Elijah Phillip Stake: Arizona and Back!

Finally getting a chance to sit and write this!

Two weeks ago, my dad, Elijah and I traveled to sunny Arizona to visit family. Oh it was so great! The flight down there went smoothly. Elijah did awesome! I was a little nervous, but it went great. Our time there was so fun. We were able to hang out with my grandparents. I am so glad they were able to meet Elijah. He really liked them and they were such a great help with him. Also, my dad's sister and her family live there, too. So fun!!

Elijah did so well down there. Adjusted well to the environment. Surprisingly, I was able to learn a lot about him while there. Such as having more structured nap times, more of his schedule, and recognizing his cues. It was great to learn more and be more confident in taking care of him. And it has only gotten better! Before (and still a little bit) he didn't take very good naps. But now that's getting better, too. We are trying to put him down in his bed--swaddle and all--a little bit after eating, and he will then sleep for 1-2 hours. It's great.

Elijah did come down with a cold right before we left Arizona and struggled with it all last week. It was sad to see him struggle. We tried saline, but it was quite tough to get enough of it in his nose. Showers worked well. As does the humidifier. He is now getting better :)

We are enjoying Elijah so much. He is responding more to his environment. Smiles are becoming more frequent. While in Arizona, he loved my dad and smiled at him all the time. We love seeing him smile--makes us laugh. We also learned that he loves to watch ceiling fans. Unfortunately we don't have any in our apartment, but when he sees one somewhere else, he is mesmorized. He has started to coo, which is super cute to hear. We also caught him playing with some toys on his playmat--or at least trying. He still can't control his arms and hands completely, but it getting better. This last week, we put up the Christmas tree and then sat Elijah in front of it. He sat there staring at it for some time. Elijah also likes to look around at everything. When being held, he likes to be upright and able to look around. Quite our little observer!

It was fun to celebrate his first Thanksgiving--but of course right when we sat down to eat is when Elijah decided he was hungry too. Someone told me that soon I will not even like hot meals as I will just get so used to eating my food cold. I hope not! We celebrated with my family on Wednesday evening and then spent the night there. On Thursday we went to Zech's family's house for lunch and spent the rest of the day there. It was nice to spend time with family.

Well, here are the pics for the last two weeks. Sadly I missed a day....but only one so far!