Our Little Monkey Turns ONE!

 

On Sunday, we celebrated Elijah's first birthday by hosting a small party for our families at our house.  The party was sock monkey themed with a red and brown color scheme.  

 

It was a fun day, and Eli really enjoyed playing with his cousins, Shea and Liam.  Even "Uncle" AJ made an appearance and provided some entertainment by playing his guitar.  Elijah loved dancing to the music!

After lunch, Eli enjoyed opening his gifts and received many neat toys, books, and clothes.  One of the favorites seemed to be the new fire truck from Aunt Cari that kept all 3 boys entertained for quite some time!  

He has already taken a trip across the yard to Grammary's and Papa Ron's in his new John Deere wagon the other night.  Eli will also be able to enjoy his new sand and water table and his outdoor sports center as soon as the weather cools down a little bit.

 

When it came time for the cake smash, Elijah was quite cautious while first digging in.  I think he ate more frosting than cake.  

Along with the "Monkey Munchies" above as appetizers (featuring "monkey bread"), the menu consisted of roast beef sandwiches, Mary's sweet corn, blueberry fluff, fruit salad, pasta salad, and chips. 

Favors for the adults:  Cinnamon candy, Tootsie Rolls, and root beer barrels

 Favors for the kids:  Barrel of monkeys and a monkey book

I still can't believe it has been a year already 

that Eli has been a part of our lives.  

Happy First Birthday, Elijah Joseph!

One Year

 

What a milestone!  Elijah has reached his first birthday today.  A lot has changed in this first year of his life!  We are all settled in now in our new home, and we celebrated his first birthday by hosting a small party with our families this past Sunday.  

A couple weeks before the 1-year mark, Eli switched from formula to whole milk.  It was a pretty smooth transition.  While he is completely weaned from the bottle, he is still learning to use the sippy cup.  He needs some help with it at meal times, but otherwise, he can handle it independently when lying down in his crib since he is better able to tilt it to drink from it.  He has enjoyed all the different table food he has tried so far.  His favorites seem to be bread, watermelon, applesauce, and bananas.  For only having 2 teeth, he does really well with some of the foods that are harder to mash, such as the meats.

All his activity during the day must wear him out because he is still sleeping really well throughout the night and takes good, long naps during the day.  He will nap in the morning between 2 to 3 hours and then take an afternoon nap for 2 hours.  He is still going to bed around 8:00 and wakes up between 6:30 and 7:00.   He also does not use the pacifier anymore.

Eli can walk with the assistance of his activity walker across the room but has yet to take those first steps on his own.  He cruises around everywhere by holding on with at least one hand.  I think he realizes he can get places faster by crawling.  At around 11-1/2 months he started waving, and he would wave to Ian when he left for work in the morning.  Then, once he learned how to clap, he stopped waving, and we haven't really seen him wave since.  Maybe he traded one skill for another.  He also used to wave at me all the time when I would be changing his diaper, and now he claps instead during diaper changes.  

Books still keep Eli interested for a long, long time.  He loves books where he can lift the flaps.  When he has choices of different toys and books in front of him, he tends to prefer the books.  He is also interested in toys with sounds and ones with buttons he can push.  Elijah is fascinated by the many mirrors in our house, especially the ones on doors where he can stand up next to them and see himself.  He loves to go inside a room and shut the door, too.  He sure seems to be a typical boy, as he loves to bang on things.  Now that we have a front porch to sit on, we have been spending a lot of time outside where Eli loves to watch the traffic go by.  

Starting next week, Elijah will be going to daycare twice a week.  I think it will be good for him to have the opportunity to interact with other kids on a more frequent basis and be able to spend some time away from me for a little while.  We visited the in-home daycare where he will be going this past week.  At first, he crawled right over to the other kids to check them out and played with some of the toys.  Then, he wasn't so sure about it anymore and kept crying off and on the rest of the time we were there.  Hopefully, it will not take him too long to adjust.  

Elijah has brought so much joy to our lives, and we are so thankful to be blessed with such a happy and healthy little boy:) 

  

Happy Father's Day!

It has been quite the Father's Day weekend.  We are all moved and settled into our new house.  We have our house in Lost Nation all cleaned out, and our tenant who will be renting our house there has started moving in as well.  It has been a very busy past couple of weeks.  Now, we are finishing up planning for Elijah's first birthday party next Sunday.  Our ultimate goal was to be able to host his party in our new house.    

Happy Father's Day to the best dad 

I could ask for to take part in raising our son. 

Eleven Months

 

This past month, I was able to celebrate my first Mother's Day.  This holiday has a whole new meaning now that I am a mother myself and makes me even more grateful for the gift of motherhood and for all the things my own mom has done for me:)  We spent the day by going out for brunch after church, visiting Ian's parents, and then spending the rest of the afternoon with my family.  

Elijah experienced his first extended stay away from home when my mom took him home with her after watching him last Friday, and then I went back to get him on Monday.  He actually stayed overnight when he was about 2 months old at my parents' house when we went on a motorcycle trip to Wisconsin, but this was a much longer stay.  I totally forgot what life was even like before he was born, and it was so strange to be at home without him there for so long.  On the other hand, it was a much needed break with being so busy lately.  With my parents watching him the entire weekend, we could devote the Memorial Day weekend to finishing up the updates on the house.  Now, it just needs a good deep clean, and then the flooring will be installed along with the appliances and furniture being delivered.  As long as everything stays on track, we are hoping to be moved in by the middle of June.  As for our house in Lost Nation, we have a tenant lined up to move in the beginning of July.  We are thinking of maybe just keeping our house as a rental property after we move.  The lady who will be moving in actually contacted us about the prospect of renting, so we took it off the market and went ahead with the plan.

Now, on to the 11-month update...Eli will soon transition from the pureed baby food to all table food.  He has really enjoyed all the different fruit and vegetable combinations as well as the meats blended with vegetables and pasta meals.  He especially likes yogurt for breakfast.  He loves to feed himself puffs, yogurt bites, string cheese, and crackers (or really anything you put in front of him).  He still takes a total of 26 ounces of formula a day.  

Eli has been going to sleep a little later at night, usually between 7:30 and 8:00.  He wakes up earlier too, usually between 6:00 and 6:30.  His morning nap ranges between 2 and 3 hours, and he will also sleep for 2 hours in the afternoon. 

Along with saying ma-ma and da-da, he has been experimenting with new sounds like "ka" and "ta." He is still quite the little busybody crawling everywhere and pulling himself up on things.  His balance is really improving as he has learned to cruise along different things while holding on with just one hand.  He has been dancing more too by bouncing up and down when he hears music on TV or from his toys.  Instead of just pulling books out of the crate and throwing them on the floor, he will take one out at a time and actually sit down and browse through it while turning the pages. 

This past year has been a big one with big changes; new baby and new house.  That must be why it has flown by so fast.  Only 1 more month until we will have a 1-year-old and be moved (hopefully) to a new house. 

Splish, Splash and a New Do

Combining Eli's love of being outside with his love for playing in water, a mini pool seemed to be the perfect idea for a new form of entertainment.  I couldn't wait to put his little swim trunks on:)  Plus, I thought this tiny pool was a good size for him, and it was only $5!  

  

Sporting his new do after his latest haircut:

A Surprise Visitor

While Eli was waiting for Jamie to come and watch him for the day, Grandpa Bob stopped by for a surprise visit on his way home from a nearby delivery stop.

Then, Jamie arrived to watch him the rest of the day.  She even brought him his first lawn chair.  What a big boy!

Ten Months

Eli has been quite a busybody this past month!  Around the 9-month mark, he started to crawl and hasn't stopped since.  He has discovered all kinds of new places in the house that he couldn't get to before on his own.  He can also pull himself up to a standing position as long as he has something to hang on to.  When there is music playing on TV, Eli has just started to bounce up and down when he is on propped up on his knees, so we think he might be trying to dance since this only happens when music comes on TV.  He still really likes books and has started to turn the pages himself with the board books.  As long as he is not distracted by anything else, he can roll a ball back and forth.  Eli has been saying "ma-ma" and "da-da" quite a bit as well.

The biggest accomplishment this past month in the eating department has been Eli's development of the pincer grasp which now allows him to self-feed.  He especially likes the banana flavored puffs.  He also still takes a total of 26 ounces of formula a day.  I had quite the stockpile of the step 2 baby food to use up before he begins the step 3 which will include more meats, but he has been ready for it the past couple of weeks now that he can mash his food a lot better when chewing. 

Eli will go to bed each night between 7:00 and 7:30 and has become a bit of an early riser now, waking up for the day between 6:00 and 6:30.  His morning nap has become shorter, now between 1 hour to an hour and a half, but he will still sleep for a solid 2 hours in the afternoon most days.  Now that he can pull himself up to stand, he is usually standing in his crib when I go in to get him.  He has even personalized his crib rails with bite marks from his two bottom teeth.

The first birthday party plans are in the works.  We were hoping to be finished up with the new house projects and be moved in by the end of June, but we still have quite a ways to go yet, so we will probably be hosting Eli's first birthday party at our house in Lost Nation. 

Dear Eli,

In honor of your 10-month birthday, I created a Top 10 List of things I love about you most:)

Love, Mom

10.  Your features:  I love your bright blue eyes and your long eyelashes (just like your dad:)

9.  Interest in books:  You seem to enjoy books even more now that you can turn the pages by yourself.  Books with real life pictures of babies are still your favorite.  You also really like the touch-and-feel books.  One of my favorite things to do with you is go to the library and pick out new books to read.

8.  Your giggles and smile:  There is nothing more innocent or sweeter than a baby's giggles.  I love to see you smile, knowing you are a happy little boy.

 (I was finally able to capture a picture that shows his teeth.)

7.  Your independence:  You are usually a very content little boy, and you can keep yourself entertained by looking at a book or playing with your toys for quite a while.  

6.  Your love of other people and animals:  You seem to really enjoy being around other people and take a special interest in kids as you show a lot of excitement when they are around.  I think you might even be an animal lover as you get older since you reach out for animals and squeal in delight when they are close by. 

 (Eli with cousins Shea and Liam at Easter)

5.  Your excitement:  When you get really excited about something, you show your enthusiasm by twisting your wrists back and forth.

4.  Your sense of adventure and discovery:  Sometimes I wonder what is going through your little mind when you touched the grass outside for the first time or even pulled out a dandelion (and of course attempted to put it in your mouth).  Now that you can crawl, you are always on an adventure.

3.  The schedule you follow:  Once in a while, your schedule can get a little off, but you typically follow the same sleeping and eating schedule every day.  Sometimes when you wake up from your afternoon nap, it is 2 hours almost to the minute from the time you went to sleep.  

2.  Sleeping pattern:  You have always been a good sleeper.  You started sleeping through the night at 6 weeks.  Around the 6-month mark is when you started sleeping for 12 hours straight at night.  The best advice I have received regarding sleep was to put you in your crib while you were tired but still awake, and you learned to go to sleep on your own. 

 (Favorite napping position)

1.  Your uniqueness:  There is only one you!  I love everything about you, and I am so blessed to have the opportunity to be your mother:)