Elijah is 1 1/4

Phew!  Two months with no blogposts here...life has been INSANE!  I've barely been able to keep up with life and our ministry blog, much less a FUN blog!  But here we go again with a fresh start, starting with catching up on what Mr. E is up to.

I can not believe this guy just turned 1 1/4!  Where has the time gone?

After our stuff moved out I realized I had sent all my bowls and he had to have cereal out of a measuring cup!

Hair cut from Oma

New:  What isn't new??  Elijah is doing SO much more now than when he was just 1 year.  He is a full time walker now.  He still falls occasionally when there is a wet or uneven surface, but it's getting rarer these days.  He says "bye" and "night night" and "baba" (mama from what we can tell) and "dada" sometimes.  He doesn't yet respond to questions or commands (such as point to daddy or give me the comb) but he talks when he wants to.  Elijah give sweet kisses (again only when he wants to), always with a big mmmmmm sound effect.  He goes to sleep amazingly!  Lately we've put him in the crib with his frog blanket and he literally waves at us and says "bye"!  He also says bye with a funny accent...sounds like he has a southern drawl!  Since he doesn't say any words in Portuguese yet, he says bye in English to everyone and they think it's hilarious!  I even had a woman come up to me on the street and say that she works at a grocery store and heard Elijah saying bye to the cashier the other day! Elijah also loves to point.  He points at everything!  And often says "dat" or "dis" to go with it.  Does it mean "that" and "this"??? Not sure!  He signs more a lot, even when he doesn't need more food, but just wants to know if there are any other options out there :)  He also now has all 4 molars fully in.  He is also getting more cleaver and figuring things out...good and bad.  Recently he figured out he can stuff unwanted food into the side of his high chair!  Tonight though, it backfired.  He shoved his meat down there when we weren't looking.  Then, he tried a piece for the first time and realized he liked it.  So, he started trying to dig it out...not an easy task!

Personality: I can't tell you how many people tell us how happy and smiley and easy going Elijah is.  He really is quite a charmer and so flexible about who holds him and who he plays with.  He is a bit reserved though and often checks things out and looks at us for reassurance before diving in.  At home he can be a bit of a stinker at times, but what kid isn't?  

Routine:  Changes have been that we are now down to only one long afternoon nap which he takes great!  He sleeps from 1-4.  Also, he completely lost interest in nursing at 13 months, so we stopped.  It had become a struggle by the end.  I was a bit sentimental to stop but it was totally time for both of us and we're both enjoying the freedom it has brought.   We have also been doing some blanket time.  He can do about 15 minutes at a time but often gets in trouble for standing up.  If I was consistent to do it every day, I think we'd do better, but life is so crazy right now.  

Elijah loves to "sweep" and on moving day was trying to pack our broom in the truck the whole day!

 Struggles:  Elijah struggles a lot to play alone.  He gets bored easily and wants to be held, which can be really hard when we're busy.  He does great when there's someone to play with, especially another kid, but has a short attention span on his own.  I've recently discovered that he does much much better playing outside, so we spend more of the day in the yard area now, where he plays much better on his own.  I can sit and use the computer or whatever while he's playing.  He also winds up in time out (in the crib because sitting in a corner was not working since he would just leave!) at least once or twice a day or disobeying.  That might include hitting the computer or throwing food from the high chair even after we say no.  But he does seem to get out of time out with a sweet and changed spirit.

Moving day!

One other struggle over the past 10 days has been a horrible and nonstop case of diarrhea!  Not his fault  obviously, but he is on antibiotics now.  Oh and of course there was the hernia situation and surgery just a few weeks ago.

Also, Elijah HATES sitting in his carseat...it's a full out struggle to buckle him every time!  Once he's in though, he doesn't complain.

Playing in daddy's old beetle that is now for sale

Loves:  Petting, watching, and feeding Sam.  Elijah tries to bring Sam things all the time:  chapstick, coins, etc.  Sam actually lets him pet him sometimes so they're doing well!  Elijah also loves taking trips to the park, anything with wheels and making car noises to go with it, bouncing on Jeyson's stomach, and watching songs on youtube.

Well that's us for now!  Stay tuned more regular updates...I hope!