Eli Turns One

1.  His first word is, of course, "NO!"  He pronounces it 'na,' though.  I sometimes think he says "NaNa" when crawling after me, like some amalgamation of Mama and no (very appropriate).

2.  He hasn't shown much interest in standing or walking on his own.  He likes to hold onto your fingers and walk, but otherwise he just doesn't have the stability for going it alone.

3.  He's pretty quiet.  Except for when he's not happy, he doesn't talk a whole lot.

4. He's very strong-willed (a nice word for stubborn) and persistent. When he does something, he does it all out, good or bad.  He doesn't just drop his cup or cookie onto the ground, he throws it with all his strength.  He was very persistent at not sleeping through the night.  Now he sleeps 13 to 14 hours at night without a peep.  When he gets a fever, it's not just 100F, it's 104F.  When he's unhappy, it's not a little whine we hear, but a high-pierced shriek.  He'll voluntarily sign 'please' for things like being held by Mommy or wanting to go play with the big kids, but if we give him the ultimatum of having to sign 'please' for something like a cracker, then he won't do it.  He'd rather not have the cracker.

5.  Silas always wanted to make us happy and would do anything to please us.  And although Eli does like to be cheered and clapped for, he doesn't seek out opportunities to make us happy.  He does what he wants, plays what he wants, makes any funny face he wants, and our happiness is just a bi-product.  It's very similar to Christian.  While Christian does like being the center of attention, he won't get that attention your way.  He'll do something that makes himself laugh and get you laughing with him.

6.  If you combine #4 and 5, you get this one:  he's a little bit weird, doesn't fit the mold, walks to the beat of a different drummer, etc.  He makes funny faces and gestures while he's sitting there by himself.  He contentedly sits in his high chair and shakes his head or waves his arms around like he's trying to get something across to you.  He'll offer you one of his Cheerios then pull it back and eat it himself at the last second, with this look on his face like he knows exactly what he's doing.

A few other things of note:  He loves his back rubbed and his hair caressed, he loves giving hugs but hates kisses, he loves water if it's not too cold, he still wants to be held all the time, he hates being by himself, he loves playing with a ball, he loves the outdoors and animals, he loves music and loves to dance, he's become a really good eater, he loves thrills like being thrown in the air or twirled around, and he always wants to play with Silas (but who doesn't).  He was 17 lbs and 12 oz at his last doctor's appointment.