Elijah's 12 Month Milestones

All good things must come to an end and dressing your child up in a white onesie and putting a sticker on it to take pictures on a blue and white chevron blanket is one of them. Laying Elijah down to take pictures has become a little bit like giving a cat a bath and I have the picture out-takes to prove it.

My posts may be two weeks after the fact, but I am pretty proud of myself for finishing what I started with this one and that I have documented memories for me to look back on in the coming years. That's some good sappy stuff for this momma.

So what do I want to remember about this month? Well, this face for sure.

Elijah's separation anxiety and preference for Ry and I is in full swing. I am pretty sure that after I hit publish on my last entry stating that we were not dealing with separation anxiety, Elijah started screaming from the other room.  

Little has always been a relative term describing our little guy and this month is no exception. He is 2 and 1/2 feet tall and 24 pounds. Yes, that is 100'th percentile for weight...the dude is solid. My back hurts just typing that. 

You don't get into the 100th percentile by not loving to eat. He continues to love bananas, oatmeal clementines, rice cakes, apple sauce, any kind of meat, fish, most all veggies and whatever else we are eating. This foodie's new fav grub is blueberries though. Seriously, if Elijah found a golden ticket inviting him to Willa Wonka's factory, the oompa loompa's would shortly be rolling him out as a giant blueberry.

He loves to play hide and go seek with daddy (mainly where Ryan takes advangtage of Elijah's lack of peripheral vision and hides and jumps out to scare him resulting in Elijah shrieking in laughter and then burying his head into my chest). Hopefully, we are not scarring him for life. He also loves to rough house and be thrown up in the air, and he loves watching airplanes and spotting dogs on our family walks. He looks so cute when he spots them...something like this.

He got spoiled with a slew of new toys for his birthday, but is still pretty easily entertained by everything. It doesn't matter if you are supposed to sit on it, rock it, push buttons, etc. he will try to pick up said toy and bench press it over his head and let out a man roar. I think the kid has the crossfit games or body building in his future.


He says ma-ma, da-da, and duh for dog or airplane. He still goes through weird sleeping stages, but he is getting more consistent...like he slept through the whole night (before teething woes set in again for the umpteenth time) for a solid week. We actually started to feel human again. It. Was. Awesome. I forgot what feeling chipper and not having raccoon eyes was like.

He continues to hit milestone after milestone, but I would say Ryan and I have hit just as many in becoming parents. We were able to celebrate keeping this boy alive for a whole year a few weeks ago (will get around to posting pictures of the party...promise) and it's amazing how much we know about and love this tiny human. We have met his every need for a solid year and he has met ours. We have stumbled, muddled, rejoiced, prayed, cried, felt guilt and shame, but also felt much grace. This whole parenting thing is not easy, especially doing it with no family within 3000 miles of you, but it is so worth it. We have been sanctified and grown in more ways than we expected when we set out on this journey to start our family and we anticipate more challenges and more struggles as we transition to parenting a toddler and one day adding to our family, BUT we are reminded to trust, rest, depend, and soak in God's grace in those moments. We are grateful that we don't have to be perfect parents because Jesus was on our behalf. We look forward to continuing to show, give, and teach Elijah about the grace offered to him through faith in Christ.

We don't even know those bright eyed youngsters we were before we had Elijah. If we were able to meet with them, we would be a little jealous of the consistency of their sleep routines and how easy it is for them to get in and out of the car, but we would tell them to just wait...the best and most difficult is yet to come....but it's so worth it....and don't try to do it on your own strength though we know that is something they will have to fail at first before they learn to cling to the Father for what they need in the moment. And even then, it will be a constant battle. We would pray for them and excitedly anticipate the cute pics of that baby that is to come. Oh how I wish time travel were a real thing. 

And with that, here is the final month of Elijah's life before he turned ONE according to our iPhones:

At a park on a sunny day that is close to our home.

Clementines and sunshine.

Overalls and the Kubota Gardens.

This scares everybody, but he loves it!

Nothing like a good rock.

Picnic on the porch.

Our first spring in Seattle did not disappoint. 

Walks with this goof are my fav.

Shopping with daddy at manly stores.

Visiting the tulip fields in Mt. Vernon, WA. A must.

Amazed by kites flying.

My two studs posing with the kites.

We were greatly reminded of our new life in Christ by the tulips. 

My dapper looking boys on Elijah's second Easter!

So handsome.

This face melts my heart.

Hunting easter eggs in the front yard.

Walking against the wind on a ferry ride.

Still loves hiking with us.

Dude can get some air.

Swoon.

Getting used to have rocks instead of sand on the beach.

I mean. Come on. Can't even. Too cute.

This kid loves his daddy!

Waiting on momma and daddy to get some coffee and yes that is  a mini bench...promise he is not that gargantuan.

My little Washington baby.

Eating a cinnamon roll on his You are Special Today plate on his actual birthday.

Waiting to drive back on the ferry.

Our make-shift baby gate...promise we have one now.

Sunshine. Daddy. And Mt. Ranier. Some of Elijah's favorite things.

Momma takes a safer approach...always.

Real life: the state of our car most of the time.

Little man at his birthday party....I have WAY too many pictures  of Elijah with his grandparents (both sides...yay!) from his birthday weekend in Seattle so here is a sneak peak! A birthday weekend post is to come!

ditto above:-)

What a year kid! Looking forward to the 17 more we have with you before you leave our nest. I know they will fly by faster than I want, but that I will love watching you grow and will love looking back on your beautiful life! All my love bugs!

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!