18 Month Check Up

Last Friday, Eli went to the doctor's for his 18 month check up and here were his stats:

weight: 20 lbs 8.5 oz - 1.5%

height: 31 1/2" long - 23%

All in all, he is still a little peanut - but a cute little peanut!

Dr. Greyson was still concerned about his low weight, but since he has gained weight and grown consistently there is not a whole lot more we can do about it!  Everything else checked out perfect, except for the fact that he screamed through the entire appointment.  As soon as the nurse or doctor would walk into the room he would start screaming and crying uncontrollably.  Dr. Greyson reassured me this is totally "normal" for this age, but it still was so embarrassing!  He even tried to hit the nurse when she gave him his shots - seriously?

So Eli, definitely has a temper!

 Eli is growing up and becoming his own little person - that's for sure!

He still is very happy and always smiling or giving goofy looks, but lets just say he can turn on the tantrums and screaming when he wants too!  He knows exactly what he wants and when he doesn't get it he will let you know about it.  He gets frustrated very easily - if he can't fit through something, or his toy malfunctions - he looses it!  He is fantastic at irritating his sister, and this keeps him occupied most the day.  Wherever she is, he wants to be there and whatever she is playing with, he wants to have!

Just getting through breakfast can be struggle some days...

Even though  they do fight with eachother, lately they have been playing "Dog" (you know that game) together and it is pretty cute.  I can't believe how Eli already knows how to "pretend" play.

Eli is definitely a handful, but just so CUTE and LOVEABLE!

You couldn't ask for a better little brother!

We have learned that Eli is more of snacker, not so much of a "three-meal-a-day" guy when it comes to eating!

He loves to eat goldfish, Cheetos, peanut butter crackers and fruit/veggie pouches all day long, with his only meals really consisting of chicken nuggets and pizza!  The boy loves pizza, so we feed it to him as much as we can.  He still drinks a bottle of formula in the morning and before bed, and I am hoping we can slowly start introducing milk, but right now he hates the taste of it.

I know his diet is a bit strange - but it works for him and for us - plus, he looks perfectly healthy to me and still has WAY TO MUCH ENERGY so something is working!

He loves sweets, just like his sister, and his favorite thing is when we go over to Nana's she has a small bowl of M&M's ready for him.  He will get that bowl and hover over it so nobody will steal it from him and eat every, single last M&M while saying "Mmmmm" the whole time!

 

 He still loves to be outside and loves to play in the snow.  We try to get him out there as much as we can, but the garage is where he spends most his time during the winter.  He loves to play with Grandpa's nuts and bolts, and in extra boxes laying around.  He hangs out with Grandpa Butch is his "hut" listening to music and watching Butch play the guitar.  He loves it out there and his favorite song is "Pocket Full of Sunshine" - he even dances and sings along!

I do hope he learns how to play the guitar - that would be awesome!

One of my kids just has to be a country star...

When he is not in the garage jamming out with Butch, he is playing with cars and trucks!

He loves the Garbage Truck - not sure why kids are so fascinated with the Garbage Truck, but I remember Ashtyn being the same way.  So every Friday he waits by the door to see the Garbage Truck and gets so excited when he sees it turn down our street.

He is getting better at entertaining himself, but still wants to be around people.

Actually, when he is quiet and by himself is when I get a little worried...

 He is now running everywhere!

Still climbing everything and his favorite place to monkey around is on the stairs.  It drives us nuts that he views the staircase a playground.  If he wasn't such a daredevil it might not bother me, but some days he will slide down the stairs, some days he will walk down the stairs and other days he just feels like jumping!  Yep, he puts a pillow at the bottom of the stairs and just JUMPS!

I am just waiting for the day when we have broken bones!

He still climbs everything, and we are constantly finding him in places I just don't understand how he managed to get there!  I do wish summer would hurry back, because the long days of him stuck inside are very tiring!  He will watch TV, but not for very long and the only movie he will watch is Curious George - so needless to say we watch it over and over again!

Our safety net though, when we all need a break, is the bible song video that Grandma Sandy has - he will actually sit there and watch the entire 30 minute video - awe peace!

Eli is talking a bunch - still not very comprehendable, but he is always babbling about something - which I just find adorable.  Some of his actual words include:

"Hi", "Bye", "Ni, Ni" (bed time), "Nana", "Papa", "Mommy" (finally), "Daddy", "Puppy", "Ashy", "Emy" (Emily), "Hot", "Uh, Oh", "Up", "Ah, me" (when he wants something), "Monkey" and "Christmas Tree"

He says "Hi" to everyone he sees, and it will just crack you up when he does it!

My favorite though is when I put him to bed and he says "Bye Mommy"

He loves to help me make my coffee in the morning, so he always says "Hot" while it's brewing...

If you ask me Eli is doing PERFECT! 

He is growing into a toddler quickly and keeping us all on our toes!

I am not going to lie - Eli is a total handful, and if he had been my first I am not sure I would have had many more, but I don't know what life would be like without him.

He brings so much energy and love into our lives and even though we are completely exhausted after spending a day with him - I wouldn't want anything different.

I can't believe he is already 18 months, it feels like we just celebrated his 1st birthday!

I am so lucky to be his mom and I just pray God gives me the patience so I can raise him to be a good man and to have enough enegry to keep up with his crazy, busy spirit!

Eli Matthew you are sweetest, cutest, little monkey EVER!  I love you so much!