Moon

In November, Elliot had tubes put in his ears due to chronic infections and fluid build up. He has been a drastically different boy ever since. Much happier, and a lot more interested in learning words. Elliot certainly doesn't have the verbal skills Alice had at his age, but he has been learning so fast! He went from having a vocabulary of literally 10-15 words in November to being able to repeat almost any word we say. He has a bit of a "mush mouth," but he is beginning to improve his enunciation. He's learning animal names and the sounds animals make, he's singing songs like "A, B, C, D" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," he like to tell me what cars, trucks, and choo-choos say, when I point at pictures in his books, he can tell me what they are... really, it's amazing what two months can do!

The very last part of Elliot's bedtime routine, right before I lay him in his crib and tell him, "Nigh-nigh Little Dude, Mommy loves you," we sit in his dark room on his window seat, and we look out his window. (He even knows the word "window.") We talk about the lights of the cars and trucks that we can see down below in Council Bluffs, we listen for choo-choo noises in the distance, and we usually sing "Twinkle Twinkle" to top it all off before we hug and kiss goodnight.

Tonight the moon is large and bright in the sky, and Elliot was transfixed by it... it was almost as if he was in awe of its beauty. He sat on my lap and stared at the moon with the most contented look on his face. He held onto my sweater with his warm little hand, and we just enjoyed the moment -- Elliot, Mommy, and the big bright moon. As we sat there, I'm not sure why, but I got choked up and teary-eyed. He is such a precious, sweet little boy. Once I was done being an emotional sap, I taught him the word. "Moo," he repeated after me. And then I put him in his crib. He asked for his "Eh-mo" and he snuggled up into his blanket. Its moments like these that make all of the tantrums and whining worth it.