More Each Day

Elijah is growing in leaps and bounds, right now we are noticing how he can open doors on his own, he knows his left foot from his right ("yet foot! yet shoe!, yite foot, yite shoe!"), he copies us much more often that we'd like... Make one slip of the tongue and he'll repeat it word for word for the next half hour. Or more.

I love that we can understand him more, but sometimes its still a struggle. He asks for a drink ("dint") and we don't remember the code. Don't get us started on lemonade - Its SO HARD to remember that "em-ay" is a type of drink and not him saying Amy, or just letters of the alphabet for that matter.

He wants cereal ("see-ah") and we can't figure him out. There are certain things, though, that we definitely get. "Bampa Bampa howt!" That means we're going to Grandma and Grandpa's house, he knows it, shouts it to the world, and announces to us when we've arrived at Bampa Bampa howt.

"Wan Shew-ee" or "Wan Ah-ter", he's looking for his playmates, his comforters, the ones who take care of him when Mom and Dad aren't around. There's "pay wii" and "pay game" and "pay Ah-ter", all of that means he's looking to play.

He's so careful to try to say everything correctly but of course we don't understand and then he crosses his arms, stomps his feet and scowls at us. "NO!" he shouts, and we desperately try to decode him. Can you show me? Can you point to what you want? The learning is always continuing - we learn to understand him as he comes closer to saying words that we'll recognize. And every new word that's clear is celebrated, we all laugh and tell each other, did you hear what E just said? Which eggs him on to repeat the newly discovered word a hundred times more. Its so incredible to watch, and be part of it, and it all just happens in everyday, boring daily life. It makes the boring little things seem just a little bit more exciting.