Note to self: don't have the girls help me if I want the cupcakes to actually be presentable (and edible)!!
Although these penguins were awfully messy, we had fun trying to make them! Stay tuned for Elijah's birthday creation at the end of the month!
Friends on the hill
Elijah likes his baby sled!
Sienna's snow angel
Holly took a ride with Sienna, Luke and Lauren!
Who needs a sled?
Anna, Sienna and Isabella looked for the aoudads who were all perched on rocks 
This funny crane pecks at the window if you put your hand on the glass 
Elijah enjoyed the warmish weather, too!
Sienna, Anna and Isabella took a ride on the baby elephant
Check out the baby giraffe, Kenya, who was just born several weeks ago! 
Sarah preferred splashing in this giant puddle rather than looking at the animals. Sienna watched from a safe distance. 
We had a fun visit to the zoo and we look forward to going back in the spring when all of the animals are outside again!
We played peek-a-boo around the couch. 
Elijah likes to open and close doors, so he was happy to discover the play kitchen. 
...the stairs!! Time to get out the baby gates!
When Elijah had his surgery, the neurosurgeon told us that there was a chance that he could be (temporarily) paralyzed on the right side of his body following the surgery or that he may have some weakness on his right side down the road. Thankfully, he came out of surgery just fine, and we haven't noticed any weakness on his right side at all since then. That's why it's so thrilling to watch him explore and get around on his own. He receives services through Early Intervention to monitor his development and to make sure that he stays on track. A physical therapist comes to our house once a week. Now Elijah is also seen by a Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI) every other week since he has a right visual field defect, or Homonymous Hemianopia, as a result of his tumor. From what we understand, he doesn't see anything in his right visual field of both eyes. He seems to be compensating amazingly well, though, by turning his eyes and head to the right, so it's hard to even tell that he has this issue. The TVI will give us strategies to help him as he becomes even more mobile. I notice that he bumps his head into things on his right side sometimes if he hasn't looked all around to see what's in front of and beside him. If this is the worst of his problems, we really can't complain! We're just thankful that he's happy and healthy and making great strides developmentally! We're also thankful to live in a place that has such great services to help us and Elijah!
Elijah is 11 months old today! It has been so fun to watch his personality develop over these past few months. He's a funny little guy who has a great belly laugh. Now that he's more mobile, I can see that he's going to give us a run for our money. I need to work on truly baby-proofing our house. He has a whole new level of curiosity than I remember either of the girls having. (My Aunt Sharon hoped that we would have a mischievous little red-headed boy. It looks like we have a mischievous little blond boy on our hands!) When he sees something that he wants, he goes for it!! We have a new cabinet for our TV, and he has already figured out how to open the sliding doors.
Elijah has 8 teeth now and he eats all sorts of table foods. He seems to prefer to feed himself so it's getting to be a challenge to spoon-feed him yogurt since he turns his head when he's had enough. He likes macaroni and cheese, yogurt, bagels, pancakes, waffles, chicken, cheese, graham crackers, all kinds of fruits, carrots, green beans, sweet potatoes, and Mike's favorite Polish dish, "pigs in a blanket" or Golumbkis (ground beef and rice wrapped in cabbage and baked in tomato soup).
Elijah is quite the wiggle worm now. It's hard to keep him in one place. If he wants to be held in a certain way, he can squirm his way around until he's comfortable. He's getting strong now, too! I hope that he doesn't catapult himself out of my arms one of these days!
Elijah still loves to jump and bounce on our laps, in his exersaucer or in the door jumper. Maybe we have a high jumper or basketball star in training!
Elijah still gets a kick out of his sisters and he likes interacting with other babies now, too. He mainly paws at their faces and bops them on the head. Elijah and I participate in a baby playgroup through my MOMS Club when the girls are in school. It's fun to watch him start to interact with the other little ones who are close to his age. I can't wait to watch these relationships grow over the years. Before we know it, Elijah and his buddies will be heading off to school! Boo hoo!!! Time flies by way too quickly. 
Isabella, Sienna & Lily
We have a crawler!!! Granted, it's a commando crawl, but Elijah still gets himself around effectively. It's just a matter of time before he's zooming all around. He'll get up and rock on his hands and knees, but he still slithers on his belly to get around. He sure is determined when he wants something!
Elijah pulled up to a standing position for the first time today, too!!! Here he is standing at the coffee table. What a big boy!
Up on all fours!!!
Trying to push up to a sitting position
Maybe not...
Let's try the other side
Almost up again!
Scooching backwards
Taking a break to chew on a puzzle piece
Up again
Concentrating
Resorting to rolling
"Enough with the pictures! This is hard work!"
