September is a Crazy Month...

Just in case you happen to notice a lack of blogging in the coming weeks, here is why. September is going to be an absolutely NUTS month for the Duncans. Here's an idea of the madness.

THIS Thursday, Elijah I hit the road to go meet my mom at a "half-way" point to drop off Elijah. I am dreading being away for him for a week, but I know he will be well taken care of by all of his adoring fans in Pennsylvania.
Friday, I drive back to Indy and hop on a plane to Florida with Kirk. Saturday is a good friend's wedding in West Palm Beach. I am looking forward to being reunited with a lot of my friends from Focus on the Family Institute and spending some time with my cousins Jeff, Carolyn, and Jonathan.
Sunday, Kirk I get on a boat. A big boat. A cruise ship, actually. Four days of sunshine and fun! We fly back home Thursday, the 10th.

Friday, the 11th I get back in the car to go get Elijah back. Saturday, we drive back home.

Friday the 18th, Kirk, Elijah, and I hop on a plane for PA to celebrate Grandma Spier's life. Her memorial service is Saturday, the 19th. Sunday, the 20th, we fly back home.

Friday, the 25th, we hop on a plane again for Alexa's wedding (Kirk's cousin) in North Carolina. We are looking forward to family time and are hoping to be able to introduce Elijah to a lot of family he has not yet met. Sunday, the 27th, we're on a plane back home...and hopefully will not get back on a plane, or in a car, or on a cruise ship...for a very very very long time.

But, like I told Kirk, if anything makes all the craziness worth it, it's family and friends.

Elijah's Most Recent Moves...

We definitely have a crawler on our hands! He is getting around pretty quickly and is into everything he's not supposed to be into :). In addition to crawling, he is even starting to pull himself up on certain objects. He is a child with no fear, that's for sure. Enjoy the video...I know I won't get the award for mother of the year by enticing him with a shoe and then taking it away from him as soon as he gets to it :).   You will also notice he is so busy being "on the move" that he can't even stop to smile for the camera!

One more picture

Here's one more picture from the fair because I forgot to post it.  And it's cute.

Indiana State Fair

On Saturday, Kirk, Elijah and I headed down to Indianapolis for the State Fair.  I've been there one other time and it is quite fascinating to walk around, eat all the food, watch all the people, and see all the animals.  We had a great time and Elijah really enjoyed the animals.

Our first stop was the cattle barn.  There were cows everywhere you looked!

And of course, a sculpture made entirely out of cheese.

Had to take a picture with this year's biggest pumpkin.

We stopped in the sheep barn to watch these little kids show their sheep.  It was awesome.

Daddy and Elijah enjoying the sheep show.  I know, Kirk went all out with the hat.

All the action wore Elijah out!

We were hoping to see some racing pigs but when we got to the corral, there were too many people there and we couldn't see anything, so we headed next door to a tent that was showing a Peking Acrobat demonstration.  It was quite impressive what these girls and guys were able to do.  This girl was balancing all this stuff on her nose!

And as if that wasn't enough, she decided to climb up a ladder on a surface that rocked back and forth.  No big deal.

Elijah woke up to enjoy the action.  

How does one's body allow itself to do that?

I fed myself!

Kirk had the task of feeding Elijah his cereal and fruit on Saturday and he thought it would be fun to let Elijah try to do it himself.  It was quite entertaining for us!  

Please note the cereal on his legs, arms, and forehead.

See, Mom? I can do it!

Daddy helping him out.

Having fun!

Playing in the "Yard"

Elijah was hard to entertain yesterday and was getting a little cranky, so I decided to take him out to play in the "yard".  I put that in quotes because it is literally a piece of grass that is about 10 feet by 10 feet.  He liked being out there and had a lot of fun playing with the grass. I snapped some cute pictures while we were playing.

He smiled for the first picture and then was pretty distracted for the rest...

I love this hat.

This picture makes me laugh.

Elijah with the house.  A reminder of how little he really is.

He discovered his shadow and liked it (shocker...this kid loves himself).

As soon as we were inside, he realized he had a hat on.  He did not like it.

Seriously, Mom.  A little help with the hat, please.

I wish...

For those of you who live far away (many of my blog readers, sadly!), I wanted to put together a list of things I wish you were here to experience with me. Elijah is growing up SO fast and the new things he does everyday are hysterical. He seriously keeps us entertained all day long.

1.  I wish you could experience his amazing smile in person.  As good as it is in the pictures, it's even better when you experience it first-hand!

2. I wish you could watch him move around like a little maniac with  no concern for things like doors, tables, and fireplaces.  And I sort of wish you could be here to help me save him from the many bumps throughout the day :).

3.  I wish you could see how effortlessly he goes from laying down to sitting up these days.

4.  I wish you could see the little games he makes up for himself.  For instance, today he was putting his toy turtle (named John, by Kirk) through his little mini basketball hoop and laughing hysterically when John would hit the ground.

5. I wish you could see how he lights up when Kirk gets home from work.

6.  I wish you could see how happy he is when we go in to get him out of his crib in the morning and how excited he is to see Mr. Giraffe who I keep in our bedroom for morning playtime.

7.  I just generally wish that those I love could all be around to watch this little boy grow up.  Thank the Good Lord for blogs, I guess!

Weekend Fun

Elijah and I headed up to our good friends, the Cuthbert's home in Michigan this weekend while Kirk was gone on his fishing trip.  We had a wonderful time, including my first ever Demolition Derby experience (don't worry, I didn't take E...it would be like the equivelent of taking your baby to a bar, in my opinion!).  Anyway, thanks Cuthberts, for all your hospitality...we had a great time.  And also, I took no pictures except the ones that follow...

Loving himself...

Mirrors are his new favorite toy!

Look how cute I am!

How can you not love that face?

And how can you not love this one even more??

All the Duncans are now back home, safe and sound.  Kirk had a great time fishing as always, but was happy to be reunited to Elijah and me!

Jacki

I got to see my dear friend Jacki today.  She and her husband have been living in Hawaii for the past year and now they are headed to Atlanta, Georgia for Brad to pursue more schooling.  I am so glad that we were able to coordinate our schedules for lunch today because they are moving tomorrow! Jacki, I love you and it was SO good to see you! God bless you in your new adventure :).  

We forgot to take pictures while Elijah was awake, but I love this one of the two of us. Thank the Lord for good friends!

Our Mover

Elijah is really moving quickly these days.  I wouldn't call it a crawl yet, but it's quite entertaining to watch.  Also, he really only moves this quickly for remotes and cell phones, so don't waste your money on toys for this kid.

Desk for Sale

Does anyone need a desk? Kirk and I are selling this one.  It is really nice, we just don't have room for it anymore since we have changed our downstairs room to a play room. We are selling it for $100.  If you are interested, let me know.  Here are some pictures...

ps. It breaks down into several pieces, so you don't have to have a huge car to pick it up!