"baby" Eldon

Anyone who knows my little 16month-old Eldon, knows he is an opinionated, energetic, and active little man. He spends most of the time running around the house now, creating disorder. He never sits, never snuggles, yet wants a good deal of attention from mommy, preferably in the form of chasing or wrestling.


He has had lots of mommy time this week, with the other boys in Michigan, and the girls in school part of the time.

One day he had a fever and was extremely grumpy for the few hours he was awake. (I suspect teething.) I was amazed: he actually snuggled me that day. He let me rock him. He and I and his blanket; his hot little body, facing mine, bent over the brother-in-the-womb so that he could lay on my chest while we rocked. I inhaled his little-boy smell: not milk and baby lotion, but pancakes and old blankie. I touched his soft skin. For once, he welcomed the quiet and gentle mommy caress, and did not try to turn my touch into a tickle-fight. His hand hung out of his mouth while he sucked on his fingers, making a puddle on my shirt. The other hand opened, and he reached for me, resting it on my arm, as if to say, "Thank you mommy, for just sitting with me for a minute."

It was as if he knew his baby days will be gone soon; as if he knew what's coming, and like me, he wanted to soak in just a few more minutes of life THIS way, before everything changes again. So for a few minutes, we rocked quietly, and he pretended to be my little baby, one more time.