sleeping like a baby

Just in time for his 16 month birthday coming up, Elias has given us the gift of sleep once again. It still seems like he's not getting enough sleep, only getting about 10 hours at night and naps have been, well, all over the place the past few days, but there's significantly less screaming at bedtime and he's slept "through the night" (a phrase I thought would have lost its significance by now) the past few nights. One thing that seems to be helping with the bedtime routine is doing a little more of it while Elias is in his crib, rather than spending 45 minutes bathing, reading to, and generally coddling him and then dumping in his crib and immediately leaving the room. Tonight he even blew kisses and waved (then cried out, but very briefly) as we left, something he hasn't done for five or six months.

Anyway, I'm going to make good on a pact Neal and I made earlier this evening to get to bed early tonight. On that note, more updates later. For now, a quick photo recap of the past couple of weeks: first, during a trip to the Oakland zoo, where Elias managed to walk around the children's area without experiencing any face plants or major tantrums.

He's still not fond of holding our hands while walking, but he seems to be following direction a tiny bit better.  Otherwise, letting a toddler this age walk around on his own is like trying to corral a wild animal.  Extremely frustrating and potentially dangerous.

One morning last week while I finished getting ready Elias managed to get himself up into the chair we sit in to read books in his room.

I don't know if it's his expression or the fact that he climbed up into the chair on his own or the way he looks at books lately, but he seems like such a little boy to me in these images.

And some fun with a new toy, a toy that proved to be too much of a good thing and will hang out in his closet for a bit until the fun-frustration ratio levels out a bit.

More on the 21st (or so)...