Eli at 23 Months

Missy has been doing a great job with the storytelling here on the blog, so I thought I would take a minute and write a more "mundane" post about some of the everyday things that Eli is up to these days, with his 2nd birthday now just a few weeks away!

• Eli seems to be right-handed. He likes to use his right hand when throwing balls. Also, he always uses his right thumb when sucking his thumb. We'll see if he continues to favor his right hand. (Either way would be fine!)
  
• Eli has no problem getting up and down the stairs by himself these days. He can even climb up a few stairs at a time without holding onto the railing or using his hands at all (although this does make Missy and I a bit nervous)!
  
• Eli has been able to jump for the past couple of weeks! He doesn't get very far off the ground yet, but he definitely can jump and land back on his feet! Occasionally he will fall down after jumping, "just for fun": he'll jump, land on his feet, and then a moment later let himself fall down onto the ground and laugh!
  
• Eli is a very good climber. He's been able to climb into his high chair by himself for a month or two now (although Missy and I don't encourage this!). I also saw him get himself on top of the washing machine on one recent occasion by dragging a 2-step step stool over to the laundry room sink, climbing the stool, climbing into the washing machine sink from the top of the stool, and clambering up on top of the washing machine from there!
  
• Eli really likes to help Missy and I around the house. Yesterday evening, as Missy and I were continuing to clean out our house in preparation for our upcoming move, Eli helped me take out the trash. I'd hand him one or two fairly light items (like an empty cereal box), grab a couple of bags or boxes myself, and Eli would follow me out to the curb and place his items in the pile of trash items there. Eli also will help carry dirty dishes to the sink after dinner, and carry empty pop cans to the recycling bin out in the garage. Missy and I always really encourage Eli and "cheer" for him when he helps us out -- maybe this will help encourage him to continue to enjoy helping us around the house as he gets older!
  
• Eli is starting to learn how to count. He can't rattle numbers off yet by any means, but with encouragement from Missy and I ("How many cars are there?" "Which number car is this one?"), he'll count "un" ... "two!" ... "tree!"
  
• Eli has made some progress learning his letters. He definitely knows "O" and "M" and can reliably pick out those letters from a word ("Eli, which letter is the 'M'?"). The rest of the letters are still a little bit shaky. If Eli doesn't know what a given letter is, "T" seems to be the default answer!
  
• Eli still likes to hold my fingers or Missy's after he finishes eating. He usually finishes faster than Missy or I do; many times when he finishes eating, he'll just sit in his high chair and hold my fingers on my left hand while I finish eating on my right hand.
  
• Eli does a really great job taking baths. He never cries when we pour water over his head to rinse his hair after washing it, and he'll even take the cup and pour water over his own head!
  
• Eli is sleeping at night for around 10 or 11 hours. He is usually asleep by 8:00 pm, and he wakes up on his own around 6:30 or 7:00 am. Missy and I don't set an alarm clock these days, because Eli always wakes us up in the morning! In the afternoons, Eli takes a single nap after lunch, which can last anywhere between 45 minutes and 3 hours.