Lately

 In a nutshell...

1.  Spring came.  

Higher!!

Watching Wormey roll to his imminent death

2.  Spring went.

Shovel trip 1 of 3. 

3.  Eli built a snowman

Abra-ka-dabra!

 4.  Eli's hands got cold.

isth thtuck to my tongue mom

 5.  Gryff came to visit.

Come play with me doggie!

Maybe if I yell louder he'll hear me.

6.  Eli met Winston.

Maybe this doggie will play with me?!?

  7.  Dean came to town.

You talkin' to us?

So....three guys walk into a bar...

Dude, where are they taking us now?

Here, let me give you a hand.

Um...???

Haha.  No caption needed.

Baby Check: 8 months

This little dude is becoming a little boy.  Be still my heart.  As much as I love everything about this stage, part of me cannot wait until he's running around, laughing, talking and being silly.  He has the best* personality and I can't wait to see it continue develop.  (*In this instance, 'best' clearly means silly and ornery with a little attitude on the side). 

Eli during your 8th month of life you...
- got to enjoy the warm weather in your stroller....like a big boy!
- went to the park and got to swing for the first time.  You love it!
-  spent  your first evening with a {paid} babysitter - Taylor Kayser.  You were asleep the entire time she was here and didn't even know we were gone :)
- watched daddy shovel...and shovel...and shovel...and promise to buy a snowblower next year.
- want anything you don't have.  If you have a ball, you want the block.  If you have the block, you want the ball.
- have started pulling your knees underneath you.  Oh boy.
- spent two weeks with Gryff at our house.  You love him and think playing fetch is the best game ever.  He's slowly warming up to you.
- have a new cousin - Joel Dean.  You two are sure to get into some trouble in the coming years!
- took your first road trip.  We loaded you up at bedtime to make the 10.5 hour trip to Houston and you did GREAT!  Now we'll hope your first plane ride this summer goes just as smoothly.

Now you see it...

Now you don't!

Eli, you grow and change every day.  You are looking and acting more and more like a little boy.  Miss Dawn says she loves watching you and we get compliments all the time about how adorable you are.  You are starting to look more and more like your daddy and seem to be favoring your left hand.  You love eating anything we put in front of you (including pineapple) and love playing with your stacking bear, reading books, and staring out the window.

Can't wait to see what this spring will bring!

Spread the Word...

March 6th is National Spread the Word to End the Word Day. When you say the word retard or retarded in a derogatory manner towards someone or to indicate you think something is dumb, lame or stupid, it sends a hurtful message to those who live with intellectual disabilities. WORDS MATTER! Please visit http://r-word.org/ to take the pledge to stop using this word. The only R word we should be talking about is RESPECT!

 

As many of you know, I feel very, very strongly about the use of the R-word.  If you don't know my opinion on this, then you probably haven't used this word in front of me.  Way to go and thank you!  While I hate confrontation almost as much as I hate raisins, this is a topic that I will call someone out on...anywhere, anytime.  Most people's response is "I didn't mean it disrespectfully."  Too bad - it was.  This is a topic in which 'intent' does not matter.  It doesn't hurt the person, their friends or their family any less because you qualify it as a joke, a habit or a 'generational thing.'

 

Okay, I will kindly step off of my soap box, but thank you for taking a minute to indulge my passion.  

 

Happy Wednesday! 

What is Parenting?

My thoughts for today - parenting is hard.  No, being part of a family is hard.  Because when you love people as much as you love your family, it hurts just as much when they are hurting.
Today I'm sharing my thoughts, but please understand it is not judgment.  It is introspection.  Reflection on my own understanding of what it means to be a mom.  Writing has always been one of my main coping mechanisms.  This time I'm writing it here in hopes that it will be encouraging and reassuring to those who call themselves parents.

Parenting is a miracle.  And it has the most demanding job description of any one you will ever find. 
You see, babies are miracles.  Our God is so big and so omnipotent that he can take two microscopic cells and make a life out of them.  Two cells that are nothing more than a dot in a microscope grow into a living being.  But He doesn't stop there.  Then He enables this little miracle to love and be loved.  To show compassion and empathy and curiosity and joy.  Because our God is not just powerful; He is compassionate.
He does not keep these miracles to himself either.  He asks us to take care of this child He has created and who is His. 
That's a lot of trust.  I don't even like people to borrow my purple fine-point Sharpie, yet God has asked me to care for one of his most precious creations.  A creation that is irreplacable.
You know why He does it?  Because He wants us to have joy.  And that is what a baby is.  Joy in its purest form.  He wants us to understand, in some small way, what it is like to love without condition.  To feel about someone the way He feels about us.

Parenting. Much of our society has whittled the single most amazing miracle known to man down to a trite compilation of arts and crafts projects.
Parenting is not about Pinterest or Facebook posts or Instagram feeds.
Parenting is not about the nursery color scheme or the Top Mom Apps or losing the baby weight.
I owe Eli an apology. 
I have probably spent as much time praying for him as I have spent posting his pics on the internet.  Man, that's hard to swallow.
The day before Eli was born I wrote him a letter.  I thought about posting it. 
I didn't.  It was for him.
But now that I am 8 months into this parenting gig, I have learned a thing or two.  About myself.  When I go back and read the letter, I realize it had a lot of wisdom.  Wisdom that I wrote down in a journal and then promptly ignored.  Because no one asks 'What are your hopes and dreams for your baby?"  "What do you pray for him at night?"  "What are your joys and fears about being a mom?" 
Nope.  They We ask 'What kind of diapers are you using?' 'What products can you not live without?'
So these are the things we think about and talk about and blog about.
 
In the letter, I wrote, "Eli, the world will want you to DO things, and HAVE things, and BE things.  The world will tell you to be smart and competitive and polite and successful.  There will be times that's what we want for you too.  But God is your Father and He wants nothing more than your faithfulness, devotion and love for others." 

Have I spent as much time worrying about his spiritual development as I have his physical, cognitive and social-emotional development?  Is there a spiritual milestone chart on BabyCenter?  What is more important to me - that he rolls over or learns to love other people?  Of course, I want both of those things, but we don't always get everything we want - so I need to make sure I have my priorities straight.

Here's the hard part - Not all of our babies get to come home and enjoy their perfectly coordinated chevron bumper with their homemade wall decor.  Not all babies get to go to library story time and mother's day out and meet all their developmental milestones on time. 

But, look at them.  They are happy just to be alive.  They love unconditionally.  They never question your loyalty and they never wish you were a better parent.  In fact, in your child's eyes, you are perfect and beautiful in every way.
Why do we make it so complicated?  Why do we put so much pressure on ourselves?  Why do we make a big deal out of the small stuff and a small deal out of the big stuff?  Why can't we appreciate parenting for what it is? 

For all you moms and dads - whether your children are biological or adopted or foster - give yourself a break from the world's checklist of what makes a good parent.  Your child does not care what is on the walls or how many Facebook posts you've made.  Erase everything from your to-do list except for these...

1.  Love them
2.  Pray for them
3.  Teach them
4.  Be joyful
5.  Be open-minded
6.  Be thankful

That is what parenting is.  If you have done this, then you have cared for God's precious creation - whether for just one day or many years.

Howdy Ya'll!

Howdy par'ner

The Grieves family has ourself a real live cowboy.  Our Little Buckaroo took his first trip to Texas - and came home a cowboy!

Hey ya'll....how's my accent?

Why drive 11 hours to Houston for the weekend you ask?  Two weeks ago our sweet nephew Joel was born.  He's working on getting big and strong at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, so Ryan, Cole, Eli and I loaded up to go visit him!

We left at 7:30 pm Thursday night for our 10.5 hour trek in hopes that Eli would sleep the entire trip.  Result of this experiment?  Success!!  Thank you baby!!!  We spent Friday at the hospital getting to meet and hold Baby Joel for the first time.  He is such a sweet baby boy.  He has lots of hair and smiles in his sleep - my favorite!!  He also made up some good diapers for his daddy to change.

Luckily for Eli, his GREAT Aunt Anita and cousin Lexie came to pick him up and take him to Kingwood to hang out with them for the day.  I think they were all in seventh heaven.  Later that evening Ryan and I also headed to Kingwood for the night.  Ryan crashed even before Eli did (not having slept in about 36 hours).

Houston cold front = beautiful spring day for these Kansans

Saturday morning, after some playtime and a walk in the beautiful Texas weather, Ryan and I headed back into Houston to hang out with his family.  As the good aunt and uncle we are, we made sure Joel was adequately clothed for his stay.

Such a smart baby.

Later Saturday afternoon Aunt Anita, Uncle Brent and Lexie, graciously drove back into Houston to drop the little man off.  Unfortunately, Eli didn't get to meet his cousin Joel, but I'm sure they'll be teaming up and causing trouble soon enough.

When you look up trouble in the dictionary....this is what you'll find.

We were all glad we got to make the trip and are so excited to have Joel in our family!  Unfortunately, I didn't make it home with many pics of Joel on my camera, but, don't worry, this baby has had his fair share of photo ops.

Baby Check: 7 months

Under no condition will I believe that a month has passed since my last post.  The month of January clearly only had 10 days this year, and all attempts to convince me otherwise will prove futile.  However, I will happily accept the fact that my least favorite month of the year is over.  January - the month of snow, cold temperatures, holiday letdown, no days off, and more darkness than daylight.  Unfortunately, the only thing that makes February any better is the fact that it only has 28 days instead of 31.  Okay, enough of my grouchy grumbles.  Onto talking about this little one!

Hey hey good lookin' - watcha got cookin?

Mr. Eli Alexander:  Bubble-blower extraordinaire and food afficiando.  Need a food critic in the areas of squash, green beans, bananas, avocado or sweet potato?  You've got your guy!  It seems as if this little guy will eat anything you put in front of him (clearly, he is our son).  Here is a quick summary of what I've learned about feeding babies:

Hey!  I want to play with the camera!

- Baby green beans smell like real green beans.  They are also still green when they get spit back up.
- If you resort to opening the protective foil with your teeth, when it finally breaks loose a little squash will inevitably shoot in your mouth.  Just go grab the scissors.  Trust me, it's not worth it.
- Surprisingly, making homemade baby food is not as overwhelming as it seems.  In fact, it's kind of fun....the grown-up equivalent to playing with play-dough.  (I don't actually play with Eli's food, I just enjoy mashing things up and taking a blender to them).
- Between 6-7 months of age babies should be eating approximately 28 oz of milk and 6 oz of food.  Before I found this chart from my pediatrician, our son was eating about 30 oz of milk and 14 oz of food.  Ehhh...that's alright.  The little tyke had some catching up to do in the growth category.

In other news, Eli also seems to be going through a huge speech development stage.  His newest sounds include a constant chorus of 'dadadadadiiiisssss.  dadadiiiissss.  dadadadadiiiissss.'  I think we've got the Ds down.  We've also heard some Bs and of course, his favorite, the Gs.  Thankfully his screeching has taken a hiatus for a little while.  He has also learned how to purse his lips and blow/spit/motorboat.  It's funny....until he does it with a mouthful of avocado.  Awesome.

PPPPllllllbbbbbllllpppppttthhhhhhh.

Eli, your sweet little personality has developed so much this month.  We can finally describe you as 'playful.'  You love your stacking pails, banging anything that makes noise, rolling over, wrestling with daddy, 'flying' and a whole host of other things that make mama nervous.  You are ticklish under your chin and LOVE being naked.  In fact one night you were so cranky that we just took you in the bathroom to cheer you up.  You weren't even getting a bath, but you literally started giggling as soon as you saw the tub.  

No mama, I didn't toot....I promise.

You have started learning sign-language.  As much as a seven-month old learns sign-language.  Daddy and I use signs for eat, milk, more, and bath.  Though you aren't using them yet, you have started to respond when we use them.  Or....you're just laughing at how ridiculous we look. 

Buckets are this baby's best friend

You also survived your first ear infection.  Of course, being the awesome parents we are, we had no idea you had an ear infection.  You had a cough and horrible congestion for about 4 days.  When it wasn't getting better we took you to see Dr. G.  One look and he welcomed you to the 'ear infection' fraternity.  You never ran a fever, fussed, or pulled at your ears.  Trying to pull a fast one over on us I guess.  After a (glorious) sick day with mama and some antibiotics, you were good to go!

You seriously bring an infinite amount of joy to our lives baby boy.  There are days that I can hardly stand staying at work as I look at your sweet face in a frame on my desk.  I just pray we can give you all of the love and support you deserve.  We love you E.

See ya later alligator!

Baby Check: 6 months

Our baby boy is growing up.  Like big time.  We've got a lot to cover in month six, so let's get going.

- You are rolling over and sitting up.  Yay!  Someone still has to stay pretty close as you are a little weeble-wobbly, but you're doing great!

- Annie gave you her Bumbo - and you LOVE it!  Now that you have found this perspective of the world, you aren't so enthused by lying on your back.  You love sitting up and looking around!

- Apparently all you wanted for Christmas was your two bottom teeth - your two bottom teeth - your two bottom teeth.  (I believe they are letters O and P for you dental enthusiasts).

- With two teeth came your first visit to the dentist.  Such an over-achiever :) 

- You are the loudest baby EVER!  You love squealing, squawking, screeching, laughing, yelling, singing and talking.  

- You're eating cereal...rice cereal, not cheerios.  It's going well - I think.  You LOVE sitting in your high-chair seat and you love when mama feeds you.  You even try to help her!  I'm not sure how much actually made it to your tummy those first few days, but now you've got the hang of it.  Next up- baby food!!

- Celebrating your first Christmas was SO much fun. You were on your best behavior and it was so much fun for people to see your silly, laid back, and playful personality.  Your grandmas and aunts (kind of) contained themselves so we were actually able to fit everything in our car...barely.  You have been rockin' the footy reindeer pjs and snowman sleeper and LOVE the Christmas tree lights!

- Like a true Wildcat fan you spent your 6 month birthday cheering on your Wildcats in the Fiesta Bowl.  You did your part by reading Hello Willie! before the game, but, unfortunately, they couldn't pull out the win.

 

- Other fun things that happened this month:  you got to watch the Wildcat basketball team in action, you started helping clean up the kitchen after dinner, you and mama spent many evenings dancing to Micheal Buble in front of the Christmas tree, and mom and dad watched their first movie since you were born.

Things I hope we never forget...
- The half smile you give when you're playing hard to get.
- The way you circle your foot as if you're doing ankle stretches.
- The way you smile when we say  "Whatcha doooin?"  "Aaachoo!" and "Peek-a-boo!"
- That finger paint and 6 month olds don't make for successful Pinterest projects.
- The way you sputter then smile when we dump water over your head in the bath.

6 month Stats: 
TBD.