A Day in the Life - Eli

This post chronicles "A Day in the Life" for Eli.  If you've ever wondered what he's up to every minute of every day, here it is!  If you haven't ever wondered that, I don't blame you :)  I'm writing this post for two reasons.  1) He changes so dang often that I can hardly remember what our life looked like last week, and  I want to remember this precious time I've had at home with him for the last 11 weeks.  2)Ashley over at The Domestic Wannabe does 'a day in the life' every Wednesday and I love it.  I just enjoy seeing what other people are up to.  Especially people I don't know.  Oh what blogging has done to our society.  We used to have diaries with locks on them...now we broadcast our every thought for the world to know.  But I digress.
 

6:00 am - Little man starts hollering from the other room (yes, hollering.  Our kid has some pipes).  It seems he has finally dropped his middle of the night feeding (yay!) so sometimes we struggle to make it until 6:00, but today we do! Ryan goes in to get him while I pump for a couple of minutes so the poor child doesn't choke. 

Morning stretches

6:30 am- He's done eating and Daddy takes him to the living room to play for a while before he leaves for work.  Eli is very generous with his smiles these days, but is still pretty stingy with his laughs.  He saves most of them for his daddy in the morning and at lunch time.

7:45 am - Eli and I have spent the last 30 minutes playing and reading books and now he's getting a little cranky which means he's tired.  I set him in his bouncy seat (and buckle him in because the kid could wiggle across the room if I let him) and give him his paci.  We have this special paci that automatically causes his eyes to get heavy when you stick it in his mouth.  It's awesome :)  I head to the kitchen to clean up my breakfast stuff mainly because if I'm within eyesight he'll watch me instead of fall asleep.  It's not long before I hear silence and find him fast asleep.  So now I must decide:  be productive or nap.  Today it's productive....tomorrow it will probably be nap.

Sleepy baby

9:50 am- Eli starts to stir so I quickly clean up the Modge Podge mess I've created.  Yep, that's right, I'm working on a project.  A very simple project that I've had the supplies for since I was 6 months pregnant.  Crafts are not my forte.

10:00 am- Brunch for the little man.  He's a great eater when he's awake and hungry.  Sometimes he would rather sleep than eat, but he'll always give me a good 20 minutes at least.  We play for a little while, he poops, I change his diaper, he spits up, I clean the floor, he laughs, etc.

11:00 am- We are out the door for a run/walk.  A few weeks ago I blogged about my attempt at getting back in shape.  Since then I found out that you're not really supposed to run with a baby as small as Eli because he doesn't have the neck strength to support his head over all of the bumps.  Well, crap.  Minus one for my mom score.  The doctor said I better stick to speed walking.  The thing Doc doesn't realize is that my running pace can probably be equated to speed walking.  Therefore, I've compromised.  We only run on really smooth sidewalks and never up and down the curbs.  And, for Eli's sake, I better continue to keep my pace really slow.  :)

12:00 pm - We're back and waiting patiently for Daddy to get home for lunch.  All three of us are going to miss this time when I go back to work.  Eli sits in his bouncy and plays with his waterfall while Ryan and I eat.  E started to pay attention to his friends Pete (the parrot) and Marv (the monkey) a few weeks ago, but just the other day he figured out that if he reached out and hit Pete he would spin around and around.  Yay for hand-eye coordination development E-man!

1:00 pm - Daddy is gone and Eli is yawning/being cranky again.  Time for a nap!  He usually doesn't go down as easily for this nap.  I carry his bouncy back to his room, strap him in and give him his paci.  His eyes don't immediately get heavy - is his magic paci broken??  But he's calm, so I give him a kiss, turn on his white noise machine, and leave to clean up the kitchen.  I watch him on the monitor for a while and see that he is quiet, but not asleep.  His arms and legs are going 100 mph just like usual.  A few minutes later he starts to whine.  I let him fuss for a little bit hoping he'll calm himself down.  He starts to get mad so I go back in and give him his paci.  This time his eyes close almost immediately.   The paci isn't broken!  I head out and when I check the monitor a few minutes later, he's passed out.  As you know, he has fought his naps for about the last 6 weeks, but finally I've figured out that if I put him in a quiet place for his afternoon nap he does much better.  I usually have to go in and soothe him/give him his paci once, but then he's good to go. 

2:00 pm - Lunch time for Eli!  Same routine - eat, play, poop, change, spit-up, read a book, and then I lay him down under his play gym to play with the animals and watch the mobile.  He loves his mobile and the animals!  The other day he laid under his play gym and entertained himself for 25 minutes straight!  He just talks and laughs and has a good time with his colorful, plastic friends :)  I'm trying really hard to find activities to help him experience the world around him and help him learn.  Sometimes that's difficult for a 2 month old, but we're working on it!

3:00 pm - We have errands to run today.  This time of the afternoon is very hit or miss with his naps.  Sometimes he'll sleep, sometimes he won't.  He has slept well today and doesn't seem to interested in sleeping right now so we head out to take care of some business.

5:00 pm - We're home and E's asleep in his carseat.  I take him out and lay him on his tummy.  He stays there until Daddy gets home to play around 5:30.  The boys play a little until it's time to eat again.

6:00 pm - Dinner time for Eli.

6:30 pm - Dinner time for Mama and Daddy.  Eli hangs out in his bouncy and watches us eat.  Again, he is getting so good at entertaining himself as long as he has something to look at or listen to.  Sometimes I'll even prop a book in front of him so he can stare at the pictures.

Hey Marv - how's it hangin??

7:15 - Eli's witching hour.  What does that idiom even mean?  Anyone know?  In this instance it means our little boy gets cranky but has no interest in taking a cat nap.  At this point, we try to appease him as best we can, which usually turns into Daddy/Eli cuddle time while mom heads to the gym to work out.  Tonight is bath night so I can't be gone long!

8:15 pm - Bath time.  Yay!!! Eli LOVES his baths.  And Ryan and I love how happy he his when we give him a bath.  Pretty sure the kid just likes to be naked.  I mean who wouldn't like some freedom from having a diaper strapped to you all day?

Look dad - I can make bubbles!

8:45 pm - Time for one more feeding, a clean diaper, a sleep sack (no more swaddles), kisses and he's down for the night.

9:15 pm - Ry and I spend 45 minutes watching TV/hanging out before we hit the sack.   However, once I go back to work, I have a feeling I'll only be about 5 minutes behind Eli at bed time.

There it is....a peek into our day.  However, this post is only valid for about another 24 hours before E-man gets to start spending his days with Miss Dawn.  We feel very, very lucky to have found someone wonderful to take care of our little boy.  Eli is looking forward to spending his days with  Dawn and his new friends Jayden and Maya.  Mama is looking forward to Eli learning to adjust to new people/situations and getting some social interaction (this is what I keep telling myself to make going back to work easier).   This is going to be a big week!  Here we go...

What a Difference a Year Makes

A year ago we were enjoying football season footloose and fancy free.

A year later our picture looks a little different :)

We feel very blessed to have made such wonderful friends in college and to still be so close today.  We have all been there for the boyfriends, the breakups, the engagements, the weddings, the heartache, the career decisions, the moves and now the babies :)  Pretty excited for our boys to grow up together....and will keep waiting patiently for there to be a little one in Kara's arms too.

I have also loved every minute of becoming a mom right along side one of my best friends. 

Emily and me waaaay back in the day :)

 For those of you who don't know, one of my college roommates, Emily and I met up for lunch over Christmas break so I could surprise her with the news that I was pregnant.  Turns out I wasn't the only one who was surprised when she responded with 'Me too!'  (I will point out that Ryan had totally predicted this was going to happen.  Good call babe).  Since then there have been lots of phone calls, a great joint baby shower, and finally a visit so our little boys could meet.  Eli and Dean are 5 days apart and already the best of friends.  Can't wait for these two little boys to grow up together too.  What a fun stage of life we are in!

Baby Check: 2 months

I know everybody says it and I know it's cliche....but 2 months already???  Where has time gone?

During the 2nd month of life things slowed down...a little bit.  We still had some visitors and mama started taking you out on more and more errands.  You also made your first road trip to Topeka and loved it!  You were officially hired as mama's coach and have been on quite a few runs.   You also had quite a few firsts!  You gave your first real smile to daddy on August 11th.  This also happened to be the day of your first major diaper blowout which led to your first real bath.

Please don't let him stick that snot-sucker up my nose again!

For a good week daddy was the only one who could get you to crack a smile, but pretty soon you started to think mama was kind of funny too.  You also survived your first illness which may or may not have been related to your first week of Kappa recruitment.  You are definitely recognizing mama and daddy's faces and usually give us some pretty good smiles when you see us.  Your personality is developing every day and it is so fun to see the little boy you are growing up to be.  We thank Jesus everyday that he created such a sweet little boy and entrusted you to our care.  We're doing the best we can to love you and teach you and help you grow.  Love you little man.

Hurry up mom, my head is getting heavy!

And I'm spent.

At two months you:
- Smile.  A lot :)
- Laugh....mainly at your daddy.
- Recognize mom and dad's faces and usually give us smiles when you see us.
- Are happiest right after you've eaten.
- Coo and gurgle and make all sorts of funny noises.
- Poop like a MAN - red face, leg lifted, grunting and all.
- Have upgraded to the bath tub.  And you LOVE the water.  Yay!
- Get cranky when you're tired and mad when you're hungry.  Just like your mama :)
- Have some pipes!  When you're mad, you can get loud!
- LOVE hanging out with your BFF - Fan.  Mom, dad and every toy in the world could disappear as long as you have the ceiling fan. 
- Survived your first illness.  Viral stomatitis made you a feverish, sleepy baby who had no appetite for about 5 days, but you rebounded like a champ.
- Don't love tummy time, but you're getting stronger every day!
- Never stop moving!  Your legs kick and arms punch almost constantly.
- Enjoy looking out the window, laying on your boppy, watching your waterfall, reading books, singing songs, and dancing.
- LOVE your mobile.  You will lay and stare and laugh at your mobile longer than anything else....except Fan.
- Have found your hands.  You suck on them, stare at them and have learned to open and close them.  When mama and daddy hold you over our shoulder, you like to 'scratch' our backs :)
- Are awake and alert much more throughout the day.  You are also able to entertain yourself for much longer periods which means mama has no excuse to not empty the dishwasher.
- You eat every four hours during the day - 6 am, 10 am, 2 pm, 6 pm and 9 pm.  In between feedings you mainly like to play, but sometimes like to fuss.
- Naps?  Take 'em or leave 'em.  
- Have worked and worked to sleep longer at night.  You built up to about 6.5 hours before you got sick, but then dropped back down to 4.5 hours for a while.  Then....two nights ago...bam!  7.5 hours.  And last night?  8 hours.  Please, oh please, let this sleep pattern be here to stay!

Getting so big!

Sweet Eli, you are constantly growing and learning and changing.  Just when we think we have you figured out, you give us something new to learn.  You are no longer a newborn even though you still have that sweet itty-bitty-baby cry.  We love that you are becoming more interactive and can't wait to watch you continue to grow.  We love you baby boy.

2 month Stats: 
Weight: 11 lb. 7 oz - 40%
Length: 23.5 in - 70%
Head:  39.3 cm - 30%

It's Tradition

I love traditions.  And this weekend was filled with traditions - starting with a Saturday full of college football.  Is there a better time to live in a college town? 

But dad, why can't I go to the game?!?!

We all got decked out in our purple ready to cheer on our Cats.  Unfortunately, Eli isn't quite up for the games yet which means he and I (and Aunt A) hung out at home while everyone else endured the sun, humidity and heat.  I definitely missed the crowd, the Wabash, the team running out on the field and the K-S-U echoing through the stadium, but I didn't envy everyone sweltering in the sun while I hung out with my baby in the air conditioning. 

Goooo Wildcats!

I also love traditions that involve all the people I love.  And good food.  The big # 2-9 is coming up this Friday, which meant a Labor Day weekend celebration was in order.  My birthday always falls on or around Labor Day and when I was in college I would usually come home for the long weekend.  While I was home, we would inevitably have a family dinner of Taco Salad and Oreo ice cream dessert.  My two all-time favorites.  As I got older, I wondered if it was maybe getting weird that I was still having a 'birthday party' every year?!?  That was, until the year we missed our Labor Day tradition.  I received complaints that year from many of my family members that they had had to endure a Labor Day weekend void of the traditional taco salad and oreo ice cream dessert.

One year my mom asked if I was sure I didn't want a different meal???  I laughed.  And she hasn't asked since.  Would people even come if we changed up the menu on them?

I realize all of this might sound completely silly to most of you.  But, it's tradition.  You don't mess with tradition.  And for those of you Labor Day weekend attendees, you understand what I mean.  A Labor Day without Taco Salad?  Ha!

So, yesterday our family got together for our annual tradition.  As always, it was wonderful.  Lots of food.  Lots of laughter.  Lots of stories.  And, of course, this year the little man stole the show.  We feel so blessed that he has so many people in his life who love him so much. 

Eli was just as excited about family pictures as his dad was.

Next year we will celebrate.  Next year we will have Taco Salad.  But next year it will be in honor of Eli's 14 month birthday because it certainly won't be in honor of my 30th.  Yikes!

Oh, hey.  Just chillin' with Uncle Bogey.