Let's hear it for... Conjunctivitis!

This little guy has been through it the last couple of weeks.  The last blog chronicled his adventures getting tubes in his ears.  Right on the heels of that Eli contracted conjunctivitis, which made his eye swell up like he'd gone a round or two with Mike Tyson.  With the tubes, we had to put drops in his ears a couple times each day and he was not very high on that process.  Well, of course the medicine we were prescribed for this were eye drops.  We have had to come up with some really interesting distraction techniques to get a drop in his eye but none of those as nearly as effective as watching daddy put a drop in his own eye first (not of his medicine but Visine).  The things we do for our kids. 

In just a few short days, Eli will officially be 2 1/2 years old!  If you ask him, he'll tell you he's 3.  I can't believe some of the stuff he is saying these days.  It is amazing to have conversations with him because he will constantly surprise you with something.  We recently went on a trip to Charlotte in which Eli kept urging me to drive faster.  I tried to explain the speed limit to him and how we need to stay at a certain speed.  At that very moment, a car passed us going at least 80 mph and Eli said, "He's going faster."  What do you say to that?  I couldn't stop laughing.  A couple days ago he pointed to the sky and said, "Look, Daddy, an enormous airplane!"  Enormous?  It's times like that when I realize he is hearing EVERYTHING we say.  Guess I better watch my colorful descriptions of bad drivers on the road.  :)

Totally tubular.

Poor Eli had to be taken to the hospital to have tubes put in his ears. Originally, they gave us a 12:15 surgery time, which meant he would have to miss two meals and cut into naptime. We were pretty annoyed by that knowing that the morning would most likely prove brutal to get through. We were fortunate on two fronts, the hospital bumped our time up an hour and Eli was totally amazing all morning. He didn't complain about being hungry once. In fact, the only thing he really complained about at all was the hospital smock he had to wear for the surgery. He wasn't a fan of that at all. The doctors said he didn't fuss at all, just looked curious about everything. Sure, he was a little cranky when he came out of it but who doesn't feel that way after being put to sleep. We tried to feed him when we got done but he just ended up puking all over the kitchen floor. He went down for his nap and after sleeping for 4 hours he was like his old self again. This video was taken shortly after. What a little trooper. :)

The Era of the Boo-Boo

Eli is an adventurous little guy willing to sacrifice his body in the name of fun.  Lately, the spills and tumbles have become more spectacular as Eli gains confidence in his coordination.  Unfortunately, this all leads to scratches, bleeding and band-aids.  Since he associated band-aids with getting shots for a while he was not a fan.  He has scratches all down his back right now from a couple falls, scratches on both knees, and a fat lip from slipping and going face first into the water fountain at his school.  I was actually there for that and it was awful.  I thought he had knocked some teeth out.  There was blood everywhere.  Seeing your 2 year old like that is traumatic.  In true Eli form he bounced back quicker from it than I expected.  He will almost completely forget about the boo-boos until bath time and then it's all about, "No let the water touch my boo-boo!"  Ever tried giving a kid a bath without water touching his knees or lower back?  Yeah, good luck with that.  :)

HEY, MR. ELEPHANT!

Last weekend we packed up the car and headed to the Asheboro Zoo early Saturday morning.  We met our cousins there and had a blast cruising around and seeing the animals.  Finally, we found a place with enough stimulation to keep Eli busy!  :)  The protocol for seeing each animal never varied; Eli would run up to the fence or divider and yell, "Hey, Mr. Elephant!" or "Hey, Mr. Lion!"  Then he would turn to us and ask, "What's he doing?"  

I think one of the funnest parts of the day for him was watching the adults have to repeated shoo away the geese that kept approaching us in the picnic area trying to get at our food.  The kids thought it was the height of hilarity, their moms and dads running, clapping, and howling to get the geese to scram.  We must guard our pimento cheese with our lives!

The other thing that he really loved doing was running over the big floor vents in the aviary, which is reflected in the second photo above.  They were like giant fans under the floor blowing up and they were spaced out all over the aviary.  Of course Eli looked at some birds but then it became all about standing on a fan and running to the next one.  Look at the joy on that kid's face.  Good stuff.

Mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy!

Well, this latest phase of life with a toddler has certainly been, well, interesting.  The 'Terrible Twos' might be the most appropriate moniker I've ever heard of.  Eli has pretty much been a snotty mess for a month straight, with a couple ear infections and who knows what else sprinkled in there.  Just this morning he told me his belly hurt.  I really want to get past this winter and its germs with all speed.  We don't know if it's the sickness or what, but lately he's had plenty of crazy tantrums and has taken to waking up at 5 in the morning screaming.  All of this has come at the same time as a hardcore mommy phase.  Some of our exchanges are downright ridiculous.

Eli:  I want some milk!
Dad:  Ok, I'll get you some.
Eli:  NO!
Dad:  You just asked me for milk.
Eli:  I want mommy to get it!
Dad:  Well, I've already made it.  Here you go.
Eli:  NO!  MOMMY DO IT!  *throws sippy cup across room*
Mom:  *picks up milk*  Here, Eli.
Eli:  I don't want the milk!
Mom:  Alright, I'll put it back in the fridge.
Eli:  NO!  I WANT MY MILK...WAAAAAAAAHHHH  *15 minute tantrum ensues*

Last night was the first night he's slept past 6 am in a while, so that's a step back in the right direction.  Rebecca said she thinks of moments like these as Eli basically saying, "I want to be independent!  I don't want to be independent!"  That rings so true and does seem to be the big struggle.  Hopefully our household can get rid of all the little ailments and get back on track.  There is a ray of hope for Rebecca.  During one of the most recent meltdowns, Eli started screaming, "DADDY, DADDY, DADDY!"  She shot me a sideways glance, cracked a smile and mouthed, "YES!" at me.  Uh oh.  :)  

The Snowy Day

Every once in a while, we actually get snow in North Carolina.  The last time we really got a decent snow Eli was only about a year old and had not been walking very long.  He didn't even really like the crunching sound of the snow under his feet at that point.  The 2 year old incarnation of Eli was all about the snow.  He did his first snow angel and we even got started on a snowman that fell by the wayside once we got out the sled.  As you can see, he was a fan of the sled and the snow in general.  I'm a fan of it too, until 8am Monday morning when I have to navigate these roads to work.

The last two or three weeks Eli has been fighting ear infections, which has been no fun for anyone in our house.  As I type this, he is sitting in Rebecca's lap digging at his ear.  He is bouncing back though and the sweet boy is making a reappearance, finally replacing the angry, whiny little demon child we have seen recently.  Once this stuff is in the rearview mirror we plan on being gluttons and attacking the potty training head-on.  Yikes!  

I need a pick.