Eli Smiles!

Brandon watched Eli twice this weekend. Once while I recorded some vocals and last night when I went to my best friend Courtney Long's recital. Every day I'm always asking him to rub my shoulders and back because they are always sore from carrying around a big baby (okay...so he's big to me)! After holding him for like 3

hours of baby watching Brandon was like, "my arms and back are killing me" I was glad he got to see what it's like for me every day! Eli is smiling a lot in the mornings! It definitely makes getting up a whole lot easier!!! He is "talking" a lot more to his toys on his play mat too...which is so cute. We love all his funny faces!

Drive Thru Date

We went on a drive thru date last night....hey you do what you gotta do! We're still supposed to avoid indoor crowds because flu season isn't over quite yet :-( We got food, Starbucks, and Brandon ran and got some movies! I was trying to think of everything we could do without taking the baby indoors somewhere!

Today I'm going to finish recording some of my background vocals for the cd we've been working on! It's so close to being done. Brandon's going to babysit at our friend's house while I record in his basement.

Day of Praise!

Eli and I are having a day of praise today! Our nephew Gavin was tested for autism a few weeks ago and we've been praying and waiting for the results. Last night appropriately after bible study (where we've prayed for him for years) we got the great news that he doesn't have autism! Praise God!

We took Eli to bible study out in Rose Hill for the first time! We've missed our friends desperately, so it was a very refreshing night. Eli was great. He slept through a lot of it, thanks to the car ride there! He really likes his car seat...which I think is a little strange. He's in it every day for our stroller walk to the park, and enjoys it! This is my favorite time of day. I look forward to Brandon coming home every day so we can take off to the park for some fresh air and exercise. I love our little family time (including Rica).

As we were leaving for our walk yesterday we came outside and guess what was in our driveway????? Two WILD TURKEY just walking up our driveway!!!!! Only in Riverside! We are between 3 parks...Central Riverside, Sims, and Oak Park (which is full of wildlife). I swear we have more animal problems than my parents out on the farm (opossums love our house)! This is the closest I've ever been to wild turkey, even though living in the country I saw them from afar constantly. It's pretty funny that I have to move to Riverside to get a close look :-)

Eli is smiling all the time now! Especially in the morning. It's so cute! We tease and play with him and he just lights up and lets out that beautiful smile! Now I promise I don't normally put stuffed animals in his crib...but I was folding his laundry and he was awake and I set him in there and put that dog there for him to look at. He really likes to look at stuffed animals and reach out and touch them. When I turned back around this is what I saw! So cute...his hand just resting on it!

Eli's 1 month appointment!

Eli went to his 1 month appointment today! He has gained a little over 2 lbs...so he's 9 lbs 5 oz and has grown 2 inches. He's doing great! I was so relieved when the doctor said his weight gain is excellent. Just yesterday it was totally obvious that he has outgrown his newborn clothes! I was kind of sad to be packing them away, but glad he can wear some of his bigger clothes.

Precious Moments

Happy Easter!

We had an amazing Easter weekend with my family! I wondered if we'd have fun because we were having it at our house this year, and I was worried it wouldn't feel the same. We had a blast! Joel and Becca came up Friday, and she held Eli all day! The rest of the family came Saturday. We had a great time taking walks, coloring eggs, eating candy, adoring Eli, finding our Easter baskets, and talking and laughing of course. It's just such a blessing to have such an amazing family. We truly have TONS of fun together no matter where we are or what we're doing. My stomach is still hurting from laughing. We usually go to a sunrise service in Minneapolis, but since we were here in Wichita we had our own church service with worship and sharing. Since my mom made a big delicious meal last night, we went to an Easter brunch at the Hyatt today! It was great food and we stuffed ourselves! It felt good to get dressed up a bit and get out of the house.

It was Eli's first outing in public....since he's officially a month old today! He slept from the time we left the house to when we got home...PERFECT! I've been waiting a month to introduce a bottle (of course with breast milk), and today was the day. He didn't seem to notice a difference. It makes me feel better to know that he would take a bottle if I can't get home in time...so maybe I'll relax and Brandon and I can actually go on a "real" date soon!

Oh where oh where have my clothes gone?

Somehow.....we managed to lose ALL of my pre-pregnancy clothes :-) I had packed them away since I wouldn't need them for 9 months, and now neither Brandon or I can find them! We've checked the basement and the attic with no luck. The only clothes I have are the ones I left out that I could wear during early pregnancy. Needless to say, last night I had to run to the mall and get a couple of shirts while Brandon watched Eli. I've been puzzled by it all day! So....if you see me wearing the same clothes over and over again...you'll know why and take pity on me!

How'd we get so lucky?

I'm feeling slightly guilty because Eli is such a good and easy baby! The only time I've heard him really let out a loud cry was when he choked eating. He is a very noisy baby, but doesn't really cry. All night long he grunts and coos, but when he wants to eat he starts going "eh eh" and lets out a little whine (which usually wakes me up). He's very happy all the time! I'm crossing my fingers that it will stay that way!

Little lover of God

Eli is such a character! He is always making a funny face or reacting to toys or songs in such a cute way! Last night I secretly caught Brandon on film singing him some halarious version of the Star Spangled Banner and Eli was just eating it up! He loves his Daddy! We put him in a sling last night....he liked it! He holds his head up so well now, it's so cute! We used to be able to put him in any position we wanted, but now that he can hold his head better he can try to wiggle his way into a different position to observe something interesting.

This weekend all my family is coming to our house to celebrate Easter, which will be a change for all of us! Eli has definitely brought about a lot of change, and we love it!

Eli has been punching a stuffed dog for the past half hour. He loves it! It plays music and its' head moves around. He gets his arm going and smacks it over and then wants me to put it back up again...so cute! He's been having longer awake periods. This weekend he was awake at one point for 4 hours! He loves to be held by Brandon when he's awake because Brandon's always singing a silly song, playing, and being goofy! He just stares and stares taking it all in. We've finally gotten settled into a pattern, and I can actually get something done now! I was laughing earlier because I snuck in a quick shower and then immedietly afterwards I got peed on, spit up on, and realized I had Butt Paste under my fingernails! What joy! We went through every outfit that has any green on it for St. Pats Day by 8:00 this morning :-)

Visitors

Brandon's mom and sister are here for the weekend! I think yesterday he was NEVER put down once :-)

Family time!

My parents and brother came down and spent the night last night...they just can't stay away from our cute little guy! Tomorrow Brandon's mom and sister are coming to visit! It's great having all the family around!

Spring

I am so relieved that Spring is finally showing its face! For the past week we've been able to take Eli on a walk around the block and sit on the porch swing with him because the weather has been so nice! It feels great, and he seems to enjoy his car seat and stroller (okay...so he really just sleeps through it...but still). It's nice to get out, since we're not supposed to take him around people until our horrible flu season is over here! I'm crossing my fingers this nice weather will speed things along!

Every year we plant a small vegetable garden in our backyard. Just a few items like lettuce, spinach, peas, beets, and potatoes. This year I'm taking bets as to whether it will get planted or not :-) St. Pat's day is next Monday and we're supposed to have the lettuce and spinach in by then. Let me just say that we haven't even broken out the tiller yet. We'll see!

A lot of people have been asking me how our small schnauzer Rica has been doing with the new addition. She was scared to death the first day we brought him home (literally shaking), but now she's great! She watches him a lot and will hang out with us in the nursery. She's been great about not touching his things, and will bring one of her toys into the nursery so she has something to play with! Rica's done WAY better than I ever expected! She's definitely been the baby of the house for almost 3 years!

Who wants a kiss and a smile?

Eli loves to smile!

So yesterday Brandon swore that Eli smiled at him when he was awake. I doubted him of course, even though Eli smiles all the time in his sleep. Later, he yelled for me to come see for myself....and it was true! He smiled as Brandon playfully kissed/teased him! I then started talking to him in the normal cheesy high pitch, and he smiled at me too! He smiled again during the night when I started talking to him. I have a feeling it's going to be hard to catch the "awake smiles" on camera! Eli's favorite face to make is the "pucker up" face! He looks like he's trying to be a fish or trying to kiss you. We crack up every time! He used to only do it when he didn't want to nurse anymore...but now you just start talking to him and the lips pucker up!

Diaper Duty

We were amazed to realize yesterday that we have gone through 200 diapers in 2 weeks! Eli's cord stump finally fell off last night...I swore that thing was never coming off! We've had our 3rd night in a row of him sleeping at night and being awake during the day...Praise God!

Dreaming

Both Brandon and I talk in our sleep sometimes. For the past 4 nights when I've gotten back in bed after nursing Brandon has sat up in a panic and said something like "He was right here in bed....I don't know where he went"...and starts looking in the crack between the bed and the wall, much to my amusement! I've asked him about it every day and he absolutely doesn't remember! It's even stranger because we're both adament about never having him in bed with us because I'm so paranoid about the dangers of it! Last night he said something about his toy being missing too. I'm getting a kick out it!

Eli has some serious gas and explosive poops! He starts straining, grunting, and his face gets really red and you know it's coming! We still laugh about it all the time! It's so funny that something so loud can come from such a tiny little guy.

We had an awesome night last night! He went to bed at 11:30 and got up at 7:30 eating every 2/3 hours! I attribute it to Super Granny Lou and my brother for trying to keep him awake all day yesterday...which at the time we didn't think was working....but just maybe it did! A lot of people keep commenting that Eli reminds them of my brother when he was a baby. When you look at some of my baby pictures...it's amazing how much we look alike. He's such a good mix of Brandon and I!

Thank God for daylight!

Last night was a rough night for me. Eli was awake, bored, and wanting to be held most of the night. Of course he slept like an angel during the day. After only getting barely 3 hours of sleep, I thought I might throw in the towel.....but....the second I saw him in the morning all was forgotten! Daylight always brings a fresh start and the hope he'll finally get his schedule turned around.

My mom and brother came down for the day to see the little guy. Perfect timing. I was able to sleep several times while my mom watched him. Eli's so much more aware and alert when he is awake now. He holds his head up and pushes it away from my shoulder. He smiles all the time in his sleep and is constantly grunting and cooing in his sleep as well. So cute! I can't wait for the weather to warm up so we can take more walks with the stroller!

I pretty much feel completely recovered from my c-section. The pain only lasted a few days after the surgery and I was able to stop taking pain meds when we left the hospital. I feel great and am ready to be more active again!

In Daddy's hands

It's been so nice having Brandon home for 2 weeks! It has gone SO quickly...although some of those nights seemed to last forever :-) Tomorrow he's going back to work. It will be a nice test run for me. He's been doing most of the housework and changing a lot of diapers...so I'm going to miss him!

Bath time!

We gave Eli a sponge bath today. He never cried...but that might have been because we stuck a pacifier in his mouth!

Business in the front...Party in the back!

We sometimes laugh because once in a while it kind of looks like Eli has a mullet :-) The hair at the back of his head is longer than the front! Poor kid! He reverted back to his old sleeping habits last night, and didn't go to bed until after 12:30. I sure wish Brandon and I were night owls! We're pathetic. I think I turn into some sort of a zombie after 10:00. I left Eli with Brandon for the first time to go to a doctor's appointment. Of course he's an amazing dad, so I wasn't too worried! It was the first time I've gone somewhere since he was born, and it did feel nice to get away for an hour (I admit with pangs of guilt). Brandon made fun of me today because I was singing the ABC's and I messed it up somehow. I must be brain dead if I can't even remember my ABC's!