The Baron Caudills

Riding horses with "my Sara"

2009-10-18T08:30:00.000-07:00

Riding horses has always been one of Elijah's favorite things to do. We had so much fun, and I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

They will always be the best of friends.

Trotting for the first time

"Sitting all by myself!"

Walking a horse. All 4 year olds do this, right?

I wish you could hear the laughter. You can probably get an idea by the vein popping out of his neck.

Big boy bike!

2009-10-18T08:15:00.000-07:00

My idea of writing little snippets frequently hasn't worked out so well. Instead of beating myself up over it, I'm just going to post a few exciting things that have been happening around the BC household. The BIG news is that Elijah learned how to ride a "big boy bike" this week. He only learned how to ride a tricycle this summer...the muscle control and coordination was very hard for him to get a handle on. But, when he finally got it, he took off. Literally. It has been incredible how good learning to ride a trike has been for his leg muscles. He can do so many things that he didn't have the muscles for before. Well, about 3 weeks ago, we decided to buy him a big boy bike, hoping that he would get into it immediately. He was VERY excited about buying one, but once we did, he wanted nothing to do with it. We tried and tried to get him on it, and he just wanted to ride his "red bike" (aka a tricycle). Last week his physical therapist and I decided to have her try to teach him (he does many things with/for her that he won't do with/for us). I snuck his bike over to the clinic. You should have seen how surprised he was that Robin had a blue big boy bike just like his. :) After about 2 minutes of her trying, he was doing laps around the therapy clinic like you wouldn't believe. Since then (Thursday evening), he has been to my parent's patio daily and to the B-line once. It is officially his new obsession.

Hmmmm...where shall I go next?

Riding up a hill is hard stuff!

Happy times are here again...

2009-05-24T18:48:00.001-07:00

Oh how I love the pool. The water is still too cold for me to get in, but Elijah has enjoyed playing on the steps and on the patio. We've had tons of fun already, and it's only been open for 2 weeks!

Trying to push his cousin, Andrew, in the water!

Elijah helping take care of the pool.

Elijah and his cousins

Just a cute shot

A Trike-a-thon

2009-05-24T18:38:00.000-07:00

Elijah's school did a trike-a-thon as a fundraiser for St. Jude's Children's Hospital. It was quite possibly the cutest thing that I have ever seen. Elijah learned how to pedal pretty recently, and he's not super coordinated with it. We were so excited that he could participate because learning to pedal his been incredibly hard for him (both because of his muscle tone and his coordination). When I got to school to see it, we realized that the ever-so-small incline on the track was going to create a problem. Riding uphill is not an option right now...so, for half of the track he rode, and for half he was pushed. As you will see, this lasted for some of the time, but then he gave up and decided to have fun with the wagon.

Like father, like son

2009-05-24T18:31:00.000-07:00

Elijah is REALLY, REALLY into doing whatever his daddy is doing outside. Enjoy...

You might think that is a snorkel in Elijah's hand, but it's really a leaf blower ("Just like daddy," as Elijah would say).

Again, you might think that is a stroller, but it's really Elijah's lawn mower.

An attempt at making Play dough

2009-05-24T18:21:00.001-07:00

Elijah has hated play dough his entire life. He has so many texture issues, so we've always assumed that this is why play dough scares him. I found out that at school he can often be found playing in their play dough. His teacher mentioned that they make their own, so we wondered if the feeling and/or smell of it made the difference. So, I googled a recipe and Elijah and I decided to make our own (this was my first time...I know, bad teacher...should have made play dough before!). Well, the recipe didn't work out, be we sure had fun. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

A Tribute to Stella

2009-05-24T18:00:00.000-07:00

I have been searching for words that adequately describe the most amazing little girl that I have ever met, but I have come to realize that they just don't exist. One of my best friends, Shannon, lost her 23 month old daughter, Stella, last week. She had a terminal, undiagnosed metabolic disorder. She fought a long, hard fight, but was the most delightful little girl you could ever imagine. Stella lived with us for one month when she was well enough to come home from the hospital, and she became Elijah's best friend. Then, when she was back in the hospital, Elijah was able to visit her several times. I know I am a better person for having known Stella.

Elijah and Stella

Stella and her mommy, Shannon

Elijah visiting Stella in the hospital

Best buds, forever

Happy Birthday, Jer!

2009-04-20T18:14:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that I am old enough to have a brother that is 35! Happy birthday Jer! We miss you and hope you are having a blast in Africa!

In Under Three Months

2009-04-20T18:10:00.000-07:00

I started this blog knowing that if I updated frequently, it wouldn't feel overwhelming. Well, you can see how well that worked. At the beginning of this blogging delay, we weren't doing so well. Elijah went through a phase this winter that was our hardest yet (outside of Riley, of course). He was having meltdowns that were indescribable. We called in his neurologist, developmental pediatrician, and behavioral psychologist. They were consulting w/ a pediatric psychiatrist. We were a mess...we didn't know if we were dealing with seizures, tantrums, or some other disorder. It turns out that no one really knows. They are suspecting some sort of anxiety disorder...possibly OCD. That was in Feb...within a few days of meeting w/ all of these docs, he started doing better. We got an appointment with the psychiatrist, AT THE END OF JUNE! When we were in crisis mode, that was a ridiculous time frame to wait. When the secretary told me that (a 4 month wait), I literally laughed on the phone because I was sure that she was joking. My second response wasn't appropriate enough to put on the web. :) Anyway, overall, we are doing really, really well right now. He definitely still has his moments, but they are nothing like what we were dealing with.

Because of this change in his behavior in Feb/March, I stopped blogging. In the moment, I couldn't possibly think about updating. How do you write, "Things are awful right now?" Then, I got caught in the cycle of "where do I begin?" Well...here is my attempt at starting this up again (thanks Aunt Barbara for the harassment...I mean, the encouragement).

Our first canoe trip

2009-04-20T17:55:00.000-07:00

Shane got his long awaited for canoe for Hanukkah last year. He's been drooling over them for years. Well, my incredibly generous parents got him one last year. While Shane has taken it out on many cold mornings, Elijah, Baby River Dolphin, and I had not joined him until recently. We really didn't know how Elijah would do because he'd have to wear a life jacket. Last summer he wouldn't even think of putting one on. His issues with different textures have stopped him from so many experiences...but not this time! I was racking my brain trying to figure out a different angle to take when trying to get him to put it on. When Shane went out to load the canoe on the car, I decided that I'd make it silly and try to put on Elijah's life jacket. Well, when I got it out, I said, "Elijah do you know what this is?" He looks at me (like I'm stupid) and he says, "Mom, it's a life jacket...like Diego wears." DUH Mom...Diego (Dora's cousin) wears a life jacket...silly me for not realizing that! Needless to say, he stuck it right on and we had a fabulous adventure.

Passover

2009-04-20T17:46:00.001-07:00

This was the first Passover that Elijah could really participate in. We hosted and he helped to cook food (for 18 of us!) and get place ready. We were all shocked when he started singing some of the traditional Passover songs thanks to his preschool (connected with the Synagogue that we don't go to...). One day right before Passover started, he was in his car seat and broke out in "Dayanu." We had good food, good company, and a great time.

The Post-Seder festivities....

Our trip to the zoo

2009-04-20T17:06:00.000-07:00

Over my spring break, we took a family trip to the zoo. I struggle every time we go because I feel so sorry for the animals. I always end up worrying that they get too bored and that their quality of life isn't good. BUT, Elijah LOVES animals, and since we aren't currently planning a trip to an African Safari, the zoo had to do.

Even while I struggle internally, we had a blast. Elijah wanted to go from exhibit to exhibit as fast as he could. As soon as he'd see one, look at it for a moment, he'd go, "FInd another animal!" His arms were finally long enough to actually get a good feel of a shark.

For the first time, he got to feed the giraffes. Just like petting the sharks, I struggle with this...but HE LOVED IT. He still talks about getting "licked" by the "big, black tongue!"

He's always been super into animals. His newest obsession is with worms (thanks, Dad!). He first saw them this year when he was helping me pull weeds in my flower bed. We'd have our hands totally dirty, but I wouldn't let him touch the worms (bad mom, I know). Well, my dad let him hold worms and that was the end of slime-less hands! He often now says, "Where'd my worm go, Mommy? Go find him?" Pretty cute...we're now buying stock in hand soap.

A foot of snow...

2009-01-28T11:37:00.000-08:00

We've been waiting all winter for a good snow and it finally came. Right now we have about a foot out there and it is simply gorgeous. We just went sledding as a family and it was so much fun. Elijah wasn't sure what to think of SO much snow...he was much more confident sledding yesterday when we only had 4". Toward the end, he got used to it and kept wanting us to pull him up AND down the hill. This is deep snow and it's thick....and unplowed. It was hard work! When he wore both Shane and me out, we came back in. He wasn't happy about that at all, and actually, when we told him that he couldn't take his sled inside, he freaked out. Evidently he's forgotten about inside vs. outside toys. That's a hard lesson to revisit.

A Day On...

2009-01-19T11:40:00.000-08:00

Penny, Tom, Elijah, and I just got back from volunteering with a local organization called Volunteers for Change. Many of the volunteers from our local Obama campaign office got together and organized community volunteer efforts. We were assigned a neighborhood in town to go door-to-door and ask for canned food or monetary donations for the Hoosier Hills Food Bank. We had a blast and Elijah was amazing. It was his first, of hopefully many, volunteer efforts. He loved going door to door and telling people "Thank you!"

Thanks to Penny and Tom for inviting us to go with them, and thanks to the organizers of Volunteers for Change...it's going to be an extra tough year for many people, and those of us who can, should make a renewed vow to help others who are less fortunate. Anyone want to join us?

Showin' some sass

2009-01-14T16:37:00.000-08:00

Last night I got home late from work, just in time to read books with Elijah. Before we started, I was asking him about his school day. He reluctantly answered my questions...I wanted him to be more specific than he wanted to be. After a bit, he just stopped answering. When I asked the same question again, he looked at me and said, "Hey Mommy, I'm done talking." What can you really say to that? I figured I'd better start reading.

I like cookies!

2009-01-04T13:37:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to bake cookies with Elijah all break, but it never seemed to happen. On New Year's Eve, I decided that it was time to stop doing normal things, and make sure that it gets done in 2008! We had a blast! Elijah was hysterical. His favorite part (aside from eating the cookies, of course) was using the hand mixer.

In fact, he loved it so much that when it was time to put it away, he had a meltdown...and a large-scale one at that! He was able to recover and finish. He helped me scoop the dough onto the pans, and then he had his first taste of cookie dough (take a look at his eyes and you can see how swollen they are from him crying!)!

Then, he waited oh-so-patiently, for them to bake in the oven.

After that, he had to wait for cookies to cool. It felt like he was waiting, and waiting, and waiting. He kept saying, "Hey mommy, I like cookies!"

Then, finally, it was time to chow down.

Good times...

2008-12-31T10:28:00.000-08:00

It sure has been a busy 2.5 weeks! Winter Break is flying by like it always does. Elijah and I have been having so much fun together. It's going to be very hard to go back to work next week.

We had a fantastic Hanukkah with this being the first year that Elijah got into it. He loved lighting candles, singing songs, and trying to spin the draidel.

He also loved opening presents, of course. One of the gifts he got was Candy Land, a personal favorite of mine when I was a kid. So far, it's going well, until he decides he wants to mess up all of the cards or scoot all of the pieces off the board. :) It's so great to have him in a place where we can play games together. We've also had fun having people over, as well as going to other holiday parties. Elijah has handled the change in his schedule very well, maybe for the first time ever.

When he goes back to school next week, his schedule will change again. We have decided to keep him in school until 3:00, instead of 1:00. The afternoons in his school have fewer children, so we think it would be good for him to have more opportunities to play with kids since he gets intimidated when there are lots of kids around. Plus, we are hoping that he won't nap as long at school (since the other kids there don't nap as long) and that will help him sleep longer at night. While he's doing MUCH, MUCH better than he used to, he's still up at 5:00 nearly every day. Wish us luck on that switch...it may be brutal for us all!

This has been quite an incredible year. Elijah's growth and development continues to amaze us. We are awed by him daily. Yesterday he told me that he was my "favorite boy in the whole wide world." He's so darn smart! We wish you all a very happy and healthy New Year!

(Does it get any cuter than this? Elijah was just sure that these boots were for him!)

Our own little Tigger

2008-12-14T11:41:00.000-08:00

Elijah's friend had a birthday party this morning. It was at a local gymnasium which is a fabulous place for 20 three and four year olds. It was truly a spectacular event. Elijah fell in love with the large trampoline.

He's not very coordinated, but that didn't seem to slow him down.

He still doesn't really have the hang of hopping on the ground, so the idea of repeatedly jumping on a trampoline was a bit too much. He'd bend down really low, and try to do one giant jump.

He didn't want any help and he didn't want anyone showing him another way it might be done. After he'd jump, he'd lose complete control of his body and fly all over the place. He had the time of his life.

I have also included pictures of Elijah playing in the foam pit. This is a true tribute to how far he's come with touching different textures. He loved being surrounded by foam! He wouldn't have thought about touching it with a 10 foot pole one year ago!

Our little man...

2008-12-07T12:39:00.000-08:00

Elijah actually slept until 8:40 this morning. For those of you who don't know his sleep history, this is worthy of an entire blog entry. He is known for some amazing things, such as lighting up an entire room of adults, having an incredible sense of humor, not listening to others tell him what he will and won't be able to do; however, a healthy sleeping pattern has not been a one of his great qualities.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T07:22:00.000-08:00

I just finished preparing my 2nd turkey ever (no comments, please!). Elijah was as uninterested in what I was doing as could be. I really thought he'd wonder about the turkey. I'm not sure that he's ever made the connection that a turkey that says, "gobble, gobble" is the same turkey as the turkey sausage that he eats. I was wondering how we'd handle this today, but it never came up! :)

The time between Elijah's birthday and Thanksgiving will forever be marked by the year that Elijah was born. In 2004, Thanksgiving was 3 days after he was born. That year, I was still admitted in one hospital (for nearly dying from loss of blood) and Elijah was in another hospital. We wouldn't have had a Thanksgiving meal except a woman I worked with named Renee cooked us an entire Thanksgiving spread. We sat in the ICU waiting room while I received a blood transfusion and ate an incredible Thanksgiving dinner. We are forever grateful that she gave us that gift. The amazing thing is that I haven't seen Renee in quite a while until yesterday. I ran into her at the doctor's office and was able to thank her, again, for the incredible gift.

I have always loved that we all stop our normal lives on one day a year to be grateful. A friend of mine takes this a step further...she says three things she is grateful for every night before she goes to sleep. This world would be a better place if we all did that...I am going to try it...want to join in?

Here are some pictures of things I'm thankful for...

Spending quality time together

Unconditional love

My dad taking a day off to go to the zoo with us

Elijah's infectious smile

Elijah's love of the outdoors (he's smelling a burning bush)

Cookouts with good food and great company

Elijah and Stella's friendship

Ok...so I'm thankful for so much more, but I have to get cooking! Happy Thanksgiving to all.
XOXO

Blow out candles, again!

2008-11-23T07:15:00.001-08:00

This was the best birthday yet! We spent the morning playing and just being together. We reminisced about what we were doing four years ago. The day of his birth brings such mixed emotions for us. Of course we cherish that day, but it wasn't necessarily a happy day...it was quite terrifying, in fact. We feel incredibly lucky for him to be where he is.

Elijah couldn't have been cuter than he was last night at his birthday party. He was fantastic and we even avoided meltdowns from being overwhelmed. We did the typical birthday cake with candles, and after we sang "happy birthday" and he blew out his candles, he asked if we could do it again! Why not, right? So, Elijah blew out candles twice...

About half way through opening his b-day presents, he got tired of it and decided that he'd really rather play with his balloons. While the adults wanted to see him open his presents, I was secretly proud that he didn't really care about getting more.

And so it begins...

2008-11-20T16:48:00.001-08:00

As Elijah approaches his 4th birthday, we thought it would be appropriate to stop using his Caringbridge blog. Caringbridge is designed to update people on the medical condition of a family member. We feel so blessed to not need their services anymore.

This is the first year that Elijah really "gets" his birthday. He has been talking about it for weeks and he can't wait to "blow out candles" and "have a birthday party!" Today, we celebrated his birthday at school with his friends. I spent last night baking cupcakes (don't laugh) and Elijah and I went today to pick out plates, napkins, and party hats (tractor design, of course). It was so darn cute to see his friends sing happy birthday in English and Hebrew and then dig in to the cupcakes (and they were good, if I do say so myself!).

We also had our first real parent/teacher conference today. We love his school and teachers so much and it was a joy to sit and listen to how wonderful they think he is. :) They really do see his abilities instead of focusing on his disabilities, and I appreciate that so much. It's not that they ignore his struggles, but they use what he's good at to help him learn and grow. They told us that he is the happiest kid in his class...that absolutely warms my heart.

I have vowed to update this blog more than I have the other (it's been since February)...so part of keeping that promise is that my updates won't be long, but they'll be frequent. :)

XOXO

(I had to add a picture of Elijah at Halloween...we had so much fun!)