Watch me!

Elijah: Mama! Mama! Mama!
Me: What?
Elijah: Mama! Mama!
Me (going to the hallway where he is yelling from): What?
Elijah: I go fast! (as he pushes his dump truck down the hall)

Book recommendation from Elijah

I picked up this book at the 57th Street Children's Book Fair last weekend. I had been closely examining the Curious George books and books about trucks (we got a steam shovel one) and at the last minute I grabbed this one without really looking that closely at it.  It had animals and it was a board book and those were really the only things that caught my attention. But...Elijah thinks it is the funniest thing we have ever read.  He started cracking up the first time I read it.  He was laughing so hard that it was making me laugh so I could hardly read it! What makes him like this book so much, I can't really say, it's a cute story - kind of like the old woman who swallowed a fly, they keep sending in more animals to catch the other animal.  Seriously, I read the book three times last night and he kept making the sign for "more". Maybe your kid will not find it as funny but Elijah highly recommends it.

Brave Little Boy

The last week and a half has been rife with air conditioner drama. Working, not working, thought it was fixed, it wasn't, found a leak, needs to be replaced, need a permit to get a crane to put it on the roof, no we don't, found the broken part... Anyway, you get the point...drama.  Elijah has been extremely good during this whole sitting in a 90 degree apartment waiting for the repairmen to get there. He did get a heat rash that if my husband weren't a pediatrician, I would have taken him to the doctor for because it looked pretty nasty. But it didn't seem to bother him too much and he loves running around in just his diaper.

Aside from all that, Elijah has been demonstrating his bravery and independence.  On Thursday night, we went to Micah's boss' house for a little pitch-in.  His boss has two HUGE, sweet dogs.  Elijah loves dogs and goes "woo woo"(that's woof woof) everytime we pass a dog or hear a dog out the window.  But the back of these dogs were taller than Elijah standing up so we weren't sure how he would react to them.  Once I put him down, he ran right over to one of the dogs and started petting him and rubbing his head on him.  Towards the end of the night he tried to climb on top of one of them who was laying down on the floor. The only time he got a little scared is when the dog barked, but he didn't cry, he just wanted me to pick him up for a minute. He also didn't like it when the dog tried to take some food out of his hand.

Yesterday the heat broke a little so we went to the park.  Elijah played in the sandbox for a long time, he loves it! Then we played on the playground a little bit. When he gets to the top of the slide, he holds his arms out for me to help him down. I did the first time and then the second time I let go half way down.  Oh my, his face! It lit up like you would not believe. Then he wanted to go down over and over all by himself. He was so excited and having so much fun, I wish I had had my camera to capture that little face so full of excitment.

Trip to Indianapolis

Guest post from Elijah

Hi Friends,

I just got back from a trip to Indianapolis. We went there to see my grandparents and it was my granddad's birthday. Mom and I flew on 2 planes and Dad met us there. He's been gone in a place called Chicago for a week. I missed him a lot, so did Mom.

The first night I had to sleep in a bed that wasn't mine and I didn't like it very much. I was telling Mom how much I didn't like it so she let me sleep with her. Sucker! But I'm a big boy so I slept in the new bed by myself the rest of the time.

I met lots of new people on my trip. Mom's friends and Dad's friends and some babies too Helen, Elias, Auggie, Nolan and Sylvi. I went to the International Festival with Helen and I got a marocca. Then I went to a playdate with Mom's Motus friends where I met the other kids. Mom's camera battery ran out when we got there so she only got one picture of me and Elias. Mrs. K got other pictures here. It was fun to play with all the toys and kids, it was like school!

On Sunday we went to the Children's Museum with Grandma and Granddad. I had fun playing but splashing in the water was my favorite. Then we celebrated Granddad's birthday!

It was fun to see all the new people but I am glad to be home in my own bed now. Mom keeps telling me it's not time for bed yet, but it sure feels like it to me!

Peace out,

Elijah

Vacation!

Guest post from Elijah:

Hello friends,

Last week Mom, Dad and I went on a trip. We went on an airplane, which was not all that exciting for me except that I got to sleep on Dad’s lap the whole time (except when Mom fed me). We landed in a magical place called Springfield, Illinois. Then we took a car ride to what Mom and Dad called “The Sticks”. Everything was very green there. It was very warm too and kind of sticky. It rained one day. I never saw raindrops before, at home the rain is tiny.

I met lots of relatives and spit up on quite a few of them. I only spit up on people I like. That’s a shout out to you, g-uncle George!

There were lots of other kids there too -- cousins, second cousins and 1st cousins-once-removed (don’t ask me). People held me all day long, while I was awake. It was fun.

Aunt Emily holding Isabelle, Uncle Andy holding me, Aunt Rachael holding Sofia

My cousin, Carlos holding me. He is an expert because he has a little brother and a little sister!

The way back wasn’t as much fun. I slept a lot but towards the end I got tired of being on the plane. There wasn’t enough room for me to stretch out and kick and the loud voice from the sky kept waking me up. But we made it home (minus one suitcase) and it was nice to sleep in my own bed again.

Peace out,
Elijah

Bath time

The second week I was back at work, I had a very long day because I had a meeting after work until 8pm. I was exhausted and as I left the garage to walk up the three flights of stairs to our apartment, I heard screaming. Baby screaming. MY baby screaming. I did my best (ha!) to run up the three flights of stairs in my heels to find out what was going on. I shouldn't have been surprised at what I saw. Micah pulling Elijah out of the bathtub. For some reason that kid does not dig the baths.

So we decided to start a schedule of every other night baths, instead of just waiting until the stench of spoiled milk was too much to handle. On Thursday I gave him a bath and there was no crying and only one scrunchy face. And last night Micah gave him a bath and he laughed! In the water! He was smiling and kicking like this was the best time he'd ever had. I don't know what changed his mind, I'm just glad he did.

Once they were done, Micah said, "Maybe we should give him a bath every night." Let's not go overboard.

He Looka Like a Baby

Elijah had his 4 month check up a little early. Since we are going on a plane next week, we wanted to get his second set of vaccines in before we left. Everything looks good: 12lbs 13oz and 24.5 inches long (Dr. said length is very hard to measure in squirmy babies, so it's really an estimate).

Everyone seems very keen on trying to figure out who he looks like. The hilarious part is that all of my friends think he looks like Micah and all of Micah's friends think he looks like me. He definately has Micah's ears because, as Micah never tires of reminding me, I have attached earlobes and despite this genetic flaw, he married me anyway. But is very relieved that baby has inherited his unattached earlobes. His nose looks like my family, if not necessarily my nose; but I kinda feel like all baby noses look the same. He has Micah's skin tone because that baby had a better tan coming out of the womb than I do after 29 years of sun exposure. He is a pretty chill baby, so he gets that from his mama. His hair is lighter than Micah's but darker than mine and appears to be on the verge of curling (couldn't really be avoided, could it?). Eyes are hovering between brown and hazel. Basically, we just think he is adorable and he looks like Elijah.

Haircut!

At 10 (almost 11) weeks, Elijah had his first hair cut. It was getting in his face and looking pretty shaggy so Mom and Dad took the clippers to it. A little bit more came off than we intended but it does make his head look less lopsided and is helping with his cradle cap (which was hard to get to with all that hair). And it will grow back, right? I was a little nervous because you see kids who don't have any hair until they are like 2 years old. However, Micah has reassured me that since his hair has grown so much in 11 weeks, it's probably not going to suddenly stop growing now.

P.S. - In the "before" picture, his shirt does say "mmm...boobies" courtesy of one of Micah's coworkers.

Elijah has been changing so much the last couple weeks. He has become quite the talker and especially likes it when both Mommy and Daddy are talking and tries to join in the conversation. He did a real laugh yesterday when Dad was making funny faces. He is also very fascinated by his hands and is getting them in his mouth more often than not. The other day he noticed his feet but hasn't gotten those close his mouth yet. He is sleeping 6-8 hours a night, which makes us extremely happy.

P.S. - We want to send a shout out to our new friend Elias who was born on Thursday!

2 Months

Yesterday, Elijah had his 2 month check up.

Stats:

Weight - 10lbs 8oz - 25th percentile
Height - 24 inches - 75th percentile

So he is tall and skinny (I could have told you that). He must have gotten that from his dad, because the tall gene obviously doesn't run in my family;)

Below find the documentary "Man vs. Himself" - in which the man tries to shove his entire fist in his mouth. We might be the only ones who think this is funny.

10 Days Old

Guest blog from Elijah:

I have been out of the womb for 10 days, so they tell me. So far, my life is pretty sweet. I eat and sleep and poop. That's pretty much my day...it's exhausting. A little bit about me - My likes: being wrapped up really tight by my dad (Mom is working on this - she doesn't get it tight enough), being bounced and my bouncy chair that has vibration. Awesome! My dislikes - having my diaper changed and sponge baths. I went to visit my Dad's office the other day and everyone said I was soo cute. Who am I to argue with experts? I'm just getting the hang of all this stuff.

I'm looking forward to meeting all of you! Don't take it personally if I sleep through your visit, you are probably just really boring to me.

Peace out!

Elijah