July: Elias

This should be the grand finale, but I'm so excited for him (and me) that I'll begin here. Elias has decided, all on his own, to use the potty. After the year of battles with my Sydney, this seems nothing short of a miracle. I'm so proud of my little man and cannot believe we are on the downhill slope to no more diapers in our house!

This is where I found Elias when I came downstairs this morning. He slept an unknown portion of the night in my favorite chair. We tiptoed around and he sat up happy and rested, triumphantly saying, "I veep Mommy chair!" Most nights we put him to bed and then before we go to sleep we go find him in his chair, on the couch, behind his rocking chair, in his closet...and we put him in his bed. One night, we found him watching Sportscenter on the couch at 11:00. We are hoping our little man sleeps in his bed for the whole night sometime soon.


Apparently my kids have agreed on a strange rite of passage. At the age of two, they thoroughly smear themselves with a substance that does not wash off. Sydney coated her entire head in Vaseline; Elias coated his head, arms and legs in Bag Balm. If this ever happens in your house, baking soda and Dawn are the keys to getting your kid to be slightly less shiny and greasy. But, he looked super spiffy in his spikey hair and awesome dress shirt that Aunt Sarah made him for his birthday.

This is not going to win a photo contest, but it captures how much Elias loves his big cousin Eliot. This is some serious hero worship and Eliot is so sweet to him and accepts all of his crazy hugs and excited chattering with grace.

Elias' favorite sayings this month: "I chicken!" (this is how he says naked),"I see Sydney!"(as in I want out of this time out to play with my sister!), "I do it self!", "Here go Daddy/Mommy/Sydney," and "Chicken crying again" (He keeps adopting one stuffed animal as his most beloved and then telling me that it's crying off and on throughout the day. When asked why he says it's because the creature wants his blankie. He's a very nurturing little chicken daddy.