What does the dog say?' and he will be able to answer all of these.
He has a wonderful sense of humor, and when he goes to bed at night, I'll put him in his crib and we will smash out faces against the mesh walls and give each other kisses and giggle. I don't get to put him to bed every night, we all get a chance, even Grammy sometimes. I put the puppy to bed four nights a week, and its a total treat. We do our bath ceremony, massage, reading, playing in the crib, and then we say a prayer of gratitude and love for the world.

Thanks Elias for putting me to bed right.