Chiefs Game

Lunch time and game time at the same time. We pulled the highchair into the living room so Elijah could enjoy chili and Chiefs! Even with our lil' guy cheering, our home team couldn't pull off a win.

Plane Then Nap

The plane may be upside down, but he has learned how to use the string to pull it around behind him. Elijah had a blast dragging it from the kitchen to the living room and past his car ramps. 

Our little precious one put himself down for a nap this afternoon. Elijah came over to me being just a little fussy. So I handed him his paci and told him he could have it when he was ready for his nap. He put it in and walked toward the hallway. Erik followed him down the hall step-by-step into his room. As soon as they were in Elijah's room, Elijah grabbed his crib rails and looked up at Erik to put him in. Two seconds later, our son was sleeping soundly.

Big Brown Box

Elijah discovered the inside of his box. Love the secret hideout! 

Mommy Paparazzi

Elijah was grabbing at the camera...so I did what any good Mommy Paparazzi would do; I took a picture. Look at that lil' thumb...

In this one, he was about to grab my camera from both sides. Afterwards, he started to hit my camera...I guess he was done with being my baby model.

2 Hours = 4 Stories

There once was a one-year-old named Elijah. His mommy picked him up from daycare after a long day at work and spent just a couple hours with him before heading off to church for AWANA. After riding on his dino, Elijah pushed it to the couch and pushed it back to its spot on the shelves.

Next, Elijah started to quickly throw all his books on the floor, but Mommy interrupted that and said, "Elijah, if we are getting out the books, we need to read them." So Elijah stopped throwing books on the floor and read a little bit of all five books that he had thrown. He even ripped part of one and had it taken away.

After that, Mommy taught him how to 'give me ten' because he already knows 'give me five.' As a mini reward, Elijah got a magazine page to crinkle, rip, and destroy. He did a good job at that. He was a little upset when Mommy told him not to eat the page. When he was done inspecting and flinging the tiny magazine shreds, Mommy said, "That's trash. Put it in the trash can." And Elijah went into the kitchen (where he's never thrown away any trash before) and put the shreds on top of the locked trash can.

Soon Daddy came home and opened up a big box. Elijah had some fun pushing it around and folding the flaps. He did not enjoy getting in the box, but laughed when Daddy was in there.

Order Up

Dinner for our Buddy-Do was some mango and mac & cheese. We started with mango, but as soon as he saw me put some mac & cheese in his bowl, he was done with the fruit. 

Dino Ride

I know...it's another video. If you don't like the videos, don't worry it's only a minute long and there's more news about Elijah in my post tonight. If you do like the videos, enjoy it because he's cute and funny (and learning a new skill!)

Elijah is learning a new word every day...it's crazy. Every night for bath, Erik says "What time is it?" and I yell back "Bath time!" We do that a few times after dinner. Tonight Erik yelled from the other room "What time is it?" and Elijah says "Baf...baf" If only I could get that on film!

Slouchy

Elijah's newest sitting habit is shown here. He sits and gets as close to the couch as possible, then he slouches a little. He'll look at us and slouch further down until he can't go anymore. 

In other news, we worked really hard yesterday to get Elijah to say "Mama" and this morning he said it a few times. Yay!

Push & Pull

As he learns push and pull, sometimes he hits himself in the face or smashes a finger. So far we've only had minor bruising and scrapes. 

Elijah also knows several words. Here are the words he knows: "Dada" for Daddy, "Dah" for dog, "Mil" for milk, "Nak" for snack, "Bye" (and he waves) for bye, "Ball" for ball.

"So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven." ~Matthew 18:4

Weaning

I'm planning on tonight being his last night nursing with me. Look how well he sleeps after a final sip of Mommy milk. Sweet dreams, Elijah. I hope the following nights are easy and peaceful. 

Slide Climb

Elijah spent a long time learning how to use the steps on his slide today. We practiced going up and down the steps and up and down the slide. He liked walking down the slide more than sliding down the slide. 

Note: No babies or Mommies were injury in the taking of this picture.

Big Ball Grin

He's so happy to be able to pick up this huge ball. We like to throw it around and run into it. We'll work on kicking next...

Welcome Fall

Elijah's reading his book called Welcome Fall. He likes to feel the crinkly leaves and open up the window on the last page. Books = good investment.

Here's the story...

It's fall! See the leaves change color.

Your long scarf blows out behind you.

Jump in the pile of crinkly leaves and hear them crunch.

The apples in the tree are ready to be picked. Taste how sweet!

It's fall! And you're safe and snug in Daddy's arms.

Veggie Tales on TV

While watching Silly Songs with Larry, Elijah points to the TV. He wants us to know that it's on our TV....I guess. I think he only watched the video for 30 seconds before picking up his ABC book. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a reader (or at least a book lover).

Sunday Sports

Grandma and Grandpa came over to watch Elijah (and the Chiefs game) while Mommy and Daddy went to the Royals game with a couple friends. When we came back, Elijah was playing with Daddy's hat and put it on his head.

Grove Frogs

Today we had a play date with my friend from work and her two kids (ages: almost 3 year old boy and 1.5year old girl). Here's Elijah sitting on a huge rubbery leaf at the Grove in Zona Rosa located right by Build-a-Bear, Subway, and the toys and games shop. Elijah had fun running around and slamming his hands on the frog, rabbit, tree, bear, mushroom, and hut. He didn't get run over by the other kids there - yay!

We also did a little shopping and stopped by the frog fountain. The frogs spit water over the walkway and into the pool. Here's Buddy-Do pointing at the action.

Lil' Rider

I gave Elijah a push on his dinosaur...look at that smirk on his face! His so cool riding on that toy. Now we just have to teach him how to move it on his own.

After his ride, my baby leans in for a kiss from Mommy. He's saying, "Here's my cheek...where are my kisses?"

Say "Dog"

Short video and a picture today. Elijah loves his books. This one has a dog finger puppet in it. He loves when I have the dog lick him or let him pet the dog.

Beach Ball

Sometimes we bother our kid by throwing stuff at him....like huge soft beach balls. Maybe it really doesn't bother him that much. He was giggling/smiling a lot.

Broken Blinds

I guess we let our baby break our blinds (from the back door that already has several broken blinds) and carry them around the house. Ok...ok...Erik let that happen. And after Elijah got his foot tangled in it and face planted, we threw the broken blind away. It was a fun toy for about 5 minutes though which matches Elijah's attention span pretty well. 

Baby Gap

While enjoying the loving outdoors, Elijah giggles and tries to get the camera. I can't wait to buy him a camera of his own...hope he likes it. We heard the neighbors' dogs barking and Elijah said "Dah...Dah..." He's so close to saying "dog"...now if he would just say "Mommy" for me. 

Sliding @ the Park

Since the weather was great this afternoon, we walked over to the park near our house. The entire play area was in the shade! So pleasant for us all. Elijah played on the monkey bars, but his favorite was the slide. He cried when we had to go home.

Curling Up

Check out our lil' Buddy-Do curling up with a good book. Good choice... An Amazing Alphabet Book by Dr. Seuss.

BIG B, little b,

What begins with B?

Barber, baby, bubbles, and a bumblebee.

BIG Q, little q,

What begins with Q?

The quick Queen of Quincy and quacking quacker-oo.

Red Try

Best shot of my boys wearing their red Chiefs shirts. At least Elijah isn't crying in this one...

Meatball

Dinner tonight featured a meatball sub (with some plum on the side). Elijah wasn't too messy. He did shove half a meatball in his mouth and didn't choke! 

Camera View

Elijah now remembers that there's a flip screen on the back of my camera. He kept trying to look over the camera so I flipped it around for him. He thinks it's great to watch himself on the screen.

Sometimes it's fun to just try and grab the lens...

Blood & Batter

Blood. We had to go to the lab today for a blood test. Standard testing for a one-year-old includes measuring iron and lead levels. We should have the results in a few days. They (yes, two people had to try) ended up sticking him in both arms because they couldn't get the vein in the first arm. And it kept slipping out of the second arm. Elijah screamed and cried...but less than I thought. I was more nervous than he was. He calmed down quickly and he wasn't wiggling while they poked him. What a good boy!

Batter. Elijah enjoyed a special treat: brownie mix! Well, he licked the spatula after I licked some off. Thanks to Aunt Katie for letting us take the box home.

Labor Day Weekend 2012

Elijah standing at the window of the place we stayed all weekend - Inn at Clover Hill. This was Friday afternoon when we had just arrived and he was checking out all the rooms. Inn includes a huge patio area, large dining area with comfy fireplace section, 3 bedrooms (7 beds...weird bedroom arrangements), 1 large kitchen good for catering events, 4 bathrooms (2 with showers!).

Elijah's out pushing his stroller around trying to walk on uneven ground with shoes. He didn't like that very much. All this for the Great Pershing Balloon Derby in Brookfield, MO.

This is our view of the balloons flying in to use a beanbag to hit a target on the ground in front of us. The balloons fly right over our heads! 

It was very hot...lots of sunscreen and bug spray for our family. Erik is trying to distract Elijah by growling and tickling him. Gotta keep our baby in a good mood if we want him to be out in the hot weather for 2 hours past his bedtime.

Watching the balloons come in while sitting  on Daddy's shoulders. It took him a little while to figure out that the sound from the balloons were coming from the balloons in the sky.

Elijah also spent some time with Great Grandma in the car. He played 'pilot' with the vents and car buttons while sitting on her lap.

On Labor Day morning, my aunt Kass took a ride in Patches, the balloon right above our heads. We yelled 'hi' to her as she flew over our heads. Her pictures from the ride are great! Happy Birthday finally! We are wearing our balloon shirts from this year - they change color in the sun. They did not have shirts small enough for Elijah. Good weekend for us and our family.