The Elijah Exhibit

For the first two years of Elijah’s life, he essentially lived in a loft at the top of our stairs. It had its disadvantages. First off, his super hearing made it hard for us to pop a wine cork downstairs without an angry wake up. Second, it’s hard to send someone to his room when he technically doesn’t have one.

So at great expense, we walled off his room to give us all some peace and quiet. Somewhere along the lines, we decided to put a window in his wall facing the stairwell. It keeps our stairwell from looking like a dungeon. But it has an unexpected, but hilarious benefit: Spying on Eli.

While Eli isn’t quite convinced to actually take a nap during the day, he knows if he stays quiet in his room for an hour the likelihood his mother will break down in tears is greatly reduced. His new window in the wall gives us a private way of peeking in on him without letting him know he’s being watched. It’s like our very own Toddler Exhibit at the zoo.

There is something so pure and lovely about spying on your son. For starters, it answers the question, “Does he act like a nutcase only when he’s on stage in front of his parents?” The answer is definitively no. Here are just a few scenes from the Toddler Exhibit:

Elijah dancing around his room holding a tissue in each hand.

Elijah reading a Cookie Monster book on his rocking chair and pretending to eat it, “Nom nom nom…”

Elijah fully asleep with his head and torso on the floor and his legs on his mattress.

Elijah crouched like a cat atop his changing table. Not doing anything except crouching.

Man, I love that goofball.