look how much I've grown

From november to june...

I am so big!

Love, Elijah

naptime

mini-golf

Last week we went to this really neat place with an indoor playground and arcade games and mini golf and go-karts and bumper boats. We ate in the restaurant and they gave us this little green plastic cone to take to our table to let the waitress know to serve us. When she came over she took the green plastic cone away and I was extremely upset and my entire evening was about to be ruined. Even the news that she would be bringing me fries did not console me. Then dada started blowing bubbles in his drink. This made a very funny noise and I just had to try it myself. And soon I was distracted enough by the blowing of bubbles that I forgot about the green plastic cone and was even able to enjoy my fries.

Then we played miniature golf, which I have not done in a very long time. I had my very own golf club and my very own ball that were both green. I would hit the ball from the beginning of the hole and then wherever it would stop I would go and pick it up and move it to a few inches away from the hole and use my club to hit it in. I also helped mama and dada with their golfing abilities on occasion. I didn't get bored until about hole 15, which is a very long time when you are two.

Love, Elijah

fishing and firetrucks

This weekend I went to a free fishing day at the park. Dada took me to get my very own fishing pole and we practiced casting and turning the handle to reel it back in. Saturday morning we went out in the backyard and found some worms to take with us and headed to the park. There were lots of other kids there fishing, but I was more interested in running around and asking to go play on the playground. I did see a kid catch a fish right in front of me so I got to see what fishing was all about.

Then we went to watch the watermelon drop. They dropped a watermelon from a firetruck ladder that was way up in the air. It splattered very far. Everyone else who was watching left but we hung around to watch the firetruck. Pretty soon another firetruck came up and the firemen got out the hose and started washing the street because there was watermelon everywhere. One of the firemen asked me if I wanted to come hold the hose, so I took his hand and off we went. I got to help spray down the road and it was very much fun.

Love, Elijah

mama's nightmare

Our new house has a basement. It is an old house which means there is a narrow and steep staircase leading to the basement. The steps themselves are so small that an adult's foot doesn't fit on them without turning sideways but my feet happen to fit just perfectly. Mama's nightmare since we moved in has been that I might fall down the stairs one day, or worse be knocked down the stairs by Moses. So Dada put a gate at the top of the stairs to keep me from heading downstairs by myself and another one at the bottom of the stairs to keep me from climbing up by myself when we are all downstairs together. He also put a railing in so I would have something to hold onto.

I have gotten better and better at going up and down the stairs now that we have lived here a few months and mama has slacked off on accompanying me everytime I head up or down the stairs. The other day she had to run downstairs for something for just a second and I frantically ran after her because I wanted to go downstairs too. She didn't close the gate which meant that I could follow her even though she called to me that she was coming right back up. Then came the horrible sound of me falling down the stairs. Not just a couple of stairs, but almost all of the stairs. Later I pointed out to Dada that I had started falling on the third step. Mama ran around the corner just in time to see me land flat on my tummy at the bottom. She was afraid to pick me up in case I hurt my back so she let me lay there and cry a few seconds until I started moving on my own. Then she hugged me and cuddled me while I screamed because it was very scary, this falling down the stairs. She thoroughly inspected me for broken bones or swollen ankles. Thankfully the stairs are carpeted and I survived with nothing more than a rug burn on my forehead and cheek. And a new respect for the stairs, which I have been very careful on ever since.

Love, Elijah

yummy popsicle

One of the fun things about mama being pregnant is that she craves all kinds of things I don't usually get to eat. Yummy things like canned cheese that squirts out the end and snickers bars and lots and lots and lots of pancakes. One night we even got to have ice cream for dinner. Imagine the bliss.

The other night mama decided she needed a banana flavored popsicle. They only come in boxes with other flavors so I got to pick my own and I chose blue. Popsicles are yummy but they can be quite challenging to eat when they start to melt. I can't wait to have another one, and now that I have finally figured out how to open the freezer all by myself I ask for one all the time. Next time I want to try a green one, so I open the door and I point to the box and I tell mama "geen," to which she always seems to respond with "later." I'm not sure when later is but I hope it gets here soon.

Love, Elijah

then & now

mama told me to smile before this picture, so I did

mama likes this picture

such a boy

elevators and escalators

Yesterday I went to my very favoritist bookstore with mama. It is my very favoritist bookstore because it has an escalator in it and escalators are one of my favoritist things. When we got to the bookstore first we went to the potty (mama is always needing to find the potty these days) and the potty was right by the elevator and I realized for the first time that my bookstore has an elevator as well as an escalator. Mama asked me if I wanted to go on the elevator or the escalator and I chose the escalator. I happily held mama's hand and stepped onto the magical moving staircase but when we got all the way to the very top I realized that I actually had wanted to ride the elevator after all. I immediately dissolved into tears and sobs because this opportunity was now lost forever. Mama promised me that we could ride the elevator when it was time to go. When we left I chose the escalator again and when we reached the bottom I ran quick as I could to the elevator where we rode it just for fun and I pressed all of the buttons all by myself.

Later we went to my favoritist walmart, which of course you can guess has an escalator too. It even has a special escalator for our shopping cart and it is very fun to use.

Love, Elijah

belly shot

26 weeks or so

dada is so strong too

This is the only hike the entire vacation that I was willing to wear a hat. Even then it was only because there were some big kids hiking near us and they were wearing hats and I wanted to be like them. As soon as they were out of sight the hat came off and mama had to carry it. But mama said I sure looked cute for the few minutes I wore it.

Love, Elijah

rocks

Here I am collecting some of my rocks during our hikes. Right after the picture by the arch I dropped one of these rocks and it went rolling away down the hill and was lost forever. I was very sad and needed lots of cuddles from dada to recover.

Love, Elijah

camping

rocks

Recently we went camping and went on lots of hikes. On every hike I picked some rocks to take with me. By the time we came home I had quite a collection. I found lots of different colored rocks...brown, white, yellow, green, red, and black. The other day we put all my rocks in the sink and washed them off. I had lots of fun swishing them around in the bubbles. Then I grabbed a cup and poured water over them. This was fun until mama discovered me pouring water over the counter and down onto the floor. Thus ended our rock-washing session.

Love, Elijah

so big, so strong

How big is Elijah? So big!!!



















How strong is Elijah? So strong!!!

two and a half

A few weeks ago I turned two and a half. To celebrate I got to ride the train with mama. Not the little train at the zoo but the big commuter train. We were going to go downtown and play in the fountain but it turned out to be way too cold and it even decided to snow. Instead we hung out in the bookstore and then we found a big empty building where I could push my stroller around. When it was time to go back to the train I had to push my stroller in the snow. I did not like this very much because it was very cold and wet and my feet got all soaked in the huge puddles. Later we made cupcakes with grandma and grandpa. I got to use as many sprinkles as I wanted and that was a whole lot.

Love, Elijah