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!!

First Christmas

(Finally I’m able to write…..)

Tim’s parents came up to visit us on the 16th to celebrate Christmas with us. It would be our “First Christmas” celebration of several.

Grandma and Grandpa came up from Morehead City on Sunday, presents in tow. We had a fun afternoon hanging out with them. While Eli took his afternoon nap, Tim & I showed them my ‘Guitar Hero’ alter-ego. It was pretty fun and I even did a few songs on the Medium setting (bye-bye to Easy!!). Once Eli got up from his nap, we played Christmas and exchanged gifts. I was very excited to give Grandma & Grandpa their gift from Eli. Before I went back to work, Eli & I went to Amazing Glaze to make pottery. I only showed the mug on the blog but we really went to make Christmas ornaments for the Grandparents. We made ones with his handprint on them – so cute! Tim’s parents loved it. Then it was time for Eli to open his presents. It was fun trying to help him take off the wrapping paper. I’m sure that next year he’ll know exactly what to do! A very nice family dinner later and we were all pooped and ready for bed. Grandma & Grandpa spent the night to have a little more time with Eli.

We really enjoyed their visit and appreciate them coming up to see us. They left last week to go to Florida for a few months, visiting Tim’s brother and family and also escaping the cold! We hope they have fun down there and have safe travels. We look forward to seeing them when they get back.

So much to blog, where does time go?

This week has flown by. I have things that I want to write and pictures to share but have just had no time!

Here's a quick review of our week: Tim's parents were here Sun/Mon to celebrate our "1st Christmas" this year, Eli had a good week at daycare, work took me to Atlanta for a presentation and Tim racked up at his Secret Santa party at work.

More to come with pictures hopefully on Monday. Today we're headed to my parents' house for our "2nd Christmas" this year. The holiday season is definitely more fun now with Eli here. We will get to watch joy, excitement, amazement and wonder through his eyes. This will probably be the calmest Christmas we'll have for a LONG time!!

Hope everyone has a great weekend and a wonderful Christmas if I don't get to write again before then!

A Visit from Santa (and Mom)

Yesterday Santa made a special trip to Eli's school. Of course, Mom had to be there to see Santa for herself and take some pictures. All of the kids at school were very excited for Santa's appearance. I was extremely impressed - Santa looked great. The costume was gorgeous and, as you can see, he had a real beard. In the infant room, he worked with the teachers on how to take the best photos of the children and how to do it so they would not be scared or cry. The director took pictures of every child with Santa in case their parents couldn't be there. Eli did great and he wasn't scared at all.

Ready for school......and Santa!

Santa, Eli & Mom

Santa loves me

More pictures =)

Ok, so I'm really backed up with cute pictures that I want to share. Can't help it -
I just love my little dude.

Tomorrow Santa comes to Eli's school so, of course, there will be pictures of that!

Hide your daughters!

Wish I could crawl

Exersaucer time

Last night we tried Eli in his Baby Einstein exersaucer. He has been doing so well holding his head up that we thought he could handle it. He seemed to have fun looking at all the new stuff. It was pretty fun!

Is it Monday or Thursday?

Before we had Eli, I could have sworn that there were only two days of the week - Monday and Thursday. You wake up Monday morning and go to work. You blink and it's Thursday - where did the week go? Go to bed Thursday night and wake up to Monday again. Time just seemed to fly by. When Eli was born and I was home with him, I really never had a clue as to what day it was. I knew that it was some day during the week when Tim went to work and then knew it was a weekend when he was home. Now that I've started working again, it seems like the world has turned back to Mondays and Thursdays. It's so crazy!!

This week has been good. Every night, thanks to the mild weather, we've taken a family walk of at least a mile. Tim walking Belle on the leash and me with Eli in the Baby Bjorn. It's a great time for us to talk about our days and anything else on our mind. As long as it's dry, we're going to try to keep it up.

Eli has had a great week at school. This week they've sang lots of songs and read books, had more craft time with paintings, spent time outside and hung out with friends. He is getting into a better nap rhythm and seems to be developing a long afternoon nap. He is changing so much every day and I think he grows when I leave him during the day!

Got lots of cute pictures.....here we go

Grandma came to visit last weekend

Family Christmas picture

Discovering my toys

Starting exotic foods early - octopus here!

I've found my fingers and they're yummy

Week 1 - a success

Well, we survived Week 1 of daycare and back to work. On all accounts, I think we can deem it a success. Tim & I have developed a routine for each night and tag-team getting everything ready for the next day. We alternate who puts Eli to bed each night and also who gets up in the middle of the night should it be necessary. It's kind of funny because we didn't exactly say "you do this and I'll do that", it just worked out and we fell into a pattern. One that I think we're both comfortable with and it doesn't put all the burden on one person. Eli has, of course, been going to bed very easily. He is tuckered out each night after an exciting day of school. He seems really happy when we drop him off and really happy when we pick him up (and I think he grows during that time too!). In between, he has gotten lots of attention, interaction and activity to keep him busy. He has been eating well and is starting to nap at school much better. I still cannot say enough about his sweet sweet teachers. We love them already and are so glad for the work that they do. It was hard enough for me with one in the house but a room of 7?!

Work went well for me this week. I swear it was like I never left. I fell back into the swing of things very quickly. Things are as busy as ever and I try to be really focused when I'm at work so I can focus on Tim & Eli when I get home. I feel like being a Mom is making me more well rounded. I still love my job but refuse to be the same workaholic I was before. I did learn a few things during my time off!

Tim & I still don't have the exercise routine worked out. We're going to make some changes over the Christmas holiday that we hope will allow us some time for that. We do try to get out for a family walk each night if time permits as it's great to get Eli out and walk and talk about our day.

Oh yeah, lastly, Eli is getting some sniffles. He has a super stuffy nose so I imagine he's getting a cold. We're trying to use the "booger sucker" to keep the ooze to a minimum but we'll see what happens. I feel so bad for him because he just sounds pitiful. He's not acting fussy or sick or anything but he is Mr. Stuffy Head.

Mom (Grandma) is coming to see us in the morning and we're going to take Eli to see Santa Claus. My company Christmas party is also tomorrow night so Grandma is going to hang with the little one for a bit so we can make an appearance. We hope to have a fun relaxing weekend. Hope you do too!!

First battle wounds

Today Eli got his first daycare battle wound. First, let me say that he is adjusting VERY well to daycare (we call it "school") and is happy each morning when we drop him off and when we pick him up. We have a ton of fun with him each evening and then he goes to bed without a single fuss. He is just worn out from the day. He's also sleeping longer each night so that's good for us too! Last night he slept 10 hours and then snuggled with Daddy for another hour. Wonderful!!

Yesterday at school, they did their first craft project. The teachers made a green Christmas wreath for the bulletin board and the greenery is made up of the kids handprints. It's so cute. Each kid has 3 of their handprints on there. We get a report each day of his activities and how he spent his day. At first, he wasn't doing well taking bottles but he's getting better as he gets more used to the environment. The transition to school has been a dream. He has done well and I hopped back into work like I'd never left. I do miss him each day but feel very lucky for the 15 weeks we had together.

Now to the battle wounds....Eli and a little boy were playing together when Eli's little nose got scratched. It's no big deal but the school did an "Incident report" for us and the sweet teachers cleaned him up and "gave him lots of TLC". The spot will be gone in no time and I figure it's just the first of many battle wounds.....because that's just what little boys do!

1st day of school

Today was Eli's first day of school and my first day back to work officially in the office. Last night was busy preparing everything for today. This morning, we did really well getting up and all of us showered, fed and dressed to go out the door......and, that's when it got hard. My truck was probably in the driveway running for 10 minutes before we made it out of the house. I wasn't sure how I would react to this but I have to admit, I cried. I cried some at home before we left and that made it hard to leave. I know going to school is the best thing for Eli as he needs the social interaction and I need the satisfaction of work but that didn't make it any easier. Today's 8 hours was the longest I've been away from him since he was born. Tim went with me to drop Eli off this morning to learn the system / routine and also to lend some moral support. I cried again when we left - I think I felt guilty for leaving him there. (It was, however, nice today to go to the bathroom at work and know that he wasn't going to scream for me.) I called the school mid-day to see how he was doing and he was doing well but didn't eat all of his first bottle. He did however eat his lunchtime bottle and they were feeding him at 3:30pm when I arrived to pick him up. Once I walked in the classroom and he saw me, he didn't care about his bottle any more. He just smiled and that made my heart melt. He didn't forget me during the day and he still loves me. That felt great. The teachers in his classroom are awesome. They're so sweet and just love the babies. They were all set up for Eli this morning and he was the first one to arrive. They also left us notes on his papers about how his day went. He had a wonderful first day and, in his own special way, he told me that he's ok with going back tomorrow. It's another big change in our house but we'll figure it all out and we'll just keep being happy.

Such a cute big boy

Mommy & Eli before school

At my new school

Confessions of an Overachiever....

Hello, my name is Evia and I'm on overachiever.

I'm not bragging or anything. My neighbors pick on me about how much I try to get done on a daily basis. I'm a list person and like to get things done so I can mark them off the list. I make lists of things when I think of them and I always want them done as soon as possible. Now I'm having to re-evaluate my lists every day to determine what REALLY needs to be done to keep our household functioning and what can wait another day. This is very hard for me....but I'm learning. I'm also guilty of over-committing and trying to do too much for everyone else while neglecting myself. I think that's what women do and it only grows with being a Mom. So much to do, so little time and you just do the best that you can.

That's what I have to know, learn and hold dear to my heart. I can only do the best that I can.....and that will just have to be good enough.