ElfYourself -- Eli's favorite

This disco version is Eli's favorite. My favorite is the hip hop version at the top of the page. Enjoy -- I know Eli is!

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The Elijah Update

I started this entry days ago, then I learned about a Blurb sale so I stopped my blog update to focus on finishing my blog book. I finished it and sent it into the printer late last night, so now I'm back to the blog.

Right now, we are enjoying Scott's Thanksgiving Break. It has been brisk, cold weather and we've been playing playdough, reading, playing with Eli's giant letters and generally staying warm and cozy inside.

Back to my Elijah update... I collected these pictures of Eli throughout the first few weeks of November. I see our recent life as divided into two periods -- life before the hospital, and life after the hospital. Here's the Elijah update of life after the hospital...

Fortunately, Eli got over his unexplainable fear of his Bob costume and he's even worn it during the day, just for fun. Here are some pictures of him in the back yard, making the most of his Bob costume.



The most exciting news about Eli is that he's now going to sleep and nap by himself. Getting him to go to sleep has always been a little difficult. As a baby, I used to nurse him to sleep. Then, after he was weaned, we would cuddle until he fell asleep. The cuddling was the final step in a lengthy process that included: brushing teeth, getting in pajamas, quiet time, books, singing, and prayers. Now, we get him in his pajamas, brush his teeth, he has quiet time for a little while and then he climbs in bed and falls asleep. It's a miracle.

I think the process of change started when Daddy became involved in the bedtime routine. It was a struggle, but we started including Scott when I was pregnant -- knowing that he might have to take over when Keira was born. And, he did take over, although I tried to still be involved when it was possible. At first, Eli wanted Scottie to lay on the floor while he was falling asleep. I guess he wanted more room in bed! During this same time I was taking him on nap walks, since napping at home had become too much of a struggle. When Keira came home from the hospital I knew that we would have to try to nap at home. I was worried about it, but I was so overwhelmed with worrying about Keira's health that I figured that Eli's naps were the least of my concerns.

Amazingly, the first Monday that we were home from the hospital, he napped by himself without a hitch. When Daddy came home, I told him about Eli's nap feat after dinner. Eli had already had a piece of Halloween candy for dessert. But, Scottie made a big deal about congratulating him and gave him another piece of candy for being such a big boy and napping all by himself. After Eli excitedly devoured his second piece, he went into the kitchen, got down the Halloween candy and gave Daddy a bag of Cheezits. He said, "Daddy, here you go because you are so nice and you talk to me so nice." Priceless.

Well, the chocolate made an impression. He wanted to put himself to sleep at night for some more chocolate, and then the next day for nap, too. Scott and I were a little leary about chocolate playing such a big role in this milestone, but we were so happy that he'd made the leap that we acquiesed temporarily. After the Halloween candy ran out, I kept "forgetting" to buy some more. Now, we've moved on to rewarding him with stickers on a sticker chart that he can accumulate to earn something. I've stressed earning experiences, not food.

He seems to think that he can't have us read to him and still earn his sticker. Scott and I have tried stressing to him that the bedtime routine is fine; he's earning the sticker for falling asleep without us in his room. Finally, last night, he let me read, do his prayers, and sing to him, again. Scott and I missed reading to him, and surprisingly, he hasn't wanted to read much during the day. The pendulum has swung again, and we haven't even been reading to him for the recommended twenty minutes each day.

This new sleeping behavior has been great at night, but it's been especially helpful to me during the day. I love taking walks, and nap walks were a great temporary solution for us, but it's nice not to HAVE to walk for naps. I think Keira's gotten more rest, and with his new sleeping routine, Eli finally gets enough sleep, too.

Of course, we are still taking walks. And, occassionally, even nap walks when it fits into our plan for the day. A few weeks ago, we took a long family walk. We tried the double stroller again. Keira rode in it for a little while, but still definitely prefers the Baby Bjorn. We enjoyed a beautiful fall day on the golf cart trails.




One of the things that Eli keeps an eye out for on every walk, or drive are towers. Eli is obsessed with towers. His favorite kind of tower is water towers, but he'll settle for radio towers, cell phone towers or Dopler Radar Towers if there is an absence of water towers. On our walk a few weeks ago, we saw the radio tower from across the lake. Eli made sure that we took a picture of it.


Searching for towers is one of Eli's favorite activities. In fact, he's talking about earning a water tower drive for his sticker chart. One day, on the way back from Dendi's house, Eli spotted a new tower. He thought it was a water tower, turns out it was a Doppler Radar Tower. I had never even noticed it before. Before Halloween, Dendi and Bapa took Eli on a walk to see the bottom. For him, it was almost better than Christmas!


Besides going on walks and tower drives, Eli has been doing a lot of new activities. One day, during quiet time, he drew dots all over his arm. We talked to him about how ink on his skin isn't very good for him -- I don't think he'll be doing it again. But, it made for a good photo op.


Eli has been such a craft enthusiast, that we went to Michael's a few weeks ago and spent too much money on some craft supplies. His favorite were the beads. We taught him how to string them into necklaces. He loves it. Scottie and I are now the proud owners of two Eli creations.


His favorite at home activity during the last few weeks was launching rockets. Scottie had launched rockets with his fifth graders. He came home and did a few test runs using vinegar, alka seltzer and a film canister, while Eli watched. Elijah was entranced. We launched rockets over and over again after that.



One of the most unfortunate developments in the last few weeks is a host of new fears. Eli's biggest fear is of dragons. He saw dragons a few times on Dora and now he's not that interested in watching Dora anymore. He's also scared of Diego's dad, mermaids and anything that reminds him of dragons like castles, kings and queens. He will watch Diego still, but his new favorite is Super Why. Unfortunately, even Super Why has some offending episodes. We've tried explaining things to him, hugging and cuddling the fears away, and taking the offending objects out of his range. Everything seems to help a little, but unfortunately nothing helps for long. The best thing about him having fears now, is that he's verbal enough that we can talk about it. I'm thankful for that.

The Keira Update

The first bit of news about Keira is her health. She's made a full recovery -- yay! We will still be giving her steroid breathing treatments twice a day through the winter. These are supposed to help keep her lungs strong and clear even when she gets sick so that we can avoid another hospital visit. I've also been told that they can help kids grow out of this baby asthma stuff. Hopefully.

Keira and I went to the pediatrician this morning for her six month checkup. The doctor said she looks and sounds great -- no wheezing! Here are her stats... she's 27 inches long, which is the 85%, she weighs 18 lb. 15 oz. which is the 91% and her head circumference is 45 cm which is the 96%. She's a big baby. She's following in her brother's footsteps. Until he was about a year old he hung out in the 90th percentile, too. Now, he's usually between the 40th and 60th. I won't be surprised if she follows suit. She got a ton of shots today, seven different vaccines, including the seasonal flu shot and H1N1. Now, the whole family has had both flu vaccines, although the kids will have to go back in for their follow up shots. She was happy, bubbly and smiley for most of her doctor visit with the exception of getting her shots (duh!) and when the doctor looked in her ears, poked and prodded her.

Other exciting news since the hospital is that she's now sitting up. She started being able to sit up a little by herself before she was admitted. But, now she's basically perfected it. She loves it. She loves to sit on a blanket on the floor with toys all around her and a Boppy behind her for support.



Sitting up has allowed for more play options including her first foray into the tupperware...



Since she's now sitting up, she has no interest in reclining. She's no longer fond of her vibrating seat, which used to be a staple. These are most likely the last pictures I'll take of her in it.



Keira's two other news tidbits regard her mouth. She's teething and she's just started eating solids. She still hasn't cut another tooth, she still has just the one, but the other bottom front tooth looks like it's about to break through any moment. And, the doctor said that even her top gums have started to bulge. No wonder she wants to nurse all day and night! I've tried everything that I know for teething. Nothing seems to help. For a while, we were using homeopathic teething tablets, which Eli loved to give Keira. Here they are on our bed after he's given them to her. Notice the chalky remnants around her mouth and the teething tablet bottle top in Eli's hand.


The most obvious sign that she's teething is that her fingers are always in her mouth. Although, interestingly, she doesn't put anything else in her mouth, which is why teething toys don't help. True to form, even when her teeth are bothering her, she smiles through it.


Finally, Keira tried her first solid food yesterday -- bananas. We were at IHOP with Grammie, without our camera, for her first bite. But, last night during dinner we let her try some more. Unlike her brother, she seems very interested in food. Despite our efforts, Eli didn't eat many solids until he was about a year old. We basically skipped the baby food phase and went straight to table food. On the other hand, Keira will probably eat her share of baby food. Here she is trying bananas (and solid food) for the second time. She watched the spoon with anticipation.


She wasn't exactly sure what to do with her tongue.


She liked to help feed herself.


And, of course, the tactile experience was maybe the best part -- she definitely earned her bath.

Halloween Interrupted

Unfortunately, because of Keira's hospitalization, Halloween was a little different this year. Keira was released from the hospital on Thursday, October 29. We were all exhausted. We never got around to carving the pumpkin (it's still sitting on our dining room table). Additionally, before releasing us, the doctor told me to keep Keira away from crowds and germs for at least a week. Specifically, she said that Trick or Treating or answering the door to give out candy were not good ideas. I was sad. Of course, most importantly, I was ecstatic that she was better and that we were heading home to Eli (we both missed him terribly), but I was sad about Halloween. I had been so looking forward to dressing up both my babies and heading out as a family of four to go Trick or Treating. And, Tracey and I had made plans to include Tracey and Ella in our Trick or Treating. Bummer.

Of course, we didn't want Eli to miss out on Trick or Treating just because Keira and I would be home bound. Dendi and Bapa generously offered to take him Trick or Treating in their subdivision. At the last minute, Eli decided that he wanted Daddy to come along. Here are some pictures that Dendi got of the evening.

Dendi and Her Boy -- Bob the Builder


Fortunately, he overcame his aversion to the rest of his costume.


I chose this costume because it had "real" tools in the tool belt.


Trying out his screw driver on Uncle Jason.


Posing with Uncle Jason, Auntie Andrea and Daddy


Ready to Go!


Enjoying Some of His Chocolate

The Calm Before The Storm

The third week of October went by fairly uneventfully except for the pumpkin patch, visiting with Tracey and Ella and trick or treating at the Avenue on Saturday evening. Tracey and Ella were in Georgia for about six weeks, staying with Ron's parents between Hawaii and Ron's new job in San Antonio. It took Tracey and I a little time to get organized and finally arrange to get together. On Thursday October 22, we finally saw Ella and Tracey. First, they came over to our house and the kids played. Then, we walked to Jump 2 It, an indoor inflatable playground and let Ella and Eli play there. We had a great time! It felt like no time had passed since we'd talked and Tracey and I lost no time catching up. The kids played nicely, too. In fact, we had so much fun that we started making plans to see each other A LOT before they left for Texas. Unfortunately, we didn't see them again before they left. The combination of Keira's hospitalization, our self inflicted home bound weeks that followed and all the packing and orchestration needed for a cross country move took away all our time. Fortunately, they'll be back frequently so that Ella can visit her grandparents and we'll get to see them again. It's good to have them stateside again. Here are Eli and Ella at Jump 2 It and a picture that Tracey got of Keira in the Baby Bjorn.



The next day, Friday, we had planned to hang out again. But, when Keira woke up she sounded bad. I decided we'd better lay low after our visit to the pediatrician. On Saturday, the MOMS Club had their Halloween party. We had been planning on going, but Keira woke up on Saturday morning sounding even more congested. Eli seemed okay about missing it, so we decided to skip it. That evening there was trick or treating at The Avenue. Keira was sounding a little better. Not wanting Eli to miss all the festivities, we decided to go for a little while. Inexplicably, Eli was a little reticent to wear his entire Bob costume. We finally talked him into wearing his Bob the Builder overalls with the rest of his costume. Thankfully, we got a picture of Keira in her costume, as this was the only Halloween celebrating we did with her. Here is the free Polaroid that they took of us that I was able to scan in.


The next morning, we woke up with Keira wheezing and spent Sunday and Monday in the emergency rooms. We went to the ER four times in two days before they finally admitted us...

Uncle Bob's Pumpkin Patch

On Monday, October 19, Keira, Eli and I went to Uncle Bob's Pumpkin Patch in Newnan. In retrospect, I think I overscheduled us -- that weekend we had been to Cloudland Canyon and baptized Keira. But, I had been pumping up Eli to go to the Pumpkin Patch and I was excited to go on our first "field trip" with the MOMS Club. We gave it our best shot. When we first arrived, we waited for the rest of the moms and kids to show up. To my delight, I wasn't the last one to arrive. It always feels like a great feat to get all three of us ready and out the door for a scheduled event in the morning. This was especially challenging since we were all tuckered out from our busy weekend and we had a little drive; the Pumpkin Patch is in the outskirts of Newnan.

Our first activity on was a hayride. As with anything new, Eli was a little reticent, but warmed up quickly once we were under way. It was a nice way to see the farm, and enjoy the beautiful, crisp, fall morning with my babies. As you can see from the picture, true to form Eli was not into posing and Keira kept a wary eye on Michelle the photographer. I consider a picture a success when we are all facing the camera with eyes open!


Being as tired as we all were, Eli held up fairly well. Yet, we did end up leaving early. But, first we saw the inside of a beehive, a little movie about bats, and we went on a nature walk. We left when the rest of the group went into the petting zoo -- something he's never been too excited about. Before we left, he picked out a tiny pumpkin, which he had been trying to be patient about since we arrived. He purposely picked out the most yellow pumpkin, his favorite color.

Keira's Baptism

Keira was baptized on October 18, at Peachtree City United Methodist Church during the 11:00 service. She did pretty well considering. I was a little nervous going in because Keira has had "stranger danger" for a few months now. I envisioned handing her over and her starting to shriek. Instead, the hand off was fairly uneventful. But once Pastor Herzen poured the water over her head and it dripped into her eyes, she cried. She calmed down when he called on me for backup, I took her from him and the congregation sang her the lullaby. She was entranced by the song -- she loves singing. All in all, the service was beautiful, and it was especially nice having so many people attend and stand up with us in support.




After the service, we stayed after to take a few pictures with Pastor Herzen. Keira had just gotten her first tooth that morning, hence the finger in her mouth.




After the service, Grammie and Babo hosted a wonderful lunch reception at their house. The food, company and cake were all great. Thanks so much for all your hard work, Grammie and Babo!



Keira's aunt and uncles graciously accepted the responsibility of being her godparents. They are Eli's godparents as well. Here they are with their signifigant others: Aunt Seana and Josh, Uncle Brian and Kathryn, and Uncle Jason and Andrea.




As we do at most big gatherings, we took the opportunity to take group pictures.





Finally, something that made the day even more special was that Keira was baptized in a dress that my Grandma Evelyn made over thirty-five years ago. We gave Keira her middle name Jeannette after Grandma Evelyn, whose middle name was also Jeannette. So, it was so special to include her in the baptism as well. Both Seana and I were baptized in the gown, too.