my baby boy

My lil chubs is growing up. A couple of things I want to note down for myself.

-He is wearing me out.

-He climbs everything.

-He can now open the fridge and computer desk doors (eek).

-He still doesn't sleep through the night and drinks about 2-3 bottles a night. (all of my kids are like this)

-His first words were dadda, football and nata (his cousin's name, but I think it stands for all of them). He also points to everything and say doooodooooo.

-Sometimes he will come to me, grab my hand, and say mamma, then he usually leads me somewhere

-In the night, when he wakes up, he likes to hold my hand and come with me to fill up his bottle.

-He cannot have anything in his hands, because he usually hits Marley on the head with it and then laughs.

-His favorite toy is the fly swatter (note the hitting)

-He also likes to play with Sitani's football guys (this is hard because they are sacred to Sitani) but instead of making them tackle each other, Elijah will set them up and then tackle them with his own body by stomping all over them.

-He is an angel when he sleeps and Haini and I always fight over who gets to cuddle with him on the bed.

-He totally has an underbite but his smile is INCREDIBLY adorable and cheesy.

-He likes to hang with the big kids and isn't afraid to get roughed up a little bit.

-He LOVES football.

-He doesn't eat much and just likes to throw all of his food off his high chair.

-He makes A LOT of boy noises.

-He pretty much just walks around in his diaper when at home. He doesn't like clothes, but will wear everyone's shoes.

-He stands at the door with fish lips to give us umas when we leave. He loves giving umas.

-He goes crazy if he can't go outside at least once a day.

-He likes to bounce on the bed.

-He hates haircuts.

-He LOVES baths but only when Sitani and Marley are with him.

-He is ALL boy but 100% lovable.

I can't believe how much he has grown and changed just within the last couple of months. He is entering toddlerhood and it makes me sad. I need to write it all down before I forget. It is sad how we think we will never forget, but I'm finding that I do. I look at my older two and wonder where the time has gone. I love every stage of childhood and all the different and new adventures. I also love the stages our family goes through as our kids grow older. It is sooo true, that nothing is more important than watching your kids grow and learn.

I know this picture is totally grainy and blurry but I LOVE IT. If you say, "Ready, Set, Go!!!" Elijah will get down low like a football player and then take off running somewhere. It is sooo cute. (Sitani did the exact same thing when he was this age). He has a pretty good arm and still throws left and right handed.

I've never written down why we named him Elijah... A lot of people ask if he is named after someone in the family. The truth is that when I was pregnant, we were reading a book about the temple. Here are a couple of notes that stuck out to us...

How shall God come to the rescue of this generation? He will send Elijah.

How can a prophet change a whole generation, and an ancient prophet at that?

El-i-jah: literally, in Hebrew, means "My God is Jehovah."

and this is the part I love the most

But his name also symbolizes the sealing or the union of father and son.

He conferred key- authority-priesthood authority.

Every marriage in this Church that is binding both here and hereafter has been performed under those keys and their delegated authority.

Further, Elijah had a revelatory function. There is a spirit that is somehow emanating through him and his work and ministry that has reached out far beyond the bounds of this Church, turning hearts and not just heads. And one account says that it was his function to reveal to us "the covenants of his fathers in relation to the children, and the covenants of the children in relation to the fathers."

These keys are what bind fathers to sons and sons to fathers through the priesthood.

These keys are what bind families together.

(I think Elijah has helped bind our family together. We have surpassed tremendous obstacles and received incredible blessings since Elijah has been born. Incredible priesthood blessings. In a small way, he has lived up to his name.)

When I read these words to Haini... I said, "I think I like the name Elijah and what it means to us personally." He was quiet for a moment and then said, "That's it then. That is his name."

(now for the story of his middle name... hmm maybe at a later time)