A couple weeks ago, one of the nursery helpers at church told us Elias was going to be promoted up to the next class now that he's walking. She mentioned to me that he needs to wear shoes in that class since the floor isn't all carpet. Since he's been barefoot all summer, I thought it would be a good idea to practice walking in shoes before I send him to church to try to do it! So here's a video of our first practice session. He did better than I thought, and aren't those crocs just the cutest thing you've ever seen???
My favorite part is when he gets enamored with his reflection in the TV screen! Such a funny boy!
Monday, August 31, 2009
A Basketball Star is Born
As I mentioned in Elias' 15-month post, he got a new basketball toy that he likes to play with. He rolls the ball, kicks it (although we're still working on kicking coordination... He has to make a couple passes before he makes contact!), and likes to put the ball through the hoop. Here's a video of the first day we had it:
The goal doesn't stay up anymore (That's what I get for paying $1 for a toy, I guess!), but he still likes to just pick it up and put the ball through.
So now when he's a famous basketball player, we can say we have his first-ever basket recorded for posterity.
The goal doesn't stay up anymore (That's what I get for paying $1 for a toy, I guess!), but he still likes to just pick it up and put the ball through.
So now when he's a famous basketball player, we can say we have his first-ever basket recorded for posterity.
Splish Splash
Except for when he was tiny, Elias has always loved taking a bath, and he seems to just like it more and more. He is now a MANIAC in the bathtub because he loves splashing so much. Daddy is still our bath-giver, and he almost always ends up SOAKED by the time the bath is over. This is a sample of what Elias does from the minute he gets into the tub.
You can see at the end what Daddy does to distract him from splashing - giving him fun toys! Nana helps us immensely with that effort by sending us the toy you see here: a little Sesame Street boat set with Ernie and Elmo. If any of you are my friends on Facebook, you saw that Elmo is Elias' new obsession, and he even says "Muh," which means Elmo! So this toy is awesome because Elias loves his new best friend, Elmo, and it's fun to play with him in the tub. Keeps Daddy a little drier. :)
You can see at the end what Daddy does to distract him from splashing - giving him fun toys! Nana helps us immensely with that effort by sending us the toy you see here: a little Sesame Street boat set with Ernie and Elmo. If any of you are my friends on Facebook, you saw that Elmo is Elias' new obsession, and he even says "Muh," which means Elmo! So this toy is awesome because Elias loves his new best friend, Elmo, and it's fun to play with him in the tub. Keeps Daddy a little drier. :)
Sunday, August 30, 2009
At the Park
I'm sorry I haven't posted this week. It's been crazy! Because of that, I have a huge backlog of videos and pictures to catch up with, so stay tuned as I get them all edited and posted!
A couple weekends ago, we took Elias to the park to feed the ducks/geese/swans. They didn't really like the tortillas we took to feed them, but Elias enjoyed watching them nonetheless. There are so many of them, and they were splashing like crazy, which is something Elias LOVES to do. So he was very entertained by all their splashing.
A couple weekends ago, we took Elias to the park to feed the ducks/geese/swans. They didn't really like the tortillas we took to feed them, but Elias enjoyed watching them nonetheless. There are so many of them, and they were splashing like crazy, which is something Elias LOVES to do. So he was very entertained by all their splashing.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Croup!
It's been a long week for us. Justin went back to school this week, which already makes it rough. I didn't realize how spoiled we got having him home all summer! It was a dream for all of us, and now we're all struggling in falling back into the routine of the semester with him gone all day.
Plus, Elias is teething. I think he's cutting his bottom two molars. He's been fussy, runny nose, chewing on everything, and slobbering everywhere about 5 days now. So hopefully those suckers will come in soon!
But on top of all that, a call to the doctor's office today confirmed that he has croup! (Justin thought that's what it was, but I thought croup would be worse than what he is - I guess he has a mild case? I certainly hope it's not going to get worse before it gets better!) He started coughing on Wednesday night - SCARY coughing that made me seriously consider sleeping on his bedroom floor just so I could make sure he kept breathing. Thankfully, the humidifier gave him relief, and we were all able to get sleep. Last night was rough too, though, even with the humidifier. So we're all struggling and sleep-deprived around here. Thank God for the weekend tomorrow!
Plus, Elias is teething. I think he's cutting his bottom two molars. He's been fussy, runny nose, chewing on everything, and slobbering everywhere about 5 days now. So hopefully those suckers will come in soon!
But on top of all that, a call to the doctor's office today confirmed that he has croup! (Justin thought that's what it was, but I thought croup would be worse than what he is - I guess he has a mild case? I certainly hope it's not going to get worse before it gets better!) He started coughing on Wednesday night - SCARY coughing that made me seriously consider sleeping on his bedroom floor just so I could make sure he kept breathing. Thankfully, the humidifier gave him relief, and we were all able to get sleep. Last night was rough too, though, even with the humidifier. So we're all struggling and sleep-deprived around here. Thank God for the weekend tomorrow!
Sunday, August 23, 2009
If I Were...
I got this from my friend, Jessi's blog, and I thought it was pretty funny. I didn't come up with a funny story like she did, but I think the pictures are enjoyable nonetheless... Photos courtesy of PhotoFunia.
If I were a president, I would've been good enough to be immortalized with the greats!
If I had been born several decades earlier, I would've rocked the big hair and boy bands.
If I were an astronaut, I would definitely have been the one to walk on the moon.
If I had even a smidgeon of fashion sense, I could be on the cover of Glamour!
If I were in this close proximity to Johnny Depp OR Orlando Bloom, my smile would certainly be this big, even if there were creepy pirates around!
If I were a president, I would've been good enough to be immortalized with the greats!
If I had been born several decades earlier, I would've rocked the big hair and boy bands.
If I were an astronaut, I would definitely have been the one to walk on the moon.
If I had even a smidgeon of fashion sense, I could be on the cover of Glamour!
If I were in this close proximity to Johnny Depp OR Orlando Bloom, my smile would certainly be this big, even if there were creepy pirates around!
Friday, August 21, 2009
15 Months!
Didn't I just write our 14 month update? And now another month has flown by and Elias is growing and developing like crazy! He's turning into such a little personality, and he's learning so fast! If any of you ever get tired of me raving about how brilliant and handsome my son is, you may just want to stop reading here... For those of you who can get past the gushing, here's what our past month has been like.
Walking
Elias is walking like a champ now, and he just doesn't stop! I took a video yesterday of what our days look like now that he can walk. It's pretty long, but it gives you an excellent picture of what he does now.
He's no longer satisfied to just sit and play with his toys. Instead, he wanders around the house (well, the part we don't have gated off!) looking to see what he can get into! It cracked me up when he even put his chin up on the table to see what he could reach. (We have definitely learned to not leave water glasses too close to the edge! He grabbed the edge of one once and got a faceful of water!) And then he tried to climb into his high chair. Silly boy!
You will notice, though, that whenever I use my Mommy Voice (telling him not to touch the trash can or play with the cabinets), he listens, for which I am extremely thankful! Of course, I'd rather him not touch them at all, but that'll come. :)
You will also notice that there are no still photographs of him in this update, only video. This is because he's never still! Always up and running around.
Teeth
He has sprouted 5 teeth in the past month, for a total of 10 now. Six on top (the front four and two molars) and four on bottom. And he CONSTANTLY has things in his mouth, so
that indicates to me that there are more coming. In fact, he has started chewing on books now, something we're trying to break him of. But the other day I had him looking at a book while I was making copies at the library. I noticed in my peripheral vision that he was chewing on something, so I looked and he had eaten part of the cover off the book! Like totally eaten it! (Photo at right.) Sheesh!
One Nap
He is now officially down to one nap a day. Today was the first day we intentionally did the new one-nap routine, although it has been quite a while that he hasn't napped in the morning. We'll still do an hour of crib playtime in the mornings so he has some quiet time and Mommy can at least get a shower! But he does well with it, and I REALLY like the 3+ hour naptime in the afternoon that I can get things done! (Or take my own nap!)
So Fun
The more he grows and can do, the more fun we have playing. He is just such a little ham! He still loves Peek-a-boo, and we finally got some video of what he does:
He'll crawl into the corner where the loveseat meets the wall, and he'll hide his face there before he pops around the couch to peep at us! I think that is SO FUNNY! That's all his own doing - he's never seen either of us do that. He'll do it over and over again, and it's funny because he really bonks his face into that corner - we can always hear the thud when it hits! Goofy boy.
So Smart
I seriously cannot believe how much this child knows and understands and can do and say! He is talking like crazy, and his vocabulary is really extensive for somebody his age! He can say the whole gamut of farm and zoo animal noises (including rare ones like squirrels, chipmunks, and kangaroos! I'll have to get those on video sometime). He's also getting to where he can repeat a word we say. A couple days ago, I was telling him about his pajamas, which had Winnie the Pooh playing basketball on them. So I said "basketball," and he said "dassss-da-da" which actually sounds pretty close! He really took to that word, and he walks around saying it a lot. So today I got him a little toy basketball and hoop, and he knows that it's his basketball and he knows what it means when we say "Put it in the basket." (Look for that video in a couple days!)
He's starting to learn the parts of his body. He can find his nose, eyes, mouth, ears, hair, feet, toes, hands, and belly!
Justin also made a discovery today that Elias knows his shapes! He has a little toy laptop that has six buttons that are each a different shape. Justin learned today that if you ask him where the square is, for example, he'll push the right button! We were floored! Such a smarty-pants.
Ok, this has turned out really long, but I warned you it would just be me raving about how brilliant my son is! And he is! I'm so proud of him!!!
Walking
Elias is walking like a champ now, and he just doesn't stop! I took a video yesterday of what our days look like now that he can walk. It's pretty long, but it gives you an excellent picture of what he does now.
He's no longer satisfied to just sit and play with his toys. Instead, he wanders around the house (well, the part we don't have gated off!) looking to see what he can get into! It cracked me up when he even put his chin up on the table to see what he could reach. (We have definitely learned to not leave water glasses too close to the edge! He grabbed the edge of one once and got a faceful of water!) And then he tried to climb into his high chair. Silly boy!
You will notice, though, that whenever I use my Mommy Voice (telling him not to touch the trash can or play with the cabinets), he listens, for which I am extremely thankful! Of course, I'd rather him not touch them at all, but that'll come. :)
You will also notice that there are no still photographs of him in this update, only video. This is because he's never still! Always up and running around.
Teeth
He has sprouted 5 teeth in the past month, for a total of 10 now. Six on top (the front four and two molars) and four on bottom. And he CONSTANTLY has things in his mouth, so
that indicates to me that there are more coming. In fact, he has started chewing on books now, something we're trying to break him of. But the other day I had him looking at a book while I was making copies at the library. I noticed in my peripheral vision that he was chewing on something, so I looked and he had eaten part of the cover off the book! Like totally eaten it! (Photo at right.) Sheesh!One Nap
He is now officially down to one nap a day. Today was the first day we intentionally did the new one-nap routine, although it has been quite a while that he hasn't napped in the morning. We'll still do an hour of crib playtime in the mornings so he has some quiet time and Mommy can at least get a shower! But he does well with it, and I REALLY like the 3+ hour naptime in the afternoon that I can get things done! (Or take my own nap!)
So Fun
The more he grows and can do, the more fun we have playing. He is just such a little ham! He still loves Peek-a-boo, and we finally got some video of what he does:
He'll crawl into the corner where the loveseat meets the wall, and he'll hide his face there before he pops around the couch to peep at us! I think that is SO FUNNY! That's all his own doing - he's never seen either of us do that. He'll do it over and over again, and it's funny because he really bonks his face into that corner - we can always hear the thud when it hits! Goofy boy.
So Smart
I seriously cannot believe how much this child knows and understands and can do and say! He is talking like crazy, and his vocabulary is really extensive for somebody his age! He can say the whole gamut of farm and zoo animal noises (including rare ones like squirrels, chipmunks, and kangaroos! I'll have to get those on video sometime). He's also getting to where he can repeat a word we say. A couple days ago, I was telling him about his pajamas, which had Winnie the Pooh playing basketball on them. So I said "basketball," and he said "dassss-da-da" which actually sounds pretty close! He really took to that word, and he walks around saying it a lot. So today I got him a little toy basketball and hoop, and he knows that it's his basketball and he knows what it means when we say "Put it in the basket." (Look for that video in a couple days!)
He's starting to learn the parts of his body. He can find his nose, eyes, mouth, ears, hair, feet, toes, hands, and belly!
Justin also made a discovery today that Elias knows his shapes! He has a little toy laptop that has six buttons that are each a different shape. Justin learned today that if you ask him where the square is, for example, he'll push the right button! We were floored! Such a smarty-pants.
Ok, this has turned out really long, but I warned you it would just be me raving about how brilliant my son is! And he is! I'm so proud of him!!!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Our Anniversary Present
Well, we actually bought this for ourselves last week without any thought about our anniversary, but it was finally delivered today, so happy anniversary to us! 
We decided to get a new bed in the hopes that it would help my back, but since we were buying a bed anyways, we decided to get a king size! We're very excited about this, and we anticipate both of us sleeping better with more room to spread out.
Since we got a different size bed, we also had to get new bedding, and I am SO EXCITED about what we got! (Click to enlarge.)
It's so beautiful, like the kind of bedroom I'd always dreamed of having, but never thought I would! But it's real and I love it!!!!!!! (Perfectly matches the curtains we already had... Bonus!)
So here's to many years of sweet dreams for us!!!!
We decided to get a new bed in the hopes that it would help my back, but since we were buying a bed anyways, we decided to get a king size! We're very excited about this, and we anticipate both of us sleeping better with more room to spread out.Since we got a different size bed, we also had to get new bedding, and I am SO EXCITED about what we got! (Click to enlarge.)
It's so beautiful, like the kind of bedroom I'd always dreamed of having, but never thought I would! But it's real and I love it!!!!!!! (Perfectly matches the curtains we already had... Bonus!)So here's to many years of sweet dreams for us!!!!
Monday, August 17, 2009
No-No
Elias has a new word in his vocabulary: "No-no." He definitely knows what it means, and he uses it appropriately. Whenever we reprimand him for doing something he shouldn't, he says "No-no!" (We don't usually use "No-no." We just say "No." He seems to have put that together himself.)
One of the things we're really dealing with right now is he likes to rip off his bib and throw it on the floor when he's done eating. That's a big "No" around here. He's supposed to tell us (by signing) he's all done, then let us take his bib off.
So then today he was eating his afternoon snack in his high chair, and I was in the kitchen working on dinner with my back turned. He did great and ate happily watching me work. But then I heard him say "No-no!" So I turned around and he had thrown his bib on the floor! So I took action by putting his bib back on and telling him that's a "No," but it cracked me up that he tattled on himself! So now we don't have to wonder whether or not he knows that he's not supposed to throw his bib on the floor! Silly boy.
One of the things we're really dealing with right now is he likes to rip off his bib and throw it on the floor when he's done eating. That's a big "No" around here. He's supposed to tell us (by signing) he's all done, then let us take his bib off.
So then today he was eating his afternoon snack in his high chair, and I was in the kitchen working on dinner with my back turned. He did great and ate happily watching me work. But then I heard him say "No-no!" So I turned around and he had thrown his bib on the floor! So I took action by putting his bib back on and telling him that's a "No," but it cracked me up that he tattled on himself! So now we don't have to wonder whether or not he knows that he's not supposed to throw his bib on the floor! Silly boy.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Walking Man
Elias has really taken off with his walking! He walked a few steps here and there the past couple weeks, but he really took off once we were all back home from our trips. We think he was saving it for Daddy! We've been trying and trying to get good video of him walking, but most of them are just short clips. So I patched them all together and maybe you can get a good idea. The first one is good, and the rest are just silly. Enjoy!
Saturday, August 08, 2009
Our Big Adventure
Elias and I are home safe and sound! We had a WONDERFUL time with our family, but we are pooped and glad to be home. Elias is sleeping so soundly in his own bed! I know he's glad to be home. But we had so much fun and soaked in as much sweet family time as we could. Since Justin took our camera on his trip, I only have a couple pictures that my sis took, but they're good ones!
Most of our trip was just spent hanging out and enjoying being together. We ran around, shopped, ate together, played some cards, and squeezed in as much as we could in those short 9 days! On Thursday, we made a trip to Georgetown, KY to have dinner with a group of friends and then go to the Cincinnati Bengals Training Camp. Turns out we were mistaken about the training schedule that day, so we missed seeing the Bengals, but we had a great time catching up with old friends! And the boys looked SO CUTE in their Bengals gear!
Azlan (2), Elias, and Patriot (4)
Then the next day we spent the day at King's Island, the theme park we went to often when I was a kid. We spent most of the day riding things that the kids could enjoy, but I did manage to catch a ride on Diamondback, the park's newest roller coaster! It was awesome!
Elias even rode two rides, a little blue train and the carousel! We spent all day at the park, so he eventually got so pooped that he napped in his stroller, which he has never done in his life. Isn't he the cutest?!
By the end of our trip, Elias had pretty much reached his limit with long days of being off schedule and missing naps. But he was such a trooper and so cooperative and cheerful in spite of it all! It took him quite a while to get comfortable with my family, and I wonder if part of it was that he missed his daddy so much. His daddy should be home tonight, though, so hopefully things can get back to normal soon. But our week was a sweet time with family, and I'm thankful for the opportunity to have this visit.
Most of our trip was just spent hanging out and enjoying being together. We ran around, shopped, ate together, played some cards, and squeezed in as much as we could in those short 9 days! On Thursday, we made a trip to Georgetown, KY to have dinner with a group of friends and then go to the Cincinnati Bengals Training Camp. Turns out we were mistaken about the training schedule that day, so we missed seeing the Bengals, but we had a great time catching up with old friends! And the boys looked SO CUTE in their Bengals gear!
Azlan (2), Elias, and Patriot (4)Then the next day we spent the day at King's Island, the theme park we went to often when I was a kid. We spent most of the day riding things that the kids could enjoy, but I did manage to catch a ride on Diamondback, the park's newest roller coaster! It was awesome!
Elias even rode two rides, a little blue train and the carousel! We spent all day at the park, so he eventually got so pooped that he napped in his stroller, which he has never done in his life. Isn't he the cutest?!
By the end of our trip, Elias had pretty much reached his limit with long days of being off schedule and missing naps. But he was such a trooper and so cooperative and cheerful in spite of it all! It took him quite a while to get comfortable with my family, and I wonder if part of it was that he missed his daddy so much. His daddy should be home tonight, though, so hopefully things can get back to normal soon. But our week was a sweet time with family, and I'm thankful for the opportunity to have this visit.
Saturday, August 01, 2009
Expert Traveler
I have a few minutes while I'm waiting for Mom to get home from work, so I thought I'd post a quick note. We made it to Ohio safe and sound, and Elias did GREAT on the planes! Both planes were completely packed, so there were no extra seats in which we could spread out. So Elias had to stay on my lap the entire time for both flights. That wasn't a huge deal, but it wasn't as trouble-free as it would've been if I could've put him down in a seat next to me. Really the only bad part about it was trying to keep him from constantly kicking the seat of the person in front of us. The lady in front of us on the first flight was NOT understanding about it, and that made me feel pretty bad. But seriously, no way I could've kept his feet from touching that seat the entire time. And if she didn't want him kicking her seat back, she should've thought twice about reclining it back into our faces... Ahem. (I do admit, though, that before I had kids, I didn't understand how hard it was for the parent behind me trying to control their child... I regret having been impatient with them in the past...) So for the second flight, I apologized in advance to the man in front of us, telling him that I would try to keep Elias from kicking his seat, but he'd probably get some kicks. He said not to worry about it because he had three boys at home and completely understood. I appreciated that and it made the second flight less stressful for me.
But Elias did AWESOME. Didn't fuss at all, didn't freak out at the pressure changing, didn't wrestle to get down. I'm very proud of him. I was a little concerned about his ears on both flights because he drank his entire sippy cup when we took off, which didn't leave him anything to drink when we landed. But for the first flight, I just fed him some fruit snacks upon landing, and the second flight his paci was enough for the landing. Score! I did discover that snacks were definitely the easiest way to keep him entertained on the flight - toys were just kind of hard to finagle with so little room. He did enjoy shredding the barf bag and the safety instructions on the first flight, though.
He didn't take even one minute of a nap all day long, so he was pretty strung out by the time evening rolled around. We went out to dinner with the family when we got here, but we had to hurry home because he was verging on a meltdown. But I think that's completely understandable! So it's taking a few days to try to catch up, but he's doing just fine. I think the way home will be easier because our layover is an hour shorter, which puts us home in time for him to catch a bit of an afternoon nap before dinner.
So I'm proud of how well our big boy did, and I'm not at all concerned for our return flight next weekend.
MANY thanks to all of you who gave me advice and suggestions about how to fly with a toddler. You saved my life in convincing me to take the big stroller!!!!! I felt confident with all of your support and encouragement, and we had a successful trip!
But Elias did AWESOME. Didn't fuss at all, didn't freak out at the pressure changing, didn't wrestle to get down. I'm very proud of him. I was a little concerned about his ears on both flights because he drank his entire sippy cup when we took off, which didn't leave him anything to drink when we landed. But for the first flight, I just fed him some fruit snacks upon landing, and the second flight his paci was enough for the landing. Score! I did discover that snacks were definitely the easiest way to keep him entertained on the flight - toys were just kind of hard to finagle with so little room. He did enjoy shredding the barf bag and the safety instructions on the first flight, though.
He didn't take even one minute of a nap all day long, so he was pretty strung out by the time evening rolled around. We went out to dinner with the family when we got here, but we had to hurry home because he was verging on a meltdown. But I think that's completely understandable! So it's taking a few days to try to catch up, but he's doing just fine. I think the way home will be easier because our layover is an hour shorter, which puts us home in time for him to catch a bit of an afternoon nap before dinner.
So I'm proud of how well our big boy did, and I'm not at all concerned for our return flight next weekend.
MANY thanks to all of you who gave me advice and suggestions about how to fly with a toddler. You saved my life in convincing me to take the big stroller!!!!! I felt confident with all of your support and encouragement, and we had a successful trip!
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