At Nana & Grandpa's house

Elijah has a lot of fun with Nana and Grandpa, and is lucky enough to see them at least once a week. It is especially fun since they have a big yard to play in that has grass and everything (the 3rd floor balcony at home is just not the same).

Aloha!

Elijah wore the outfit that Aunt Judy and Uncle Joe sent him from Hawaii to church on Sunday. How cute!

That's all, folks!

Last night Elijah nursed for the last time. I don't know if I can officially say that he is weaned until we see how he does tonight ...
I have to say that I am not sad about it (although I'll probably feel differently with any future kids). Although I've really enjoyed the experience, and I'm very glad that we did it, I'm excited to be done now. We made it to 12 months, hooray! I'm so thankful that he's made the transition to solid foods and cow's milk happily, and he really did most of the weaning himself. Hopefully tonight he'll do just as well.

Random updates and miscellaneous pictures

Elijah is getting so grown up - doesn't he just look old? He is getting into everything now, and I'm constantly chasing him. He loves electrical cords, the computer, and the fireplace, and he moves pretty quickly now, so we really have to stay with him.

He's also developed a fascination with closing doors. Of course, he's always inside the door, so I have to come and rescue him once he's trapped himself. He hasn't quite figured out that he needs to get out of the way so that I can open the door for him - it's a tricky thing that requires a lot of careful shoving through a door that can only open a few inches.

E is also trying to label everything in his world - this week he's spent a lot of time pointing to things and looking quizzical (like, "What's that called, Mom?").

He is getting really good at pulling up and getting back down - it's no big deal now, and he's learning to back off things like the couch and stairs with his feet first rather than trying to go head first (hooray!).

Elijah wants to eat whatever we're eating, and prefers to share with me rather than have his own food. Today he ate an entire peanut butter and jelly sandwich by himself!

Playing with a box - the best toy ever!

Hanging out under the table before swimming lessons

What a great dad

This week Elijah had so much fun with Daddy at swimming lessons! It was great that Patrick could be home early enough this week to be the one to get in the pool. Elijah loved it - he has finally decided that the pool is fun (except, of course for the dunking at the end of every lesson!). I'm not sure whether that is because he is finally getting more used to the very large amount of water, or if it is just that Daddy was there. I guess we'll see next week! It was also really nice for me (not wearing a swimming suit is always better).

The little break that Patrick gave me by taking over the swimming lesson is just one more example of why we love Patrick so much - what a great dad! What a great husband! Elijah thinks his daddy is the best - you should see him light up when he hears Patrick coming in the door each night. And Patrick really does a lot around here, trying to give me a break or helping out whenever he can, and I don't know what I would do without all that support.

Growing ....

Elijah's weight gaining plan seems to be working! Every morning this week he has looked bigger when he got up than he did when he went to sleep. He's getting taller and heavier - good job, Elijah! After we started the doctor's new plan a couple of weeks ago, I was concerned. I added two snacks, and he just ate less at meals. I offered meat and cheese (etc.) first, and suddenly ham is no longer his favorite food. And then he decided that he would only eat finger food - anything on a spoon is bad! Until now, I have been so thankful for Elijah's relatively happy, easy-going eating style. He eats pretty well most of the time, so I never felt like I needed to force anything, and he's always liked healthy foods. But honestly, the first week of the new plan made me very nervous. What if he turns into a crazy, picky eater and never gains any weight!?! But I've been trying to come up with lots of good (calorie dense) finger food options, and he seems to be getting back to his old, happy eating self. He also wasn't too sure about drinking regular milk at first, and I was not sure we would ever get up to the doctor's recommended 16 oz. per day. But he's decided now that he loves milk, and I'm not worried anymore!

Eating breakfast ("I love sausage!")

These shoes were made for walking ...

Elijah just got a new pair of shoes - his first real shoes. By "real" I mean made for actually walking in - they have a normal sole, not just cloth. I think it's very exciting. Elijah just thinks it's a little weird. Of course, it's still summer, and he isn't walking on his own quite yet, so he doesn't need to wear them much right now. Bare feet are so much more comfortable, and better for learning anyway. But he's got room to grow into the shoes, and he'll need them soon! For now, they are just too darn cute. Elijah is getting to be such a big boy.

Elijah in his big pile of books, wearing his new shoes.

First date

We finally did it - Patrick and I went out for the evening on Thursday and left Elijah (awake!) with his first (non-grandparent) babysitter. It's not that we've never left him before - but it's always been with his grandparents and usually when he's asleep. Mostly, that's because it's hard for someone else to nurse him, and because I've been very protective of the small amount of frozen pumped milk I have stored. Now that we are starting to wean him though, I am willing to use some of that store for a good cause - a little time off for me. =)

Patrick and I got to go to a movie and just spend some time together. It was wonderful. First of all, I got to spend some quality time with Patrick. We always have fun doing things together, and I like him a lot, so that's the best part. Plus, I haven't been to a movie since before Elijah was born, and I think the last time we went to a normal (first-run) movie and the regular theater (not the one that charges 50 cents a ticket on Tuesdays) was the last Harry Potter movie ... yep, it was a while ago. And, we went to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. What could be more fun? Elijah had a fun evening at home with our friend Tori, who took excellent care of him. Hey, maybe we'll even do this again sometime!

Swimming!

This week Elijah had his first swimming lessons. I was really looking forward to swimming with him because I thought Elijah would have a blast in all that water! I know that I shouldn't have expectations about what my kid will and won't like - he's allowed his own opinion! But I just assumed, based on how much he loves taking a bath ... I was wrong. Not that either lesson was horrible, but Elijah has been a bit freaked out by being in the pool. It takes him a while to decide that it is safe, and then he has lots of fun, and then he gets freaked out again at the end when he has to go under water for a second. Anyway, Patrick came after work this evening and got some pictures and video of the fun part of swimming lessons - playing with toys!

In my kitchen

Most days I spend a lot of time in my kitchen. This week, it seems like that's all I've done - clean the kitchen, make a mess, repeat. I feel like I've been getting a lot less accomplished lately - since Elijah is now able to completely destroy three rooms in the time it takes me to put the clothes from the washer to the dryer, I just feel like I'm not quite keeping up. On Friday, the sink stopped draining, and I couldn't clean up the everyday mess that just happens because there are three people living and eating here. I don't love cleaning, but I really missed my sink when it didn't work! Patrick got it running again Saturday evening (hooray! Apparently our disposal is not up to all the peels that making baby food creates - must be more careful). The little bit of cleaning I managed after that didn't make much of a dent. We were gone all day on Sunday, and by Monday morning it was a big, scary mess. I spent all of my free time on Monday cleaning it up. Monday evening Patrick had a meeting and Elijah and I had swimming lessons (more about that later). So we didn't start making dinner until after Elijah went to bed, and left the kitchen a huge mess again. Yesterday my mom came over and spent the day with us. While she and Elijah played, I cleaned the kitchen again. I'm not sure how Patrick and I got to be so talented, but on Tuesday night we managed to get every knife and every cutting board we own dirty (that's a lot of knives for two people!). Anyway, after I got everything all cleaned up, I made dinner and some baby food, and now I have to clean the kitchen again. I may never get to do anything else ever again.

Cousins

I think Elijah is very lucky to have so many fun cousins - several who are close to his age! Although we don't get to see most of them all the time, I'm sure that Elijah will enjoy our travelling around the country to visit them. I am blessed to have a great friendship with my cousin Jackie (she's 15 days older than me), and I'm thankful that our parents made such efforts over the years to make sure we got to see each other despite the distance. I am hopeful that we can do the same for Elijah and his cousins! Click to see more pictures of Elijah with his cousin buddies: Piper, Evan and Rylee. Elijah is lucky to get to see his cousin Logan (who is 14 days younger) much more often, and we all enjoy seeing the boys together. (The boys are only starting to care!) Check out some of Melissa's fun pictures and a video of the boys.

Elijah (12 mo.) and Logan (11 1/2 mo.)

These are a few of my favorite things...

The doctor says ...

Yesterday was Elijah's 12 month well-baby check up. He is getting over a cold, but is otherwise well and growing - taller, anyway. He did not gain weight this time, which is apparently somewhat common at 12 months, but we'll have to take him in to be weighed again in 3 months to make sure he's gained by then. We got to talk to a pediatric nutritionist and made a new plan for meals, adding two snacks and making the transition from nursing to cow's milk. The new plan includes more meat, cheese, and other calorie-dense foods, and fewer fruits and veggies - whoever heard of a doctor recommending fewer fruits and veggies!?! I guess Elijah has joined his daddy and Uncle Cameron on the weight-gain protein diet. I'm just glad we don't have to do the weightlifting, too! Of course, Elijah also got another round of shots, so last night and today he's been fussy and not feeling well. Hooray for going to the doctor!

Elijah at the controls

Elijah loves the washing machine - he would sit up there and play with the knobs and the dryer door all day if I would hold him there. What is it with little boys and machines - especially if there are knobs and buttons?

Milk!

For the past six months I've been avoiding dairy in my diet because it seemed to help some allergy-type symptoms that Elijah was having. This week, in preparation for his one year well-baby exam, we had a blood test done for food allergies. We just got the results, and Elijah is not allergic to anything! I am very thankful for Elijah's sake, but also rejoicing for myself. We'll discuss it all with his doctor tomorrow before starting him on any dairy, but for today, I had a bowl of cereal. After six months of toast with dairy-free "butter" almost every day, it was a wonderful change!

Happy First Birthday!

The birthday boy, today

Elijah turned one today! We have actually been celebrating for a while ... First we celebrated with Patrick's family while we were in Pennsylvania. Elijah's grandma, Bobbi, made a strawberry shortcake and Patrick and I opened Elijah's presents for him. (We were also celebrating Aunt Diane's and Papa's birthdays - hence the multiple candles.)

Then we celebrated with lots of my family while my grandma and my brother John's family were here. I made Elijah a bathtub birthday cake, complete with rubber ducky.

Yesterday we celebrated again with Nana and Grandpa. Elijah got to open his own presents. The paper was the best part!

Elijah's Birthday Story

Elijah's birth day (the actual day of his birth, I mean) came at the end of a long, long night of nothing much happening. Patrick and my mom got several hours of sleep. I tried to rest for a while, but when I did, my contractions stopped. So I got up and sat in a chair and watched the monitors. In the morning, I was ready to give up and go home and wait until Elijah was really ready to come. But the doctors came in to check on us, and I was a lot more dilated, so they decided (finally!) to break my water. I was hoping that would get everything going, and so they took me off the Pitocin to see how it would go. No one expected it to get going quite so quickly! I went immediately into transition (hey! what happened to hours and hours of active labor?) and before they had the room ready, I felt the need to push. The next 20 minutes were crazy. They lost Elijah's heart rate on the external monitor, then attached the scalp monitor, then lost his heart rate on that one, and decided he had to come out, right now. They used foreceps and out he came! I (thankfully) did not see him immediately, but Patrick says that he was blue and very limp. Elijah was born a few minutes after the hospital's day shift came, and we had the extra help of both shifts - two sets of baby nurses and mom nurses, and three doctors. Elijah was whisked away by his nurses, who gave him CPR to resuscitate him. He came around very quickly, and by the time I saw him he was pink and crying. I remember being so glad that his head was so nice and not all squished from the foreceps (by the time I saw him anyway), and I noticed right away that he had Patrick's chin. Elijah, you were such a cute little man! The nurses monitored and checked him over for a while, gave him a bath, and put him under the warming lights while I got stitched back up. It wasn't a long time, but I was feeling much more like a person again by the time I got to hold Elijah. I was glad to be able to pay attention to him and appreciate how wonderful he is when we met. Elijah, we love you so much! What a wonderful day.

One Year Ago ...

Well, a year ago on the evening of July 1st, I checked into the hospital (I'd never done that before), and we were anxiously watching the monitor for practically non-existent contractions. I walked around the halls a bit, and took several warm showers to help ease the lower back pain. Eventually, they started me on Pitocin and Patrick, my mom and I settled in for a long night of waiting. I'm sure there will be more reminiscing tomorrow, but for tonight I am thankful for a healthy little boy sleeping in the next room, and that I am much more comfortable at the moment than I was at this time last year. =)

Here's a little (or long) slide show of Elijah's year. Big day tomorrow!