Spaghetti and Meatballs

Tonight marked Elijah's first meal of spaghetti and meatballs. Here are some pictures of the mess and Miss Daisy, just waiting for clean-up duty with her nose through the gate. She was eyeing all that food on the floor. Adam's favorite part of the meal: when Elijah took his sauce covered hand and ran it from his nose to his hair... I thought Adam might faint.

Daisy's Apprentice

Elijah makes me laugh often. I smile, giggle and watch in awe as he discovers the world. Never before have I laughed so hard as I did tonight...

Date: Saturday, August 29
Time: 7:36 pm
Location: Living Room

Adam and I are on the couch, and Elijah is playing on the floor, walking and crawling back and forth between the living room and the hallway. Yesterday, he began crawling on his hands and knees (still seems to prefer the "army crawl") but I had yet to see him in action. He's wobbling around and falls so decides it would be easier to crawl to the couch to assist him in standing back up. He gets up on his hands and knees and goes for it. I'm so excited, cheering him on (on the inside - I didn't want to distract him and have him flop back down to his tummy). Just then his binky falls from his mouth, 5 inches to the floor. I must warn you - what comes next put me in hysterical tears, however it might have been a "mom" thing and you might think I'm nuts. Instead of using his hand to pick the binky back up and put in back in place in his mouth, he lowers his head and grabs with his teeth. He doesn't get it head on though so instead bites on the side of it and finishes his short journey to the couch. I never laughed so hard... he looks just like Daisy; on all fours with a toy hanging out the side. He loves that dog so much and I guess he's learning more from her than we think.

Like I said... you might think I'm nuts, but it will forever be one of my most favorite Elijah memories :)

Elijah the Bulldozer

Everyday, scratch that, every minute, Elijah is getting more comfortable with his walking skills. In a matter of days he went from walking from object to object, to just walking around freely. He bends down to pick up a toy (usually one belonging to the dog) and takes it somewhere else to drop and pick back up. He treks around the house like a bulldozer; completely oblivious to any items that may be in his way on the floor, he just plows right though them. We close all the doors in the hall so that he can't get himself into any trouble and he could care less. As long as there is floor for him to walk on he's happy.

How wonderful to be so content with the activity of walking.

How gratefully we are for our son's new ability.

Updates!

Lots of exciting things to update! Elijah is not sick (whew!). I think he just got himself too worked up the other night and made himself sick. Besides extra sleeping yesterday, everything has been normal :)

Elijah has forgotten that he is only 9 months old and is walking around every chance he gets. From the couch to the chair, from the chair to the lamp, from the lamp to the table, from the table to the couch... you get the idea. Everything he sees is no longer unreachable for him, and he knows it and embraces it! He pulls up anything within reach. Unlike any normal person, Elijah believes that he not only has two hands to help him climb, but also one mouth. He uses his big chompers as an extra hand. And if he is climbing up something that his teeth can't clutch, such as the wall or a door, he uses the top of his head. Very resourceful, my child.

I'm not sure who's prouder of Elijah's constant achievements - him, or us. Whenever he reaches his goal, whether it be walking to a certain item or pulling himself up, he lifts up his head, crinkles his top lip and breaths quick breaths. It is very possibly the cutest thing I've ever seen.

Mini-Adam proof #53: Tonight we watched as he grabbed the handle to his block bucket and walked up and down the hallway. He looked just like his Daddy off to work, lunchbox in hand.

Another First

Last night marked another first for our little one... his first time getting sick (as in, yucking out his dinner). We put him to bed as usual, however as soon as we put him down he was awake. And crying. We decided to let him cry it out and twenty minutes later he was asleep. We were so proud of him, and ourselves. When I went in to check on him before we went to bed I noticed that he had gotten sick everywhere. The next half hour was spent changing his bedding and cleaning the crib to put him back down. Luckily he didn't wake up after that, but today Elijah and I are home for a sick day. So as if it isn't hard enough to hear your child screaming and deciding to let them soothe themself, now we will always remember this time... when we let him scream and he got sick.

Alas, he is mine...

After all my complaining yesterday that my child has only received traits from his father, he proved me wrong. Elijah has inherited my sleeping patterns... o joy. We got to spend some bonding time in the middle of the night rocking, singing and sleeping. And as an added bonus, he came and slept with Mommy in bed this morning (kicked Daddy out to the couch). He did reach a new milestone however - he can now pull himself up in his crib. A very excited feat, just not one I was in the mood to celebrate at 1 this morning. I know I should have let him cry when he woke up, and let him soothe himself back to sleep. We have, in fact used that approach in the past. But I actually enjoyed our time together, as sleepy as I was. He's growing up so fast... faster than a normal 9 month old I think... so it's nice when he lets himself be a baby. Once we were rocking together, I didn't even want to sleep anymore. I just wanted to stare at his beautiful little face and take it all in. I found myself memorizing every feature on him - his eyelashes have darkened but his eye brows are still nearly invisibly blonde, he has a scratch on his forehead, another on his ear, and a new one on his chin (all from his fingernails which I desperately need to cut), he has developed a birth mark on his arm that wasn't there at birth; he still gets big pouty lips in his sleep (I hope this feature never leaves). All in all, I spent the night in complete amazing of my child and appreciated the moment that I was given to take it all in. That being said, I do hope he sleeps better tonight.

Peas and Shoes

Further proof that I have birthed a Mini-Adam: Elijah love peas. Yuck. Those small green balls of disgusting mush are favorite at mealtime. He eats them like candy.

In other news... we bought Elijah his first two pairs of shoes that actually fit him (yay!). Three stores and Elijah patiently waiting while I tried about a zillion pairs on his chunky little feet and we finally found some winners! We were not planning on buying shoes for him so soon, but given his newly found independence and love for walking I'm afraid we had no other choice. Walking around outside, in stores and restaurants, get his feet pretty dirty. Add that to his other love of sucking on his toes (don't get me started on that... even grosser than the peas, but as far as I know, not something he learned from his father), and the result was shoes. See above him trying them out around the house tonight. Also, a couple other recent pics of him eating cottage cheese and peaches for breakfast (another Adam trait... did this kid get anything from me?!).

To Andrea, the Mommy-to-Be

Andrea... I cannot express how excited I am for you and Nathan to share in the wonderful journey of parenthood. Here are my top 5 pieces of advice for your pregnancy... hope you enjoy :)

1. Pamper yourself. You will never be more uncomfortable in your life than you are when you’re pregnant. Take the time now to get a pedicure, manicure, massage, whatever it is that makes you feel relaxed and refreshed. Don’t wait until after the baby’s born. I received a spa gift card at a baby shower, and to this date have still not used it. Not because I don’t want to (my GOD do I want to!); but I never want to spend any more time away from my family than I do already. So spend the $50 and do it… you deserve it.

2. Newborn pictures. Make plans to have professional photos taken of you, Nathan and baby within the first week after BT (Baby Tefft) arrives. Whether it’s at the hospital, a studio, or your home, it is well worth the investment. It makes the entire experience even more magical. We never planned on having them done, and wouldn’t have had someone not offered, but they are some of my most cherished pictures of our family. Looking back, that time is a bit of a blur of sleepless nights, feeding every few hours, feeling so complete, yet so inadequate. When I look at those pictures I don’t remember any of it; only the good stuff :)

3. Myth: Sleep Now. All those people who give you the advice: “Sleep as much as you can now before the baby arrives, you’ll need it” are full of crap. Unless they have discovered a way to bottle that extra energy for after BT arrives, all this “advice” does is get you into a sleeping schedule that will be impossible to keep up. So when you can’t sleep, you’re up all night peeing, or drinking water, or turning over, just remember: this is preparing you for motherhood.

4. Enjoy it, you’ll miss it. I won’t lie, pregnancy is hard. And uncomfortable. And tiring. And worth it. But you know that already. What I wasn’t prepared for was how much I would miss being pregnant. There is a comfort having your baby with you at all times. I remember when I was pregnant, I used to always tell Adam, “Once the baby’s here I won’t worry so much because I’ll be able to see him and check on him.” Once Elijah did get here, all I wanted was for him to be back inside the womb! I missed that closeness; that connection that only a mother and her child can experience.

5. Pray. My last piece of advice is also the most important. Pray. Pray for baby. Pray for his health, his timing, his future, Pray for yourselves. Pray for strength, guidance, patience. Pray for your doctor. Pray for his wisdom, skills, staff. Praise God for his glory, his grace and his love.

11 Weeks

I was 11 weeks pregnant when we first heard the rapid beating of our growing baby's heart. It was the most wonderful sound. If I could have bottled it, I would have saved it to hear anytime I had doubt, was worried, or my nerves were getting the better of me. That sound soothed anything that may have been going on in the world. I anxiously awaited each visit so that we could hear the rhythm again.

When Elijah was 11 weeks old I was preparing myself for the hardest part of being a mother so far: returning to work. More than labor, birth and sleepless nights, the thought of leaving my baby puts knots the size of eggplants in me. We enjoyed our walks, story time and naps on the couch together. I wrote schedules and notes and organized everything in his nursery for my babysitter. Little did I know the growth opportunity it would be for the both of us.

11 weeks ago Elijah was beginning his journey of independence. He was eating new foods, learning to scoot across the floor, and discovering new abilities each day. He was getting his two top teeth (he already had his bottom two). We were preparing to go on our first car trip out of state (what a nightmare that turned out to be!). As a family we were about to celebrate Adam's first Father's Day. Everyday brings excitment and learning as we watch our son grow.

11 weeks tomorrow we will celebrate our Elijah's First Birthday... his first birthday... one entire year old... no matter how many times I say it, think it, I can't believe it. This year has brought more blessings, joy, love, hope and grace than I could ever describe. I am so blessed that I get to spend my life watching this child grow up. Not only watch, raise. As his mother, I have been chosen to teach him, love him, guide him, help him find himself, provide him opportunities, show him God. There is nothing else I would rather be doing...