Eli Kaiser – 17 months

Posted: December 21st, 2011 | Author: Marissa K. | Filed under: Christmas, Eli, Holidays | Tags: 2011, Christmas, Eli | 1 Comment »

It occurs to me that I should write down some of Eli’s milestones, before I forget them and let them blur into the nebulous “past.” So, Eli is 17 months old now, and I’m about to list some boring facts that might be relevant to only me and his family. But you can just deal.

Eli started walking at about 14 months, and that was none too soon in my opinion, because he was starting to get awfully heavy. Now, with him walking, at least I don’t have to carry him everywhere. He only asks for “Up! Up!” when he’s cranky or super cuddly or when he wants to ‘help’ cook.

I would say “up” was definitely his first word, but that was quickly followed by “ball” and “dog.” A few cute and memorable (to me) things about Eli’s first few words: He’s been saying “up” for quite some time—long before he started walking, which served him well. But he would draw out the u, so his request would always sound a bit more urgent, “uuuuup!” or maybe even “ahhhhhhup!” So cute. And for awhile there, everything was a “dog.” In early October, Nate took Eli to Portland to play with his cousin Hazel. They went to the zoo and Nate couldn’t convince Eli that other names existed for animals…

Nathan would point out, “Look Eli, an elephant!”

And Eli would reply, “Dog!”

Nathan would ask, “Can you see the giraffe?”

And Eli would reply, “Dog!”

The funny thing about the way Eli says “dog” is it sounds a bit like “daww.” When he learned his next work, “duck,” there was barely a difference between the two. We have these flash cards, and one is of a yellow lab and another is of a mallard duck. When asked, “What is this?” Eli would very definitively say “daww” or “daah” depending on the picture. Go on, try it. Say them out loud. Not much difference, huh? But HE knew the difference, and I guess that’s all that matters

Eli’s also learned what sound a dog makes, “Whoo! Whoo!” And thanks in large part to a marvelous book that his Aunt Ailey gave him, Eli’s learning other animal sounds as well. I highly recommend, “The Little Blue Truck.” We love to read it as much as Eli likes to have it read, which is usually several times a day.

A giraffe, zebra, and horse all go “klop, klop, klop!” (Eli clicks his tongue and trots. SO CUTE.)

An owl says, “Hoo! Hoo!” which sounds only slightly different than the sound a dog makes

A cow says, “Moo!”

A sheep says, “Baa!”

And according to Eli, a duck says, “dahh!”

One of the best right animal sounds right now is for chickens, only because Eli will motion a wing flapping along with his, “Bok! Bok!”

Lest I forget, Eli also knows the word “no” quite well.

“Eli, do you want to go to bed?”

“No.”

“Eli, let’s get you dressed.”

“No.”

“Eli, did you go pee pee in your diaper?”

“No.”

I have to say, his “no” is so incredibly sweet and high pitched. One day soon, I’m sure it will get demanding and insistent, but that day isn’t now. But speaking of demanding, Eli threw his first tantrum last week. A part of me wonders if he learned this from Hazel, because Hazel threw a few tantrums during the long Thanksgiving weekend, which Eli observed. Hazel would fall onto the floor, kick her feet, and say, “No! no! no! Waaaaa-haaaaa!”

And sure enough, the next day as we were preparing Eli for school, he got upset, dropped to the floor, kicked his feet, and said, “Ahhhh-haaaaaa!” Nate and I couldn’t help but turn our heads and laugh. How amusing while it’s still novel.

Some other words (and his vocab grows every day, so this list will expand by tomorrow):

• Ball
• Ma
• Da (for Dad)
• More
• Eat
• Wa-wa (for water)
• Ooo! (for “that’s mind-blowing amazing!”)
• Ah da (for all done)

And signs that he knows and uses frequently:

• Please
• More
• Eat
• Milk
• Water
• Cookie
• Fish

Oh, and Eli’s also a really good eater. Check this out!

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