Bath Time!!!

We decided that since Elijah was getting older, and he poops his pants many times a day, that he should probably start taking baths. We had been warned by many well-intentioned folks that bath time is never fun at first. That the child will scream, cry, and soak the entire family.

Our son? He is already proving how incredibly advanced he is. Check out his first bath!



Credits:

Grandpa Blake Camera Operator
Grandma Joan Photographer/Shampoo Bottle Operator
Mom Scrubber
Dad Make-sure-he-doesn't-drown

Arends' Greet Elijah!!!

These are our friends, Adam and Kristin Arends. They live in Buffalo, New York. They are pretty excited about Elijah... as you can see!



Man, I hope our son learns to groove like this someday!
Elijah wanted to say something here....
ap[ou -9eunfbdw PGRU JBFD
PJGQYARJAKJERHYIKNLK/rw

That translates to: "Thank you for the Beethoven for Babies CD and I can't wait to see you dance in person when I meet you! I have to go poop now."

Look Out World Here I Come!

Grandpa Blake and Grandma Joan are here to visit for a few days. Luckily, their trip to Minnesota fell right on the first day of 2008 that was above 60 degrees! They found it bearable.
(although they are going from here to Phoenix... so no complaining allowed)

We all went out for a walk in the park yesterday. Elijah got to visit the park next to our house for the first time EVER! He loved it. He talked to other kids, swung on the swings, and he played disc golf. (okay, he just rode in the stroller and slept)

Here are a couple photos of the big day out!

Definitive Proof!

Here it is. Some of you, ("friends") have said that Elijah looks WAY too adorable to be our son. (mostly, to adorable to be Josh's son) You said, "perhaps there was a mix up at the hospital." But here we have undeniable proof that Elijah is, indeed, the biological son of the Brechts. Gail and I tried to wake him up, and here is what happened:
("Why would you wake him up?" some people ask.. Because the little stinker tries to sleep four-hour stretches during the day, and only one-hour stretches at night. That's why!!!)

Movie Stars and Mexican Food

We decided that Elijah makes many, many funny faces. We have tried to capture a few on the video camera (thanks for the Christmas present Grandparents!), but he is shy. We have sneakily caught a few cute things on tape, and wanted to share some with the rest of the world. Perhaps we will be diligent and persistent and get some really great footage soon! For now, enjoy this short movie of our son...

Peace,
Josh, Gail, and the un-knowing, Elijah

Zombies in the Brecht house!!!

Today is... well, I'm not quite sure what today is. All I know right now is that we love our son, Elijah very, very much. For the last nine months everyone has told us that all newborn babies do is eat, sleep, cry, and poop. We have found this to be completely untrue.

We are SO thankful that he doesn't cry. If he cry's for more than one minute a day, it would be a lot of crying for him. He fusses, but he rarely cries. Thank you Elijah.

He eats. For the last 18 hours he has eaten every TWO hours. I think he's going to be HUGE someday. If I eat every two hours... well... you can see what happens. (I like Chipotle, give me a break!)

He poops. That's okay, though. I grew up on a farm, and I've seen A LOT worse than that. In my youthful farming days, Dad made me the primary caretaker of hog manure. Now that I am a father, Gail has made me the primary caretaker of Elijah manure. I think I see a pattern...

Sleep?? The experts say, (the doctors and the books we've read) that newborns will typically sleep 16-20 hours a day. Our son? 8-12 hours a day. No, I'm not talking about 8 hours at night and naps. I mean 8-12 hours in a 24-hour-Earth-spins-a-full-revolution-on -its-axis day. We had a couple good days that were around 14... but most are closer to 10. Wait a minute... GAIL needs 10 hours of sleep a day... how can this tiny newborn run on 8-10 hours?!

We love our son. He is a great baby. He just likes... to be awake a lot. This phenomenon has transformed his regular human parents into Zombies. Yes, Zombies. Luckily, we have played Zombie Flux many times with Mr. Justin, so we've been somewhat prepared for the change.

If you would like to come visit us anytime, we strongly recommend you thoroughly read the Zombie Survival Guide first! If you call and ask us a question, one "arrrnrrrhhr" means 'no', two "arrrnrrrhhr"s means 'yes', and two "arrrnrrrhhr"s followed by a "HRRHHRMMMNNNAAH", means 'yes, you may come visit anytime, but we will eat you for dinner.'

Peace and Love,
Josh, Gail, and Elijah