The Diagnoses

WOW!!!! Let me first start with a MASSIVE THANK YOU!!! I had no idea the response I would get from my post about our little man, but I knew I wanted to document the feelings for my own sake and his. To remind him and me that he is not defined by a diagnoses and you all blew me away!!! I had over 1,400 views in a day, from 20 different countries, so many personal messages, over 70 comments, and more calls and texts than I can count! You love, thoughts, prayers, and kind words have carried me! Thank you!

 

With that being said I did feel I owed it to you all to let you know what we found out today. The bottom line is we had a fun day with minimal tears and Eli felt celebrated and loved which was most important to me. As I said yesterday Aaron is traveling so I planned to go alone with Eli to his appointment however, SO MANY people offered to join me. My dad was able to come which was wonderful to give me a second set of ears because I was honestly afraid I would be too emotional to retain the information needed to then share with Aaron.

To give those of you who haven’t experienced this some perspective, again this is our experience and I cannot speak for others, we met with this Dr. over two months ago to give initial concern, thoughts, observations, and to set his appointments. We then came back for Eli to have his evaluation a week and a half ago. They scheduled a 3.5 hour time for this but Eli made it about an hour and 15 minutes before they decided he was to shot to continue. The evaluation covers tons of stuff. I had to take around 15 pages of evaluations myself on what we have observed and then Eli did some testing on the computer to watch impulse and attention span, they tested facial and emotional cues, intelligence, general knowledge, social cues, and more that I am not including. Because of his weariness they were not able to get to intelligence, which honestly didn’t seem to concern them and for sure isn’t a worry of mine. He is sharp as a tick. (Is that the phrase? tick, whip, tack? Who knows! I always screw these things up. Aaron can attest.)

So I was pretty discouraged leaving that appointment because he was really ramped up and anxious. It is interesting though because from the start of this process I told Aaron and had been praying diligently that they would truly see who Eli was and have clear eyes to really evaluate him. I suppose it was a blessing he was having a bad day so they could see him at his “worst”, for lack of a better word.

Today we arrived and Eli was as calm as could be. We had to wait for about 25 minutes and during that time the fire alarm went off. IT WAS SO FREAKING LOUD!!!! Eli looked at me, covered his ears and declared “I am scared”. He then came straight to me let me carry him outside and away from the noise. I was so impressed!!!! I never know how he will respond to nose, fear or much quite honestly but he was PERFECT!

After getting back inside we were called back within ten minutes and the Dr. explained that she was going to be playing/observing him for the next 45 minutes and that she was looking for certain behaviors. If he didn’t show her what she was looking for she would ask me to get involved to see if I could get him to display the correct behavior. They shot darts, blew bubbles, played with a toy cell phone, had a pretend birthday party for a baby that Eli made a cake for, shared the cake with, sang to and helped blow out the candles. During this time I will admit I did get teary a few times. Watching your child play is so overwhelming. The pride you feel, the fear of all that is at stake during this play time, and the pure joy seeing him have fun.

Then we get to the diagnoses. Blah. I tried to call Aaron to see if he was able to step out of his meeting with no luck and I was bummed but 30 seconds later he called!!! yay! yay! yay! It is a perfect example of what a good man Aaron is. He is such a hard worker but he loves us fiercely and we are his priority. All that to say having Aaron on speaker phone was so good for me because it felt like he was there with me a bit.

She reviewed the different tests they use and let us know that even on Eli’s tough day he was borderline in a few areas for the Autism spectrum but nothing overwhelming. Also, in three of my four evals they saw no signs of autism but on the fourth they saw a few signs of the spectrum. OK, so…her diagnosis is ADHD. However the ADHD could either be masking autism or giving us false signs of it. Ugh. I am thrilled to have a diagnoses but like I told her I just want to know, be done, make a plan, and make it happen. While that is not our current story I am still thrilled to have something we can focus our attention on (no pun intended. ha!)

Of course her suggestion is to treat him with medicine and while I respect that suggestion and I am a believer in God’s sovereignty in modern medicine, this is where Aaron and I need to regroup, pray, seek counsel, and take ample time to figure out what is best for our little four, almost five year old boy. I can hardly believe that! Almost five!!

So there you have it. Treating the ADHD allows Eli then to focus and hopefully catch up in the areas that he struggles, but trying some more natural approaches while they may take longer could be a better solution potentially. Cutting out red and blue coloring from his diet as well as sodium something or other have be studied and have shown success. There are several different essential oil options, etc. We will meet with the Doctor again in six months to reevaluate the Autism signs but for now we are just focused on ADHD and how we can best treat that.

At this point Aaron and I won’t be sharing our treatment decisions online simply because I honestly don’t want to hear lots of opinions that either are for or against what we decide. We will make a very informed and prayerful decision together and those near us will know so they are able to care for our precious boy but again I would rather not give people more areas to judge me and my little boy. However, if you love us and have kind words, personal experience with either meds or not, you have a scripture, a prayer, a dad who is a doctor and you want to message me with kind and helpful ideas not slandering either side of the argument, I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!

He didn’t make it half way home before falling sound asleep

Sweet boy looks so big while looking so small to me.

We ended our day at Eli’s favorite restaurant, Qdoba, celebrating our boy! Then off to target to buy him a new toy of his choice. He went with a Lightening McQueen tractor tipping track. Ha! He has been playing with it for the last hour and a half while I wrote this. Ha.

Oh I wanted to share and never forget this cute part of the day. After we were done and walked to the car outside the hospital. I buckled Eli up and said, “Eli, I am…”

He looked at me and said, “…so proud of you!”

Ha!!!! I guess I must tell him that a lot since he knew what I was going to say.

Now we are off to bed! Eli is so tired and I am so emotionally shot. I don’t even have the energy to drink a glass of wine. Ha. I almost fell asleep driving home while talking to my dad I was so exhausted. I promise to text, comment, and message every one of you back. I really will never be able to thank you enough for your kindness today and your outpouring of love, support and prayers!!! You were the body of Christ in a very tangible way.

Go snuggle your loved ones and remember to speak life over others and if you can’t do that keep your mouth closed! Cheerfully yours! Abby and family!!

My PERFECT Eli and a piece of his story!

I have gone back and forth out writing this post but ultimately want to for my own reminder and to help anyone else who may be going through a similar situation. Tomorrow is a big day in the Wilkinson home. Our sweet and precious son Eli is FINALLY getting a diagnoses. This has been a journey that for me has seemed like forever. It started a year ago after recognized some major social differences in school (eating things like EVERYTHING; styrofoam plates, crayons, toys, etc., not really interacting with peers, quoting movies and shows instead of conversing) . There are not many who know we have been on this journey because I have been so fearful to share out of judgement.

Here is what I want to remember before these is a name put to PERFECT little man! He is a gift I never expected to love as much as I do. He was a true miracle born at 28 weeks, weighing less than 2 lbs and spending 67 days in the NICU before coming home to us. He is truly a dream come true and NO diagnoses can define him. I am crying as I write this for so many reasons. Fear, joy, sadness, anger and hope.

Fear of the future and what they will say tomorrow. Fear of what he might experience in school when kids can be mean. I want him to be wanted! (Sidetone: His current teacher is a true angel on earth to me! I really cannot say it enough. I fear so much him not being wanted and his teacher LOVES LOVES LOVES HIM!!! She prays for him, loves him in his differences, helps him grow and challenges him to learn! She is a true gift and will have lots of jewels in her crown in heaven because of the kindness she has shown my boy. Ok, rant over.)  Fear over me being a failure on his behalf. Did I do something wrong? Could have done something sooner? Is this my fault? I know I will cry no matter what they say. Ha. Shocker! I know, I am a crier.

Joy over all that Eli brings to my life. He is the most fun and so creative. He is BRILLIANT!!! He knows so much! All his colors, letters, numbers, and can literally quote anything he has seen or heard once. He LOVES to sing and that brings me so much joy!!! Books are his true favorite! He would sit with you and let you read to him for hours.

Sadness and anger go hand in hand for me here. I am both sad and fiercely angry over words that have been spoken about my son by people who are ignorant, hurt, or angry, people who don’t know my sweet sweet boy, but like to think they do. People have said we should beat him, get him under control and several have just off the cuff said, “have you thought of autism?”. He is NOT defined by these words!!! He is INCREDIBLE needing no explanation.

I feel sadness of any past or future struggle Eli will have in school, relationships, or internally. It has been hard to hear him called “special needs”. While I know he is special and he does require some needs that other kids don’t, he is still so spectacular to me! What I hope is that he knows daddy and I are ALWAYS PROUD OF HIM!!!! He is ours and we will do all we can to support and love him.

There are days that in selfish moments I am angry that this is a part of my journey. What did I do to make this happen? This is a lie and a temptation that is not glorifying to the Lord! I see other moms who make it all look so easy and I feel like I am dying. However, one of my sweet friends once told me that I was given Eli because I have just the gifts to help him. She is right! The special mommas get the special babies! I have been listening to the one person who said I was a “bad mom” instead of the COUNTLESS who have told me how great I am! Those are people who know me and my Eli! We are a great team! Sure we have off days like any mom and child but I have to tools to unlock Eli’s full potential because that Lord says so! He entrusted him to me and He gifts me everyday to help him. This again is not about me but my boy, I just needed a tiny venting moment.

Then there is HOPE! I feel so much hope! Tomorrow will be a great day regardless because we will be making progress for my boy. Like I said there is no diagnoses that I will not cry, but it is again all good. They could say he is ADHD, a premie boy that just needs to keep going through therapy to catch up, that he has Aspergers, or that he is somewhere else on the Autism spectrum and it will not change who my Eli is one bit!

Here is what I know! He is fearfully and wonderfully made! He is a Child of King!!! He is my perfect gift and I would rather have his precious face in my life than not. He will change those he encounters! The people who really KNOW HIM, LOVE HIM!!!! We pray ALL THE TIME that he would be BRAVE and HE IS!! He loves FIERCELY!!! He is my favorite to cuddle with and watch/quote Bob the Builder, Thomas, Little Einsteins, or Octonauts. He gets the quoting from Daddy because I can’t quote a dang thing. He is NOT defined by the words of others but by what scriptures says he is!!! He might be “different” but as I have said so many times already, he is PERFECT!!!! He has so much to offer. Watch out world, Eli Xavier Delane Wilkinson is coming for you and you will never be the same!!!!

Moving forward I want to encourage those of you who like to think things about others, DON’T! You don’t know their story, what they have been through that day, how they are feeling, what type of journey they are on! We are all beautifully made! If for a minute we took time to stop focusing on others and just looked upward and inward it would be so awesome!!!! We can be encouraging instead of degrading! Speak life over other people!!! Speak life!!! If you are hurting don’t hurt others with your words but ask for help and speak life over yourself too!!! If you are hanging out with someone and you don’t know what to talk about don’t pick someone else or their innocent children!!!! Instead, maybe subscribe to the Skimm so you can talk current events, politics, the weather, sports, or even yourself. Truly anything but others!!!! If we were all for each other in this journey, life could be so great!!

I am off to snuggle my little boy who gets to sleep in my bed tonight because Daddy is traveling and I look forward to tomorrow. Tears and all. Ha! We will glorify the Lord whatever is spoken because Eli is PERFECT just as he is!

Also, sorry for the never ending post, I know there are others who are struggling with stories much harder, children dealing with cancer, a heart defect, loss of limb, etc. Even the loss of a child! You would give anything to have them back! This world is brutal! You are true angels on earth and I think of you and pray for you every day! I am not playing a victim or comparing our story to anyone so please know you truly are in my prayers and I think you are strong, wonderful and AMAZING parents! God bless you and your PERFECT babies!!!!

Micah- 9 Month Update

You are the HAPPIEST baby I have ever encountered!

You are still very tall and skinny and now you have curly curly hair. It is the cutest!

• If mommy is in the room you want me to be playing with you, holding you or feeding you. Heaven forbid I leave the room of you will start crying.
• You just love people and everyone loves you!!!
• You wear a size 3 diaper an 9-12 month clothes.
• You are so mobile! You had been trying to crawl for about a month, kind of dragging your body behind your arms but in the last week you just took off!
• You sit perfectly and really have great control of your body. I am sure you will start pulling up in the next week or so.
• You can hold your own bottle which you think is pretty cool. You like playing with it after you have it all drank.
• You are in your bed from 9am-11am and 1pm-3pm. Usually you are asleep but sometimes you just lay in bed and play.
• You love the tag blanket I made for Eli and sleep with it all the time! You hold it with your right arm and put your middle and index finger of your left hand in your mouth.
• You are now in a big boy car seat and really like being able to look out the window.
• You think Eli is hilarious! You love anytime he is playing near you.
• You take three bottles a day at meal times 7 oz each and you love food! Stage 2 is where you are now but you want to eat everything on mommy and daddy’s plate. I hope to try stage 3 by next month.
• You have three teeth. Your two bottom teeth and the top left tooth, but not the front tooth the one next to it.
• You sleep usually 7 to 7 but if you aren’t asleep again you just play in bed. I love it in the mornings!!

The Other Woman

I apologize in advance for the terrible pictures. There are some from WAY back.

I think it is about time I address the other woman in our lives. You have seen pictures but you really don’t understand the full depth of not only Aaron’s love for her but now even my own. It was actually all my idea six years ago when we bought our first home. I felt like she would be a good addition and now she has begun to take over our lives.

She is what any man would want really. Tall, porcelain complexion, very intelligent, funny at just the right moments, is there when you need her and well rounded in a vast collection of areas, and all in all just really gorgeous to look at.

It’s our library. Ha! Aaron has always loved books and even the hunt for books. Back in Seminary he and is friend Ryan would go “hunting” on Saturdays to all the local Goodwills and come home thrilled with their finds. When I met Aaron he had two bookcases in his room with books and now, well, you have seen the pictures! His collecting has ramped up significantly since we have been married because I am in full support. Every birthday and Christmas a new stack is added and while he goes hunting very rarely now, he still finds books here and there.Like I said, in our first home in Kentucky there was a weird dining room area that I thought would be the perfect place to build a library for Aaron and of course he was on board. He and dad built our first set of bookcases then in 2009.

A year later we moved into the dorm and boxed up over 50% of Aaron’s collection to fit what we could back on those two small bookcases.

Then in 2012 we moved to Indiana and this time when we went house hunting Aaron had to find a place for his library. This was the second set of bookcases he and dad built and these had the bottom cabinets for storage. Now that we are settled in our new home I was really anxious to get the library done because again the bulk of our boxes were Aaron’s books. Ha! I’m not kidding. If I ever move another box of books it will be too soon. They are just so dang heavy and there are so many!

   The bookcases in our “castle home” Aaron did 100% by himself! I was so proud of him! They turned out gorgeous and really make the space feel like us. It is my favorite room of the house I think. It changes day to day but I do think it is. The naturally light is killer and it just always feels like a fun and peaceful place. It is always filled with laughter and lots of wrestling takes place in there. I have intentionally kept it sparse with furniture for this reason.

I am glad that seven years ago I mentioned a library because now it is the central part of our home. I hope our boys love to read like their daddy and sometimes their mommy. Ha! Do you have a favorite room in your house or that space you look for in every home you buy?

 

The Wilkinson Castle

I am sure you all have been making fun of me while scrolling through Instagram and seeing our #Wilkinsoncastle. It came from our sweet little man Eli. When we bought our new house every time we pulled into the driveway he would say, “Mommy look, it’s a castle.”. Now he calls it his castle home. So keep making fun of us if you like but I think it is precious that Eli thinks of his new home so grandly.

Truth be told, Aaron and I do as well.

I can’t believe it has taken me this long to post pictures but here are all of the before shots. I will hopefully get it all switch over on the menu bar but for now since it has been over six months since we bought the place this will be the quicker fix.

These are all photos from the listing when we bought it so I am even too lazy to find the ones I took. Ha. Well enjoy till I get my rear in gear and post updates.

 

A Nursery That Will Grow With Your Baby

Can I just take a moment to say hello again. It has been almost six months since I have posted about our home. I have missed you all. Also, let me say thank you to the several folks, including family, friends, friends of friends, and also just plain ole strangers who have approached me over the last few months and told me how much you miss the blog and love reading it. It has honestly been shocking to me how many of you have been so kind. The words of others truly have the ability to speak life and death over you. It is because of each of your kind words that I am back.

So now moving onto the issue at hand. We moved into our home exactly five months ago the day after we had our little one. Of course with a baby and a four year old I stay very busy. That doesn’t count my real job and then the different places that I volunteer. All that to say home projects bring me tons of joy so I always make time for them big and small. I am committing to at least start posting once a week. We have already done tons so I will have to catch you all up.

Today I am showing you our littlest man’s room. Micah like I said was born five months ago on August 8th. Our sunday school class helped Aaron move us on the 9th and I came home on 12th. We brought Micah home on the 18th due to some issues I will cover at another time. This is already taking me too long to get to the actual post. Ha! We had Micah’s room painted just days before I went into the hospital so all I had to do was arrange furniture and hang things. I had his furniture and gallery wall done withing a week or two of moving in but the arrow wall I completed last week since it was a lot more time intensive.

So without further ado here are a few pictures.

The dresser I got at a refurbishing store in Warsaw, IN and I am in love. It will function as a changing table now but in a few years I will take the pad off and will just be a dresser. The crib was Eli’s. It is a Cribs4Life brand I believe. The quilt my grandma made Micah. She has made one for all her grandkids and now great-grandkids starting with me 32 years ago. It is so special and also so cute! We love it!

Here is the arrow wall! I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! It honestly wasn’t as hard as I thought. It would have been much faster if I didn’t have a helper and a little one that needed me. Ha! I will have to blog details about that another time.

The stand holding the canvas totes I got 10 years ago I think at maybe Walmart. It is a fake wood microwave stand I believe. I am all for real wood but I do have to say this sucker has made six moves (and that is just houses, not rooms) over the last 10 years and served tons of purposes and held up perfectly. The basket on the floor is from Hobby Lobby and holds all our blankets. They are all special as well. One made by my best friend Emily, one from my former boss and friend Lisa, and another from my friend Rachel. The list goes on and on. The quilted bear is from my grandma Emily and the little brown bear we bought for Eli when he had a blood transfusion. The lamp is cement and we got it from Target.  The Pepsi crate is from an Antique Mall in Gas City, IN. The rocker was mine as a little girl and from my Grandma Emily’s as well. The Star Wars and Wild Things mash-up is from the same artist we got Eli’s prints for his room. I will have to ask Aaron the website. The vintage flashcards that spell VALOR are from a boutique in Chicago. I love the wooden Aaron puzzle. That is one of Micah’s middle names and it was Aaron’s as a kid. The moose head I got at TJ Maxx in Atlanta with my friend Emily. I love it and since Eli has an animal head in his room it creates continuity. The cleaning and scrubbing print is from my friend Kelly’s etsy shop. 

The Adventures of Micah print was a print from Nana this past Christmas and is from uncommongoods.com. I made the cloud and rain piece and the US map is just a piece of scrapbook paper I got at Hobby Lobby for like 25 cents. Ha! Obviously if there is something else you have a question about just comment below and I will try and answer it.  My favorite part of the room is most certainly the little man that sleeps in it, but I am very glad it is a room that will grow with him and is not age specific. I can very easily see us taking out the crib and putting in a twin bed in the future. Not that I am looking forward to that since I am cherishing every single baby snuggle now.

What are some things you have done to make your nursery age neutral? Do you have a favorite part of our little guys room or any suggestions?

Micah- 5 Months

Happy, happy, happy is the theme! You are always happy!

• You talk all the time!
• Rolling over is something you do every once in a while but again you are just happy whether you are on your back or tummy.
• There is a toy in your mouth at all times! The only thing you got for Christmas from Mommy and Daddy were toys that you could look at and put in your mouth. Ha!
• We keep a bib on you at all times because you slobber so much but still no teeth.
• You like to see what is going on so you don’t like to be in any position that doesn’t let you see the room.
• You sit in the bumbo sometimes and mommy puts you on your belly in the boppy up on the bar while she does dishes and makes dinner again because you love to watch everything.
• Your favorite person to watch is Eli.
• He has held you a handful of times but is much too busy for much more. Ha.
• You are in size 6 clothes and some 3-6 months pjs.
• Size 2 diapers are a must since blowouts are a part of your weekly plans.
• The paci is still a sometimes thing.
• You are still sleeping wonderfully which Mommy loves!

We truly couldn’t ask for a more content and joyful baby. Thank you for being so awesome already!

  Also yes your hair looks red. Often actually. Not when you are close up but from across the room everyone thinks you are redheaded. You can see it a bit in these pictures.

Micah- 4 Months

You are the happiest baby! I promise I will eventually come back and fill in the height and weight but it is never around when I am writing these. I have them in a pile of papers somewhere. Ha! I promise to get paper piles organized every week and it just never happens. Oh well, I have more important things in life like two little boys which is the point of this post.

Weight:

Height:

• Again, you are the happiest baby.
• You love to have people talk to you.
• You laugh lots and love being tickled.
• You smile literally every time someone makes eye contact with you.
• You are very aware of everything!
• You sleep like a dream! 7pm-7am is the norm.
• You love toys. Especially ones that go in your mouth.I think you are starting with teeth. Not necessarily cutting them but something because there is so much slobber.
• You should be in size two diapers but I am using up the last of my size ones before I make the switch.
• You are in 3-6 month clothes and more toward 6 months since you are so long.
• You are still impartial to your pacifier. You like it sometimes but are generally content to not have it.
• Your naps are a bit random because we are so dang buys but that will hopefully change after the holidays. Fingers crossed.
• You love your brother. Watching you smile at him brings me the greatest joy. He doesn’t interact with you much but I know you two will be best friends.
• Again, just to say it again, you are such a happy baby!!!

Lastly we have no clue who you look like because you constantly look different. Even from picture to picture. You are keeping us guessing our sweet boy.

Eli- 4 Years Old

I cannot believe our big boy Eli is already four years old and he is a big brother!!!! We love you so so so much! Excuse the ton of pictures but they were all too cute to eliminate!

Weight: 37 lbs.

Height:

Head Circumference:

• 
• You are potty trained and have been for months! Once you chose to do it, it was done. No going back for you! We do still have you sleep in pull-ups and probably will for a while. Ha!
• You wear size 4t and even some 5t shirts. You fit better in 3t pants because you are thin but they are never long enough anymore. So we stick with adjustable waist pants and call it good.
• Your favorite foods are starch and starch. Just like mommy. You love breads, pastas, chicken, and cheese. You also like apples, raspberries, blueberries, and grapes.
• You LOVE to eat at Qdoba and Chik-fil-a. Really restaurants in general. You do not like when we go through the drive-thru. You always ask to go sit inside.
• Being at Grandma and Grandpa’s house is your favorite place to be. Both because you love them but also because you get to watch movies and eat popcorn.
• You love All Thomas movies, Planes 1 and 2, Cars 1 and 2, Mater Tales, Veggie Tales, Octonauts, The Magic School Bus, and watching Daddy play Mario while you hold your own controller that is not hooked up.
•  
• You love trains, robots/transformers, dinosaurs, blocks, balls, cars, cars and more cars. Did I mention cars?
• You also love to read now! It makes us so happy. Every night we read a few books and your bible and there are times you freak mommy out because you will be so quiet and she is convinced you are destroying something but she will peak around the corner to see you looking at books so sweetly.
• Your favorite snack changes a lot, but you like marshmallows, pistachios, goldfish, graham crackers, muenster cheese, and cereal.
• You are in “school” every morning from 8:30-11:30 and you like it we think. You started in Mrs. Debbie’s class then they split and you went to Mrs. Amanda’s class.
• You know all your letters, number, color and shapes. However sometimes yellow and blue give you trouble. Also if we don’t practice letters and numbers you do forget them but are quick to relearn.
• Your very favorite thing is watching the garbage trucks on Wednesday morning. There is a blue one that gets the trash and a red one that gets recycling. You get pretty frustrated if they don’t show up within minutes of one another. You for sure like routine.

• You are great at bed time. We usually start at 7:30 with brushing teeth, getting dressed, reading books, our bible and then you always ask us to push your round bottom (Pooh reference) into bed. We then pray together and you always leave Micah out but then add him onto the end as well as not being scared. They are like little addendums to your prayer. It is cute. Mommy needs to record it so we have it to show you later in life.
• You like baths a ton because they are in our big jacuzzi tub!
• You moved into your “castle home” this year and you love it! So much space to run and you really like making tracks in the carpet with your cars, scooter, really anything!
• You would be outside all the time if we let you. Snow is for sure your jam!
• You don’t take naps anymore so you sleep better at night.
• You have a habit of getting up in the middle of the night and just walking into mommy and daddy’s room. You don’t really need anything you just want us to take you back to your room. It is almost like you are just making sure we are still here.
• You wrestle Daddy EVERY NIGHT when he comes home from work! I think this is probably Mommy’s favorite time of day. You are so joyful and fun. You are rough and just have a blast being wild! Micah just watches and laughs and Daddy has so much fun just playing with his boy.
• You can memorize anything the first time you see it!
• You still LOVE mommy’s hair. You like sitting on it and having her rub it on your back.
• You can get dressed all by yourself mostly. Your underwear are usually all bunched up around that top of your jeans though. Ha! It is pretty cute how often you look a mess.
• You love having a twin bed! You like most being able to jump in it before bedtime.
• You are our FAVORITE Eli and we tell you that all the time!

We could not love you more! You have such a sweet spirit paired with LOTS of energy and emotion! We think you are the perfect combination of mommy and daddy. We see so much potential in you. You are so so smart. More than anything in this life Mommy and Daddy hope you know that you are loved more than words can express. We are your biggest fans and we will do whatever we can to direct you to Jesus, teach you to love others and to help you succeed in this life.

Micah- 3 Months

You will see from the pictures that our littlest man has changed SO MUCH in the last month! He looks different to us all the time and again you will see from the pictures he looks really different even based on the expression he is making.

You are such a joyful little boy and you have brightened up our days so very much.

• You are in size 3-6 month clothes
• You are in size 1 diapers
• You have laughed at mommy
• You love watching Eli play
• Your favorite place is the floor of the library. You love stretching out and just talking and smiling at Mommy.
• You sleep on your tummy because you are more than able to lift and move your head.
• You started sleeping through the night three days before you turned 3 months old and Mommy loves it!
• You are in your crib in your room on the other side of the house which is hard for mommy, but also good because she is able to sleep a bit more soundly without hearing every little sound you make.
• You have had a cold for an entire month. Boo. However, you are handling it like a champ!
• You went on your first road trip with Mommy and Grandma to KY for Taylor Bobb’s wedding and met so many people.
• You love your paci, but are not dependent upon it and it falls out as soon as you fall asleep. Ha.

Again, you are a dream come true. We all love you. There have been a few days that daddy has been home and kept you while mommy went to get Eli from school. Every time you are not there Eli asks, “Where is baby Micah?”. Also in any movie or show that has a baby Eli refers to it as baby Micah. He loves you so. Thank you for being so very special our little Micah boy.

Here is Eli at 9 weeks adjusted which is as close as I can get to a three month comparison.