Two years and Two months

He looks like an angel, doesn't he?

I love him so much and I'm so glad he is my son, but...he is driving me crazy!

Maybe it's the terrible twos, or his back molars cutting through, or an upset stomach, I'm not sure, but I do know my patience has definetly been tested the last couple of weeks.

Eli has become a BROKEN RECORD. He says the same things over and over and over- at least a hundred times in a row! Most of what he says starts with "I want...." It could be yogurt, milk, to hug mommy/papi, to watch train, snow boots, etc...
It really drives me crazy while we are in the car. The other night we were driving and I pointed out the moon- he loves to see the moon. Then I must have turned a different direction or a cloud covered the moon or something, but he couldn't see it anymore. Oh man, he continued to say "I want to see the moon" in a whiny voice a million times while I tried to explain what had happened. I tried to ignore him, but it was very challenging!

Meal times are another very hard time. He asks for everything he can think of at once (milk, juice, water, cereal, yogurt, raisan toast, soup, sandwich....) The worst is when we don't have something - like today we ran out of milk! Oh no! He just doesn't seem to understand I don't have any milk!

He has also begun throwing fits. When he is frustrated or doesn't get something he wants, he throws himself down and cries. It's not so bad, I have seen much worse temper tantrums in toddlers before, so I guess I'm lucky with that so far.

I will continue to try to be patient, but I hope this behavior passes sometime soon!

One great positive thing that happened today is that Eli pooped in the toliet. So far he has pooped once in the toliet and peed once too (that was severaly months ago). I don't really think this is the start of potty training yet, but it was still very exciting!

Christmas Parade (before Thanksgiving)

Last night we went to a Christmas parade and tree lighting at Southlands. It was coooold! We had fun being together as a family and seeing all the people. Eli liked seeing Santa Clause in a firetruck at the end of the parade and also a man dressed up as Frosty the Snowman. I liked standing by the fire pit and getting warm. Then we ate dinner at Chipotle. It was a great night out!

Home Teaching and Prayer

Cesar took Eli home teaching tonight. He was his little companion. When Cesar was finished giving the message he asked Eli if he would like to add anything and Eli said some jibber-jabber and then clearly said Jesus Christ! So cute. He also held Cesar's scripture case for him.
Plus, I got to spend a few minutes home alone! I rarely am ever home alone and it was nice. I listened to Christmas music, folded towels, did some dishes, and just enjoyed myself.

Eli said the prayer tonight before I put him to sleep. This is what I heard clearly:
Heavenly Father
Nursery, church, books, Papi, Mommy, baby
Jesus Christ
Amen.

I am looking forward to Thanksgiving on Thursday!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Count your blessings and be thankful for everything you have!

November 2009

I'm pregnant! We will be having a new baby boy around March 20th. I'm excited, but nervous as well. I'm feeling fine now, but for a couple of months at the very beginning I felt very tired, very moody, and had some nausea. Also, a lot of food just grossed me out and I wanted hot fresh french fries without salt!
I'm starting to show now and wearing almost exclusively pregnancy clothes. Many people are surprised when I tell them how far along I am (21 weeks) because they say they can't even tell. I was like that with Eli as well. I think I just have a lot of space in my abdomen for the little baby.
I have started to feel the baby move recently. It is a strange feeling.

Eli had his two year well-baby appointment today. He weighs 27 pounds (35%) and is 33.5 inches tall (25%). The doctor said he is a healthy pleasant little boy. He had one immunization today and didn't even cry! Actually this is his third shot in a little over a month (2 flu shots) and he didn't cry for any of them! Brave little boy!

Eli really liked Halloween and is already talking about Christmas! Eli would see witches, ghosts, or spiders and say "Halloween scary!" He loved to look at all the pumpkins and scarecrows outside of the grocery stores.
Now he is already excited about Christmas. He knows about Christmas trees and Santa Clause.
But, most importantly he does now about Baby Jesus too! He loves to pray and he thanks Heavenly Father for toys, fruit snacks, oranges, Mommy, Papi, Ivaras' house, etc. He says in the name of Jesus Christ amen. I love to hear him pray!

I am really excited about this holiday season. Two years ago Eli was just a couple of months old and I was pretty much a wreck with anxiety and baby blues, and found it very hard to enjoy myself during the holidays. One year ago we spent Christmas in Mexico and again I was kind of a mess with nervousness, missing my family, etc. Finally this year I'm ready to relax and just have fun with my family during this holiday season! Yeah!

Cesar spent all night at school last night. He had a big assignment due and worked all night. I missed him so much and wasn't able to sleep from midnight until 2:30. I'm so excited he is home now taking a nap and he doesn't have to work tomorrow! He has one more week of school, then a fall break Thanksgiving week! I'm so excited to spend more time with him- it has been a busy semester for him.

Train Party

We gave Eli a train party for his second birthday. Two of his friends (and their moms), two of his cousins, two aunts, two parents, and his grandma were there. It was a good time!

Cake designed by Cesar (he is so creative)
We ate lunch,

danced,

played a train game,

and opened presents.

Eli is Two

Eli Amani born October 10, 2007

Family photo on Eli's first birthday, 2008

Eli's second birthday, 2009

It's fun having a two year old. He is so sweet, funny, smart, nice...and.... demanding, frustrating, and sometimes fussy.

Eli has changed a ton in these two years, and I have too. I've had some very challenging times being a mom, but feel it is all worth it. I love being a mom!

Feet

I've heard many parents talk about how they buy a pair of shoes for their kid and a couple of months later they've grown out of them. Well, that is not the case for Eli...yet. Eli has been wearing the same pair of shoes for an entire year now! His feet just don't seem to grow very quickly.
Also, I have only really cut his toenails once in his two years of life. They don't grow either!