Elijah's First Birthday!

Elijah. Sunday, August 31, 2008.

Elijah. Monday, August 31, 2009

It's been almost two weeks since Our Little Feller celebrated his first birthday. The pictures for this blog were uploaded about a week ago. Such is the busy-ness of life that I'm only now getting to finish this post in the few minutes before we leave for Chicago this morning.

What a blessing Elijah has been! Every day of this past year has been precious as we've watched him grow from a tiny newborn to a big-and-blocky baby. We remember his first smile, his first teeth, his graduation to baby food and from that to regular "people food". We remember when his cries turned to gurgles and then expressive shrieks and finally inscrutable baby words. We remember when he first rolled over, when he first got up on his knees, then began to crawl, and finally pull himself up on the furniture on cruise along on two legs. Just in the past few weeks he's started pushing himself up to standing without support and holding that position for longer and longer times. I imagine walking on his own can't be far behind.

A big thanks to all of Elijah's fans and friends--his Saipan Aunties, his nanny in Saipan, the teachers and church members, the aunts and uncles, Nona and Grandma and Grandpa. You've made this first year of his life all the more special. Even though he won't remember it, we will.

Elijah's birthday celebration was more of a season than a particular day--kind of like Christmas. The party began on Sabbath, August 29, with a gathering at the Leens home attended by a few friends and family in Ohio and a larger group from Saipan, present not only in spirit but also through the modern magic of the webcam! For a little more than an hour they gathered around the laptop in our old house (now occupied by Amy, the preschool director and acting principal of the school) and watched Elijah. We had our laptop set up across the table from him so he could see them too. We were so touched that so many of Elijah's old friends in Saipan took the time to share the celebration with us.

The Ohio Guets: From L to R--Barbara's sister Jenny and her husband Matt; Jenny's friend and Elijah fan, Emily Cowl; Mom and Dad Leen; Babs and the Birthday Boy; Keith and Tracy, old Cincinnati friends of Barbara's with their two sons.

The Saipan Party: Elijah's nanny, Venus, front and center. From L to R: Virle, Venus' husband Courtney, Girlie, Crystal, and Ken. Blurry in the back or not visible: Joeie, Amy, Megan, Linda Capilitan, and Edna. I believe I recall seeing Angie there earlier too.

The Cake, courtesy of J and Evelyn Carlos. They couldn't attend as they had just given birth to their own baby boy, Benjamin Michael, and were still in the hospital.

One of Tracy's boys fired up about the Feller's birthday!

Babs planned a few outdoor activites since Elijah loves to be outside, including bubble blowing, above, and a "Does He or Doesnt He" game, below. There was one thing on the list that at the time he "didn't" do, but a few days later he did it for the first time. I think it was standing up on his own.

More bubble blowing!

Elijah opens his gifts (while I try to get the webcam mircophone to work in the background. It never did despite working perfectly the day before when Virle and I did a test run. We ended up using my cell phone on speaker phone).

Elijah and Grandma

Elijah with his little friends. Thanks for the helicopter boys!

Elijah with his aunt and uncle. ("Cousins" Bailey and Shiloh, the dogs, not pictured, though they were present at the party and throughout Matt and Jenny's stay much to Elijah's excitement and trepidation).

Elijah and "Auntie Em"

Elijah with Tracy and Keith. This photo was taken at the end of the party after he'd bathed and changed into his pajamas. It was already past his bedtime.

Elijah enjoys his birthday supper. He had his favorite foods--spaghetti and french fries!

Getting ready for his first taste of birthday cake.


Listen closely, and you'll hear Elijah's Saipan friends singing along via the web cam.

Elijah's first taste of cake (and his first taste of sugar!)

We're so proud of our big boy!

Mmmm, guess he likes it!

Time for the bath! Elijah and I are shirtless because his entire shirt was covered in frosting and I didn't want my shirt to get the same way while we took him to the tub.

I can't think of a better way to spend a Sabbath afternoon than celebrating one of his more recent creations! We praise God for the precious gift of our son and we pray that this next year of his life will continue to see him grow healthy, happy, and strong, surrounded by the love of family, friends, and his Creator.

Happy Birthday Elijah William Maycock! We love you!

I'll be doing a month-by-month series of photos of Elijah over the past year in his blog this next week. Look for it!