April 5 - April 9

Hi Baby Lijah!
Another week gone by and your mom is behind on your blog. You weren't yourself again this week. We sure wish that tooth would pop out or we could figure out what to do to make you be happy Lijah all the time. Mary said that you are getting better at her house so that is good news! She also gave you a good report card because you did tummy time for 10 whole minutes without screaming. We have seen a noticeable difference in how well you are holding your neck and you can stand for a long time now! Big boy! But, mommy got a bad report card because your Gramma Debbie keeps stealing Mary's bibs when she picks you up. So, your mom got her hand smacked!

Monday - you went over Gramma Debbie's after Mary's. Then, we went to Goldbergs for dinner. YUMMY.


Tuesday - bath night. You did so good sitting in your exersaucer while we got your bath ready. Then, we put you in your bouncy seat downstairs. You stayed in there quite a long time. All a direct result of your neck getting better!

Wednesday - Kylie was ungrounded from you and she was able to pick you up and hang out with you. You screamed when Mary gave you to her. What is up with that? Kylie likes you so much and you hurt her feelings! We then went out to dinner with both of your Gramma Deb's - Gramma Debbie and Gramma Debi D. It was Great Gramma Marianne's 80th birthday. Donnie and Chuck went with us too.

Thursday - we did a video chat with Auntie Val. You smiled a bit more than last time but you ended up getting fussy. You slept all evening - 6:30-10 then you ate. Then, you were asleep again until 1. I brought you up to sleep with me and you are a bed hog. I put you in the middle of the bed with nothing around you. Next thing I know, you are kicking me in the back. Not only are you an inchworm, you are loud. You make so much noise in your sleep - grunting, talking, smacking on your hand. It was quite the reassurance that you are meant to sleep in your crib.

Friday - Off to Great Gramma's while mommy had her meeting. Then, we went to the Vet and over the Beaty's. We went for a 2 hour walk! You did so good. We mostly had you in your stroller but I had you in the sling for a bit too. When you got home, you were knocked out and I hope you sleep really good because we have a road trip to Lincoln tomorrow.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter Baby Elijah!
Your first Easter with us and we tortured you appropriately. You will have new material to tell your therapist! You slept in today - until 8:30! Then, you went to Starbucks with daddy and bought your mommy some Easter candy. After your nap, we dressed you in your bunny costume and tortured you with photos. After that, we went over Gramma Ruth's and then you went over Grampa Keith's. When you got home, you were a fussy pants. Grampa Keith Heather said you were wheezing and coughing. You might have your first cold. Gramma Debi D surprised us by dropping by and delivering your Easter presents.

Yep, kiddo, Easter was like a second birth or baptism. You got a ton of loot! Luckily for your mom and dad, lots of people gave you candy so we could munch on it :) Let's see, what kind of loot did you get?

Clothes
Stuffed Animals
Books
Candy
Money
Sippy Cups
Toys

What did your mom and dad get? To eat your candy and write all your thank you notes :)

Anyway baby, can't wait until next year when you are running around with your cousins Tyler and Andrew and doing an Easter Egg hunt! Hope you feel better soon or Mary will throw us out of daycare until you get better.

A week later...

Hi Baby!
Man, this is the longest I have gone without talking to you! This past week you haven't been yourself. You have been kind of irritable - not in a way that I want a refund but in a way where I just know you are uncomfortable and not being your happy-go-lucky-self. Speaking of refund, since we are past the 90 day mark, I think I am officially stuck with you forever :) Oh, who are we kidding? I was happily stuck with you forever back in May when I got that positive pregnancy test!

Anyway, we don't know if you were coming down with something or if you are teething. From what I can see on the internet, you have all the symptoms of teething but those people who have raised babies tell us it is too early for you to have some teeth. What your dad and I do know is that you feel much better after a dose of tylenol but once that wears off, you are back to being irritable. I think we will just hope that you end up being yourself again soon.

This week, you have decided that you are going to scream in a new fashion. it is a high pitch wail that hurts our ears. We don't know where you got that from but we wish it would go back :) It hurts our ears and then it worries us that something is truly wrong with you. Mary says that you have started doing that in the middle of your naps too but then you go back to sleep.

You had lots of visits this week. Gramma Debbie picked you up from daycare on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. On Thursday, she brought you to Darbys so we could have tacos together. She bought you a spiffy suit for you to wear on special occasions. Friday, you had your weekly Friday afternoon date with Great Gramma then you went over Gramma Ruth's house while Daddy and I went to a movie. Today, we went to Des Moines to see your baby God Daddy play soccer then we had dinner at Auntie Sheila's with lots of our family - Brandi, Jeff, Jeremy, Kylie, Lauren (baby Jake), Uncle Tyler and Uncle Zach.

You have already received quite a few Easter gifts but I will tell you all about them tomorrow. Hopefully, we will get some good photos of you in your Easter clothes!

Monday, 3/29
Another day where mommy forgot to take a good photo so I had to sneak in at night. We had to replace your swaddle this week because you are too big for the winter one. You were starting to bust out of it on the night's your dad had overnight duty and he didn't like that too much!

Tuesday, 3/30
You and Daddy hanging out on the love sac for a nap. Can I tell you a secret? Your daddy loves snuggling up with you on the love sac.

Wednesday, 3/31
It was Fajita Wednesday and then we went to Maggie Moo's for an ice cream treat. Daddy shared his vanilla bean ice cream with you.

Thursday, 4/1
Photo from Gramma Debbie

Friday, 4/2
In your swing. Now, you are starting to play with the toys in your swing. Mary told me that you have learned that the toys on the swing at her house activate the music so you pull them to hear the music.

Saturday, 4/3
With baby Goddaddy in your soccer duds.

3 MONTHS!

Happy Birthday Little boy!
You are 3 months old today baby. Your mom and dad have winged it and you still made it to 3 whole months. We also made it 3 whole months - 13 weeks - of doing as much breast milk as we could. I can't believe you have been with us three months already. Before I know it, you will be 3 years old!

Your mom has been slacking on your blog. Not a ton to tell you but I will get you caught up with some photos & news.

Wednesday - your mom and dad were SICK. Some sort of tummy bug. We think you got a touch of it too because you were out of sorts and having lots of poo! Daddy picked you up from daycare two days in a row. We did a video chat with your Auntie Val and you just stared at the screen not knowing what to think. I think you recognized her and knew she was your auntie but you weren't used to her not holding you! You ended up falling asleep during the chat.

Thursday - still not feeling the best! We took you on your first walk today. I put you in your sling and we walked to the bar. Yep, you got it buddy, your first walk was to the neighborhood tavern to get some tacos. You did great in your sling.

Friday - when your dad went bowling, I told him "Elijah and I are going to spend a lot of your money today." Well, buddy, we sure did that! We went to the Mart and got mommy a new camera. I put you in your sling again and we walked around. Then, I took you to bowling. We were hoping your dad would bowl a 300 but that didn't happen :) It was so darn precious - you fell asleep in your sling just laying against me.


Saturday - it was your day with your daddy! You hung out in the morning and then you went to visit Auntie Mary Ann and some of your daddy's cousins. You are always such a good baby but daddy reported that you were a fussy baby during this visit. You had your blood curdling cry :) Afterwards, we went to Sams and Target. We walked around Target in your sling - your head was hanging out and you were sticking your tongue out at everyone. It was pretty darn cute.


We spent quite a bit of time talking about your toes. Apparently, the one body part that your dad (and your friend Debbie) can agree on that you have from me is your big toe. Your dad went on to say that I have "jimmy toe" - I am always moving it. You were doing the exact same thing!! I had to get some shots of this infamous toe that you inherited!



Sunday - it was your day with your mommy! We took a walk to Grampa Keith's but he was in the shower. Then, we went over to see Jessie and baby Logan. You were tired so you had a couple of fusses but I put you in your sling and you fell asleep again! Afterwards, we went to the pool. It had been about a month since we went to the pool so you were due to go again. We stayed in the water about 20 minutes this time! You screamed at first but then you realized it was just like the bath. Daddy took you to Gramma Ruth's house and you were a fussy baby again. I told him it was just because you don't like to be places without your mommy :) When he brought you home, it was bath time to get that chlorine off you. Daddy gave you your bath and he finally realized that bath time is the best time to hang out with you - you are always so happy and fun.

As I write this, you are laying on the bed playing with your daddy. You grasped and held a little music box. It made me want to cry - you are getting so big. 3 months ago, you couldn't even see toys. Now, you smile at them, laugh, reach for them and hold them. You make us both so happy and we love you so much. Can't wait to see what the next three months brings us!

March 22 - March 23

Hi Elijah!
I haven't called you monkey in awhile. Mostly now, it is pumpkin. Not very manly, is it? :) That is ok, I won't call you that in front of your friends to embarrass you or in front of your girlfriends - I am sure I will have much worse things to embarrass you with :)

Monday -
I got you ready this morning and you were a stinker. I don't mean stinker like Great Gramma might mean stinker - ornery. I mean stinker like "yuck, you smell dude." When I got you out of your crib, I knew it wasn't good. I don't think I have had a diaper that bad - it was everywhere. But, we got it cleaned up and it made you happy! You were outside when I picked you up. Two days now you were able to play outside. It is starting to warm up and at your daycare, you will be outdoors a LOT when the weather is nice. You were a bit fussy when I picked you up - maybe you didn't know what to do with all that fresh air. :) It was kind of a weird night - you just didn't really fall into your normal pattern. But, you were mostly happy and went to bed at 10:30 so we were happy. It was bath night and bath nights are my favorites. Sometimes, we get so busy that I plum forget to do baths. As usual, you were happy Lijah just cooing away at me and smiling when I would sing to you "Lijah has a stinky butt."

Tuesday -
I got you ready again this morning and I had the joy of changing you 3 times in like 30 minutes. First time was when you woke up then you had a wet diaper then you left me another stinky one. Man, two days in a row I help your dad with morning duty and two days in a row you are rotten to your mom :) Daddy picked you up from daycare. I think this is the first time he has picked you up! When he got home, he dropped a big bomb on me. You had your first chuckle over at Mary's. She wasn't supposed to tell us when you had your firsts - we didn't want to know. We wanted all of your firsts to happen on nights and weekends. When I told you that you were grounded until you chuckled, you smiled at me. When I told you that your college fund was going to buy me a new laptop until you chuckled, you smiled at me. You are a stinker and this time, I mean it like Great Gramma Lang - an ornery stinker :)

I was talking up a storm to you trying to encourage you to say "Mommy" or "Mama". I kept saying it over and over and over. You would just smile at me. When I stopped, you let out a big "Maaaa". I am smart enough to know that this was a big coincidence but just hearing that "M" syllable and thinking that pretty soon you will be saying "mama" made my heart just swell up. It was the most amazing feeling. I can't wait until you say it for real!

We had dinner with our Lang family tonight - Cory, Lauren (and by default, Baby Jake), Brandi, Jeff, Jeremy and Auntie Sheila. You hammed it up as you were passed all around. A lady at the table behind us asked to hold you too. You did a great job even when it was past your bedtime. I bet you realized that your days of hogging all of the attention are almost over! Better lap it up now because pretty soon, your bff Baby Jake will be popping out demanding his fair share :)

Overall, you were such a happy baby and interactive baby today that you just made me the happiest mommy ever. I am typing this thinking "I should play hookie tomorrow and just spend it with Elijah." But, we will save that hookie day for when it is warmer and we can go do something fun and take lots of pictures!

Sorry that your pictures are so lame today Baby Boy! Mommy is starting to forget to take them so I rush to take them when I am getting you ready for bed. You love talking to me on your changing table but when I grab the camera, then I just get bug eyes :) I will also share another couple of your portraits from this weekend because your cousin Lauren asked so nicely :)




This one is super cute on the hard copies because it is zoomed in so we just see you & fur!


The photographer liked this one because he said that you were looking so intent at me that it was so special. Did I mention he was a good salesman? We didn't buy this one but it came on your disk!

March 18 - March 21

Hi baby!
Mom is really slacking these last few weeks huh? We have been really busy this week with something going on every night. Gramma Debbie picked you up from daycare on Thursday and you had dinner with Great Gramma Dorothy & Aunt Sue. On Friday, you visited Great Gramma Lang while I worked then Gramma Debi D for a hot date on Friday night. On Saturday, we took you to get your photos taken then you hung out with the Beatys for awhile. Today, Grampa Keith & Heather needed to get their Elijah fix.

In between all those visits, we loved you up! We were looking at your photos from Saturday and I think we both were pretty shocked to look at these photos and realize that you are our son. We waited so long for you and we have had you for such a short amount of time that we are still in shock that you are here :) But, I can't imagine anything else that would make us light up the way you do.

On the food front, we made it one more week with you getting 50% formula/50% breast milk. I am pumping a lot less but still enough that you are getting quite a few bottles of breast milk. I am so excited that we made it 12 weeks! I know our time is getting really limited but hitting 12 weeks was a big deal for me - even though I gave up every week since 5 :)

Thursday - Gramma Debbie's picture

Friday - You cuddled up in your favorite spot - in daddy's arm on the love sac

Saturday - one of your photos from portrait innovations

Sunday - photo from Grampa Keith's house by Heather

March 15 - 17

Hi Elijah,
Again, not a ton to tell you. Same old stuff - you are handsome, you are funny, you are sleeping well :)

Monday, you hung out with Great Gramma & Auntie Val while your dad and I went to buy you a new bouncy chair. We saw Levi playing in his and I found one on Craigslist so we went and bought it for you.


On Tuesday, you skipped going to Mary's and hung out more with Great Gramma and Auntie Val. I think they wore you out more than daycare - you slept from 3:00 until 8:00 the next morning with about 2 hour breaks in there for food and diaper changes.

On Wednesday, you got all dressed up in your Irish and St. Patrick's day attire. Kylie Shark picked you up from Mary's and you hung out with her and Tucker for awhile. I know this is a repeat for you but you are so lucky to have so many people want to hang out with you! Afterwards, we went to Gramma Debbie's and celebrated St. Patrick's Day. When we got home, it was bath time and bed time! Busy, Busy, Busy!