Elias is one!

Birthday Boy!

It's celebration time!

The Lynch clan

Happy Birthday to you...

Can we say YUMMO!!!!!

On September 30th, Elias celebrated his big '1' birthday! I think every parent says this, but seriously, 'where did the year go?!' I really feel like the first year of his life has flown by. It definitely went faster than Clara's first year! Maybe it's because we felt more comfortable as parents or trying to take in every stage or maybe it's because we were having SOOO much fun! I'm going to say all of the above!

We have been so blessed by Elias. He is such a happy and laid back fella. He warms my heart with every smile he shares. He's changed so much in one year. Here's the breakdown of what's happening in his life these days.

* Eli is into EVERYTHING. His favorites are pulling spices out of the lazy susan, trying to get through the blockade to get to the steps, pulling out tupperware from the cabinets and fishing in the toilet! {Gross Right?!} I've really had to give Blair lessons on making sure the lid is down and door is shut. Mmmmm this might actually be a win-win in the end with this new behavior! ;0

*Eli is a very laid back cat. He might be the only kid I know that you can take up to bed, sing one song, lay him down and leave the room. WOW...did I mention laid back?!

*He is starting to show us his independent side. {I knew it was coming!} He has his favorite toys and when they are pulled away...look out. One of those being the remote control!

He's cruising everywhere and pullling to stand like it's his job. I'd say walking is right around the corner! Until then...keep on cruisin' Eli!

On Sunday, we celebrated his big bday with family. We had a full house with lots of loved ones. How awesome that was! Elias gave us all his serious poker face while we were singing happy birthday! A common look he gives! :) As soon as the cake was placed in front of him the tasting began. He LOVED it! This kid likes almost all foods, so I figured the cake would be just another, but a great one at that! Who doesn't like sweets?! Here are a few photos of our celebration! Thanks to all our family that made the day so special!

A Mexican Wedding

On September 18th, Blair's sis tied the knot to Bryan Spisak in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Yes, we were blessed to be able to make the trip and witness their union. The wedding being in a vacation spot was just a bonus! ;0 We had a WONDERFUL time. It was our first trip away since Eli was born, so it was much needed time for Blair and I. We stayed at Dreams Resort and it was beautiful there! The weather was hot, but nothing that couldn't be cured with sitting by the pool/ocean and a fruity drink in hand!;0 There were no worries there. Our hardest decision was, what kind of drink should I have next {gotta love all inclusive resorts!}, where to go for dinner tonight and should I attend yoga at 8AM or sleep in?! We were joined by several of Ty and Bryan's friends/family. We had a great time hanging with the whole gang while were there. We even took a trip in town and visited some markets. I love being able to actually see the culture when traveling. Here are a few favorite photos.

Blair was honored to walk his sis, Ty, down the aisle. She looked like a goddess!

I love this photo!

Such an adorable couple!

Blair buying palm water from a local merchant.

Ty & Bryan we wish you all happiness in the world. May god truly bless your marriage!

Apple Time!

We had our first fall outing and visited the apple orchard. I remember this time last year vividly. I was 9 months preggo and ready to pop. Don't let me fool you, I loved every minute of being pregnant! :) This year, we toted both kiddos and they had a blast! Elias was just along for the ride, but still loved the scenery and trying to grab for apples. Here are a few photos from our adventure!

Finding the perfect apple
Elias had his eye on this one!

Brother and sister lovins!

Lucy Marie Justin

Shout it from the mountain tops..."I'm blessed to be an auntie again!" Miss Lucy Marie Justin made her way in the world on September 9th, 2010 at 10:23 p.m. She was 7#9oz and 20in long. Kaebra did amazing with her labor and without meds, may I add! What a champ!

Lucy is already adored by the whole family, especially her cousin Clara. Clara said to me, 'oh we are going to be best friends!' How cute!!!!!

Kaebra and I are blessed to have such a close relationship and to be able to share all of life's greatest joys together. Motherhood has to be one of god's greatest blessings too! I look forward to watching lil' miss Lucy grow and seeing her personality blossom. She's sure to bring lots of joy to our family!

Back to school

First day of school!
What a big girl! All smiles and ready to start the day!
Clara's class

Clara is back to school! On Tuesday, Clara had her first day of preschool. She's a big girl this year and going two days/week. Her class is called "God's Garden-The Little Critters" and her teacher is Miss Bridgette. Clara was very excited to get back to school. There was not one bone in her body that was scared to go into a new classroom, with new friends and a new teacher. Mmmmm...I thought this would slightly bother her...guess not! ;-0 She barely hugged me goodbye when she went in on the first day. This year they get to rotate to different rooms for activities and it appears to be more 'school like.' Clara even brought home 'homework' after the first day. One assignment was to put 5 things in a brown bag that shared something about Clara. Mommy and daddy helped with this homework. We placed in the bag 1) a small horse {clara LOVES horses 2)a pink piece of paper {clara's favorite color} 3) a photo of our family 4)a cross to symbolize love for Jesus 5)a cookie to symbolize Clara's LOVE for sweets! :)

Now that Clara's in school, this will provide me with a 'lighter' load 2 days a week and give me some more 1:1 time with my lil fella, Elias! I'm looking forward to that!

My poor lil Eli

Our poor Eli had his first visit to the ER this week. Sigh...I knew it would happen at some point, but before his 1st bday seemed too soon! We have been very fortunate and blessed that we hadn't been there sooner. I hear so many parents telling stories of visiting ER for all the random boo boo's that kids get. Well...our first visit went like this...

Elias started to run a temp last Wednesday of around 102. On Thursday AM, he seemed to be feeling better and temp was down. As the day went on, I could tell he was getting warmer. The warm then went to HOT feeling and he started acting very subdued. Laying his head on my lap and being very cuddly. Although I loved the cuddling, I knew something was not right. I took his temp and he was a whopping 105!!!!!!!!!! We barely missed the walk-in times at our pediatrician office. I knocked on their door to ask where they recommended we go for a check-up. They sent us to MedCheck. We barely checked into MedCheck, where they checked his temp and looked for 'obvious' signs of a temp. They mentioned concerns of seizures with high temps and then I started to get really worried. Off to ER they sent us. All this time, poor Clara was saying, "We need someone to help Elias!" "He doesn't feel well!" Mommy kept saying, "I know Clara, it's a bummer that we can't get help!" That was PG for one irate momma that wanted to say, "who in the hell is going to help my sick baby!"

We got to ER and Eli was now 105/106!! They admitted us and we awaited to see a physician. The Physician's Assistant came in and did a physical assessment. Then explained that they would need to do an in&out cath, blood work and a x-ray. All this was happening, while my sweet Clara was rolling around on the chair in the room. Sigh...my patience was really being tested. Thankfully, my sweet sis was able to come get Clara and Blair got there shortly as well! Elias obviously hated the testing {as did momma}. All the tests came back normal {thankfully} and the MD mentioned they thought it was a virus that caused the temp to spike so high. We were discharged and given orders to follow up with our pediatrician the next day.

On Friday, I took off work to be with my sick babe. We went to the pediatrician office at 11AM. I filled the RN in on what had happened the night before at ER. Her first question was, "Did they check for strep?" Mmmmm...I didn't remember them swabbing Elias' mouth. I mean they did EVERY OTHER TEST imaginable. Well...I can sum this up quickly. After a quick mouth swab and 5 min later the MD came in saying Elias had strep, which would be easily curable. Ugh...I was SO glad to hear it was a minor issue, although steaming inside that Elias had to go through all that testing for nothing. MedCheck and ER failed to do a simple mouth swab to test for strep. What?!?

Momma bear definitely voiced my concerns to the hospital about our 'experience!' Elias is now on antibiotics and feeling much better! Thank the lord!

Elias is 10 months!

Clara and Elias playing together
Where does the time go?!?! My sweet baby boy is 10 months....well...actually almost 10.5 months. I'm a little behind on my postings! ;0 A lot has happened in 'Elias World' over the past couple months.

1) We went to the MD last Tues for his 10mo check up and he's 18#4oz (8th%) and height of 28.75 (48th%). I would have never dreamed the 8th percentile for this little fella, but he is. The MD confirmed there was no concern with the drop in percentile, as long as it evens out over the next couple visits. The boy eats regularly....I promise you that. I mentioned to the MD that Elias was still waking occasionally around 3-4AM crying. She checked his teeth and ears and gave me the green light to let him cry it out. She kinda looked at me like, 'you're crazy for not doing this yet!' I'm all for letting the babe cry a little when necessary, but it's also hard to know when they are going through growth spurts/teething and need that extra TLC from momma!

2) Which leads me to #2....I'm happy to say that Elias is now sleeping 8pm-6am-ish! Ahhhhh finally this momma feels well rested. 'Bout time after 10 months...WHEW!!!!!!!

3) Elias is quite the busy bee. He is now crawling (at high speeds!), pulling up and furniture walking on everything!!! He has also found the stairs, in which he LOVES to try and sneak his way up to the first step. He gives me this look like, 'ah I thought I had it this time!'

4) He is finally starting to show interest in table foods. Elias kinda skipped the cereal/pureed phase and went straight for the small pieces of soft foods. He loves about anything I serve him...even broccoli! :)

5) Eli's temperment continues to be laid back. He is starting to play with more toys and does show a bit of frustration when one is taken away by his big sis! ;0 He is a momma's boy and did say 'ma' before 'da!' Waaaahhooooo!

A sweet moment with grandma Darla

Just relaxin'...

Next month we will be celebrating Elias' big '1' year bday! Mmmmm, I wonder if he will dig into his cake or shy away?!?! My guess is dig in, but we'll see! This momma has lots to do and better get to planning the big bday bash. We have a lot coming up in September with our trip to Mexico to celebrate the marriage of Blair's sister Ty and anticipating the arrival of baby girl Justin! Our family is blessed beyond belief with so many joyous occasions to be thankful for!