Apple Corn

Ok, so first off, I have to let it be known that Eli is sleeping in his "big boy bed" for the first time tonight. Thanks to the video monitor, I can tell you that he is sleeping peacefully (so far), with his hands stretched out far above his head.

And now for the official "slice."

This morning Eli was eating an apple, just crunching off hearty bites while holding the apple in a death grip with not one but two hands. He loves it that I don't always have to slice his apple up for him anymore...and I like the fact that he's eating the skin, since it's good for him, UNLESS you read health articles that are now warning parents against allowing kids of any age to eat unpeeled fruits, since they may still contain a large amount of fertilizers, etc. But that's ANOTHER story!

So this evening, as Eli's playing a counting game on the laptop, he starts mumbling something about "apple corn." So I asked him what he was talking about, and he asked me, "What's apple corn?"

Huh???

"Um, show me what you mean, Eli."
"Mommy, sometimes this monkey (on the computer game) throws an apple corn instead of an apple. What's apple corn?"

Yep. He was talking about the CORE of an apple. That stupid computer monkey was trying to trick him into counting the core as a whole apple, which threw off his total apple count (as they dropped from the trees and into his basket). Monkeys are nothing but trouble, I tell ya. At least he was only throwing apple cores, and not poo.

So any-hoo, one more misconception has been cleared up in the life of my (almost) 3 and a 1/2 year old sweetie. It's nice that I can still teach him something...every once in a while.

Slice of Life Challenge

Hmmm...what have I learned about myself as a writer/blogger?

Over the past 31 days of "slicing" about Eli, I've learned:

-3-year olds can provide a limitless supply of potential writing material...as long as you tape record them constantly, or follow them around with a notepad saying, "Could you repeat that for Mommy?"

-Writing definitely requires a bit of planning/prewriting/and thinking. It's what I ask my students to do on a daily basis. (Talk about getting a taste of my own medicine!)

-When I knew I was going to have to come up with a daily writing topic, I found myself brainstorming possible ideas the night before...mostly when I should have been sleeping, of course. As I always say to my students, "You're thinking like a writer!" :)

***Thank you, SOL Challenge, for forcing...err, coercing...um, encouraging me (that sounds a bit more positive) into blogging about my sweetie pie little boy. It's been fun, and I plan to continue the blog, although perhaps not on a daily basis.

Thanks also to Ruth, who introduced me to the challenge in the first place. :)

Bedtime Chat

Tonight after Eli was all changed into his jammies and resting in my arms...he wanted to chat.

"Maybe we could sit in the dark and talk, Mommy?" he asked as we settled into the rocker/recliner together.

"I love talking with you, Eli. What do you want to talk about?" (I'm not stupid. I know that my boy won't always want to sit and talk with me. So I don't let these moments pass by.)

"Mmm...maybe we talk about our favorite Wow! Wow! Wubbzy episodes? Mine is Wubb Idol."

(If you don't know about Wow! Wow! Wubbzy...where have you been?! Wake up and start watching! Eli's fav episode, Wubb Idol, features Beyonce as one of the characters/singers. The song they sing is CRAZY addictive, though. It's running through my head as I type.)

Anyhoo...after chatting about Wubbzy for nearly 5 minutes, he was ready to hit the hay. Gotta love our bedtime chats.

Missing Puck

On Monday when I got home from work, Eli was waiting at the door for me, as he sometimes does. (Usually if he meets me at the door, it means he's in a VERY good mood, which is good for ALL of us.)

So my mom (Eli's babysitter) left, and Eli asked to use the laptop up on my bed. We got all "snugged in" together on the bed, with the laptop perched on a pillow on Eli's little lap.

While we were waiting for his favorite website to load, Eli got a solemn look on his face, pushed the laptop off of his pillow, and looked me right in the eye.

"I miss Puck, Mommy. Do you still miss Puck?"

"I miss Puck every day, Eli."

"Me too, but I gonna take good care of you, Mommy..." and then he paused to rub my arm before asking, "So did Daddy say we can get another cat, or what?"

"Not yet, baby...but I'm working on it."

So if any of you happen to talk to my husband, tell him that we're ready for another cat! Please.

"Snug me in!"

This morning, as I was getting ready to go to work, I checked the video monitor and noticed that Eli was awake, but still lying in bed curled up with Blankie (Blankie is so important that he DESERVES a capital letter).

So I tiptoed into his room and said, "Good morning. Are you still sleepy?"

"Yes. Please 'snug me in,' Mommy."

I love the way we make up and use these nonsense words/phrases that are pretty much only meaningful to us. I 'snugged him in,' which consists of covering him up snugly with his robot comforter, and placing Blankie in a certain position on top of the comforter (with the tag facing toward his face), told him I'd see him after work, and said, "I love you."

Eli smiled a sleepy boy smile, and said, "I love you too, Mommy."

Definitely a good start to my day.

Are We There Yet?

Eli and I were in the car together (on our way home) today when this conversation began...

Eli: I not gonna say 'Are we there yet? Are we there yet?' That is SO annoying.

Me: Yep. That would be annoying. Your Uncle Kyle (my brother) used to say that ALL the time when we were little. It used to drive me crazy!

Eli (very adamantly): I not gonna do it, Mommy. And I not gonna let ANYBODY drive you crazy!

Me: Thanks Eli. It's good to know you're looking out for me.

Little Helper

This evening as I was putting Eli back into his car seat, my sunglasses kept falling off the top of my head, where I had them perched precariously. Finally, Eli reached up and carefully removed the sunglasses for me, and held them until I got him all buckled in.

"I always help you out, Mommy," he said with a smile. "I'm your little helper!"

I hope he always will be.