Updates on Elijah James Cole

Has it really been over 3 months since my last Elijah update? Egads, I didn’t realize I’d been so lax. Sorry about that.

The job change, the subsequent move (and it’s related complications), and the work involved with a career change have prevented me from getting in front of my computer and delivering timely updates. Time to fix that.

For those that don’t know, Martha, Elijah, and I have moved back to Washington state from Arizona, and I’ve taken a job as an instructor at the Renton Technical College. It’s an amazing opportunity. Sort of a career change without a career change. The trip back has been an amazing adventure full of amazing blessings. (Words still fail me when I think about it and all the help we got. However, I put my thanks in prayer every day.) I am not super comfortable simply publishing my address in this blog, so, if you’d like our new address, drop me a line at stephenjcole@msn.com and I’ll get it to you. Be patient as that email address gets more than its fair share of junk mail.

The good news about Elijah is that no news has been good news. Elijah is growing stronger every day. He’s taller, stronger, and louder than he’s ever been.

His eating habits haven’t changed much. He’s eating stage 3 foods without any major reactions. Over the past couple of weeks, it seem that introducing new foods has resulted in a type of adverse reaction. Meaning that foods with new textures tend to come back up rather quickly. There’s no other reaction, so we’re discounting an allergy, but we’re hesitant to make changes very rapidly. Before we left AZ, the doctors there wanted us to wean him from his bottle, but, in a case of “parents know best” that’s something that is happening, but slowly.

Also, we were advised to migrate from formula to whole milk, but that too is on the back burner. Granted, Elijah had a full blown head-cold when we tried before, but the results of the milk were… Let’s just call it “explosive.” I think, at the time, the milk might have been a tad on the cold side, so “brain freeze” might have played a part in it.

Still, doing what we’re doing is working, so “staying the course” is the plan for now.

Bedtime has been a challenge lately. Elijah has rarely gone down for a nap or bedtime without a fight. That kid has some strong lungs, that is for sure. Today, for the first time, I resolved to put him down for his nap and not go in to soothe him no matter what. Egads, that was hard. Tonight, we’re going to attempt the same thing. (Wish us luck.)

Still no walking. However, Eli’s getting closer and closer. He will pull himself along the length of the couch or walk behind some object that is moving. (For example, he’ll push a box across the floor.) Occasionally, he’ll stand free of handholds. Once he realizes he’s not holding onto anything, he’ll sit down promptly. Tonight, there was a glimmer in his eye as he spied something across the room and he almost took a step but it didn’t happen.

Also, he’s got some first year molars coming in. I’ve felt 1, but there are probably 1 or 2 others that are nearly ready to erupt.

So, that’s the update for today. On Tuesday, Elijah will be 15 months old. It is hard for me to believe. Still, it is amazing to watch him grow and learn.

Blessings to you and yours!