Impromptu Photo Shoot

Elijah pulled out the camera tonight to get a picture of his "horse" and "rocket" pajamas--two very important things in his life! He was definitely posing.

18 Months

We are continuing to find toddlerhood quite fun and entertaining

Elijah loves to talk. Last night, he was experimenting with whispering, but his laughter was getting in the way. My quick word count was over 150 and he consistently puts together 2-3 word sentences. Everything comes with a running commentary. "Airplane. Up high. Bye, airplane. More airplane please?" When he wants something, he often asks for it "back." And lately, he likes to suggest who should come over: "Ella play? [To]day?"

Riding his "horse again. Fast."

He's starting to pretend play. The little duplo people get put to bed with a kiss and music and sometimes a story. The other night, he imitated his daddy going off to work by gathering his container (like Dustin's lunch bag) and telling me, "Kiss. Bye. Open door. Open gate. Car. Keys."

He loves being his daddy's shadow. During the remodel, he was always ready with his screwdriver to help.

He likes to test his physical abilities, especially experimenting with balance. He thinks falling over is pretty funny!

He likes to carry stuff around. When I get him in the morning, he has to gather his blanket, lamb, cup, and 3-4 books before he's ready to be lifted out.

First Day of School

School started this week, and our first day with the new group was delightful. (Although my dear students are missed!) This Elijah's second time in first grade--we're hoping that he only needs to repeat it three times. Creating cave paintings for ancient history is a happy way to start!




And here's my little one on his first day of first grade:

At Aunt Sheri's

Dustin's sister and her family are in town from Arkansas, so Dustin's aunt hosted an extended family dinner. Always fun to spend time with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins!

Elijah and his first cousin once removed

Joel, Teddy, Elijah, and Dustin

Dustin, Elijah, Grandpa, and Grandma

Beach!

Tuesday afternoon, Heather and I loaded up the boys and took them to the beach.

Kitchen Remodel

We're on day 6 of our kitchen remodel. My husband is doing it all himself.

With the help of kind friends and family, everything was taken out of our kitchen and dining room area.

And now, with the help of kind friends and family, things are slowly being put back into my kitchen.

Last night, Elijah played put the screw in the hole. The last people liked screws--there were many, many holes. The flooring had to come out in two stages because we had to unscrew a bunch of screws.

Elijah likes to tell me, "Watch. Daddy. Highchair." and "Daddy. Doing?"