From Babyhood to Toddlerhood!

So I had my official 1st birthday party on Saturday July 14, two days after my actual birthday and I had so much fun! There were lots of people who came to help me celebrate. Grandma and Grandpa Kirby came down from Regina. Auntie Jennifer and cousins Ashley and Jordan came as well. Also there was my Grandma and Grandpa Jarina from Sparwood, Auntie Jenny, Auntie Jenn and Graysen. I got a lot of neat gifts and had my first taste of birthday cake. It was a bright blue Finding Nemo cake and boy did I make a mess! It was a hot day so we spent a lot of it outside enjoying the weather. Thanks everyone for coming!

Of course what is a birthday without messy cake pics!:

That is me, the birthday boy!


Here is my 1st birthday Finding Nemo cake


All smiles


Testing out how far these crazy adults are going to let me go with this cake!


Diving right in


Yummy! I think I can get used to this cake eating thing...


...but not quite used to the mess. I am a Kirby you know!


Happy Birthday to me


They day after my birthday party, Mommy went back to work after being off for 13 months. She was sad to leave me, although that day I was at home with Daddy. Daddy had to get up bright and early that day. The next day, Monday, Grandma and Grandpa Kirby babysat me. I am sure they were tired by the end of the day. For the rest of July I was taken care of by Auntie Jenny and Mommy's friend, Courtney. It wasn't until August 1st that I actually spent my first day at Julie's house, my day home provider. Daddy had to wake me up bright and early, just after 6:00 am and when he dropped me off at Julie's house around 6:30 am, I cried. I cried again tne next day and still have not gotten used to being dropped off there. Julie says I am fine though once Mommy and Daddy leave. Daddy picks me up from Julie's around 5:00 pm so it is a long day there. There are lots of kids for me to play with and I even have a girlfriend, Hannah, 18 months, who I love to chase around. Julie can't believe how much I can eat and wonders where I put it all. So far I am doing well at my day home, much to the relief of Mommy and Daddy. I only spend maybe 2 days a week there so it isn't too bad at all.

Mommy and Daddy cannot believe how smart I am. The other day Mommy gave me some crackers to snack on. I was sitting on the floor eating my crackers out of the bowl. Mommy was filling out some forms on the coffee table. Mommy looks up to see my carrying the box of crackers from the kitchen. I finished my crackers and obviously wanted more so I went to the pantry and found the box on the bottom shelf and brought them to Mommy. I sure do like to eat.

I went camping with Mommy, Grandma and Grandpa Jarina, Auntie Shelly and Uncle Terry over the long weekend of August. Daddy had to work so he stayed at home. While camping I met some new friends who were camping close by. We also went into the States for a couple of hours to do some shopping and on the way home we stopped at the First and Last Chance bar and Grandpa had me sitting on his lap playing Keno. He said I kept wanting to hit the max bet button but he didn't have enough money. Nothing like starting me young hey? That was my first gambling experience. Daddy would have been proud.

Mommy gave me another haircut as the last time I went and got it cut at the hairdressers, Mommy wouldn't let them take much off. With the heat in Calgary my hair seemed to be bothering me as it was over my ears and I was always scratching at them. So Mommy pretty much gave me a bowl cut. The first day it looked really funny but it has grown a bit and actually looks cute.

That is all for now...

Eli

Update - We have a walker!

After Mommy posted the birthday entry of my blog, her, Aunty Jenny and I went to the waterpark to cool off in this hot weather. While at the waterpark, I was walking quite well holding on to one of their hands. Soon after though, they would let go of my hands and I started walking!!! Mommy and Aunty Jenny were so happy. I would even get back up by myself if I fell down and did quite well walking up a small hill. I was walking all over the place at the waterpark. Now that I know I can do it and it doesn't hurt so much if I fall, I think I kind of like this walking thing!

~*~*~ Happy 1st Birthday ~*~*~

Since today is my birthday, Mommy wanted to say a few words.

Well, my little baby boy is now 1 years old today, July 12, 2007! You can hardly call him little anymore, and he definitely doesn't look like a baby. He is growing up so fast! I get comments all the time, when I tell people Eli's age, how big he is and how he looks a lot older then he is. He looks like such a little boy now, with his full head of crazy blonde hair and his jack-o-lantern smile. It seems like so long ago that he was a newborn with that sweet newborn smell.

Today, unfortunately, his birthday started out with his 1 year immunizations. He got two needles, one in each arm, and he was not pleased at all with those! He cried hard but recovered quickly. He was in such a good mood while we were in the nurse's office spinning his strollers wheels and humming away like he always does when he plays. Then the nurse had me sit Eli on my lap, which I did, and he just sat there smiling at the nurse. It was hard for her to poke his arm when he was looking at her with that big grin of his. But she did it and he survived. Upon weighing and measuring him, it was determined that he is slightly above average in both height and weight categories when compared with other children his age. He now weighs 23 lbs 3 oz and measures in at 30 1/8 in. On average babies will triple their birth weight by age one, but Eli a few pounds short of that as he was 8 lbs 15 oz at birth. The nurse was pleased with how he is doing through. No worries there. Now will just work on dropping his last bottles of formula in the day so he is strictly on homo milk, which so far, he seems to be doing very well on.

Not only is Eli growing like a weed, his little personality is growing stronger everyday. He is definitely a stubborn little guy and if he wants something, he will let it be known with the kicking of his feet and screeching. He can be very loud! His latest favourite thing to do is to throw things, anything he can get his hands on. He throws his toys just to see where they will land. He will pick them up over and over and throw them back down again. This is a fun game for him. An unfortunately target has been the glass panel on our t.v. stand. When he is in his high chair, he will throw all of his food on the floor, then look down at it on the floor as if to say "what is my food doing on the floor?". Berkley loves this game and has gained a few pounds as proof.

Along with throwing things, Eli loves to explore the drawers and cupboards and everyday he seems to take out our collander and cheese graters and throws them on the floor. Once he does this, he then proceeds to push these items across the floor. He also likes the pots and pans cupboard and throws the lids on the floor every chance he gets. When you open the dishwasher, no matter where he is in the room, he crawls over as fast as he can and pulls himself up and tries to take the utensils out of the dishwasher. He also opens the t.v. stand door and takes out his Einstein dvd cases and plays with them.

Not all of his activities involve throwing things though. He has mastered his ring toy stacking the rings on the post in the correct order and claps his hands along with Mommy when he is done. When reading a certain book he loves, if we ask him "where's baby?" he opens it to the page with two babies on it. He waves bye-bye by opening and closing his hand. He loves his Daddy to chase him on the floor on his hands and knees. He has mastered walking with his push toy and can get around the house in no time maneouvering the corners all by himself. If he sees a blanket, he will put it over his head and play peek-a-boo. He is always discovering new things everyday.

Eli is not quite walking yet, he still prefers the fastness of the crawl. He has taken five steps. He stands for quite a while by himself and I can tell he wants to move his feet and walk, but I think he is scared. So for now he is happy walking while holding onto our hands or pushing his toy. He will walk when he is ready.

Today Aunty Jenny is taking Eli out for lunch for his big day and this evening we will just have a quiet night at home. On Saturday Eli will have a birthday party with family and friends.

This past year has been the best year of our lives. Being parents is the most wonderful, exciting and rewarding experience we have ever had. Chris and I are truly blessed to have Eli in our lives. We looked forward to the years to come as Eli continues to amaze and amuse us every day! Happy Birthday monkey. Mommy and Daddy love you more then you will ever know.

Here is a look back at Eli's first year:

Welcome to the world


2 weeks


1 month


2 months


3 months


4 months


5 months


6 months


7 months


8 months


9 months


10 months


11 months

My first Calgary Stampede with my friend Graysen a few days before my birthday


1 yr old today playing in my new sandbox that I got for my birthday

Lots of stuff...

So I am 11 months old now, well, almost 11 1/2 months (Mommy has just been slow updating this for me) and I have been busy this past month. So far I don't have any new words, despite Mommy's efforts to get a "ma-ma" out of me. I am still stuck on "da-da". And I am not quite walking yet but I have made great progress in the mobility department. I am now walking with my push toy! As soon as I figured out what is was for and that I could walk holding on to it, I took off and haven't stopped since. I have even figured out how to turn the toy when I hit a wall or get stuck somewhere (after getting frustrated and crying at times). It is so much fun! I did take two small steps from the coffee table to the couch where Mommy was, but so far that is it. My preferred method of getting around is still the tried and true crawl. I get where I want to go and fast, so why change that right? The only sad part about me getting older is the fact that I have less time left with Mommy during the day as soon she will have to go back to work. But I will be taken care of a great lady named Julie in her home with some other children close to my age so I am excited about that.

So this month I was baptized along with my cousin Jordan who is 2 months younger then me. It took place in a school in Harvest Hills as the new church is still under construction. It was an extra special day because my Grandma and Grandpa Kirby along with my Great-Grandpa Wood came down from Regina and I haven't seen them in such a long time. I think they were surprised by how big I have gotten!

Grandma & Grandpa Kirby and I


Jordan, Grandpa Wood and I


My Grandma and Grandpa Jarina also came up from Sparwood and Jordan's grandparents came all the way from Australia! I did pretty well at the baptism, despite the fact it was my naptime. After I was baptized, Aunty Jenny took me out of the room to play with some toys as I was getting grumpy. My Auntie Lynn, Uncle Rick and Auntie Nancy were also there along with my Auntie Jennifer, Uncle Peter and cousin Ashley. After the service we all went back to Auntie Jennifer and Uncle Peter's house for some food and drinks. It was a good day!

While Grandma and Grandpa Jarina were up visiting, I got to go to the zoo with them. I had been to the zoo before when I was much younger but I slept through the whole thing so I don't remember much about it. On this day I was wide awake and liked looking at all the animals. My favourite was the gorillas. They were fun to watch.

Silly gorilla


Although I liked watching the animals, my absolute favourite part of the day was the awesome playland they have at the zoo for all of the kids. They had a long tunnel there and once Mommy put me in one end, I crawled through it and didn't want to come out! I wish I had a tunnel like that at my house! The zoo was so much fun.

Grandma, Mommy and I


I have discovered one of my favourite things to eat is pasta. Mommy made me some ravioli for lunch one day and I just couldn't get enough of it. I think the pictures explain it all!








With the warm weather we have had these past few days Mommy took me to the waterpark where we met up with my friends Norah and Ashlyn. It was a hot day and there were lots of kids there. I loved the water and didn't mind that it was a bit cold. We stayed there for a while and ate some snacks and played. It was a fun day.


Chillin'


Checking out the waterfall


Playing with the big red wheel


Today Mommy and Daddy took me to get my haircut. Mommy thought it was time to get a trim as my hair was getting quite long. As the appointment got closer though she was unsure if she really wanted to cut it as she really loves my hair. I did end up getting it cut though and Daddy thinks it looks really cute! I just got a trim so my hair is no longer in my eyes. The hairdresser also trimmed up around my ears and the back of my hair. I didn't seem to mind at first but every once in a while I would turn around to get a look at who was "playing" with my hair. I got to sit in a jeep, not just your regular chair. There was also a movie on the television that I could watch.

The day Mommy decided to cut my hair. I woke up one morning and looked like this!

Lotsa hair


Signs of a mullet


Mommy had one last moment with my hair (either that or she wishes I were a girl!)


Checkin' out the cool car


Sitting like a big boy


Hey, whatcha doing to my hair?


Okay, not liking this anymore


But I survived. Here is the new me!


My big boy haircut


Thanks for looking : )

Love Eli

Goodbye Riley

This weekend Mommy, Auntie Jenny and I went to Sparwood to visit Grandma and Grandpa and to say goodbye to Riley, the family dog. Riley was 13 years old and lived a long and happy life. I only had the pleasure of knowing him for the last 11 months but in that short time, I grew to love him very much.

Riley was only a tiny furball, the runt of the litter, when Mommy, Grandma and Auntie Jenny went and picked him out 13 years ago. Grandpa had no idea what they were up to. He was so small and cute. How could they resist! Grandpa came home that day to find a tiny ball curled up on the living room floor, his new pet. Grandpa loves dogs and has always had dogs, so he was happy that day.

In his younger years, Riley loved to play ball, go for walks and do tricks. But one of his favourite pastimes was fishing. He loved going to the river with Grandpa and was a great fishing buddy. He also loved to go for rides in the car or truck. As he got older, he didn't go on as many walks, so he would spend his time out in the front yard rolling in the grass and watching the vehicles go by. He lived for his treats and would often go up to the treat cupboard and bark. It was hard to say no to him. He would just look at you with those big brown eyes. He also loved to eat whatever anyone else was eating at the time. He especially loved buttered popcorn and cheese.

Riley went to doggie heaven today and now he is a fur angel watching over all of us. We love you Riley and will never ever forget you. You have made the last 13 years the happiest years of our lives.

A Dog's Prayer

When I am gone, release me, let me go-
I have so many things to see and do.
You must not tie yourself to me with tears,
Be happy that we had so many years.
I gave you my love, you can only guess
How much you gave me in happiness.
I thank you for the love you have each shown.
But now it is time I traveled alone.
So grieve awhile for me if grieve you must,
Then let your grief be comforted by trust,
It is only for a while that we must part,
So bless the memories within your heart,
I will not be far away, for life goes on,
So if you need me, call and I will come.
Though you can not see or touch me, I will be near.
And if you listen with your heart, you will hear
All my love around you soft and clear.
And then, when you must come this way alone,
I will greet you with a smile and "Welcome Home".