eli

I snapped these shots of my middle son Eli the other day. He's 19 months old and finally growing into that noggin of his, even though he's quite small for his age. I think he's still catching up from his early start. That's baby Noah's hat he has on, and it's a little too small, but he loves it and just looks so darling when he puts it on. He walks around the house like a little drill sergeant and barks out unintelligible orders to all of us, the dog included. He says a few words like "baaaay beee" (that's what he calls Noah) and "wooo-woo" (that's what he calls the dog-when he says it he sounds just like a little hound dog) and, of course, "mama" and "baaa" (ball). Everything he says sounds like a question, because his little voice goes up about an octave at the end of every word. He loves to climb on the table or up on the window sill (as he was doing in these photos) and frequently topples off, only to climb right back up again. He is, by far, my most determined child, and it takes a LOT to redirect him. Sometimes I wonder if he's getting lost in the shuffle, but he lights up when I stop and just pay attention to him. He's got the most darling little dimple on his right cheek, and it's so worth the time to get him to smile! It will be good to have a little more one-on-one time with my little wild man when his big brother heads off to preschool this fall.