a family of three

Gymnastics

2010-06-01T14:17:00.011-04:00

Eli and I have been in a mommy-and-me gymnastics class since January. It has been a lot of fun! The last class for the year was this week, so I took 'lots of pictures and they had an "awards ceremony" at the end. It was really cute :)

climbing over the barrels

Through the tunnel

on the bars

Eli has a big crush on Miss Evana!

can you tell the trampoline is his favorite!?!

in the pit (or as eli calls them - cozy blocks)

clapping and marching to the music

AWARDS CEREMONY!

why is everyone clapping and looking at me?

proud of his ribbon

group pic of the class

Memorial Day Weekend

2010-05-31T15:10:00.000-04:00

We got our first taste of the beach this past weekend, and I can tell it's gonna be a fun summer! I forgot my camera (of course), but thankfully Jennifer took lots of pictures with hers.

"Happy Day, Eli"

2010-04-27T16:08:00.008-04:00

The title of this post is a quote from Kaylie, Eli's cousin, wishing him a happy birthday. Kids are cute :)

Eli's 2nd birthday was this past weekend, April 24th. I didn't plan a real birthday party, but we did have two small celebrations. One at Eli's preschool during class, and then a family celebration with Lance's side of the family. On the day of his birthday we also took Eli, Kaylie, and Joyner to the aquarium. Here are a few pics of the festivities.

Kaylie, Eli, and Joyner waiting for cupcakes

Eli spots a cupcake!

Mmmmm!

Kaylie was very into helping Eli open his presents

More balls!!

My first T-ball set

Eli's second obsession, balloons!

Happy birthday boy :)

Eli with his school buddies (minus two)

More balloons

Mmmm, cookie with M&M's

Checking to make sure the balloons are still there

The only picture I got at the aquarium before my camera died!

Happy Easter

2010-04-05T14:32:00.004-04:00

We went to Wilmington for Easter and had such a nice time. The highlight was definitely the Easter egg hunt at Heath and Casey's house. Here are a few pics.

Our little family :)

Huntin' for eggs

Who needs Easter eggs when you got a baseball?

Mmmm...chocolate, the Easter bunny is good!

Spring has sprung!

2010-04-05T14:13:00.007-04:00

We're loving the spring weather, Eli can really play outside this year. We took a trip to the daffodil field again for a photo session. Click here for last year's pictures. It was tricky to get any real good shots, it was so crowded and Eli did not want to stand still. Here are a few of my faves...

Snow 2010

2010-03-26T10:53:00.000-04:00

We had two big snows this year! I have learned that Eli takes after his daddy and loves to play in the snow :) The neighbors introduced Eli to a new kind of ball...the SNOWBALL, he helped daddy build his first snowman, and he had his first sledding experience (which he hated!).

Snowy night

Eli and Molly eating snowballs

Eli decided to get a taste of the snowman too!

Daddy and Molly hard at work

Eli's first sled ride (terrified)

More Snow pictures

2010-03-26T10:46:00.010-04:00

Remember this post (click here) from last year? I took the same pictures again this year of Eli looking out the window at the snow.

Less than 4 months...

2010-03-25T18:52:00.000-04:00

(OLD POST FROM JANUARY)

...until Eli is 2 years old! WHAT?!?! This is scary to me; I have a feeling that the 2 year mark is going to be harder for me than Eli's first birthday. We'll see.

I just thought I would share a little bit about what Eli is up to these days. I know I have been a terrible blogger lately and I really don't have any excuses.

Eli is talking up a storm and runs around the house all day long. He has started putting words together and will communicate in small sentences. He really blows our mind with some of the words that come out of his mouth and will repeat pretty much anything we say (luckily no curse words:). Some of the big words that Eli can say clearly are apricot, cranberry, triangle, peanut-butter jelly, quasadilla, aquadoodle, spaghetti.

He has been counting to 10 for a month or two, although lately he's been skipping past 7 & 8, and will sometimes continue on to 12, 13, 14. Within the past week Eli has started singing songs. He'll sing bits and pieces of the ABC's, and knows most of the words to Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.

Eli's favorite toy is still a ball. Most of his Santa presents were ball related and he was happy as can be about it. I don't think we can ever have too many balls in this house. We have recently discovered the Wiggles, a singing and dancing group from Australia. We started out with one DVD that a neighbor gave us and we watched it almost everyday for close to a month. Luckily we got some new ones for Christmas.

Christmas, Christmas!!

2010-01-03T10:17:00.010-05:00

We had a wonderful, but busy Christmas. Eli doesn't understand Santa yet, but after four rounds of gift giving he is a big fan of opening presents (next year should be fun).

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree

Eli's Santa presents

Our fam on Christmas morning

Opening presents. Yeah, Wiggles!

Kaylie's a pro at this

Playing with new toys

Eli's getting the hang of ripping through the paper

Clark/Simpson family Christmas (before)

(after!)

Kaylie and Eli enjoying a little Wiggles after dinner

Christmas at the MacKenzie's

Thank you Lolly and Poppy for my slide!

Lance documenting the day with our new camcorder

And there's always room for another ball!

Eli and daddy :)

Happy (belated) Halloween!

2009-11-11T14:42:00.004-05:00

I am finally posting pics from Halloween. Eli dressed up as Superman, his daddy's pick; and mommy made the costume. The first set of pictures are from a neighborhood Halloween party, and then I included some from Eli's first Trick-or-Treat experience. We only visited four houses, all neighbors that we know. Oh, and Eli is obsessed with balloons right now, you'll see.

On our way to Trick-or-Treat

Mmmm...candy!

Eli's First Haircut!

2009-10-29T12:19:00.005-04:00

We finally did it, we cut Eli's hair. Eli has yet to grow that much hair, but he's had a pretty good rat tail going on in the back that was starting to take on more of a mullet-like form. So we had to give in and cut our precious baby's hair, and now it looks so much better! Luckily, a family friend was able to come to our house to give Eli his trim. He behaved very well and was only mildly squirmy in the chair.

All done and all pretty!

Thank You Crayola

2009-10-18T14:05:00.002-04:00

...For making non-toxic, washable crayons!

purple, yum!

(playroom carpet)

Is it possible...

2009-10-09T13:05:00.002-04:00

...to go to Target and spend less the $100?

I went to Target today to buy a baby shower gift and a couple of plain T-shirts for Eli. I should have only spent about $40, but I don't remember the last time I went to this beloved store and spent less than $100. In addition to the items on my list I came out with two pair of shoes for myself, two pair of pajamas for Eli, a pack of socks, nail clippers, kid-friendly forks, and a "back-up" outfit for Eli to keep at preschool.

Target really knows how to suck you in, and I know I'm not the only one that has this problem!

Recent Projects

2009-09-10T12:15:00.003-04:00

I have been busy with a lot of sewing recently. Most of it for my precious little babe; I decided I wasn't going to buy him a lot of clothes for this fall/winter and was going to try to make most of them. I might as well, I already bought X amount of fabric worth X amount of dollars, so I need to use it. I have also done a few things for my friends' little ones. So if you see something you like or would like me to create something special for your babe let me know, I'd be happy to do it and have 'lots more fabric to choose from!

Pirates short-all, as seen in previous post

Apple short-all. Reverses to brown & white seersucker with apple applique.

Navy seersucker short-all. Reverses to argyle with hammer applique.

More ECU football attire. These are the first pair of shorts I've made, and they were much harder than I thought they would be.

Tiny turtles bubble. This is probably the last bubble you'll ever see Eli wear. While I love bubbles on little boys, once they reach a certain age it just doesn't seem appropriate. Little girls however, can pull it off until they're a little bit older. Maybe next go round...

Had throw in this pic of Eli being super silly for the camera :)

Navy seersucker with whale applique. This one I made for Jena's baby shower gift along with matching burp cloth and bib.

Eli's First Day of School

2009-09-09T20:54:00.007-04:00

Eli had his first day of school today! Technically it is just mother's mornig out, but I like to call it school. According to his teachers, he did really well. I have no idea what that means or what he did while he was there. I think they just mean that he didn't cry (and neither did his mama :), which for a class full of 1 year olds, is a good thing. I was a little disapointed that when I went to pick him up he didn't seem very excited to see me. He was more worried about the cookie that he got to take home.

Come on ma' let's go!

Football Season Is Here!

2009-09-08T20:28:00.000-04:00

Football season is here and we had our first home game over Labor Day Weekend. The game was during nap time, so Casey and I decided to bring Eli and Kaylie to just the tailgate. We were really excited about it, but soon found out that 1 year olds at a football tailgate is a nightmare. There was not a lot of room for them to run around and that is all they wanted to do. At least we got to show off their oh-so-cute pirate outfits that the mamas made for their babies. We tried so hard to get a really good picture of them together, but it was just about impossible. Here is what we got...

New Posts

2009-09-02T08:55:00.000-04:00

New posts below and hopefully more to come. Enjoy!

Spray Park

2009-08-23T09:36:00.000-04:00

A couple of weeks ago we visited the "spray park" in a nearby town. We went with Amber & Georgia, and Jenna & Landon. I wasn't sure if Eli was going to like it since he usually doesn't like to get water in his face, but HE LOVED IT! First we took a train ride around the park, and then hit the sprays. Enjoy the pics :)

Choo Choo!

Eli & Georgia on the train

Eli making a silly face !?

Checking it out from a far

Having a blast!

This is so much fun mama!

Landon

Georgia

What a great day!

Hide-n-Seek

2009-08-15T08:12:00.001-04:00

When we were at the lake Eli discovered a new game, Hide-n-seek. It isn't actually what we know as hide-n-seek, but more like a cross between that and peek-a-boo. Here is a little of what I was able to catch on video.

He gets so hyped up in this clip. Most of the time he would do a really good job of hiding behind the plant and waiting for us to say "Where's Eli?", then, as you can see, he jumps out clapping and so proud of himself.

What a funny boy!

We're Still Here!

2009-08-11T20:26:00.009-04:00

OMG, sorry friends! It has now been over a month since I have last posted. Surely a record for us. I don't know what we've been doing?!? But here's a few things I can think of:

Eli is now 15 months old (what?!?!). At his check-up he weighed 21lbs, 8oz. He is communicating very well; he can say many words and it's really cute to hear him talk. Some of his favorite things to say are: ba (ball), beebee (strawberry or blueberry), buppy (puppy, his stuffed animal), deedee (his blankie), dada/dadee, book, and the list could go on. This week he is working on making the "L" sound so he's almost got Nala (our cat), and Lolly (my mom), and will sometimes say balla for ball.

Eli is down to one nap a day. It took a lot of work to get there, and a few months of transition between 1 & 2, but we're there. So far I have mixed feelings about one nap a day. When Eli takes his nap (around 12-12:30) he sleeps for about 2 hours. It is nice to have this break of 2 consecutive hours at which time I usually will clean up the house, or work on some sewing. And in the morning if I have errands to run, or something fun planned it's nice that Eli can come along for the ride. The only problem I have is on days where we have nothing going on before lunch that he and I both get bored and sometimes cranky, particularly between 10-11am. This is the time where I have to work really hard at keeping Eli entertained.

Eli's favorite thing to play with is a ball. He LOVES a baseball, a basketball, a football, a golf ball, a bouncy ball, a whiffle ball, any kind of ball! If Eli has a ball in his hands, he's happy.

This past weekend we went to the lake to visit with some of Lance's family. We took Eli on a (gentle) ride in the tube behind the boat, pictures below. We all had a lot of fun!

Eli starts pre-school/mothers morning out at the beginning of September. I CANNOT wait! I think because I've been without a sitter for the past couple of weeks that I'm desperately needing "me time". But I am really excited for Eli to go just because I think he will have so much fun. It will be two days a week from 9-12.

Sorry I don't have more pictures to post. I've found that since Eli has starting running around the house, and rarely sits still, I don't get as many pictures. But here is a random few...

Tubing at the lake (cousin Emily in my lap)

Busy with balls

Taking a bath with cousin Kaylie

Climbing the "rock wall" at the park

Made it to the top, ringing the victory bell!

Having a picnic (with ball in hand)

You know you're a mommy when...

2009-07-10T14:03:00.010-04:00

8am is sleeping in
Saturdays are just another day of the week
while playing bunco with the girls, and some one has a good roll you clap and say "yeah, good job!" with great enthusiasm
you get a buzz from drinking only one beer or one glass of wine
at 9pm you wonder why you are not yet in bed
conversations with your husband frequently include the topic of your child's bowel movements
while out to eat a nice dinner on the waterfront you look out the window and say "look a duck, quack quack!"
you can't wait for Yo Gabba Gabba to come on TV
you sing (out loud) to the kids music in the car, but don't know a single word to any of the songs in the current top 10.
all of the above has become your life, and you wouldn't change a thing!

4th of July Weekend

2009-07-06T13:30:00.009-04:00

For the 4th of July holiday we traveled to Wilmington for a fun yet exhausting weekend. We actually arrived on Wednesday and stayed through Sunday. Eli got to spend two days at the beach , which he calls the "beets", and hung out with his cousin Kaylie and buddy Joyner. I have 'lots of pictures!

Patriotic Cutie-Patootie!

These are my favorite pictures :)

POOL!

2009-06-30T12:31:00.007-04:00

Last week we had a pool playdate at the Hudson's house. It was a lot of fun! I think Eli's favorite part was lounging in the pool, you'll see what I'm talking about...

Eli, you know how to live!

Michael + Hillary = Forever!

2009-06-29T10:38:00.005-04:00

My brother is now a married man! He and Hillary were married last weekend and then had a beautiful reception at my parents' house. Click here to see a few pictures from the big event!

CONGRATULATIONS MIKE AND HILLARY!

Muddy is my new Buddy!

2009-06-29T07:45:00.000-04:00

I recently bought a box of Rice Chex cereal and found a recipe on the back that is so delicious. It is for a sweet snack called Muddy Buddies. I'm sure these are pretty common, but I had never had them before. I made a batch and devoured it; this is quite an addicting snack. I can't wait to make more! I'd like to share the recipe...

9 cups rice Chex cereal
1 cup semi-sweet choc chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

In a large bowl measure out cereal and set aside

In a microwave safe bowl, microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter on high for 1 minute; stir. Microwave 30 seconds longer or until it can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla

Pour mixture over cereal and gently stir until evenly coated

Transfer to a zip top bag, add powdered sugar, and shake in bag.

These boots were made for walkin'

2009-06-27T15:27:00.004-04:00

(This one's for you Ash!)

Check out my new boots. They were a Christmas present from mommy's friend, Ashlie, and they finally fit.

See ya later...

Sew Mama, Sew!

2009-06-04T13:50:00.002-04:00

Cute clothes for little boys are so hard to find, and when you do find them, they are often expensive. So I've been making a lot of Eli's clothes for the summer. My new favorite thing to do is find cute (and inexpensive) shorts and applique a T-shirt to match. Here are some pictures of my finished projects, I even have a few pics of my baby model :) My favorites are the airplane jon-jon and the snail t-shirt.

* I don't have a monogram machine so I can't take credit for that. The ones with Eli's name on it were monogrammed professionally after I finished my sewing.

Bountiful Blooms

2009-06-03T13:08:00.010-04:00

My Hydrangea bushes have exploded this year! I have four of them, and we first planted them when we did the original landscaping on the house, 3 1/2 years ago. They've always done well, but this year there is an overwhelming abundance of blooms. I think it is because I never trimmed them back at the end of last year, so they are just huge now. I am very happy with them though; I just LOVE hydrangeas. The thing about this plant is you don't have any control over what color the blooms are; it just depends on the soil content that they're grown in. Most of the flowers on my bushes are light blue/periwinkle. They are a very light blue-ish/green when they are young, almost white, and some of them have a purple tint to them.

This picture only shows half of the bushes

Close-up. So pretty!

Love having fresh flowers in the house!

Katie's Wedding

2009-05-31T09:56:00.002-04:00

Here are a few pictures from Katie's wedding.

Me and the beautiful Bride

Me and Mary

Kelly :)

Me, Mary, Kelly, Shelley, Rikki

Where have you been?!?

2009-05-30T20:40:00.004-04:00

Sorry friends, I have had absolutely no motivation to blog lately. What's going on in our lives you may wonder. Well, we've been out of town a lot; three weekends in a row. So for the past couple of weeks, I've been spending the first half of the week recovering from the previous weekend and the second half of the week preparing for the next weekend away.

For Memorial Day weekend I went to Virginia Beach to attend the wedding of a college girlfriend, and Lance took Eli to Wilmington. It was a nice weekend away for me, getting to spend some time on the beach and with old (and great) friends. Lance informed me that his weekend was no fun and that watching after Eli was a lot of work. REALLY?!?!

Between our weekends away we've had birthday parties for Eli's friends, first trips to the pool, and sewing projects for me.

Our upcoming events include Eli and mommy taking Kindermusik, cousin Kaylie's first birthday, and my brother's wedding. Looks like a busy summer!

My 1st Party

2009-05-05T13:21:00.019-04:00

Eli had his first birthday party this past weekend. We all had a lot of fun, and Eli had many friends that came to celebrate with him. Enjoy the pics!

Mommy and Daddy with the birthday boy

Invitations I made for the party

Banner I had made for the front door

Birthday cake (I did not make)

Eli's birthday outfit that I made

Eli and daddy

Mommy's playing peek-a-boo!

Birthday kisses from Uncle Mike

Eli and Joanna (babysitter)

Joyner

Cousin Kaylie

Landon

Georgia

Madison

Elliott

Baby Claire

Dawnn and baby Brinkley

Eli's cousins (Emily, Jordan, Will, Haylie)

All of the mamas and babies

Have your cake and eat it too!

Eli's smash cake

"Happy birthday to you"

Time to dig in...

Mmmm, I think I like this!

Yes, this is good!!

It's my party and I'll cry if I want to!

Sometimes Eli gets crabby when there are a lot of people around and he's overwhelmed. So I knew at his birthday party that he may not be in the best of moods. Luckily he handled it pretty well, but there were some moments when he wasn't feelin' it.

Baby Steps

2009-04-30T09:29:00.001-04:00

Failed Attempt

2009-04-30T07:24:00.004-04:00

On the day of Eli's birthday I had planned to put a cute picture of him on the blog. I dressed him in a special outfit and put on his birthday hat. Well, Eli decided this wasn't so fun. He normally loves hats, borderline obsessive, but I guess it was something about the elastic band under his chin that made him dislike this particular hat. As you can see, my attempt to get a cute birthday picture failed. This is why there is no picture included in the "Happy Birthday" post below.

We had Eli's 1yr doctor appointment earlier this week. He had 4 shots, yucky, but did OK. His stats: weight - 19lb 12oz, 10th percentile; height - 28 1/2 inches, 10-25th percentile. So he's just a little guy for his age.

2009-04-24T15:10:00.001-04:00

HAPPY

BIRTHDAY

ELI!

2009-04-24T15:08:00.003-04:00

One year ago today...

I'm walkin'...it's no big deal

2009-04-15T18:56:00.007-04:00

Look who decided that he wanted to walk...my little boy! After having no interest in walking for the past month, Eli decided to give it another try. His interest peaked last week and every day he gets a little more brave and a little more balance. I captured it on video today. I'm not sure I would consider him a walker quite yet, but he's on his way. It's only a matter of time.

What've we been doin'?

2009-04-06T21:14:00.015-04:00

We are right in the middle of a crazy couple of weeks. Crazy because we have been doing a lot of traveling on weekend getaways. Usually, we try not to go out of town more than two weekends in a row, but for me, Easter will be my third weekend away.

First I went on a 5 hour quest to Annapolis, MD for a bachelorette party. It was my first weekend away from hubby AND baby. I had a lot of fun, but must admit that my first night there I was feeling a little homesick. Eli was missing his mama too; he was pretty cranky most of the weekend and gave his daddy a bit of a hard time. We all survived though. The girls weekend was a blast and made me feel like I was back in the sorority house. I was glad to get home though, I missed my boys :)

The beautiful bride to be

Me and Kelly

The wonderful hostesses, Jill and Liz

Me and Katie

My road trip buddies, Jenna and Shelley

This past weekend Lance, Eli and I went to Wilmington. Lance was busy most of the weekend with the guys for his buddy's bachelor party, and I spent some time with Glo, Casey & Kaylie. On Saturday the weather was beautiful; we took our first trip to the park! Eli loved the sand and just crawled all over the place picking up every stick, leaf, and piece of mulch he came across. We also tried out the swings, which he loved, and took one trip down the slide. What a blast!

Eli and Kaylie at the park

Eli exploring the sand

Eli finds a leaf!

Kaylie shows me her treasure

Eli's first time in a real swing

While in Wilmington at Lance's parents' place Eli learned to climb up steps (ugh!). There are three steps from the living room leading up to the dinning room; Eli saw them and went right up on the first try, like it was his job! Luckily since we've been home (2 days) he hasn't shown an interest in our staircase; 14 steps must be a little more intimidating. One day it won't be though, I'm gonna have to get a gate.

This weekend we will be traveling to see my family for Easter weekend. And after that...a weekend at home :)

Amongst all of our weekend getaways I've also been taking a photography class, working on Eli's baby scrapbook, and making his birthday invitations. It's all been a lot of fun, but I can't wait for a break!

11 Months!

2009-03-24T14:30:00.007-04:00

Eli is 11 months old today, I'm not happy about it. After every month has passed I've posted a report on Eli's growth and development, and every month I've commented on how fast this time has gone by. I actually think I was just saying those words and not feeling them. Physically, the time has been passing by very quickly, but emotionally I have been in denial about it. It has just hit me today. I am one month away from having a one year old, and it makes me want to cry. It makes me want to cry sad tears because my newborn baby (who was just born yesterday) is growing up so fast. It makes me want to cry happy tears because having Eli in my life makes everyday so joyful; the kind of joy that when I look at him, nothing else in the world matters except that he puts a smile on my face and a hug around my heart. If you have children of your own, young or old, I know I'm not telling you anything you don't already know. I am just stating that I now understand these feelings that all parents get, and that my parents have been talking about since I can remember.

This picture of Eli was taken this morning in his bulldog jammies that Lolly gave him. He is now wearing two piece/big boy jammies (just another sign that he's growing up, tear). Eli is also making strides in communicating. He understands a lot of what we say, and we are working on sign language. Eli can give us the signs for "more" and "all done", at least they are his own versions of the correct sign. And he spoke his first word a couple of weeks ago - "uh oh". Usually he only says "uh", but sometimes he gets the "oh" out too. He's funny, and we think he's a genius :) Eli now has 6 teeth, yes 6. And as far as walking, he's no longer interested. I always thought Eli would be an early walker, but now that he can speed crawl he doesn't care about walking. That's fine with me; grow up as slow as you can little boy!

Happy Spring!

2009-03-21T08:39:00.000-04:00

Spring is here; my favorite time of year! Last week Amber and I took Georgia and Eli on a trip to the daffodil field for a spring time photo shoot. There is a field right outside of town where there are about 1/2 an acre of daffodils. It is such a pretty location; unfortunately, the daffodil blooms peeked about a week before. And Eli was his usual self in a new location, very serious; he hardly cracked a smile the whole time. I still got some pretty neat pics though.

2009-03-21T08:38:00.001-04:00

My Silly Monkey

2009-03-19T21:30:00.012-04:00

After dinner one night Eli was in a silly mood. He first got really excited when he saw his picture on the computer. (We have a photo slide show that runs as our screen saver.) I don't know if he knows that it's him in the pictures or if he just thinks that the baby on the screen is one super cutie! I was able to snap a few shots of his excitement while watching the slide show.

I was also able to capture one of Eli's new tricks. He is now doing the Sooooo Big trick. Ya know, the one where you say "How big is Eli?", and then you respond with "Sooooo Big" and he lifts his arms over his head. It is one of the cutest things ever and we try to get him to do it all the time.

Slumber Party

2009-03-16T16:38:00.005-04:00

The Haddocks came to visit us this weekend, and there was a lot of father/son bonding going on. On Saturday Lance and Trey decided they wanted to stay in the bed all day and watch fishing & hunting shows, so when Jennifer and I told them that we were running out and leaving the babies with them they weren't too happy. We went anyways, and when we got home this is what we found.

What happened...

2009-03-09T20:54:00.004-04:00

...to my baby?

While outside enjoying the beautiful weather I decided to snap a few pics of my baby. When I went back to look at them I realized I had taken pictures of a little boy instead. What happened to my baby?

My Buddy

2009-03-02T10:29:00.009-05:00

Eli and Joyner

"Hey man, what've you been up to? That's a sweet dino on your shirt."

"Yeah, I've just been chilin' here with Mr. Bear."

"Mmm, let me get a taste of that vanilla on your fingers."

"Oh, this is my favorite TV show too man."

Eli 10 months, Joyner 1yr

The Joy's of Teething

2009-02-27T19:27:00.001-05:00

A couple of weeks ago Eli learned to do this...

... stand in his crib.

Shortly thereafter I notice this...

...he has been chewing on the side of the crib.

And then I see this...

...wood stain all over his chin.

My first thought - The stain used on this crib better not be toxic.

My second thought - Crap, my crib is ruined.

All of the crib rails are now covered with rubber, not so attractive, but it keeps Eli from gnawing away. And I checked out the info about the crib on the internet, I'm pretty sure it's not toxic.

10 Months

2009-02-24T10:02:00.006-05:00

Elias is 10 months old today; yikes, only 2 more months until he is a year old! He is so much fun right now, and getting cuter by the day.

One of Eli's favorite things to do is to crawl around the floor pushing or throwing a toy and then chasing after it, and he's quick too. He also thinks he can walk, but can't quite yet. Eli will take a few wobbly steps and then fall into my arms. He just needs to work on his balance, but I'm sure it will be anytime now.

Eli is still doing great with finger foods and prefers to feed himself. Along with banana, cheerios, and bagels, he's now eating mini cheese cubes, cooked peas and carrots, avocado, sweet potato bites, and rice cakes. He'll pretty much eat anything we put in front of him. Oh, and he's holding and drinking from his sippy cup by himself now. Yeah!

What A Treat!

2009-02-16T13:28:00.004-05:00

Last week the weather was BEAUTIFUL! It was quite a treat to have temps in the 60's & 70's in the middle of February. We put together Eli's buggy ride and pushed him around the driveway and the neighborhood. He wasn't too sure about it at first, but the second day we put him in it he really enjoyed it. This gave us a glimpse of the fun we're going to have this Spring and Summer. I can't wait!

PS: Does this sun hat make Eli look like a girl? As one of our neighbors walked by he said "I like HER bonnet"

FINALLY!

2009-02-08T11:10:00.005-05:00

Yes, I have finally posted on the blog. Sorry to all of you who frequently check for updates. I've heard your complaints, and at your request have posted just for you :)

I seem to have less time to "blog" lately. For one reason, Eli is exploring everything in the house he has not yet seen before. No more sitting him in the exersaucer and getting on the computer while he entertains himself, those days are long gone. And I'm trying to get better use out of my spare time (during nap time and after Eli goes to bed at night). I often found myself getting on the computer "real quick" and then looking at the clock and realizing that I had been sitting there for an hour doing nothing but blogging and surfing the net, no real accomplishments. So instead of "waisting" so much time on the computer I'm doing a lot more around the house, and spending more time in my craft room; I'm feeling much more productive these days :)

Enjoy the posts below!

9 1/2 Months

2009-02-08T09:33:00.003-05:00

Eli is just about 9 1/2 months old now. It is weird to think that he has been in this world with us now for just as long as he was in my belly. Seems like he's been here way longer!

He is crawling all over the place and is pulling up on just about everything. Eli really took off just after I posted the first video of him just learning to crawl. While this is very exciting, it also brings about many new challenges for mom and dad. We are still in the process of baby proofing the house, so there are times I cannot take my eyes off him. Eli has learned to stand up in his crib, so nap time is not as easy as it used to be. And, phew, diaper changes can be very interesting. A few times I have had to put on a diaper while Eli is crawling away from me. I'm sure you can only imagine; it's frustrating, but funny at the same time.

Eli is really into the finger foods now and loves to feed himself. I am just having a hard time coming up with a variety of these for him (any one have any ideas/suggestions). He has eaten the heck out of some cheerios and bananas; but his favorite is a whole wheat bagel.

Eli may be getting some more teeth. I cannot see or feel anything in his top gums, but he sure is acting like he is teething. Or else it is the major mommy attachment phase he is going through.

Overall, everything's great! Enjoy the pics :)

Eli mid-crawl

Exploring new territory

"Watcha doin' ma?!?"

Mmmmm bagel, my fav

Mmmmm cheerios, my second fav

I love my bankie!

Superbowl XLIII

2009-02-08T09:27:00.002-05:00

We had our 4th annual Superbowl party recently. It was great time with great friends and great food! All of the guys hung out in the basement and watched the game. The girls, on the other hand, hung out upstairs and gabbed. Isn't that typical!?

Lance and Martin, making duck bites

Snowy Day

2009-01-23T10:30:00.007-05:00

We got snow! This amount of snow only happens every few years around here, and it was just beautiful. We stayed in our PJ's all day, ate chili, and drank hot chocolate. We did get geared up briefly so that we could take Eli out to experience his first snow. Unfortunately he's a little too young to "play" in the snow, and they don't make very good snow gear for babies; we had Eli in a (tacky) plush bundler that wasn't even waterproof. It was still snowing when we went outside, the snowflakes were sticking to Eli's eyelashes and it made him blink continuously, really cute :)

Look At Me!!

2009-01-19T10:46:00.005-05:00

Here are a couple exciting videos of Eli attempting to crawl. He's pretty wobbly, but that makes it cute!

Eli Visits Kaylie

2009-01-19T10:38:00.004-05:00

Last week while daddy was away on a hunting trip me and mommy went to visit my cousin Kaylie, Aunt Casey, and Uncle Heath. I had 'lots of fun playing with Kaylie; her favorite game is take your socks off, she taught me how to play :) Thanks for sharing your toys Kaylie!

Funny Pics

2009-01-18T19:36:00.010-05:00

Here are some cute and funny pics that we've taken recently.

What are you looking at? Do I have something on my face?

Since Eli is in crawling position a lot more these days we often find him sleeping like this, with his hiney up in the air. I love it!

Silly boy!

Mobility is Among Us

2009-01-17T12:50:00.002-05:00

Eli is not far from being mobile; and we have not done the first bit of baby proofing. I have just been putting it off and putting it off. When Lance and I built this house we did so with the intentions of raising our family here. We did not, however, think of baby safety. We have a lot of work to do; here are just a few areas of concern.

Pirates in Memphis

2009-01-16T17:49:00.001-05:00

Here are some pics from our trip to Memphis for the Liberty Bowl. We had a great time at the game despite the fact that we lost. And it was nice to "get away" for a few days, and Eli had a great time staying home with Lolly and Poppy. Other than that, no stories to tell, just pictures.

Eli Turns 8 Months

2009-01-08T07:45:00.000-05:00

During the holidays I almost forgot Eli's 8 month "birthday". He turned 8 months old on Christmas Eve. Some of Eli's new tricks include: saying "babababa", "dadadada", "mamamama", and "nananana" (although he doesn't know what any of it means, he just rambles); standing for a few seconds by himself (without holding anything!); and coming very, very close to crawling. We are working on finger foods and sippy cup. Eli is eating finger foods, and drinking from his sippy cup but only when I do it for him. Good thing Nala likes cheerios, because they are all over the floor. And as for the sippy cup, Eli would rather chew on the spout, but we're workin' on it. I was finally able to get some good pics of the teeth. Enjoy!

What the Hay?!?!?

2009-01-07T08:53:00.002-05:00

It is January 7th and at 9 in the morning it is 68 degrees and sunny outside! What the hay?!?!?

Eli's First Christmas

2009-01-06T15:15:00.008-05:00

Well, we survived Christmas. It was a whirlwind of family gatherings, gifts, and traveling. As you can imagine for an 8 month old, Eli had no idea what was going on. He was slightly interested in the gifts (while still wrapped) and very interested in the ribbons, bows, and wrapping paper. Eli, however, was not very pleased that his schedule was all out of whack. This made for a cranky baby at a few of our Christmas festivities.

On Christmas morning Lance, Eli and I had our own little family thing. We had a few presents to open and we just enjoyed each other. Then Lance's parents came over for breakfast. Later in the afternoon we went over to Lance's parents house for a big family Christmas dinner. This is when we had cranky evening numero uno. The best part of Christmas day for me was that Eli said mama for the first time, best gift I received! On Friday, the day after Christmas, we traveled to my parents' house to celebrate with them. That night we had our annual Christmas Eve ornament dinner (it was Christmas Eve to us). My bestest friend, Ashlie, also came over for a visit; she had not seen Eli since the day he was born. Unfortunately this was cranky evening #2. The following morning we opened presents, and just hung out all day.

I have pictures below, but when I went to upload them on my computer I realized that the only pictures I took were of Eli opening presents or playing with his new toys; not the best way to document my baby's first Christmas. I'll have to do better next year. For a few additional pics, see Hillary's blog; she took more at my parent's house.

Is this one for me?

I think I'll just eat it

What is it dad?

The best present ever!

Check out my new play table

I like this new car seat, but I like the bow better :)

Santa came to Lolly and Poppy's house!

Me and my mommy :)

Me and daddy playing

I'm just a cutie!

Presents are yummy!

Be on the Look out...

2009-01-05T13:51:00.002-05:00

I have 'lots of posting to catch up on! Be on the look out for the following posts coming soon:

Eli's first Christmas
Eli turns 8 months
Pirates in Memphis

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-23T20:39:00.001-05:00

This is my virtual Christmas Card. Eli and I had a little photo shoot the other day and got some great pics! This one is as perfect as they get. Below is a slide show of some of the others I captured that day; some cute, some silly :)

I hope that everyone has a safe and happy Christmas filled with 'lots of love and 'lots of joy!!

2008-12-23T20:36:00.000-05:00

All I want for Christmas...

2008-12-21T17:47:00.004-05:00

...Is my two front teef!

Eli has wished and his wish came true. About a week and half ago Eli cut his first tooth. It just barely poked through the gums and the very next day a second one followed. I had been thinking for months now that Eli was teething. Any time he was fussy for no reason I blamed it on teething. Luckily he didn't have any of the more common and unpleasant symptoms; he didn't even seem to be bothered when they cut through the gums. So, now he has two pearly whites that are growing by the day; they should be all the way out soon. I attempted to get a picture, but failed. It was tricky having an energetic infant who thinks the camera is HIS toy. This is all I was able to get:

Road Trip

2008-12-17T09:20:00.005-05:00

Eli and I recently took a road trip to Greensboro so that he could visit with Lolly and Poppy. Eli had a blast! Lolly bought him an activity toy that he just loved; it's a cross between an exersaucer and a walker. It was so funny to watch him figure out how to walk around in it and then a day later he was practically running, he loved the idea of being mobile. All we did for two days was just watch Eli play in his new contraption, it was very entertaining. We also got to visit with Michael, Hillary, Grammy and Uncle Frank :)

Eli having the time of his life!

Eli and his ducky bath paraphernalia

Eli and his buddy Mocha

Holiday Happenings, II

2008-12-16T13:28:00.006-05:00

A visit to see Santa Claus!

We took Eli to his first visit with Santa Claus. We met his friend Georgia and her mom, Amber, at "The North Pole". Eli and Georgia did really well, neither were scared of Santa, so no crying babies! Eli just sat there and gave his serious, wide eyed look; no smiles, but he was still a cutie :)

Eli and Santa!!

Eli was mesmerized by the North Pole village

Amber, Georgia, Eli, me

*BTW - I made the outfit that Eli is wearing (go me!) Close up picture below

Holiday Happenings

2008-12-13T20:20:00.008-05:00

I can't believe that Christmas is less than 2 weeks away. We are not prepared! I haven't finished my shopping, have not wrapped the first present, and the only sign of Christmas in our house is a decorated tree, well actually two trees. That's right, we decided to decorate two trees this year. We have one large, live tree in the living room that is our "decorative" tree, and one smaller, faux tree in the keeping room that is our "family" tree (which is also my favorite, it's so fun!). We took Eli with us to the tree lot to pick out our tree. I had this idea in my head that I would dress him up all cute and take pictures of our baby boy getting his first Christmas tree. That didn't even come close to happening. Unfortunately, it was a very cold and very, very windy day; and I have not yet bought a proper winter coat for my child. So yes I still dressed him up very cute and brought him out with us, and attempted to take a few pictures, but this is all I got:

Needless to say, Eli and I didn't stay out long. We were back in the heated car within a few minutes while Lance made the final decision on the tree. Maybe next year. Note to self - buy Eli a cote for Christmas.

And here are a few snap shots of our trees, just in case you care :)

Decorative tree in hues of silver and bronze

Nala supervises the decorating of the family tree

All finished, cute and colorful

So that is all of the decorating I have to show for myself. I'm a little embarrassed, but I don't really care. And surprisingly, Lance has not bugged me about the house not being decorated for Christmas. The boxes of decorations are just sitting in the upstairs hallway and I have not yet had one urge to open them up and start decorating. Don't get me wrong, I'm no Scrooge, I just don't see the use at this point when I'm going to have to take them right back down in two weeks. And besides, I don't really like many of my decorations. They are just a hodge podge of random things I have bought over time. Maybe one of these years I'll get my act together and get new decorations that I like and that will coordinate. Until then, I'm happy with my trees :)

Stay tunned for more Holiday Happenings!

A Little Laugh :)

2008-12-12T08:11:00.001-05:00

This pictures makes me laugh a little. I hope it does you too!

Go Pirates!

2008-12-06T20:56:00.004-05:00

The Pirates just won the conference championship! Go Pirates, AAARRRGGGHHH!! They will be playing in the Liberty bowl on January 2nd. My mommy and daddy will be traveling to Memphis to watch the game. Me, I'm staying back, but will watch it on TV.

Overdue Pictures

2008-12-06T20:28:00.008-05:00

I have 'lots of pictures to post from the past couple of weeks. Sorry for the blog slacking!!

The first set of pictures are from Eli's baptism, mid-November. Eli was SUPER cranky that day, so we didn't get any good pictures, but here are a few.

The next set of pictures are from Thanksgiving

7 Months

2008-11-25T12:40:00.004-05:00

Seven, 7 month facts about Eli:

Rolling over very well now (even in the crib which causes 'lots of problems!)
Can stand up by himself, holding on to something
Holds his own bottle (most of the time)
Loves to eat, hasn't disliked anything we've given him yet
Will sometimes gives kisses, although it's more like a wet slobbery lick
Reaches for me when he wants me to pick him up
Might be teething

My favorite thing to do is stand up

Check out that cute hiney :)

Look what I can do!

Going Commando

2008-11-19T21:50:00.003-05:00

What do you think of a baby going commando? Sounds like a big mess uh!?! Well we decided to do an experiment. This is my new favorite story and I must share it with all. Please know that I love my husband dearly and it's things like this that make our lives that much more exciting :)

Last night I gave Eli a bath and then handed him over to Lance to dress him, give him his bottle, and put him to bed. I hear from the kitchen that Eli is sleepy and giving Lance a hard time (crying). And so Lance hurries to get his PJ's on and gives him his bottle, which always makes him happy. Eli goes to sleep soundly, and sleeps well through out the night. The next morning Eli wakes around 7:30 and happily hangs out in his crib for about 20 minutes until I go in to get him. When he sees me, he gives me his usual grin and kicks his legs with excitement. He is a happy baby! As I reach down to pick him up I notice the overpowering stench of pee pee; I feel that he is wet and as I try to figure out where his diaper had "leaked" and if the sheets got wet I realize that he (and the sheets) are completely soaked. I also realize that under his PJ's there is a bare bottom. Confused, I think to myself 'where is Eli's diaper, did it come off in the night?' I feel around, but no, there is no diaper whatsoever! Stunned and trying not to laugh, I take Eli to Lance and this is our conversation:
Me: Please evaluate our child
Lance: (feeling Eli's wet pj's) He peed on himself
Me: (unzip Eli's pj's) Yes, and why did he pee on himself?
Lance: (with wide eyes) Uuuuhhhhh, I forgot to put a diaper on him!
We both start laughing. Then Lance proceeds to tell me "I did think to myself while dressing him that I need to be careful not to get his 'wee wee' caught in the zipper". So that thought crossed his mind, but not the thought of putting a diaper on to protect the wee wee from the zipper? I love my husband! The other thing that makes this story so funny is that Eli didn't seem to care at all that he was soaking wet all night long. Must have been some good sleep.

The moral of this story - Live and learn :)

6 Month Pics

2008-11-17T14:13:00.002-05:00

We had Eli's 6 months pictures taken a little over a week ago. The photographer that did my wedding also took these of Eli, very special! Click HERE to view the SLIDE SHOW. For my family that wants to order prints, I'll get that info later. Enjoy the show :)

My New Chair!

2008-11-16T16:45:00.003-05:00

Yeah! Daddy finally got my high chair out of the box and put together. I was getting tired of eating in the Bebe pod. Isn't it so cool looking! I love it :)

ECU Homecoming

2008-11-13T10:56:00.006-05:00

This past weekend was filled with 'lots of friends and 'lots of fun as many of my girls from college came in town for homecoming. Friday night Lance and I went to an ADPi homecoming party at Jackie's house, and of coarse Saturday was the game. Eli and I tailgated for a little while, but didn't go to the game. (By the way, there were a lot of babies at the tailgate.) And then Sunday we all had lunch together before every one hit the road. So much fun, I wish we could do that once a month :) Enjoy the pics...

Me and Mary

Kelly and me

Go Pirates!

Me (being silly) and little E

Katie and Jenna

Brooke and baby Borden

Heather and baby Emily

Matt and Baby Landon

Mary and Eli

Any Suggestions?!?

2008-11-07T07:45:00.002-05:00

Hello friends, I need your suggestions. I have been taking "mini movies" of Eli on my digital camera and I can't figure out how to share them. They are usually only between 1-4 minutes long, but apparently that is still too large of a file to email or put on the blog. I would really like to share these video clips with my friends and family, but just don't know how. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks!

O no!?!

2008-11-05T19:27:00.003-05:00

Mom and dad let me stay up late to watch the results of the election. It was a long night and it's going to be an even longer 4 years!

*Posted by Lance

Halloween

2008-11-04T21:54:00.005-05:00

For Halloween, Lance and I had to travel to Wilmington for a wedding. So Friday night we went to our friends', Trey and Jennifer's, house to dress up the babies. Below are some pics from the evening. To see Eli in his costume, scroll down to the next post.

The Costume

2008-11-04T21:20:00.006-05:00

Eli's first Halloween costume turned out to be pretty silly. I had decided a while ago that I wasn't going to waste my money on a costume for a 6 month old, so I never bought one. Well, a week before Halloween Lance decided that Eli MUST have a costume and began his internet search. Lance's dream is to dress his son in a Yoda costume or as some other Star Wars character. Unfortunately (or fortunately) the smallest Yoda costume was a size 12 months. So the next best thing was Super Man. With my husband's inexperience of online shopping he bought this costume from some random website that guaranteed delivery by October 30th. However, this random website did not deliver the costume by Halloween, instead they just credited our account $8, the difference for express shipping. Who wants a Halloween costume after Halloween? Luckily we were able to cancel the order, but now we were stuck on Halloween with no costume for Eli. So Lance goes shopping on Halloween to try to find a costume, and as you can imagine at this point everything is picked over, and I'm sure the selection for infant costumes was not too great to begin with. The only thing they had left was a football player and a devil. I don't know what parent would dress a 6 month old in a devil costume, so Lance decided Eli would be a football player for his first Halloween. When he got home with the costume I was a bit skeptical, I told him that it was "cheesy", but Lance was excited so I just let him have his fun. And the thing that made him even more excited is that the costume was red, white, and blue (NY Giants colors), and had the #10 on it (Eli Manning's #, quarterback for the Giants); what a coincidence! Overall my little Eli did look pretty silly, but he is still the cutest thing I've ever seen. When I look at the pictures I just have to laugh :)

LOL!

"I'm ready coach, put me in"

OK guys, people are laughing

Eli with his buddy Joyner

Jennifer, Joyner, Me, Eli

Little Weepublican

2008-11-04T18:16:00.003-05:00

See my new shirt that mommy and daddy got me. I like elephants :)

1/2 BIRTHDAY!

2008-10-29T19:51:00.006-04:00

HAPPY 1/2 BIRTHDAY ELIAS!!

Eli turned 6 months old this past Friday. Wow, he is half way to his first birthday! I just can't believe it; I know I say that after each month passes, but I'll probably still be saying that when Eli turns 18, then 25, then 30, and so on. Now I have an idea of how my mom feels each year my brother and I have a birthday.

Eli weighs 15lbs 2oz, and is 25.5 inches, both of which are around the 25th percentile. He is laughing a lot more now and loves playing peek-a-boo. He still doesn't do much rolling over, but has mastered sitting and has started taking steps when we hold him standing up.

The above picture was taken over the weekend at a neighborhood Halloween party. Eli is wearing the jumper that I made him. I am quite proud of how it turned out, despite the fact that it took me two weeks to make it and he is already about to out grow it. Regardless, he looks super cute in mommy's creation :)

A Few New Pics

2008-10-22T16:42:00.008-04:00

Sorry friends; I've been slack with the blogging. Here are a few new pics of Eli from the past couple of weeks. I know that's all you care about anyways :)

Eli showing off his sitting skills

Eli feels grass for the first time

Eli talking to the tress

Cutie Pie :)

Silly face

Working on tummy time

Cluster Poster

2008-10-03T21:21:00.002-04:00

This is a term I made up for myself. I am a "cluster poster". Meaning when I post on the blog I post multiple things at one time instead of spreading them out.

Pirate Pictures

2008-10-03T21:09:00.005-04:00

We're not going to talk about the game. Just enjoy the pictures!

Eli with his daddy

Eli and Joyner in matching outfits

Cousin Kaylie catchin' some Zzz's during the tailgate

Eli meets mommy's friend Katie!

Eli and mommy watching the game (from a "safe" spot)

Eat 'em up Yum!

2008-10-03T10:38:00.006-04:00

"Hello There! I'm eating peas for dinner tonight. Why don't you join me?!

"I see it comin'. I'm ready!"

"You're not fast enough mom. Give me that spoon"

"Yummy, yummy, yummy"

"Wew, my belly is full!"

5 Months

2008-10-03T10:21:00.010-04:00

Eli turned 5 months last week! Here are some 5 month facts -

Five things Eli is doing:

Eating baby food
Sleeping through the night
Finally rolling over (tummy to back only)
Sitting on his own, only for a few seconds though
Reaching for everything

Five things Eli loves:

His mommy and daddy
Our kitty, Nala
Baby food
A bottle
The exersaucer

Five things I love about Eli:

His smile
The way he smells
His excitement when I walk into the room
Holding him in my arms
Hearing him laugh

Paci Free and Lovin' Life!

2008-10-01T10:15:00.000-04:00

We did it; we got rid of Eli's pacifier, and things are going great! Everyone in this household is getting much more sleep and that makes for not only a happy baby, but also a happy mommy and daddy. The first couple of nights with no pacifier Eli did cry a little bit, but it wasn't near as bad as I thought it would be. By the third day he slept through the night and I was just amazed. I'm so releived!

My only regret...not doing this sooner!

Are we having fun or what !?!

2008-09-23T10:53:00.001-04:00

Good From Far, But Far From Good!

2008-09-23T10:34:00.002-04:00

I guess what they say about "practice makes perfect" is true. After making Eli's owl shirt with my mom this past weekend, I thought it would be easy to just whip up another creation. I had a lot of ideas in my head, but decided to start with a simple "E". It turned out out to be near disastrous. The shirt looks good from far away, but if you look closely you can see all of my mistakes. I'll probably still let Eli wear it though, just around the house, not in public. I guess I need to keep practicing :)

What A Hoot!

2008-09-21T16:53:00.004-04:00

Check out my new shirt with the Hoot Owl on it. My mommy made it with the help of my Lolly. Yeah!

Mommy hard at work

I love my new shirt Lolly. Thanks for your help!

Lolly loves me! I'm so lucky :)

World Record

2008-09-21T07:43:00.002-04:00

Elias is going for the Guinness Book of World Records for youngest baby to fit entire fist in his mouth.

What's the Difference?

2008-09-16T16:20:00.001-04:00

Baby toys and doggy toys sure can look similar. This can be very confusing for a dog (or a baby). Whenever we go to my parent's house we have to be sure to keep Eli's toys off the floor while not in use, otherwise their dog, Mocha, will take them for himself. He doesn't know he is stealing Eli's toys, he thinks that they are his. Once a baby toy becomes a doggy toy there is no turning back; and a doggy toy cannot become a baby toy for obvious reasons :)

Eli's toy basket

Mocha's toy basket (very similar huh?!)

In the picture above, Mocha is gaurding one of his new favorite toys. It is a jingly Moose that was given to Eli by my grandma. Eli was generous to share his toy, unfortunately the moose lost his antlers in the trade!

Update - Still Sucking

2008-09-15T13:59:00.003-04:00

A lot of you have asked how it's going with no pacifier and with Eli's sleeping. Well we had to postpone the big event. Last week I started experiencing some cold symptoms and by Friday Eli had the sniffles too. I felt bad making him cry all night long if he didn't feel good, and since we were already dealing with a runny nose I didn't want to make it worse with all that crying either. I really hesitated to put this off any longer, but I felt that was the right thing to do. Luckily neither of us ended up with a bad cold, just very mild congestion. Hopefully sometime this week or weekend we can try again.

Cold Turkey - Bye Bye Pacifier

2008-09-12T11:27:00.007-04:00

Although I think Elias looks adorable with a pacifier, we've got to get rid of them. We've determined that this is the root of his sleeping problem. He only knows how to fall asleep while sucking on the pacifier, and so when he wakes in the middle of the night (sometimes 4+ times a night) he cannot fall back asleep unless I put the paci back in his mouth. This is leading to major sleep deprivation for me, and I just can't take it any longer. So we are quiting cold turkey; no more paci at bedtime, in the middle of the night, or at nap time. I'm sure it will be a rough weekend for us all; I expect 'lots of crying (from Eli AND myself). This is a last resort and the only way I know to "teach" Elias to fall asleep on his own, unassisted by the pacifier. And Hopefully after a tough weekend it will pay off and by the end of next week we will all be getting a good nights sleep.

Enjoy those last few sucks little man!

THE BIG GAME!!!

2008-09-08T14:44:00.003-04:00

This past weekend was the first ECU home game of the season, and boy was it a big game. Actually, it wasn't just a big game it was huge and for many reasons. It was Eli's first ever ECU football game, and we played and BEAT #8 West Virginia 24-3.

I know the game was awesome, but unfortunately I didn't really get to watch any of it. Being on baby duty is very preoccupying, especially when the baby is not thrilled about being there. Eli did pretty good at the tailgate, but by the time the game started he was tired, hungry and pretty uncomfortable with the crowd and the loud noises. We made it through most of the game though; we're fortunate to be in the Pirate Club section where we can go inside and enjoy the A/C and watch the game on TV, without that we would not have been there long.

Eli in his ECU gear

Mommies and babies getting ready for the game

Tailgating with Grandaddy

Hangin' with Uncle Heath

Love this picture!

New Posts

2008-08-27T22:18:00.000-04:00

'Lots of new posts, scroll down to view all...

4 Months

2008-08-27T22:07:00.001-04:00

Eli is 4 months old now. Each time another month passes I'm just stunned at how quickly it is going by. I've probably said this before, but it is sad that he is growing so fast, but at the same time, as he gets bigger and older he becomes more fun :) We had his 4 month check-up with another round of shots. This time we kept the Tylenol in him and he handled it much better. Eli's stats are: weight - 13lb 10oz (25th %), length - 24in (10-25 %). He is doing great with his development and is right on track. The only thing we need to work on is more tummy time and trying to get him to roll over.

As far as sleeping through the night, well, it's not happening. I know I posted an exciting post a couple of weeks ago when Eli did "sleep through the night" for the fist time, but he has only done it maybe twice since then. I'm so jealous of my friends who are getting a full nights sleep and I'm beginning to think that it is NEVER going to happen for us. When I asked the doc at our appt the other day what we can do, his response was 'some kids never sleep through the night'. God I hope Eli is not one of those! All I want is 6 hours of straight sleep, even just 4 hours would be great. I don't think I've gotten more than 3 1/2 hours of straight sleep since Eli was born :( It's a good thing I can still function well on little sleep. If anyone out there has nay suggestions, please let me know.

Here is a picture of Elias with some of his friends.

Eli (4 mo), cousin Kaylie (2.5 mo), and Joyner Haddock (7.5 mo)

TERRIFIED!!!

2008-08-27T21:45:00.000-04:00

These are funny, Eli looks terrified of Joyner in these pics. Joyner was very curious of Eli and Eli was just a little unsure of who this "big kid" was. These boys have no clue about how much fun they are going to have growing up together. Summers in Wilmington, and Autumns at ECU football games.

POOL PARTY!!

2008-08-27T21:31:00.008-04:00

Lance and I hosted a pool party and pig pickin' for all of our friends this past weekend. The occasion was "end of the summer". Really, that was just our excuse for having a party :) We had it at the pool in one of Lance's developing neighborhoods and it was the perfect location. Lance cooked a pig which was delicious and all of our guests brought sides. It was our first time hosting an event that included families where everyones kids were invited too. Luckily we had the pool that was plenty of entertainment for the "big kids". Eli and his friends did not get in the pool, but I decided to put him his bathing suit anyways because he his just too cute for words!!!! I did not do a very good job at taking many pictures, but here are a few.

Kristin, Heather (with Madison), and Jenna

Husbands hanging out

Does this picture look familiar?

Too Big for my Britches

2008-08-22T13:19:00.003-04:00

Now that Eli can stand (sort of), we thought it was time to start working on the balancing act and get him in an exersaucer. Sounded like a great idea...unfortunately he is still a little too small for them. We tried him in the exersaucer at Grammy's house and the jumperoo at baby Borden's house. I think we'll wait couple of weeks before we try again.

My feet don't even touch!?

This might be fun if I could reach the toys

Thank goodness for this pillow to help me touch the floor

I'll just lay my head here and rest

New Friends

2008-08-22T13:03:00.004-04:00

Eli got to meet baby Borden this week. We stayed a few extra days in Wilmington and went to visit Brooke and baby Borden on Monday. Baby B can crawl now and he was all over the place, so curious about everything. It gave me a look at what is in store for us in a few months; looks like motherhood will become a little more difficult having to chase a little one around. It was really good to see my friend Brooke and get the little guys together :)