In a conversation with a friend the other day, we enjoyed reminiscing about the behaviors of little boys.  I don't know if it's their young stage of life, their gender differences, or what, but, as a mother, it's sometimes so difficult to relate to their logic and thought processes.  Anyway, here are a few stories we shared (some, but not all, are applicable to Elliot...for the sake of his future dignity, I will not disclose which ones are true to him).

...If an object/person can be hit, thrown, or bitten, a little boy will likely hit, throw, or bite it.
...Nose buggers are "gross" (in toddler language, "eew, eew, eew"), but playing in toilet water is fun.
...One of your son's first words might be "penis" (in toddler language, "pee-is").
...You may have to tell your son not to do the same act 20+ (no exaggeration) times a day.
...You may have to discipline your son for committing the same offense 20+ (no exaggeration) times a day. 
(Note:  A little boy may not even be phased by such discipline as he knows the offenses were indeed offenses worthy of discipline.)
...Dirt and sand are multipurpose...good for both playing AND eating.
...If a little boy can remove his own diaper, poop may be used as finger paint.
..."Please" (in toddler language, "peas") is code for "I'm cute; give me whatever I ask for."
...The words "no, no, no" followed by a K-5 tantrum may be replaced with hugs and kisses in 5 minutes.

...he can communicate, but not eloquently (sometimes less is more).
...he LOVES to help with just about anything (i.e. let's pick up your toys, can you pick up the clothes mommy dropped, can you bring mommy her water bottle...read slow personal servant).  :)
...just about everything is cute (the way he runs, the way he crunches his food, even the way he pouts with his bottom lip out...for visual see previous entry).
...he has a longer attention span than he used to and doesn't tire of playing the same game/puzzle or reading the same book over and over and over again (point in fact...Jeff and I have most of the toddler Dr. Seuss books memorized because he LOVES them so much).
...we're starting to see his personality develop (he loves quality time, gives solicited kisses most of the time and unsolicited kisses occasionally, worries when someone is sad or hurting, and throws a tantrum when he doesn't get his way...which may sound like a bad thing, but I think it means he's going to be a leader and with proper shaping/direction/prayer that can certainly be worked out for good).

If you've been faithfully reading my blog, you know that life since Christmas has been pretty crazy for us.  Soon after we returned home from Christmas, Elliot got an ear infection.  The antibiotics used to treat the ear infection gave him diarrhea, which gave him his first diaper rash.  Then, Jeff caught a virus/"cold" (which I would like to note...he took medicine to treat) and passed it on to Elliot and I (and neither of us can take medicine right now...grrrr).  Now that we're recovering from that, Elliot is cutting his eye teeth.  The worst of all teeth if you ask me...diarrheal diapers,  more diaper rashes, crazy temper tantrum-ed fussiness, less sleep because of pain, and lots of biting mommy/daddy/furniture/toys.  Can a girl get a break?  At least, it's all happening BEFORE the baby comes, maybe we'll get a reprieve then?!? 

P.S.  There's a Valentine's Day baby sling give away at Mommy Knows, so be sure to check it out here!

Okay, so I don't usually endorse products, but I felt compelled to do so today because it's a group of products I love and one high quality item in that product group could be free to you, so read on...

Many of you know that I love baby carriers.  I have, oh, too many to mention.  I loved the sling/pouch style when Elliot was young...then I loved the Mei Tai/strappy wrap style when he got older...and now that he's almost 2 (!) and heavier we love the soft style backpack (called the Ergo).  When Elliot was a baby and loved to be held all the time (and when he was light enough that I loved holding him all the time), I liked to think of baby carriers as both practical for our daily needs as well as a much needed fashion accessory for my postpartum figure.  Anyway, the benefits of baby wearing are numerous; if you're interested in a discourse on the subject, check out this article by Dr. Sears.

Anyway, I'm mentioning all this because the lovely lady who owns the online store (The Baby Marketplace) we bought some of our cloth diapers from is having a contest on her personal website (Mommy Knows) and giving away some pouch style baby carriers.  If your interested, you will need to post a comment on her personal website before January 31st; if you're not, disregard this entry and my feelings won't be hurt because my chances of winning are better.    Consequently, take my word for it that it's not a hoax, I've won things from her website before (I'm feeling very generous in telling you that because I love baby carriers and would really like to win this time, too)! 

Here's a photo taken last summer of Jeff, Elliot in the Ergo baby carrier, and an R2D2 mailbox in Santa Fe, NM just down the street from the Georgia O'Keeffe museum...

...you're willing to nap on Mr. Potato Head disassembled body parts just so your child gets some extra sleep.
...the house rules go out the door and you let your child watch as much TV as he/she wants.
...you're willing to take a tepid (!) bath with your child to get a fever down (because of course he/she is too cranky to bathe without you right there).
...you look like you haven't slept or showered in days (because you haven't...or at least slept or showered well).
...you can't remember the last time your child wasn't in your arms or cuddled up next to you.

So, yes, Elliot's sick (but seems to be on the upswing) and Jeff and I are sleep deprived (and not on an upswing yet)...