look who is one!

We are so thankful and excited that Elijah has had his first birthday! It is hard to remember all he (and we) went through in the past year, and nothing short of amazing to look back on how much he has changed and accomplished.  We are thankful that he is constantly growing and developing.  He went to his 12 month exam and the measurements are as follows: (if you'll remember, he was 1lb 5oz ans 11.75in when born) 29.5in (which puts him in the 75% adjusted to his due date and 35% not adjusted-aka a normal 12-monther) and 20lb 6oz (50%adjusted and 20%not adjusted)!! He had the last post surgery check up, and we will not need to see them any more.  So he is slowly getting rid of the specialists.  We just keep praying for him to continue developing without complication and so far he has done just that. 

Eli's list of cool tricks/info:
eating "people food" on his own
less formula
a tooth
pulling up, holding on one-handed while standing, moving from one object to another while standing/walking 
playing games (peek-a-boo, itsy bitsy spider, baby bumblebee, tickle monster)
learning to pet Maggie
color recognition

Grandparents came to visit and we had a small party for him.  It was a busy weekend last weekend.  He loved all the visitors, attention, and snuggles.  All but his Grandma Henry have gone home.  We tried to have a nice quiet week and get things put away after the party.  Our current dilemma is what to do with all of the toys.  I think we will be investing in a bookshelf/toy storage unit in the not too distant future. 

Other than that, this weekend has been spent cleaning the garage.  Also, mom offered to watch Elijah so Christof and I could have an actual date-dinner and a movie!! It was very exciting.  We also took a ton of stuff to goodwill, the humane society, and Lifecare pregnancy center from all of the garage cleaning. 

Please see the picture section for about a thousand extra birthday weekend photos.