Weekend with Gramps

We spent Thursday to Sunday in Chicago. Here are a few observations:

1) Each time we pack with Eli, the car gets just a little bit fuller. But we need to leave space for the new toys and other accessories that we invariably bring home to Madison. We have a roof rack for the car, but even it is beginning to fill up. When the time comes to consider whether Eli should have a sibling, our inability to transport more than one baby may become a very real issue!

2) Eli is getting better every day. Better at walking, better at exploring, and better at expressing himself. He crawled around the grandparents' house and explored every nook and cranny. He played in a turtle baby pool and got to play with bubbles. A good time was had by all.

3) We went to a strawberry festival on Friday. Little town festivals are a lot more fun with small children in tow.

4) Eli ventured to the big city for the second time on Saturday. He ate outside at a restaurant on mom's lap. He ate real food. It was almost like a real meal! Within a few months, we may venture to restaurants more regularly. Nah, who am I kidding?

Oddly erratic video of us moving the bat

So when we tried to move our visiting bat to a tree on Friday, we proved that we have no business being around wildlife. Sorry about the jittery video; we also showed that we don't know how to use our videocamera.

Eli sleeps

P6072196, originally uploaded by dhoconno.

In the last few weeks, Eli has taken to falling asleep on mom, dad, the babysitter....he just seems to like sleeping on people!

Eli eats

P6142197, originally uploaded by dhoconno.

Eli has become a voracious eater, particularly at night. We appreciate it too; he has slept through the night on a full stomach three of the last four days!

Eli and the animals

P6192208, originally uploaded by dhoconno.

Eli sits captivated by the book of animals we keep in the family room.

Bat down

P6192212, originally uploaded by dhoconno.

The embattled bat that crash landed in our backyard.

Bats in the Belfry

Eli is crawling like a madman. He tears across the baby superhighway in our family room; he cruises around our bedroom looking for cords. He will be an absolute terror when he can walk. Already he is pulling himself up without assistance. It is probably only a few more weeks/months until he starts standing and taking his first wobbly steps.

He is also using his newfound freedom of movement to express himself. He now crawls over to books he wants us to read to him. When rolling balls back and forth, he will fetch balls that are out of reach if he wants to continue playing, otherwise he will meander to a new toy. It really does seem like he is learning something new every day.

Today we had an interesting visitor. A bat crashed into our back door before dinner. The bat was down, but not out. After the surreality of having a bat laying on our porch passed, we tried to figure out what to do. Our next door neighbor who is a vet was not home. Our other neighbor suggested we try to put it in a bucket until we could figure out the best strategy. I managed to slide a garden bucket over the bat, though he hissed throughout the process. I called Animal Control and learned that bats can't fly from the ground and that this one's lack of movement could just be a matter of his being confused. She suggested I move it closer to a tree so it could fly away later in the night. With the help of our friends Sue and Joe, I bravely shoveled the bat away from the house and towards a tree on the side of the house. The bat then did its part and moved all the way to the bottom of the tree. Because it is rainy tonight, I don't know if it is still in the tree or whether it flew away. Needless to say, having a bat around the house is unexpected!

Eli's First Crawl - Long form video

Eli finally put all the pieces together. He can crawl across the floor at will as shown in this video. This was actually the most substantial crawl we've seen yet - good thing we had the video camera handy!

The Library

Eli and I like to spend time in the library.  This is a spot in our house where Eli's books are located.  He can sit on the floor and look at them, or he can stand up and pull them off the shelf.  He really likes hanging out here.  Sometimes it turns into 'how quickly can I maneuver over to the blinds' or 'can I try to pull myself up using the bookshelf.'  Nonetheless, he likes pulling the books off the shelf and, sometimes, he even likes looking at the pictures.  I will say, he always like "I am a dump truck."  The book is a neat shape, but the plot line is not particularly exciting.  Still, I've learned about "backhoes" which came up recently in a Time article I was reading about building infrastructure in China.  And, we saw a backhoe drive down the street while we were sitting in the library....