"Caught in the act"

Today, I gave Elijah Brooks a tube of Puffs to shake to keep him occupied while I got his milk ready. I walked back in the room and found this!  I didn't know that an 8 month old could remove a lid off of the Puffs by himself...., and yes, I checked beforehand to make sure that it was on tight!  By the way, if you have not seen the Organic Puffs (now sold at Target) that are 1/2 the sugar than the Gerber puffs and less expensive, I highly recommend you try them out.  I am having a hard time getting him to eat his green vegetables, so I went on the hunt for something else in the meantime while I am working with him, and I discovered these Organic Puffs made with spinach, collard greens, and kale!  He LOVES THEM! 

"Busted"! 

"Oh well, I might as well finish the deed" 

"My new wheels"!

I am SO excited about my new car!!  We have been looking for a bigger car since Elijah Brooks was born and the way this whole thing played out this weekend was nothing short of a miracle. Only God could have done what He did to provide us with this amazing car.  ALL praise be to HIM alone!  We knew we wanted another Honda, seeing that we are definitely a "Honda family".  I drove a '92 Honda since I was 16 years old.  I sold that car in 2007, after having driven it for 13 years!  Yeah, that car had some serious stories to tell if it could talk.  It was like losing a family member when I sold it.  I then bought '03 Honda Accord in '07, and Jay traded his '99 Honda CRV for a '07 CRV.  Okay, Okay...,. yall get the point...., we love Hondas!  So of course, when we realized that we would need a bigger car since we do so much traveling visiting families who are out of town and you all know how much baby gear you have to tote around when you travel, there was no other choice but another Honda.  Long story short, because my hands hurt to type, I traded my '03 Honda Accord this weekend for an '06 Honda Pilot which had less miles on it than my Accord!!   I LOVE IT!  I have so much more room for the plethora of baby gear that I lug around now and I love sitting up higher.   I am super excited about my new "mommy car"!!   Thank you GOD for your provision! 

"Just hanging out"

Elijah Brooks is officially CRAWLING!  I have tried for days to take a decent picture of him, but they all come out blurry because he is always on the move now.  Here are a few recent pictures of him playing around at the house.

Trying to climb... 

Such a sweet face watching, "Praise Baby" 

Playing with cars and watching "Praise Baby" at the same time 

On the move.... 

He was so proud of himself for crawling across the room! 

"Surviving"

Aren't these so incredibly lovely and attractive?? 

First of all, thank every one of you for your prayers, encouragement, and comments you wrote for me on my previous blog entry.  You have all been great sources of encouragement during a frustrating time.  I still can't type very much..., especially not right now as my hands are FROZEN from my ice packs!  Here's a quick update: 

I went to the doctor and he said, "no more cortisone injections".  He did one in each wrist back in December, but due to some side effects of discoloration on my wrists and some numbness of the nerves, he will not do any more injections in the tendons. He is fearful that he will actually do more harm than good to the tendon by repeated injections.  At first I was really frustrated about this, as I wanted "fast relief".  But, I continue to be reminded that God does not call me to a life of comfort.  This trial is for HIS glory..., I couldn't see that last week and I was really angry, but I can tell that the Holy Spirit has been working through your prayers and He is changing my perspective.  This is for HIS glory alone  (John 9:3).  Okay, so no more injections...., my next best option in order to try every conservative measure to avoid surgery, is to wear these immobilization braces and go to physical therapy 2 x's a week.  I have now been wearing my braces almost 2 weeks and am learning how to take care of Elijah Brooks.  It's not easy, but I am learning.  It's amazing what you can do when you are determined to take care of your children.  In my therapy sessions, we are trying a different type of steroid treatment...., cortisone patches that stay on my wrists for 2 hours at a time, every other day.  This cortisone, unlike the injection, is more of a topical medication rather than something actually being  injected into the tendon itself.  I have only had 1 treatment so far, and have 5 to go.  Please continue to pray that this treatment, along with  the immobilization of my wrists will get these angry tendons calmed down quickly.  

Thankfully, I have alot of help from my wonderful husband and various church members.  I have different ladies here at my house helping me with Elijah Brooks and driving me to and from my therapy.  What a blessing these dear saints are at such a trying time.  In fact, one precious lady named Brenda, brought her crib, stroller, high chair, and carseat down from her attic and has basically set up a little "nursery" in her home and is keeping Elijah Brooks for me over at her house for a few hours a week just to give my hands time to rest.  I hate being away from him, even for a few hours, but right now I really do need to take care of myself and let my hands rest.  What a tremendous blessing dear Brenda is to our family right now.  She even comes to pick him up at my house so that I don't have to put him in the carseat and drive!  She came this morning to get him, and he went right to her, laughing and smiling, and never even looked back at me!!!  I was so thankful and heartbroken at the same time!!!  Thank GOD that he is such a laid back child who will go to anyone.  That really makes it easier for me right now as I am having to depend on so many people to help me. 

Okay, I am pretty sure I said that this would be a "quick" update!  Those of you who know me best know that I can't ever write anything and make it "quick".  I seriously need to stop typing and rest these hands. Thank you again for your faithful prayers. We desperately need you to continue praying.  

Love to you all. 

"Call to Prayer"

As mentioned in the previous post, my tendonitis is back in my hands.  I was better for about 5 months and then about 8 weeks ago, I started to notice it was flaring up again. I tried to self-treat it but finally broke down and returned to the doctor today.  I heard news that I really didn't want to hear unfortunately.  I will return the day after tomorrow to be fitted for "immobilization splints" which will be almost cast-like and will completely immobilize my thumbs.  They are fitting me for my left hand and my right hand.  My left hand is much worse than my right, so I may just start off wearing one of them. However, my fear is that I will "over compensate" with the right hand and get it in the same shape as the left...., so I really don't know what to do. 

I have cried all day today...., literally.  I am panicking about how to care for Elijah Brooks.  How will I change his diaper without being able to use my thumbs?  How will I dress him and button the buttons?  How will I lift him up?  How will I put him in his carseat? All of you mothers can understand how I might panic about this. Not to mention, housework???  What if they don't get better and I have to have surgery?  That was mentioned today...., yeah, I had alittle "freak out" moment at the doctor's office. I kind of got a taste of how to do this with my other braces back in December, but those were flexible braces and allowed me to still use my thumbs to do these tasks. This will be different.  I know that my hands need to rest and this is the only way, but I am so afraid.  I am mad too...., just angry.  I am frustrated.  I am really having a tough time with this.  

I am trying to keep a positive outlook on this and believe that God will not give me more than I can handle...., God help me believe that promise.  Right now, this seems like a huge mountain in front of me and I need yall to please pray for me.  Pray for my attitude. Pray for me to have patience and learn how to manage my daily routine without the use of my hands.  Pray that I won't take out my frustrations on my sweet husband who is already helping me so much. Pray for Elijah Brooks' heart...., that he would be filled with the fruits of the Spirit and that he would help mommy during this tough time. Pray for healing. 

I probably will take some time off from blogging and emailing...., at least until I figure out what I am doing.  It is painful to type, and I shouldn't be typing this much..., but I wanted to let yall know what is going on so that you can be in prayer for us.  

Maybe I will at least post some pictures of my new "accessories"!  

Thank you so much...., we love you all.  May God be glorified through this trial. 

"Happy 8 months Elijah Brooks"!

                                          "Mr. Blue Eyes" 

Today, my sweet baby turned 8 months old.   What a joyous 8 months this has been for our family. We have never experienced such happiness.  I told my sister last night that I feel that as a mother, I wear my heart on the outside of my body every day.  I have never felt so many emotions at one time, and I certainly never imagined that I could love my child so deeply.  What a blessing he is. What an undeserved gift he is to me.  What a privilege unlike any other to be his mother. 

He doesn't return to the pediatrician until 9 months, so I don't have any official stats.  But, I know that he has gained some weight since his last checkup...., my hands can testify (tendonitis is back) , as well as my biceps!  He is wearing 18 month clothes, and some 24 month onesies.  Yes, he is growing and thriving.  He has 2 bottom teeth. He is eating 2 meals of solid foods a day and usually a small snack in the afternoon.  He is still nursing too...., praise God!   He loves mommy's milk and mommy's homemade baby food.   He will not eat baby food in a jar..., only homemade baby food. CRAZY!  Well, I take that back: he will eat the Gerber pears, peaches, and applesauce.  However, he refuses to eat any of the vegetables...., only homemade veggies.  That's fine by me!  He loves carrots, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, avocado, banana, and is learning to eat green peas and green beans.  Those aren't his favorite, maybe because of the texture, but he will eat them and I am thankful.  He has mastered drinking water out of the sippy cup too!  With it being so hot outside, I am so thankful that he will drink water.  He used to just chew on the spout, but now he will drink water like a champ.   

Oh yes...., we haven't had to give him his Prevacid for acid reflux in over a week!!!!!  I think we may be on the other side of reflux!   He loves the cats!  I am not sure that they love him back though...., it doesn't seem to be a mutual love! He is learning to crawl too.  He definitely has the "army crawl" down, and has pulled up on his hands and knees a few times and actually lunged forward to crawl.  He is beginning to pull up by himself on things too.  He can stand for about 3 seconds before he falls.  He continues to love being in his stroller and especially loves going running with Daddy.  Speaking of Daddy, he can now say "Dada".   He is also reaching his arms out for us now...., melts my heart.  It is so sweet to hear him babbling in his crib after his nap and is sitting with his arms in the air to be picked up.  Love that!   He rarely cries....., just hungry cries and tired cries, and sometimes just "I need a change of scenery" cry.  But honestly, other than that he really doesn't cry.  He continues to be SO HAPPY!   Everyone at church loves him and he loves them.  He is so trusting of everyone and will go to anybody.  He hasn't developed separation anxiety yet..., not sure when that will come.   I do hope that eventually he will have a healthy sense of fear when it comes to strangers, but so far, anyone who smiles at him he trusts.  He squeals out of pure delight and pure love of life. When he laughs, it comes from deep within and is so pure.  I don't even think that music has a pitch as high as he squeals!!  I have tried to find the pitch on the piano, but I can't. Speaking of music, he loves the piano!  He doesn't just love the piano like any baby likes to bang on the piano.  He really concentrates on the high and low sounds and the notes on a page of music.   His attention span and focus amazes me when he is playing with his toys.  He is able to stay focused on one toy for much longer than I expected.  

We continue to enjoy going to Kindermusik and playdates together.  He is my little buddy and my best friend.  I thank God every day that I am able to be at home with him and have been able to witness all of these milestones firsthand.  It has been a big financial sacrifice for me to be home with him, but it is worth every second. 

Happy 8 months my sweet boy!  I love you more than I can ever tell you and you will always be loved unconditionally. 

"Family Picture"

Today after church, we attempted to get a picture of our family.  It's very rare that we can get a picture with all 3 of us in it.  Below is our "attempt" at the family picture. 

Elijah Brooks...., not looking at the camera 

Elijah Brooks and Daddy...., not looking at the camera 

Mommy and Elijah Brooks...., not looking at the camera.  Daddy....., with a quizzical look. 

Does this even need explaining?? 

Maybe a change of location will help?  This was about as good as it was going to get. 

"Funny Story"

Tonight I was reading Elijah Brooks his bedtime story.  We have been reading the all-time classic, "Goodnight Moon" for the last several nights.  Well tonight I was feeling somewhat emotional...., why, I have no idea.  I thought it would be nice to read the beautiful story by Max Lucado called, "Just in case you ever wonder".   I was about 3 pages into the book...., tearing up with every word (just like me), and noticed that EB was getting very restless and then started hitting the book.  He would hit it and then he would close the book.  He usually will just lay his head back on my chest with his 2 lovies and paci, and listen to the story.  Apparantly he wasn't feeling as emotional as I was and he didn't want me to read that book to him.   So I put my own selfish desires aside, wiped my tear-stained eyes and began reading, "Goodnight Moon".  He immediately lay his head back on my chest, sighed deeply, and listened quietly to the story.  I guess we'll stick with "Goodnight Moon" for a few more nights. 

"Sitting up...., really?

Elijah Brooks has been sitting up alone for quite some time now.  However, today I went in his nursery after his nap and found him sitting up alone in his crib for the 1st time!  It seems that he has figured out how to sit up from a lying down position now.  Guess the mattress gets lowered tonight huh??  He was so proud of himself, as you can tell from the pictures.  And yes, that is a toy that is "hidden" behind the bumper so as to not distract him while he is in his crib. It comes "out of hiding" when he wakes up. I have a sneaky feeling that it won't be too long before mommy's pathetic creativity will be discovered!! 

"Friends"

Who has made a friend in their childbirth class and then kept in touch with that friend weekly since the birth of their children?  Well, I did!   Last fall, Jay and I met a wonderful couple named Brad and Rachelle in our childbirth classes.  They were due with their 1st baby a few days before we were.  We got paired up for a group activity and developed a wonderful friendship.  Rachelle and I talked probably every other day finding out what was going on with each other's pregnancies.  She was induced 2 days before I was, so the day she left the hospital was the day that Elijah Brooks was born. In fact, we were on the same hall at the hospital!  They came over this past weekend for the afternoon so that the children could play together.  Alexa and Elijah Brooks had a wonderful time playing and we had a wonderful time visiting with Brad and Rachelle.  I continue to hear comments everywhere I go about how tall Elijah Brooks is...., well, people always say, "he's so big".  I just translate that to "he's so tall"!!   He really is about a head taller than most of the children his age and older.  I went to a playdate today and he was the youngest child there, but I promise he was at least 2 heads taller than the 10-12 month old children!  He is just a solid, healthy boy and I am so thankful!  He really doesn't even have rolls...., he's just solid as a rock.   I don't know how I got off on that subject....., okay, enjoy the pictures of Alexa and EB...., only 2 days apart. 

Playing so nicely together

Teething?? 

Elijah Brooks being so sweet sharing his toys with Alexa 

Fun in the pool 

Love this picture!