18 months and all is well!

Today was Elijah's 18 month check-up and he is fabulous! Of course, it was a couple weeks late, but close enough. He did wonderfully at the appointment and while getting his immunizations. I always feel bad for the PA's that have to give the shots, but I think they take it with a grain of salt. As soon as his 3 shots were finished and I was able to pick him up, he instantly stopped crying. When we were leaving our nurse let him pick out a sticker and he wanted nothing to do with her...until we turned to walk toward the door and he waved and said "bye bye" to her. Such a sweet kid.

For the nitty gritty things that everyone likes to know (the fun part that we're always asking about):

Height: 33 inches - 69th percentile
Weight: 28 pounds - 76th percentile
Head circumference: 19.5 inches - 96th percentile

The funniest part of the appointment was when Dr. Corcoran asked us if anyone in our family has large heads because, as she put it, "clearly neither of you have large heads," referring to Jess and myself. Yes, big heads are from my Mom's side of the family. hee hee [On a side note - this is Elijah's first appointment/check-up with Dr. Corcoran. He's seen her before, but not as a part of his scheduled routine visits.] Thus far, he has come in in the 95th percentile on head circumference since birth - when he was born Dr. Sleeter said "you are glad he didn't come out the natural way! Not with this head!"

To add to today's excitement, Eli had a juice box with his lunch today. It was so cute watching him sip through the little straw. He is definitely not a baby anymore!

Ahhhhhh....mommy and daddy moment.


*****EDIT******
I hate adding another entry today, but I have to put in a picture of the blanket I just finished. It turned out great and I have to share! :) The pictures don't quite show the true colors, but if you look at it closely, you can tell what is really chocolate, tan, black and white - it reverses to a white anti-pill fleece:

Fun in the Sun

If you didn't know, Eli absolutely LOVES being outside. If we are outside at all, you can generally count on having to deal with a crying little boy when you pull him back inside. We've spend a lot of time outside, playing in the backyard either in the sandbox, playing with cars/trucks on the deck, or just seeing what he can get into in back there, walking around the neighborhood, or going for walks. Really, we've only had 3 days that we've been able to spend outside and it is clear that he has acquired my dad and brother's uncanny ability to step in the sun and instantly have a tan.

Eli really likes to climb on top of his toybox in the living room (which we have blocking the fireplace) and either lays there or sits and looks at you like "hee hee, look what I did! Bet you didn't think I could do that! I'm such a big boy."
And here he is just hanging out before bed. Notice his haircut? Daddy and Eli both got haircuts today (yep, another Mommy specialty).
Anyway, I am working on a special project for little Brooklynn, but don't know if Ryan and Sarah read this so I don't want to post pictures until I send said project to them. They're cute though! :) Not much else new in Winkey-land!

I've been working on blankets, have fabric for a couple more, one is even for a toddler bed blanket, which is much larger, it will be CUTE! I'm not sure when I'll get that done, but I'll post pictures when I get that far. haha I have two different Alexander Henry prints - one is in black, white, and a dark beige, the other is a chocolate and pink floral - much cuter than you would think.

My little boy is in a big boy bed!

For the past week Elijah has been sleeping in a big boy bed. A real toddler bed! I am still in shock that my sweet little boy is old enough, and big enough, to be in a real bed, but he is! His room is so cute with the crib gone and a toddler bed in its place. We had his bed diagonally in a corner of his room, but he fell out of bed this way, and it just seemed to take up so much more space, so we pushed it up against the wall. He has only fallen out one other time, and that was during a nap when he slept on top of his sheet/blankets. Yes, I made a flat sheet for his bed which he has not yet fallen out of when sleeping under the sheet. It's so CUTE!
This new shelving system sure makes things a lot more organized in his room and is great in his closet! At night we close the doors and you can't tell there are any toys in there (except for the monster tub of stuffed animals, and the teddy bears on his bookshelf).
Eli LOVES to read. He can sit and look at books for what I think is an incredibly long time for an 18 month old. Today he was really enjoying reading his "Things that Go" book. It's a cute little book of 3 different stories about a "kid" police car, helicopter, and tugboat and how they each save the day. Along with his Disney baby books, this is one of his favorites.

This morning he was having a good time drinking his "coffee" with us during breakfast. There was an extra mug on the table, why I'm not really sure, but he put his sippy cup of milk inside and was extremely happy to be doing a "big boy" thing like Mommy and Daddy.

On Friday Jen and Forest Carson stopped by for a visit. It was great seeing those two, we haven't gotten together in quite a while. I'm thinking the last time was when we had pictures of the boys taken when Eli was 7 months and Forest was 8 months. Maybe we got together once between then and now...anyway, it was a beautiful day, so we took the boys outside and played in the sandbox and in the pool! FUN!

In the backyard - notice Oliver is at Forest's feet looking for anything edible....
Once we came back inside and got 'rediapered' they promptly explored Eli's drawer in the kitchen. They were having a GREAT time cooking together.
After Jen and Forest left, Eli had a popsicle snack. This is the FIRST one he actually ate. I love these though, they're more of a frozen fruit smoothie than popsicle though. It is made from 100% fruit, not just juice. He loved it - I loved it!And yes, this picture is just mean, but it cracks me up like no other! :)

Introducing: Brooklynn Rose Winkey

ELIJAH HAS A NEW COUSIN!

Congratulations Ryan and Sarah on your new little girl! She is beautiful!
(I love how she is holding on to Daddy's thumb. So sweet!)

Little Brooklyn Rose was born this evening at 5:45pm weighing in at 8lbs 4oz.

Here comes the proud Daddy with his daughter.

I wish we would have been able to be there with you two on such a momentous occasion. We love the three of you so much and are so excited that you get to experience life as parents now. You will be fabulous parents. Congratulations again. We can't wait to head back over and hold our niece! Congratulations. She sure is beautiful.

Sarah, you did GREAT! Sorry to hear things were a little rough, but you have the most beautiful baby girl! I am sending you lots of love and hugs. Get plenty of rest, take care of yourself, and enjoy that sweet little girl. She is beautiful!!!!!

So much to do, so little time!

I am thrilled that tomorrow is Friday. I can't believe this week is nearly over, it seems like it's just begun, and here we are wrapping it up. Today was one of those mediocre days where it starts out ok, you have an awful experience, then things just start piling up and leave you stressed to no end.

Today started with Field Day (or as I like to call it, Field Hour and a Half) and I got my 45 minute planning early, starting at 9:00. Then I got to referee several rounds of Dodgeball as the groups of students rotated through. It was fun seeing some of my old students, meeting new kids, and just having fun. However, the whole time I was doing this, I was thinking about the meeting I was to have at noon with one of my students' father. Not an overly thrilling meeting - in fact it made my blood boil at how unrealistic he was. Honestly, he made it out to sound like I didn't do anything to help his child, but I did. I did everything possible. Ugh...it still upsets me when I think about it.....

Anyway, there was a quick run through of maybe 1/4 of the meeting, but then the day kept going....I didn't get a lunch, it was completely taken up by this meeting. My students are extremely wound up because of the end of the year. We've been working on talking with a quiet voice and not yelling at each other, but that just isn't working. I don't know what it is, but these kids don't know how to talk to each other - no matter how many times we practice. They have 2 levels, loud and louder. Except of course it comes to sharing in front of the class then everything is a whisper. BIZARRE!

Which brings me to my monster list of things that I have to get done in the extremely near future. Ok, this list is probably more for me than you, but I HAVE to get it down.

1. Get Superstar list out for tomorrow's event.
2. Plan pizza party for 250(ish) students for Monday. Order Pizza.
3. Finish report cards.
4. Stuff report card envelopes.
5. End of year classroom inventory (which means I have to FIND the darn thing!)
6. Email move-up day letter to new principal for my new students!
7. Finish packing my classroom.
8. Unplug and clean mini-fridge at school.
9. Get end of school check-out form and go through that (all 23 steps!)
10. Talk to dad to see if he can help move stuff from Hilltop to Lake Wilderness/home
11. Talk to Fairwood Kinder Care about Eli leaving (yay summer!)
12. Talk to MV KC about Eli starting in the fall/checking out the center
13. Finish getting Spelling Bee stuff organized with Brigit for Monday
14. RELAX
15. Put note in student's cum file about behavior and plan from talking to dad
16. Figure out end of year awards (before Wed! Yikes)
17. Go to fabric store for special order blankets
18. Wash/shrink fabric so I can make said blankets


Ohhh....once school gets out, I also want to redo our upstairs bathroom. This will involve painting walls, refinishing cabinets, painting trim, and making a new shower curtain. High hopes, but I can do it! :) I just need to relax, let school things run their course, get out for the summer, and have some fun!

We got a toddler bed for Eli today. It's in the back of my parent's pickup right now. Once it's set up in his room, we'll take pictures and post those. It will be SO stinkin cute!

Our Weekend in Spokane

We had a great weekend. We decided to head to Spokane and spend the weekend with Jess's family. Unfortunately, Sarah did not have the baby when we were there, so we'll just have to keep waiting for the birth of our niece/nephew. It was nice to spend time with them, as we really haven't had the chance to do. They have two perfect names picked out for the new little Winkey, Landon Robert and Brooklyn Rose. I am not sure on the spelling of either name, but that's my guess. I still think they're great names.

The drive over was pretty long, Eli did not sleep one wink the whole way over. We were sure he would as his normal bedtime is 7:00 and we didn't hit the road until close to 5 o'clock. He was still up when we rolled into Ryan and Sarah's place around 9:45. Poor kid. Then we were busy, in a new place, etc., so naps on Saturday and Sunday didn't happen except for short car ride naps across town. He was quite the trooper though.This gorgeous Boxer is Kali, one of Ryan and Sarah's dogs. She is so well-mannered and good natured. She'll be a good dog for the new baby.

On Saturday we surprised Jess's Mom at the hospital. It was great! She had no idea we were in town, so we had Ryan and Sarah sit in at her desk and when she walked up, she immediately knew it was Eli with them, but it took a minute for it to really click as to what that really meant. Then later that night, she brought Jess's grandparents out to Ryan and Sarah's place to celebrate Rob's birthday. We were just finishing up Elijah's bath when the arrived, so we waited until everyone had said hello, then walked out. Grandpa's face was priceless. At first it was the "who are you and why are you walking out from their bathroom," then it switched quickly to "OMGosh! It's Jess, Tinkerbell (that what he calls me), and Elijah!" Awesome! :)Eli and Nana before we left her house on Sunday evening. He was SO tired!

Grandpa and Grandma Gaidos with the Great-Grandkids: Cameron, Kendra, and Elijah.

Eli absolutely adores his big cousin Cameron. Just look at his face. He would follow that kid anywhere - and I'd let him. Cam is such a great kid. We love you Cam-Man!

Kendra LOVES her little cousin, Elijah. She had a great time reading to him. What a great influence on him. He already has a love of books, she is going to do wonders with him too. Love you KB!

Sunday we were able to surprise Jess's Dad before he and Cheryle left for Cle Elum. Good thing we left when we did, otherwise we would have missed them. We had fun playing with the toys, chatting, and coloring. We ran some errands with Ryan and Sarah then after some 'down-time' headed over to Danielle's then Jess's Mom's place. We had a great evening playing games, letting the kids play together, and just hang out as a big family.



Today we had breakfast with Grandma Winkey then walked around the Waterford so we could meet some of her friends (and so she could show off her Great-Grandson Elijah). It was fun, and very cute! Then we made our voyage back across the state. We had a fabulous weekend, but we sure are glad to be home. Eli had about a two hour, much needed nap, which was also quite nice for Mom and Dad. We got a lot of great pictures (which by the way Danielle, I need copies of the pictures you took! ) Of course I included them for you!

These shots are on our way home. I love how he was sleeping with his hand resting behind his head. I find myself waking up like that every once in a while too...must be hereditary. Then he was having a fun time playing with my sunglasses. I actually got a lot of really good pictures of him, but I won't bore you through all of them...just a few! I love his sweet little face. His handsome smile melts my heart every time I see it. He's such a wonderful boy!



HAHA And on a side note, Uncle Ryan and Daddy taught Eli how to do a "fist pump" this weekend. It really is pretty cute (and funny!). Can't wait to teach your little one all kinds of fun "tricks" Ryan! LOL

New Vocabulary

People keep asking about the words Eli is saying now that he's a big boy. His vocabulary grows every day and it's amazing watching him experiment with things in his surroundings. In terms of the words that he's saying, here's a list that Jess and I were able to come up with off the top of our heads, it isn't exclusive, he says a lot of things, this is what we can recall! I'm sure you'll be able to pick out what things he hears us say repeatedly to Oliver...

Mommy, Daddy, down, cracker, airplane, go away, Grandpa, doggy, kitty, don't, juice, milk, breakfast, book, dinosaur, Elijah (yes, he even knows that it's HIS name, when you ask what his name is he says "Elijah"), Dusti, banana, truck, Oliver, Zooey, wow, yes, no, thank you, please, Friday, outside (one of his first), no way, go away, car, don't want any, don't want it....oh, and today he said Ferrari ('errari) while playing with Daddy and the cars.

Again, those are just the words we could come up with off the top of our head and every day he adds more. I love it!


His latest discovery is Daddy's model cars. He pushes them around the house going "vrmmmm vrmmmm" then bashes them in to each other, the couch, etc. He is such a boy! HAHA