All Bubble Wrapped Out!

Dear Elijah,
Well we did it! We officially moved out of our apartment! It was a grueling 3 days of moving, lifting (me excluded), packing, wrapping, organizing, blah, blah, blah... It was crazy, but man did I feel God's grace covering us. He provided everything we needed to make the move a succes including our wonderful parents, grandma and grandpa Thornblad and grandma and grandpa Holland! They helped SO much!!! They cleaned, packed, lifted, moved, babysat, and ran errands. I mean, seriously, they blessed us so much. We are so thankful EVERY SINGLE DAY for amazing parents who love and care for all of us so much. We don;t even have to ask, they are just right there ready and willing. Not only do they do all the nice and fun stuff with you like play with you, make you laugh and smile, but they do the grimy stuff too! Change diapers, feeding you, cleaning you up and walking with you everywhere even when it's a back bender! Man, my back is for sure getting sore these days since you are always on the go, and need me to walk you all over ;)
You wave now! For about a week now, you have been waving at everyone you see ;) It's THEEEEEE cutest thing ever, because you wave so big, and you go up and down so fast with your arm while opening your hand super wide. I LOVE it. You are so much more out going now. You flirt with anyone who pays attention to you. You need time to warm up to people, but as long as I am right next to you, you will wave and wink at everyone. You kick the ball very good. You love kicking the ball when you are in your bouncy and we throw it at you. In fact, your big cousin Grace was playing kick the ball with you the other night. She said you made a few goals. ;) You are so active, always on the move, and always into everything you can get your little hands on. You love to be around other people, but are still clingy to me, which I don't mind at all. ;) You have actually become buddies with your Grandma Diane recently since she has been watching you a ton lately ;) You will usually always go to her, and it's pretty cute. Really, You will go to anyone as long as you don;t see me. Once you see me, you start to cry for me. You and your daddy are the cutest. When he asks you for love, you will put your head on his chest, and then rub your forehead around his face, and then grab his face and slobber all over him. It's SO cute!
Today was your first time going to baby Storytime at the library! You had so much fun. You were playing with all the other cute babies, and talking to eveyone in your adorable baby talk. You took toys from other babies, and then mommy made you give them back ;) hahahahahah! AND, you starting winking at the other mommies there! They were laughing, and thought you were so cute and funny.They even told me you were smart for 9 months. You little ham! Then you started winking at the babies that I introduced you to. I would tell you to say hi, and you would wave at them, and then wink at them. Hahahaha. So cute! You LOVED singing songs, and doing the motions. You were so happy, and were looking around at all the babies. Then you actually paid attention to the story that the lady read. It was about the duckies that went out to play. Then we hung out and talked and played with the mom's and babies for a while. We had to leave to get back to the apartment to hep pack, but I insisted on taking you there, and spending the whole morning with you since I have missed you during all the moving. Mommy has been super busy and has needed sitters a lot lately. But I told you daddy this morning when I woke up that I needed more time with you, and that I wanted you to have fun playing with other babies. So I took the morning off from packing and played with you :) Made my day so much better! You are amazing! You do new things daily, and make funny expressions and sounds. I love you! I love you!

Just a Spoon full of Sugar...

Dear Elijah,
This morning you made your way to our coffee table, pulled yourself up, and decided to grab my container of sugar! Thankfully it was sealed closed, but you did manage to get the spoon off the side and suck on it. The spoon had sugar all over it, and your eyes lit up! Hahahahahaha... I ran over to grab the sugar spoon from you, and you did not like that at all. But you got over it when I gave you your shark. Haha...
You slept sooooooooo good last night, you didn't even make ONE peep! Not one!!! I woke up this morning in an ultra good mood, and turned to your sleeping daddy and said... "Hey!" I started telling him hello a lot, and then snuggled up to him. I was being wiggly, and tossing and turning so that he would wake up a bit more so that we could talk. Hahahahaha! He smiled through it, but I know if I wasn't pregnant, he would have pushed me to the other side of the bed. Hahahaha. No...... But maybe... Who knows!?  I like to pretend to bully your dad sometimes. It's not for real, because bullying is NOT NICE! Remember that Eli, always be nice ;) But with your dad I like to go up and give him a little shove, or trip him and then laugh about it. It gets me all giddy, and he gives me that look. You will someday know the look. It's great! It's all I ever want when I poke at him ;) Muaahahaha! I think everyone gets in those moods where they just want to bother someone they love. It can be super fun! Anywho, he was a great sport this morning. I think it's because we both feel so free now that people know about the little bun in the oven. That means the baby in my tummy. I feel so much better having people know, especially so we can have more people pray for the pregnancy! I loved how everyone prayed for you when you in my tummy, and I am blessed to say that now I have awesome friends and family praying for us and the health of the baby inside me! Prayer is so powerful, and I find myself in tears these days when I start to pray. I LOVE talking to God, and I love that I can bring Him anything!!! My fears, my joys, my worries, and my thankfulness. He is so good! (I keep wanting to go back and correct the grammar in these letters, but I write how I talk, so just don't use these letters as a reference for your schools papers or anything ;) hahahahaha!)

So these last three months have been pretty crazy! I have been so tired, and also struggling a bit with morning sickness. When you were in my tummy, I got REALLY sick and couldn't even get out of bed all day. Your dad had to take care of me so much. This time it's more exhausting, with nauseousness that comes in waves. So much better I have to admit, and better for you and I. I can still play with you, and take care of you during the day. There are those days though, that I very much need help. The days when I wake up sick, and am so tired I can barely walk from the bed to the bathroom without needing to sit. I get dizzy spells a lot more this time around as well. These are the days when I call in recruits. Hahahaha. Their names are grandma & grandpa, grandma & grandpa, and nina! They have all 5 come to our rescue. You are so active these days, which I love, so I feel bad when I don't have the energy to engage. So I get someone here who can. That way you are happy and get to play, and I get some much needed rest. Family is so awesome. I'm supposed to get some energy back here in the next month or so and I'm looking forward to that! Yipeeeee!

I'm excited to go visit your NINO tomorrow!!! Along with Tia Dolly, Tio Oscar, Auntie Erica, and Uncle Oscar!!! We get to see your aunt and uncle run a race first, and then go hang out together. Hope you are having a great nap. Love you my precious, one of a kind little man. You give me so much joy.

Sweet BIG Changes and Secrets Revealed ;)

Letter Written: December  13, 2011

Dear Elijah,

Well… Yesterday  I started to realize that there was something strange going on with me. I was hanging out at home with you, and we were watching a Christmas cartoon call “Cricket on the Hearth.” Cute, but kind of cheesy. Although I realized how cheesy this movie was, you and I were enjoying it! Mommy cried. I cried watching a cheesy, Christmas, cricket cartoon… Yes, something is different with me indeed! Then I realized, man, things that don’t usually bother me are really getting to me lately! So what did I do you might ask? I took a pregnancy test on a whim, and knew that it was going to read negative, and then I would have to figure out another reason why I was feeling a bit off. You were playing in the living room, and mommy went to go solve this mystery. Haha… It was…………………………… Positive! I ran out of the bathroom crying, and in a state of unbelief… I picked you up and said, “Oh my gosh Elijah, mommy’s pregnant!!! You are going to have a little brother or sister!!!” Of course you smiled and let me kiss you all up. You are a sweetie that way. You get happy when we get happy, and excited when we get excited. You had no idea why or what I was talking about, but you were celebrating with mommy anyway. You are 8 months old now, and I’m so excited that you are going to have a sibling, play mate and friend! So you and I concocted a plan on how to tell daddy, because he has absolutely NO idea, and I wanted it to be a really great surprise for him. We wrapped a present identical to one that was already under the tree for your daddy. I put the pregnancy test inside a long skinny white box, and tied a ribbon around it. It looked like it could be a watch or some sort of jewelry. Then I put that long skinny white box, inside of a bigger white box with lots of tissue paper! I tied that box up with gold ribbon, and placed it under the tree where the identical present had been. I hid the present that was there before. I was texting your dad all day saying it’s been a tiring day, and that I was stressed and couldn’t wait for him to get home. I also mentioned that I felt a little sick and wanted him here with me ;)  This was to throw him off even more. This way, if he thought I was a bit down in the dumps, I could convince him to open one of his presents early to give me something to get excited about. Sneaky mommy!!! He came home all loving and hugging me, and rubbing my head. Then I slipped into conversation how it might make my day better to see him open a Christmas present early! He agreed and said, "ok“ babe… I’ll open one. You choose which one, and I’ll open it!” I squealed with excitement, and jumped up to grab the present that he has been seeing there for weeks. I handed it to him, and put you next to him on the couch and said, “let Eli help you,” You got so excited about the present you and daddy were opening together that you laughed, and started grabbing all the ribbon you could, until finally you just laid over it, and hugged the box! Hahahahahaha. We were laughing so hard, because you actually got beside yourself with joy! Dad had to pry you off the box to continue opening it, and you and him grabbed all the tissue paper out only to find the long skinny bot tied with smaller gold ribbon. Daddy let you untie the ribbon, my heart started pounding out of my chest. I know I was already starting to tear up, so I’m glad daddy was focused on you and the present. He lifted the lid expecting to see a watch or something, and there it was!!! A test with a + sign!!! He looked up at me with a shocked smile, I can’t even describe the look he gave me at that moment, but I will always remember, and then he jumped up and hugged me with tears in his eyes, saying, “are you serious?! You’re really pregnant!!!?” We hugged for a while and you watched us while sitting on the couch covered in ribbon and tissue paper. Hahahahaha. You were the cutest picture at that moment. Then we all hugged and we told you that you were going to have a little sibling!!!  It was such a happy, joyful, crazy, fun and exciting moment!

January 26, 2012               

The picture below is recent. I JUST took it yesterday. It shows me at 3 months pregnant with your little brother or sister! :) Love you Elijah!

Jan. 25, 2012

Jumping Around and Overwhelming Wake Ups

Dear Elijah,
yesterday evening you woke up from your nap, and daddy and I looked at each other and ran for it! We were racing to get all your cuteness from just waking up. Hahahaha... So we both jumped on the bed saying good morning and were kissing your cheeks, and you decided it was a little too much for just waking up. Hahahaha... Usually you eat up all the attention, but this time you may not have wanted to be awake quite yet. So we calmed down and let you lay there there for a while ;) This morning You were laying next to me, and we were both trying to get some extra morning sleep, and right when I got up to grab my computer to send out some e-mails, and search the net for some mommy/baby groups in San Pedro, you woke up smiling at me. It melted my heart. You were so darn cute! I just got back in bed and you grabbed my face and hugged it. I love you so much. When I got my computer, I brought it into bed with us, and you were sitting up playing with a toy when all of a sudden you sprung towards me! You kept doing this, and it was hilarious! You were like leaping at me an grabbing on, most of the time burrowing your face into me. So funny! Right now you are sitting on my back while I'm typing. You are like a little monkey!

Wink Wink... and God's Great Love

Dear Elijah,
Mommy usually winks at you a lot, and you smile really big when I do. You know it means I love you :) Now, you have decided to wink back!!! It's so cute... You of course can't wink just one eye, so you blink at me when I wink at you. So cute!!! You have been winking up a storm to every person who winks at you. You are so funny! Also, every time it's time to eat, you see your food, and start laughing so loud as if you are SO happy that you are about to eat!!! Hahahahahaha. Eating makes you laugh and smile. Your favorite mixture lately that mommy makes you is raw spinach, sweet potato, avocado, blueberries and carrots. You LOVE it!!! Sometimes I through some banana in there too, but I try not to since you love banana so much, and want to eat it at other times in the day as a good snack. You love eating avocado cut up into pieces just plain too. You will pretty much eat anything. I have given you broccoli, and you eat it up, but I don't think it's your favorite food to eat plain. It's better when I mix it with other stuff. But I also want you to eat all the stuff I give you by itself so that you develop a taste for it. You love mommy's mixtures though ;)

I have been singing this song ALL DAY LONG!!! It's been in my head man... I love it, and I believe it with my whole heart. Here are the lyrics:

Higher than the mountains that i face
Stronger than the power of the grave
constant in the trial and the change

One thing remains

Your love never fails
It never gives up
It never runs out on me

Because on and on and on and on it goes
It overwhelms and satisfies my soul
And I'll never, ever, have to be afraid

One thing remains

In death
In life
I'm confident and covered by the Power of Your great love

My dept is paid
Theres nothing that can separate
My heart from Your great love

Isn't that powerful Elijah? Just knowing, and having that peace that God is so big, and so much bigger than we can even imagine. It's mind blowing how God works when you aren't even paying attention or aware there is stuff going on. I rest is God's promise everyday. I pray that your relationship with God will grow, be nourished, and matured as the years go on. I have been thinking a lot about when I was a child, then my teenage years, and then college, and of course now. I have changed so much through all the years and I can actually see it. It's pretty cool when you can look back and see what God has done with you, and what He keeps doing. Gosh, sometimes I tighten up and cringe at some decisions that I have made, and then I just laugh like what the heck was I thinking??? I remember how my image of "being cool" or "what's cool" changed over time. I am so embarrassed to say that I wore brown lip liner... Yes... I did... and yes, I thought it was cool. My heart was always in the right place I can say, but sometimes my actions contradicted that which was in my heart (lip liner aside) haha. But now Elijah, I embrace my differences. I am so thankful that I'm ok with being who God made me even if some people don't agree with the way I have chosen to live. I hope and pray that God will make you strong, and that you will always follow His will. These letters are just for you, and I hope that you can see just how important you are to us, and to God. There's no need to pretend around people who are genuine. That's such a nice thing to know. The fellowship that God has in His family can be pretty awesome. I was wearing lip liner for the wrong reasons/people (I refer to my style catastrophe first because it was awful, and second because it's just an easy way to express the point I'm making. Call me if you would like a deeper example... like say, the time I said I had kissed a boy, and I really had not!!!)... Hahahahaha! I was the poser in the brown lip liner... Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, just admitting that makes me laugh and then want to cry. HAHAHAHA.... sniff, sniff... Only cry because there are people who have pictures of those days that I would rather forget. Hahahahaha! Ah well, we all do stuff we wish we hadn't, I just thank God that He protected me throughout it all. He was there right beside me, and really shielded me from a lot. I could be a lot more regretful right now, but I'm not. Thankfully God kept me from anything drastic. I mean when lip liner is one of your biggest regrets, I think you can safely say that God was all around me protecting me from even myself at times. ;) Plus I had a great mom who was always in my head... Seriously, your grandma was the queen of quoting scripture, praying, and lecturing... She was... She would actually start praying in the middle of a sentence. We would be talking, and next thing I know, we were praying. Hahahaha, good times. :) Well, I love you Elijah You are the pump to my pumpkin, the roll to my skate, and the blink to my wink ;)

playing with one of mom's frames ;)

Silly Little Man!

Dear Elijah,
I just put you down for a nap, and when I gave you your bottle, you got so excited that you started moving your hips up and down while laying on your bed. It was hilarious. You were singing, dancing and drinking your bottle all while laying down. I walked in the room about 2 minutes later, and you were still doing it! Hahahahahaha... You are a crack up. Lets see, you BARK at people now. Ever since mommy taught you, "what does a doggy do," you think it's appropriate to bark at people, and expect them to do it back. You and your grandpa especially go back and forth with this one, both barking at each other and laughing. It's pretty cute I have to say.
Last night you went to sleep around 8:30pm, and daddy had a council meeting till like 10:30pm. He finally got home, and him and I snuggled up in bed and were watching a show. Your dad all of a sudden started crunching something so loud!!! Like, I thought he pulled out some chips, and was crunching as loud as he could. But when I looked up and asked what  was eating, it was a bag of M&M's!!! How the heck do you crunch M&M's that loud!!! Hahahahahaha... I crunch cereal really loudly though, so I can;t say too much. I like crunching cereal. Lets hope you don't eat M&M's or cereal like your mommy and daddy. I mean, I woke my brother up one time crunching cereal. It's a serious problem.
Oh I have to tell you the conversation your dad and I had last night before bed. This conversation is a direct result of a huge lack of sleep on our parts. You have been waking us up at 5am, and also we have been having late nights for one reason or another. This lack of sleep has affected our hearing and concentration.
Daddy: Do you think the baby needs another blanket?
Mommy: Do I have the key to the southern window???
Daddy: (sarcastic) Yeah, I need to make copies at Home Depot...
Mommy: Haha... (unsure laugh) hehe haha??? (puzzled look)
Mommy: I don't get it... Why would you say you need to make copies at Costco???
Daddy: I said Home Depot!!! hahaha
Mommy: Oh!!! I get it. HAHAHAH... Ok, but what did you say in the first place?
Daddy: Do you think Elijah needs another blanket.
Mommy: No, he should be fine with the ones he has.

We got it together at the end ;) AND, you were warm and cozy all night... All night till 6am, then you demanded to sleep next to mommy as daddy left for mens group. I love you boo face!

Play Dates are Fun...

Dear Elijah,
Today after your nap we got a text from Caroline and Lydia! They wanted to play! I love taking you to the park, but taking you to the park with friends is much more fun ;) Your grandpa was teasing you saying, "Your going to go hang out with a Giiiiiiiiiirl..." hahahaha. You were smiling and soaking it all up. Then he told you that you have to be nice to girls. ;) You were pretty nice except for when you went to pull her hair multiple times ;) You are ALREADY pulling the girls hair! What are we going to do with you? But you were also very nice and shared your toys, and pushed her around on your fire truck for a while. You guys danced to the music that your fire truck makes for a bit too, and that's always fun and cute to watch babies dance! Aaaaaaah, I LOVE your moves. You really have rhythm my love. You get so into dancing sometimes that you grab onto something, thrust your hips back and forth, and nod your head up and down all at the same time. It's THEE funniest thing. Daddy and I love when you do that. See you when you wake up from your nap. You got pretty tired from all the fun at the park :)