The leaf gathering has begun...

Last night we started our annual leaf gathering :-) On our walks, our goal is to find the prettiest leaves all throughout our neighborhood and park. We bring the leaves home, and let them dry as a centerpiece on our table with candles. It adds a little color and encouragement during the ugly Winter months. The leaves are already changing beautifully, and our Sycamore tree has already lost a bunch of leaves. We are in home improvement mode before Winter sets in. We are having a sprinkler system put in, insurance is fixing the water damage to our walls/ceiling from the heavy rains we had, and we are going to have someone look at the roof and see if insurance needs to have it fixed as well. Yesterday, Brandon and both heard Eli say "Da Da" plain and simple. He also says "Ga ga", so it's always hard to hear the difference. Today while my brother was visiting I got Eli on video saying "Da da" a bunch of times. Later we all heard him say it again! Hooray! Yesterday, we attended the funeral of our friend whose baby was born with a rare dwarfism and only lived for an hour and a half. It was shocking to see them carrying such a tiny coffin. I am praying that I never have to see a casket that small again. It is hard for me to imagine anyone going through such a thing without the comfort and peace of God. She has had the best attitude of anyone I have ever seen because of her faith. Praise God!

more pictures!

Home!

We are home from Plano, TX after visiting with Brandon's family. We had a great trip and enjoyed the break! The trip down to Texas was great. Eli was awake playing for half of the trip and slept the other half. The way home was a different story. He was awake for a while and then just started whining. We stopped, but it just got worse. Finally he went to sleep and we had peace for the rest of the trip. In Plano, we got to visit with his grandparents again and see our new nephew...oh wait...well it's actually a pot bellied pig, but he was fun too! Brandon's brother Paul got a pot bellied pig named Dudley who was the star of the weekend. We enjoyed playing with him (he learned to "sit" while we were there) and laughed/joked a lot about him. Eli loved seeing everyone. He gave lots of kisses to his Grams! Eli went "swimming" in their hot tub (they put him in before it heated up). He loved it! He just loves water in general. He splashed and played forever. Sunday, we went to our nephew Gavin's 3rd birthday party. They rented a place that is full of blow up jumping toys/slides. All the kids had a blast. Eli liked jumping, but was indifferent about the slides. It was Eli's first birthday party, and he has another one for his friend Ethan this weekend. We had some more professional pictures taken of Eli while we were there. They turned out SO cute! I'm going to scan them today and I'll put them up here ASAP. I loaded up on organic produce at Whole Foods, so Brandon and I started making some of it today. The only new foods I got for him are papaya and pumpkin. I'm going to post a lot of pictures from our trip!

Fruit

I think I'm the only parent in the history of man who has a kid that doesn't like fruit! It's sweet and delicious...what am I missing here? He loves all the veggies, but hates apples. Sometimes he even fake gags :-) when I give him apples. I can get him to eat little pieces of banana or baby food banana, but he has to be really hungry. It's so strange. Pears, peaches, and mango are next up on the list. Hopefully he'll like something in the fruit family! I'm going to load up on organic produce when we're in Plano because they have a giant Whole Foods that is amazing. I'm excited! The other thing he does now is sometimes he'll blow raspberries while he's eating. He thinks it's a fun game...as food is spraying all over my face. I'm trying not to encourage it, but it's almost impossible not to laugh. Eli really likes to wrestle. We'll lay on the floor and put him on our stomach and he just attacks us with kisses and we pretend wrestle with him and he laughs and laughs. So much fun! Brandon started his new shift today. It was kind of a surprise for us both. He said he had a meeting at 6:30 (he usually goes in at 8), but didn't think he'd be getting off early (which I was depressed about). His boss just walked over and told him he was leaving at 3 and from now on he was on that shift. YESSSSS!!! I'm so glad. He'll get to spend more time with Eli in the evenings. My brother came over last night and played with Eli and was impressed with his creeping. He helped him tear up magazines....which were used as incentives to creep across the floor...he loves his uncle! We might get an earlier start, since Brandon will be home early. We'll see how it goes!

Creeping...creeping....and creeping some more!

Eli is really on the go these days. He's still creeping, but goes a lot farther. I just throw toys out all over the nursery and let him go from one to the next. He's started pushing balls and other toys around too. He'll fling a toy across the room, and then pull himself with this arms until he's got it again! He still likes to pull hair if he can get the chance. I'll say, "Don't pull hair!" and he looks at me with this little smile and sometimes even does an evil laugh. He knows what he's doing. Little stinker! I tried to take some pictures to show the "creeping". We're leaving tomorrow to go to Dallas. We're not leaving until 6 p.m., so my goal is to try to keep him awake for an hour and then he'll sleep the rest of the way. His normal bedtime is 8:00, so it's not too much earlier. We're really excited to see all of Brandon's family and to spend time with our nephew. We'll get to spend all day Friday with him (since Brandon's mom babysits him during the days), and of course celebrate his birthday at his party Sunday. He loved Eli last time we were there, so I'm curious to see what he'll think now that he can actually play and interact!

Ready to go....

I've just been getting the house cleaned and getting packed for Dallas/Plano the last couple of days. I am probably one of the most organized/detailed people about packing. I start way early, so I don't forget anything, and I have all my lists ready :-) I'm a little OCD about lists. Ask Brandon! Right now I can see 5 lists within view :-) We enjoyed going to our church's picnic on Sunday afternoon. Eli liked watching/playing with all our friend's kids. Eli has started sucking his thumb, once in a while. He doesn't do it for comfort; it's more about boredom. He always sucks/chews on his fingers, but he's actually got the thumb correctly a few times.

It has been a sad weekend because one of our friends found out on Friday (a few days before going into labor) that her baby had a rare dwarfism and had no chance of survival after birth. Think about going your entire pregnancy excited and getting things ready to find this out a few days before birth. Sunday, when I was talking with her about everything (as I'm holding my perfect bouncing babe) I just felt horrible about it all. It brought back all the memories of Brandon's sister losing her baby, as well to a genetic condition. This friend was a testimony to all of us of trusting in God and His plan no matter what the circumstance. I think I would have been screaming at God, but my faith is weak. Lets just say I'm hugging Eli a little tighter this week.

Zoo

We took Eli to the Zoo this afternoon since the weather was so beautiful! He really liked looking at the animals, as long as they were moving!

Why I'm glad I'm breastfeeding....

It makes me sick to my stomach when I read updates on the tainted formula crisis in China. Over 6,200 babies are very sick and several have died (from kidney stones, renal failure, malnutrition). There's a rumor that the government new about it during the Olympics, but waited until they were over to announce the recall. They say that none of our formula companies use any materials from China, but it still should have everyone worried. One man clear back in the process added a horrible substance to the raw milk to help it pass inspections. Because of that one person in the huge process of making formula all of this occurred. I know some people don't have the choice and have to use formula or supplement, so I'm praising God that I haven't had any problems and am hoping to continue breastfeeding until a year when he can start whole milk. I got a call from a friend whose sister is a baby nurse in the hospital telling me that if I ever use formula to be careful because the new Similac has been reformulated and is giving babies diarrhea and other problems at the hospital. Craziness!

Good morning...

His morning tummy time....with wet hair today.

Finally well!

Yesterday was the first day that Eli didn't have a runny nose/congestion from his cold. It took 2 1/2 weeks to get over it! I thought it was never going to end. It's been rough nights for us since he's had it, so you can see why I was begging the darn thing to go away. Last night he slept 8 hours straight before wanting to eat. I woke up right before he did at 4:00 startled because I've been so used to getting up with him a million times since he's been sick. It felt great to get some sleep. I babysat my friend's 1 1/2 year old on Wednesday. Eli watched everything he did and tried to steal his toys. The 1 1/2 year old spent the whole time trying to steal Eli's toys and touch his face, so I was on guard! We enjoyed being back at bible study...the sickness kept us away. There are so many kids, it's always hilarious whether we can even get anything done, but we laugh a lot and the kiddos dance to the music. We've all been enjoying the beautiful Fall weather; our walks have been lovely every evening. Our whole goal now in the evenings is keeping Eli awake. He still wants to take an evening nap. Yesterday morning Eli and I went to a huge baby consignment sale outside of Wichita. I got a few jeans for Eli that still had the tags on them. I laughed so hard when I pulled up. This sale is in a HUGE warehouse and the entire parking lot was filled with mini vans :-) Women were lined up ready to pounce before the doors opened. So funny! Brandon is leading worship this weekend, so it will be a busy weekend for us, but we're hoping to find time to squeeze in the zoo. We'll see!

Creeping!

Eli is officially creeping! For those who do now know what that means....it is pre-crawling. He is pulling his knees forward and pulling himself forward with his arms. He can go a few feet towards us or a toy before getting frustrated that it is taking so long! I'm sure it will be a long time before he's actually crawling, but it is a step in the right direction. Every new step is a lot of fun and exciting. You can tell that we are first time parents. I have found the first food that Eli doesn't really like as well as the others...green beans. All of the other foods have some natural sweetness, but the green beans are really bland. I can tell he just doesn't enjoy them very much. He really liked broccoli today, which was kind of a surprise to me.
I was thoroughly disappointed tonight when we went to buy baby food for our trip to Plano next week. I realized tonight that they don't have very much variety when it comes to baby food or organic baby food. I could hardly even find the foods that I've been feeding him. I really see the benefit now in making my own. He gets to try a lot of different foods he normally wouldn't be able to.
Eli is really into kissing and hugging. I get about a million sloppy kisses a day. My mom stopped by the other night just to get some kisses on her way home. When he gets excited to see you he immediately gives you hugs and kisses. I never thought my son would try to make out with me :-)
Today, I had a few rough moments. For some reason I'm really tired, and Eli was cranky every time he woke up from a nap. I have no idea why! I skipped out on the family walk and let Brandon take Eli, so I could have some time for myself just to relax. Now I know why my mom would escape to read in the bath!

Birthday Weekend!

I think overall Brandon had a great birthday weekend! He got to do a lot of things he wanted to get done and even got to take a nap :-) Today we went to church, and I stayed with Eli in the nursery after worship so he could "play" with the other kids. He's really into grunting/growling right now. Everyone thinks it's so funny! He gets really excited and just starts making this funny sound! My brother ate lunch with us and then we all took Eli to the park to swing and go down the slides. He just acts kind of indifferent on the swings and slides. We have to work for some excitement! It was a lovely fall day...sunny with a nip in the air! We couldn't stop talking about what we all love about Fall: apple cider, Halloween, leaves changing, crisp days, Thanksgiving, etc. Tonight we met my brother and cousins for dinner at our favorite Pei Wei. We lucked out...Eli slept through our meal! We actually both got to eat at the same time. Miracle of miracles. We're debating what Eli should be for Halloween. I think I'll look for something cute when we're in Plano for my nephews birthday in a couple weeks. My relatives' church has this cute Halloween party where all the little kids can come trick or treat and play games and eat chili before everyone goes house to house, so we'll probably stick with our tradition of going to that before handing out candy and hitting a few houses.

Flooding

Today is Brandon's birthday!!! Happy Birthday Bran! We went to Starbucks for breakfast and then to Lowes to get some French doors made for Eli's room. My parents will be glad to know that Brandon found a guitar pedal that he wanted more than the tattoo. Tomorrow we're going out to eat with some of my cousins and brother too. We have had over 10 inches of rain in a 24 hour period. Our basement is dry because we have an awesome dehumidifier, but our roof had some issues. We had a leak by the back door that actually had water dripping and several water spots in our bedroom. The river by our house is very high, but it will never flood because of the huge ditch that surrounds Wichita for just this kind of thing! I took some pictures of the river and the big ditch. Many people's houses are flooded and one man died when trying to drive through a flooded street. Everything should start receding soon, and there isn't any rain in the forecast this week.

Eli loves to bang pots and pans with my mom. She may just be turning him into a drummer! I guess we could have a family band ;-)

Visitor

My cousin Angie came over to see Eli, and I cracked up because she had on a homemade "Peace" shirt, and I had Eli in a shirt that said "Peace". Angela's shirt says, "You can bomb the world to pieces, but you can't bomb the world to peace." I love it!