Eliot is 11 months tomorrow, which is AMAZINGLY hard to believe for me! On the one hand, it seems like he's been part of our family forever, but then on the other hand, it seems like I found out I was pregnant only yesterday. His personality and preferences have really taken off, and he's certainly not the 4 month old baby he was when we arrived in Tunis last August.
We took him to the doctor two weeks ago, and were told he is in the 90% percentile on everything, weighing 22.2lbs and 31.5inches tall. He's HUGE these days!! A couple nights ago he wandered over to this swing he used to like, and demanded to be put in it again. I turned it on, and it started to swing. To my SHOCK, Eliot started leaning forward and back, pumping his legs and getting the swing to REALLY swing. I have no idea how he learned to do that, but I think maybe real swings are it from here on out!
We finally got a high chair last week, which has been a life saver for us, and I think Eliot hasn't minded it too much. He's pretty much eating everything we are these days, and I'm thinking of switching to whole milk before he's one. At this point, he seems to be getting most of his calories from food anyway, and he's so huge, I can't imagine a few weeks early on the switch will do any harm. He has not yet mastered utinsils, and despite our efforts, the only cup he will drink out of is mine, and usually with very poor form!
Derek's Grandma Tupin sent Eliot this cute little hat, and we got a picture before he managed to remove it. He's a very opinionated child, and is not shy about making his presence known. He "calls" to us pretty loudly, and while he can say "mama" and "dada" and "baba" he really does prefer to bellow out an "eighhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!" or "heyyyyaghh!!!" to get our attention -- usually when we return from being away during the day, or in the middle of Bishop Bill's prayer on Sunday, of course.
The de-hatting, with determination and flair, as usual.
He is super curious and loves to laugh, which we are grateful for. It's such a joy to have such a happy child! I do wish he was a bit more of a cuddler, but he's usually in too big of a hurry to investigate some other part of the room, to stop and cuddle mommy.
Here Eliot discovers his bandaids from his shot and dutifully removes them. Which reminds me, he truly excels at taking things apart. He unscrews bottle tops with relative ease and aptitude for someone his age, which generally means that we have to hide everything, but I feel this bodes well for fine motor skills.
As for gross motor skills, we have tried desparately to dissuade Eliot from climbing our marble stairs, and usually keep him blocked in the living room so he can't get to them. Last week, we decided to let him go ahead and travel all the way to the top, first to "teach" him how, and secondly, to hopefully make the novelty wear off.
First off, he's a total pro on the uphill climb. Such a pro, that I feel like he's been sneaking over there without us looking for a while now....
He's not as good at going down, and doesn't really like practicing his descent much either. It's all about upward movement for the Boo. And as for this helping to wear off the novelty, I realize now what a ridiculous thought that was!
Eliot also has a very pensive side of him, which surprises a lot of people, and I guess I'm not sure how unusual that is, since he's my only real experience with a baby. I think it's in his personality to want to know how things work, and so he does spend a lot of time picking things up and then really thoroughly examining them. He turns pages in books, but often with real care and thoughtfulness, though he doesn't really seem to care much about the contents. He also picks up toys or items in the house and really studies them with a focus that I guess might be unusual. Of course, I think he's brilliant and determined, and can't wait to see him grow up even more!
Eliot is 11 months tomorrow, which is AMAZINGLY hard to believe for me! On the one hand, it seems like he's been part of our family forever, but then on the other hand, it seems like I found out I was pregnant only yesterday. His personality and preferences have really taken off, and he's certainly not the 4 month old baby he was when we arrived in Tunis last August.
We took him to the doctor two weeks ago, and were told he is in the 90% percentile on everything, weighing 22.2lbs and 31.5inches tall. He's HUGE these days!! A couple nights ago he wandered over to this swing he used to like, and demanded to be put in it again. I turned it on, and it started to swing. To my SHOCK, Eliot started leaning forward and back, pumping his legs and getting the swing to REALLY swing. I have no idea how he learned to do that, but I think maybe real swings are it from here on out!
We finally got a high chair last week, which has been a life saver for us, and I think Eliot hasn't minded it too much. He's pretty much eating everything we are these days, and I'm thinking of switching to whole milk before he's one. At this point, he seems to be getting most of his calories from food anyway, and he's so huge, I can't imagine a few weeks early on the switch will do any harm. He has not yet mastered utinsils, and despite our efforts, the only cup he will drink out of is mine, and usually with very poor form!
Derek's Grandma Tupin sent Eliot this cute little hat, and we got a picture before he managed to remove it. He's a very opinionated child, and is not shy about making his presence known. He "calls" to us pretty loudly, and while he can say "mama" and "dada" and "baba" he really does prefer to bellow out an "eighhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!" or "heyyyyaghh!!!" to get our attention -- usually when we return from being away during the day, or in the middle of Bishop Bill's prayer on Sunday, of course.
The de-hatting, with determination and flair, as usual.
He is super curious and loves to laugh, which we are grateful for. It's such a joy to have such a happy child! I do wish he was a bit more of a cuddler, but he's usually in too big of a hurry to investigate some other part of the room, to stop and cuddle mommy.
Here Eliot discovers his bandaids from his shot and dutifully removes them. Which reminds me, he truly excels at taking things apart. He unscrews bottle tops with relative ease and aptitude for someone his age, which generally means that we have to hide everything, but I feel this bodes well for fine motor skills.
As for gross motor skills, we have tried desparately to dissuade Eliot from climbing our marble stairs, and usually keep him blocked in the living room so he can't get to them. Last week, we decided to let him go ahead and travel all the way to the top, first to "teach" him how, and secondly, to hopefully make the novelty wear off.
First off, he's a total pro on the uphill climb. Such a pro, that I feel like he's been sneaking over there without us looking for a while now.... 
He's not as good at going down, and doesn't really like practicing his descent much either. It's all about upward movement for the Boo. And as for this helping to wear off the novelty, I realize now what a ridiculous thought that was!
Eliot also has a very pensive side of him, which surprises a lot of people, and I guess I'm not sure how unusual that is, since he's my only real experience with a baby. I think it's in his personality to want to know how things work, and so he does spend a lot of time picking things up and then really thoroughly examining them. He turns pages in books, but often with real care and thoughtfulness, though he doesn't really seem to care much about the contents. He also picks up toys or items in the house and really studies them with a focus that I guess might be unusual. Of course, I think he's brilliant and determined, and can't wait to see him grow up even more!
He is just too cute...and this is so crazy, but I think he looks a lot like Dustin! :o) Haha!! Miss you all!
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