I was fairly diligent in typing up one of these for every month (and subsequently 3 months, then 6) for Adelyn. People always say that you do less with your second (or third, fourth, tenth, whatever) kid. It’s absolutely true, but I always got the impression that it was because you kind of care less. Not that you care less about the kid, but you know, you’ve seen a baby clap their hands or stand for the first time or learn how loudly they can scream. It isn’t new. Now having a second kid, I definitely realize that most people didn’t mean it that way (though perhaps some did) but most just realize that life is too busy. Juggling a baby on top of anything more than what you did before is even more exhausting and even more time consuming, so you either push to your limit to make things the same for this kid, wreck yourself with guilt over how you haven’t, or try to find a balance and give yourself grace. I’m working on that one, though grace is always tough (and balance too). But see, I thought I’d take less pictures or have less desire to document things this time around, but the reality is that I take WAY more, and while I definitely don’t document (written or otherwise) as much overall, I definitely feel like the memories that I strive to hold on to are more plentiful than ever because not only do we have a hilarious and creative four year old and a loud and cuddly one year old, but now we have the added dynamic of the two of them together. And the siblingness of it all is THE BEST.
That all being said, my monthly updates for Elijah have been shorter, more concise (and therefore less time consuming) but I’ve been determined to at least make them and post them (that’s my balance). But as I’ve been hoping for the opportunity to start the blog back up a bit more (that’s where my balance becomes trickier) I decided that at the very least, I wanted to honor Elijah with his own post. Because believe it or not, just over a year ago, this kid made his way from one side of me to another.
I’m hoping to, at some point, write out his birth (more for fear of forgetting than anything) but I don’t think this one is the place for that. Because this baby is becoming less of one and it’s crazy fast and crazy awesome.
For a while, Elijah seemed so much like Adelyn. Minor differences, but nothing major. Both took pacifiers, both nursed well, both were mostly happy, both looked 100% like Jon and both instigated constant comments from others reminding me of such. Sure, Adelyn held our thumb to fall asleep, Elijah has mostly been rocked, We coslept off and on with Adelyn and from the beginning with Elijah. Adelyn was super social and Elijah began to show more bashfulness (earlier than Adelyn, but he still loves seeing people). But now, he’s one. And he’s coming into his own even more.
He’s loud. He screams. A lot. Mostly because that gets our attention and is his way to express dissatisfaction. Though we’re working on more sign language, and he’s finding his own ways to communicate, so screaming is slowly getting more and more reserved for when he decides nap is a bad idea. He now mostly hates his pacifier and only occasionally takes it when HE decides that going to sleep is maybe okay (and half of that time I think it’s a rouse to just get it to gnaw on and play with). His interest level in food is minimum (though satisfactory and increasing, but I definitely expected more excitement about it). He is amazingly cuddly. I think we’re also in a position to appreciate this more this time around, but when he is tired (and decides he’s actually okay with me not nursing him) he will lay his head on our shoulder or melt into our arm and rest and sometimes just cuddle himself to sleep. It’s pretty much the best thing ever. He is OBSESSED with Jon’s record player. No joke, he will go to it when it is off and make loud irritated noises while looking at us as though to communicate “dad! music! let’s see this thing spin!” We love it. We love less so him pushing the record player off balance, but we love that he loves it. And finally, he LOVES his big sister. The relationship between them is beautiful. Adelyn often wants to help cheer him up or calm him down. He is big enough now that they can actually play games together and fill the whole apartment with laughter. She wants to show him everything and help teach him anything. He sees her, smiles, and repeatedly calls her attention with “A-da, A-da, A-da.” He will scramble any way that he can in the carrier or stroller in order to keep his eye on her while she rides her bike or dances past. It’s strangely clear that he already understands that his relationship with her is different than his relationships with Jon or I. It’s almost sad realizing the uniqueness of something so beautiful that we can’t really be a part of, but also it’s incredible and so rewarding to know that, Lord willing, they will always have each other to fight with and to fight for.
Now for the basics. Elijah is a good ol’ 9.065 kg (no, I don’t know lbs. anymore) and 74cm (or inches either). He has 6 teeth, can stand and “cruise” and occasionally accidentally stands alone for a second. On average he seems more interested in being able to get around by himself (crawling) than to practice walking with us (though he clearly wants to walk and does a crab walk/crawl trying to keep up with his sister) He’s happy, curious, talkative, and loud. He loves hitting toys together and chasing after balls. He is finally eating more food and the added constipation makes for restless nights and strangely squirmy nursing sessions (and we think some of those random screams).
Favorite things: Adelyn, record player, balls, baths, getting his teeth brushed, anything that makes him laugh, and seeing new things to watch with intense curiosity.
Least favorite things. Mostly just doing anything he doesn’t want to when he doesn’t want to. Taking a nap? Sometimes totally okay. Changing clothes or diaper? Potentially not a problem. But other times, he will make sure you know that he is not down with it.
He is becoming more and more independent, opinionated, and vocal. I see a decisiveness in him that I envy and a huge capacity for love. He is our sweet boy and our love for him is endless.
We hadn’t gotten far in our birthday plans other than a visit from our family in Düsseldorf (a brother of mine, sister in law, and 3 kids) to celebrate shared April birthday season. But, uh, covid, yay. So that didn’t happen. However, we had a lovely zoom chat with some family, a bit of cake, and some minor presents (what little things we could find at the “essential” stores). It was a nice day to celebrate and probably most exciting for Adelyn to celebrate her baby brother.
beautifuldaughter 