Like mother like son...

Well, we were planning on heading home this morning, BUT considering all of us are puking our brains out I don't think we're going anywhere. So far, Eli is fine so we think it's food poisoning probably. We ate a community chili supper last night so Eli could sit on Santa's lap. He was so cranky by the time we got through the line that he wasn't too thrilled, but while we were waiting he laughed his head off at the fake Santa. Luckily, my parents aren't sick so they've been able to help with Eli. Hopefully we'll all feel better soon.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!!!!

We're having a fun time up at my parents house with all of my family! Eli was great for the car ride up here and slept most of the way, which was a nice break for us. Yesterday, it was wonderful having Thanksgiving with all of my relatives and Eli did really well, considering we were there for over six hours. It was cute to see him and his cousin Jadyn explore together. Jadyn kept trying to give Eli kisses and Eli didn't like it very much. Everyone got a big kick out of Eli walking around with his short little legs and we all laughed at how he closes his eyes if he thinks he's going to fall. Today, we went to Salina so all six of us "kids" could go to a movie while my parents walked Eli around the mall. There definitely was a lot to look at, since the mall was packed. Eli liked watching the giant fish aquarium and playing in the spongy kids area. I laughed my head off at the movie "Four Christmas" and enjoyed the break from the little wild man. This morning, much to our surprise, it started snowing and didn't stop for a few hours! We took Eli outside to experience his first snow and he definitely was checking it out carefully and looking around. He also experienced his first kitten. He kind of laughed at it, reached for it one time and was off to something new. Believe it or not Eli has actually slept better here than he has in months at our house. Maybe because it is so quiet compared to the city and there is no dog barking next door. Although it could be because he's just extremely tired at the end of the day from all the stimulation. He sure loves all the family! Many cute pictures to come!

The Turkey ran away....upon Thanksgiving Day!

Happy early Thanksgiving everyone! We are heading up to Minneapolis today, and I can hardly wait. Our Corman Thanksgivings are a blast, and I'm looking forward to spending time with more than 30 of my relatives. Eli will have lots of people to chase and his cousin to beat up on I mean play with, so all will be good. Last night we got to listen to the "almost final" copy of our cd. I know it's taking a long time to finish, but we wanted to do it on the side and wanted it to be amazing. Trust me...it is! I hadn't heard any of the recent production, so it was so great to get to hear it and enjoy all the work our producer/guitarist/friend has done. It is ready to be sent off to be mastered. Eli enjoyed seeing his friends Ethan and Lillie and ran around the studio like a wild man. Yesterday, I said "Where's Momma's nose/ears/teeth?" and he could point to them all. It's pretty hit or miss whether he'll point to them or just look at them, but it's still impressive :-) We play the "Where's the...." game a lot. He will usually just look to whatever I say, but I'm hoping he'll start pointing at them soon. He likes to "find" the couch, lamp, pictures, plants, coffee table, swing, fan, lights, Rica, Momma, Dada, and jumper. He has fun with it. Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!

Walking photos

So thankful!

It has been a few days since I've been on here because we've been dealing with a lot around here. I've been exhausted dealing with Eli who has completely given up his pacifier (don't worry I'm still trying) and is giving up naps left and right. Yesterday, he only took a half hour nap in the morning and a half hour nap in the afternoon. I thought I was going to die :-) It's amazing to me that one little cold could change our whole lives...ha ha. Now I get to start sleep training again and somehow get him to sleep more than a freaking hour without having a pacifier to stick in his mouth. God have mercy on my soul! Okay, enough whining, I realize it's getting old, but I have to vent somewhere! Eli is singing. It's the cutest thing I've ever seen. We say, "Eli let's sing" and I go "Ah ah ah" in a really high voice and he copies it in this sweet little quiet high voice. Sometimes he does it exactly the same pitch that I've given him. Maybe he's already a musical genius :-) Eli is also starting to let go of chairs and will walk to another chair or between the couches without holding on to anything or anyone. More and more confidence in his walking. A little scary I must say but exciting as well. He also is pointing more. He points at stuff in his books and will feel the textures with his little finger. Precious. He still loves his Santa book especially when I say "Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas". He's obsessed with my Dad's mustache. It cracks us up. When he saw my sister's very blond hair this week he thought it was amazing. I just realized we don't have a single blond person in our lives but her. All of our friends and family here are dark headed. We gave Eli his first whole grain Graham cracker last night (without honey in them). He loved it and did very well with it. We're in serious Christmas mode around here. I'm decorating this weekend and Brandon finally broke out the Christmas music. I've been listening to one of my favorite songs of all time. River by Joni Mitchell or the remake by Sarah McLachlan. If you don't have her Christmas CD, it's worth buying. I'm extra thankful this year for our amazing family and extended family.

Mama mama mama..

Eli is finally saying "Mama"! Actually, he has completely replaced "Dada" with "Mama". I guess the sickness has brought out the desperation. He always says it in a whining, come pick me up, kind of voice. I'll take it however he decides to say it :-) It has been a rough couple of days. He has an extremely runny nose, a little bit of a cough, and congestion. It's really only affected his sleeping. He's only taking 2 naps a day and I basically have to wait until he is about to die from exhaustion before he'll go down peacefully. I feel pretty good for not having slept in 4 nights :-) Most of the time he's happy as usual...just has some issues nursing because he's so stuffed up. I feel like a giant snot rag. For the past couple of days I have just been covered in snot. A shower never felt so good! Luckily, I already have a sore throat so I got it quickly and hopefully we'll be sick and miserable together and over it by Thanksgiving. I made this chocolate cream cheese pie for our church's big Thanksgiving meal last Sunday (that we didn't get to go to because Eli was sick). It definitely did not go to waste. It's gone. I've eaten the entire pie. It's very sad I do realize, but when you need comfort food you need comfort food! One good thing about him being sick is he is a lot more affectionate. He actually sat still and rested his head on my shoulder several times today...miracle of miracles! Last night Brandon encouraged me to go meet my brother and cousins at the Friends basketball game to watch my cousin's boyfriend play. I really needed to get out of this sick house. I was only gone for a little over an hour, but it sure made me feel better. Brandon and I were just laughing about how when Eli toots he always smiles and looks up to see if you heard. Then we'll always say something like, "did you toot?" and he just thinks it's so funny! Cracks me up! I'm trying to find more and more foods I can offer for him to feed himself for practice. So far it consists of banana pieces, avocado, puffs, and baby biscuits. Everything else is too hard for him to get. I found these rice sticks that dissolve quickly, so he's been enjoying those lately too. He really is careful about making sure he's chewed everything really well. Hopefully, he'll be better soon and things will get back to normal around here! Sometimes when Eli gets bored in the high chair he throws his head clear back as far as he can. It usually makes his hair lay flat from static, but it looks kind of painful to me. He usually laughs and laughs. One of his many games!

My parents came down Friday to spend the night and watch Eli so we could go to see the new Batman at the dollar theater! We've been dying to see it for months, but we finally got our chance! My parents were wanting to see Eli's new walking skills and he showed off well. He was so happy to see them and made sure they were watching before he did anything...even eat! What a show off! We put Eli to bed and really had a great time at the movies. He didn't wake up until after we got home, so it worked out perfectly. Before they showed up though, I had the day from hell. I really thought Eli was probably teething (because he bit me like 6 times while nursing which he's never done before), but it turns out he has come down with a cold we think. He wouldn't nap all day and was cranky. This past week he finally started sleeping well for the first time; the proof is in the two clogged ducts I've had this week, and then now he's sick and up a million times again. It's so frustrating! He has a really runny nose and congestion today. I guess better now than the week of Thanksgiving. We all convinced my dad to buy a small camper for my mom! Brandon went with him yesterday to buy it. I'm so excited for this summer. Growing up we went camping ALL the time. My mom loves camping, fishing, bonfires, etc. I remember one summer where we went camping every single weekend; I'm not kidding. We camped in our pastures and at different lakes in Kansas. I can't wait for Eli to experience all the fun of camping next summer. It will be nice to have a camper to escape to in the rain or storms...nothing worse than a soggy tent :-) We went on a walk to the park today because it was gorgeous; we ran into a couple we were in birthing classes with. It was fun to see their baby and compare notes :-) My mom wanted to continue with the tradition of giving the first piece of candy (like my Papa Buck did with me), so much to my disapproval she gave Eli a piece of licorice to suck on for a few seconds (it just turns to slime when sucked on). I'm glad he got to enjoy for a few seconds the only piece of candy he's going to have EVER ;-) ha ha

WALKING ON HIS OWN!

Tonight Eli was walking between Brandon and I in the basement and he walked half way across the basement on his own, with perfect balance and in complete control! I ran up to get the video camera and was able to film several more times of great walking on his own across the basement. He usually just takes a few wobbly steps on his own, but tonight he was on a roll. It's like it just clicked. He even was holding onto a chair and walked on his own to get to Brandon who was sitting in the middle of the floor. He's gaining confidence and balance skills. Brandon got an e-mail saying his department is not going to be affected by the lay offs, so that's a relief! I knew he would be okay, but there's still some uncertainty, especially when it's front page news today. My parents are going to babysit tomorrow night while Brandon and I go to a movie. We're excited!

Eli and Jadyn

Today Eli had a fun time playing with his cousin Jadyn. My cousin Katy came down to visit for the day (she lives up near my parents). Jadyn is 2 months younger and such a cutie. We were laughing because Jadyn is a lot bigger than Eli already. They liked to grab at each other's faces, steal each other's toys, and crawl around everywhere. Jadyn gave Eli a couple kisses. They always wanted the toy that the other one had, so we were getting a kick out of it. We took them shopping at the mall and over to my aunt's house for the afternoon with my other cousins. I wish we lived closer because we're both homemakers and it would be so nice to be able to get the babies together more. I'm just glad that Eli and Jadyn will get to play together again in a couple weeks at Thanksgiving. People say they look SO much alike all the time.....ha ha ha! We found out today that around 600 people are going to be laid off at Cessna along with early retirement offers. We should know who in the next couple weeks, so be praying for us just in case!

Squirrels everywhere....can you spot them in 2 pictures?

We had a couple nights of really good sleep. We always just start to get used to it and then we have a night like last night...sheesh! Oh well, someday! My parents just got a couple really tame kittens, so I can't wait for Eli to play with them at Thanksgiving. We always have a blast at Thanksgiving. My Corman side of the family is huge and all of us cousins are REALLY close, so it makes for a great time. I think we might have the loudest family in the universe. A family dinner on that side is a wild and crazy event! Kids running all over the place, people pounding the table laughing and screaming, and board and card games galore. Everyone talking at once with about fifty different conversations going on. It feels like home. I can't wait! Yesterday, it was raining and nasty so Eli and I went and pretty much finished up our Christmas shopping. We're trying to be careful with money from now on because you never know what's going to happen in this crappy economy. I'm waiting impatiently for Brandon to call me and let me know what Cessna is going to do. Right now there are talks of layoffs, but asking for voluntary retirement first. We'll see. Bran said they came by yesterday asking how long he'd been there, how long he'd had his A&P license etc. Brandon should be safe. He has several people in his group who were excited to get the chance for early retirement and he's in the middle as far as pay and towards the top as far as seniority. His boss left him in charge of the group while he's away, so that's encouraging to me too! Here's our new grass we planted....the only green in a browning world. We have finally attracted many squirrels to our yard. It was depressing when we moved here because Rica didn't have squirrels to chase (which is her favorite thing to do) . I still love them and like to watch them get into our feeders.

Swimming...

We took Eli to church today and then to Cessna's pool swimming. The perks of working for a large company! They have a brand new pool that has a huge curly water slide, a mushroom waterfall, basketball hoop, volleyball net, and a zero entry kids half. Eli had a blast swimming around. He kicked his legs and threw his arms around splashing constantly and walked around in the shallow areas chasing a ball. We also put him in a floaty ring, which he enjoyed. Believe it or not I forgot my camera and almost made Brandon turn around, but he wouldn't let me :-( Brandon and I both went down the slide and Eli loved watching us shoot out into the water. It's going to be a really fun activity when our kids are older...especially in the Winter when we're all cooped up. Yesterday, when I was making Eli's mashed potatoes I had a run in with the peeler and my finger still bleeds if I don't keep a band aid on it. I'm allergic to band aids, so I try not to use them if possible...but have no choice this time. When I had my c-section I didn't know whether I'd have a reaction to all the tape and adhesive they use during it, but I did and it was awful. Next time I'm going to try and see if there is any other alternative. We're having both my favorite foods today. We had asparagus on pasta for lunch and I'm getting ready to make some artichokes for supper! Score! I've been begging Brandon to let me sing Christmas Carols or listen to Christmas music, but he's making me hold off a little longer. I've already taught Eli Jingle Bells because it's so annoying and distracts him during diaper changes when he's wiggling around like crazy and we've been singing Little Drummer Boy when he plays the djembe. He loves his Santa book he has and I always say, "Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas" and he loves it! I ate my first candy cane today because it came on the card for the angel tree baby we drew to buy for. We're only going to get a few little things for Eli's stocking, since we already gave him his walker...I'll still get to shop and bless someone else's baby though! This new crawl around the crib stage is driving us NUTS. During the night it wasn't a problem, but going to sleep for naps was ridiculous. We had to go in and flip him over a million times. Grrr!

Weekend fun!

We're having a great weekend already! Last night we went out to dinner with some of my college friends that I haven't seen since my baby shower. It was refreshing for me. Today we're just finishing some things around the house we want to get done: weather sealing the windows, yard work, making mashed potatoes for Eli...etc. We all got our flu shots this week, so I'm hoping that we'll be protected. Eli only cried for a second when the shot went in and then was fine! He was tough! We rescheduled his 9 month appointment for December, so we can get the second dose of flu shot at the same time. I weighed him on our home scale and I think he's around 18 lbs. I'm probably in the best shape from lifting and chasing him. We switched him up to size 3 diapers....he's growing up! I started giving him vitamins for the vitamin D, since he won't be outside to get some sun this Winter...he loves them. He just discovered today that it is fun to crawl around his crib, so the second we lay him down for his nap he rolls over and throws the pacifier behind the crib and crawls around thinking he's done something amazing and naughty. He gets this big smile when we go in there. I thought maybe he would just sleep on his stomach, but it didn't happen. Finally he got so tired when I rolled him back over he went to sleep. Things could get interesting! I'm reading the parenting book "Parenting with Love and Logic". I LOVE IT!!! I'm already trying to practice in the way I talk. All of our friends that use this philosophy have had great success in every area (it's Christian based). A couple friends and I are looking into getting the dvds and watching them together. I'll explain more about it later.

Barack'n'Roll....

Well, today starts a new time for America, and I'm excited to see if our new president can turn this whole mess of a country around! Good luck...wouldn't take that job in a million years. We celebrated election day by ordering pizza, putting Eli to bed, and watching the results! I can't wait to tell him about all the political craziness during the year he was born and share with him how fortunate he is to have been born into an America where a black man can be president. What a historic year to be born in! It brings me to tears. Eli is still just crazy about walking. It's all we do. His walker definitely helps him get where he wants to go, but we still have to spot him so much it's not all that much better than him just holding our fingers. It's good practice though. I think the most steps he's taken on his own without holding onto anything is about five. I'm ready for him to be an expert walker, and move on from this in-between stage. He still says Dada all day long with no sign of Mama in the near future, but I'm working on it ;-) Here are the words he definitely recognizes: Mama, Dada, Rica, plants, pictures, food, more, fan, snack, bath, drink, milk, music, hi and bye bye (trying to teach him to wave). Brandon put streamers on his fan in his room, so now we say "Turn on your fan" and he takes his hand and pushes the switch on the wall. Then we tell him to "turn off the fan" and he does the same and looks really fast to see the results. It's so dang cute! The other new aspect is brushing his teeth...I can actually say teeth and not tooth since he has his second! He loves for me to brush his little teeth after nursing before bed. It's hilarious! We just love our little wild guy!

What you don't see is that he's RUNNING!

We went ahead and got Eli his Christmas present from us because he's definitely ready for it. We got him a push toy so that he doesn't have to hold onto our fingers, but can hold onto this little "walker" and go all over the house. It's so cute! He has practiced on one at the church, so we knew he'd be able to do it. Hopefully it will help our poor aching backs. We had a lovely picnic on the river yesterday and watched the rowing contests going on. Today Eli played with the other babies at church, and we enjoyed long walks in the beautiful weather. We have had some rough nights since this second tooth is coming in. For the past 4 nights I've been up every hour, but now that the tip is through I'm hoping for some sleep! There's Eli checking out his new baby gate.