He likes to bang his head against the wall.
He stands with his back to the wall and WAM! throws his head back. Then he looks at us and laughs.
Yep. That is my son.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Saturday, January 16, 2010
The weird thing about Elijah is...
(I've decided to start a series in my blog detailing random weird things about Elijah. I don't know how often I will post these, but I do know there are plenty of examples to choose from. Maybe someday I can dig these out and show them to all his girlfriends :-P)
The weird thing about Elijah is...
He loves getting his ears cleaned out! Imagine an 18-month-old toddler sitting still through an ear-cleaning. Not a typical scenario. Not only does Elijah sit still, he enjoys it! Not only does he enjoy it, he asks for it!
Ear cleaning is a ritual done after every bath time. Either daddy or I (usually daddy because he is the best bath giver) scoop him out of the bath and into a towel in our lap. We start to dry him off and he immediately points at the container of Q-tips on the shelf and simply states, "ear" (or more like "eeww"). As we pull one out he turns his head to the side and holds as still as a statue in anticipation of the wondrous event.
It's a good thing, too, that he likes it so much. That kid has some waxy eewws.
The weird thing about Elijah is...
He loves getting his ears cleaned out! Imagine an 18-month-old toddler sitting still through an ear-cleaning. Not a typical scenario. Not only does Elijah sit still, he enjoys it! Not only does he enjoy it, he asks for it!
Ear cleaning is a ritual done after every bath time. Either daddy or I (usually daddy because he is the best bath giver) scoop him out of the bath and into a towel in our lap. We start to dry him off and he immediately points at the container of Q-tips on the shelf and simply states, "ear" (or more like "eeww"). As we pull one out he turns his head to the side and holds as still as a statue in anticipation of the wondrous event.
It's a good thing, too, that he likes it so much. That kid has some waxy eewws.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
"Cheek"
Lately Elijah has had a fascination with lotion. Since he takes after his mommy with eczema troubles we have to lotion him up fairly often, especially his hands and cheeks. Now every time he sees lotion he points to it and says "cheek." I keep trying to tell him, "It's LO-TION, yes we put it on your cheeks, but it is called LO-TION." He doesn't care. To him it is "cheek," or more like "sheek."
So I'm in the bathroom making myself beautiful this morning (yes, it is quite a process) and Elijah walks in holding a little tub of Vaseline (we also put that on his cheeks sometimes). He looks at me, points at the Vaseline, and says, "cheek." I acknowledge him, make sure he knows how brilliant he is, and tell him to go put the Vaseline away.
He goes back into the living room and I continue on with my beautification. He doesn't come back, but I can hear him playing and that is a good sign (it's when I can't hear him that I know he is getting into trouble).
After a few minutes I come into the living room and see Elijah standing at his tool bench, and I assume he is just playing with his tools, so I distract myself with something else. After a little while I meander over to where he is playing and see that he has the lid of the Vaseline off and is about to stick his fingers in there. Mommy instinct takes over and I rush to his side and snatch away the Vaseline. Baby + Vaseline = Huge Mess.
I quickly begin to assess the damage, did he manage to get any out before I snatched it away? He did. He clearly had been digging in it before I happened to walk by. I checked his other hand. There as well. I looked at the tool bench and didn't see any evidence of a mess. With a sigh of relief, I turned back to give him a smooch. That's when I noticed his cheeks.
Apparently, mommy did not understand that when Elijah brought her the Vaseline and clearly stated "cheek" that he was in need of some serious moisturization. Well, if mommy's not going to do it, then he is going to get it done himself! And so he did.
How can I be mad when I have such a smart kid? :-D
So I'm in the bathroom making myself beautiful this morning (yes, it is quite a process) and Elijah walks in holding a little tub of Vaseline (we also put that on his cheeks sometimes). He looks at me, points at the Vaseline, and says, "cheek." I acknowledge him, make sure he knows how brilliant he is, and tell him to go put the Vaseline away.
He goes back into the living room and I continue on with my beautification. He doesn't come back, but I can hear him playing and that is a good sign (it's when I can't hear him that I know he is getting into trouble).
After a few minutes I come into the living room and see Elijah standing at his tool bench, and I assume he is just playing with his tools, so I distract myself with something else. After a little while I meander over to where he is playing and see that he has the lid of the Vaseline off and is about to stick his fingers in there. Mommy instinct takes over and I rush to his side and snatch away the Vaseline. Baby + Vaseline = Huge Mess.
I quickly begin to assess the damage, did he manage to get any out before I snatched it away? He did. He clearly had been digging in it before I happened to walk by. I checked his other hand. There as well. I looked at the tool bench and didn't see any evidence of a mess. With a sigh of relief, I turned back to give him a smooch. That's when I noticed his cheeks.
Apparently, mommy did not understand that when Elijah brought her the Vaseline and clearly stated "cheek" that he was in need of some serious moisturization. Well, if mommy's not going to do it, then he is going to get it done himself! And so he did.
How can I be mad when I have such a smart kid? :-D
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Cherish the moments
I think Elijah knows that I am reading a book that is supposed to help me with my strong-willed child.
He has been abnormally good today :-)
The sweetest thing happened. He was taking a nap and he had only slept about half the time he usually does when he woke up crying. I went to check on him and he was just sad (probably because he hadn't slept long enough) so I picked him up and held him for a while. He was content to be in my arms so I sat down in our little glider and started to rock him back to sleep.
I was reminded at this time how incredibly big he has gotten! Not only because my arm was numb after a few minutes, but I haven't held him like a baby, much less rocked him, in a very long time! I had been in the middle of something before I came to check on him but I decided that the moment was too sweet to pass up. He just laid in my arms, eyes open, tears on his cheeks, and thumb in his mouth, and we rocked. He fell back asleep fairly quickly.
As I rocked, I made a point to cherish the feeling of him in my arms, realizing that it was a rare moment and I may not have many more.
He has been abnormally good today :-)
The sweetest thing happened. He was taking a nap and he had only slept about half the time he usually does when he woke up crying. I went to check on him and he was just sad (probably because he hadn't slept long enough) so I picked him up and held him for a while. He was content to be in my arms so I sat down in our little glider and started to rock him back to sleep.
I was reminded at this time how incredibly big he has gotten! Not only because my arm was numb after a few minutes, but I haven't held him like a baby, much less rocked him, in a very long time! I had been in the middle of something before I came to check on him but I decided that the moment was too sweet to pass up. He just laid in my arms, eyes open, tears on his cheeks, and thumb in his mouth, and we rocked. He fell back asleep fairly quickly.
As I rocked, I made a point to cherish the feeling of him in my arms, realizing that it was a rare moment and I may not have many more.
Friday, January 8, 2010
My strong-willed child
Today I got a new book from the library. (The New) Strong-Willed Child by Dr. James Dobson.
Elijah has been acting out more and more lately, throwing fits, hitting, at times biting. That sounds terrible... He is mostly a good kid and fairly obedient, but he definitely has his moments. He is also trying to assert his independence by choosing to do some things he knows are not allowed, or telling us "no" when we give him direction.
Chris and I have decided that a crack-down is in order. We are not afraid of disciplining our child, in fact we are strong proponents of disciplining in any way necessary. Of course I do not beat my child, but I definitely spank. However, spanking does not seem to faze Elijah one bit. And time-outs are difficult to follow through with since he is so young. Since he is our first child, we get to do all the experimenting on him (that is until the next one comes along and is completely different...) :-)
I've heard a lot of good things about this book, I have no idea yet what advice Dr. Dobson has, but I am definitely looking forward to it. If Elijah is anything like his parents - he is very strong-willed.
Elijah has been acting out more and more lately, throwing fits, hitting, at times biting. That sounds terrible... He is mostly a good kid and fairly obedient, but he definitely has his moments. He is also trying to assert his independence by choosing to do some things he knows are not allowed, or telling us "no" when we give him direction.
Chris and I have decided that a crack-down is in order. We are not afraid of disciplining our child, in fact we are strong proponents of disciplining in any way necessary. Of course I do not beat my child, but I definitely spank. However, spanking does not seem to faze Elijah one bit. And time-outs are difficult to follow through with since he is so young. Since he is our first child, we get to do all the experimenting on him (that is until the next one comes along and is completely different...) :-)
I've heard a lot of good things about this book, I have no idea yet what advice Dr. Dobson has, but I am definitely looking forward to it. If Elijah is anything like his parents - he is very strong-willed.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
New Boots
I have searched high and low this winter for a pair of boots that would satisfy my incredibly picky taste. I am not a girl of many shoes, I prefer to find a pair of shoes that will last me at least several years rather than buying some spur of the moment. Don't get me wrong, in a dream world I would love to buy a pair of shoes for every outfit and then some, but I just can't justify that in real life. I believe I own between 5 and 7 pairs of shoes, but I only wear 2 - my Adidas Samba tennis shoes in the winter and my $3 Walmart flip-flops (which sometimes do last more than 1 year) in the summer. But for several years now I have really wanted to get some boots because my feet are always freezing in the winter when I wear my Sambas. Plus I have been on a kick lately to try to dress a little more feminine, and that means cute boots instead of men's tennis shoes.
So I shopped and I shopped (well I didn't shop that much because I hate shopping, but I did shop quite a bit compared to my normal amount of shopping, which is not at all) and I never seemed to be able to find a pair of boots that was exactly what I wanted - cute, practical, and warm. Plus I didn't have any money, so I was waiting until I got gift cards and/or money for Christmas. However, after Christmas I tried shopping again and still couldn't find anything because all the stores I went to were on their last few pairs of boots and after Christmas they don't get in any new inventory. So I was pretty much out of luck.
Then we were on our way home from up north and my brilliant husband suggests stopping at the outlets in Albertville. Good idea, brilliant husband! So we stopped there and it was a million degrees below zero so we were sprinting from shoe store to shoe store without any luck. Then finally we come to the last store - Skechers. I was a little hesitant because the Skechers boots I've seen in other stores were rather bizarre. However, Chris wanted to go to Wilson's Leather to look at coats and they happened to be just a store apart, so we went our separate ways and agreed that whoever realized their store had nothing first would go and meet the other.
Well, I walk into Skechers and down the boot aisle and I am overwhelmed by cute boots! Then began the trying-on of about 7 different pairs. After all this Chris still hadn't showed up so I had to call him and he was overwhelmed by coats at Wilson's Leather, but decided to come help me choose boots first (what a great husband :-D).
Ok, this story is getting too long, so here they are, the boots I chose.
I love that they are black, I love that they don't have any fur on them, I love that they are relatively simple, I love that they are comfortable, and I love that they were on sale and therefore the cheapest boots I found.
I don't love that the zipper only goes up to the trim so it is quite a feat to get them on and get my pants tucked into them, I don't love that they are not weatherproof, and I don't love that I had to spend money on them no matter how cheap they were.
I still have the box and the receipt because I tend to talk myself out of purchases. I'm interested to find out if I will keep these or not. Any comments?
So I shopped and I shopped (well I didn't shop that much because I hate shopping, but I did shop quite a bit compared to my normal amount of shopping, which is not at all) and I never seemed to be able to find a pair of boots that was exactly what I wanted - cute, practical, and warm. Plus I didn't have any money, so I was waiting until I got gift cards and/or money for Christmas. However, after Christmas I tried shopping again and still couldn't find anything because all the stores I went to were on their last few pairs of boots and after Christmas they don't get in any new inventory. So I was pretty much out of luck.
Then we were on our way home from up north and my brilliant husband suggests stopping at the outlets in Albertville. Good idea, brilliant husband! So we stopped there and it was a million degrees below zero so we were sprinting from shoe store to shoe store without any luck. Then finally we come to the last store - Skechers. I was a little hesitant because the Skechers boots I've seen in other stores were rather bizarre. However, Chris wanted to go to Wilson's Leather to look at coats and they happened to be just a store apart, so we went our separate ways and agreed that whoever realized their store had nothing first would go and meet the other.
Well, I walk into Skechers and down the boot aisle and I am overwhelmed by cute boots! Then began the trying-on of about 7 different pairs. After all this Chris still hadn't showed up so I had to call him and he was overwhelmed by coats at Wilson's Leather, but decided to come help me choose boots first (what a great husband :-D).
Ok, this story is getting too long, so here they are, the boots I chose.
I love that they are black, I love that they don't have any fur on them, I love that they are relatively simple, I love that they are comfortable, and I love that they were on sale and therefore the cheapest boots I found.
I don't love that the zipper only goes up to the trim so it is quite a feat to get them on and get my pants tucked into them, I don't love that they are not weatherproof, and I don't love that I had to spend money on them no matter how cheap they were.
I still have the box and the receipt because I tend to talk myself out of purchases. I'm interested to find out if I will keep these or not. Any comments?
Saturday, January 2, 2010
I love the idea that God will never give us more trouble than we are able to handle (with His help of course). Typically in my life when something goes wrong - everything goes wrong. Then I start to wonder if it can get any worse... And it does.
Today, however, God showed me that not everything is going to go wrong. It was 31 degrees below zero this morning and my 12 year old little Mazda started after only a couple tries. It was a miracle. An everyday miracle.
Today, however, God showed me that not everything is going to go wrong. It was 31 degrees below zero this morning and my 12 year old little Mazda started after only a couple tries. It was a miracle. An everyday miracle.
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