Growing Up

Elias is growing up. He has started coloring inside the lines. He traces numbers and words at school, practices his sounds and says the Pledge of Allegiance (his version anyway) every morning:

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. Under God indivisible with liverty and justice for all."

Elias has snack day once a month and brings one show and tell and one book. Here are some more snack day items:

Show and Tell
The Dancing Gorilla we got from Grandpa Don for Valentine's Day (too bad it didn't get lost)
Guitar
PawPaw (Build A Bear from Grandpa Don)
Ole

Books
Tuesday
If You Give a Pig a Pancake
The Best Mother Goose Ever
Go, Dog. Go!

He has also started repeating those childhood rhymes we all remember so well (his version anyway):

"Eeny, meeny, miny, moe. Catch a tiger by his toe. Let him holler let him go. I pick the very best friend and it is Daddy and Mommy and Ezra and Sumo."

At least he tries to include everyone.

A Blessing and a Curse...

The internet. Ezra isn't eating many finger foods these days, and he has given up eating a lot of the baby food he used to eat before he turned one. His doctor hopes it is just a phase. So do I. I decided to do a little research online to see what I could find. There were many articles and many questions posted about this same issue. I found one blog in particular that a woman wrote about her 7-month-old not wanting to eat solid food. Many people wrote in comments saying they were experiencing the same thing with their children. A blessing to find this blog and to know that we are not alone. As I read on, this woman continued to blog over the course of 2 years about her son. Her child drank nothing but formula and chewed on the occasional piece of finger food before spitting it out (this is what Ezra does) until he was 2 and a half. Only then did he begin to want to eat solid food. What? 2 and a half! Curse you internet. Curse you.

Smaller?

I didn't even think that was possible. Are they really smaller than before? Now maybe it is because they were so much bigger for so long, that they just seem smaller? Either way, for the record, it is simply not fair.

Swedish?

Old Yellow and Baby

You bet. Elias' favorite stuffed animal in the whole world is Old Yellow (received as a hand-me-down from my cousin Lisa). Now Old Yellow's name got shortened awhile back to Olo. It took me some time to be on board, but now it's definitely Olo. Except for a few weeks ago, when it became Ole. You do your Swedish ancestors proud Elias. Gotta love Ole. I'll be sure to let you know if Ole's last name becomes Olson.

Who's Already One?

Ezra! Hard to believe. Here is what he has been up to:

-Didn't want to eat his birthday cupcake. Preferred Os.
-Likes to quack like a duck.
-Pulls his own hair (often out!) when drinking his late-night bottle (8:30 p.m.).
-Mostly refuses to eat finger foods. Often chews on stuff for a while, and then promptly spits it out. Still hates chunky food. Would rather eat Kleenex.
-Walked on 1/6/12, but only walks when it suits him. He's much faster at crawling.
-Has a funny mannerism of titling his head to one side. He usually does it when he is unsure about something.
-Tried whole milk but seemed not to sleep through the night, so back on formula for now. I quit breastfeeding right at 11 months.
-Really loves the dollhouse couch and the pretend phone that play tunes. He loves to boogy down.
-Says Hi, Here, Pop, All done, Off (when turns off the light).
-Refused to even try a piece of pear, but later that day was found with a piece of dog food in his mouth that had been there for who knows how long. Is he trying to drive us crazy?
-Got 2 more teeth (top, front left on 1/2/12; top, front, right on 1/5/12).
-Really likes headbutting the wall, Elias, your head (ouch!)...
-Really hates getting strapped into his car seat.
-Dances to the music in Toddlers (the next door class at school) when in his crib for nap.
-Weighed 20 lbs and was 30" tall on 1/20/12.
-Loves to get up and sit on chairs all by himself (he often climbs up on the table too).
-Can't get enough of water. Loves baths, splashing in Sumo's water bowl, putting his hands in the toilet...and he can now open the lid (joy!).

Anyone want to babysit?

Deep Thoughts by Elias Kiefer

Remember when Ezzy (Ezra) was sick and jumped out of a plane, and he was sad because you and Dad wouldn't jump with him?

Ezra Walks

Ezra started walking just a few days before his first birthday on 1/6/12. This is him walking shortly thereafter. I always seem to hold the camera the wrong way. My apologies.