September 23 & 24

Hi Lijah! Actually, I should say "Hi Squid".  That is what your dad calls you  :)


Not much to share on Thursday buddy - Mary's, visit at Great Gramma's, home, mommy at book club, you asleep.


On Friday, we have more to discuss  :)  Omg - you are such a twerp kid. This morning you were all fussy and it was a morning where I felt guilty being a mom that sends her kid to daycare. See, if you were a stay at home kid, I thought you would have taken a nappy and been happy again. But, I quickly learned that you weren't fussy. You were just in a big hurry to go to Mary's. Each time your dad would come in the room, you would look up excited and then get fussy when he left again. As soon as I said "Are you ready to go bye-bye?", you were all smiles!! You just didn't want to hang out with your mommy anymore. Dad said you weren't fussy at all and you were near giddy when you walked up the stairs to Mary's.  Twerp. Traitor.


We went to the Omaha Nighthawks game tonight.  It was the first one ever and it was at Rosenblatt. You went with daddy early then I met you later.  You also saw your first concert - Nelly.  You slept through most of it  :)  You were a good boy all night but you were a tired puppy.  We got lots of photos.

Your favorite food - french fry.  You are like "Look at me, I am a cool kid."

You like to suck them like spaghetti.

Playing with Morgan and Debbie at the game.

"Gaga Baba" Oops, I mean "Go Nighthawks"

Look at Silly Debbie playing with you.

Silly Elijah!

I am going to go deep on you for a minute. I had a big realization today and I think it is important to share it with you. A few years ago, I went to therapy to do some work on myself to get me to a place where I was happier. I don't know if I achieved that goal but I did learn a lot about myself. One thing I learned is that I didn't think too highly of myself. This was pretty shocking for me to learn because I always felt like I had a very healthy ego - bordering on plain being conceited.  She had me do an exercise where I had to tell myself something nice about myself everyday. It was amazing to me because each time I said something nice to myself, a little voice immediately followed with a negative thought. For example, I would say "You have a beautiful smile." That little voice would say "yeah, when it isn't buried in fat from being overweight." Each thing I said was constantly negated and I was shocked.  So, this morning, I was driving and listening to one of my favorite songs, "I am" by Train. The thought popped in my head "I am ... A good mom." You know what buddy? There was no negtive voice that contradicted it. From the core fiber of my being, I know and believe that I am a good mom to you. I am sure that every person who knows me and you probably has an opinion on what kind of mom I am. But, I really don't care - I know that I am a great mom to you and that is all that matters. I am so grateful that you bring this out in me and I am also so grateful that if there is only one thing that I can compliment myself on, it is being a good mom to you!!

September 22

Hi there buddy!
I feel like it was a really momentous day today - despite our activities being rather mundane. When I picked you up from Mary's, she said you pulled yourself to your knees with a toy. Man, I sure was nervous thinking that you are going to be pulling yourself up & walking soon. We came home and you took a nappy. We had dinner - you had Spaghetti Os and some fruit.

After dinner, I looked around the kitchen and living room to see if I could put you down on the floor. After deciding there was nothing hazardous to your health or digestive system, I set you down. I blocked off the stairs and closed all the doors down the hall. You were so excited because this was the first time you have ever been put down upstairs. You have been in your room and you have been downstairs but we don't spend much time upstairs. You just thought you were all that and a bag of chips doing laps from the kitchen to the living room. You may not be crawling but you do a great job with the scooting. It was so weird to see you scooting up towards me while I was putting away dishes. Overall, it just felt like a big boy moment.

After we wore you out on the floor, it was time for a bath. I was sitting there watching you and you were wanting to pull yourself up but just didn't get there. All of a sudden, you did it. I yelled at your daddy to come see. You were standing upright!! What was even more amazing was that the floor of your duck tub is so unstable and you were able to keep your balance. What I am about to show you could be considered distasteful but I am sure that your girlfriends will love it :) Definitely another big boy moment. I can't even believe how you are growing so fast, buddy!

September 21

Hi Baby!
Well, you were a fussy pants today. Apparently, your dad gave you bean soup last night and it ruined your day. Your tummy was upset, you were pooing up a storm and just squirmy. Even Grampa & Heather said you were a fussy pants.

When we got home, we fed you then we went and ran to Old Navy. We had to get a new family outfit for our photos on Saturday. We are going to do your 9 month photos and Brigham family photos. You were good in the car & good at Old Navy. We had fun trying on new hats. At first, you liked them. Then, you got tired of being a model. We did buy one for your photo shoot & I can't wait. Oh, wait, we bought it because you need a winter hat. haha.

Here are some photos from our hat fun.

September 18 - 20th

Hi Elijah!
Man, did we ever have a busy weekend and boy, I sure was proud of you. You did so good with all sorts of new people and new adventures. You were even short on sleep and were a good boy.

On Saturday, your daddy woke up to a surprise! Your butt was nekked in your bed! You ripped off your diaper. There was a small mess in there but, luckily, you were not all dirty! After that discovery, you went with daddy to the allergist and he got his shots. Then, we did a bunch of cooking while you sat in your highchair or exersaucer. You were so content for such a long time that I was kind of surprised. We were heading to our first Husker party and you were all dolled up in your Husker gear. We stopped at Uncle Zachary's so he could take a few photos of us. Then, off to our party. You let so many people hold you and play with you. I was so impressed. You were going through a phase where you didn't like strangers much and I think you have outgrown it again. You played, scooted around and even did a party trick. We put you on the ground and you got yourself into a pushup or plank position and you just held it. Your abs, arms and legs must be so strong because it was a true ab bridge. After awhile (like 2 minutes), you got tired and starting fussing because you didn't know how to get out of that position. You were a great little sport and you met lots of new people. You also got to see our friends Sandy & John again. Sandy loved you up & she bought you your first Mickey Mouse! You will have to get to know him before we see him in December.

On Sunday, you & daddy went to check people in at the Corporate Cup run. Then, we went to visit the Lindbergs. You played so well with the girls. I was worried you might try to eat Vivianne but you and her just played together. I was so proud of you again. Afterwards, we got to see Great Gramma and Auntie Val for a couple of hours before you were just exhausted tired. While we were there, Baby Jake came over and you did try to eat him. I can't figure out why you played so well with Vivianne but not Baby Jake. The two theories were that you knew she was a girl so you were nicer or you are trying to establish dominance :) You ended up sleeping with us because you woke up all upset. You see, your mom is kind of lazy. Instead of taking the time to get you back to sleep, I just throw you in bed with us. So far, you haven't made a bad habit of it but I will have to be careful :)

Not much new on Monday buddy. Mary's, nap, eat, bath, play, sleep!

I will leave you with your scrapbook pages from this weekend with all your Husker photos!

September 14 - September 17

Hi Elijah!
I don't have a lot to share with you for this week. We worked, went to Mary's hung out and slept. That is about it. No visits with Grampa Keith or Great Gramma. On Friday, you did hang out with the Beaty's and they said you were the most fun ever. Now that you are getting older, you are more animated & such a scooter :)

Few developmental items to discuss with you Mister. You are getting to be a little speed demon with your scooting. We have to watch you every second - especially on the bed. You get your knees under you, you push your butt up but no actual crawling yet. I don't know that you need to crawl because you can scoot so quick.

You are now a master waving machine - when you want to. You are so darn stubborn. You know that we want you to wave to us in the mornings and you look at us, grin and put your hand in your mouth. You just know that it is expected of you & so you are not going to give in.

Finally, there is the mama thing. All 3 of us know that you are perfectly capable of saying mamamama. But, just like waving, you know that we want you to say it so you are withholding. Your dad says you are the master manipulator. On Thursday, we went to Sams and when we were driving in the car, I said "Yeah, his first words will be 'I love you Mary'." All of a sudden you started saying "mamamama". Then, you realized that you had let it slip that you knew how and stopped with a devious grin. Mary said that you said it twice on Friday. The devious grin is cute though :) And, watching your dad talk about how you are a master manipulator at 8 months is pretty funny too.

Well, we have another busy weekend buddy! On Saturday, we have a Husker Party with our friends. On Sunday, we are going to visit the Lindbergs so you can see your future wife (whichever one you choose) and then Auntie Val is in town for you to visit on Sunday night. Better rest up!

Mommy & Daddy's January - July Photobook

Click here to view this photo book larger

September 11 - September 13

Hey babycakes!
We had a busy weekend didn't we? Not only were we busy, you had a picture for each day on this post!

Saturday
You went to see your cousins, Andrew & Tyler, bowling. You & Dad hung out with your Aunt Laura and ate french fries! It was nappy time when you got home. Then, we dressed you in your Nebraska attire. You were with daddy all evening too as I took a photography class & went to dinner with our friend Cindy. Daddy took you to see Cindy & Jay. I was bummed that I didn't get to see you for so many hours but you know what? You woke up right before I came home so I got to say good night to you after all!



Sunday
We went to the gym and you hung out with your Uncles for over an hour. Sounded like everything went good. I hope that you can spend more time with them as you get older. Afterwards, we hung out, nappy time, dinner time then we went to CocoKey for an hour. You loved the kiddie pool and splashing. We did the lazy river but you didn't love that as much this time - you didn't like floating in your life jacket. Maybe you had flashbacks of Missouri :) I put you in between my feet and you floated like that & enjoyed that. I took you on one of the small slides. I don't think you liked it or disliked it - just indifferent. It was a nice hour to spend with you. When we got home, you were just about to go to bed and I saw Auntie Val was online. We called her on the computer but you cried again. I don't think you like computer chats buddy!

This is a picture your Uncle Zachary took. He said you are going to be a bargain shopper. I think you just like the sound of the paper and eating it :)



Monday
Back to Mary's and your routine. Your daddy wanted you in your Chiefs jersey because it was game day. When you got home from Mary's, we also put on one of your new Chiefs diapers. Daddy is going back to school so he needed some quiet time. Me & you went to Shopko and HyVee shopping. I put you in the big boy cart. I think you liked it - you were playing with the steering wheels and then you even maneuvered so you were standing up and driving the car. It was kind of funny!



That's about it buddy! Just our normal routine coming up - work and Mary's!