Brechtopia

Elijah says he is eating tiny sandwich

2011-10-06T11:58:00.001-07:00

From blogger app

2011-09-21T16:17:00.001-07:00

From blogger app

Soccer. Well... Almost soccer.

2011-09-21T16:16:00.000-07:00

The handsosme man himself.

2011-09-21T16:12:00.001-07:00

Elijah in the tux

2011-09-18T06:05:00.001-07:00

Here is the famous ring bearer at Tia Christy and Uncle Jared's wedding. Handsome? Check.

The Firefighter!

2011-08-20T13:56:00.000-07:00

LOVING our trip to Chicago!!!

2011-08-19T15:31:00.001-07:00

2011-07-21T15:59:00.003-07:00

Grandma's kite flying high!

2011-07-21T15:59:00.001-07:00

2011-06-13T17:08:00.001-07:00

Dino-rific fun on the T-Rex at a park in Milton!

Cruisin on the new bike! Thanks Grandma!

2011-06-06T10:33:00.001-07:00

Mother's DAY!

2011-05-11T10:42:00.000-07:00

Well, I, Dad, spent Mother's Day sick. Which Gail did not approve of at all! We did get the chance to have Elijah put together a video greeting for his Grandmothers. He's a natural.

Happy Mother's Day! from Josh Brecht on Vimeo.

What does E do with sidewalk chalk?

2011-05-11T09:53:00.001-07:00

He really likes banannas.

2011-03-20T17:12:00.001-07:00

Eliajh's b-day dreams come true!

2011-03-19T09:38:00.001-07:00

Helicopter + 2 year old = EXCITEMENT!

2010-12-31T17:37:00.000-08:00

Ever since we visited Elijah's Godparents last summer Elijah has been asking for helicopters. For while he would pray for helicopters and Kevin each night before bed, then he started to say that Santa would bring him a helicopter. Christmas morning...he got a HELICOPTER! Good times followed!

Elijah is ready to conquer the sea!

2010-12-18T13:36:00.000-08:00

New Camera Moves!

2010-12-12T16:54:00.000-08:00

The Brecht family got a new camera for Christmas (thanks Grandma and Grandpa!), and I tried to get Elijah to do something fun to test it out. Here's what we got our of our shoot. Why do little kids think it is hilarious to knock over towers and talk jibberish?

Typical Breakfast

2010-11-28T16:44:00.000-08:00

We have heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. We believe that it is important to start every day out right... just like this.

Future Body Builder

2010-11-28T16:39:00.000-08:00

Elijah decided to show off his guns one afternoon. Fun stuff.

2010-11-03T09:25:00.001-07:00

Happy Halloween!!

2010-11-03T09:23:00.000-07:00

2010-11-03T09:22:00.001-07:00

Elijah Claims that he is Getting Married!

2010-10-10T08:33:00.000-07:00

Today we all decided to sleep in and have a nice family morning. Elijah ate 2 pieces of toast and 1 piece of sausage while wearing swimming goggles and making rocket ship sounds.
Here is a verbatim of the conversation that Gail and Elijah had later in the morning.

Elijah: "I'm getting married."

Gail: "Who are you going to marry?"

Elijah: "I'm going to marry Christmas."

Driving down the road, Elijah ate a bus.

2010-10-01T14:29:00.000-07:00

Updates

2010-09-29T21:38:00.000-07:00

Hi to all who check out our blog faithfully. Our apologies that we do not update it faithfully! What is life like right now?
1. Gail and I are in full swing with classes again. We are both as busy as we've ever been with classes and extra responsibilities (I have still not learned the art of saying, "no").

2. Elijah is potty training. We seem to see the light at the end of the tunnel and it appears as though he has nearly gotten it down....and then one of the Brecht family is cleaning up poo again. (hint, it is usually not Elijah doing the cleaning)

3. Gail and I are playing a lot of music again since I am on the staff to coordinate daily chapel music this year. It has been great for us to be able to play together more often!

4. Elijah now sings Mary Had a Little Lamb on key! He has not composed any symphonies yet, but we figure that singing in tune is a good start!

Elijah of the Jungle

2010-09-25T14:33:00.000-07:00

Well, Elijah can talk quite well these days. However sometimes he reverts to animal sounds. The sounds are ok, but we like the faces that, apparently, have to accompany the sounds. Enjoy!

Just showed Elijah his new potty.

2010-09-13T16:46:00.001-07:00

Elijah titled this "Gampa n Gamma"

2010-08-25T22:36:00.001-07:00

Elijah titled this "Gampa n Gamma"

2010-08-25T18:18:00.001-07:00

Elijah titled this "Gampa n Gamma"

2010-08-25T09:53:00.001-07:00

Elijah has 3 hours invested today!

2010-07-31T22:33:00.000-07:00

Thanks Godparents!

2010-07-31T18:19:00.001-07:00

Elijah has 3 hours invested today!

2010-07-31T18:18:00.001-07:00

Birthday Footage...FINALLY!

2010-07-24T13:20:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

It has been a long, long time since we uploaded any video! We are slackers when it comes to blogging. But here is some footage of Elijah's 2nd birthday parties. Hopefully be motivated and get some more fun videos rolling again soon!

I'd like a #5 with extra cheese...

2010-07-24T08:10:00.001-07:00

Cal wouldn't get me a burger today!

2010-07-24T07:59:00.001-07:00

The kid loves tractors!

2010-07-14T11:26:00.001-07:00

Elijah got to go to Linn co fair!

2010-07-13T12:37:00.001-07:00

2010-06-11T07:33:00.001-07:00

Josh has now started chaplain education in Iowa City, so Elijah and Gail get to do a lot of swimming and farming this summer!

Elijah learned about herbacide this week

2010-06-11T07:31:00.001-07:00

Elijah doing our 2nd Quarter financials

2010-05-24T15:03:00.001-07:00

Benihanna with the McCluens! Yum yum!

2010-05-21T15:50:00.000-07:00

History book useful? Monster truck ramp.

2010-05-05T13:37:00.001-07:00

Elijah got a sandbox and toys for Bday!

2010-03-30T14:47:00.001-07:00

Anyone know why kids LOVE sand so much?

2010-03-30T14:45:00.001-07:00

Elijah and Lexi at the playground!

2010-03-27T19:39:00.001-07:00

Elijah & Mom went to the Zoo w friends!

2010-03-27T14:36:00.001-07:00

A Loader?!

2010-03-25T10:25:00.003-07:00

Little boy heaven...

2010-03-25T10:25:00.001-07:00

Little boy heaven...

Staring contest! Go!

2010-03-25T08:31:00.001-07:00

Elijah is checking out the "tish" (fish)

2010-03-25T08:28:00.001-07:00

It's About Time!

2010-03-17T13:16:00.000-07:00

For all of you who check our blog regularly, sorry that we haven't updated in a long, long time! Gail is now a full-time seminary student, as well, so time is a rare and precious commodity in our home. Elijah will be turning two at the end of this week. In preparation for his birthday we have decided to post a couple of videos Gail was able to sneak with her phone! Elijah has figured out how to turn on the alarm-clock radio in his bedroom. Here's what happens.

Footage from last summer!!!

2010-02-19T17:48:00.001-08:00

Hi friends! We found this footage from last summer and thought that it might be enjoyable! Fun times, indeed!

Guyana Highlight with new WORKING video! Enjoy!

2010-02-19T17:47:00.000-08:00

Guyana Highlight with new WORKING video! Enjoy!

Christmas at Grandpa and Grandma Brecht's!

2009-12-26T11:58:00.001-08:00

We went to Grandma and Grandpa Brecht's house on Christmas Day! It was loads of fun and food and presents. Elijah must have been really, really, really, really good this year because Grandma (and Santa, but mostly Grandma) got him a LOT of presents!

Here is the play-by-play:

First, Elijah though he'd be funny and help re-decorate the Christmas tree.

Santa? How did this little bitty person bring Elijah such big presents?

Dad, "Hey, don't mess with that!" Elijah, "No, really, Dad, I can reach it!"

"See!"

Elijah finds creative uses for the Mega Blocks and his new school bus...

"Gosh, dad. I just don't know. Both cars look awesome. Don't you agree?"

Elijah and Grace thought that Santa might come two nights in a row... so they watched diligently!

Cousin Kailey was there, too. She much of the day looking cute, smiling, and chewing on the pink Elephant! She was living the dream.

2009-12-20T09:00:00.001-08:00

We had a great time in Cincinnati with Gail's family! Elijah had fun playing with his little cousin Sam. Sam told Elijah about yogurt covered raisins!

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2009-12-20T07:32:00.000-08:00

FW:

2009-12-19T22:37:00.000-08:00

New Christmas presents! Very exciting!

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2009-12-19T16:53:00.000-08:00

Elijah cuddles with Papa Bic!

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2009-12-19T16:50:00.000-08:00

Baby party!

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2009-12-19T16:19:00.000-08:00

Identical gifts. Fight to the death for MY present!!!

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2009-12-19T16:17:00.000-08:00

New Christmas presents! Very exciting!

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2009-12-19T12:40:00.000-08:00

Elijah at the Christmas train display!

Candy, Candy, Candy!

2009-10-31T13:02:00.000-07:00

It's the big day. Candy day. Elijah got dressed up as a tiger. We are not sure how he feels about it, but we think it's a GREAT idea! Look at that kid!

First we went to Rob and Christy's house to be cute and attempt to say "Trick or Treat". We accomplished 50% of our goal. Christy was really nice and gave Elijah candy anyway.

Not only did Elijah discover the glory of candy on Halloween, he discovered the fun to be had when the leaves fall! He kicks, throws, falls, rolls, giggles, and then does it all again!

Halloween!!!

2009-10-30T12:46:00.000-07:00

My lazy parents haven't blogged about my situation lately. I have taken daddy's laptop hostage to tell you my tale.

Halloween was about to arrive and we were pumpkinless. So one sunny afternoon mommy and daddy tied my down in the back of the car (in my carseat) and we went to a pumpkin farm!

There were a lot of pumpkins, some as big as ME!!!

If I have learned anything about pumpkins in my time, I have learned you have to check them carefully to make sure they are not squishy. OR a watermelon that has painted itself orange in hopes of a better life.

Yeah, this one should do.

And this one....

Finally, I worked on my potty technique with a local. The cat tells me that if you gotta go on the farm, you just squat. The cat also told me that placement is everything. The right spot, and a full grown person might step in it an do a really funny dance!

I made my dad pull me around in a wagon. He makes a good horse.

AND... THERE...WAS...A...BOUNCE HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I jumped!

And fell over! IT WAS HILLLLL...ARIOUS!!!!!!!

And then I taught daddy how to carve pumpkins. He was trying to clean them out with his hands! HIS HANDS!!! I gave him a spoon and instructed him in the proper paths of the art.

All in all, it was a pretty good prep day for Halloween!

Rachel Visits!!!

2009-10-16T15:38:00.000-07:00

Our friend Rachel decided to come all the way from snowy Minnesota this week to visit the Brecht's in Dubuque. Elijah decided to turn on the charm. Don't believe me? Check this out!

I'm hiding! Can you see me?

Hey baby, what's happenin'?

1986 here I come!

uummm... I'm not sure what public television is trying to teach Elijah here. If I were to guess, I would think that this is brainwashing kids into some creepy alien army for a hostile take-over of planet earth. All in the form of a catchy song.

Dane Teaches A 1 Year Old to Juggle

2009-10-10T17:20:00.000-07:00

Let us take you on a trip in the Tardis back a few months to Minnesota. Dane came to visit for a couple of days and tried to teach Elijah the ancient, secret trade of ... Juggling! Dane may be saddened to know that Elijah has not progressed to juggling bowling balls yet, only torches of fire.

Raw Footage.

2009-10-01T21:10:00.000-07:00

Hey all. Since we last posted video of our son, he has grown up a lot! Just the other day he began college. Okay, maybe not that much... but we have some fun older videos we are just getting around to posting. So, expect more soon. Enjoy the progression from the 10-step-walker in May to the opinionated motion machine of today!

Peace,
Josh

Too busy to Blog, BUT....

2009-09-30T06:12:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone, Elijah here. My parents are way too busy with Seminary, Piano Playing, and Wineries to blog about how great I am. I figure when someone is as adorable as me, there should be lots of pictures, right?

So, I have uploaded a bunch of pics to Mama's picasa page.
http://picasaweb.google.com/gailbrecht/PicasaUploadFolder#
(See the upper left-hand side bar on the blog page, too.)
No, I can't talk yet. But kids are very good with technology these days. That's what I can already type, blog, and upload to picasa. I can also watch Sesame Street pretty well.

Love, Elijah.

The First Blog in FOREVER!!!

2009-09-24T07:44:00.001-07:00

Most of you know that the Brechts have had some MAJOR transition in the last few months. Thus, no new blogs since June. Ridiculous. So here's a quick update with more to come soon as we get back in the habit of sharing the joys found in Brechtopia!

We went to a kick-off picnic for the Seminary at Eagle Point Park! It's high on the bluffs above the mighty Mississippi River. Pretty cool.

When Elijah wasn't obsessed with the cars or other kids running around... or impressing the Catholic nuns, he took time to enjoy the majestic view!

Elijah also wants to do EVERYTHING the Mom and Dad do. So, he is no longer satisfied with strumming the guitar with his fingers. He uses a pick now. Yes, he actually strums decently with a pick. Although, he can't decide if it's more fun to strum with the pick, or throw it in the sound hole and watch Dad try to get it out.

The campus has a food pantry that we get free stuff from once in a while. Left-over Panera Bread, huge bags of extras from Sam's Club or Restaurants, etc. We got a HUGE bag of frozen blueberries. Guess who likes eating Blueberries?

Aqua-Elijah the super hero.

We are enjoying life in Dubuque, IA well enough. Making some wonderful new friends. Elijah is LOVING life in a neighborhood full of kids his age. More to come soon...

Pictures from the farm

2009-06-01T08:42:00.000-07:00

Here are some fun pictures from our visit to Iowa!

We practiced walking...

and smiling BIG SMILES!!!

Think Elijah is happy to be here? We do!!

He loved workin' with Grandpa at his desk.

He did NOT love workin' with Grandpa on the tractor.

He got all dressed up in his overalls just like Grandpa Cletus.

Miss you Grandma and Grandpa!!! We can't wait to live closer to you!

First Steps!

2009-05-29T08:23:00.000-07:00

We went for a visit to see Grandma and Grandpa. Elijah was so excited to see them that he stayed awake almost the whole ride down to Iowa! He wanted to wait to show off to them that he could take his first steps... at 11:30pm!!! I just took the video on my cell phone, so it's a bit choppy.

Don't believe me? Watch for yourself:

1 Year Portrats

2009-05-25T08:29:00.000-07:00

Grandma loves pictures!! She took Elijah to get his portrait taken for his 1 year birthday awhile back. Here are a few of our favorites to share with you!

Happy Birthday, Elijah!! We LOVE YOU!

Funny, Funny Guy!

2009-05-22T15:40:00.000-07:00

Elijah thinks that he is a pretty funny guy these days. He likes to make us laugh. Sometimes we just have laughing fits for the fun of it. Sometimes it's for good reason which you can see below...

He loves to stand on his head and look at you through his feet!!!

Nothing funnier than a little guy in a big guy's hat!
(except maybe sunglasses, but we haven't gotten him sunglasses yet)

Now this is a story all about how my life got flipped-turned upside down.
I'd like to take a minute just sit right there and I'll tell you how I became the prince of a town called Bel-Air.

Elijah is jammin' on the Hammond

Mirrors? HILARIOUS!

The Slide

2009-05-21T20:55:00.000-07:00

Tonight we had our friends Dave, Susan, and Ethan over for dinner. Dave and Susan are married. Ethan is their son. He's four (almost 5) and taught Elijah how to better play with his toys. After a tasty chicken dinner, we all walked up to the park to use up some energy! Ethan mostly played on the big kid stuff, but Elijah graduated from the smallest slide at the park to the THIRD smallest tonight. Camera phone footage to tell the tale... You can decide if you think he liked it or not!

2009-05-16T16:49:00.001-07:00

Guess who took 3 steps tonight all on their own? Will report more as he progresses!

The Brecht Boys

2009-05-13T18:35:00.000-07:00

Hey friends, family, loyal acquaintances that follow our blog. I tend not to blog unless we have some adorable pictures to post, but I thought I would do a typing-only blog tonight.

This is my first Wednesday in a long, long, long time where I'm not working at a church. Gail is, however. (That should explain why I'm at a computer blogging and not spending time with her).
This having-no-job business is a bit odd to get used to. I find that my Iowan farmer roots keep me working pretty hard all day, even without a job. Mostly, Elijah and I just hang out. So I wanted to share a typical day. Here was today's rundown:

8:42 - Dad wakes up.
8:43 - Dad comes downstairs to prep breakfast BEFORE getting the boy up.
8:45 - Dad gets Elijah up and we head downstairs for Applesauce and Cheerios, closing the door on our way down so Mama can sleep longer.
9:13 - Gail emerges.
9:13:43 - Elijah smiles at Mama and laughs.
9:15 - Elijah smears Applesauce all over his hair.
9:32 - Dad cleans up breakfast, Elijah and Mama play.

10:16 - Elijah gets cuddly with a blanket.
10:32 - Mama reads him a story and puts him to sleep.
10:32 - Dad sends emails, makes phone calls, check for Xbox game deals, and washes dishes.
11:00 - Gail goes to the YMCA, then to work.
12:04 - Elijah gets up and we have Soup, Sandwich, and a banana for lunch.
12:33 - Clean up lunch. Clean banana out of Elijah's hair.
12:33-2:45 - Play.
2:46 - Go for a walk in the stroller.
2:48 - Get rained on and go home.
2:55 - Elijah and Dad install a new smoke detector.
2:59 - Elijah fake cries for 30 seconds because he wants to play on the stairs instead of help install a smoke detector.
3:30 NAP.
5:15 - Elijah wakes up. Dad gets salad, rice, fish, milk, cheese, and an apple ready for dinner.
5:45 - Two strangers come to the house and give Dad $100 cash.
5:46 - Dad gives two strangers an old crappy guitar.
6:01 - 7:30 Elijah and dad play on and off while dad sometimes sneaks away to learn how to use twitter.
7:47 - Justin Rimbo has a heart attack and explodes because he can't believe Josh is using Twitter.
7:51 - Bath TIME!!!
7:57 - Elijah tries to stand up while dad is getting a towel, slips and hits his head on the bathtub.
7:58 - Elijah cries.
8:00 - Elijah dries off. We read a story, he goes to bed.
8:03 - Dad does laundry.
8:06 - Dad cleans up 78 toys.
8:09 - Dad has a beer and blogs!

Thanks for reading!

Friends for Lunch

2009-04-22T09:51:00.000-07:00

We had Nate Dorsing over during the day this Monday and Tuesday. He and Elijah played together and had a lovely lunch of bananas and grilled cheese at Casa de Brechtos.They had a great time making faces at each other and talking about the weather and their favorite toys and music.

Elijah smiled and laughed at Nate

who smiled and laughed back!

We had a great time together! Elijah actually cried when Nate left on Tuesday. He was upset that his new friend had to go home.

Big Day at the Park

2009-04-16T10:04:00.001-07:00

It was a beautiful spring day, (Spring in MN still means a hat and coat) so we took a nice family walk to the park. Elijah's favorites at the park?

1. Playing with wood chips.
2. Watching other people.
3. The swing.

Since watching other people is either boring.. or weird... for mom and dad, and he tries to eat wood chips, we spent a lot of time on the swing.

Getting ready...

And we're off!!!

Woah, there's some people over there. What are they doing?

Weeeeee!!!

(It was a bit breezy)

We keep swinging anyway!

And here is some riveting video footage of the rest of the action. Slides are our 4th favorite, as long as we don't smack our heads on them.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T18:39:00.000-07:00

For Easter we spent the afternoon with our friends at Fogo De Chao!
We ate glorious meats and salad bar foods, followed by meats! Elijah was more interested in Cheerios, though. It was a great time.

Then we came back to our house to relax and watch the latest Doctor Who before playing music for an evening Easter service. All in all... a pretty great Easter!

The boys being totally engrossed in their Easter baskets and candy!

Elijah thinks Easter is GREAT!

Okay. It's true. This is the same Easter gift that Grandma and Grandpa Brecht got him last year, but he was only about 4 days old then, and surprisingly, he didn't remember.

Ever Wonder What One-Year-Olds Do All Day?

2009-03-29T13:16:00.000-07:00

Did you ever wonder what one-year olds are like? Are you a grandparent that is asking yourself, "What were MY kids like when they were 1? I have forgotten."

Here are a few samples. More will come.

First, we have the funny faces. He is exploring all the ways he can contort his face to express humor, frustration, or just experiment.
The Goofy Grin:

The Tongue Pose:

The Tongue Crawling Attack of the Tiger:

Elijah LOVES to repeat things that he finds interesting or funny, over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over, again. Observe:

Repeat:

He has recently discovered the joy of taking everything out of something.
(We are SOOOO excited that he's now putting everything back IN sometimes!)
A fine example:

Birthday Video Collection

2009-03-28T14:38:00.000-07:00

It's time for the REAL birthday stories. Video. Here's some video from the big party, and from the big day itself, March 19, when Elijah opened a present or two with mom and dad. Enjoy!

He thought his present was a toy to push around the room! Opening it was not on his mind!

More of the same fun!

The day of the big birthday party came! Woo Hoo! It's a baby birthday party, so let the fun begin!

Elijah's baby buddies, Nathan and Owen came over. They were not interacting too much until the incredible moving airplane (on a traintrack) came out!

And now the moment you've all been waiting for... The CAKE!

Birthday Party!!!

2009-03-22T14:24:00.000-07:00

Elijah just turned 1 year old! There was so much excitement that the blogs will have to come in waves. First, we will be sharing pictures from the BIRTHDAY PARTY!!!! Our house was filled with great friends and little baby boys! Elijah, being rather reserved and having a strong aversion to loud noise, did not appreciate the party right away.

He made this type of face for about an hour straight.

Then came the presents. He likes taking things out and destroying them, so opening presents made him pretty stinkin' happy!

You can see that he was focused! Eyes on the prize, son.

Nathan, "Hi. I'm Nathan. Why are you so small? I thought you were older than me? You see here Elijah, you are turning one today and I'm going to tell you why..."

Elijah, "You're touching my toy. I haven't learned sharing yet."

Elijah, "Hey everybody. Thanks for coming to my birthday party, I guess. I had some fun, but it was really intense and overwhelming. Cake's okay, but I'd rather have a bananna. Uuhhhh... This birthday stuff is hard work."

"I love my Mommy and Daddy!"

More Presents!

2009-03-20T15:56:00.001-07:00

Today I opened some more presents.
I got a Xylophone from my godparents Aunt Jennifer and Uncle Cal.

Here's a blast from the past when my other godparents (Kevin and Abbie) were here. They also gave me a present for my 1st birthday.
I guess it's kind of a big deal.

It was a BIG present.

With lots of paper!!!!!

I like paper.

It was a new TRUCK!
I helped Kevin and Abbie put it together.
Here I am helping Kevin read the directions:

I like my truck!!
It helps me walk around the house, but sometimes I have to stop and check the engine.

It looks good!
Happy Birthday to me!

Birthday!

2009-03-19T15:44:00.000-07:00

My parents say it's my birthday.

That means I am 1 year old today.
And I finally get to wear the bib Grandma Joan got for me.

It also means I get presents.

That means I get to rip paper a bunch of times.

I like how it sounds.

I like how it tastes too, but mommy says too much paper will spoil my lunch.

It's my birthday!

Check out my cool new duds from Tia Christy! She got me some books that my parents can read to me in english and spanish so me and daddy can learn together. Mommy knows some spanish, but not as much as my Tia Christy. I think her friend Jared picked out the Yankees gear for me to sport this summer. But I don't have a favorite team yet.

Tomorrow I get to open more presents! And we're having a party on Saturday just for me.

Happy Birthday to me!
I'm ONE!

Hi Five!

2009-03-16T08:58:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I like to walk across the room and give mama a high five.

Sometimes I like to crawl over and give mama a high five.

And sometimes I just like to destroy things mama builds for me.

Again and again, and again...

All

Day

Long.

I never get tired of doing the same thing over and over and over again.

And sometimes I like to run into things with my car.
You should be thankful I don't have a license yet.

It's GREAT fun! Thanks, Aunt Nikki for these great blocks I can knock over! I really like them a lot!

Teeth?

2009-03-14T08:23:00.000-07:00

Elijah saw us brushing our teeth one day and decided he needed to be part of the fun! I think he felt a little left out because he only has 4 teeth so far, but we figured it's good to brush even 4 teeth. So, first he started just sharing a toothbrush with mom or dad. Most people would find this disgusting, but I guess once you have a baby all those goes away!

We upgraded to his very own toothbrush, and he's pretty excited about it. Mostly he just sucks the water or toothpaste off it, but we're practicing.

Or... he spends 5 minutes examining the brush from every possible angle! Apparently, it's important to know exactly what you're dealing with while brushing. We love our little dentist!

PUPPIES!!!!

2009-03-05T16:20:00.000-08:00

Our good friends Kevin and Abbie (Elijah's Godparents) came up to visit! They were able to stay for almost a week AND bring up their tiny dogs, Gizmo and Gadget! We had a ton of fun and Elijah, Gizmo, and Gadget all got along pretty well. The dogs did not bite Elijah, and in turn, Elijah did not bite them. Here's the story...

Elijah wasn't quite sure about sharing cuteness attention at first...

But he was excited to tell Kevin, Abbie, and the whole world that he joined the YMCA with mommy and daddy, and we went swimming this week!

The dogs tried to teach Elijah how to just be lazy and lay in the sunshine. "It's the warmest place to be" said Gizmo. "But I have to always keep moving," said Elijah, "and can I eat the sunshine? I always put everything in my mouth."

After the sun time, Elijah liked the puppies! They became good friends.

Elijah showed Abbie how we play peek-a-boo...

Big E's Godparents got him his very first birthday present!!! It's a truck, because he's a boy. It has blocks, he can use it to walk, AND it sweeps up the blocks in front of it as it goes! Mom and Dad like this VERY much! Thanks Kevin and Abbie!

Sad times... the good-byes... We'll miss you!

World's Strongest 10-Month-Old Contest!

2009-02-15T14:08:00.001-08:00

Today we decided to have a strong man contest at our house. You know... like the World's Strongest Man competitions you see on TV? Elijah was the champion, and the only contender worth reporting on. Here is the story!

First, Elijah wrestled his dad.
What better way to prove strength than by taking down your old man!

The quick take down:

The Wind-Pipe Crusher:

The Rold's Gold Pretzel Hold:

The Handcuff Backbreaker:

The Super-Slap:

Elijah celebrated by showing off the guns...

Elijah wrestled a ferocious tiger... and dominated.

After the hand-to-hand combat category, Big E moved on to the raw strength portion:

The Log Roll:

The Roadie Award Amp Lift:
(He is lifting a 1976 Gibson Skylark with a Celestion Vintage 10)

Now we get to the serious stuff; The Car Lift:

And finally, the main event...
the Tower of Power...
Elijah Brecht will pull a car across the living room!!!

Walkers

2009-02-12T08:17:00.000-08:00

Hey friends and family!
Elijah is trying to learn how to walk. He's doing pretty well with stationary objects (like coffee tables, couches, dad, etc), but has graduated up to the next level. He has gone independently mobile! He got a new walker toy and wanted to show the world what he can do! Enjoy!

10 Months Old!

2009-01-20T06:02:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone. I am 10 months old now! I'm a pretty big deal.
Here is what I have to say about it.

Mommy Makes Me Laugh!!!

2009-01-06T18:35:00.000-08:00

Sometimes when I'm eating breakfast, or lunch, or dinner, or second breakfast, mommy plays with me and finds new things to do that make me just CRACK UP!!!

Here's the newest trick.

Isn't she funny?!

I'm cute and hilarious.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T06:23:00.000-08:00

It's a GREAT NEW YEAR so far, and I'm walking all over the place when I can hold onto people's fingers! It's super fun! I can go where I want to, but mostly it's just to chase after mommy and daddy.I had a good time with Adam and Kristen who came to visit from Buffalo, NY. (They showed off their dance moves on one of our first blog videos.) They're going to have a baby soon! I think they'll make super good parents because they played with me all the time and made me laugh and walked me around the house and fed me food. I was sad when they had to leave.

See?
So sad. But it's a new year, and there's a LOT of walking to look forward to.

Happy New Year everybody! Thanks for reading our blog!

Brecht Family Christmas

2008-12-28T20:12:00.000-08:00

So after we opened presents yesterday... remember? It looked like this: ALL of the Brechts came over. I'm talking cousins, grandpas, grandmas, aunts, uncles, greatgrandpa and greatgrandma. MAN, it was a lot of people.
39 people all at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

It was a lot of people.

But I got to see a few of my new friends. I think I call them my 2nd cousins. Jordan is almost my size, but he's only 3 months old. Miranda was born 1 month after me. Their mommy's are cousins with my daddy.

There were SO many people I decided to eat my first stocking to soothe myself.

Then Miranda and I played with the new glockenspiel she gave me.
And we had a "who has the bigger cheeks" contest.

I won.

This is my family. The Brechts.

I love them, and they love me.

Merry Christmas!

PRESENTS!!

2008-12-27T17:51:00.000-08:00

The moment has arrived!! The time has come!!
PRESENTS!!
Well, I was more excited about crawling around on the floor with Uncle Cal.I was everywhere! I was gonna open my presents! No one could stop me!

Except for Aunt Jennifer. She's a quick young lady if you ask me.

She handed me over to Grandma. I showered her with kisses all day long. I love my Grandma. She makes me smile.

She got me this cool chair!!

It's just my size.

Check out all the rest of my presents! I think I am one loved little man.

After we opened all those presents, I kinda went comatose. It was definitely naptime for me.
But I haven't stopped playing with Aunt Jennifer's cool tool box she got for me. I also really like the blocks Aunt Nikki got. And Grandma got me so much stuff I haven't even had a chance to use it all yet!

It was worth the wait.

The Day After Christmas

2008-12-26T17:47:00.000-08:00

It's the day after my first Christmas and I am STILL hungry! You wouldn't know it by looking at me, ladies and gentlemen, but I ate 3 helpings of Grandma's mashed potatoes and gravy yesterday and came back for more today.

You think that would be enough to satisfy my little tummy, but NO!
I'm eating Cheerios like a big man now.

See?

And only 1 more day and I can open ALL my presents!!

Christmas Day

2008-12-25T12:35:00.000-08:00

Guess what?! It's Christmas day and I think Santa came.

Bert was jealous of all my presents.
But mostly he was jealous that Grandpa played with me so much.

We laughed and laughed!
I had SO much fun with Grandpa!

Really? NO! Santa gave ME presents?!

WOW!!!

I was SO excited I ran around the room on Jaxxon! Not even Dad or Uncle Cal could hold me back!

Except for Aunt Jennifer. She's pretty good at catching me.

Then Grandma gave me just one of the presents to open because Uncle Justin and Aunt Nikki weren't coming until SATURDAY. But don't worry... it took me until Saturday to open the first present from Santa.

Because I started chasing after the camera!!

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Christmas Eve

2008-12-24T17:28:00.000-08:00

We had a great time on Christmas Eve in Iowa with Grandma and Grandpa Brecht and Uncle Cal and Aunt Jennifer. We had a family picture in front of the Christmas tree and ate way too much food.

After much prodding (as it's tradition in Gail's family to open presents on Christmas Eve) Grandma decided to let Elijah open the first gift of Christmas!
It took him about 10 minutes to get the wrapping paper off...
but he had fun!

It's a TRACTOR!!!

Grandpa was proud. It's an AGCO tractor, and Elijah loves it!

First Snow Fun!!!

2008-12-20T09:27:00.000-08:00

Sledding!!!

Elijah finally had his first snow experience! Let us be clear. We live in Minnesota, so we've had snow for a while, but we finally took him out to play in it just before Christmas. We have a little guy sled thanks to our neighbors, Troy and Lori. Here's the story:

Elijah didn't quite know what we were up to.
He gave us many looks that said, "are you serious?"

Dad pulled him around the yard. Dad had fun even if Elijah was unimpressed.

The verdict: Elijah is a daredevil. He likes to chew on electrical cords, pet ferocious German Shepherds (Bert), eat Cheerios, and play with toys for 18+ month-old kids. He was not impressed with this slow sledding around the yard. Soon we'll take him to the park with the big hill where he can do his baby sledding stunts.