Finding ourselves

Not sure if any of my other "new mom" friends have experienced this....

Tim & I are finding ourselves again. No, we haven't really been lost - just pushed into the background behind all the diapers, feedings, crying and general new baby stuff. Eli will be 5 months old next week and we're ready to work on ourselves and be Evia & Tim, super parents and super people. (We're not really super heroes.....but we try!) Over the past 5 months, we have focused so much on learning about our new son and figuring out how to take care of him that we haven't focused on ourselves. Exercise and hobbies have gone by the wayside. And we're ready to change that. =) We have talked about our daily routine and have figured some ways to allow us each some free time to exercise and do whatever else we wish for a certain period of time. We have given up on our past expectation of exercising every day - at least for now with Eli's age and the current lack of sunlight after work - but we have a plan that will give each one of us every other day. A minimum of 3 workouts a week should help us both get back into some sort of shape (and me lose more of this baby weight) and help us stay happy.

We're excited about our new plan and look forward to continuing to tag team parenthood. We both actually got a workout in today - a great end to our wonderful weekend and the perfect start to a new week!

A Whole Lotta Happy

We have had such a great weekend.....and there's still one day left!!

Last night, my mom came up to spend time with Eli and give us a break. We went out to dinner and then to Barnes & Noble. We love to just go hang out and browse at B&N; it was nice to be able to go and not worry about Eli; he was in good hands.

This morning Grandma took care of Eli and allowed us an extra hour of sleep (see I told you it was a great weekend!!). After breakfast, Eli, Grandma & I headed to Pullen Park for our first AquaMoms class. I was so excited because all of my friends from PreNatal Yoga were also going to be there. Eli did great in the pool - his first time - and we even put his face under water. He didn't cry or anything! Everyone in the class was so nice and it was a lot of fun. The babies seemed to have a good time and it was great to see Robin, Amy & Jacque again with their little ones, Noah, Stella Dot and Elizabeth.

After AquaMoms, we came home and piddled around the house a bit. We made Eli's sweet potatoes for the next week and then (more fun stuff ahead), Tim & I went to the movies. We went to see 'The Bucket List'. It was really good and especially nice to relax and enjoy the movie. I can't remember if we've been to a movie together since he was born.....maybe once, but I can't specifically remember. We got back and hung out with Grandma for a bit before she had to head home. Tim, Eli & I then went to Brier Creek to run some errands and Eli slept the entire time.

See, I told you it was a great weekend! My mom loves to come see Eli and it is such a treat for Tim & I as well. We really appreciate her coming up this weekend and giving us a lot of time off to do fun stuff together. We love you Mom!

Tomorrow we hope to hang out with our neighbor Kara and her son Owen and also do a few more chores. Should be a good day!

Some fun pictures from AquaMoms.

Floating on my back

Noodle time - kick kick kick

Mom, this is so much fun!

(L-R) Moms: Evia, Robin, Amy,Jacque

Babies: Eli, Noah, Stella Dot, Elizabeth

5k Photos (finally)

Finally recovered pictures from the memory card - thanks Amy!

Pre-Race

Go Mommy Go!

Look at my medal!

Running and Rolling into 2008

Welcome to 2008 - Happy New Year!!

Although we did nothing last night (we followed Eli's mood and just stayed home, laying low), we had a great time today celebrating 2008.

The running: Tim, Eli & I did the Resolution Run 5k. My original plan was to walk the entire thing and finish in under 50 minutes. Well, I learned today that I still have a competitive spirit in me. I started looking at other participants and realized that even though I haven't run in well over a year, I could finish before some of them. Bad of me, I know, but I just couldn't help it. So Tim & I started the 5k at 9am. Me pushing Eli in the jogger and Tim asking a million times if I needed him to push. Being as stubborn as I am, my answer was always a polite no. We ended up running more than I expected and only walked the uphills. The great thing was that the last .6 miles to the finish line was downhill! So, we did our 3.1 miles in 39:54 - averaged 12:42 min/mi. I was pretty darn happy with that. Our first event as a family and Eli got his first medal for finishing! There was a kids' run after and one of my friends was the race director so he gave Eli his own medal for finishing the 5k. How cool is that?! 4 months old and did his first race. He seemed to enjoy it and was smiling when it was over.

The only bad part of the 5k was when I dropped our digital camera on the brick pavers after we finished and broke it. I was (and still am) so upset with myself over that; it seems like everything I touch these days breaks. It's past being repaired so we've got to shop for another one. Ugh. We did capture some good pictures before I dropped it so once I retrieve them from the memory card, I'll post some.

Now the rolling: Eli rolled over this evening for the first time! It was so cool that Tim & I both got to see it. It will probably take him a while to repeat it but we're happy we saw the first one. With him in daycare, we worry about missing this kind of stuff.

Oh yeah, the boy's getting some teeth too! I can feel at least one coming in on the bottom right side. Crazy how things are starting to happen. =)

So all in all, it has been a big start to 2008 for us. No resolutions here except to enjoy our time as a family and be the best parents we can be. It's a tough job and big challenge but Tim & I are "tag team champions of the world" and together we can do it.

4 month (+ 8 days) doctor visit

Eli had his 4 month check up and shots today; it was 8 days later than his actual 4 month birthday. On Wednesday, I had taken him in to the doc's office to make sure his cold was just a cold and that he could still get shots today. On Wednesday, it was just deemed a bad cold - Whew. Well, today that cold has turned into an ear infection. Ugh. Here are stats - good and bad - from the day:

Weight: 16 pounds 13.5 ounces (75-90th percentile)
Length: 27 inches (97th percentile)
Head Circ: 43 cm (75th percentile)

Now it's no wonder our 4 month old is busting out the length of 9 month clothes - he's very long!

So, now the bad:

Ear infection in left ear - is now on antibiotics for that twice a day
Skin rashes - look like beginnings of exzema; have prescription cream for that twice a day
Head flatness - very bad; called 'Torticollis' and we have neck stretching exercises that we have to do with him 5 times a day

The past few days Eli has been fussier than normal. All of this explains a lot. He has also not been eating as well as normal. He's gaining weight pretty well and on his own growth curve so the doctor figures that it's associated with his cold. Let's hope so. He also got one oral vaccine today and 3 shots. I'm glad Tim was there with me today because with everything, I don't know how I would have done alone. We're all tired around here so hopefully we'll get to bed early and get some well deserved rest. Needless to say, Mommy is trying to stay positive and not get upset (read: "cry"). I know we'll get through it but it sure does suck.

Rubber Ducky Tub Time

Last night we had fun giving Eli a bath in his big Rubber Ducky Tub. He really seemed to enjoy the bath and playing with tub toys. It was also much easier for us than the hard plastic tubs. Here are a few cute pictures of our bath time fun.

I love my new ducky

Hey there!

A fun Christmas Day

We had such a fun day yesterday for Christmas. Eli let us sleep in until almost 6:30am - a nice treat to start the day. It was also nice to see that even though Tim ate all of Santa's cookies, he still left some gifts for Eli. We didn't go all out this year for Christmas - Eli would never know - but we did get him a few things. Eli got a Fisher Price learning table, some books, socks, sippie cups, a new puffy suit (that will hopefully fit), a Twilight Turtle, the Dangerous Book for Boys. I'm sure I forgot something. Several of the things were just as much for Tim or me than Eli at this point. The best gift was his big Rubber Ducky inflatable bath tub. We want to get him upstairs for bath time but don't want to put him in the huge tub. We hope to try that out tomorrow night.

Another "Eli highlight" of the day was feeding him cereal with a spoon for the first time. We did Rice cereal with bananas and he loved it. He's been watching us eat for a while now so he had no trouble knowing to open his mouth for the spoon. It was very cute.

The rest of the day was fairly relaxing. We hung out with our neighbors for a bit and then went to our friends Mike & Mary's house for Christmas dinner. We had lots of good food and hung out with them until Eli had a breakdown and was so tired from the day. We didn't have the heart to make him suffer through a bath when we got home so wash hands and face and it was off to bed.

Mommy was also pooped out and asleep on the couch by 9pm. And, like I said in an earlier post, this will probably be the most laid back Christmas now that Eli's here. But you know what....bring it on! The fun has only started with our little man. It gets us kinda "misty" to think about the future and all the cool things we'll get to teach him and show him. The whole world is new again - for him and us.

Hope everyone else had a wonderful Christmas Day.

Chillin' in my new rubber duck

Santa Paws paid Belle a visit

Ready to eat

This is good?

I love my cereal - yippee

Waiting for Santa

Tim & I are trying to stay up for Santa's arrival but I doubt we'll be able to stay awake that long. Not sure if he'll come now because Tim just ate all of the cookies that Eli had left out. We'll keep our fingers crossed and wait until morning to see if he does make a visit!

Second Christmas

This weekend, we went down to my parents’ house for “Second Christmas”. The fun of having family out of town is celebrating (and eating!) multiple times. I was a little nervous before we went down that we wouldn’t be able to go to my Aunt Val’s for dinner on Saturday. My Grandma had been diagnosed with shingles almost 2 weeks ago. We had to see how she was doing to see if we could take Eli over there. The shingles have been taking their painful course but, after consulting our pediatrician, we decided to go. We made the hard decision that neither Grandma nor Grandpa could hold Eli or even be really close to him but that’s what we had to do. We hope to go visit after things are better.

Dinner was yummy and food was plenty, as usual. During dinner, I decided to let Eli try some mashed potatoes. I put some on my finger and he loved them. He was opening his mouth waiting for more when he saw my finger. (We should have no trouble with him eating from a spoon!) After dinner, we exchanged a few gifts and Eli got some presents. He seemed more interested in the bow than his actual gifts. He was also quite interested in the Christmas train surrounding the tree. He had fun watching it go around and listening to the sounds. Tim has been wanting a train for the tree so that will be fun for next year. Lots of pictures later, we headed back to Mom’s house to turn in for the night.

Picture in front of the tree - a family tradition

Choo choo with Grandma

Yummy taters - give me more!!

No need for presents, I'll take the bow

Sunday morning we woke up and played Christmas with my parents. We acted as if it were Christmas morning (I love to do that). After breakfast, we went to church to hear my Dad preach. During the service each week, my Dad has children’s service. I took Eli up to the front pew for the children’s service. While Dad was talking, Eli kept looking at him and smiling. It was the cutest thing and it almost made my Dad lose his composure. Eli was paying such close attention and just looking at his Grandpa. My Mom could see it from the choir box and it just made us all smile.

After church, we went back to Mom’s for more food (lunch) and to finish gift exchange. My Grandma (Dad’s Mom) came to church with us and then back for lunch. We had not done Eli’s gifts in the morning because he took a nap so we saved them for the afternoon. He had tons of presents. The coolest thing was his HUGE stocking hung by the fireplace. There was a card inside alerting Santa to the new stocking and asking him not to overlook it because it belongs to a special baby. My Mom had written inside that it’s ok if Santa forgets to fill it because it’s already full of Grandma & Grandpa’s love. It was so sweet!

A fun afternoon and then we headed back home. Traffic was pretty heavy on I85 and it took us a lot longer than usual. But we were very happy (and tired) when we finally got home. We’re very much looking forward to our first Christmas at home with Eli.

Eli's HUGE stocking full of Grandma & Grandpa's love

Look at all these presents - I'm not spoiled yet

See told ya I'm not spoiled!

Our little Guitar Hero

Giggle time with Grandma & Grandpa

Grandpa is ga-ga over me

A Night without Mommy

Last Thursday, I had to travel to Atlanta for work. I was part of a team presenting on a $90 million construction project. While it was very exciting for me, I was also nervous about being away from my boys. I dropped Eli off at daycare on Thursday and headed to the airport. Once in Atlanta, it was “game on” for the presentation. I finally talked to Tim about 9pm and he was doing well without me. Eli had been fussy during bath time but Tim handled it all. I had the great fortune of a full night’s sleep in a big hotel bed all by myself. I didn’t know what to do! Tim called me Friday morning and I was happy to hear that he & Eli had had a good night – only one nighttime awakening at 3am. Our presentation went well (at least I think it did, we won’t hear until January) and I was lucky enough to catch an earlier flight back and get home to my boys. While it wasn’t Tim’s ideal situation – a night of single dad – he did great. He’s such an awesome Daddy!!