Happy Birthday, dear Elisha...

I can hardly believe that one whole year has passed since we welcomed Elisha into this world. I am kinda glad that it has gone so quickly, I have found it a hard year.

What a year God has blessed us with. It is a real joy to watch Caelan and Elisha interact and play (and sometimes fight) Elisha is just starting to assert his own will a lot more. He now vocalises frustration or anger when Caelan takes something off him. My favourite thing to watch is the two of them play crawling chasings. Caelan crawls around getting Elisha to chase him. Then sometimes Elisha will chase Caelan. This happens mostly between the hours of 6 and 7pm when they are both a bit hyper! It is so wonderful to watch them delight in one another. I just pray that as parents we can continue to cultivate this for many years to come.

Well, Elisha is still a little guy. We went to the doctors today for his shots and check-up. Elisha weighs only 8.6kg and stands 71cm tall. This puts him in the 5th percentile for both weight and height. He started off at 50th percentile at birth. So the GP has given me a referral to a paediatrician just to check that we haven't missed anything.

He is a delightful and interactive little fella. Lots of da-das and the occasional mam-mam. No other words yet. He is cruising around furniture and starting to gain balance when standing on his own. Walking however, is still a couple of months off yet.

He tends to be a pretty good eater. Although, some nights he refuses dinner. He definitely enjoys his fruit more than Caelan ever did. He seems to love plums, even the under ripe ones! He no longer enjoys his breastmilk. He stopped after that 'striking' episode at 10months.

There are some differences in personality to Caelan that Adriaan and I can identify at this stage. He seems a bit more laid back ( Caelan is tightly strung). So we are hoping this might mean slightly less emotional meltdowns. He also seems to possess a more larrikin spirit. While maybe not learning some things as quickly as Caelan did, he seems to be smarter in other areas. He seems to know what buttons to push and how to milk the system....hmm there could be some interesting brotherly relationships ahead!

Elisha has been sleeping through the night since Christmas night. Previous to that he was waking once if not twice. This has probably been the most consistent good sleeping pattern we have had yet... here's hoping it's here to stay!!

Elisha loves singing and bopping to the wiggles or play school. He particularly enjoys 'Round and round the garden' done on his hand. He'll pretty much always crack you a smile if you look at him or smile at him. We are just so thankful to God for the last year he has given us.

So to my little Elisha, who continues to delight my heart everday, Happy Birthday. Thank you God for entrusting me with someone so precious. As you grow everyday, may you learn about the joy of life and love. As you start to walk, may you know Jesus and walk with him. As you scrape your knee and deal with feelings of anger and frustration may you learn patience and understanding and know the God who heals all wounds. As you start to talk, may you learn the gracious words of Jesus and the whispers of his Spirit. As you start to live, may you know the abundant kindness of our Father. Jesus, may I as Elisha's mummy, relearn all these things again. That he might watch me and see you.