From yellow to purple

I made my usual trip to hang out with and nurse Elgin at school today, and when I walked into the classroom, Ms. Renee said, "Hey.  I have something for you."  I could tell by her face that she was a little worried to give me whatever it was.

Perhaps I have a reputation for being a little sensitive.

Meanwhile, my eyes were darting around for Elgin, who usually scrambles to me like he's on fast forward.  He makes me feel so loved!  He was nowhere to be seen.

I said, "Where's the baby?"

He then crawled out of his favorite corrugate shipping box. 

I turned back to Ms. Renee who was handing me a paper with the news that EW will transition from the yellow to the purple room beginning next week.

What?  Already?  He only just turns one on Friday?

My eyes immediately spilled over, and they eventually had to get me a tissue.  I made them cry a little, too.  Good grief.  I need more time!  I'm sure Elgin's ready to advance, but what about me?  I want a few more weeks.  It feels so cold turkey to me, even though it's a week notice before the transition period.  It still feels sudden and so extreme.  

He's my baby. I like his teachers.  He loves his teachers. He misses them when they're not there. I love our routine in this room. He's so much smaller than the purple room kids. I don't really know those teachers very well. Those purple room kids don't climb on the table when they eat. Will he get knocked over in there? Can I bargain for another week in yellow? 

So many racing thoughts.  All I could manage was, "Can he take his box with him?"

Mama

Elgin is a wild bouncing giggle box right before you lie him down on the changing pad, which he haaaaates. After his bath tonight, he was jumping up and down atop his changing pad while I kept my hands on his waist to keep him from jumping off the high shelf, which this kid would totally love to do.  He was looking at me and had his huge, wide smile while cracking up at himself when he suddenly said, "mamama."

Did I hear it correctly?

A little while later, I passed him in the hall while Daddy was holding our little squirmer.  His eyes tracked me.  He smiled.  He said, "Mama."

Daddy heard it, too.

What a sweet, sweet sound.  Hope to hear it again tomorrow.

Problem solver

Last week, I was playing with Henry and Elgin in Elgin's room where the green glider resides. Elgin was playing with the "race car repair truck," a ride on toy that was given to Henry and never made its way to the outgrown toy area in the attic since H never really stopped playing with it. Elgin was riding it, pushing it mostly backwards, and expertly mounting and dismounting. I was proud of his skills and was recording when my phone's memory reached capacity right when Elgin found himself stuck between the guest bed and the chair. I watched him dismount and push the toy to the chair and start climbing and standing atop the seat but turned to talk to Henry who was asking for my attention. It took about 45 seconds.  I turned my attention back to Elgin, and he was sitting IN the green chair, smugly rocking back and forth.

He's brilliant!

EW's Word Wealth

Oh, I am so far, far behind on blogging!  My baby boy turns one year old on Friday, and I have yet to post about his hilarity, favorites, personality, and compilation of milestones!  Fatigue, a dead Macbook battery, and being generally behind are to blame.  It's time I played catch up.

My baby is pretty laid back in the language area.  Here's a list of words, in order of appearance:

Dada
Daddy
Uh Oh!
Dis (this)
Dat (that)
Wha'dis (What's this?)
Yes?
Toes
Shoe (plain as day while walking up to me and handing over his shoe)
Dau! (dog)
Dop! (stop)
Righ'ere! ((right here!) This one was reported by his teacher who says he was hiding in a corrugate box with the flaps shut.  She saw his foot sticking out and asked, "Wheeeeerrreee's Elgin?"  He opened a flap, stuck out his head, and said, "Righ'ere!")
El'in (Elgin)

We really want him to say "ball."  Why?  Because he's a baller.  You should see him throwing a ball and catching it when rolled back to him.  Plus, I cannot wait until those "b" words start rolling.

And, of course, there's one word I'm still patiently waiting to hear.  No "Mama" yet, but I know it's going to be so sweet to hear from this little perfect boy.

New smile

Elgin has this new smile he's doing now. It makes me think he's turning it up a notch for a few extra cute points. I love it.

Special diet

Elgin and I progressed a great deal with our diets in the past few months. Snacks, though, are tricky. There just aren't that many ready made specialty baby snacks on the market. Today, after getting the school note saying Elgin needs more snacks, I bought these treats in an effort to give the sweet boy some variety. The sealed bag is practically weightless and feels pretty close to empty yet costs a pretty penny. Let's all hope he can eat common foods soon. We really need to start a college fund.

Naps now

Some milestones are a little shocking when they come along. This one keeps getting me all choked up: Elgin moved from a crib to a mat for his school naps yesterday. He's just growing far too quickly for my taste.