Elias' 19th - 21st Months

In Elias' 19th Through 21st Months, He:

Weighed in the 75th percentile.
Was in the 90th percentile for height.
Wore size 18-24 month clothes.
Wore size 5 diapers.
Wore size 5.5 to 6 wide or extra wide shoes.
Had his 18 month and flu shots.
Reacted adversely in his leg to the DTAP shot.
His leg was swollen and bruised for days.
He actually didn't lose the swelling for 4 weeks.
Was super active.
Liked to climb, explore, and play with his big brothers.
Discovered he could take off his own shirt.
Ate a TON.
Loved foods like lasagna, chicken and vegetables, etc.
Went to Pigeon Forge for Called Out's singing.
Enjoyed being at the hotel and hiding in the cabinets there.
Saw his first snow!
Celebrated Thanksgiving!

Loving the play place at McDonalds.

Becoming very brave at the play place!

His favorite place to be is the bathtub.

He had climbed in one morning all on his own.

Celebrated Thanksgiving lunch at Mother's Day Out 

with Pop and GranJu

Took a trip to Pigeon Forge...

Eating with Mom at Ruby Tuesday, looking very big!

Seeing snow for the first time - amazed!

Thanksgiving Day - Mommy and Elias

No one loves Thanksgiving dinner 

as much as this little buddy does!

Really, REALLY liked shoes.
Always wanted them on in the house.
Always took them off once we got in the car.
FINALLY got tested for allergies!
Was NOT allergic to milk, as once thought.
Was allergic to outdoor and indoor pollen and ragweed.
His eczema went nuts.
Crazy red cheeks and chin.
Was scared of dogs but always said, "DOG!"
Was a fan of Elmo.
Really liked to color.
Got to see the lights at Opryland.
Was very fascinated by Christmas lights!
Celebrated Christmas!
Got bitten by a vicious 2 year old at McDonalds.
Had an expanding vocabulary.

Wearing his Elmo house shoes.

Getting out the Christmas tree!

Saying CHEESE before getting his allergy testing!

Praying we aren't allergic to CHEESE.

So, the redness indicated he was allergic to SOMETHING.

Trying on Mommy's boots!

Christmas in West TN, without Mema.  

So sad, but happy at the same time.

Mommy and Elias

This kiddo loves bananas.

Shopping in West TN for their Mema Christmas gifts!

His "infamous" red cheeks...

Some kind of crazy.

They pop out at random times.

Loved watching food bake.

He would stand for minutes just watching!

He enjoyed the Christmas boxes 

more than the Christmas gifts.

He loved to color!

Aunt Ca got him his own Sesame Street crayons.

Playing in boxes, of course.

Hanging out in Mimi's closet during a tornado warning.

Sweet cousins on the church steps 

on the Sunday before Christmas.

Opening Christmas gifts from Mom and Dad.

He loved these dirty dog bath toys.

Next time, we'll just buy him empty boxes.

Showing off his Christmas gifts from Mom and Dad!

How I always found him...  shirtless.

What his leg looked like for weeks

following his 18 month shots.

Redness, swelling, knot in thigh.  

Scary for mom and dad.

Aggravating for active toddler.

UGH, eczema.  

We dislike you.

But we really like our Elias!

Giving kisses to his best buddy, Lily!

Playing in the play place at McDonalds 

just moments before the scariest moment ever.

Moments after the scariest moment ever.

He was bitten repeatedly by another child

while up in the play place. 

Mommy rescued him!

Two major bites:

One under his eye and one beside his ear.

An hour after the bites, it was time for a bath.

Our pediatrician recommended lots of baths.

Shows the extent of the bites.  

Loved going to Mother's Day Out.
Got changed from the nursery class to the 2 to almost 3 year old class.  WHAT?!
Did great with the change!
Still liked coloring, playing, and exploring.
Enjoyed when Mimi, Ca, Pa, or Pop visited.
Hated to wear clothes.
Learned how to take his pants off.  GREAT (insert my sarcasm)
Began to say "poo-poo" or "pee-pee" when dirty/wet.
Loved doing whatever his big brothers were doing.
Made a BUNCH of messes.
Always asked for "beggies" aka veggie straws.
Was such a "ham."  Always made us laugh.
Loved laughing at himself.
Had an amazing imagination.
Loved to play "pretend" with his brothers.
Pretended to be a baby and a puppy dog.
He understood way more than he should.

Constantly was singing and asking for these songs:
More, More, More (More than Conquerors from Seeds of Worship cd)
Mine (This Little Light of Mine)
Book for Me (The B-I-B-L-E)
God We Serve (What a Mighty God We Serve)
BIG (My God is So Big)
This is Day (This is the Day that the Lord Has Made)

Still healing from the bites.

Would proudly exclaim, "GO DORES!"

when he wore his Vandy shirt or saw any type

of sports on television.

Scabs finally appeared.

Pretty regular at our house.

Clothe-less lunches.

Always wanted to take pictures 

and then see them on the camera screen.

Being brave and balancing.

Showed us:

1) he always knew what he wanted,

2) safety locks were no match for him,

and

3) we needed a better vacuum.

Pantless.

Loved to have books read to him.

Had no fear.

Nothing scared him:  not the dark, heights, being left alone, NOTHING.

Loved having friends over to play with.

Always asked for "Bubble."  

Bubble Guppies was his favorite t.v. show.

Really disliked wearing diapers.  

Pulled them off about once a day.

Always said "potty" and tried a couple of times.

(he's just too little!)

Ripped three keys off of mom's laptop. 

Thought he could do anything!

Loved eating strawberries, noodles, chicken, goldfish, veggie straws, and pizza.

He always ate more than his brothers.

Usually asked for "more."

Friends came over to play!

Look how EXCITED Elias is.

Watching the Super Bowl 

with Daniel and family.

Really liked eating popcorn.

Shirtless.

Flying high with Dad 

and laughing the entire way up and back down!

His current vocabulary includes these words and phrases (and A LOT more) at the end of 21 months:
no, more, mine, hi, bye-bye, shoes, I did it!, peek-a-boo, sorry, go, yogurt, pizza, banana, apple, cereal, spoon, fork, yeah, I see you!, Daddy, Momma, night, Why?, please, Mimi, Pa, ouch, see, bible, He hit me!, mean, Be nice!, dog, snow, outside, play, juice

Elias Evidence

Here lies the evidence that we must do more baby-proofing than we did with Daniel or Samuel.  Elias literally ripped the cereal box out of the safety-locked cabinet.  I just cannot tell you how determined this little buddy is!

He didn't actually eat any of these Cheerios.

He just was pretty excited to have made the mess.

Ugh.

Why would we need a pet vacuum cleaner, you might ask?! Well, three little boys and their messes require it. For instance, here was the clean up after Elias ripped through a cabinet lock and opened up a brand new box of cereal.

Something Right

Hit the snooze button...  not once, but three times.

Forgot that I'd made myself coffee.

Realized that I had no house key.

Left the house unlocked all day.

Failed to brush the boys' teeth.

Fussed at the boys for being slow.

Said "no" twenty times before we even got to school, 

   less than a mile from our house.

Arrived late...  on "Breakfast with Santa" day.

Locked myself out of the building.

Realized my zipper was broken.

Hadn't stopped to pray...  

However, school had started, and my class was bustling with excitement after having had breakfast with Santa and were ready to party and open gifts!  Nine of my eleven students (1 of them being Daniel) sat down at their desks with their journals opened to the heading, "What I Want for Christmas," and their mouths couldn't quiet enough for their fingers to even begin drawing.  I was rather hurried myself, getting things ready for crafts and ensuring that each child had brought a gift for the book exchange later in the day...  but that is when I overheard it... 

The phrase I wasn't really ready to hear come out of MY child's mouth:

"Santa isn't even real."

The little girls at his table all gasped.  He repeated it over again.  My heart became a bit overwhelmed, yet I felt the sweetest urge to let the conversation continue.  Daniel tried explaining the best he could.  "He's just a man who gets dressed up.  You know, like a Halloween costume, and he listens to you, but he really doesn't know what you need."  To be honest, he was telling these little ones the truth, but I knew these girls' hearts were breaking.  "We just have a lot of baby Jesus at our house and we read about when he was born and we get presents like him."

That's the moment I remember distinctly asking God to lead me.  

I stepped in, with the Lord's guidance, and began to give details about Daniel's bold statements.  I said, "I realize that Santa comes to your houses, but Santa Claus doesn't come to Daniel's house."  They were shocked.  "Daniel's Daddy and I love him and his brothers so much that we want to take care of giving them gifts at Christmas.  We've instructed Santa that we will take care of them, so he doesn't need to come to our home."  One precious girl asked, "How do you know what they want?  Like, what presents do they get on Christmas if Santa doesn't come?"  I continued, "I'm Daniel's Mommy, and to be honest, I think I know him better than most anyone!  (The girls laughed!)  I know what he needs and what he wants, and his Dad and I choose things we feel are best for him.  But, that isn't the only reason Santa doesn't come to our house..."

They all were listening so intently at this point, you could have heard a pin drop.  "Daniel, Samuel, and Elias are precious gifts to us, and they each get three gifts on Christmas.  Only three.  Sometimes you will get much more than that, but not at our house.  You see, the very first Christmas, a baby was born.  He wasn't just any baby; he was a gift to the world from God.  Wise men came to celebrate his birthday by bringing him three gifts:  gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  They brought him exactly what he needed and much more.  I know this is hard to understand, but we feel like our boys only need three because that is all that Jesus received.  We do that because we want to remember Jesus at Christmas, not Santa.  Does that make sense?"

They all shook their heads, but I realized questions were filling their minds...  

"I love Jesus, too, but is it okay if Santa still comes to my house?"

Daniel quickly responds, "SURE!  Just not me because I like baby Jesus more than Santa."  I agreed with him.  I went on further to say that there was nothing wrong with Santa, and it is wonderful if he comes to their homes.  I finished by saying that when they receive gifts from Santa to remember and be thankful for the best gift of all, JESUS!  All was well after this, and nothing else was really mentioned about it.

It was a moment I'll never forget for many reasons.  However, looking back at it tonight, God filled my heart with such joy as I thought about what Daniel had said.  His boldness in speaking truth, his relentless fervor for being right, and his unbridled spirit and love for the Lord have blessed me.  If it weren't for him, I would have never spoken so directly about Santa or Christ!  In a day when the morning had gone so wrong in so many different ways, God reminded me that I am doing something right.  

Daniel wasn't upset about being different.  He wasn't bothered that "Santa" isn't coming to his house.  He was intent on telling the truth and sharing what he felt was important.  God showed me, through the actions of our four-year-old, that being a child of God is being different.  It is doing things a bit peculiarly.  It is speaking truth and sharing His message when the opportunity arises.  It is all that I want to be found doing...  something right for the Lord.  

Daniel standing beside one of our "Names of Jesus" trees