Dada's Home

Erik went to get my car's oil change tonight and there were problems. So he ended up getting home about an hour and a half later than usual. Needless to say, Elijah baby was very excited once Dada finally arrived home. Can you see that screaming laughing smile all over his face? Erik was excited to see his family too!

Wheelies Rampway

This new toy has two long ramps for the Little People cars to go down. Elijah's probably too little to understand how to play with it correctly, but he likes to eat the cars and throw them at the ramps. If I set a car up for him, he might push it down. His favorite part of the huge toy is the little button at the bottom. When the cars roll over, it makes car noises and such. Of course, Elijah just likes to push the button over and over. Whatever you want, little one. It's your toy. Vroom!

Peace

Our little guy was crying a lot this evening so we put him to bed early. He was fine during dinner and bath though. Looks like he flipped his glow worm around a little before falling asleep.

Elijah's bedtime story was from his book Bedtime Prayers.

The Shepherd Sings

"The Lord will be happy with you...He will sing and be joyful about you." ~Zephaniah 3:17

Flying Letters

Usually, I don't let him get this far into ripping apart his play mat. As you can see here, I let Elijah experiment with how the pieces all connected....uhhh disconnected. Maybe in a few months we will work on putting them together and making words, but right now we're doing good to remember that pieces that look the same are stored together when we "clean up."

Shoes

He's never had to walk with shoes before, but he will this coming weekend. We thought we'd let him practice a little first. And we'll let him try them out for a while each day. This is Elijah's stretching before his first walk....haha. Really he was trying to take them off because I'm sure they felt really weird to my always barefooted child.

After much coaching, we were able to get Elijah to walk down the hall. He walked with 'high knees' because the shoes felt heavy to him.

Sitting and whining in the hall. He does not like shoes. They are heavy, bulky, weird feeling, easy to trip over, and he has to wear socks too. Poor kid.

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Monster Tears

A lot of our day looked like this... Tummy problems?? (Our early morning was like this too.)

We had a little fun trying to put his bib on like a cape. Then he just decided to fly around with it above his head. What a creative monster super hero we have!

Red Friday

Elijah has team spirit! Go KC! He was very fussy today...and I wonder if he missed his afternoon nap. That doesn't mean I couldn't get a few grins outta him. Can you spot all 4 teeth?

Playing Hard

After a long play time with blocks and books, Elijah takes a "sip" of water. Ha! Actually, he chugs it and spills much of it down the front of his clothes. 

Imperfect parenting moment: I left Elijah's diaper bag at day care. Good thing we'll be able to get it tomorrow.

Within Reach

Elijah, pictured above, is seen here playing with his Mega Blocks. He was moving them from the basket to the shelf. Look carefully at his right arm.

In other news, Elijah had his one year check up today at the doctor's. He weighs 20lbs (10th percentile) and is 28.5in long (12th percentile). Doctor quote: "That's perfect for him." 

Feel the Rhythm

"Sing for joy to God our strength; shout aloud to the God of Jacob! Begin the music, strike the tambourine, play the melodious harp and lyre." ~Psalms 81:1 & 2

How it Works

If I put the ball in the top, how does it get to the bottom. I'll take a closer look...

The ball goes in the hole at the top of the helicopter. Elijah remembered that from yesterday.

Caterpillar Tunnel

Elijah enjoys playing inside one of his presents. This fun crawl through tunnel is a caterpillar with legs and a face at the front. I had to throw his toys in there first so he knew he could play inside it. We've never had a toy this big.

Very Hungry Caterpillar

We had Elijah's 1st birthday party today. Theme: The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Most Ideas: Pinterest. Some Ideas: Me (or improved by me). The first picture is his presents table. The second picture is Elijah actually pulling the ribbon to open up a present (picture taken by Aunt Katie). The third picture is the chalkboard where each guest (featuring Great Grandma) made a prediction about what Elijah will be in the future. The fourth picture is Elijah looking at a present with Grandpa Great (picture taken by Aunt Katie).

Family picture by the cake table.

First cake: 2 cupcakes!

The first picture here is the cake table. The second picture is the fruit. The third picture is all the opened presents. Thank you everyone!!

Hard to Get

Elijah moves...a lot...everywhere. This makes it difficult to get a good picture of him. Well, it's difficult to get him to stay in the frame. See here ^^ I barely got him.

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." ~Matthew 28:19

Mega Block

He sure does like his new toys that Grandma got him for his birthday. I wonder if he knows that Mega Blocks are not pacifiers... 

Turning ONE!

This is Elijah on the day he was born: 8-15-11 at 6:15pm, weighing in at 7lbs 1oz 

Mommy stayed home from work to enjoy Elijah's first birthday. We did some finger painting.

Then we cleaned up and went to Chick-fil-a with Grandma for lunch. 

After a long nap, we went for a little swim in the backyard pool. Today was a blast!

Kojo the Croc

Happy Birthday Eve, Elijah! We are now introducing Kojo the Croc...he's a toy, a pillow, and a blanket. Look at that face. He loves this soft cuddly crocodile. 

And here's a picture of the blanket version.

And here's me...hours before my water broke. Guess what past self...you're getting a baby tomorrow.

Toddler Toddling

My little baby is becoming a pro walker.

Huh?

"Elijah, show Mommy your wooden blocks."

Protesting

I can hear the chanting now, "No nap! No nap! No nap!" The picketing sign reads, "On strike. Mommy and Daddy rules unfair!" 

"Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right." ~Ephesians 6:1

Cousin Time

We had Elijah's cousin Dylan over for his birthday. They had fun playing with the remote control car and tickling. We went out to eat and played video games. I'm predicting a late bedtime...

Sticky Grass

It was a beautiful day outside, so we brought a blanket to the backyard. Elijah crawled around on the blanket and played with the dirt. Then he found the best part...grass! It's good for ripping, pulling, tasting, sharing, and sticking.

Flip Teeth

Daddy was flipping Elijah around on our bed...that's when we get the biggest giggles. He was having lots of fun turning and bouncing. In the picture on the right, you can see his 3 teeth...2 on bottom that have been there for a couple months and a new one on top.

Summer Outside

We haven't been able to play outside much this summer because of the excessive heat, but we did go out today for about 5 minutes. Elijah loves dirt and sticks (as all little boys should). He even played with a huge stick until he poked himself in the eye...my baby didn't cry. Elijah's thoughts: "There's a huge stick in my eye? Oh well, it's just a stick. You won't let me play with your computer?!?! Worst thing ever!" Mommy humor.

This old man, he played six,

He played knick-knack on my sticks.

With a knick-knack paddywack,

Give the dog a bone,

This old man came rolling home.

Big Time Rocking

Elijah is rocking the big rocking chair and banging both hands on the seat. We had to move the little rocking chair out of his room for a while. It was getting a little dangerous for my little climber. Soon this chair will be out of his room as well and hopefully we can bring the little one back.

Tech Baby

First of all, here's a hair update. It's coming in light brown.

Elijah's first text was to Daddy a couple weeks ago from Aunt Summer's phone. Elijah's first call was to Mommy a couple days ago from Daddy's phone. (Both completely on his own!) I downloaded a couple apps for him today...one for shapes and one for colors. We don't want him to be behind his peers.

What Do You See?

Elijah's reading Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See? in the living room while we watch some Olympics. This is the water buffalo page...maybe his favorite part of the book. Although, he really likes the spider monkey too.

Olympic Torch

He loves that we let him play in the full tub tonight...AND play with the shampoo bottle. Elijah is a water baby. I can't wait to take him swimming in a big pool. Hopefully, we'll get to do that soon.

Dancing Arms

This music loving baby dances with his arms. Last night he was dancing with his feet too. Watch him when the song says "stand" at the end.

Roar!

We just call him to walk to us and he'll come running across the room (if he's not distracted). His cute little dinosaur shirt makes me want to eat s'mores!

Elijah says, "Happy Birthday, Grandma!"