March 10

For some reason, tonight I find myself wondering what each of my children was like when they were nearly 13 and a half months old, like Eli is now.

How were they similar? Different?

Luckily, I have a treasure trove of resources. Chris and I have spent the past hour scrolling and laughing at all of the fond memories of when each of our kids was little. The thing that surprises me the most, though, is the language factor.  Our kids have always been really verbal, and Eli... well, he isn't. I mean, technically, we weren't even expecting to have celebrated his first birthday yet, so it's not really fair to compare him to his siblings at 13.5 months, but I did it anyway. 

Are you curious? 

Here's what Caleb was doing at 13.5 months.

Here's what Daisy was doing at 13.5 months.

And here is what Lily was doing at nearly 14 months.

Eli, however, doesn't say a lot of words. It's mostly "buh-buh-buh", and variations thereof.

For example, if I ask him, "How old is Eli?", he will grin, hold up one finger, and say, "BUH!"

Clearly, he is saying, "one!"

I feel like he was saying several distinct words a month or two ago, but they have all faded back to buh. 

he says cat - "tah"

sometimes mama, but I'm never sure if it's really me

"Bah!" is ball, especially for blueberries

he was saying dog - "dah!" - but I haven't heard it lately

He has two signs: milk, and all done. Tonight at bedtime, I was trying to get him to give me kisses before I fed him, but he wasn't cooperating. Finally, he looked at me, angrily signed "all done", then ferociously signed "milk". 

Kid meant business.

I know I shouldn't worry, and that Eli is progressing totally normally. And I KNOW I shouldn't compare my children. Yet, it's hard not to. 

Oh, but pictures. Only cell phone shots today.

Since Daisy threw up yesterday, I kept her home from school today. It was glorious, and it made the one stressful part of the day - lunch and getting Caleb to speech therapy - so much easier. We just had an early lunch at home, then hung out in the van and waited for Caleb.

Hi, Eli!

Sometimes he is not the most patient waiter.

And yes, Mom, I did put shoes and socks on my children today. My children just insist on removing said shoes and socks. And anyway, they didn't leave the van. 

No pukies! She was grouchy and awful this morning, but took a three- or four-hour nap this afternoon and woke up saying she felt much better. She certainly was more cheerful after that!

And this little boy only wants to be held. Nothing else will ever suffice. You either hold him, you feed him blueberries, or he cries. I don't know how parents who don't wear their babies ever get anything done! Maybe all babies aren't as needy as Eli is. Or maybe all parents aren't as awesome as I am. That's what I keep telling myself: he wants me to hold him all the time because I am just so awesome. Ha!