It has been a while since I have written a blog post about Elijah and there is so much going on right now with him that I know we will enjoy looking back on. I want to be sure to document all these important milestones and cute little things he says and does.
Now I know every parent thinks their child is a genius and we are no different. We are in such amazement at his mental development! He consistently knows all of his colors, can count to ten and identify most number and can identify and pick out about 2/3 to 3/4 of the letters. We are working on shapes and applying his counting skills to actually counting objects. I enjoy working with him on his letters and one way we practice is using letter stickers. Melissa and Doug make an awesome letter and number sticker collection with like ten pages worth and I have him name the letter then he gets to put it on a piece of paper. It is fun way to enjoy learning and creativity and has worked really well as part of structured week. I also like to include art and music. We don’t do all of it every day but several times a week we enjoy free dancing together, singing songs, playing a beat to different songs and different art projects….some messy, some not. Crayons are always available to Elijah and he enjoys coloring but his passion seems to be music just like Mama and Daddy. He loves to sing, be sung to and his favorite instrument so far seems to be the drum although he loves the guitar as well. I am amazed at his ability to pick a beat out of a song.
Elijah’s language is incredible. He speaks in full sentences much of the time. Sometimes it takes a little bit for us to figure out certain words but when we do, we usually feel silly for having a hard time. He is excellent at expressing himself and is also quite the “parrot” so we have to be careful what is said in our house. I like to have Elijah repeat new worlds or phrases and usually after one or two times, it becomes part of his vocabulary.
Elijah continues to enjoy pretending. He has been doing this since about 18 months old but it continues develop to new levels. He loves to pretend to talk on the phone to everyone he knows, usually one of his grandparents. His interactions with Wrigley are so funny. He calls Wrigley “Rhea” and if Wrigley starts to get too close to him when he is eating, Elijah will say “No Rhea! Rhea outside!”. That always makes me chuckle.
Elijah continues to enjoy and excel at swim class and Gymboree and I am excited that we are able to continue both with the growth of our family. I think those two things are so important because, for the most part, the focus is on him with those activities. Elijah and I do take the twins to Gymboree and I will wear one and put the other in his car seat in the corner of the gym but for the most part, they are sleepy babies during class and I can focus on my big boy.
Elijah loves animals, babies, baths, his grandparents, going to San Antonio, facetime with Granmumsy and Pop, playing outside, his Mama, Mama’s milk (yes he will sometimes have some in his sippy cup as a treat), helping with anything he can, giving his brother’s pacifiers, holding his brothers (he asks all the time to hold them then asks me to take a “pict”), Elmo, Preschool Prep videos, dancing and music. He still enjoys his pacifier and is allowed to have it when he is in his crib. Yes, we continue have Elijah sleep in his crib. I think he will probably stay in his crib until he is about three. Otherwise I believe we would have a toddler at large when he should be sleeping.
Potty training is going great. I don’t push it but he loves to pee pee on the potty and will sometimes poop on the potty. He often wakes up with a dry diaper from naps. I ask him if he wants to use to potty and sometimes he does and sometimes he does not. He will often ask to use it and about 70 percent of the time, he will go. Sometimes he just wants to so he can get his three mini M&M’s and he will try so hard and squeeze out the tiniest drop. He gets one mini M&M for that.
Elijah continues to be such a joy…..such an incredibly sweet boy. I have never known a child with such a soft, kind and sensitive heart. One of my biggest goals is to have the patience to shepherd his heart in such a way that he does not lose sweet kindness. I have a toddler devotional that I love and we read from it almost every day. We talk about God and Jesus and I know this is an important part of not only raising him but maintaining the sweet disposition that we see in him. The other day, I saw him looking through his devotional and saying to himself “God loves me”. Oh how I love this little boy.
Here are a few picture of my sweet first born boy. He fills my heart and my life with so much light.
Elijah and his “Rhea”
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