Instead, in the course of the few days of celebration, Eli managed to skin his knees on the sidewalk hundreds of times. During the cooler days, so much falling was not really an issue because pants would protect his tender skin, but now, in the days of shorts, his knees tell the story of carnage. I'm starting to think I might be errant in my belief in his superior coordination because clearly the boy has some challenges when it comes to running and staying on his feet. I see him begin to lose control and I start to cringe. Maybe it is because he is moving faster than his feet can keep up with, because he is a superior athlete after all. (:
Yesterday, on Independence Day, came the worst of the weekend. We went to my dad's for a cookout and as usual, as soon as we walked through the door, Eli and Sofia were tireless in their running and extremely loud voices. Every time we go over there, without fail, Eli gets injured in some way. We really don't have this problem at home, but there's something about that house. Conditions might have improved had Eli decided to take a nap in the afternoon but true to form, on a big day, he always prefers to sit in his bed and sing loud songs and make his mom crazy with his lack of cooperation. And with a lack of sleep comes a lack of control and an increase in clumsiness. All was going relatively well until the kids found a Darth Vader mask to play with. They took turns putting it on and screaming and calling each other monster. Then Eli decided a wise move would be to put the mask on without matching his eyes to the holes and to run full speed ahead. His progress was immediately halted by the corner of a wall striking his forehead. He ran into the kitchen where I was standing, looking for comfort for his already swelling bruise. We iced his head and told him to take it easy but he already was insisting on the return of the mask, which was not granted.
Also in the course of the night, Eli fell down their stairs (I think this was pre-wall contact) but tucked his body in and managed to barrel roll down and had no injuries to report after. I was once again impressed with his abilities and started seeing a place for him in the Navy Seals.
As I write this, I am reminded of the thousands of stories I have been told (or experienced recently) of me falling down. My favorite involves me jumping out of a moving golf cart to rescue my ball but getting caught in the process and violently getting splayed out in the rough. It seems that besides his stubborn and sometimes bratty tendencies, Eli might have inherited his mother's idiotic clumsiness. Sorry Mark, even though he looks like a miniature version of you and you brought some nice athletic possibilities to the table, it seems the recessive scrapper might win out. Let's just hope his hair doesn't turn into a giant mushroom like his mother's.
Here is a picture of Eli showing you his bruise. In the bright light of the kitchen, the darkness is washed out, so it seems rather insignificant.
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