Running Away

Yesterday was a fun day of going to the park, riding the park train, going to the fair, riding a few rides, and getting yummy fair treats. It was not a day of cleaning my bathrooms, my floor that is covered with sand (yay new sandbox), and picking up around the house. So today is the day for at least some of that. When Ben woke up this morning he asked me what we were doing today. I explained that since yesterday was a day filled with all sorts of fun things, today would be a cleaning and work day. He stomped his foot and said he didn't want to do work. So back to bed he was sent. He came back a few minutes later declaring that he was running away. I told him that I would miss him terribly. I was nursing Elijah at the time, so when I heard the front door open, I finished up as quickly as I could and went to take a look. He was at the edge of the yard with his pillow, his toothpaste and toothbrush, and a hand towel. He was telling the lady watering the flowers next door that he was running away. I came out and asked if he wanted breakfast before he ran away and he said he better pack some food. So this has been going on all morning and the list of things he needs to take is growing. He just left with his pillow, toothpaste and tooth brush, hand towel. a few toy cars, a coloring book (which he says is a map to Indianapolis), markers and crayons, his steroid cream for his eczema, and a half eaten sucker he's been slowly nibbling away on for over a month. He specifically requested a note from me before he left so he would know how much I loved him. So now running away has turned into more of a game and an adventure and less of a threat. I love my crazy Ben!!!

5 Months

Elijah is five months old today. Several people have asked me how that happened, and I honestly don't know. Seems like only a few weeks ago that I gave birth. I met a girl today who is pregnant and when she saw my car seat, she said "oh, you have a new one too." Then she looked inside and said, "oh, he's not new, he's a big boy." I suddenly saw him through her eyes and realized that he really is so big already. I'm treasuring each moment of this baby stage, but it's still going much too quickly for me. At five months. Elijah is getting better and better at rolling over and he loves to play with his toys. He reaches for everything that comes into his line of vision, so it's about time for me to put away my long earrings for a while. His smile, his dimples, they melt my heart every day. He's still kind of lacking in the hair department, but I think it just makes him look cuter. His eyes are still such a pretty blue that I'm starting to wonder if they will stay. I always joked that since Matt and I both have brown eyes, the only way we could have a blue eyed child was through adoption. And now I have two handsome blue-eyed boys, one by adoption and one by birth. Sometimes the blessing is overwhelming. I don't think I will ever get over how amazing it is that I have two children. I love them to pieces.

 I have a really hard time getting Elijah to smile when I'm taking pictures, so lately, Ben has been standing behind my shoulder and Elijah just lights up. He loves his big brother!

 I think this was the first time Elijah noticed his toes. He's been fascinated ever since!

 Mmmmm! Toes!

 Ben is getting him interested in cars early

Love these eyes!

Meeting More of the Family

We have not traveled just a ton since Elijah was born. It's a little more complicated with two kiddos and between that and moving, it took us a while to make it up to Marion. But a couple of weeks ago, when we dropped Ben off before our anniversary trip, we had fun introducing Mr. Elijah to his great grandma Hilliman and his Aunt Cathy and second cousin Jackson.

 Smiling at Great Grandma

 Not his first time meeting Aunt Connie, but the first pictures I have to post. I left my small camera at a friends house back in March and I still need to get it. :-)

 Hanging out with Jackson

Snuggling with Aunt Cathy

From Four Wheels to Two

A few months ago, Ben started talking about riding his bike with no training wheels. We got him his bike last summer for his birthday and about a week later, I started having morning sickness. Since we were in an apartment without the best places for bike riding without me there, he didn't get as much practice as I would have liked. So, when we moved to our house, he spent a lot of time riding his bike up and down the driveway and on the sidewalk. I still wasn't sure he was ready for no training wheels, but he was insistent, so I took them off and we gave it a try. Our first attempt was on grass, but he did so well, I let him go right to the road in front of our house. I got him started and after a few times of having difficulty balancing, he got the feel for it and took off. He's so grown up!

The First Roll Over

We have been so busy these past few months with moving and settling, and of course, caring for two little boys instead of just one, that I feel like I have not done a good job of keeping track of Elijah's firsts. First laugh was for my sister Rachel on May 5th. His laughter is still pretty rare, but he's doing it more and more.

Another first for him was rolling over. Elijah hates tummy time and is usually pretty upset within a minute or two of being put on his tummy. But on May 26th, he was in a pretty good mood, so I put him down and grabbed the camera. I was so glad I had it, because he rolled from his tummy to his back.

Of course, mean mommy that I am, I put him back on his tummy after he rolled over and I caught this sweet face.

Graduation

Ben had such a great year at school this year. He learned a lot and made a lot of friends. We were all sad to see the year come to an end. Since he will be in Kindergarten next year, his school had a little graduation ceremony for all the pre-K kids. They sang some of the songs they had learned, recited Bible verses, and of course, received their diplomas. We are so proud of our big boy!

 "Oh be careful little eyes what you see..."

 Ben reciting his Bible verse with his classmates

 Getting his diploma from Miss Michelle

 Hugging Miss Cynthia

 His class

Chicago

A few years ago, we decided that for our tenth anniversary, we wanted to go to Hawaii. We've been saving ever since. But then God had an amazing surprise for us in the baby department and since I am currently a nursing mom, we decided to postpone Hawaii until we can go just the two of us. But we still wanted to get away. So Matt's parents were kind enough to let Ben stay with them for a few days and we spent a long weekend in Chicago. We shopped, relaxed, ate lots of good food, and spent an afternoon downtown. Traveling with a three month old is always interesting, but we felt refreshed despite the constraints of a nursing schedule.

 Elijah spent quite a bit of time in our Kozy carrier while we walked.

 Taking our own picture at Millennium Park.

 Dipping Elijah's toes in the water at the fountain in Millennium Park

 Stopping for photos in front of some beautiful rose bushes

 While we were walking to the restaurant we ate at for dinner, we saw this beach and I just had to stop and get Elijah's (and my) feet in the sand.

I bought this hat while we were shopping. I just couldn't resist! :-)