We're back!

Pumpkin Festivel
Originally uploaded by pure_h2o.

I know, I know, its been a bazillion years since I've posted. Sorry. I don't have much of an excuse, as there's been a lot to write about. I was just lazy. It happens.

Last Friday, we went to the San Francisco Zoo. Eli had the best time ever. He got to see the lions eat bunnies (but really. At least they were dead). True to Eli form, the things he loved about our trip were things that he could have done anywhere. He ran and ran and ran and I had a really hard time keeping up with him. He wasn't really interested in doing anything else. Except for when we went to the petting zoo. There, all he wanted to do was jump in the pond. That was fun. Then he found out how much fun it was to pull on the goat's horns. The goats loved that, and they let him know by ramming him (softly, well as softly as a goat can ram) in the belly. He didn't cry or anything, but I think the goats got their point across.

Last Saturday was Half Moon Bay's Pumpkin Festivel, and Eli took part in the parade. Eli's friend, Delfina, has a Grandpa who own's a pumpkin patch, and they invited Eli to ride on their float. Eli wore his horse costume, and had a really good time. Franz and I kind of thought that being up in front of all those people would freak Eli out, but he didn't seem to mind one bit. He seemed more confused than anything else.

Prior to the parade, he galloped through the crowd, and he caught everyone's attention. We all had a tough time keeping up with him. We had breakfast, and Eli spotted two kids with balloons from across the cafe, and he made it clear that breakfast was not to continue until he had a balloon tied around his wrist too. Being the selfless mother that I am (but really just wanted to eat my banana pancakes without the constant screaming) I went over and asked the mother where she got the balloons, and followed her directions, and got Eli one. And that red balloon was more than just a pacifiar for Eli; it helped us keep track of him while he was running all over the place. I now know that any time we go to a crowded place, a balloon is necessary.

As Eli has been gaining more mobility, he's also had more crashes. In the span of about an hour, yesterday he ran into a wall, slammed his fingers into a drawer (I ran cold water over his hand, and that stopped the crying...not because it made his fingers feel better, but because I never let him play with water.) and tripped and fell flat on his face, causing his mouth to bleed. What amazes me is that about two minutes after every trauma, he seemed fine and started running around again. If just one of those things had happened to me, I would have called it quits. He's my new hero.