Elijah's 11 Month Milestones

And here we are again my friends, another month has come and gone and here I am planning my little boy's first birthday party. What the what?!? I would ask how we got here buy any answer wouldn't suffice and I wrote some of it down so I will go back and remind myself later.

Elijah truly is such a joy. I am in the stage where I constantly bob back and forth between feeling overwhelmed with thankfulness to see him thrive and grow and yet be so reminiscent of how fast it has all happened.

This past month he started W-A-L-K-I-N-G! Nothing is off limits....this child is into everything! I am now just trying to keep him alive...you know....away from knives, electrical outlets, etc. He has no fear of anything and goes full speed most all the time. I am bracing myself now for our first big accident, but so far just a lot of bumps and falls.

He now says Ma-ma and Da-da when he is talking about or to Ryan and I. He also can say Ball in his own way. He makes a lot of sounds, but no real words yet. He definitely understands a lot of commands though like "Come here" or "Bring me ____", or "Give me a hug/kiss"...those are my favorite commands we are working on right now...his hugs and kisses are the sweetest.

I have been reading to him since he was a newborn, but he seems to really be starting to enjoy it. My dear friend Emily caught him looking intently at a book for about 5 minutes the other day....the book may have been upside down, but hey you have got to start somewhere!

One of our challenges this month has been helping him deal with all of his newly found emotions. We have tried using signs to help him communicate what he is thinking/feeling, but he has not really latched on to them. We have found ourself commenting often that he got his sin nature honest from the both of us and we are now trying to grow as parents to shepherd him through this season.

He doesn't seem to have separation anxiety when we leave, but he is oh so happy to see us if we have been away from him for any matter of time. It melts my heart. He also waves bye-bye and its the cutest thing ever...he makes the days of little ladies in the grocery store every week.

He is starting to be more independent and will go exploring, but he still likes to stick pretty close to one of us throughout the day and does not like being by himself. He also has been more clingy towards me this month which you will never hear me complain about unless I am trying to potty.

When he finds something, he likes to hold it up in the air and show it off and give you a sweetest and goofiest smile.

As far as playing, he still loves to knock things down, but also likes to dump things out of buckets or baskets or cabinets and bang them as well as hide the remote from us. He also loves to rough-house with daddy and dance to "The Office" theme song of which we have been watching re-runs as of late. He also likes to push his fire truck or kitchen stool around the house and ram them into walls...you know typical boy things.

He has really started to notice and love airplanes. He always makes a consistent sound when he sees them so it must be his own new word for them.

He still loves to eat...a lot. The kid is already eating me out of the house. I actually can't think of much he does not eat but he totally prefers to feed himself and drink out of adult cups. He isn't too fond of sippy cups which is unfortunate. He also likes to fill his mouth to capacity and then grin....its too cute for me to try and teach him another way.

Here are a few moments from the past month:

A little disc golf with dad while mom worked one weekend.

Dad's biggest fan.

Working Valentine's Day W=weekend is not so bad when these goofs come and visit you for lunch.

Sweetest Valentine ever.

His friend Elliot gave him a Valentine's Day balloon that  he has loved this month.

This goob make language class a challenge from week to week, but also more fun!

Incredible hike up Mt. Townsend.

The boys and their awesome dads.

Incredible summit.

With and incredible view from the top.

These boys + Sunshine = Happiness

Our little family overjoyed that we got to see the sun a few days this month. 

We got stuck in Denver trying to get to Breckenridge to visit family but the plus side was that we got to eat at Chick-Fil-A (oh how I have missed you).

Elijah's first time experiencing real snow...and a lot of it!

Snow-shoeing with the fam.

Elijah and his cousin Maggie.

Elijah had a great time sledding with mom.

All bundled up.

Elijah's poker face.

He is always up for an adventure.

Getting sized for his pair of big boy shoes.

Enjoying a beautiful dad and some warmer weather....on the disc golf course of course.

Elijah's first time bowling..showing off his man strength.

Right before he charged down the alley.

This will be happening for real before I blink my eyes....

Always hamming it up.

His favorite food of the month has definitely been clementines.

Putting him to work....I wish, but he does have an infatuation with brooms and sticks .

I still enjoy wearing him as much as I can.

Elijah visiting Point Defiance on an incredible day.

Such a big boy!

If helping in the garden means putting fist-fulls of compost in your mouth...that is what this kid was doing. 

Getting ready to tackle mowing the lawn after he finishes sweeping the house.

You know you are a rockstar work at home dad when you can single-handedly put your kid to sleep in one arm while taking care of business in the other...and snapping a selfie. 

Eating biscuits for the first time in too long in downtown Seattle.

Our favorite bakery at Pike's Place.

Coffee and Pikes Place is a great way to spend a rainy Saturday morning in Seattle.

All sweaty from playing so hard while visiting one of our friends.

Such an incredible month buddy! We are trying to hold on to every fleeting moment. Goodness, they go by fast and are crazy at worst, sanctifying at best, and joy filled to the brim. Our cup overflows. You bring so much joy, personality, and fun to our lives....Happy 11 months our little love!