month 21 draft

sleeping on mat at school- usually turned sideways on it by the end of naptime

new tooth- finally got the forth bottom tooth to even things out.

sleeping with trains- have to bring a train to bed every.single. night. then roll onto them and wake yourself up so i have to sneak in and tuck them under your pillow

more independent sleep- going to sleep

Month 20 (draft)

putting together 2 and 3 words
-mama up/down
-get you (i'm gonna get you)
-are you? (where are you)

running/skipping/twinkle toes moves

washing trains in the bath
drinking water in bath, laying down in the bath

using the potty. not telling us when you have to go yet but almost always going when we sit you down on it. earning stickers which you love (now).

PUDDLES!!!!!!! your favorite. you ask for puddles on sunny days so we make them with the hose.

playing in the 'sand box'

nothing but playing with trains

not a whole lot of eating this month....... cheese puffs, pretzels, apples, salad with blue cheese

easter

first trip without papa (ct)

chugginton

Month 19 (draft)

Word explosion..... copying words
names of thomas trains
pat back or squeezy hugs
hmmmm and hand on chin
pulling up pants
cleaning ears
brushing own teeth and tongue
grapes, veggie sticks, pasta,
friends at daycare
1,2,3
warm weather week, playing outside, swing

Month 18 (draft)

-word explosion..... trying to repeat everything
-thomas the train obsession
-grapes, goldfish.....
-drink out of reg cup
go train go, grovers new kitten
babies at school
awful sleep
pickier eating
hide n seek
1,2,3

Month 17 (draft)

Eli-

I know I keep on saying this, but this was my favorite month with you so far. You are so much fun and have such a personality. You are really funny and will intentionally do things to make us laugh. You are also very strong willed and make it quite clear when you are frustrated or mad. The expressions you make are priceless.

This month was another month of major learning leaps... many which are making it more and more clear that you are becoming a 'big boy'. New words this past month include: "snow, draw, juice, door, pasta, ya ya ya (yes), and nap". You now sign 'eat' when you are hungry or when you see the cats eating their food. You also learned the sign for 'help'. I was amazed that it only took about 3 days for you to learn this one. That brings your sign language up to: help, more, all done, milk, please, eat, and thank you.

You became obsessed with Leap Frog learning DVDs this month. In particular the Letter Factory and Word Factory. You would watch them over and over again as many times as we would let you. When the show end you very adamantly sign 'more, more, please, please, please."The big positive of this is that you have learned to recognize every letter, you know all of the sounds each letter makes, and can make them when we point to them. Your favorite letter sounds are the H, B, and W. We practice with the letters on the fridge and by writing them on the whiteboard calendar (another new obsession of yours). You make multiple requests to 'draw' on the calendar with markers every day.

You like to draw, not only on the white board but in coloring book and on you giant pad of paper. The cutest thing is that you lay down to draw , often resting your head on your arm.

Walking backwards is pretty cool in your mind. You like to do it when coming to sit in our lap or until you are backed up into a wall. Your 'jumping' has also improved this past month. You don't quite get off the ground, but I think you are close.

You do great with eating and have little trouble using a fork or spoon (even adult sized ones). You absolutely love pasta, grapes and Ritz crackers. 'Pops' (frozen yogurt) have also been a huge hit this past month. That is probably because it feels good on all of the new teeth you are getting. Your 3rd bottom tooth broke through at the beginning of the month only to be quickly followed by 3 one year molars. It has certainly been uncomfortable for you, but overall you haven't been too fussy because of it. That doubled the amount of teeth you had from 4 to 8!


playing in tunnel
looking around (where is it)
mimicking everything
nail polish
heater
helping with firewood
singing at school
one nap

16 months (draft)

get tissues, blow own nose
pop, again

new dance moves, swinging arms, spinning
put things away on your own
organize cabinets
empty dishwasher
tea, spoon, bowl, oatmeal,
roll sleeves up
coloring
feed self with spoon/fork
cheese puff obsession
if yours happy and you know it routine
christmas in ct

15 Months (draft)

Eli.... you are growing leaps and bounds. We are constantly amazed at how smart and receptive you are.

stomp feet
kick
boogers
blow nose
throw away trash
pound it
bubbles
kitty cat
hand motions itsy bitsy spider
microwave
animal noises (kitty, cow, chicken, owl, bear, dinosaur, monkey,lion) not dog!
climb into crib from bed

sick....er visit

Month 14 (draft)

October (month 14) was a busy one for us.
 

                                                                                                           We started the month out with a trip to Fryeburg Fair.You quietly took it all in and seemed to enjoy looking at all of the animals. You saw pigs, cows, sheep, goats, chickens, and bunnies. We didn't make it into the alpaca and llama barn unfortunately. Papa wanted to watch some of the woodsman day activities so Mama put you in your stroller and pushed you around until you finally fell asleep. 

The following weekend Grandma came up to visit. With Halloween fast approaching we planned a trip to Pumpkinland. It was a gorgeous (although hot) day. You did a lot of walking (still with a little support) and got to check out more animals. You and Grandma even fed the sheep. You had a grand ol time playing in the sand in the parking lot. We picked out a pumpkin, made you pose for some pictures, and headed home.

Pumpkin Land

 You have finally started to really adjust to daycare. You are much better about not crying when Papa drops you off or when Mama shows up to pick you up. You seem to be bonding with two of the girls that work there (Lindsey and Cassie), so that helps. All of the other kids there are kind of obsessed with you. For the most part they are all older than you but they are constantly getting in you face and telling each other that they are 'your best friend' (didn't think that business started so early). You do pretty well putting up with it but are sure to let them know when you have had enough. The staff there taught you how to blow a kiss (so cute).

"Don't you make me mad" face!

Plumbers crack.

You are making other animal noises now (besides just meow). You moo and roar. You are also saying toast.... which is your favorite breakfast at the moment. You like to help get the bread and put it in the toaster. You also help get out the jelly and butter. 

Family Portrait- October 2011

Still loves his kitties... and they tolerate it.

First snow of the year.... not impressed.

The Birth Story..... a year (and thensome) later . Part 2

We arrived at Mercy (hospital) around 5 am and parked the car. I didn't feel the need to jump out in front of the hospital doors and the walk from the lot wasn't very far. I did have to stop a few times on the way up to Labor and Delivery to deal with my contractions. Once there, check in was quick as I had per-registered and we had been there 2 months earlier with preterm contractions. We were sent to the triage room (the same one we were in 2 months earlier) and I changed into a gown. We meet our nurse, Maureen, and she hooked me up to the monitor to check my contractions. I had to lay in bed for this and it was pretty uncomfortable. She told us Jen, our midwife, would be in around 7am and that I could wait for her to come to be checked for dilation, or that I could be checked now. I told her I would wait... I didn't want to be disappointed if there wasn't much progress and I felt like the longer I could go the better. I was becoming increasingly uncomfortable and needed to use the rest room. I was unhooked form the monitors and allowed to go the bathroom. This is when I noticed that I was bleeding a bit.... and that made me realize that this was really going to be happening today. I had told the nurse that my contractions felt much better when I was in the shower so she got me set up to use the shower off of the triage wing. I probably spent close to an hour in there with Tony sitting in a chair in the corner. It was right around 7 that I decided to go back to my triage room, as I knew Jen would be arriving soon.

Soon enough she showed up and it was time to check to see if there was any progress. She told me I was (only!) a one (Tony recalls it being 2 though) and confirmed I was in active labor. We would be staying! (Thank God because I had always heard stories about hospitals sending laboring mothers home if they weren't very dilated) They told us it would be a bit until there was a room available and suggested we walk around the halls for a while. After a couple quick phone calls to Tony's sister Denise and my mom, we did just that. I was in a hospital gown, so they gave me a robe. I slipped back into my flips flops and took off for the halls. I remember stopping in front of a big window and watching as the sun came up. Everything was so surreal. I took it in as much as I could. One lap around the halls and a stop in the bathroom and I had had enough. Not long after that it was time to move to our room. It was time for a shift change so we met our new nurse Ashley. We had briefly met her when we had our scare at 32 weeks. I remember thinking that she seemed young that time, but this time I felt more at ease. She mentioned remembering us from last time which also reassured me.
We got settled into our room. Ashley had me in the bed so she could put me on the monitor for a few minutes. Our plan all along was to birth as natural as possible. This meant minimal monitoring (as long as all was well and safe), no IVs and no meds. We talked about me having something to eat or drink. Ashley filled my giant hospital issued water jug with her "special elixir" She wouldn't reveal what was in it; but it tasted like a mix of fruit juices and seltzer water. Good stuff. I hadn't spent long in the bed when I was asking to use the shower again. I was in and out of the shower probably 2 mores times and had one more bathroom trip. I had packed some of my own clothes to labor in ( think it was a nursing top and a jersey style skirt) but my modesty went right out the window. After my showers I wrapped a towel around my waist and called it good (honestly I am not sure if I even did that). Ashley suggested I try laboring on my hands and knees for a while. She adjusted the bed (that thing had some crazy configurations) so that I could lean up against the top of it and covered my backside with a sheet. I was having some serious back pain during this phase. Tony and Ashley would rub my lower back for me and applied counter pressure during my contractions. I remembering feeling like my nurse was a godsend. She was so intuitive about what I needed and I felt such a strong feeling of ease with her around. One of the great parts about the hospital we were at is that your nurse is assigned solely to you; meaning Ashley was in the room with us practically the entire time I labored. While I wanted Tony in eye shot at all times, I really felt myself drawn to the women in the room (nurse Ashley and my midwife Jen).

Month 13 (draft)

Elijah.... you are officially past Mama dressing you in onesies with monthly numbers on them! Sure, I could have continued making them but I guess I just decided not to.

You have really morphed into a big boy this past month. You are so close to being an official walker. You can take about 8-10 steps before you crash... and you are getting better at sitting yourself down before you actually fall.

We went on our annual apple picking trip, this year with Aunt D, Uncle Matt, Chris, Jen, your cousin Rori, and Grampy. You rode in the wagon, 'helped' push it, and loved eating the apples. You also got a taste of your first cider donuts.

You also began attending daycare 'fulltime' this past month. You go from about 11:00-3:00 Monday through Friday. It took about 3 weeks for you to really adjust to it. You would cry everytime Papa would go to leave and on and off throughout the entire day for the first few weeks. You also refused to nap and wouldn't eat much for lunch. Papa would try to stay with you for a bit before he had to leave and Mama would hang out for a while when she picked you up in hopes of helping you adjust better.

sleeping in stroller
tunnels

coloring

You had your second official haircut. It took Mama and Papa about 3 or 4 days to get the job done, but between scissors and then clippers it came out pretty good. You were not impressed with the clippers at first, but managed to put up with it long enough for us to get you all evened out.


new teeth

walking

fryeburg fair

Month 12 (draft)

Today was your first birthday little man.... and what a long day it was. We are all exhausted so your 12 month post will have to wait until tomorrow!

It is hard to believe that you are one year old already. The last year has been the most exciting, challenging, and rewarding year of my life. 

 We celebrated twice, first in Connecticut at Grandma and Grandpa's house with Mama's side of the family, and then again here at home with Papa's side family. You were fantastic at both of your parties! Your big 'cousins' and 'friends' were happy to help you open you presents and you were more than welcoming of their help. Mama made you a little lion cake (modeled after the cover of one of your books). It took you a bit to figure out what you were supposed to do with it, but once Papa handed you a spoon you seemed to be all set.