The Best of Elijah

The weather in November in Arkansas is unpredictable at best but for the most part has been beautiful. The following are a conglomeration of pics from different times throughout the month. As you will see, we have enjoyed very warm and very cold but thankfully, no snow. Enjoy!

Elijah loves to wander around the yard. You have to love the 70 degree weather in the middle of November!

Here are before and after pictures of Elijah's first haircut. His hair was over the tops of his ears and so Leigh Ann deemed it was time. Jeff had to distract him with tools in order to keep him from turning his head every time Leigh Ann brought the scissors near. Thankfully, Eli still has both his ears and Leigh Ann still has all her fingers. He now looks more like a little boy and less like an infant.

Here are Eli and Daddy at Mt. Nebo. We were out hiking after church. The weather was perfect and the views were amazing (those are mountains in the background)!

The weather actually got rather chilly one day and so Eli got to try out his snowsuit. The suit was a little cumbersome but he still managed to get around just fine. You may notice that he doesn't have any mittens on. The simple explanation is that he won't leave them on...go figure.

Here are a few pics of Elijah on Thanksgiving. The weather was in the upper 60's and gorgeous. Eli spent time playing ball with Dad outside and riding on his 4-wheeler. Apparently, he didn't get enough for dinner because we kept having to fish rocks out of his mouth.

We hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and were able to find many things to be thankful for. I know that we did. God is so awesome and we can't thank Him enough for the many blessings that he has showered upon us!

I'm a Big Boy Now!

Can you believe that it has already been a year? Elijah celebrated his first birthday this past weekend and had quite the party. He had an Elmo theme complete with an Elmo cake.

His guest list included family (both sets of Grandparents, Uncle Amos, Aunt Meredith, and Isaiah), and friends from the ranch and church. A great time was had by all. His gifts quickly piled up but he and the other kids had the most fun playing with the paper and boxes. He received books, puzzles, tub toys, DVDs (Elmo and Baby Einstein), clothes (including a Packer outfit), a John Deere tractor, a Tonka truck you can ride on, and a Power Wheels Batman 4-wheeler. He also has a new outside swing hung in the tree.

It is hard to say which are his favorite but suffice it to say that he has played with and slobbered on all of them multiple times already.

At the end of his first year Elijah had seven teeth, hair long enough to go over his ears, and the strength of a 1st grader. He walks, jumps, and runs on his own. He says Mom, Dad, Bawey (Bailey), and a host of other sounds that don't resemble words yet.

He can figure out any toy you give him within minutes (if not faster) and follows simple directions (no, sit, up, bring it here, come here, etc).

He eats anything you feed him and can drink from a regular cup (if you don't mind half of it ending up down his front). He loves to play outside and chase after Bailey. He still takes two naps a day and hopefully will for a while so that Leigh Ann can keep her sanity.

On another note: Eli was a lion for Halloween. He showed off his costume for Grandpa and Grandma Rice. No trick or treating this year. Check back soon for pics of Elijah's first haircut!

Fall is Here!

We all love to be outside and so we are thankful that the weather is finally starting to cool down some. The ranch recently had a big picnic complete with games, a pinata, and a bonfire. Eli loved all the activity. He especially liked riding around on the golf cart with Ms. Candy!

Since Eli is getting too big to ride on our laps on the golf cart, Leigh Ann decided to install his own booster seat. Eli thinks this is just all kinds of wonderful and sometimes will put his hands up in the air and giggle as we go down the road.

Eli is also walking now. He is still a bit wobbly but it won't be long and he will be running. Look out world, here he comes!

He now has six teeth, soon to be seven. Here are a couple of shots that display his pearly whites. (If you click on the picture it should open bigger in another browser window).

Eli had fun hanging out at Aunt Meredith's house one day this past week. He really likes his cousin Isaiah.

Here are a few more pics of our "little man". Enjoy!

Everything else here is going well. Jeff is doing good and school is in full swing. Leigh Ann keeps busy running after Elijah and making sure he doesn't completely decimate the house before noon :-).

Growing Like a Weed

A phrase that we have heard more often than not lately has been: "He is getting soooooo big!" It is to true. Elijah is growing like a weed. Things that were previously out of reach and considered "safe" now find their way into his little fingers. By the time many of you read this he will be walking. He already stands on his own and takes several steps.



He recently attended his first high school football game. It was neat to see one of our own residents out there on the field. Go Joe!

Eli was more enthralled with eating the grass and playing with Brittany (one of our residents) then actually watching the game but he still had a good time. Surprisingly enough, he stayed awake for the whole game (he would normally have been asleep for a few hours by the time it was done).












Elijah is also a big help in the kitchen. I put away the dish towels and he eagerly gets them back out. He also loves to get the pots out from under the stove. The louder they clang the better.










He is like his Daddy in many ways. He is fascinated by all things electronic and found this keyboard particularly amusing. He also likes to help Dad out around the house. Dad was trying to fix one of his toys and Eli was handing him the right tools. Okay, Eli was grabbing any tool he could get his hands on and sticking them in his mouth but hey, whatever works.



He is cutting three more teeth at the moment, his two top incisors and one on the bottom. He is going to look like a first grader who lost his two front teeth when the come all the way in.

In other news: Jeff and Amos went camping this weekend. It is truly a man's weekend complete with camping, hiking, fishing, and canoeing. The weather here is in the low 80s during the day and drops to the mid 50s in the evening. It is supposed to be a gorgeous weekend. Have fun boys...we hope you catch something! Meredith and I are watching the little boys. Isaiah is also growing quickly and is getting stronger. He has an awesome smile that lights his whole little face up. Elijah wants to play with him but doesn't know how to be gentle. Hopefully, Isaiah will grow faster because Eli really wants a playmate (Bailey is not quite the same as having another boy to romp around with). Well, that is all for now. Stay tuned for more developments.

P.S. Thank you Auntie Lauri for the lion outfit!

Summer Daze

It is hard to believe that summer is coming to a close. School has started here and some semblance of normalcy has returned to the ranch. Jeff is teaching all morning and enjoys his classes. He is teaching chemistry, biology, consumer math, and algebra. He has a mix of both boys and girls. All these things combine make for a varied and diverse morning. He will be doing some elective classes in the afternoon as well as working in the computer department. He just finished building new counters in the computer lab in the school and the upgrade looks AWESOME!


Since we last wrote our extended family has expanded. Meredith and Amos welcomed Isaiah Amos Anderson into their lives on August 12th. He was 9lbs 3oz at birth and has grown steadily since. He is a spittin' image of his Daddy. So far he is really laid back and enjoys making many funny faces. He is such a blessing to us all.


Elijah continues to grow and change as well. We have had to completely baby-proof the house now as nothing is safe from our one-man wrecking crew. He had taken to pulling the books off the shelves and standing on them to reach higher shelves. He is quite the resourceful little one. He is also very fast. He makes a mess in one area and while I am busy picking it up he is quickly making a mess in another room in the house. Needless to say, I try to take a nap when he does in the afternoon just so I have the energy to keep up. He is not yet walking on his own but it won't be long. He continues to enjoy jumping in his jumper as well as a new favorite: riding your leg like a horse.

Yesterday, we went to the Little Rock zoo with the girls from the ranch. It was a fun time albeit a very hot one. Elijah enjoyed looking at the animals for a while but had more fun getting rides from the girls on their shoulders and going underneath sprinklers spread throughout the park. He was most fascinated by a gecko that was at eye level and the goats in the petting zoo.


We also helped chaperon our churches youth group pool party. Elijah LOVED the pool. It had a diving board, slide, and waterfall. Swimming has been one of Elijah's favorite summertime activities...Mommy & Daddy's too!

That's all for now.