Love my Grandparents!
Mr. Cool hanging out in Daddy's truckMonday, August 25, 2008
Sunday pics
Had a great morning with Grandma & Grandpa N on Sunday. They hung out with us and played with Eli for most of the morning before heading home. Finally got Eli to sit still for a picture!
Love my Grandparents!
Mr. Cool hanging out in Daddy's truck
Love my Grandparents! Mr. Cool hanging out in Daddy's truck
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Saturday, August 23, 2008
The Best Birthday Party EVER!!!
Today was such an amazing day. Eli had the best birthday party EVER. We are so fortunate to have wonderful friends and family to celebrate with. Our house (and yard!) was full of laughter, fun and chaos. And I loved every minute of it!
The theme of the party was "Monkey" for our little Monkey Eli. Monkeys were everywhere - from the stuffed ones to inflatable ones to all of our little monkeys running around playing. My family arrived about 10am and I immediately put my Mom and Laura (my brother's girlfriend to work). They helped me finish getting ready for our first guests that arrived at 11am. From that time on, it was a steady stream of people in and out. First the kids started playing on the back screen porch in the ball pool, with the mailbox and all the other toys out there. Then the fun moved into the backyard where the water table, the cozy coupe, the swing set, bubble machine and shaded play blankets were. Did I tell you we had fun?!! It was very laid back and casual as people ate sandwiches and chips whenever they felt like it. I actually got Eli to sit inside and eat a bit of lunch. Then it was back out to be the center of attention! He loved having all of his friends here. I think there were about 9 kids between the ages of 6 months and 13 months. More playing and then we moved the high chair outside to sing 'Happy Birthday' and having cupcakes. Eli wasn't quite sure about the singing and was then shy with his cupcake. On his actual birthday, he destroyed the cupcake but this time I think he just wanted to play. After cake, we opened presents - LOTS OF THEM! Oh my goodness, Santa doesn't need to stop at our house this year. It was crazy insane the generosity of our friends and family. Tim & I are going to have to come up with a toy rotation so he always thinks he has new toys. Eli did pretty good opening gifts, he made it almost through before he wanted to be off playing again. It was so great to see all the kids outside having fun and playing together. I don't recall one single child having a breakdown (other than not wanting to go home) or being fussy. They were all so well behaved and just playing. As everyone got tired and naptime approached, the crowd thinned out until we were left with family. My parents (and brother and Laura) and Tim's parents drove up this morning to be here for the fun. We're so glad they were here and got to spoil Eli even more. Eli took a super long nap this afternoon, got up to play more with his toys, eat dinner and then was ready for bed. He was super pooped from such an exciting day.
I can not quit smiling when I think about his party. It seemed like everyone had fun and my neighbor Amy (party planner extraordinaire) gave the thumbs up to my planning and party execution. I know Eli won't remember it but we have some great video and pictures to show him when he gets older.
Thank you to everyone who stopped by today. There were a few of Eli's friends who were sick and couldn't come - we missed you Stella Dot and Noah. Hope you feel better!!
Eli's party was the last one of party season so now we hope to chill a bit, lay low and get some house projects done.
The theme of the party was "Monkey" for our little Monkey Eli. Monkeys were everywhere - from the stuffed ones to inflatable ones to all of our little monkeys running around playing. My family arrived about 10am and I immediately put my Mom and Laura (my brother's girlfriend to work). They helped me finish getting ready for our first guests that arrived at 11am. From that time on, it was a steady stream of people in and out. First the kids started playing on the back screen porch in the ball pool, with the mailbox and all the other toys out there. Then the fun moved into the backyard where the water table, the cozy coupe, the swing set, bubble machine and shaded play blankets were. Did I tell you we had fun?!! It was very laid back and casual as people ate sandwiches and chips whenever they felt like it. I actually got Eli to sit inside and eat a bit of lunch. Then it was back out to be the center of attention! He loved having all of his friends here. I think there were about 9 kids between the ages of 6 months and 13 months. More playing and then we moved the high chair outside to sing 'Happy Birthday' and having cupcakes. Eli wasn't quite sure about the singing and was then shy with his cupcake. On his actual birthday, he destroyed the cupcake but this time I think he just wanted to play. After cake, we opened presents - LOTS OF THEM! Oh my goodness, Santa doesn't need to stop at our house this year. It was crazy insane the generosity of our friends and family. Tim & I are going to have to come up with a toy rotation so he always thinks he has new toys. Eli did pretty good opening gifts, he made it almost through before he wanted to be off playing again. It was so great to see all the kids outside having fun and playing together. I don't recall one single child having a breakdown (other than not wanting to go home) or being fussy. They were all so well behaved and just playing. As everyone got tired and naptime approached, the crowd thinned out until we were left with family. My parents (and brother and Laura) and Tim's parents drove up this morning to be here for the fun. We're so glad they were here and got to spoil Eli even more. Eli took a super long nap this afternoon, got up to play more with his toys, eat dinner and then was ready for bed. He was super pooped from such an exciting day.
I can not quit smiling when I think about his party. It seemed like everyone had fun and my neighbor Amy (party planner extraordinaire) gave the thumbs up to my planning and party execution. I know Eli won't remember it but we have some great video and pictures to show him when he gets older.
Thank you to everyone who stopped by today. There were a few of Eli's friends who were sick and couldn't come - we missed you Stella Dot and Noah. Hope you feel better!!
Eli's party was the last one of party season so now we hope to chill a bit, lay low and get some house projects done.
Monkey Man - Guest of Honor
Cupcake station
Playing on the screen porch
Playing in the back yard
Dean and Amanda - swingset for all ages!
Uncle Billy teaching Eli to drive (I think they did a pretend race!)
Eli's favorite new toy - a popping lawnmower
Got a bike!! 
Swinging with the big kids
Grandma & Grandpa
Eli got fussy before we got pictures of all the Grandparents - hope to have more tomorrow!
Friday, August 22, 2008
1 year check up
Today we had Eli's 1 year appointment and check at the doctor's office. He was such a big boy and did a great job. When we first got there, I let him out of the stroller and off he went to play with all the toys. It was his first time loose in the kids play area and he loved it.
Here are his stats (we're reporting them to NCSU so they can start recruiting him for football):
Weight: 26 pounds, 4.4 ounces (90th percentile)
Length: 32-1/2 inches (97th percentile)
Head: 47.75 cm (75th-90th percentile)
He's our little linebacker in the making. He already has a great football nickname - "Dozer".
I had to fill out the 12 month questionnaire about what he's doing and he is off the chart with his skills. Communication he's a little above where he should be at this age and his gross and fine motor skills are amazing. He has been walking for over 6 weeks now and the doctor was quite impressed with how he's doing. I told everyone when he was born that he wasn't a newborn but rather about a month old. Seems I may have been right!! But really, he's doing great. Has been drinking whole milk out of sippy cups for probably two weeks now - no more bottles here. We've had an issue with eating eggs (rash breakouts) so we'll wait a few months before trying eggs again. We do have to follow up with a pediatric urologist - if you don't know why, I'm not going to explain here but feel free to email me and ask. He got two shots and handled them like a champ. A little crying but not screaming full force. He was more annoyed about being held down than anything. He got two big boy bandaids and we were off on our way. We go back at 15 months for his next check up and will probably get him a flu shot before then.
He has a helmet appointment next Friday (the 29th) and Tim & I think we're about finished with the helmet. It is getting tight on him and they have done about all the grinding they can do on one side. It's harder to get on him these days because of his head growth so we'll make it one more week (that'll be almost 21 weeks) and then I think we may be done. Of course, we'll let the specialist advise us what we should do but we think we're almost there.
Hope everyone has a good night. Got to finish getting ready for Eli's big birthday party tomorrow!
Here are his stats (we're reporting them to NCSU so they can start recruiting him for football):
Weight: 26 pounds, 4.4 ounces (90th percentile)
Length: 32-1/2 inches (97th percentile)
Head: 47.75 cm (75th-90th percentile)
He's our little linebacker in the making. He already has a great football nickname - "Dozer".
I had to fill out the 12 month questionnaire about what he's doing and he is off the chart with his skills. Communication he's a little above where he should be at this age and his gross and fine motor skills are amazing. He has been walking for over 6 weeks now and the doctor was quite impressed with how he's doing. I told everyone when he was born that he wasn't a newborn but rather about a month old. Seems I may have been right!! But really, he's doing great. Has been drinking whole milk out of sippy cups for probably two weeks now - no more bottles here. We've had an issue with eating eggs (rash breakouts) so we'll wait a few months before trying eggs again. We do have to follow up with a pediatric urologist - if you don't know why, I'm not going to explain here but feel free to email me and ask. He got two shots and handled them like a champ. A little crying but not screaming full force. He was more annoyed about being held down than anything. He got two big boy bandaids and we were off on our way. We go back at 15 months for his next check up and will probably get him a flu shot before then.
He has a helmet appointment next Friday (the 29th) and Tim & I think we're about finished with the helmet. It is getting tight on him and they have done about all the grinding they can do on one side. It's harder to get on him these days because of his head growth so we'll make it one more week (that'll be almost 21 weeks) and then I think we may be done. Of course, we'll let the specialist advise us what we should do but we think we're almost there.
Hope everyone has a good night. Got to finish getting ready for Eli's big birthday party tomorrow!
Birthday Shout out....
Happy Birthday to Eli's friend Will who turned one today!!
Welcome to the big boy club. Hope you had a super marvelous day being 1!!
Welcome to the big boy club. Hope you had a super marvelous day being 1!!
MP3 boy
Yesterday Eli got the coolest birthday gift from his cousins Rodney and John in Florida. It a Classical Music MP3 Player. He has not put it down since he opened it. Today he took it in the car with him to school and this afternoon had it again after his doctor's appointment. The cutest thing was that he started the music and then fell asleep in his car seat listening to his classical music.
Thanks Rodney and John - you're the best cousins ever!!
Thanks Rodney and John - you're the best cousins ever!!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Birthday Boy
Today is a very special day. Depending on who you ask, we're either celebrating Eli's first birthday or that Tim & I survived our first year of parenthood. Regardless, we had fun celebrating it all today!
We had to wake Mr. "I'm 1 today" up this morning because he just wanted to snooze. I woke him up singing 'Happy Birthday'. Downstairs for breakfast, there was a balloon on his high chair and a present to open. The 'Birthday Monsters' came to town. We had fun reading this book. Then it was off for a fun filled day at school. I picked Eli up a little early so we could have some extra time at home. Our neighbor Amy and her kids, Samantha & Henry, came over and gave Eli some cool presents (monkey dinnerware and some Curious George books - VERY COOL!). Then Kara brought Owen over to have some birthday play time. They brought Eli a balloon which he just loved - Owen had to have one too so they were trotting around with their balloons. Some fun in the ball pit, with the water table and on the swingset....they were all over. After dinner, Eli got to have a cupcake to celebrate. He loved it and made a decent mess of it. Took a birthday walk in the wagon (with the balloon I might add) and then we had a pooped out little boy. He went to sleep very easily tonight. I can only imagine how he'll be Saturday for his party!
It has been a wonderful day. I would say it was Eli's best birthday ever.....ok, so it's his ONLY birthday ever but that's just a technicality. He has gotten lots of phone calls, emails and lovin' from all our friends and family. We're so lucky and blessed to have Eli with us and to have a wonderful support network that got us through the first year.
We had to wake Mr. "I'm 1 today" up this morning because he just wanted to snooze. I woke him up singing 'Happy Birthday'. Downstairs for breakfast, there was a balloon on his high chair and a present to open. The 'Birthday Monsters' came to town. We had fun reading this book. Then it was off for a fun filled day at school. I picked Eli up a little early so we could have some extra time at home. Our neighbor Amy and her kids, Samantha & Henry, came over and gave Eli some cool presents (monkey dinnerware and some Curious George books - VERY COOL!). Then Kara brought Owen over to have some birthday play time. They brought Eli a balloon which he just loved - Owen had to have one too so they were trotting around with their balloons. Some fun in the ball pit, with the water table and on the swingset....they were all over. After dinner, Eli got to have a cupcake to celebrate. He loved it and made a decent mess of it. Took a birthday walk in the wagon (with the balloon I might add) and then we had a pooped out little boy. He went to sleep very easily tonight. I can only imagine how he'll be Saturday for his party!
It has been a wonderful day. I would say it was Eli's best birthday ever.....ok, so it's his ONLY birthday ever but that's just a technicality. He has gotten lots of phone calls, emails and lovin' from all our friends and family. We're so lucky and blessed to have Eli with us and to have a wonderful support network that got us through the first year.
Musical card from Grandma & Grandpa. He was so cute opening and closing it. It played 'Itsy Bitsy Spider'.
Birthday Monster book
Eli & Mommy before school
Birthday boy with his balloon
Water table fun with Owen
There goes Trouble 1 and Trouble 2
Sweet little cupcake face. Happy Birthday Monk Monk!!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
This time last year....
At this exact time last year on August 19th, Tim & I had no idea that Eli was about to arrive. I had done a walk that morning, then we went to Triangle Town Center in the afternoon to walk around and hang out, completely oblivious that I was really in labor. My neighbors had told me that morning that I was having contractions because my belly was tightening but I was clueless. For those of you with a sharp memory, you'll remember that Eli arrived shortly after midnight that night.
It's amazing how fast time flies. I never knew the year would go so fast. In the next few days, I hope to post some things that I've learned over the past year. There are so many but having Eli has taught me a lot not only about a baby and the making of a family but also about myself.
It's amazing how fast time flies. I never knew the year would go so fast. In the next few days, I hope to post some things that I've learned over the past year. There are so many but having Eli has taught me a lot not only about a baby and the making of a family but also about myself.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Mr. Social
We've had a busy few days keeping up with Eli, Mr. Social. Thursday afternoon his friend Ryan (and Ryan's mom Carol) came to visit after school. They were laughing and playing - totally forgetting that they'd been together all day at school. We had dinner with Carol & Ryan before heading out on a walk with them and Kara and Owen. We're so lucky (ok, I'M so lucky) that we all live so close together. The boys seemed to enjoy the walk - we managed to fit in 2 miles!
Friday night Owen came over with his parents to play for a bit and hang out. It was great! Both Eli & Owen were tired when their play session was over and slept like champs.
Yesterday was another busy day. Eli & I did a 3 mile run/walk first thing before all of us went out to run errands. Lunch, a nap and then it was off to another birthday party (August will always be party month for us!). This time it was Eli's friend Will. His birthday is this Friday and his parents had his party yesterday. It was a great cookout with lots of babies and friends. Eli walked all over the place playing with whatever he could find. Will seemed to have a good time eating, playing, opening presents and just being the center of attention.
We were a little worried about Eli yesterday. He started coughing....pretty bad. It was a dry harsh cough. We were concerned that it might be the start of croup. We got some Children's Tylenol Cough & Cold and prepared ourselves for a long night. Eli didn't eat much yesterday so that added to the cause for concern. Fortunately, he barely coughed all night - thanks to Tylenol and the humidifier. This morning he woke up happy as could be and has been eating fairly well. Whew...hopefully dodged that one.
This morning, I went for a road bike ride while Tim & Eli hung out. Once I got home, Eli & I did the grocery shopping while Tim did a road bike ride. It was great!! My ride (selfish here) was much better than I had hoped for and I felt great. I'm not near as fast as I used to be but it was good to be out there. Now Eli is taking a nap and we'll hit the floor playing again as soon as he wakes up.
We hope that everyone else has had a good weekend too! I've got one more week of work and then a little staycation for Mommy. Woo hooo!! Some pictures to enjoy...
Eli & Ryan in the ball pit
Wrestling with Ryan...again!!
Friday night Owen came over with his parents to play for a bit and hang out. It was great! Both Eli & Owen were tired when their play session was over and slept like champs.
Yesterday was another busy day. Eli & I did a 3 mile run/walk first thing before all of us went out to run errands. Lunch, a nap and then it was off to another birthday party (August will always be party month for us!). This time it was Eli's friend Will. His birthday is this Friday and his parents had his party yesterday. It was a great cookout with lots of babies and friends. Eli walked all over the place playing with whatever he could find. Will seemed to have a good time eating, playing, opening presents and just being the center of attention.
We were a little worried about Eli yesterday. He started coughing....pretty bad. It was a dry harsh cough. We were concerned that it might be the start of croup. We got some Children's Tylenol Cough & Cold and prepared ourselves for a long night. Eli didn't eat much yesterday so that added to the cause for concern. Fortunately, he barely coughed all night - thanks to Tylenol and the humidifier. This morning he woke up happy as could be and has been eating fairly well. Whew...hopefully dodged that one.
This morning, I went for a road bike ride while Tim & Eli hung out. Once I got home, Eli & I did the grocery shopping while Tim did a road bike ride. It was great!! My ride (selfish here) was much better than I had hoped for and I felt great. I'm not near as fast as I used to be but it was good to be out there. Now Eli is taking a nap and we'll hit the floor playing again as soon as he wakes up.
We hope that everyone else has had a good weekend too! I've got one more week of work and then a little staycation for Mommy. Woo hooo!! Some pictures to enjoy...
Eli & Ryan in the ball pit
Mr. Big Boy - check out the cute shoes
Birthday Boy Will
Wrestling with Ryan...again!!
Our family - we don't get family pics too often!
So cute, checking the mail from the cozy coupe
Eli fell asleep eating lunch today in the high chair
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Meeting Ella
Today I met Ella.
This afternoon when I picked Eli up at school, Colin's mom and sister were picking him up (Colin is a boy in Eli's class). Ella came over to me - she's 4 years old max - and announced that Eli is her boyfriend. She was so cute and matter of fact about it. I told her that she's Eli's first girlfriend. I wish I had her picture - she's just as adorable as can be. Guess Eli's already catching the girls!
This afternoon when I picked Eli up at school, Colin's mom and sister were picking him up (Colin is a boy in Eli's class). Ella came over to me - she's 4 years old max - and announced that Eli is her boyfriend. She was so cute and matter of fact about it. I told her that she's Eli's first girlfriend. I wish I had her picture - she's just as adorable as can be. Guess Eli's already catching the girls!
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