Eli the tank

Eli had his 2 month check-up on Friday. He weighed in at 13 lbs. 13 oz and he is 24.5 inches long. I have a feeling that one day in the future Eli will be the bigger brother. The days of Evan's dominance maybe numbered...

It goes without saying that he is a sturdy baby. He has what we call "fat sleeves" (the fat on his arms creates a line at his wrists resembling the sleeve of a shirt), rolls on his legs, and dimples mark his elbows. In addition to being rotund, he is also very strong and can hold his head up for extended periods of time. He is a very happy baby. He smiles and coos and waves his arms in apparent joy. He always responds to Evan with a big smile. Evan for his part loves to talk to Eli and is mostly gentle - sometimes he likes to kiss a bit too hard. Evan seems to genuinely like Eli actually, and asks to hold him nearly everyday. So I prop Eli up beside him on the couch and then take the opportunity to try like crazy to get a decent picture. Which is much harder than it seems. Evan is a blur of constant motion (as you all know) and has lately taken to making strange faces for the camera. Eli is pretty easy, but occasionally loses his patience with the whole ordeal.

Eli has thankfully become a very good sleeper (knock on wood), and will sleep a six hour stretch at night and then sleep for four more hours. I am still exhausted though... We like to call Eli the "Nap Inhibitor". The name says it all, it doesn't matter what time of day I try to lay down - that will be the precise time that Eli wants to be fed, then changed, then carried, then fed again. My theory is that the silence of Evan sleeping keeps him awake. Since Evan fills our house with a non-stop symphony of loud noises, all of which Eli will sleep through, the silence must be deafening for the little guy. I am hoping that someday in the near future both boys will decide to nap at the same time.

Who ever told me that two boys was more than twice the work was right. I like to think that things will get easier when Eli isn't eating every two hours, but by then I'm sure there will be other exciting challenges.