Lil Ariza Monster

Elijah, 3 month  |  Mama, 3 months

Hoping to find a similar picture of Daniel at around 3 months so I can compare them.

Finally made him his hat. I’ve had this yellow yarn since he was about 6 months old.

We got him a wooden train set from ikea. He likes to take it apart and drum with the pieces more than using the trains on the tracks.

Hanging with his buddy Noah. Noah is 7 months old and about the same size as Elijah. Atleast Elijah knows Noah will have his back

Cuddling with Christina

My sweet face

Getting ready to saddle up.

So after having Elijah for 16 months and 1 day I am finally understanding the importance of him having a sibling. He has had such an amazing time being around Kali and Will. It made me (and him) so sad when they had to head back to Denver. While they were playing together Daniel turns to me and says, “I totally get now why siblings are so important.” It is one thing to have them but it is another to see your son interacting with his family members. I’m not saying we are going to be rushing to have another, it just really makes us think. I know now that I definitely don’t want Elijah to grow up an only child.

In other news, I’ve been in contact with Pam Anderson (heehee, not that one) to register Elijah for Northland Co-Op. CRAZY!! I can’t believe I’m already getting him into a “preschool” program. Time is flying by. My boy is growing up so fast. He won’t start till after he turns 2 but you have to get them register cause they have limited spaces. Northland Co-Op is such a great program and we have so many friends that have their kids involved there. When I get back I’m going to go in and take a tour and talk more with Pam about their program. I’m excited for him to start it.

-Kaci

We finally made it to Breckenridge!

We took off for Denver, Colorado at 11:15 a.m. Elijah once again did amazing on the flight. Slept for the 1st hour and a half in my arms and then played and watched Yo Gabbagabba for the other 2 and half.

My dad came and picked us up and we headed to Kyle and Wendy’s place in Arvada where we were warmly and enthusiastically greeted by Kali and Will. They were so excited to get to see their cousin Elijah. We stayed at Kyle and Wendy’s for the night. E loved every second of playing with Kali and Will. It is so cool to see him getting to play with his cousins.

The next morning we headed for my parent’s house in Breckenridge. We settled in and Daniel and my dad hit the slopes. I know Daniel was jonesing for some snowboarding. This year he has the pass so he can go anytime he wants to.

Tuesday, my Dad, Daniel and I went snowboarding. It was awesome how easy it was. I was super nervous about snowboarding this year since I didn’t get to go much last year. It was like I had never stopped. In the afternoon we headed out with my mom. Great first day boarding and I am looking forward to the next couple of weeks. He deserves every second of this vacation.

Wednesday E, mom and I headed out to let E play with the snow. We also went for a sled right on good old lightening guider. He loved it. Can’t wait to take him to the real sledding hill.

Kyle and Wendy came up to the mountain house Thursday. We went out to dinner to one of our favorite local joints called Rasta Pasta. We were pretty much the only family there (since we got there at 5 p.m.) so E, Will and Kali got to run around the restaurant while us adults enjoyed our food. Pretty much the only restaurant I know that encourages noise

Today Kyle, Wendy, Daniel and my dad headed to Keystone.

That’s the update for now. We are enjoying our time here. So happy we’ve got another whole week.

-Kaci

It is amazing what a full night of sleep will do for ones spirit. The combo of Elijah sleeping through the night and our new mattress, I feel renewed, refreshed.

We take a lot of little video of Elijah. Many of the clips don’t make it to the web because we’re pretty sure they only amuse us as his parents. But often we still try to share them.

Elijah is almost a year now. He’s becoming more of a little boy, rather than a baby, every day. Now when he sees other kids or babies he wants to interact with them. He’s beginning to understand right from wrong. And he says many words but their in his own language.

My sister, Lizzy, and her husband Joel just joined the parents club yesterday. They had an amazing baby boy named Luke Joel Hunter. Elijah was so excited about his new nephew that he made this video shout-out. We’re super excited for them and can’t wait to meet Luke.

Last week we also visited with Ryan and Christina. They’ve been parents for a couple months now and it was great to compare stories. We caught a little of Elijah and their son Noah on video. The interaction is priceless.

I seriously can not believe that Elijah is already 11 months old. I don’t even know where the past year has gone. It has been one of the most challenging and amazing years of my life. Seeing Elijah grow into a little boy is a huge blessing. I’ve already started planning his first birthday party and I’m so excited.

We decided last minute that we needed a family getaway. So we packed up the car and headed up to Atlanta, GA. We’ve wanted to go to the Georgia Aquarium for a while now. It was amazing. Elijah really enjoyed the people watching the most though. He doesn’t quite get aquariums yet. But Daniel and I really enjoyed it. We stayed at a great hotel right downtown that had an awesome view of the city. It rained quite a bit while we were there but it didn’t dampen our trip. We still had a blast.

We’ve got a walker. He’s doing great at it. Still slow but he is definitely getting faster. He loves it and pretty much only crawls when he wants to get somewhere quickly. He still can’t stand up with out the help of something.

In other news. Elijah is teething pretty bad. This is pretty much what he looks like most of the time.

Elijah turned 9 months on July 22…WOW! Time is just flying by. I’m enjoying every second with Elijah. It is a lot of ups and downs but the one thing I do know is that I love him more and more everyday. I feel so blessed to be his mother.

• 18 lbs 10 oz

• Crawling like crazy, tearing up the house

• Standing and taking steps holding onto objects

• Says Mum (mom)

• Eating solids but only wants to do it himself, which creates a bite of a struggle and is quite frustrating but we are working through it and with time it will get better.

• Pediatrican was very happy that he has never been sick

Overall he is a very happy, active baby.

running in the rain barefoot / skipping / laughing / loving / dancing / flying / rainbows / blowing  bubbles / splashing / giggles / tickles / peek-a-boo / ballons / hugs / singing.

Watching Elijah makes me realize that we take forgranted the little things in life. A sparkling sunburst on the tiles floor or a drop of water. What small gift is God giving me everyday that I can’t see. God doesn’t always speak in a loud booming voice or a storm, sometimes it is in a small breeze or a whisper in the silence.