E is for Elijah

I've been thinking I need to post about my friend Elijah. I love this kid. He brings a sense of fun and drama to our family. He loves to be sneaky and play jokes. He loves I-Spy and Where's Waldo books and he often finds things faster than I can. Unfortunately he sometimes tries to recreate these games in real life by hiding things in the house. A few times he has hidden the shoes of our guests so that they have to play "I-Spy a shoe" before they can go home. He loves to dress up and to make silly faces. He has an amazing visual memory- he beats adults at the memory game -and he loves to use patterns in his artwork. He is frequently lost in thought and is always thinking up interesting questions.

This polka-dot zoo was commissioned by David John and drawn by Elijah.

He was the one who asked, "If everyone in the world cried one tear, would it flood our basement?"
More recently, "Mom, if you get frostbite and your fingers fall off, do they go to finger heaven?"
And, "Mom, exactly how many eye-lashes does each person have?"

Who says you can't be fashionable while eating your celery snack?

A few weeks ago, he was waxing philosophical about his corndog and the etymology of its name. "I think the dog part is for the hotdog and the corn part is for the cornbread. I think the corn part comes first because you see and taste the cornbread before you see and taste the hotdog." Of course, later on he had eaten the cornbread off and was dancing his hotdog around singing "I'm a naked hotdog!"

Elijah made these hearts at church. I love the unified color scheme.

It is a good thing Elijah does not live in a family that swears. If he did, he would be a master at cursing. As it is, anytime he gets frustrated in the slightest a string of the naughtiest words he can think of come pouring out of his mouth. I.E. One of his training wheels got loose on his bike and caused him to tip over. "You stupid poo-poo baby bike! Why are you so stupid? Idiot, garbage, blah-blah, naughty bike!" It reminds me of a quote from Jean Shepherd about weaving a tapestry of obscenity that is still hanging in space over Lake Michigan.

This is a typical picture of Elijah. He isn't satisfied unless his tongue is on display.

As mentioned in my last post, Elijah recently got stitches. About a week before that he had another laceration which Marc was able to superglue back together at home. It was a pretty nasty gash, but Elijah's reaction was over-the-top. He started saying things like, "I'm doomed! I'm doomed! I'm dying! I can feel it! There is too much blood! I'm dead!" It might have been more convincing if he didn't make the same exclamations a few days before about having to put away his shoes and jacket. Anyway, Marc and I were trying to be very sympathetic and soothing. I'm sure he was in pain but it was hard to keep a straight face with the theatrics going on. We both almost lost it when Elijah saw the hydrogen peroxide we were about to pour on the injury and shouted, "What!?! Are you crazy?!?"

I love this imaginative monster with a grapevine for a head.

Oh, Elijah we love your creativity both with your crayons and your words. We also love your amazing puzzle skills and the way you see patterns everywhere in your life. We love how easily you make friends and that you love to look good in your "handsome blue shirt". We love that you love school and that you love to ride your bike. We love that you love your name and the letter E. It delights us to see you delight in finding "E" everywhere. E is for Exciting, Emotional, Entertaining, Endearing, Exceptional and, of course, E is for Elijah.