We no likey when you get hurt!

Dear Elijah,
I'm already laughing while writing this, because I am having flashbacks of our most recent family situation! You were roaming around the house, and daddy and I were sitting on the floor not to far from where you were just talking to each other, and talking to you. You all of a sudden walked right into the corner of a chair that was JUST the worst height for your head, it knocked you down, and then you hit your head again on the floor. I was blocked from seeing what happened, but daddy saw the whole thing happen so fast, and was already springing into action! He grabbed you up like a half a second after your fall, and held you close while looking at the back of your head rubbing it, and feeling it to check if it was ok. While he did this I was trying to ask him what the heck happened!!!? He wouldn't give me a clear answer, and was pacing back and forth with you as if you may be seriously hurt, and so I proceeded to flip out a bit and walked to the freezer to find some frozen peas for the back of your head... Your dad was walking towards me saying, "I don't know hon, it seemed like he fell really hard, will you look at the back of his head and make sure............." He just stopped mid-sentence and his face turned pale, his eyes dilated, and he was staring at your forehead as if you were bleeding, or there was something terribly wrong!!! He then started say, "Oh my Gosh! Oh man! Oh... blah blah blah." I started crying, asking, "what!!! what!!! what!!???" He turned you a bit towards me, and I saw what he was looking at. It was a huge purple-ish knot on your forehead!!! It was actually the front of your head that you hit hard, and the other fall was not that bad! So the whole time, the back of your head was just fine, and the front was growing a bump! When I saw it, I felt so bad for my precious little baby boy, and started going through the freezer like a mad woman throwing around waffles, meat, and other frozen stuff to find the perfect veggies that could go on your lump! We put a cold compress on your bump, and then gave you some juice while we all calmed down. We checked your eyes, felt all over your head, and watched as your lump actually went down. It was so good to see the lump get smaller as we took care of it. Finally you were up and playing around, talking, laughing and dancing, while daddy was following you around. Daddy was so overprotective after the fall and was pretty much flinching at every wobble you did. I on the other hand was just happy that I didn't call 911, and that you were just fine. I was resting trying to calm myself down from the chaos. Hahaha, although it was sad to see you get hurt, I was relieved that it was only a lump. Your daddy is amazing! He is so fast to act in these situations, and he cares so much! He loves you so much! I think it was just hard for me because I was not the one in control, and had to base all my reactions and feelings on watching your dad. Reacting to someone else's reactions is way harder than reacting to the thing itself. At least he could see exactly what was going on, and didn't have to imagine the absolute worst and let his mind go crazy! You cried, and it was painful for you, but you calmed down way before daddy and I did. We were just trying to rule out all the bad stuff, and get down to the facts. After going over how you fell, we were able to feel peace about it all. I mean, you fall ALL the time, and you are always bonking your head, but this one just looked and sounded bad, plus it was your first big lump, so we were on edge! I told your daddy that he can't react like that in front of me if there is no blood or serious injury, like a broken bone! He thought his reaction was the right amount for the situation. Haha, and I said, "babe, you can't have those kind of faces and reactions in front of a mom! I was about to throw up and call 911!!!" He just laughed and said that he was startled and the lump took him by surprise! I know that there are many more accidents to come, since you are an active little boy, and also since I grew up with a brother who was super active and got hurt ALL the time! I told your dad, I have no idea how my mom dealt with all my brothers crazy injuries. I was also thinking about my friend who has 3 boys and one of them broke his femur bone when he was only like 2 or 3! Thank Jesus for his strength and grace in parenting. I'm pretty confident that with God's help we are going to only get better at this ;) It feels good to know that we learned from this one little thing :) So far, parenting is a blast! We both love being your mommy and daddy, even when you scare us to death, hahahaha. Love you little guy. Love you very much. You are our precious baby boy!

Sleep? and God's Grace!

Dear Elijah,
 I remembered that I used to sleep. I kind of remember when that was something I did, but now it seems a distant memory. I think I can remember what it felt like to be fully rested, but It's hard to imagine! Hahahahahahahahahaha... I'm serious though! I have no idea how I function on about 3 hours max nightly. I try to take naps, but when it seems I'm ready to wind down and attempt drifting off into a good sleep, you wake up from yours! I'm so so so thankful though, on a very serious note, that you are a great nap taker, and sleep through the night perfectly! You rarely wake up in the middle of the night! Plus, you get thee best rest during the day which makes me feel good since I know you need that time to grow and to be a healthy little guy! Yay for your sleeping schedule, it's pretty great! As for mommy, It's my own fault mixed with pregnancy symptoms. Yes, peeing, leg cramps, and heartburn does keep me up for a lot of the night, but the rest of the time it's my MIND racing that keeps me awake! I can't shut it down, flip the switch, press the off button, or get my mind to stop going! It drives me nuts! I toss and turn and when I finally fall into a deep sleep, it's almost time for you to wake up and start your day. Here is MY other problem... I am so bad at taking naps. I always lay there thinking of all the things I could be doing other than a nap! I think about how I could clean (which I enjoy doing, and find to be very therapeutic), do laundry (which is something else I really enjoy and find therapeutic), or maybe spend time on something creative, call someone I need to catch up with, or respond to e-mails which I'm behind on ALL THE TIME! The only thing that kind of works in making me take a nap is when your dad is around and will rub my head, my back and my neck. He makes me so sleepy when he does that! I'm so blessed Eli! I could not stop staring at you today! You are so precious to me and I want to soak up EVERY moment with you at every stage. Last night one of the things that kept me awake was realizing that you were going to be 1 years old soon! I was semi freaking out because I was noticing how fast your newborn stage went by. But then when I look back, I have no regrets at all! I spent every second I could with you! I held you all the time, cuddled you, looked at you, sang to you, played with you, and basically did everything I could to be present not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. I allowed myself to fall in love and to get to know you as a baby! I had/have such a strong connection with you, and I wouldn't change a thing about this first 11 months I have been blessed to spend with you! I have realized that I really am able to see everything you do, and to be a part of all your firsts, your growing milestones, and your learning moments! I want to be able to look back on your childhood and say, "I did everything in my power to appreciate you." I really don't take you for granted Eli. I thank God every single day for you, many times a day! I realize how blessed I am, and am sometimes brought to tears when praying for you, telling God, "I'm so humbled that you chose me to be Elijah's mom." Isn't it a humbling thing Eli? When God chooses YOU to be a part of something so great! Or when He calls YOU because He simply loves you and knows what you are capable of. I got to hear an amazing woman speak today at MOPS and her testimony was so powerful and super humbling. I could not believe what this woman has endured. She will tell you herself, it wasn't her in her own power who endured what she has gone through, it was God's grace that pulled her through. Hearing that makes me think of all the times I've muttered, "I would just die if I ever had to go through something like that," or when I've thought, "I could never bear that burden." She thought and said those same things, and yet there she was in a situation she had already told herself would be impossible! She told us her story not to make us cry or make us worry or be sad, but to say that there is hope. That God CAN! God takes our darkest times of mourning and can turn them into hope and joy. She said there is no hole to deep, and no place where God can't reach you and pick you up out of it. It was pretty inspiring! This lady sings children songs and makes DVDs, and does concerts for kids! Your uncle Jake used to listen to her, and now you really love her music! You watched the DVD today, and also got to take a picture with her! Pretty awesome morning!

Saving All Your Firsts For Daddy :)

Dear Elijah,
 I am happy to announce to you that you clapped for the first time today in front of both your daddy and I! We got so excited and looked at each other quickly while your daddy said, "Has he ever done that before?!" I said NO!!! Then we both proceeded to clap and tell you how awesome you are! Hahaha... Clapping is a big deal around here apparently ;) THEN, mommy had been trying to get you to play your recorder, but you could not figure out how to blow into it. I was showing you all day, and then right now, as daddy was sitting down to do homework, he picked it up to distract you from closing his lap top (which is what you always do when we are on our computers) and when he gave it to you, you played it! What the heck!? Hahahahaha, you smarty pants. I guess you just wanted to do it when daddy was here. I'm so glad your dad has been able to witness so many of your firsts! You are finally getting over your cold! Yay! You are still a bit stuffy, but you are doing a lot better today. Yesterday you were just so tired, and didn't want to do much. You would actually stay where we set you down, and you were acting very melancholy. Thankfully today you are running around like crazy, talking, and being your normal little self :) I took a picture of you yesterday laying on your changing table because you were just so uninterested in anything. Usually you will try to flip right off that thing, but since you were not feeling energetic yesterday, you just lied there for as long as we left you there. I HAD to get a picture because it was so out of character for you! Ok, well, I love you baby boy!

Sippy Cup Soccer...

Dear Elijah,
So I got your your first sippy cup today. I actually got two kinds to see which one you would do better with. One has a straw, and the other is one tat you have to tilt up to drink out of. You loved the sippy cup. I gave it to you and you chewed on the top for a bit then threw it on the floor and started playing soccer with it!!! Hahahahahahahahaha... You were kicking it all around the house, and laughing, and thinking that it was the coolest new toy ever! You are such a boy! I kept picking it up and showing you how to drink out of it, but you would just look at me funny, and then continue to throw it and kick it around. So I tried the other one. This time you actually got some juice out of it, and so you were less rough with the second cup! You drank all of your juice successfully, and then threw it! Hahahahaha. You have had a cold for the past few days, but I saw a lot of improvement today. You had more energy, and were a lot happier. We spent the whole day out of the house though because I felt like you needed fresh air and sun! Not like you haven't been out of the house the whole time you were sick, it was just more limited, and I was feeling a bit caged myself. Hahaha... But today was very fun, and we ended the night by going to the Olive Garden with grandma and grandpa Holland and grandma Darcie! I love that place, and every time we are there we have the nicest people helping us, and they sit us in the family section, which is really nice for us. You dance and sing a lot more these days. You sing so much and it is so adorable! I LOVE your little melodies and songs. Also, recently we exposed you to one of your cousins baby dolls, and you are so funny with it! We say, "can you give the baby love," and you will hug and lay your head on the baby doll! It's so precious! You are very sweet, and then you go and bite the dolls fingers! Hahahaha, you'll be snuggling all sweet with it, and then you slobber all over the dolls face. It's the cutest thing to watch. You have also recently started to figure out what a pillow is for. So you grabbed grandma's pillow off the couch and laid it on the floor and put your head on it! It was so cute! You hug the pillow and will always try to put your head on it even when it's not on the couch or on the floor. You will stand up, pillow in hand, and lay our head on it when it's in your hands. It's pretty darn adorable. Tonight at dinner you kept starting the wave! You would throw your hands up, and then look at daddy who was sitting right next to you, and then he would throw his hands on the air, and then so on and so forth till everyone at the table was throwing their hands in the air! You got a kick out of that, and did it again and again! Hahahaha. Also, today at Starbucks I put you down thinking you were going to walk to your auntie Melissa, and instead you walked over to some man, and hugged his legs! Hahahahahaha! I ran over, and the guy was shocked and looked down laughing, and said hello. It was pretty funny. Oh and another new cute thing you do it when your daddy comes home, you hear him coming down the stairs, so you start to walk to the door while dancing and saying, "dada dada dada dada." It pretty awesome, and dada loves it! Oh and another thing you have been doing is eating your crib!!!!!!! YES! yes... You read this right... You have the bad habit of scraping your teeth along the side of the crib, and now there are teeth marks on your once beautiful dark wood crib! Hahaha... It might as well say, "Eli was here." Haha... You think that picking your nose is funny. You stick your finger in your mouth and pull it out REALLY fast when you are mad at me. You are running now. You fall every day! You shake your head no every time grandpa asks you if you're a good boy, then he says, "Don't shake your head at me, you are too a good boy!" and then you pick your nose to get him to say in a funny voice, "get that finger out of your nose!" Haha.

You enjoy throwing stuff over the gate :)

Just kicking around your sippy cup ;)

Sunday Afternoon...

Dear Elijah,
Today you, daddy and I went to church and listened to pastor Nathan speak. It's always nice to start off the day with fellowship, community, and encouragement; along with learning, worship, and a good challenge. You were so good in church today, although you wondered out of our pew to another. People at our church are so nice to babies and children, so it's nice that you can kind of roam around a bit as long as you aren't being a distraction to others. You basically walked back and forth from one end of our pew to the other. Since it was just us, it was nice to let you move around. This morning was your first time going up to the front to hear the children's sermon! Daddy held you in his lap and sat up there with you so that you could hear pastor Nathan talking to all the kids. After church we went to get lunch, and you had a lot of fun sitting at the table with daddy and I, eating your lunch too! Today is so hot! We went to an open house, looked around, and then were planning on going to the park for a walk, but you fell asleep, so we came home to let you take a nice long nap. We may still try to make it to the park today ;) You are such a joy, and daddy and I have so much fun with you! I love you my little cutie!

We decided to take a few pictures of all of us together today!

Seriously such a beautiful day!

My Sweet Strong Will...

Dear Elijah,
You seriously crack me up! You make me laugh so hard, and what's tough, is that most of the time I laugh, I have to hide it from you. You have been such a good boy. You have learned that when I say, "no, Elijah... Come over here," that you should not be going where you are going and should come over to mommy. For the most part, you actually listen to me, and do it with a smile. You sense our tones at times and respond very well, and other times you try to test the waters, and see what you may be able to get away with. Typical... :) For example, when I told you not to touch the trash can today, and then saw you run over to it as st as you could and throw your socks away! You are always throwing your stuff in the trash. haha... I for one kind of enjoy watching you learn, and getting to see how you react to us now that we are having to be more on top of you in a way. You are learning your boundaries, and trying to see what is alright and what you should not be doing. Its really a whole new world for all of us! We are all new at this, and all of us are trying our best to teach, learn, and be consistent. Funny how you have to think of things like, if it's not ok to touch the VCR at one grandma's house, and the other grandma doesn't really care or have that rule, you have to make the rule everywhere so that you will not be confused!!! I know that you are strong willed. I know that you throw some pretty good fits, but on the flip side of that, it's like you are so easy, listen well, and are a pretty good tempered baby for most of the time! It's so funny to see all these sides to your personality. I haven't labeled you at all, because to me, you are still developing your temperament, and personality. I always think to myself though, that you are a super smart little guy! I of course think you are just the smartest, and brightest baby boy I have ever met ;) heehee, but I'm a bit bias. :) But you really do surprise me every day! It's funny that I think something is so amazing, and when I want to tell other people, I'm not sure they get as excited as I do ;) Hahaha... Like when you learned to stack your stacker cups, or when you learned how to redirect your walker to make it go another way. Things like seeing you kick a ball and chase after it make me so delighted! I love watching you figure something out. It's the best to actually see how you come up with a technique of how to accomplish your goal. You rarely give up :) Your daddy felt your little sister move last night and we were all pretty happy about that! Oh, and you are a very good sharer. You share all your toys with us, and when we say thank you, you laugh and smile. Sharing makes you happy ;) Oh, and I almost forgot! You got your first "blood ouchie" last night :( It was sooooooooooooooooooooooooo sad. You fell and hit your upper lip on one of your toys, and it bled... :( But you were fine, cried for a while, but calmed down with some love, cold compress, and a bottle.

My lucky charm ;) You just started wearing these jammies, and
I happened to have a box of lucky charms since they were on
sale for 2 bucks! So I thought a picture was in order ;) Love ya!