Cute Boy

Our little man is getting so big and looking so handsome. The other day, we dressed him in some new clothes and just had to take a picture! UGH what a little heart breaker!

Our Wild Man

Elijah is finally tall/long enough to touch the ground while playing in his jumper. Matt was able to capture our little wild man going bonkers. He gets especially excited while the music is playing. And, apparently, Elijah thinks that jumping is what you do when on your feet, so even when he's out of the jumper, he's trying to jump.

Cooking with Mommy

Elijah was helping me out this morning as my first assist while cooking. He is at a point now where he's interested in anything and everything, especially if it's not meant for him. In the mornings, sometimes we'll set him in his bumbo seat and let him play with kitchen tools. At 7 months old, he's just so interactive, involved and inquisitive. It's really becoming more and more fun with each passing month.

Elijah's First Word!

Elijah finally said his first word! He began saying "Dada" yesterday! Apparently, "Dada" is easier to say than "Mama", which makes sense and makes it less heartbreaking for the Mamas:) In all seriousness, we're just so thrilled that Elijah is saying Dada and beginning to communicate beyond crying.

On another note, Elijah has also found an acceptable means on transportation. It's called, the roll! If he's on the floor, he will roll over and over until he reaches his desired destination. We just can't get over how big he's getting and how quickly he's growing up into a little man.

Professional Shoot #2

Mid-December, Elijah celebrated his 6th month of life. We decided to do a little 6 month, family and Christmas photo session with our amazing photographer, Tera Brockway! We had so much fun and we were once again able to do the session at our home, which makes things so much easier for this momma.

Tera did such a great job of capturing Elijah's many expressions, despite it being close to his afternoon nap. A great big thanks to Tera!!!

Our handsome blue eyes

Excited about Christmas in the tie and suspenders shirt Mommy made for me

Our absolute favorite!!!

Texas Christmas

Over New Years weekend, we traveled down south to Georgetown, TX to Grandma and Grandma Bowermans. Santa found us there and delivered a few more gifts for Elijah and us to enjoy. We even got to spend time with Uncle Andy!

Uncle Andy encouraging Elijah to TEAR IT OPEN!

Goofy Uncle Andy

One of the awesome new pullovers Elijah got from G-ma and G-pa

 The weather was so wonderful while we were in Georgetown, we couldn't resist one of our 5+ mile walks through the neighborhood. I was even able to run a bit with our new (replacement) jogging stroller. It's even better than the first one that was totaled by the airlines.

 On New Years Eve, Matt and I were able to leave Elijah with G-ma and G-pa for the evening and enjoy a wonderful dining experience at Wild Fire. We enjoyed bacon wrapped scallops, jumbo shrimp, sea bass and more! Yum yum.

Happy New Years Eve!

 Unfortunately, with Elijah fighting off a horrible upper respiratory cold, teething and then some, I had to cut my night short to sooth the little guy. After three hours of crying, G-pa suggested taking a car ride and thankfully at 1130pm, it did the trick. Elijah passed out and we headed back to the house. Upon arriving, Matt came out to get Elijah out of the car and as I was trying to quietly shut the car door and head in, I accidentally slammed the door on my thumb. What's worse is that I completely shut the door. Latched and sealed right on my thumb. No pictures necessary on the blog. It was as bad as it sounds. What a New Year!

Thankfully, the next morning, after Ibuprofen 800mg and a bit of rest, we started a new day off to a much better start. Grandma even made a gigantic batch of her AMAZING chocolate chip cookies, which almost didn't make the trip home;) Elijah even helped out with the measuring cups.

Baking with Grandma and Abby

Gnawing on the measuring cup with our newly emerged tooth!!!

What a Christmas/New Year adventure. After a short visit, we made it back to lovely Lawton and have been recuperating since. Elijah still has a nasty cold, but hopefully is on the tail-end of it. Matt and I are also sick, but not too bad. My thumb is still attached and I'm no longer wishing it was just amputated! Ah what a way to bring in the new year with a bang!!! OUCH!

A first drink

We had a wonderful meal with our friends, The Palkas; Julie, David and their almost two year old daughter, Ellie. Elijah has been teething and chewing on EVERYTHING, to include one of the mini whiskey bottles in David's 'man-bouquet' from Santa.

Christmas Gathering & Friends

Tonight, we went down the street to have a meal with our friends Suzanne and Roy. They hosted a wonderful meal, complete with Christmas hats and antlers! We were even able to invite our friends Julie and David and their daughter, Ellie. The boys had a nice time talking Army and Marine stuff, while the girls and Elijah played and talked.

Dressed to impress

David and Ellie with Matt and E-bug

Daddy with Mr. No-Pants Elijah

SANTA WAS HERE!!!!

Santa Claus came to our house last night!!! Elijah opened up all his gifts, with some assistance, and seemed to really enjoy them. Matt and I enjoyed our gifts as well, to include my favorite, A NEW VACUUM!!!!  I even vacuumed the whole house while we were trying to get Elijah to take a nap (unsuccessful by the way).

Our first present

Daddy helping Elijah unwrap

We're excited!

Keys to my new car

My new car!!!

Something from the kitties to help me walk faster:)

A gift from our amazing friends down the street

Mommy's favorite gift!!!

WOO HOO

We are so blessed to celebrate Christmas as a family this year and with one another. God has given us so much to be thankful for and with so many things to look forward to in this coming year. We hope Christmas was great for you and yours!

Christmas Eve

We celebrated the Eve of Jesus' birth at the Christmas Eve service at the New Post Chapel on Fort Sill. It's our family church that we attend regularly, so it was very special to celebrate this joyous holiday with our church family. Together, we sang lots of beautiful Christmas songs and even listened to some song by the choir. Elijah really enjoyed himself and was such a good boy. He smiled, blew bubbles and even flirted a bit with the girls around us.

This year, we're thankful for the biggest blessing of 2011, Elijah. Thank you God for our little boy and for blessing our family with such a wonderful gift.

Merry Christmas and God's blessings to all.

Waiting for Santa

Elijah has been so patiently waiting for Santa's arrival. Tonight is the night and although there are some presents under the tree already, Santa will come down our chimney and bring presents for Elijah, Mommy and Daddy. We are so excited to celebrate this first Christmas together as a family.

Elijah learning how to shake the presents before Christmas

Now practicing our surprised face!

We will also be celebrating this joyous holiday with the New Post Chapel family tonight at the Christmas Eve service. To all of you reading this post today, Merry Christmas and God bless you and yours.

Our Friends

Over the past few weeks, we've been able to visit some of our friends. On December 23rd, we traveled up to Oklahoma City to see our great friends Bryan and Baylee and their two month old son, Owen. We had a wonderful lunch and then visited the rest of the afternoon. It was so wonderful to get to spend some time with them, especially since we've asked them to be Elijah's Godparents and they accepted. We're so blessed to have such great friends.

The mommas and the boys

Daddies and their boys

Tub Fun

Elijah learned a new trick from his Grandma when we were last in Texas. He's been practicing and is getting much better. Last night, in the tub, he did it over and over again and then splashed in excitement, as seen in the two videos below.

Work space

Elijah is enjoying more independent play these days and he's almost able to sit up alone! We've been placing him down in the full body boppy pillow and giving him a work space with his toys. He seems to enjoy it and we enjoy his ability to play without us right there all the time.

The other day, we received a package from my best friend, Lindy, and her daughter, Sonoma, with Christmas gifts! Elijah got his first laptop and he's already starting to utilize it and taking it around with him! Thank you for the wonderful gifts!!! We love you guys!

Foods We Love

Elijah has been enjoying so many new foods in the past few weeks. We've tried peas, zucchini, carrots, apples, pears, prunes and of course rice and oatmeal cereals. Of all those, we LOVE apples and prunes and when Mommy is sneaky, we'll eat our peas with apples. Matt and I get so much enjoyment watching Elijah eat foods and encounter new flavors/tastes. He's at such a fun and interactive age, which is really enjoyable and fun!

Trying to eat our socks while enjoying prunes!

Prune face

Cowboy Training

While enjoying another long layover in Dallas, Elijah had the opportunity to practice being a cowboy! YEEHAW!

Great-Great Aunt Susie

Today, we went to see my Great-Great Aunt Susie again. She lives in a beautiful new home in Bloomington, IN, though she used to live in Old Town Alexandria, VA. We had such a fun time seeing all the things she has done to her home and going out for amazing food and dessert out in town.