Eli's First Christmas

Eli has always been a baby who likes to sleep in - he's a night owl like his Dad! But while in Brisbane the glaring bright sunshine at 5am turned him into an early bird. The only day he slept in was actually Christmas Day! So I got to lie in bed for over an hour reading Game of Thrones while he and Shane slept next to me. He stirred a few times, then suddenly at 7:50am he rolled over and flashed this enormous grin at me. He then crawled over to me and curled his head up on my tummy for a quick cuddle. We went downstairs. I wanted to get some photos so we did that. 

He found present opening on the whole quite overwhelming I think, but he did have a lovely day.  A huge nap on the floor! 

Ok I have to confess. When Eli goes down for a nap I have this terrible habit of spending the entire nap looking at his baby photos on the computer - of which there are thousands - and adoring him. (Shane has a tendency to say "You do know that's him just over there, right??"). So that's really why Shane Edwards has to cook dinner, not because Eli is a lil action man or I had too many work emails/calls/dramas to sort out. Just because I'm a photo addict who spends hours reliving happy memories! Now I've outed myself I'll stop and

Beauty

Ever since I was a child I've hated the insistence that "everybody is beautiful", because honestly it only seems to reinforce the concept that beauty is the only attribute of value and the label we should strive for.... How about instead we start to focus on our other good points? As an example, My mum tried to tell me I didn't have a pointy nose "because you're beautiful!!" and it really made me question my eyesight, and not trust the things I saw and *did* like. For example, my gorgeous blue eyes. Now I know my nose is big and I'm ok with that. It's part of who I am. It was silly and pointless to try so desperately to make me feel better by lying to me. I'm not suggesting we be brutally honest with impressionable teenage girls, just that we don't go out of our way to lie to them. Teach them how to identify, appreciate, and develop the positive things about themselves. Whether it's being great at maths, or a caring friend, or having the knack for applying nail polish perfectly. Some beauty does come from the inside. But that doesn't mean a person who is beautiful on the inside is necessarily beautiful on the outside. I just wish instead of saying "Yes she is beautiful but so are you!" we could say "Yes she is beautiful, but there are other things that matter just as much". And there are things that matter less. I am horribly inarticulate today, but the point is simply - the more we insist that everybody is beautiful, the more obsessed we will become with being beautiful.

A real page turner

In the bath this afternoon I read Eli's bath book to him. At the end he reached out and turned the previous page back. Then looked at the page for a second before doing the same - he basically read the book backwards! So cute. That's the first time he's turned pages on a book. I want so badly for him to love books as much as I do, hopefully this is a good sign!

Chatterbox

Eli has spent most of this evening lying on his playmat just playing, chattering and singing. I am amazed at the noises that are coming out of him! Every possible consonant and vowel in the alphabet, in unique combinations.

Just a few short weeks ago his only words were "Ugwa" "Ewa" and "Ig-goo". He repeated them constantly. But now he is as noisy as a toddler! Very cute. Convenient too, as Shane and I have been busy moving beds again to tidy up the spare rooms. Eli actually wants to play and entertain himself (with us conversing and stopping occasionally to say hello). He screams if I try to hold him or feed him - he wants his playtime! I guess he is his father's son, needs his toys or he gets grumpy.

Good Boy

I say "Good Boy" to Eli all the time. He often says "Goo!" back at me. This morning there was a distinct "D" at the end. To be fair, it sounded more like "Gourd" than "Good", but close enough! We were still in bed at the time. I was stoked. He seems really happy when I say "Good Boy! Good Eli" and smiles and laughs. Adorable.

Bottles n boobies

All the experts say to be careful introducing a bottle to a breastfed baby. I was therefore wary when it came to it, although I knew all along that I wanted to be able to offer pumped milk to bubba should I need to do so. Eli has a bottle on the odd occasion that Shane is with him alone, which isn't very often simply because I don't like going anywhere without Eli....

Tonight is a bit different though. Shane is away in Brisbane overnight, and I gave Eli a bottle. I'd had a glass of wine, and I had a small bottle (20ml, not a full feed) in the fridge that I pumped yesterday which would otherwise go to waste, so thought I'd use it up. Without question he cheerfully sucked away on the bottle, enjoying the easy flow no doubt. When he started sucking air I pulled the bottle out and put it aside. Completely unfazed, the moment that the bottle was removed from his mouth, he moved his head across to the boob and turned his head into the nipple ready to go! I think if he had a motto it would be "food from any source". He's not picky.