Linus Cooper Ellingson: 17 months, blond hair, blue/green eyes, full of spunk, loud noises, curiosity, bravery, tears, giggles, too-smart-for-his-own-good-ness, and boy-dom. Boyhood certainly is an adventure. I never would have guessed it until we had one. I mean, I knew that most...okay, all boys I know are crazy, but somehow that didn't filter into my own crazy boy. They just come that way! But the best part about crazy little boys is their sweetness. The fact that something so rough and dirty and loud and dare-devilish can come up to you and give you a hug and a kiss spontaneously just about melts your heart completely. How do they forget all that when they become teenagers is my question!!!
Favorite songs: doesn't really know what a song is yet. When he was maybe around a year old, he would wiggle his bum around and wag his head back and forth when a song came on and we thought it was the funniest thing ever. That involuntary dancing sort of went dormant for a while and then all of a sudden I've seen it sneak back up on occasion, but it's not to any specific song, just music in general. Although he does play along with us when we do songs with hand actions to them, like Popcorn Popping and The Wise Man and the Foolish Man.
Favorite Games: jump off the couch to my impending death, jump off the chair to my impending death, jump down the stairs to my impending death, climb on any and everything that Mommy doesn't want me climbing on, take Chloe's toys and run with them when she notices I have them, open cabinets and slam them shut repeatedly (this one apparently is quite hilarious), open a box with legoes or toys in them, pick them out individually, and throw them over my shoulder, give Chloe's toys back nicely while she's in time-out for throwing a giant fit when I took them away- oh wait, then I do a "PSYCH!" and run away with them again, carry my blanky around the house and suck on my fingers (yes, he really does that, I'm not just making it up because of his name)....you know, the usual 17 month old boy games.
In relation to the jumping off stairs game, I have to tell this quick story that is still making me laugh out loud when I think of it. It probably wont' be as funny when I write it all down, but I have to record it so I remember it when he's 16 and crashed our car or something. The other day he was climbing down the three stairs in to the room where the toys are. He was starting to slip on his blanket on the way down, so he paused a step before he got to the floor. I stood up from my chair at the table to go and help him, but when he saw me coming towards him, he must have thought I was going to take something away from him because he looked at me with that mischevious glint in his eye and starting giggling as though he knew he was doing something wrong. I laughed at him instinctively as I reached to pull the blanket from under his foot, but my movement must have sprung the fight or flight mode for Linus, because he shrieked in delight at the opportunity of pursuit and turned around to run away madly. Except he forgot that he didn't make it to the floor on the steps yet and launched himself off the last step he was on smack onto the floor. It was a total Warner Brother's Roadrunner moment when you run off the cliff and keep running on air until you realize that you fall under the laws of gravity and plummet to the ground. He didn't cry at all, but he got up completely stunned and confused as to how he ended up on the floor. I picked him up and dusted him off and he was fine but it made me laugh for about five minutes.
Favorite Words: He's actually starting to pick them up a little quicker these days. He can immitate sounds very well...well, let's say he can immitate syllables. Whether they actually sound like the original word or not is debatable. He loves to say Momma, Dadda (which he always has to say loudly for some reason- "momma" is always nice and sweet and he touches me with his finger as if to solidify that that's who I am, but when I ask him to say Dadda, he goes "DADDA!!!" and just spits it out as thought it's a game rather than a person...which is actually probably close to the truth). He's starting to say "Chloe", except it comes out more as "Be-jgoo-ee" said really fast. At least he knows who she is now and knows that Chloe is her name. It's really funny when Chloe tries to get him to say words or phrases. She slows them down syllable by syllable and speaks very loudly to him, as though he's just not hearing it right, and he just goes right on saying the gibberish he was saying in the first place. Other words/phrases he's mastered are drink: "ba-geek", all done: "Ah-go", here ya go: "Hee-go", "no" (which is his favorite word now and is the answer to every question whether that's what he means or not- he can say "yah", but only when I ask him to say it, he doesn't know what it means yet), Seth: "Sess", Kyle: "Gi-yoh", Grandma: "Ba-ba", Grandpa "Pa-Pa", I'm hungry: "Numenumenumenum" (another one of his favorite words). I can't think of anymore now. He'll at least attempt to say whatever we ask him to, which is just the beginning I guess!
He'll have his 18 mo. checkup the same time Chloe has her 3 year checkup (they are almost exactly 18 months apart in age), so I don't know how much he weighs yet, but I'd say he's in the vicinity of 22-23 lbs. At his last checkup he hadn't gained much weight, but he still got taller, so he went from being in the 90th percentiles into about the 75th for his weight. I was just looking at pictures of him from about 6-12months before he started getting very mobile and man was he a CHUNK! He's definitley thinned out, but that should be natural considering how fast he moves! When he learned how to crawl, he went from little scoots straight to speed-racer crawl in no time flat. People at church used to laugh when he would get away from us because he could go so darn fast (definitley did not get his mother's hand-eye coordination!), he'd almost burn holes in the carpet as he went. Now he's got a little half-run going on, which looks so darn cute when he does it, but usually means destruction once he reaches his destination. He also likes to throw things. People in the isles ahead and behind us at church have to keep their eyes open or they'll get clocked in the head with a sippy cup or book or toy at any given moment. Luckily he hasn't really realized that this is something wrong to do, he just sort of does it involuntarily (I say luckily because it would be happening a lot more if he acknowledged that it was something wrong to do). And as far as church goes, he's got two more Sundays until nursery, and yes we've been counting down the weeks. He's not one of those kids that runs around and smears soggy-cracker covered hands on people's scriptures or bangs on the piano in the middle of the prayer, but that's really only because we are running marathons trying to keep him from doing those things. Well, I should say Craig is running marathons- we kind of trade off duties between kids in sacrament meeting from week to week, then Sunday School is the marathon running that I witness anyway, and then I'm in YW and so Craig takes him during priesthood. Craig always gives him a positive report when I ask how things went in priesthood, but judging by the swiftness we get our coats put on us and hauled out to the car and home for naps makes me think otherwise. :-) I think Craig is more excited for nursery, needless to say, than I am.
Wouldn't trade my crazy little Linus for the world. I can't help but shower him with hugs and kisses every chance I get, and he never tires of it, thank goodness. I love to tickle him to death just to hear his hearty, gut-busting giggles, and my heart shatters just a little everytime I see that pouty face with tear-filled eyes, even if it's after he's done something wrong (a weakness I'm starting to think he's expoiting a little). I love all of the neverland adventures I get to have with him and I hope they never stop, even when we're old. What a giant heart for such a small little boy. I love you so much it aches and always will.
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