musical monday

I've got 5 posts until I make it to #200...seems crazy!  I've decided to dedicate them all to Elijah since his 1st birthday is Friday...that seems crazy too!  I just launched our family blog here to hopefully spare you all from endless pictures and videos of our life (aka Elijah), though you are more than welcome to check it out.  This week, however, it's all about Elijah...as I reminisce over his first year.

For Musical Monday, I've got some of my favorite pictures to share!  I took these one day in December and framed them for Justin for Christmas.

bird watching!

We have been couped up in the house this week, pretty sick and lousy.  Thankfully, we have had lots of birds to watch, which has kept Elijah's attention away from his poor snotty nose.  Here are a few photos of what we've been watching on our deck!

feedback friday

On Fridays, I'd like to pose a question to you guys.  Please take a second and give some feedback on today's question(s).  I guess you'll be able to tell what's been on my mind this week.  (Sorry, this one's mostly for moms, I guess).  Have a great weekend!

1.  Do babies all go through a stage where they don't want to be on the changing table? ...and when will it end??

2.  Do you have a sippy cup that you actually love?  one that you hate??

Aren't you ready for Spring?

Whew...I was tired of my last blog look (about the day after I got it up) and ready for a new one...so, finally since we have a new computer, Justin downloaded photoshop for me, and mmm...some hours later...here it is! Maybe I'll be more inspired to blog, right?? ...stay tuned...

wonder

There is such a wonder in a child's eyes that I am so quickly falling in love with in Elijah.  Elijah causes me to stop and think about things that I might not normally think about because I'm trying to teach him about different things.  This week, Elijah's big interest has been in bird watching.  Justin taught Elijah how to sign bird, so he has been all about finding them.  There haven't been too many around in this crazy weather, but we've spent several moments at the windows and walking around looking for any bird we can find.  How sweet!  I just love how Elijah's eyes just fixate on the bird when he finally sees it.  Quite a reminder that nothing God made is unimportant.  Through Elijah's eyes, I have a renewed interest in the smaller things that didn't always grab my attention.  That's something I struggle with...losing my wonder...in the Lord, in the things He created, in the big and small ways He takes care of me every day.  I know Elijah will help me pause and think more about God's awesomeness in the little moments of the day. 

Elijah's hilarious to watch all day.  He gets excited about everything that he knows the word to.  This boy has quite the vocabulary for a (almost) one-year-old.  I keep meaning to write down the words he says, so I thought I would start here. 

Words Elijah signs:
dog
bird
more
all done
milk
fish

Words Elijah says:
ball (a gazillion times a day)
door (almost a gazillion times a day)
Jazz (azz)
Mama
Daddy
toy (Toy-ee ...to cute)
bible (Bi-buul)
baby (Ba-beeee - any time he sees a picture of a baby or himself....or in the mirror!)
banana ("nana")
window (dow)
elbow (bel-bow)
towel (toll)
more
apple (bapple)
hey
bye-bye
go
pray (pay ...too cute - see the video below!)
turtle (tu-tle)
...and many more, but probably I only understand them so I guess they don't count!