The Piano Man

Elias received a piano of sorts for babies for Christmas from his Uncle Matt. He loves it! I had it stored under the crib, but had to take it out because he was crawling under the crib for his piano! So, now that it is out/set up on his bedroom floor, he can crawl over to it, and indicate that he would like to play without getting himself stuck under furniture.

Here's what we do. He indicates that he would like to practice piano by scooching over to the piano and chewing on the side or just touching it. I place him sitting upright in front of the piano in the boppy (good practice for sitting), and then he bangs like Beethoven on the keys until he either falls over or I have to intervene because he is getting a little out of control. As he plays, I gently hum the lyrics of Billy Joel "Sing us a song, you're the piano man...sing us a song tonight...we're all in the mood for a melody...and you've got us feeling alright!!" Ahhh, the fun we have.

I am actually feeling so much happier and relaxed now that I have put in my notice at work. Much more fun of a mommy for my little bug!

Oh, one more thing he does, blow bubbles. He started a week or so ago. he goes "bbbbbbbbbbb..." and out come the bubbles! Today, he started doing a grunt/whine to let me know when he wasn't pleased with my choice of activity. He also used the grunt/whine to express displeasure with the feeling of his second tooth coming through. It is very close, therefore, at bedtime, he gets his teething "cocktail" of baby tylenol, simethicone drops for teething gas, and a little homeopathic teething oil on the gums. We're good to go!

The Scary Tongue

A week or so ago, our friend Lara came over for lunch. Elias sat like a big boy in his own chair at the table as we chatted and ate our sandwiches. Every so often, Elias would look at Lara and flash one of his handsome "hey baby" grins which melt the ladies. He would also frequently throw in a little tongue action into the mix, not to look hot, I don't think, although it did. Mostly because he notices that he's got this weird sharp thing in his mouth that feels funny. It was all fun and cute.

Then, from out of nowhere, he looks at me with the look of sheer terror/fear and starts to cry. I go to pick him up to console him and ask him what's wrong. Lara says she made a face at him, which I apparently missed. I got him out of his seat and he still seemed pretty upset, especially when he noticed that Lara was still sitting across the table. I asked, "What kinda face did you make?" and Lara opens her mouth as wide as she can and rolls out her tongue, covering up her chin. Yikes, I thought to myself. I hope that one doesn't cause any permanant scars (just kidding, Lara).

Actually, what I thought was most interesting is that Elias had never shown fear of anything before. He's really growing up. Isn't it weird that fear is a sign of growth in this odd way?

"I think he's crawling"

Last week, we were over at our neighbor's house and I put Elias down on the floor on all fours. He's quite skilled at being in the crawling position. He ever so slowly started to move. It was almost so subtle that you could even see it, like watching the hands of a clock: you know it's moving because time is passing, but never really see the hands move. Anway, she says to me, "Can he crawl?" I stated no, but that he's getting close. She says, in response, "It looks like he's crawling to me."

Today, he did it again. Gradual, subtle moves from one place to another. I mean, it's not the primitive face crawl we've grown so acustommed to. I'm talking on all fours, head up, moving from one place to another. Slowly, methodically, almost like a very, very slow glide. Cool.

Eli has a tooth!

After much painful, painstaking commitment to teething, it seems little Mr. Eli has finally pushed out a tiny nub! A sharp little nub in his bottom. We are hoping that it actually progresses to a "real" tooth capable of munching up chow. He's just 3 weeks and some change away from solid foods. I'm looking forward to how fun he will have, not looking forward to the change in poo, which I hear is quite frightful! I hope he's teeth will be ready, too!

I am looking forward to the end of teething. Elias has decided that he's on a sleep strike until the teething stops! A few nights ago, he woke up at 2:30am and was like, "Hey Mom! Let's play!" I love ya, kiddo, but I don't think so. After an hour of trying, I gave up and passed him off to Brad. He fell asleep in 30 minutes. Brad was so thoughtful, he assured me that I had worn him down. Sometimes I wonder if I got the skill to calm him beyond the boob trick, which only works when he's hungry or really in need of nurturing. Not when he wants to play.

Elias met Grandma Lynn and Grandpa Ed a week ago. They had a ball. Really hit it off. Elias is becoming a little social butterfly. It surprises me. But, Grandma Lynn has earned the title Baby Whisperer. She could put Elias down in several sways and some back effulage. Amazing. I studied her technique and tried to apply it with little success. To Elias, Mommy's arms mean serious squirm time! That's okay. I've still got the boob! I'll always have that!