Laughter really IS the best medicine

I love this kid :-)

Changes

I have been putting off this post for quite some time. At first I was just too entrenched in the situation that I didn't have the energy to put it to paper, so to speak. And then once it was all done, it just seemed so overwhelming to write the whole thing down. So we're just going to make a long story short - we've moved out of Mountain House, renting a house in Tracy, I'm quitting my job at the end of July and we're moving to Reno. How's that for a short story? :-) The process of moving out of Mountain House was extremely difficult. Moving is always stressful, especially after being there for six years, building friendships and connections with the community. Some of our best friends lived four houses down. How often do you get to say that? So in short, it was hard. But on to new horizons. The best part of all this is that ...wait for it...I get to be a stay at home mommy now!!! Wooooooo hooooo!! It has honestly been my dream for so long, to be able to stay home with my children. I remember just months into dating Jason I turned to him and said, "I just want you to know that I want to be a stay at home. " Just wanted to give him the heads-up about what he was getting himself into ;-) So needless to say, I am extremely excited. Not to say that there is not a bit of nervousness there as well. I am very used to being extremely busy at work and leading multiple projects and pretty much having my hands in everything. To walk away from that and hand the reigns to someone else is more difficult than I thought it would be. I know that the reward is great, but I do also realize that I'm leaving other rewards behind. I'm a mess right now in case you couldn't tell ;-) A little all over the place if you will.

To add to all of that, we have decided to move our little family up the mountain to Reno. We will be closer to Jason's mom and not too much further from my parents (who decided to move back to Cali as we decided to move out!). Plus Adam is moving to Sacramento in the coming months / year so he will be closer as well. Moving that far from my brother was definitely a concern, but now we'll all be within a couple of hours from each other. Except of course for little sister who is busy gallivanting across the south :-)

So, in short - big changes for the Smith family. A little scary and stressful, but all in all very exciting. And really, as long as we're together, we've got everything we need. xoxo

At 18 Months....

First of all...WHAT! How can my baby be 18 months old!!

• Elijah's stats are: height - 32" (50%), weight - 23lbs 10oz (10-20%), head circumference- 48.5" (75%)
• Is starting to gibber gabber like a little chipmunk. He's always talking. 90% of it is unintelligible, but he's using his signs for the really important things like asking for food. And let's be honest, all this kid does is eat so it's pretty helpful. His first word was actually a sentence - "I want that" (again, usually applied to food) although it sounded more like "ahnt da". For awhile we thought his Norwegian roots were coming out and he was saying Uff Da, until our daycare provider said, "It's so cute when he says 'I want that'!" She's a little more used to baby talk than we are ;-) Now he's saying doggie (both speaking and in sign), please (which absolutely kills me!) it sounds more like eezz and he draws it out for a good 5 seconds :-). He's definitely got the Mama and Dada thing down, which is such a joy, because it was just Dada for so long. My heart literally melts everytime I get a mama.
• Is definitely the cool kid at school. It's absolutely adorable to see how the other kids dote on him - especially the girls ;-) I feel like a superstar when I ring the bell and all the kids scream "Baby 'Lijah's mommy, baby 'Lijah's mommy!". I just found out the other day that one of the little girls constantly asks for him when he's not there - even on the weekends. I can't blame her really ;-)
• Still adores the doggies and they are so, so, so good with him (with the exception of Elle barreling over him every once in awhile). He climbs on them, hugs them, lays on them and they just let him have at it. It makes me so incredibly happy to see this connection and the love he has for them. I'm such an animal lover and I really hope to raise him to have the same respect and appreciation.
• Is a dancing fool! He is such a musical baby. We've even caught him singing his own little songs when he's playing by himself.
• Throws a 90 mile and hour fast ball. At least that's what it feels like when the ball hits you in the head. Do not look away when this kid has a ball in his hands! We definitely have a mini athlete in the making.
• Is fully entrenched in the terrible twos. We sat down with The Happiest Toddler on the Block dvd over the weekend to try and help with the tantrums. The Happiest Baby on the Block worked so well for us that we are hoping the same holds true for this one.
• Is definitely a paci baby. He always liked the paci, but lately has to have almost all the time. I am dreading taking it away.
  
• Is the most beautiful little creature I have ever seen. Jason and I constantly ask ourselves how we made him and what we did to deserve such a miracle. We thank God everyday for sharing this blessing with us!