Elijah is now three years and five months old. His little personality has really blossomed over the past few months. His teachers noted that he became more outgoing after his three year old haircut. One of them told me that he is "turning into an extrovert" before her eyes. He still takes a few moments to warm up to new people, but he is now quite comfortable at preschool. He occasionally reports that one of the little boys has pushed him, but otherwise seems to get along well with the other kids. He is especially close with Shayna, one of his old pals from the JCC. School pick up usually takes a good half hour because he is never ready to stop playing. He loves to show me around his classroom and particularly loves to point out snapshots of himself on the bulletin board. When it's time to go, he sometimes blows kisses to the teachers.
Like most three years old, Elijah comes up with some of the most unexpected questions and entertaining comments. I have been terrible about documenting them and should really make a better effort. My love for Elijah seems to grow with time and I sometimes wonder if I might burst. I couldn't ask for a sweeter little boy. He is quite brilliant, but I am most proud of his gentle demeanor and quirky sense of humor.
Here are some more tidbits about my little man. He is still smitten with his blue elephant. He loves to nap and sleeps for a solid two hours on most afternoons. He misses his long hair, and we have decided to let it grown out again. He puts on his own jacket by laying it on the ground, slipping his arms in the sleeves and flipping it on over his head. His favorite toys include Legos, Tinker Toys and his Melissa and Doug Wooden Pizza set. I recently introduced him to the Corduroy books by Don Freeman, and he adores them. He tells Amiel that my Hebrew accent is "not good," but I don't mind. As for eating, Elijah is a happy little pescetarian. Some of his favorite foods are pizza with green olives, fish, Cheerios, dried fruits, yogurt with granola, corn, mushrooms and avocados. He has a particular affinity for broccoli and even likes the stalks (I peel off the tough outer parts and he munches them raw). As for music, Elijah loves to sing, bang on his drums and play his harmonica. We listen to the Dixie Chicks
"Lullaby" nearly every night and he refers to it as our love song. I've never actually slipped in bed with him while he was asleep but I just might have to one of these days.
Green County has more cows than people. Cheese is sold at roadside shacks and pretty much any establishment with a cash register. The region is also home of the New Glarus Brewing Company, makers of Spotted Cow Ale (yum). Corn and soybean fields are abundant, but vegetables seem to have difficulty making it onto local menus. We thus ate a lot of cheese sandwiches.
Elijah prefers reading the same books over and again. It had been getting a bit painful for me, so we recently instituted a new bed time rule. Elijah picks one book and Mommy picks another. He loves the Corduroy books and has continued to pick books about Hannukah. He has strong opinions about virtually everything, and I finally quit trying to guide him towards more seasonally appropriate options. I still consider Elijah to be easygoing but his mischievous streak is becoming more noticeable. Setting limits can be a challenge as he is such good kid and his mischief is frequently more amusing than anything else. Thankfully he is a happy little guy and hasn't driven us crazy (yet). Finally, I must share one of Elijah's best quotes to date. He recently received a new stuffed elephant and Amiel asked him what he wanted to name it. "Roscoe," he said. "Roscoe Village." For those of you unfamiliar with the Chicago area, Roscoe Village is a neighborhood on the north side of the city. Pretty cute.
Thankfully Anna was visiting during the weekend of our first showing. She helped us scramble to get things in order and the house was miraculously transformed over the course of a few hours. You know someone is a good friend when you can ask them to wash your windows and empty the laundry from your jacuzzi (clothes organization has never been a strong point for me). Thank you, Anna!! The best part about moving has been enjoying our newly de-cluttered house. It will be bittersweet to leave but we are all excited about exploring a new neighborhood and keeping our next house pretty and neat. 
Elijah seemed to think his elephant had hidden the envelopes. Upon opening the book, he announced that it had been hidden by his kitty cat.
He loved the story and was especially amused upon discovering that someone had taken a chomp out of the book's back cover. It's been less than a week and Elijah is already requesting that I make him another treasure hunt. It seems that he now thinks that Mommy is the Book Fairy. I keep telling him otherwise, but I think he's on to me.
Like most three years old, Elijah comes up with some of the most unexpected questions and entertaining comments. I have been terrible about documenting them and should really make a better effort. My love for Elijah seems to grow with time and I sometimes wonder if I might burst. I couldn't ask for a sweeter little boy. He is quite brilliant, but I am most proud of his gentle demeanor and quirky sense of humor. 
Here are some more tidbits about my little man. He is still smitten with his blue elephant. He loves to nap and sleeps for a solid two hours on most afternoons. He misses his long hair, and we have decided to let it grown out again. He puts on his own jacket by laying it on the ground, slipping his arms in the sleeves and flipping it on over his head. His favorite toys include Legos, Tinker Toys and his Melissa and Doug Wooden Pizza set. I recently introduced him to the Corduroy books by Don Freeman, and he adores them. He tells Amiel that my Hebrew accent is "not good," but I don't mind. As for eating, Elijah is a happy little pescetarian. Some of his favorite foods are pizza with green olives, fish, Cheerios, dried fruits, yogurt with granola, corn, mushrooms and avocados. He has a particular affinity for broccoli and even likes the stalks (I peel off the tough outer parts and he munches them raw). As for music, Elijah loves to sing, bang on his drums and play his harmonica. We listen to the Dixie Chicks "Lullaby" nearly every night and he refers to it as our love song. I've never actually slipped in bed with him while he was asleep but I just might have to one of these days.
