Disrespectful...

Well Elijah, you have done it now.  I really think you called me Stacy yesterday.  You think it is so funny to call me Daddy and I have humored you.  But, Stacy is crossing a line.  It was so clear that your dad whipped his head around and said "What did you say?"  But, when you are really upset, I will hear "Mama".  I think you enjoy torturing me!

You are kind of rotten lately.  Your favorite word "No" has returned and it is "No" for everything.  You aren't listening and you are throwing tantrums.  I think that part of it is you adjusting to Joey and part of it is  your age.  You are trying to establish your boundaries and limits to see what you can and cannot get away with.  As rotten as you are, you are still loving with lots of kisses and hugs.  You do try to help - you will bring me Joey's bottle, you will give him his pacifier, and you also help in the bathtub.

You have spent time with your cousins and you love seeing them.  You love them so much that you even say "Andy".  (I think that any word that has Andy in it is easy for you - Handy, Candy, Andy)  I also learned that your cousins taught you the belly bump you love so much.  You will lift up my shirt, lift up your shirt then bump our bellies.  I didn't know where that was coming from until I saw your cousin Tyler do it to your Uncle Mark  :)

Well buddy, not a ton else to tell you.  Big plans and big news for next week but we have been boring the last week or so!

Silly photo of you from this week.  You were playing with your brother before daycare.  It was the first time in a long time that you wanted to hold him.  Your face isn't completely healed up yet - still a bump under your nose.

Tough Transition

Hey baby!
You had a rough day yesterday.  When we were getting ready, I asked you if Joey could go to Mary's with you.  You said "NO!"  Daddy said you wouldn't even wave goodbye to him.  When I picked you up, you had a meltdown.  Mary told me that you were kind of fussy all day.  I think that Mary's was your last sacred place where you ruled the roost.  You didn't make the connection that Joey would someday invade that world too.  You woke up crying really early and I just couldn't help but let you sleep with us.  I thought you needed a little extra comfort after your rough day.

Today, you were better.  You were happier.  You cracked us up tonight.  We went for Mexican.  As soon as the waitress put down the chips, you grabbed one and covered it in salsa.  A few minutes later, you had to shake some salt on the chips.  You ended up eating the salsa straight out of the bowl and cooling yourself off with the lime from my margarita.  You wanted the margarita really bad but we are better parents than that  :)  Just another reminder how much you watch us and mimic us.


One more thing before I head to bed.  You made us laugh by telling us you had to go potty.  Of course, you couldn't say "Potty" like a normal boy.  You told us by singing the "Hot Dog" song.  Every time you go on the potty, we sing the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Hot Dog song.  We sing "Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggety dog.  Elijah went potty on the potty chair."  So, when you had to go potty this morning, you said "Hot doggety."  :)  We hope everyone will know that "Hot doggety" means that you have to go potty!

Catch up

Hi Elijah!
It has been nearly 3 weeks since I talked to you here and I feel guilty!  We are busy living our lives and it doesn't leave much time to write every detail down.  We have had a ton going on lately and you are changing every day!

In the past few weeks, you have...
*Learned how to cuss and mommy takes the blame
*Learned how to spit and daddy takes the blame
*Started singing to your brother when he cries
*Remembered how to say the word NO and use it over and over
*Developed a love for Handy Manny cartoons.
*Started calling Andrew by his name - "Andy"
*Had your last soccer tots class & received a little certificate
*Learned to climb out of your crib and are forced to wear a sleep sack now
*Went swimming at funplex and accosted a little 4 month old girl because you couldn't give her enough kisses and love!
*Went potty lots of times on the big potty chair
*Spent lots of time with your various families (being babysat, baptism festivities, road trips)
*Played a lot with Jake (who now says "Eli")
*Went to Joey's baptism
*Had the biggest face plant ever on the concrete
*Went to the dr for a check up on your cooties (27+ lbs now)
*Went to Missouri to see the Brigham family & spend time with your Mickelson cousins.
*Accosted another little girl at the Brigham birthday party.  This time, I could barely get you away from her.
*Did a great job in the car during our road trip.

You change so much each day.  You say new words and I don't know where they come from (Well, except the cuss word - I know where that one comes from).  Your smiles still make my heart swell.  When you ham it up and flirt with everyone, I have to laugh - I love watching you in action.

During our road trip, I slept with you twice and and dad slept with you once.  All 3 nights, you basically kicked us out of the bed so you could sleep horizontally.  We joked that it was easier sleeping with Joey & waking for feedings that sleeping with you as such a bed hog.

You like to be a big helper.  You love helping burp Joey.  You like helping daddy with laundry.  You loved helping mommy make pickles in the food processor.  You unpacked your toys immediately at the hotel and lined them up so you could see all that you had available to you.

Other than that buddy, not a whole lot going on.  Today, you went to daycare for the first time with Joey and I can't wait to hear how it went.  When I asked you if Joey could go to Mary's with you, you said "No."  I hope the day got better!!

You are such a dork with your glasses!

Your last day of soccer tots.

You & your buddy Morgan at Funplex.

Again with the glasses...

Your injury... It got even worse with time.

Quick Post

Hi Baby!

I know I have been missing for awhile.  We are going out of town on Thursday and I hope to take my motion sickness pills and get you all updated on the last few weeks while we are driving.  For now, I will share some scrapbook pages.

Uh-OH

You are in trouble now, buddy.  I talked to the pediatrician and she said that the only way we can solve your sleeping problem is to let you cry it out.  We have tried that but it hasn't worked.  I told her we have tried for an hour.  She said "Try longer."  So, we are going to make sure that you have a big snack before bed (just in case you are hungry) then make sure we all have our ear plugs in for this rough ride.

I will confess a secret to you.  I don't mind you sleeping with me.  You cuddle up with me, wrap your arm around my neck, and, in general, love me up.  Butt, it is near impossible to manage you & Joey so we need you to sleep.  I will apologize in advance for this tactic but it will be just as hard on us as it is on you.

I will leave you with some scrapbook pages I have done for you recently.  May the force be with us all...

Random things...

Hi Elijah!
I have a few random things to share with you from the past week or so.

You are a potty rock star!  You are into the potty chair.  You just love it - even if you don't have to go, you try so hard.  You love standing up and seeing what is in there afterwards.  Then, you get so excited to flush the toilet.  You are also starting to use the chair at Mary's.  What cracked me up the most was when you ran into the bathroom and I took off your shorts/diaper and you tried to elevate your hips to use the big toilet.  You just want to be like those big boys at daycare!  After you use the chair, we sing the "Hot Dog" song from Mickey Mouse.  "Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggety dog, Elijah went potty on the potty chair."

You are still loving up your brother.  You run in the house to find him and you kiss him good bye every day.  You are so protective of him when you are at daycare.  If the boys are touching him too much, you make them stop and act like "He is mine."

You are not sleeping & it is killing us.  You wake up in the middle of the night just screaming hysterically.  We don't know why.  One night, we didn't even bother putting you in your bed.  You slept with us and when you woke up at your normal time, you reached up to the headboard, grabbed your milk and went back to sleep.  We have tried leaving your milk in your bed and adding music.  Still hasn't changed the part where you wake up.  Darn it.  We need to fix this  :)

You are talking up a storm now.  Each day seems like it is a new word.  Saturday, I heard hat, cheese, glasses and keys.  Today, I heard slide.  Next thing you know, we will be having full conversations where you will still be calling me "dada."

A new exciting thing is that you are singing now.  When I sing your songs to you, you sing back.  It is so darn cute that it makes me smile.

You break my heart almost daily, buddy.  You are so good natured and open hearted.  You love people so much.  You walk up to people and say "Hi."  You sit in the corner of the yard at daycare and wave at the cars.  You kiss babies that you just met.  You give everyone kisses good bye.  Seriously, when I think about it, it makes me tear up because my fear is that your innocence will be stomped on someday.  My anticipation of your heart breaking makes my heart break every day.

Yesterday, you cracked me up.  You woke up and you came in bed with me and Joey.  Daddy changed your clothes.  All of a sudden, you went over to Joey and gave him a kiss.  Then, you came over to me and gave me a kiss.  I thought you were just being lovey but then I saw you wave.  Because daddy changed your clothes, you thought you were leaving with daddy.  You did go to get coffee but it amazed me how quick you caught on.

You mimic everything.  I watch you & you concentrate on people so intently.  You watch them and learn things.  It it awesome to watch your brain be such a sponge.  But, we have to be careful because you will also soak up bad habits!

We had a busy weekend.  On Friday, we went to a pool party for Morgan's birthday.  You did so great in the pool. You were jumping in and were so good natured.  You loved watching the kids and I couldn't believe how many kisses you gave Morgan  :)

On Saturday, we went to the Baby Fair and you went in the bouncy house for a minute.  Then, you did the splash park for awhile.  You really enjoyed getting soaked.  Afterwards, we had cake at Morgan's for her birthday.  Finally, you went to Auntie Sheila's while we went to a movie.  You played with Auntie Sheila and your cousin Jake came over.  It sounds like you and Joey did really well over there.

Finally, today, we had another busy day.  We went to a BBQ with all our Lindberg family friends.    Then, we had soccer tots.    We wrapped up the day with a visit to CocoKeys.  You did great with the water.  You went down the slides 3 times.  You went under a couple of times but you were ok about it.  It was hard just being you and me there but we had fun.

Anyway, I will leave you with some photos and, as always, leave you with the knowledge of how much I love you - even if you do call me dada.  :)


Now that I am finally done being pregnant, we actually played on your swing set together rather than me just watching you.  You thought it was so cool when I came up on the club house and went down the slide.  You thought you were so funny pushing me down!

Story time at the library for toddlers in their Jammies.  You liked the library but you have no concept of inside voice.  You didn't like story time much - you preferred to run around the library and kept leaving the story room so we left early.

 I love photos of my 2 boys together!

You & your glasses obsession - silly billy!

You love snuggling up with your brother!

Pool party!

Splash park silliness.  While I didn't think far enough ahead to bring your swim trunks, I did think enough to bring you dry clothes to change into.

You & your buddy Morgan on her birthday.  She is like a big sister to you - she loves to hang out with you.

All of the Lindberg kiddos during the play date.  We had much better luck on this photo than we did at our last play date!

We have had a family photo with glass in between us and one at the hospital when you met Joey.  But, this is the first one where we are not at the hospital, my hair is combed and we are all dressed normal.  I could not have asked for a better photo!

Hello big brother!

Hi Elijah!
Yes, it has been a long time and we have had a lot happen in that time.  You were finally able to meet your brother at the hospital!  You were so good to him, I had some tears in my eyes watching you.  At first, you were curious about him, then you were excited then you were all lovey-dovey.  You smooched him up, you hugged him up, and you held him.  I was so proud of you!

After your meeting, you went to Minneapolis with your Auntie Val and Great Gramma.  You did great - they said that you were not fussy at all.  You went to a soccer game and you even got a game ball from your Godfather!

When you came home, we picked you up at Gramma's.  You ran over and gave me a big hug!  We both missed you so much and were so excited to see you.  After we gave you some loving, you went to run away and we pulled Joey out of the car.  You were so excited to see him again.  You couldn't get him out of the car seat fast enough.  You were holding him, you were loving him up and you didn't want anyone else to hold him.  But, you eventually got bored with  :)

It was so fun because it started raining and you were out playing in the rain.  You thought it was a sprinkler! You were drenched and you had so much fun.  Eventually, Jake joined you and you boys were just running all over soaking up the rain.  We even put some shampoo on your hair and got you cleaned up.

We are on day 3 of you & your brother being home together and we are still trying to figure out how this is going to work.  We will get it figured out but it is going to take some time.  I am just so proud of you & your love for him that I can barely explain it.  You are also back to being a mommy's boy and I missed that!  I love cuddling with you and I love watching you cuddle with Joey.  Thank you for being such a good brother!

I am not sure when I will be back to talk to you but I will come back to tell you important things as they happen!  Your brother and you are keeping me super busy! I have lots of photos of you but no time to post them for you.  Eventually, I will post them all as your scrapbook pages.  I do have a few new ones for you today.