Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Oct 25, 2011, 10:01 pm
As Elijah and I reached the door to the grocery store, the piece of paper I'd been clutching in my hand went flying 15 feet into the air, torn from me by a wind gust. I laughed. And then Elijah and I, hand in hand, went on a chase through the parking lot for my dry cleaning slip. As we r...
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Sep 6, 2011, 11:09 pm
This picture gets me every timeSeptember 4th was the anniversary of the day we got Elijah home from the hospital. The day of his homecoming was one of the happiest of my life. It'd been a rough three weeks in the hospital, uncertain if our son would live, uncertain of what kind of future he wo...
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Sep 2, 2011, 12:44 am
This morning I pulled into the parking lot clenching my teeth, my hands clutched firmly on the steering wheel. Elijah, in the back seat, had been crying on and off all morning. A couple of his ABA therapists are on vacation and we've had a lot of time off this week. Today, Thursday, there was ...
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Aug 30, 2011, 12:10 am
Dear Deceivingly-pretty-yellow-weeds, I'd be okay if you never visited me ever again. Your very presence means cool weather is on the horizon. I'm not ready for you, ragweed. You hear me? The summer had a late start in Minnesota and I was hoping for a late start to the fall....
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Aug 25, 2011, 10:48 pm
Elijah is hitting his head...again. I've written about his head-banging before, but haven't mentioned it in a really long time. That's because he wasn't doing it anymore. I'm not even sure exactly how we got him to stop or even exactly when it did stop, but it did. It had been several (six or more) ...
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Aug 20, 2011, 12:23 am
Growing up, when things got off track, my mom would always say we were on an adventure. Are you lost? It's an adventure! Your plans have changed? Another adventure! It's sounds like so much more fun than "you took a wrong turn" doesn't it? It's something I've taken to saying in my life when unexpect...
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Aug 15, 2011, 12:43 am
Happy Birthday little dude. We're forever grateful that you are ours.
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Aug 9, 2011, 7:37 am
Andy and I went on an getaway last month to celebrate our 7th anniversary, spending five nights away from the namesake of this little blog. So, while I know this is a blog about Elijah, today it's going to be about the two of us - the two parental units who govern this place called Elijahland.  Tod...
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Aug 4, 2011, 11:00 am
I've felt really scattered lately, like I've left pieces of me and scattered them all over the house. I suppose this has something to do with a quite busy month of July in which we've barely been home. I'm just so behind it seems. The good news? We've been having a ridiculous amount of f...
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Jul 6, 2011, 12:06 pm
Is it really July already?I hope you all had an awesome Independence Day weekend. We did!
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Jun 29, 2011, 11:18 pm
"Let's go to the park and take a walk," he said. "Sure," I said and we climbed into his forest green Pontiac Bonneville and headed to the park - one we had spent many lunches together chatting and chomping sandwiches between our college courses. It was a sunny Sunday afternoon; I had wo...
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Jun 29, 2011, 12:09 am
A short and handsome man asks me to dance multiple times a day. In my minds eye, he's wearing a little tux and I'm donning a floor-length ball gown with not a hair out of place. He taps me on my hip to get my attention (because he's not tall enough to tap me on my shoulder) and when I turn aro...
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Jun 22, 2011, 5:36 pm
Look at those squishy cheeks! We got to meet our niece Jael Dani this past weekend. She's so tiny and sweet and perfect and snugly. Okay, I want one. :)
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Jun 19, 2011, 10:54 pm
Grandpa John and ElijahElijah and Grandpa DennisElijah and daddy Dads (and grandpas) are pretty awesome! Hope you all had an awesome Father's Day.
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Jun 17, 2011, 12:22 am
Elijah has been terrified of vacuums for as long as I can remember. I know this fear is common with a lot of kids, but I don't think it's usually as excessive as Elijah's fear was. You see, he'd throw himself onto the floor in .5 seconds and scream the saddest/scared cry you've ever heard. It ...
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Jun 13, 2011, 11:17 pm
I love when I turn around and see this handsome little man chilling in my backseat.
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Jun 10, 2011, 11:24 pm
I was in a really foul mood yesterday. Well, Elijah was grumpy, which was the main reason for my sourness. His self-injurious behavior has ramped up again recently, which is really hard on me. That's probably an obvious statement, but sometimes it isn't so obvious to me. I'll start feeling down, obl...
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Jun 8, 2011, 10:50 pm
I feel like that friend who never calls or writes you emails. Oh wait, that is me (just ask anyone who knows me in real life). It's true, I'm pretty horrible at keeping in touch (sorry friends). Not a strong suit of mine, to be sure. Apparently I'm not doing so well keeping up with my blog these day...
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - May 20, 2011, 10:34 am
Andy and I took Elijah for a walk in the stroller the other night. We'd just finished discussing how Eli is getting too big for his stroller and considered going back to get his wagon when we noticed two little girls up ahead in their yard, watching us persistently. I have to admit that little...
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - May 16, 2011, 4:23 pm
Elijah likes the bean bin we made for him.He immerses himself so that he appears to be swimming. Beans - in the carpet. Beans - in the dryer vent. I find beans just about everywhere. Yes, I'd say he likes his bean bin indeed.
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Apr 29, 2011, 12:43 am
If you’ve never had the pleasure to visit a developmental pediatrician, let me tell you, it’s not all that fun. Well, actually the appointment itself isn’t so bad; it’s the pile of paperwork that comes beforehand that can cause parents like us to lose our minds. Pages and p...
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Apr 21, 2011, 12:41 am
This evening, we took Elijah to the dentist. He did so good. I made sure to explain to Elijah that we were going to the dentist and that we would be getting his teeth cleaned; he seems to be understanding more language...I think...I hope. He let the dental hygienist work in his mouth a little ...
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Apr 14, 2011, 12:17 am
Tonight, standing in my kitchen, I heard something hit the floor with a little plop.It was a tiny little spoon.You see, while Elijah has been opening and closing our drawers for awhile now and has been startling me with his whoosh-slams, he never took anything out of the drawers. That is, until toni...
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Apr 8, 2011, 6:55 pm
I think it's Spring in Minnesota. One can never be sure, but it seems the nicer weather is here to stay. I love the changing of seasons. I love the little buds that appear in the ground in the Spring and the tiny little leaves that form on the trees. Every year it seems like a miracle that win...
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Apr 5, 2011, 5:16 pm
We've had these glasses for less than a month.
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Mar 30, 2011, 12:38 pm
Dear Lisa, It's going to be all right. Yes, my dear, some of your fears will come true. The diagnosis you're so afraid of right now - cerebral palsy - will be a part of your life, as will a handful of others...hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, microcephaly, cortical visual impairment, per...
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Mar 25, 2011, 6:39 pm
"Hey, winter is finally over!" It's not. You do realize that you live in Minnesota, right? Oh, you don't live in MN? Well, we do. Just when I was thinking we were done with snow, just when I was starting to see our grass again, just when I was thinking it was time to pack away our winter stuff...
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Mar 10, 2011, 5:01 pm
My kitchen looks a lot like this these days. Drawers and cabinets are always askew. Why would it be like this?  Because our little man has learned a new skill - the opening and closing of things. I hear whoosh-SLAM, whoosh-SLAM multiple times a day. It's his obsession, a new exciting skill. And ...
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Mar 3, 2011, 12:01 am
About a month ago we went to visit family and I keep thinking about this one thing: how much our niece Eden adores her cousin Elijah. It makes me melt. This is EdenI'm always so thrilled to see Eden, so I'll start waving and saying her name when she's in sight. She looks past me to her cousin and sa...
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Feb 25, 2011, 12:11 pm
What? This never happens to you? I have no idea how, but he got that spaghetti on his nose by himself.
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Feb 22, 2011, 12:24 am
1. Grab medicine. 2. Attack your child before he or she realizes what is about to happen. 3. Hold them down using your legs (because no amount of reasoning is going to make your child sit still for this one). 4. Pry open his or her eyelid with one hand. 5. Use other hand to a...
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Feb 18, 2011, 9:57 pm
We're kind-of/sort-of working on potty training with Elijah.  This basically means I put him on the potty sometimes, but we're not full-fledged working on it. I know in my heart of hearts that we'll get there someday...at least I hope we will. I don't stress about it.  He is showing some sig...
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Feb 15, 2011, 11:27 am
It's hard to believe, but as of yesterday our little man is three and a half. I know most parents can probably relate to this how is my kid getting so old...how did this large child once fit in my (or someone else's) belly? feeling.  I still try to pick Elijah up and snuggle him and he usually doe...
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Feb 9, 2011, 10:50 pm
I don't know if you've heard, but the Packers won the Superbowl. We may live in Minnesota, but having been born and raised in Wisconsin, we are Wisconsinites at heart. Andy, Karen, Andy and Elijah wearing their green and gold, baby. (And, yes, both my brother and husband have the same fi...
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Feb 4, 2011, 12:43 am
We've been really working on Elijah's waving abilities lately. He's been able to wave for a long time, but he's so inconsistent with actually waving that we'd go months without seeing a wave. I think it's important to teach Elijah social customs.  He may not be able to carry on a conversation...
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Feb 1, 2011, 10:16 pm
 I love it when Elijah falls asleep in the car.
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Jan 27, 2011, 11:46 pm
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always ho...
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Jan 26, 2011, 11:50 pm
Elijah doesn't really watch TV.  I think it's because of the visual complexity. Sometimes, though, we can get him to sit with us on the couch for a short amount of time.We were watching the Packer/Bears game this past weekend and Elijah was very entertained by us shouting, "Touchdown!"Having snacks...
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Jan 25, 2011, 12:47 am
Every night, when we sit down to supper* we say a prayer together as a family. For awhile, prayers made Elijah cry.  I'm not sure why, but I think it was because any way you slice it - we were delaying his eating. But now? He's consistently bowing his head while we pray. I know, because...
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Jan 21, 2011, 5:15 pm
Ever since Andy and I got married, I've wanted to paint an accent wall in our bedroom a dark red. We lived in an apartment for our first few years of marriage and I never wanted to do the work of painting just to have to paint it back white when we moved. We bought our house when I was a...
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Jan 20, 2011, 12:06 am
I mentioned how much Elijah has been changing lately, but I wanted to give some specific examples... Example One: Elijah knows when he's in trouble. Elijah loves to listen to music. We moved a small boom-box to our living room (the room he also does his ABA therapy) so that he could easily req...
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Jan 17, 2011, 11:15 pm
Knowing what the right thing to do for your child is definitely difficult. This is true for any child, but especially when your child has special needs.  Not only do you need to think about all of the typical issues that go along with being a parent, but you need to consider all of the therapies - ...
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Jan 14, 2011, 4:05 pm
Everyone used to say that Elijah looked like me. The older he gets, though, the more I hear people say, "He looks just like Andy." Indeed, he does. Oh, how I love them both. Also, on a side note, doesn't Eli's hair look ultra-cute in this photo? :)
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Jan 12, 2011, 12:33 am
I've been wanting to take our little man to the Underwater Adventures at the Mall of America for a couple of years. A little over a week ago we were finally able to go.Dan, Eden and Darlene to the left; Andy and Eli (in a stroller) to the rightEli's Uncle Dan, Aunt Darlene, and Cousin Eden joine...
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Dec 31, 2010, 10:34 pm
We're still alive. Thought I'd let you all know before a new decade begins. It's been quiet in Elijahland for two main reasons: 1) Elijah's sleep habits have changed - and not for the better. We think it's actually a good thing - in that it seems to be a developmental change (he wants u...
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Dec 13, 2010, 12:29 pm
I know I've talked more than once about how Elijah hugs - by snuggling in on our shoulder. The other night, Eli gave me a legitimate-arms-around-the-neck hug! Andy had walked into Elijah's room to change an alleged dirty diaper.  When I walked into the room and sat down next to my boys,...
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Dec 8, 2010, 12:45 pm
Lately, Elijah has been such a sweetheart.  He's giving us kisses before bed and showing an interest in a stuffed animal, his penguin that we've dubbed "Pengi" (we are so original, I know!).  Up until a few months ago, Elijah could have cared less about stuffed animals. One night before bed, I kep...
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Dec 6, 2010, 12:08 pm
Eli's monster towel lost his first tooth! They just grow up too fast, don't they? ;)
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Dec 3, 2010, 2:34 pm
Not too long ago, I was sitting in the lobby of a doctor's office.  I watched as a little girl was reunited with her mom after a short separation.  The girl turned around and when she saw her mother standing there she smiled and ran into her mother's arms hugging her. I almost started crying...
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Lisa posted an article on Welcome to Elijahland - Dec 1, 2010, 11:14 pm
Elijah has been working on navigating our stairs for a long time. He's gotten really good at climbing the stairs. He can walk without holding onto anything, but I'm happy to report he will reach out to touch the wall for support if he needs the help. As I took pictures of him today, he kept looking ...
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