"Sunday morning"....

Just thought I would snap a few pictures before church - they were in particularly cooperative moods which made things alittle easier.  I also love taking pictures of Ellison in the dresses that both my sister and I wore as little girls. This yellow one is extra special because it is the dress that Elliot wore as a child, and yellow is Elliot's favorite color.

"Music, Music, Everywhere...."

It is indeed a fine line to know that your child has a particular bent toward something, and want to encourage them, yet not push them so much they rebel or simply stop enjoying it all together. And so, herein lies our new situation. Since infancy, Elijah Brooks has showed a great interest in music, a love for it, and an appreciation for it. Being in a musical family, he has been exposed to a great deal of music, and different styles at that. I have known since he was 1 years old that he has an incredible ear for music. We have just allowed him to explore it, but never push it on him. However recently, he has shown us that he has an interest in guitar. He picks up his guitar multiple times a day and plays. He will even play it walking up the stairs. I usually find him standing on his bed playing it along to his CD's which are blaring upstairs!!  He's 4, not 14 - not really ready for music blaring in my house like a teenager! Jay started showing him a few chords and he picked up on them immediately - not only playing correct chords, but correct rhythmic patterns. I was not really surprised with his ear because of what I have seen over the past several years, but was quite surprised when he caught on so quickly and seemed to play with such ease and natural ability. I am seeing that one of his greatest strengths (which is his precise and accurate musical ear), is also becoming one of his greatest weaknesses in that he gets frustrated very quickly if something is not played correctly. We are trying to work through this frustration, knowing that it can either propel him forward to excellence or trip him up and he gives up out of frustration.  I have seen it in myself, and I have seen it in others that I have taught or worked with, and have seen both sides. Those who used their weakness to work hard and shoot for excellence, did exactly that - they became excellent - not perfect, but excellent. I see so much of myself in my son...., which is kind of scary.  I see so many of the same characteristics in him that I know are true of myself and that I struggle with daily in every area of life. The same things that trip me up and cause me to sin are the same things that he struggles with. I am really not all that different from my son, just older and more aware of my areas of weakness, and where I need some good discipline from my good Heavenly Father.

I am excited for my son though.  He has a world of potential at his fingertips - literally - and I am excited to see how the Lord may choose to use this newfound love. He may just choose to use it in order to help him through these tough years of learning self-control, self-discipline, learning the value of hard work, and also learning that God gives gifts to people to be used for His glory, not man's approval - not boasting in man, but in God.  Or He may use Elijah Brooks' love of music to lead others to Christ. However He chooses to use it, I know will be of great spiritual value, as God wastes nothing.

In the meantime, we are loving the music that fills our home these days, and the sweet lullaby's he plays and sings for his little sister each day.  Tonight her "goodnight song" went like this, "Ellison, you are the best sister in the world, God gave you to us and we are so thankful. You are my favorite sister, goodnight".

He was beaming because he had just learned his first song, which is also his favorite, "Our God" by Chris Tomlin

"Elijah Brooks' Accomplishment"....

Elijah Brooks was playing soccer all of last year, did well, and enjoyed it - until respiratory troubles began.  We had him take a break this fall until we could figure out what was going on and get a gameplan. We put out heads together and thought about a sport that would be indoors, still allow him to be very active and get exercise (but not run constantly), help him develop coordination and self-control, and also satisfy his desire to be punching, kicking, or swinging something most of the time!  It seemed like Taekwondo might be the very thing for him. No one in our family has any experience in this sport whatsoever, but I have been very intrigued and pleasantly surprised! He has been taking classes for 8 weeks now, and just earned his first belt.  I have been very impressed with the fact that these belts are not simply handed out to these kids on a whim - they have to work hard for them.  They have to prove their knowledge of skills and various combinations of moves through "testing".  I didn't know this when I signed him up, but I really like their system and the logic behind it. Taekwondo is a building on of skills, so they have to demonstrate that they understand the basics before moving up.  Each child starts with a clean, white belt.  The 4 and 5 year olds are in the "Tiger Cub" group.  They have to earn 4 different color stripes on their white belt before they can test to receive the next color belt. If they pass their test, they then have to earn 4 more stripes on the next color before moving up etc......   Clearly, one would have to be motivated to stick with this!  EB has really enjoyed his first 8 weeks, and was always thrilled with he would earn another color stripe on his belt.  It was great incentive and kept him motivated, knowing another stripe was coming. I don't know how long he will stick with this or if will be "his thing" or not, but we are committed for this season of his life and we will see where it takes him. He enjoys going to class, enjoys his coaches so much, is learning discipline/self-control/coordination, challenging him to remember and retain what he has learned, and enjoys punching some stress and energy out! He has one heck of a punch too :)

He did pass his 1st test, and received his yellow Tiger Cub belt!  He was so proud of himself, and I think it really helped him to finally see the result of his hard work.

Way to go Elijah Brooks!!  I would want you to be with me if I were ever in a dark alley!

Practicing before testing in Daddy's office (testing happens to be at our church) 

Whew! He is serious! 

Testing! 

Punch

Front kick 

High Block

Awards Night!  Before the ceremony, everyone was asked to remove their "old" belt 

Mrs Scout, Mr. Jones, Mr. Pope (Mr. Brandon was out this night).  All 4 of these coaches have worked with him and each one has been excellent. 

Certificate presentation and new Yellow belt! 

I love this!  After the awards, everyone throws their old belt up in the air like a graduation! You can see EB's white belt flying high

Congratulations Elijah Brooks, Yellow Tiger Cub! 

Proud Mommy and Daddy 

And proud E-Daddy! 

"Fall? Really??"

I know what the calendar says, but I also know what it felt like a few weeks ago in OCTOBER, when we stepped outside to play.  Pictures to prove it!

Busted out the water table, with bubbles of course. This table is not made for sitting in, but our curious/determined little girl hopped right in it!   Good thing it didn't break! 

She was having a blast, and was so proud of herself! 

Good try EB! 

Shouldn't they be sipping on hot chocolate or hot cider??  Ellison is giving a "toast" to the sunshine! 

"About Ellison....."

Our sweet "baby girl", who is anything but a "baby" these days, is quickly approaching 22 months old. Where oh where have the past nearly 2 years gone, why have they gone by so quickly, and how did we get here in what seems like a blink of an eye?  Given all that our family has endured over the past 2 years, it isn't hard for me to answer the questions above, but as I see my girl growing and changing daily, I realize how much of her 1st year I missed.  I didn't miss it intentionally, but life circumstances during her first year created a dense fog in my head. I tried hard to remain "in the moment" last year and I took thousands of pictures - which now, I am very thankful I did - but as I look at the pictures, so much has happened, and so much has changed, and now here she is 100% toddler! The fog is beginning to lift somewhat now - not vanish completely, but lift abit - at least for tonight.  I thought tonight might be a good time to write down some things specific to Ellison.

Ellison is a lover. She is quick to show affection to her family, and does not withhold love or affection. She wants to hug us, kiss us, and hold our hands nearly all of the time. She pats me on the back or plays with my hair to show affection also. She is alittle slower to be affectionate with others, but with her family she wastes no time. She loves us deeply and shows it constantly. She loves to hold her brother's hand in the car - he is not always as quick to want to reciprocate, but usually complies! Whenever Ellison holds our hands, hugs, or kisses us, she will always say, "Awwww, fweet"!  It is adorable to hear her say it, and we hear it alot!

Ellison is a joyful child - at the core of her being she exhibits joy. Her joy is consistent and contagious! I hear the words, "your child is so happy" most everywhere I go - and she really is. She has a grin that would melt the hardest of hearts.

Ellison has a reticent side to her, in addition to her exuberance. She loves people, but certainly has alittle bit more of a cautious spirit around new people. She warms up to them, but she does it at a slower pace than her brother did at this age.  She will stare at a new person for several minutes, give them a look like she really wants to smile but just isn't sure yet, and then will eventually drop her guard.

Ellison is curious, about everything!  She can usually be found in, underneath, or on top of something. She attempts to satisfy her curiousity in ways none of the rest of us would have never dreamed of. She really will try anything, at least once!

Ellison is thoughtful. She is always wanting to make sure that I am being taken care of - whether it is making sure I have a seat somewhere, or my food, or drink, or a hand to hold.  She looks out for me.

Ellison is compliant. She is easy to reason with now that she understands more. I have always spoken to our children logically, realistically, and matter-of-factly. They both seem to respond to this approach.

Ellison is flexible and easy-going.  She has "rolled with the punches" from day 1, and she still does.

Ellison is determined. The phrase, "where there is a will, there is a way", I think was coined by her! She will work at something as long as it takes to master it. She does not give up easily. I pray that God will use this determined spirit for His glory.

Ellison enjoys helping me with whatever chore I am doing at the moment. She loves to sweep, mop, vacuum, scrub, stir etc....  She is my little side-kick when it comes to chores. She enjoys coloring so much! Any chance she has to sit down and color, she takes it and will stay focused on it for awhile. She loves going to bed and gives us not one second of trouble once she is in her bed. She sometimes even asks for bed. She does love her paci now, so it may be a different story when paci goes "bye bye" in a few months, but for the past 2 years, she has been the easiest baby to put to sleep. She really does love going to bed both for bedtime and naptime - she is so, so, easy. In the mornings, she can be heard humming in her bed in the dark - she likes to take her time waking up.  (Okay, so I have to interject something here, since I am writing this posts over several days.  The night after I wrote the above sentence about her being easy to put to bed, the next night she climbed out of her crib for the very first time (Oct. 22, 2013).  She climbed out not just once, but 8 times!!  She climbed out 4 times the next night, and tonight she hasn't attempted it again yet.  Maybe she realized that mommy and daddy weren't going to back down, so she might as well just obey)!   But, I will say that she proved the "easy to reason with" trait very well over the past few nights as we have tried to help her through this new phase. She understood her actions, she understood the consequences, understood that we love her but we weren't going to give in, and she understood that she needed to pray and ask Jesus to help her.  After she climbed out a few times and was very fretful, she looked up at me and said, "mommy, pray pweeeez"???   I prayed for her, she calmed down immediately, got in her bed and didn't get out.  Update - she hasn't attempted it again!  She seemed to legitimately understand.

She loves to sing, and sings everything. She especially loves "Jesus Loves Me", and all of her Kindermusik music.  Speaking of Kindermusik, she loves her class! We go once a week together and she loves it. She and I have also started a community bible study and she also loves being dropped off in her class there. The teachers pray for the children before, during, and after class, and each Wednesday I can tell she has been prayed over. Her spirit is so calm and contented each Wednesday. It's amazing. She loves to read books - her favorites right now are any of the "Baby Einstein" books, "Twinkle Toes", "Alot of Otters", "10 Little Rubber Ducks", and any of the Sandra Boyton books. She can almost count to 10 - her big brother has been teaching her this and it's precious to listen to him teaching her. She loves fruit, cheese, yogurt, cereal, and oatmeal and could make a steady diet on just those 5 items.  I don't let her, but she could! She asks me to pray alot - haven't really figured this one out yet, but any time she asks me to pray, I do.  Who knows what God is already doing in her little heart?

She is talking non-stop now, in short 3 or 4 word sentences and I understand nearly everything she tries to tell me now.  It would be impossible to write down every word she says, but here are some I want to remember:
Ellison - "EC"  (this is what she started calling herself)!
Orange - "Osh"
Orange Juice - "Osh Ju"
Milk - "Miok"
Chocolate Milk - "Cha Miok"
Water - "Wawa fwesh" (fresh water)
Cereal - "Cio"
Cookie - "Cook Cook"
Cracker - "Cah cuh"
Love You - "Wuv uuuu"
Table - "Tay Tay"
Color -  "Co Co"
Okay - "Huhkay"
Pray - "Pwray"
Alright - "Ahhhwhite"
Apple - "Abble"
Outside - "Outshy"
Inside - "Inshy"
Upstairs -"Uh tares"
Blanket - "Beep Beep"
Sweet - "Awww fweet"
Popsicle - "Pahsio"
Lemonade - "Nade"
Snack -"Nack"
All Done - "Ah Duh"
Callie, our cat - "Cah yee"
Bracelet - "Brace"
Hungry - "Ahmee"
Sure - "Ummmm, shuh"

Thank you Ellison, for bringing such joy to our lives, and for loving us so well. You and your big brother bring us unspeakable joy. We love you both!

Daddy's shoes

Playing with brother on the stairs 

After bath time, "Cheese"! 

Yep, that's my girl!  This picture just about captures her personality.  Sitting on a pumpkin before church, in her finest church clothes, giving me "the look"! 

And personality #2 - "calm and reserved" Ellison 

And here is her biggest smile - we see this alot thankfully! 

Not a care in the world  :) 

"More Beach......."

"Good morning" - and "yogurt is my favorite"!

Early morning walk to feed the ducks.....

He is an amazing big brother

He is ready for another day on the boogie board! 

She is ready too - and this time, she has her swimsuit on! 

Afternoon trip to get ice cream

And she is super excited that her Daddy ordered her a big one!  Mommy always gets the tiny cup for her. I am no fun. 

Dinner that night - french fries please!

She adores her Daddy

We ate at "Sharky's" per Elijah's request, simply because it had this huge shark out front that he wanted to see. The shark definitely wasn't as thrilling" up close and personal" as he thought it would be. 

He was not impressed! 

He found a jet ski, of course. 

Sunset our last night....., never gets old

He wanted to go look for shells the last morning we were there - he brought home a bucket full.