The Voyaging Struthers: Miletsones // 03 // three month update

Elijah's milestones are starting to turn into developmental progress, and man, this kid is winning at life. He smiles when we beatbox, sing, or do anything remotely musical. Bath time is special daddy time, and eating only takes 20 minutes-tops. He's grabbing at whatever can fit in his hands, can hold his own head up with ease, and is starting to coo back at us. He giggles at his own reflection, and holds his own weight when we stand him up. He rarely has clothes on when we're at home, because I can't get enough of his rolls.

During our 6 am nursing, in the morning light, Steven will be beside us sleeping. Elijah will eat, burp, and then stare intently at his daddy. With a little nudge from me, Steven opens his eyes just the tiniest bit. And then sunbeams burst out of Elijah's face.

After daddy leaves for work I bring Elijah in the bed with me, and we'll sleep another hour or two. I'll often wake up to Elijah grabbing my nose, or lips, or hair, or whatever else is close enough to grab. And as soon as I open my eyes towards him, he lights up like a Christmas tree. It's the most fulfilling feeling.

Every once in a while I'll get to witness the actual process of development. When this happens I never fail to be astounded. For example, Elijah was sitting on my lap folded in half with his head propped up against my knees and his legs curled up against my chest. He had just begun grabbing for his right foot a few days prior, and had yet to learn that there was a second foot attached to his body. Sure enough Elijah grabbed his right foot with his right hand not long after being put in this position. I let him play with it for a little bit, and then placed his left foot in his left hand. This was the first time he had held both feet at the same time, and immediately his eyes widened. He let go of both feet as his arms dropped to his side. His eyes darted between the two feet, right-left-right-left-right-left. Finally his right foot dropped and he focused on his left foot. His breathing became labored and all of the sudden his nose scrunched up as his toes slowly flexed. He cooed at his success and tried it again. And again. Flexing his toes and grabbing both feet have been daily, even hourly, activities in our home since.

On a separate occasion I had Elijah on my lap facing Steven. We often repeatedly say "hi" to him as a way to get him to smile, and this moment was no different. However after a minute or so of Steven saying hi over and over again, Elijah looked back at him, and made a similar noise. We giggled, but Steven responded quickly with another "hi." It took Elijah a moment to process everything, but he made the same noise again. The two boys exchanged coos back and forth maybe 4 more times, but it was enough that we were both in tears from laughing so hard.

Elijah successfully rolled over on April 8th, and has been able to do it a few times since. However, we have no pictorial evidence because we're too busy coaching and celebrating with him.

Finally, we've started going on family walks as often as we can. Partly to see if I can lose the other half of my baby weight, and partly because it is so therapeutic to get out of the house and talk with Steven about everything and anything. We almost always go to the Santa Cruz river path because of its smooth pavement which is perfect for our stroller.

___________________________________________

And now...more pictures!

First time meeting Grandma and Grandpa Wuthrich's cow, Burger. 2/21/2015

First time on the swings-approached with skepticism. 2/21/2015

However, the second time on the swings was approached with curiosity. 3/29/2015

First superman paraphernalia, and millionth sleepy hug. 3/17/2015

First visit to the Phoenix LDS Temple. 3/18/2015

First time at the library, again with the skepticism. 3/24/2015

First time nursing in a dressing room...which is genius. 3/26/2015

First time meeting Great Grandma Wuthrich-napping together was #1 on their to-do list. 3/28/2015

First historical ruins. Casa Grande with extended family. 3/30/2015

First Easter Pageant. 3/31/2015

First time at the Mesa LDS Temple. 3/31/2015

We were lucky enough to have my dad's sister Emily and her family come to visit, and they brought my Grandma Wuthrich with them! I was determined to get this 4 generations photo. Also everyone in Steven's family says that Elijah looks most like my dad, "Peat and Repeat" they call them. 4/1/2015

First Easter Bunny visit. Elijah received all 12-18 month warm clothing for next winter. The tights and retro crispy M&M's were for me, the Reese's Eggs were for Steven, and we shared the Cadbury Mini Eggs. 4/5/2015