odds and ends. and a story.

just a few things today. first of all, i just wanted to share the ingenious idea i had a few weeks ago. it's called: a snack mat! i was so tired of either cleaning off elijah's highchair a zillion times a day or finding dried pears smashed into the carpet that i knew i had to do something. as going outside for snack time is usually a warm day activity, i had to figure out something i could use inside. hence the snack mat. one day, i just pulled the floor mat that sits in front of the kitchen sink out into the middle of the kitchen floor and told elijah that it was his snack mat. i explained to him that if he wanted a snack, he had to sit on his bumbum on the mat while he ate his snack. and the coolest thing is...he got it . he so understood the concept and since then, the snack mat has been a part of our daily routine. he knows i keep it (i got a new one so i don't have to use the kitchen one anymore) in the pantry so whenever he wants a snack, he just walks up to the pantry, bangs on the door with his little palm and says, "numnum?". it's a silly little thing to get excited about...but it's so much more than the fact i don't have to follow him around picking up cracker crumbs all over the place. it's knowing that he gets it. he understands me. and while he doesn't always obey me...at least i know he knows what i'm saying. that is huge. i've started explaining so much more of our day to him...like how and why we get the mail, where we're going, what we're going to do when we get there, what certain things do, etc. it's fun. and i think he enjoys it too. however...it does make me a little sad as i realized that he is no longer a baby...but a little boy now. and he's only going to get bigger and bigger. guess it's time for another one! (i'm only slightly kidding...) :D

on another, kind of related note...elijah totally gets the point of a telephone. he loves "talking" on any and every phone in the house...even if it's not a phone but kinda looks like one (for example, a broken calculator that ended up in his toy box), he'll still put it up to his ear and chat away. he's still working on the whole conversation part of things...he'll only talk if no one else is talking. so if i give him my phone while my mom's on the other end, she can't say anything if she wants to hear him talk. because once she starts talking (or laughing as the case may be...his chatter is quite hilarious), he stops and won't start again. so...we're working on that. but still...it's the cutest thing to listen to...his little conversations. love it. love this age/stage he's at right now. sure, he's exhausting...but his curiosity, precociousness (is that even a word?) and determination to figure everything out is a joy to watch and experience.

and finally...i promised a story. the above picture was taken last week when we were at our friends', bryan and shannon's house. their little boy, noah, is only three months older than e so we try to get together regularly to let the boys play together. well...as you can see...it's not always a happy occasion. poor elijah just wanted to ride on the winnie the pooh train...but so did noah. they both fit on it pretty well...but i guess elijah wasn't so much in the sharing mood. ha! actually...what really happened was that noah had just let out a shriek of enjoyment and it scared elijah. i suppose i'd get scared too if i had a little man scream in my ear but still...shannon and i just had to laugh. poor noah had no idea what was going on...and poor elijah didn't either. this is one of those pictures that we'll have to pull out when they're older and best friends and tell the story of how they didn't always get along so well. ah...good times. good times.

the countdown has begun to our departure to hawaii. we leave bright and early saturday morning...so i've started preparations. yesterday was "list making" and "appointment making" day. i made all my lists: what to pack, what to pick up at target, what bills to pay before we leave, what books to check out from the library, etc. i also made a hair appointment for friday.
today is errand day...so we'll be heading out after lunch to target and the library. and maybe trader joe's if target doesn't have anything in the "yummy snacks that are appropriate for airplane travel" department. we'll see. then tomorrow starts the packing. hopefully by getting most of it done on thursday, i won't be running around like a crazy woman friday night, trying to get everything done without forgetting anything. as much fun as this trip is going to be...it really is a hassle to actually get there. *sigh* it'll be worth it though...right?

right?