We Wore Our Jeans

This past Sunday was Rare Disease Day and the three of us wore our jeans in honor of our bloggy friend Austin - and all of the kiddos in the world who have designer genes. We were hanging up some new things in Elijah's room and I decided to get some pics of us in our jeans.

Out of nowhere one of us got really, really goofy. Can you guess which one of us it was?
Man, I love this kid.

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If You Need a Laugh...

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Memories of Cold Weather Days

After watching Elijah playing in the snow this week, I got a little nostalgic about his past two winters - his cute hats and snowsuits from days gone by. I decided to take a trip down memory lane via pictures. Care to join me?

Elijah at three months old, during his first snowfall ever.

I'm including the smiley photo because he's just so cute. Both photos were taken on the same day - December 1, 2007. I love the smiley boy picture and yet it fills me with sadness to see the deep ridges in his head from his hurt brain. Joy and sadness are so interlocked that sometimes they are carried in the same envelope. But, I digress...back to our regularly scheduled programing.

Elijah wearing Uncle Dan's hat - 4 months old

Wearing his cute penguin snowsuit - 4 months old

Adorable sweater and hat combo - 5 Months old

Elijah's first snowman - 7 months old

(he wasn't that impressed)

Just when we thought winter was over...a spring snowstorm - 7 months old

"Watching" the deer in the backyard - 7 months old

In his winter gear - 15 months old

On the go during his second round of HBOT - 19 months old

I can't help but wonder...where did that little baby go? Ahhh, nostalgia.

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Stair Master

Elijah is learning how to walk down the stairs by himself! As you'll see in the video, he still needs a lot of supervision when it comes to the stairs, but he's definitely getting there.

The cool thing? I've been trying to teach him how to scoot down the stairs on his butt (since he was opposed to climbing down backwards) and he's figuring out how to walk down on his own. To me, that means he's problem solving.

The other thing it shows is just how opposed he is to using his hands. Most kids would learn how to walk down the stairs by holding onto a railing. Elijah has never held onto anything while going down the stairs other than our hands (which he's done a lot, so he's had lots of practice). It would be so much easier for him (and safer!) if he'd just hold onto something. I have to say, though, I love this kid's determination.

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I See You!

As promised, here is a video of Elijah playing peek-a-boo. It is so exciting to see him doing this. He is using his hands much more often, mostly picking up cloth things (anything hard or heavy is hard to pick up). I LOVE this video. It makes me smile every time I watch it. I hope it brings all of you a smile as well.

P.S. Yes, that's an owie on his forehead. Poor fellow fell outside - it's all healed up now...except he has an owie on his knee at the moment. Being a boy in the summer is fun, huh?

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Aqua Man

Aqua Man sounds kind of like a superhero, doesn't he? Shhh, don't tell anyone. We don't want everyone to know of Elijah's other idenity do we? I know his secret is safe with all of you, right? (I'm totally comic book illiterate, so if there really is an Aqua Man, feel free to enlighten me).

In totally unrelated news to Aqua Man (wink wink), Elijah really loves the water. Andy had the day off work for the holiday, so we decided to head to the park.

Last year, we tried swimming lessons. Elijah was all smiles before getting in the water, but screamed once lessons began. He screamed so much that he put himself to sleep. Poor fellow. We decided enough was enough and after a couple of sessions of screaming, decided to never come back for the rest of his lessons.

The water when we went camping a couple months later was a little better, but Elijah still wasn't so sure...

So, when we headed to the beach today, I wasn't so sure that Elijah would have a good time. He was a little apprehensive at first...

...after a few moments he decided he wanted to go deeper. Turns out that he really likes the water and the beach. I got a bit wet. I was totally unprepared for an Aqua Man and hadn't brought a suit for myself or even a towel (we dried off with a blanket). He had so much fun. It was an absolute joy to watch.

When we got home, we decided to see if Elijah wanted to play in his swimming pool for the first time. The water was cold, so we didn't think he'd want to get in. Turns out, he did want to get in and had a blast splashing in his pool. He cried when he had to come inside.

Then, it was bath time to get clean and warm. And off to bed. Enough water for our Aqua Man -(er, I mean Elijah) today? I think so.

Have a great Independence Day!

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Our Neighbors Must Think We're Crazy

The Garden

Last night, Andy and I finally finished planting our garden. It's the first garden we've ever planted together and we're quite proud (although pretty certain the whole thing will be eaten by the numerous rabbits in our backyard). Optimistic, I know.

Getting anything done while Elijah is around is quite challenging and I remember why it is that I never seem to get anything done. He needs constant supervision as he walks around our yard, trampling through the aforementioned garden, walking backwards - and seemingly unaware of all of the trees (and other dangers) we have in our yard. We constantly yell, "Elijah! Watch out! Tree!" and he listens...sometimes. Basically, only one person can work while the other makes sure the little man doesn't crash into a tree.

After Andy did all the manual labor, he took Elijah inside to get ready for bed. That left me to plant the garden, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Unexpected Visitor
That is, until a red fox walked through our backyard about fifteen feet from me. I had the hoe in my hand, ready to defend myself, but the fox walked by me without so much as a second glance. I walked backwards (I'm learning from Elijah!) to our house and tried to slow down my heart rate. The creature was gone and after a brief break, I went back to finish planting (okay, and after googling to see how dangerous foxes are - not so dangerous to humans, by the way. Good to know).

Crazy People

It took Elijah forever to get to sleep and by the time Andy came back outside to join me, it was dark. Imagine the two of us, trying to figure out where to plant our seeds and watering our plants in the dark. I put some more flowers around our mailbox and I couldn't help but wonder...do our neighbors think we're crazy? Probably. We finished our gardening at 10:30. We are a little crazy perhaps.

What did I do with all my time before Elijah came along? I really have no idea.

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