Eli, 2.5

Eli,

I don’t even know where to start. No list of adjectives can fully convey the likeness of you.

You, our precious first-born

You, our ornery little (big) boy with the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen and a huge cowlick I can never comb down

You, who can stop my heart and steal my breath

You, who I can’t remember life before or imagine life without

You, whose laugh is contagious

You, our little Eli

Your cognition and speaking skills blow me away. It is amazing to watch the growth of a child from infant to now. To go from total dependence to where you are now is nothing short of amazing.

You love to be outside, working on your trucks with your tools. You love to sit and listen to music. You are really “into” firemen, tractors, guitars and cowboys. You won’t take your boots off without a fight.

You are potty-trained! We are so proud of you.

You are very good with Ileigh and LOVE to help me take care of her or the puppies. When baby sister is crying in the car, you automatically start singing “Jesus Loves Me” so that she will stop. You also like to sing “Jesus Loves the Little Children”, “Twinkle, Twinkle”, “Mary had a Little Lamb”, “Sweetly Sings the Donkey” along with many, many more.

Your favorite song right now is “Fiddle-dee-dee”; you love to be tickled.

You are a huge fan of daddy. You love to “go up high”. You also love it when daddy gives you baths and swings you high in your towel. And even when I ask you what song you want me to sing you before you go to sleep you say “Daddy’s song” (Freedom, by Run Kid Run) instead of Mommy’s song (Find your Wings, by Mark Harris) or Eli’s song (Safe and Sound, by Matthew West).

In this picture, I think you look just like your daddy..

You can spell your name, count to 20, and you know where you live, your grandparents live and even cousin Emma. You can almost name all of the days of the week, but don't have a grasp of time yet. You have also just started having bad dreams. Most of the time they are of dinosaurs coming through the cracks or lions that bite your toes. I have no idea where in the world that came from, but it makes me sad to think that you are afraid.

Eli, I am so proud of you. I hope you always know just how loved you are. You are one special little boy. If I got to pick my son out of all the little boys in the world, I would pick you. Thank you for being who you are…Eli.

Just for fun, here are a few pictures of Chris and I. We weren't 2.5, but maybe you can tell who he looks more like...