on raising elliot | how #2 has been different.

oh this kid.  where to start, where to start?

elliot has kinda gotten the shaft in the way of documenting his childhood.  parker not only has a picture to go along with almost the entire first two years of his life but a freaking blog post detailing the events & milestones of each day.  elliot has definitely fallen victim to the quandary of being a documentary-less second child.  

his first eighteen months {which he turns in five days... wut!?} have been different than parker's.  i spend a lot of time wondering if it's all because of his personality or if it's because he's a second child.  i remember parker being so easy going, independent & self entertaining. i think elliot may be what people call a "strong-willed" child, haha.  it took him til almost a year to sleep through the night & his temper is nothing to shake a stick at.  he goes from zero to sixty in 0.2 seconds flat.  he will react quickly & strongly & then get over it just as fast.  

he is the sweetest little boy.  he wants nothing more than to snuggle & be held all. the. time & if he had it his way i would join in on everything he's doing at all times.  he sees no need for me to make dinner, clean house or fold laundry, as far as he's concerned it should be me and him, 24/7.  i'll admit, he has a point.  with parker it was me & him, all the time.  elliot only gets half of me 90% of the time.  and i wonder how much that has to do with all of it.

elliot doesn't talk very much.  he says a handful of words (mama, dada, uh oh, nana, papa) and animal sounds.  he signs & gestures & definitely understands what we're telling him ("elliot, go put this toy in the toy box.  go put this in the garbage" done & done) but he sees no need to attempt words.  again, second child thing?  i don't sit alone with him near as much as i did with parker looking through books & asking him to point out the pictures.  sure, we read books but it's me & both boys & parker's quick to point things out & move on.  elliot likes to observe & squeal in excitement & watch parker figure things out.

he has so much personality.  he does the funniest things & when he flashes his smile & those little dimples come out, my heart melts.  i think we're gonna have our hands full teaching him how to deal with that little temper of his but i think his strong personality will be one of his greatest qualities.  i hope it means he's passionate & driven & determined.  that's what i see in him right now... a little boy who knows what he wants & isn't afraid to show that he wants it.  

if there's one thing that's for sure, it's that my heart holds a place for him just as equally as parker.  i was always so afraid i wouldn't know how to love another little boy as much as parker & somehow your heart just finds the space.  or maybe it doubles in size.  he is every bit as much my little buddy as parker is & the two of them are starting to become the best of friends.  they hold hands while walking around the grocery store & today they stopped traffic for giving each other impromptu hugs while standing in line at costco.  

i fully expect nothing short of amazingness from this little guy.  he commands attention when he walks in a room & isn't afraid to tell you like it is.  i know that sounds funny in regards to an eighteen month old who doesn't talk but that's elliot for ya.

love this kid to pieces.