Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Ahhhhhhhh!

Let me tell you a story about a little blue duckie. A bath toy loved by a little boy called Eli. And do you know why he loves the duckie? Because little blue duckie is soft and cute and he plays "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" when you press his belly. The duckie floats in the water and you can even use him as a washcloth.

Last Saturday, I was cleaning the bathroom, when duckie began to serenade me. I thought maybe I had bumped him while I was cleaning the shower. 5 minutes later, again, another round of twinkle, twinkle. And then every five minutes or so after that, more duckie music. I am starting to show signs of irritation, but in an attempt to finish cleaning before Eli awoke from his nap, I press on, trying to ignore the very ice cream truck-esque melody that is repeating over and over and over, but with no one offering me a fudgesicle.

Then enters my husband, whom I love dearly, but has almost zero patience for things like this. In fact, I was kind of surprised he hadn't spoken up sooner.

"Will you please stop hitting that duck in the bathtub!" said Jeffrey.

I am wondering if he really believes that I am doing this on purpose.

Finally after some twisting and contorting of the duckie's mid section, I managed to silence him, and thought maybe he had a chance for more bathtime fun with Eli. However, only a few baths later he is back at it, only this time, he is not doing well. Tonight we found duckie lying on his alligator friend playing some sort of sad hum, that no longer even closely resembles twinkle, twinkle. It actually doesn't closely resemble any song I've ever heard. It's sad, really, and yet a relief. The duckie had a short, yet productive life, putting smiles on our faces and a tune in our heads.

Tonight he is headed for the garbage can. And not the garbage can inside, but the one outside, where duckie can end his life singing his now strange song to the birds and the fireflies.

Now at this age, Eli will not probably notice that little blue duckie will now be missing from all future baths. Had he been 1 or 2 when duckie went coo coo, we may have had a major baby meltdown. And so for this, I am thankful.

Elias finally did some rolling today during the daylight hours. Boy, did I cheer. I figure if I make a real big deal out of the daytime rolling, maybe he'll be encouraged, and also realize what a contrast this reaction is to the blatant non-cheering that I do at 3am, when he is rolling all over his crib.

This week baby Eli has discovered how to act shy. It is hilarious. If you walk into the room and say hello to him, he either hides his face or closes his eyes. Now I am calling this shyness, because that is what it looks like, but I actually have no idea what this is or why he is all of a sudden doing it. This is probably some specific stage of development that I'll end up reading about in some parenting magazine or book. But really even in it's most basic, unexplained form, it is extremely adorable, and Jeff and I can't get enough. It's just one more way that he is coming alive, you know, really showing more of who he is. It's so amazing to watch his little personality emerge from what was, not so long ago, just a helpless little baby body that only seemed to cry and eat and poop, sometimes all three at once.

Eli might be teething, hence the glistening chin. Teething is some sort of huge mystery. I have heard horror stories of all of the problems it can cause, i.e. diaper rash, pooping problems, crying, pain, lack of sleep, irritability,etc....

Now I haven't seen any of these symptoms, and his gums are not swollen, and he is as happy as a clam. However, he drenches the front of every outfit with drool within about 15 minutes of being dressed, and he puts nearly everything in his mouth. And at the absence of something to put in his mouth, he will not hesitate to gnaw on his fingers, fist, arm, and sometimes big toe.

But just look at this face. Imagine that smile with a single tooth in it. I am unsure if I can handle a measure of cuteness that is cuter than this.

Lord help us.