My Baby is 1 Today!

I can't believe my baby boy is one today. Time flies when you are a parent. Elijah is such a joy to our family. Life could not be imagined without him. From the moment he was born he has been his unique, fun little self. He is just a happy guy.

Just in time for his birthday he has started walking or I should say started taking steps. He can take about 5 steps before he falls down. He is persistent. I give him a couple weeks until he starts running.

Also just this week he learned how to go down the stairs. We discovered that new talent yesterday when he was downstairs and no one had put him down there. My biggest challenge these days is making sure the girls have put the lid down on the toilets. Elijah loves the bathrooms!

On the Move

Elijah has taken off! He is anywhere and everywhere. Elijah discovered he liked crawling under the baby disc better than playing in the baby disc.
He can balance and stand without holding on to something but no walking yet. He also has learned to crawl the correct way. For awhile he would lake on his tummy and pull himself along with his arms. Then to get momentum he would push with his foot. It looked like a hard upper body workout. But he is now on all four. One thing is for sure if there is a cramped place in the house that looks like you might be able to fit in, Elijah needs to check it out. In this photo Elijah had crawled under his crib and wasn't quite sure how to get out. He kept bonking his poor head as he tried to crawl underneath.

Homecoming

It's hard to believe Emily is dating age. In true teenager form Emily was asked to Homecoming just days before the dance. She scrambled to get things together for the big night. Emily and I don't seem to speak the same language so I am never clear of her plans and I was left clueless how the evening was supposed to go.

To make a long story short Steve and I ended up being their double date. It sounds a lot worse than it was. We casually entered the dance several couples after them and sat on the side enjoying apple juice and cookies as they danced.

I have to say I am so proud of Emily's modesty. That night there were so many girls who were scantily dressed. I asked myself, "Where are their mothers?" Emily shone along with the other girls that were modest and were examples of latter-day saint young women.

Afterward we accompanied them to Applebee's for dinner. We offered to dine separate but they wanted us to eat with them. I think they were actually happy we ate dinner with them because it helped the conversation flow. It was Emily's first "real" date. Although she was not thrilled with us accompanying them she was a good sport. I am proud of the way she handled things.

One in a Million....

Life has been so busy I have not had time to post on my blog. So today I promised myself I would. And I thought I would start of with my amazing husband. I am so lucky to have such an awesome guy!

Steve has been going to school for a LONG time! I don't count before we were married. So just since we have been together he has been plugging along for 10 years. It is really hard to go to school when you have a big family.

Steve just passed another big test! For the past five years I have been saying he has about two years left to get his bachelor's and I can officially say he has less than a year to go! I notice I am using lots of exclamation marks but this is a big deal in our life. I don't know what life is like to have a husband who goes to work and comes home to the family.

Besides school he always dedicates his time to our family. I noticed he spends every extra minute he has taking care of our family. He is always helping with the children. He really is a great dad. He also is very thoughtful. He makes it a point to give me one night a week to go do whatever I want. He knows I have the children a lot and wants to give me a break.

So there you have it folks. I am married to the sweetest, most loving, most amazing guy.