Eli and Keira Update

Eli, Keira and I have had a fairly good week. I think we are finally settling into our new routine. We made it to play group this week. I felt like I accomplished a huge feat. Keira was moderately fussy for a lot of it, as it was her naptime, but I think it was worth it for Eli. Also, Keira is doing much better in the car. She is getting increasingly better with her hands, so she's able entertain herself. Yesterday, on our ride to the wooden park in Fayetteville, she didn't fuss at all. I was able to keep Eli's Disney song CD in for the whole trip. When she's fussy I play her the new Indigo Girls CD. Fortunately, I didn't have to resort to my musical trick.

The only real wrinkle in our successful week has been some mild sickness. On Wednesday, I had a fever, as I was fighting a little cold. Luckily, it was short lived. Unfortunately, the three of us have had a little stomach bug for the last couple days, too. For me, it hasn't been too big of a deal. But, the bug has given Keira a heinous diaper rash, and it's complicated Eli's already complex pooping issues. Hopefully, it'll pass soon.

Two little funny tidbits about Eli and Keira that have developped lately are her shrieks and his quantification of love. Until recently, Keira was doing the traditional baby goo-goos and ga-gas, but now she's added a squeal to her repertoire. It's pretty hilarious. She usually starts it when she's happy, and alone -- like on mobile time. While squeaking, she looks like she's pleased with her new found talent. But, quickly, it also signals the end of happy time. It degenerates into complaining, then crying.

As I mentioned before, we are working on Eli going to sleep more independently. Daddy now puts him to sleep about half of the time, even through his complaints. The other night he told me when I was putting him down, "Mommy, I love Daddy twenty or thirty, and I love you one hundred!" I thought it was pretty funny, but I didn't want to make a big deal of it -- maybe he wouldn't repeat it... Later, he asked me how much I loved him, I told him a thousand. The next night, when Scott was putting him down, he told Scott, "Daddy I love you twenty or thirty, I love Mommy a thousand." Luckily, Scott thought it was hilarious. Scott, being a math nerd, was happy that he was using his numbers correctly. Since that conversation, Scott has told everyone about it, it's even on his facebook page. When Eli overhears us talking about it, he says, "Daddy, I love you a thousand SOMETIMES..."