11 Months

This post is late and before I know it our little guy is going to be ONE!  I cannot believe how fast this year has gone.  In some aspects it feels like the longest year ever and yet, it has gone so fast!  I know that makes no sense at all!  Eli is now 11 1/2 months and his adjusted age is 10 months. 
At his orthopedic appointment last week he weighed 19 lbs 13 oz and was about 28 inches.

I love my happy boy!

This has been a BIG month for Eli!  This past month he started sitting in the side sitting position and also sitting with his legs bent at the knee.  We had been working on this in therapy for MONTHS!  I really began to doubt that he would ever be able to do this on his own.  Everytime we would bend those sweet little legs, they would come straight back out!  One day I was over at my parents house and Eli was sitting on the floor and my mom and I started noticing him bending his knees while sitting.  We both looked at each other and were quite amazed.  Since then he has been bending those little legs like crazy.

Being able to bend his legs better helped him to make transitions easier from sitting to on all fours.  He rocked, we practiced getting a motor plan, we did it a lot....for weeks.  I doubted and prayed and wondered.  I asked therapists and they said they weren't sure.  I knew he was close, yet I didn't know if we would get there on all fours without reverting to the army crawl.  And then one morning I was across the room and he saw my coke zero can and HE CRAWLED ALL THE WAY TO MY CAN!!  (So much for enticing toys...it is always the real things that they like)!  Since that day he is getting faster and faster.  He is also pulling up into the kneeling postiton.   Nothing is better than being in the bathroom and having a sweet little boy coming to find me.  I am very proud of him!

Is it just me or does he look about Five in this picture?

He loves being able to chase after his sisters...and get into their toys!!

He got his first two teeth this past month and has started making more sounds (finally!)  He is saying mama, dada, baba...and we think we've heard a papa too.  He is beginning to make lots of other babbling sounds and we love hearing his little voice.  We are most likely adding speech therapy onto our therapy schedule in the weeks to come.  He has been a little behind verbally and our OT and PT have encouraged it.  We just want to make sure we are doing everything to keep him as much on track as we can.

Eli is also eating table food.  He LOVES it!  I am not surprised!  The other night I am pretty sure he ate more than both of his sisters. 

Next Friday Eli has his big neuro appointment.  It is a big appointment in which our Neuro will decide if he thinks he needs a shunt.  Last appointment he kinda gave us a two month waiting period to see if that little knoggin would slow down.  Well, unfortunately it has continued to grow.  I am still praying for wisdom.  We have gotten a second opinion and are seeking another. We want to know all of our options and make the best choice for Eli.  Of course not needing to do anything would be such a blessing!   Nothing would make me happier than for that little head to slow down and begin to absorb the extra axial fluid that is there.  We would covet your prayers for Eli and this important appointment.

I don't know what Eli's future is going to hold, but I am so proud of all that he has already accomplished.  He is such a fun and easy going little guy.  He seems to love life and love people.  He is a little ray of sunshine and I know God will continued to be glorified in his life.  We love him so.
Now for planning another first birthday!

Catch Up

1.  I have been avoiding my blog.  Life has been busy, busy and it takes more brain action than I have most days to sit down and write!

2.  Speaking of brain cells, some days I wonder if I have any left.  The other day I was trying to write February, and for the life of me I couldn't spell it.  Was is (Febuary or February)??  I knew that I knew how to spell it, or at least I did at one time, but I couldn't for the life of me remember.  I think this is why I go to Target with a list in hand and still forget to pick up that one needed item. 

3.  I used to not mind a quick trip to Target.  In fact, if I forgot something, no biggie...I could always pick it up later.  Nowadays, a trip to Target or any store to be honest, requires energy and patience of the supernatural kind.

4.  Eli is now 11 months.  I must admit that I feel a bit cheated.  In my mind, he shouldn't be one until the end of August, yet due to his early arrival it is almost here.  I feel like I should get those extra six weeks back!

5.  I was looking at some of his tiny baby pictures the other day and I'd give anything to go back now and hold that little sweetie again.  I was so, so scared that I feel like I missed out on a lot of it. I wish I could get a do over now, knowing how much I'd love that little guy after a year. 

6.  We had a garage sale a few weeks ago and I sold my baby stuff.  I had a little breakdown night before as I got it all together.  Each little outfit, burp rag, etc. held a specific memory to me.  They were just items to others, but to me they were so special.  Yes, I do believe I have attachment issues.  I let it go.  It feels good...I think. 

7. We have been going to the beach at least once a week.  Since we didn't get to go last summer due to our situation, I have been trying my best to enjoy it this summer.  It is so much work to get us all there, back home, and cleaned up, but it is a great way to wear some busy bodies out!

8.  One year ago today I was sitting in a hospital room that I'd be stuck in for the next 30 days.  Kev was laying in the bed beside me.  He had been in a major head on collision after leaving the hospital to go home to take a shower and see our girls.  There was a fatality involved but thankfully he walked away very bruised, cut, swollen and sore.  I had never ever in my life been so thankful to see him when he walked back into my hospital room that evening after spending the afternoon and evening down in the trauma center.  What a day!

9.  And one final catch up...Our baby can CRAWL!!  Like, on all fours moving legs crawl.  I am very proud of him. A few months ago I wondered if we would ever get here.  It has been such a slow progression and lots of work.  Now on to bigger and harder things, like standing!