Elijah

Ohhhh how I love my sweet Elijah. This post is just for him and his wonderfulness.

First, may I just say that I'm really appreciating the 2.5-3 hour naps? It makes our days together so much easier!

Also, you go down sooo well! You might fuss for a few minutes, but nothing major. I lay you in your crib and put your blanket on you, and then you promptly lift your legs, hoist the blanket off of your feet and onto your chest, bunch it up and then snuggle it. You don't generally sleep with the blanket on nowadays, it's always in a ball that you're hugging or sleeping on. SO cute. Then when we get you up, lately you have been handing us your soother before you even get out of the crib. I love it!

Today, Elijah, you figured out how to climb, and I'm not too impressed, but I'm proud of you anyway! You climbed onto the chair I was using to block the screen door. You love opening and closing the screen door and hate that we cover it, but I'm afraid you'll fall onto the deck, so I block it, but you weren't having any of that today! It was a little scary because at that height you could also climb over the baby gate and fall down the stairs, so we're going to have to find another solution to the screen door problem. Also today, though, you were reading your book with me, and you climbed up on the couch where we were resting the book so that you could see it better. You then proceeded to crawl back and forth across the couch. You also love getting on mommy and daddy's bed and standing on it, you think it's the funniest thing.

You love your puzzles and are getting so good at them! You can put all the numbers in the right place, and you've stopped flipping the vehicles upside-down, so now you can do that one too! Sometimes you get a little frustrated and throw a fit when a piece isn't working.

You love holding the play phone and the real phone up to your ear and smiling. You also hold it up to ours and want us to talk on the phone. I play along and have conversations with Nana and Santa Claus, but you get really mad when I don't have anything else to say and hand the phone back to you. It's pretty funny.

Elijah, you are still such a picky eater! We offer you all sorts of foods, but you're determined to only like breads, fruits, and the occasional helping of chicken. Your breakfast consists of an egg, a piece of toast, and a banana. Lunch lately has been Smart Kraft Dinner (so that we get that hidden helping of veggies into you!) covered in ketchup, and then raspberries. Dinner is tough, and it changes all the time. We usually offer you what we're eating, but you never want it. You don't even want blackberries and blueberries nowadays! I don't get you, kid. You've been getting really upset if I have something with milk in it and I don't share it with you though, like ice-cream or cookies. It's really sad, and I WANT to give you  some, but can't. I can't wait until this milk allergy is past. Your absolute favourite food is bananas, and you could eat 4 a day if we were to let you.

You love the Backyardigans still, but I've been trying to keep it off during the day. We have such good days when we ignore the t.v. and play together. Even when I'm doing the dishes, you'll play on the floor behind me. You bring me your toys, and then play with them, or you take the spices out of the drawer and line them up along the bench.

You LOVE your daddy's belts, and carrying them around. You help daddy put his socks on every morning by holding on of his socks, and then waiting patiently until he's done putting them on, at which point you go over and push your nose against his foot. You like to help daddy push the buttons on the blender every morning, and you love when daddy puts the big, blue blanket over his head and hides from you. You crawl at it and worm your way in, and then laugh hysterically.

You are fascinated by toilets, and like putting your hands in the water. It's pretty gross, especially after the other day when a friend of ours forgot to flush, and so there was pee and toilet paper in the water. Ewww!! You like to open mommy's drawer with perfume, deodorant and sunscreen in it. You pull everything out and line it up on the toilet seat.

You're getting better and better at following instructions. You leave the bathroom when I say "out now!" and you bring things that you're holding to us if we ask. Sometimes when you want more food and I sign "More please" you do the sign for it too, and you love to clap. When we're walking, you don't like to hold my hand, but when we get near a step you turn to me and reach up your hand for me to take. It melts my heart! Then, once I've helped you up the stairs, you throw my hand down because you want to walk on your own!

You're getting to be so good at climbing the stairs. Whenever I catch you doing it at Nana and Papa's, you all of sudden laugh and start climbing really fast. You're figuring out how to get down the stairs too, but it's more of a controlled-slide, as I like to call it. You lay on your tummy and you flop down the stairs, one-by-one. I still have to help you though, because sometimes you turn around and want to go down face-first.

You started trying to use a spoon yesterday, and I'm so proud of how well you did! Sometimes you'd put the food on the spoon with your fingers, and then try to  put the spoon in your mouth, but you'd always flip the spoon and lose half of what's on it!

You like to read with me, but only certain books. You like Goodnight Moon, and your 100-First-Vehicles books, as well as the slide-and-find ones. Sometimes you'll pay attention to others, but not long enough to sit on my lap while we're reading.

You love your Thomas trains, and we so dearly want to get you a Thomas the Train table for them. Sometimes you get upset when you put the wrong ends together so the magnets don't stick together, but you'll figure it out soon.

You like to sweep the floor with the broom, and you love playing with the vacuum cord. You love to pull all of your blankets off of the shelf, and then roll in them. You love walking uninhibited, like through a mall. You throw the meanest temper tantrums, complete with thrashings, rolling, and throwing yourself on the floor. I try so hard not to laugh when you do it, because it's just so silly and funny. Usually it's over the silliest of things!

Lately you've been so cuddly! You'll go up to strangers and hug their legs, look up and realize it's not me or daddy, and then run away!

When you're sleepy and we're changing your bum, you like to scrunch up your eyes and nose and put your hands to your face. You love when we tickle your feet and pretend to bite your belly. You think it's really funny when we put Zincofax on your bum; I think it tickles you a little.

You cry when your daddy leaves for work every morning, and you're so excited when he comes home. You even recognize the sound when someone comes up our steps outside, and you run to the gate to see who it is.

You like to splash in the water at Nana and Papa's, and to play with their phone. Every time the phone rings anywhere, you have to run and see the light flash.

Lately you've been very interested in balls, and have tried to kick them, but mostly you start kicking a few feet away, and have already kicked the air 3 or 4 times before you make it to the ball.

We're waiting for you to start talking, and can't wait until you do! Sometimes when you're sad it sounds like you're saying "Mama" but I'm not sure. Daddy said you imitated him saying "vroom vroom" the other day when playing with cars. I want to hear it too!

We love you so very much, Elijah. You mean the world to daddy and I, and every day we are so grateful to be your parents. Don't ever stop being the sweetest and most loveable boy I've ever seen!