The Burlingames

Better late than never.

It’s becoming more apparent each day that Eli knows what he wants and when he wants it. The only question is how well that information is relayed to us.

Lately he’s been leading us to his high chair when he’s hungry. He brings us books and puts his arms up when he wants to read. Today he went to fridge (his signal that he’s thirsty) and pulled on the handle a little. After giving him his juice, he started drinking it and slowly walked back to his room, stopping in front of his rocker (his signal that he’s ready for a nap). I followed him back and sat down. Eli sat with me until he was done drinking and then gave the cup to me. We sat for a minute and then I put him in bed without a fuss.

A lot of times Eli isn’t ready to fall asleep right away; he likes to sit and talk in his crib. Tonight was one of those nights. After awhile we didn’t hear any talking, so I went to check on him. I tried to look in, but it was too dark to see anything. I went in and, as I reached to turn on the light, I heard him take a couple of quick breaths. The light flicked on and I saw Eli standing in his crib, holding the rail and staring straight at me.

I quickly turned off the light and left the room, trying not to laugh too loudly. Eli didn’t think it was very funny; he started crying just a little. We gave him a bit to drink and he went to sleep.