19 Months

Mr. Elijah is another month older and time is flying! Every day he adds new words to his vocab. The newest are Moo, Baa, and Mouse ("Mou"). He loves to hear and repeat words from books. I love that he loves books as much as his brother does! He is also a big fan of anything with a good brrrmm, "ball", "dada", and "buba". This little mover and shaker is one busy guy and more rambunctious with each passing day. He is also a social butterfly with waves for anyone who will wave back, especially good a attracting the old ladies at the grocery store. Not really much new to report except that he is sitting up to the table to eat now, still in his booster. Should be a fun upcoming month. Have a great Memorial Day weekend!

17/18 Months

Time is flying so it seems. I completely missed a write up for his 17 month!

Elijah doesn't visit the doctor until next week so no new stats. Maybe I'll update next week after the appointment (to make up for the missed month! Ha!) His personality and ornriness becomes more noticeable almost daily. He will very clearly tell you when he doesn't want something "noooo" or really does "yeah, yeah". This little guy loves his "ball" and "book"s. He also really loves his "night-night" (milk before bed), "cheese", green beans, eggs, or pretty much anything else you are eating. He is using more words to communicate his wants everyday. He is also walking and running with so much ease now. He and his brother love being outside. They both are also enjoying swim lessons. Naps are still pretty much 2 a day but he easily skips the mornings when we need him to and if he naps too long in the morning, he has trouble with the afternoon, so I take that as a sign we are not far off from a single nap daily. Regardless of when he naps, he likes to take his pants and socks off before he'll settle down for sleep (so far, he stops there...)

I intended to take Elijah out to take some 18 month pictures today but 1. he went head first down the slide and into the mulch and then fell face first into concrete over the weekend so he looks a little worse for the wear and 2. it decided to be snowy, cold, and wet outside today. Perhaps we can work on pictures for next weeks doctor follow-up post...wink, wink.

Have a great Easter!

16 Months

Not a lot has changed in the last few weeks except Walking is Elijah’s preferred method of travel! It’s so amazing to watch him in just a few days go from walking a few steps to walking a lot, bending to pick up objects, and throwing all while standing! Elijah is a daredevil! In the photo of him below with the red shirt, he is standing on a ride on toy so he can get as tall as possible!!

 

We didn’t visit the doctor this month so no updates on his weight and length.  Elijah has been using sing language to communicate a few things with use for a while, and also is very good a saying Yes and No. Recently we added “Play” to his signing vocabulary! Elijah loves to eat and is pretty adventurous with his eating. He is doing better with feeding himself and even with a fork.He is still taking 2 solid naps but when mom wants to work out, run errands in the morning or on Sundays for church, he does well at skipping one.

We recently joined the YMCA and Elijah completely dislikes going to the Childcare while Mom works out but absolutely LOVES going to the pool! They said Friday he is doing better with calming down after I leave. We hope to get both boys signed up for swim lessons since we are now just 3 1/2 months away from VACATION!

We spent some time this morning watching cousin Micah pay basketball. He impressed us with his shooting abilities! Go Micah, Go Wildcats!

Have a great day!

 

15 Months Old

A little late getting this one typed up but that doesn't stop him for growing. A visit to the doctor proved that. He is now 27 lbs and 8 oz (85-90 percentile) and 34 1/2 inches (off the chart). It's been a fun month as Elijah just keeps showing his personality more and more. He is quite the little chatter bug and will say almost ten words including mama, dada, bubu (brother), book, ball, yeah, play, night-night, hi.

 
Other exciting news is he is working more on walking. We caught some first steps on camera which is good because since he walks for others but mostly crawls for us. Guess we move to quick around home for him to slow down and work on walking! His other new trick this month is climbing up on the furniture and quite skillfully getting back down. He is so proud of himself!


This past month encompassed Christmas and he was so much fun this year. He really got into opening presents more and seemed genuinely interested in what he received. We had lots of crazy fun over the holidays and the extra snow days.

Elijah is still taking 2 good naps a day but he's started to show signs he'll be ready for just one here soon. More to come in a few weeks! Love you little bug!

14 months old

Well since I posted so late the last time, I don't have much new to report from the last couple weeks. We've been busy but nothing really special for Elijah specifically.

This past weekend we rode the Christmas train with Grandma and Grandpa Steiner. It was very snowy but not overly cold so it was a very nice ride. I'm overly protective of the baby of course so all you can see are his eyes but he still seemed to have a good time. Other than that, we've put up Christmas decorations around the house and getting ready for Christmas.


As for milestones, I can't really say we have anything new. We don't visit the doctor again until next month so no new numbers. He is cruising more and will walk holding on to our fingers but really doesn't seem very interested in walking alone. I don't foresee it happening anytime real soon but we'll see. He has, in the last couple weeks, figured out to how get on and off of his ride on toys and bouncy zebra all by himself. He even today was pushing himself on the ride on toy a few inches. He still takes 2 solid naps and sleeps about 12 hours a night. No complaints here! He is certainly pickier about his food than Isaiah was and more vocal with his opinions in general but for the most part he eats good. He absolutely LOVES green beans and yogurt. He's maybe been talking more in the last few weeks - baby talk, but talking none the less.

 

More exciting things to come for this little bug in the new year for sure. We hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year!

13 Months Old

Elijah is still growing like a weed. We don’t visit the doctor this month so no updated numbers but you don’t need a measure to feel him getting heavier! After a fun birthday party things have really started to slow down a bit, the lull before the holiday storm. We did get out for trick-or-treat night and visited a few neighbors who love to spoil the boys. Also as brother has more time off here and there for various holidays we’ll have plenty of new experiences.

We did try painting with both boys this past month. I think Elijah enjoyed watching his brother more than actually painting himself. He also didn’t like being strapped in his high chair, so he wasn’t in there long enough to really get going.

Elijah has been doing well now with the sippy cup. He’s also doing great with all the new foods we have been introducing. He pretty much eats whatever we’re having now with minor adjustments to ensure he isn’t getting too much salt or sugar. He has an opinion and is not afraid to express it. If he doesn’t want something, watch the left hook. If he doesn’t like anything, he’ll give you the signal for “I’m all done” from the first couple bits. If he wants you to switch up what you’re offering him, he’ll reach for the other option on the table. And if brother get’s his food first and Elijah is not in his seat yet, Elijah has no problem helping himself to Isaiah’s food!

This busy guy has a lot to see and do and is on the move. He is an expert crawler and climber. His new favorite place to hangout is on Isaiah’s mini trampoline. He will sit on his knees to bounce and giggle the whole time. He’s also doing more cruising and a few times has let go and stood a few split seconds before getting down. He's not an expert sleeper but we work around the missed naps and early mornings. He's such a happy guy, we just can't complain!

Isaiah’s biggest fan is definitely his little brother. Elijah will sit right next to Isaiah and try to imitate everything he is doing. He will watch him run and then go around the room doing whatever he was doing. Isaiah doesn’t seem to mind him so long as Elijah’s not taking whatever it is he is playing with. I look forward to them playing together more.

Well that’s about it for now. Have a great Thanksgiving and holiday season!

 

The Big One!

One year old! As we’ve been to different parties and events over the last month, I’ve tried to remember Elijah at those events and then I have to remind myself he wasn’t here yet (just along for the ride). J

This month has sure been a busy one. Shortly after Elijah turned 11 months old, we went on vacation to Myrtle Beach. What a fun time. Grandma and Grandpa Steiner came along. We went to the beach, played at the pool, rode the SkyWheel, went to the Aquarium, ate lots of good food, and relaxed. Elijah also decided it was a good time to switch to a sippy cup while we were there. After we returned from vacation, daddy was off work for a few more days so we even had some post vacation relaxing time at home. We went car shopping and eventually bought mommy a new car. We went to a Barn Dance and celebrated Jenna’s 8^th birthday before daddy’s vacation was up. Isaiah returned to preschool and daddy to work but that didn’t stop the busy activities. We celebrated on Elijah’s actual birthday with a family dinner. Mommy and Isaiah went to the pumpkin patch for Isaiah’s first field trip, Elijah went to get photos taken and then the next day to see Dr. Ware, and a busy week concluded with a 1^st year Birthday party, the Huffman’s Fall party, and outdoor family photos this past weekend.

First birthday parties are always fun times, with cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandparents around to enjoy the moments. Some weren’t able to make it so we have to include a link to the smashing of the cake! Warning it is about 12 minutes long - http://youtu.be/_AGI3m7cWE0

We waited for weigh and measure until we went to see Dr. Ware on Friday. Elijah weighed in at 23lbs, 13oz and measured 31 1/2 inches long. Now that’s almost exactly what we measured him last time but of course we’re using a different scale and measure system so it’s all relative! Needless to say we don’t need numbers to see him growing like a weed!

This month Elijah’s new developments included 5 new teeth poking thru, leaving just one more cuspid and his last 4 molars. He’s definitely enjoying his teeth as he adventures into new tastes and textures like spaghetti and meatballs, baked chicken, and bar-b-que pulled pork. He still loves some good ol’ mashed squash or sweet potatoes. Also this month, he is “cruising” the furniture to get around. Unless he really wants to go, then he’ll just drop down and zoom crawl to get there. He isn’t showing a lot of interest in walking yet. He did learn to climb stairs while on vacation and now makes a bee-line for the stairs whenever we’re not looking. I don’t know what he thinks is so interesting at the top but he’s determined to go find out as often as possible! Next step, learn to get back down the stairs gracefully.

While vacation was fun, Elijah definitely preferred his bed at home. He slept okay so long as he had a room to himself. He’s still today taking a good 1 1/2 morning nap and 1 1/2-2 hour afternoon nap, going to bed around 6:30 and waking around 6:45. You could just about set your watch to his wake up time! Like I said before, Elijah decided he was ready to wean while on vacation and has now completely mastered the sippy cups daddy found. He’ll down a full one before bed each night. We’re back to the fun of multiple “kinds” of milk. J


Elijah is one happy baby and we just love soaking up all the smiles, giggles, and snuggles we can get. Its so fun to watch him explore and experience new things. He defiantly prefers to experience them with mom and dad right at his side and has no problem letting you know when he thinks you might be missing something, or he’s missing you! We look forward to another exciting year watching him grown and develop. We love you Elijah!