Ten Months Old and a Tummy Bug.

Our boy is ten months old today. We ended our tenth month with a bit of a stomach bug. Last night, at around nine o clock Elijah started throwing up and then did again two more times. I didn't know his little body could hold so much. He was very listless and spacey but still smiled and giggled through it all, though he did begin to whimper quite a bit and we were basically up until about 5:30am. He woke up at 8:30 and seemed 100% himself again!  So apparently it was a 12 hour bug but those were some tough 12 hours. Nothing is worse than seeing your child in pain and discomfort and there is nothing you can do but hold them. Feeling his little belly spasm just broke my heart. But our boy is a trooper and has one heck of an immune system! His tummy is on "light duty" today, just clear liquids, Mama's milk and some gluten free bread. We may try a little more tonight be he seems to be doing well with light eating today. And today he turned ten months old!

We are just two months shy of a toddler. I can hardly believe it. At least I think 12 months is considered a toddler. Regardless, this little boy already acts like a toddler! He stopped crawling all together about a month ago. I have not seen this child on his hands and knees in forever! His verbal skills are continuing to develop as he makes more sounds. He now says "Nan" which is cool because he has a Great Nan! I don't know that he knows what he is saying but I love that he is putting more sounds together! We started doing a little baby sign with him a couple of weeks ago and I hope that is a skill that helps his communication develop. We have some great ASL resources thanks to my sister in law who is an ASL interpreter. Oh, and Daddy taught Elijah how to high five! And he is great at it! I let him turn the lights off when we leave a room or closet and then ask him for a high five and he happily obliges! He is definitely a cool cat! :)

Thanks to Gymboree, Swim lessons,  my choir commitment and my Time Out For Moms group at church and some visits from cousins,  Elijah is getting lots of social time with other children and it is so much fun to watch him play with others. I have been working on the concept of sharing with him. I even bring sharing into play when he has something that I would rather not him play with, I ask him to share it with me.  I think he has so much to learn right now that the "sharing" concept can communicate the idea that someone else needs to hold whatever he has. We will see how this theory plays out. So far, it has been great. There are times when his will shines through and he is very........(ahem) displeased.....that I would like him to "share" with me but life is a journey and I know that sweet disposition is what will ultimately shine through.

Handsome baby.

Such a big boy!

"Ok Mama, I'm outta here!"

"I believe I can fly!"

He is starting to snuggle his stuffed animals. He really had fun with Mr. Bear today!

"Ok Mama, this is boring"

"Cheeeeeeeese!"

"Are you still taking pictures?"

I love you, little boy. You make my heart smile.

 

Cousins

February has been a really fun month! We have gotten to spend a lot of time with the Bruffey family and Elijah loves his cousins! I have really enjoyed reconnecting with my sister in law, Elizabeth and we have had so much fun blending the Junior Parish and Bruffey families for some fun adventures at the Senior Parish home!  My sister and I share a love of healthy living, alternative medicine, essential oils and a "crunchy" lifestyle so we had a blast comparing notes and sharing thoughts and ideas as well as some good shopping at one of our favorite stores, Nurtured Family!  Elijah loved getting time with his "Aunt Biz". You can see his admiration of his older cousin Jacob and his fascination with little Ruth. (Good big brother potential?!).

Elijah and Jacob hanging out in the same crib Chip and Elizabeth used! (And Aunt Virginia too!)

Guilty looking faces,

Our book worms.

Elijah is the second Parish grandchild to discover the wonders of the dog door.

Here come trouble!

"Ready or not, here I come!"

Success!

Look what I can do Daddy!

Here he comes.

Playing gently with his cousin.

Cutie pies!

Doe Eyed Girl!

"You're fun, Aunt Biz!"

We had some fun time at the park on the swings!

Elijah snuck in some Mickey time with his cousin.

Two of a kind.

This boy loves his swing!

Happy boy!

Music time at Grandmother's piano!

"FIGARO!"

"Oh Jacob, that is beautiful"

"Um, when is it my turn?"

Post dinner hair do.

Snack time for the guys!

Naked boy!

No clothes? That doesn't stop this guy!

Bathtime buddies!

These guys are great at sharing!

<3

Vanilla Cake with Coconut Cream

When I make my calcium supplement with the eggs and lemon juice,  am always left with raw eggs that have a lemon flavor so I have been on the lookout for something to make with them. I decided to try a vanilla cake thinking a hint of lemon would be yummy. So I found a cake recipe and subbed flour for a gluten free mix and sugar for xylitol to make it a "free" food. I have always really wanted to try out this recipe for coconut cream whipped "cream". The results......DELICIOUS coconut whipped cream! The cake was a little heaven so I may play with the recipe a little bit but all in all, the experiment was a success!!!!

Vanilla "Lemon" Cake

1 cup white sugar

1/2 Cup of Coconut Butter

2 Eggs (I used my lemon eggs)

2 Teaspoons of Vanilla Extract        

1 1/2 Cups of Trader Joes Gluten Free Flour

1 3/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder

3/4 Cup of Coconut or Almond Milk                                                      

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x9 inch pan or line a muffin pan with paper liners.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder, add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Finally stir in the milk until batter is smooth. Pour or spoon batter into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven. For cupcakes, bake 20 to 25 minutes. Cake is done when it springs back to the touch.

All ready to be baked!
 

Coconut Cream

 

One can of full fat coconut creams (I used Trader Joe's brand)

1 Tablespoon of vanilla extract

1/2 Cup of Xylitol (or more to taste)

 

Directions:

 

1. Put the can of coconut cream in the fridge the day before

 

2. Scoop the thick cream off the top and put in a bowl with vanilla and xylitol.

 

3. Beat and whip together with a hand mixer until fluffy. You can store in the fridge for several days!

 

YUM!

 

The cream skimmed off the top of the can

Whipped up so yummy...and very much like whipped cream!

Perfect dessert!

 



A Family Valentine's Day

 

Normally for Valentine's Day, Chip has flowers and candy sent to me at work normally followed by some sort of quiet dinner,  so I was not sure what was in store for this year since I am no longer employed outside the home. We decided it would be nice to have a family lunch since we wanted to include Elijah in our Valentine's Day celebration and restaurants are just crazy on that night. Well the day turned into an amazing and unexpected family day!

I woke up to a tulip plan, Valentine's Day movie and a balloon and card on our kitchen table.  Waking up at 5:30am is never a bummer when you have a smiling baby and a table of thoughtfulness! Elijah was especially excited about the balloon and we played with it together while we waited for Chip to wake up.

After I got Elijah down for his nap and Chip left for work, I was able t assemble my gift to him.  I had seen this on Pinterest and wanted to make one for us. It is a frame with "I love you because...." printed on pretty paper. The idea is that you write on the glass with a dry erase marker different reasons why you love your mate. It could be something sweet they did that day, or just something that inspired you that day or any day. I thought this would be a cool way for us to share love and show each other appreciation, which I think we are good at doing anyway but it will be nice to have something visual.

After Elijah woke up from him nap, we had a little photo shoot. I had envisioned a cherub photo shoot for him for over a month and had found angel wings....not exactly what I was looking for but close. We had fun getting some cute shots of my little cherub and then I got him dressed in our matching Valentine's Day outfits and took some more photos with the bib from Grandmother. 

After our photo shoot, it was time to go see Daddy, but first we made a quick stop and picked him up some chocolate covered strawberries as a special treat! When we got to Daddy's work....SURPRISE!....he told us he had taken the rest of the day off to take us to the zoo! What a great surprise and it had been on my wish list of things to do as a family! First we made a stop for a quick lunch at Willie's and then we headed downtown!

It was the perfect day for a zoo adventure! We had the stroller Grandmama and Pop recently gave us for these sorts of adventures, although we did end up carrying Elijah through most of the day so he could see better and I wished I had thought to bring one of my carriers from the car. All the fences and walls in the zoo make it hard to see the animals from down low. But we had a great day! The weather was amazing! It was cool and brisk but very sunny and no crowds. Elijah loved the monkeys of course and was mesmerized by the lion that got SO CLOSE to us!  He also loved the birds.....not the exotic birds mind you but the PIGEONS and BLACK BIRDS that just naturally inhabit the zoo area.  It was the perfect, relaxing family day!

What was waiting for me on Valentine's Day morning.

Elijah's favorite part of my gift.

"I like balloons, Mama"

 

Flowers and a movie......

 

Chip calls me "Barbie" :)

Elijah enjoyed opening his card from Grandmother and Granddad

 

 

The card was made of felt!

My gift to Chip

 

My little cherub

"I stole your heart, Mama"

My ANGEL baby!

Look at that cute little butter ball!

I had a little editing fun with Lightroom....an gift from my Feminine Mystique!

 

"If I could, I would give you wings......"A quote from a favorite lullaby.

"What is this thing on my head"

Grandmama and Pop sent Elijah a cowboy hat to match his mustache and so we grabbed it and got a few shots with that as well.

 

All ready for Rodeo!

<3

I love that sweet face!

All dressed in his St. Valentine's best!

Mama and Elijah!

Sweet kisses for the baby!

Ready to go see Daddy!

My two Valentine's dates!

Chip is eyeing his strawberries! YUM!

Elijah snacked on some O's while we waited for our lunch!

First things first...Daddy got in the map to figure out our route.

Mr and Mrs. P!

We loved watching the elephants take a bath. There were some cute babies!

But this was the cutest baby at the zoo!

So awesome.

Loved this shot of our little family.

Mama and Elijah checking out the big elephant!

This one's for you Aunt Virginia!

Silly Daddy.

 

Being silly with my baby....it was Daddy's idea.

They guys.

Monkeying around.

This baby had a blast!

Elijah got up close and personal with some rhinos.

Snuggles with Mama

It was so cool that the lion got so close to us!

Elijah enjoyed gently petting the goats. Mama enjoyed the rigorous handwashing that followed.

We stopped to take a ride on Joshua Giraffe!

I spotted some gofers!

Apparently you have to crawl through a tunnel to get to the bubble...I did not realize this when sent the boys in there together for a photo opp!

My little monkey

We knew Grandmama would like this pic!