My chunky boy

Dan went up north with some friends this weekend, so Elijah and I get to bond here at home. It's so much fun for me to spend quality time with him. During the week when I'm working from 7-4 and only get to see the chunky monkey for two hours every night, I do get a little upset. I often find myself thinking, WHY?!? Why is it fair that I only get two hours a night with my baby? But then I remind myself that I have AMAZING insurance and AMAZING benefits and, for Elijah's sake, it could not be any other way. Dan stays home with Eli two days every week and that is perfect for our situation. It couldn't be more ideal, actually. I really have nothing to complain about.

Our chubby little man has gotten SO MUCH CHUBBIER in the past couple weeks. This week he weighed in at 21.5 lbs. He has crossed over the line between being tolerably chubby and being difficult-to-handle chubby. I'm having a very hard time maneuvering and lugging this big boy around. My back hurts a lot of the time and I'm unable to cart him around the house the way I did a month ago. It's good that he's gaining weight. It's very good! But it's taking a toll on me (that's not a complaint, his weight gain is nothing but a blessing. I'll take the brunt any day.).

Lately Elijah has been letting out really deep growls. It is so funny. He has always been a growler, but now it's a few octaves lower, like he has become a bass growler instead of a tenor growler. Hopefully we can get it on video in the next couple days to share with you.

He has also been very clingy lately. We are working on the stranger anxiety issue and on getting him to be comfortable around other people. He loves Daddy more than anything, second place is Mommy, and everyone else is chopped liver. We're trying really hard not to "rescue" him when he's in an uncomfortable situation because we want him to get accustomed to being around others. This is our current "project," next to the tummy time that we're always trying to get him used to. I can't believe that at almost eleven months old, he STILL won't tolerate tummy time.

He has been eating SO WELL lately. Not that he has ever not eaten well, but he is eating extra good these days. I guess that explains my sore arms and shoulders, huh? We've recently introduced him to some new, chunkier foods, which he's really taken to. He now loves cottage cheese and avocados and bananas and cookies and crackers. Just a few weeks ago he was gagging uncontrollably on all of those things so it's good to see progress in the food swallowing.

I could go on and on about the cuteness that surrounds this special little person, but I'll save some for next time. I'll take some good pictures this weekend and share them. Thanks, as always, for checking in on us. It really means so much. Please don't forget to pray for the babies I mentioned in my last post. They REALLY NEED PRAYERS. Thank you, it means a lot.