Snoozer! - A Photo "Essay"

The Story of a Sleeping Boy

Where's Eli?

A Box!

See ya later!

Uh-Oh -- No head!

Toes

Hey, when did you get here?

Ha Ha, That was funny!

Do it Again!

Baby Dedication

Last Sunday, we had a Baby Dedication ceremony at our church for Elijah and another sweet little baby named Cassie. It was a great service and some of my family got to come and celebrate with us! Eli did a great job and looked very cute in his new outfit. Of course, I had to do a mini-photo shoot afterwards, which involved my kid chewing on his new Bible... "devouring The Word" is how my mom phrased it... too funny. We also had lunch after church at our house which was fun!

Before Church

Daddy & Boy

At the end of the ceremony, holding his new Bible

Yum! :)

With sweet little Cassie!

5 Months

Here we are at 5 months, wow. I just went back to re-read the 4 month post and this time it feels like EVERYTHING has changed in a month. Apparently, we did a lot of growing up this month. I don't even know where to start, he sits up, eats cereal and green veggies and puts himself to sleep in his bed consistently. I think the sitting up is my favorite this month (he sat up at like 4 1/2 months) because he looks like such a big guy when he sits up and he can play with toys and us so much better now too. Dan and Eli actually played "catch" for the first time the other day, it was cute to watch them rolling the ball back and forth. He is loving eating solid foods and generally eats cereal for breakfast and veggies and cereal for dinner. We will be adding fruit sometime soonish and maybe we will add solids at lunch too. Thanks to the awesome schedule and routine that we have adopted since starting daycare he has become really easy to put to sleep and much more predictable as far as when he needs to eat/sleep and how much of each he needs. A good schedule is our saving grace right now with everyone back at work.

A 5 month old hug for all our lovely blog readers!

All About Eli - Month 5:

ELi Likes: sitting up, green peas, cereal, going to school, playing on the floor, his toys, Gymboree, being outside, watching people & cars, swimming & splashing at bathtime

Eli DOES NOT Like: not being able to reach something he wants, being hungry, falling over when he means to be sitting up, getting his nose cleaned out

"See, I can sit up!"

Love the back of his shirt from Auntie Kim & Uncle Sam

We Are Figuring this Out

The New Routine

** subject to change...like instantly, without notice, every other day**

7:00ish - Wake up & bottle (& cuddle)

7:30ish - Wake up daddy in his bed

7:30 - 8:20 - Momma shower, momma dressed, eli dressed, momma breakfast, pack lunch, load up diaper bag and momma's school bags

8:20 - Drop off Eli at Daycare

8:45 - Momma to Work

9:00-4:17 - REALLY LONG WORK DAY WITHOUT SWEET BABY GIGGLES AND KISSES

4:40 - Pick up Eli at school (lots of hugs and kisses)

5:15ish - Eat Dinner (Yeah, I like an early dinner) & Eli eats veggies and cereal

5:45-8:00 - PLAYTIME (well and load bottles and run dishwasher, repack diaper bag, read emails/blogs, watch the Cards, clean up the house, run errands etc...)

8:00 - PJs, clean diaper & swaddled (and the beloved giggle time with Daddy)

8:15 - Bottle and rocking with momma

8:30 - Baby Zzzzzz's

9:30 - 10:00 - Big People Zzzzz's (Okay, I won't lie. Sometimes its 9:00 or 30 seconds after Eli's asleep)

... And when we are lucky that is the end of the story... sometimes we are still getting a 3am feed, but those seem to be getting fewer and further between

And a cute picture of my little Stinky Face, just because.

Running Water

Ummmm... so I wrote this post a while ago and never published it...so here is a very delayed look at our Cumberland Falls Trip!

My husband loves running water, no not the kind. when you leave the sink on or when the toilet doesn't work right, but any sort of natural running water. Creeks, rivers, streams and especially waterfalls. Many of our vacations since we have been married have centered around a national or state park that has had a major waterfall or other body of water.

A couple of weeks ago we went to KY and TN to visit family and had a great time. In the middle of trip we stayed one night in Corbin KY and visited Cumberland Falls National Park. It was super HOT, but we still had a great time checking out the waterfall and walking around to the different viewing areas.

After we saw the waterfall we went swimming in the pool at the park! It was sooo nice to get into the cool water. Eli is really starting to like the water (Note to self: take pool pictures). He splashed a lot in the water that day!

Finally Eating Cereal

It felt like it took forever (really like 3 weeks), but Eli is finally eating his cereal well...most days. He leans in towards the spoon with a wide open mouth and just gulps it up. He is doing so well that we introduced him to green beans as well. He doesn't quite love those yet, but he is getting better and better with them. Tonight we ate dinner all together, well kinda Eli ate a little before we did and then he sat up in his high chair and hung out with us while we ate. For a momma who is trying to savor every moment with her boy in the evenings it is awesome for him to be able to be up at the table with us. And now for some messy faced baby pictures.

The Process of Going Back to Work - Part 2

Well, we have done it. I am back at work, Eli is going to daycare and Dan is alone once more in the house. We have survived two weeks of our new "normal" and so far we are all surviving... well except the blog, which has obviously taken a hit, but at least it is the blog that is getting neglected not my son, husband or job.

I did really well with dropping him off at daycare the first day and overall have really enjoyed being back at work (well, except the whole work part). The hardest part of the day for me is between 3:00 and 4:00 in the afternoon when my brain has checked out of work and is so ready to be at home with my boys. Also, I struggle at night when he falls asleep in my arms to put him down in his bed. I savor that snuggly time with my boy. I don't want to put him down, I don't want to leave him again. It is strange how it hits me at night. I think it is because the mornings are busy and hectic and the evenings seem so precious to me.

I think Eli likes his school, but then again he is constantly happy and smiley (even when sick...more on that later) so who really knows. His teachers seem to like him a lot...again with the "smiley all the time" thing. He has learned to sit up, hold his own bottle and eat his cereal (finally) since he started school so I guess it can't be all bad.

We all treasure our evening time together, it doesn't seem like there is much of it most nights, but we enjoy it as much as we can. Eli is typically in bed by 8:30 and if we are up an hour after that it is a miracle... I guess that is what parenthood does to you.

And I will leave you with a "smiley all the time" boy picture:

4 Generations

How cool is this picture? I think it is adorable, perfectly adorable. I love how they all match (unplanned) and how happy my sweet little boy looks. We had a great visit with Dan's parents and his Grandpa and got an amazing 4 Generations picture too!

Balance

My attempt at putting my current feelings into words...

Motherhood is the balance between doing

what is best for baby in the long run

and what might save your sanity this very moment.

Not exactly a brilliant pearl of wisdom, but something I think about frequently especially during the struggle that is putting a 4 month old to sleep. I think I often opt for my sanity, but I guess if I lose that it wouldn't be good for him in the long run either.

Gymboree!!

Elijah loves Gymboree Play & Music and I love getting out of the house and having something to do each week. The class is simple and laid back because the kids are all under 6 months so there doesn't have to be much going on to keep their interest and we don't have to chase them around yet, like the older classes. Eli LOVES to see the other babies and generally would rather look at them and talk to them than me. It makes me feel better about taking to daycare because I really think he will enjoy seeing other babies. He also likes tummy time, bubbles and the parachute. The parachute is a definite favorite, although I am not sure if it is all the movement and colors or the nice breeze that the parachute makes as it moves that fascinates him, but something does. I am hoping to keep going to a Gymboree class once a month after I start back to school, but the only one we can make is a 9am on Saturdays and I am not sure that is going to sound like a good idea for too long.

Tummy Time with balls and a mirror!

How cute is that kid, seriously?