Reaching for Momma

I am so silly giddy tonight. Eli reached out for Momma - REALLY reached out with meaning to come to me. Tim was holding him on the couch and I walked over and held out my arms to pick him up and he reached out to me to be picked up. It's the little things make you feel so loved!!

Eli's got (more) wheels

Today was a very exciting day - REI dividend day! Tim & I have been waiting for dividends to come out so we could get a bike trailer to take Eli on rides with us. When they arrived today, I stopped at REI on the way home and picked up Eli's newest set of wheels - a Burley solo trailer. We're looking forward to rides around the neighborhood and on smooth surfaces. We hope to test ride it this weekend. Let the fun begin!!

Eli's new trick

So this morning, Eli FINALLY decided to show Mommy that he could roll over. 7:04am, he did it for me. I was so surprised as we had heard that he did it at school once but it hadn't been repeated. Tim came in the room about a half hour later and Eli kept rolling over for him too. He rolled over several times today, showing off for Uncle Billy as well. That was a highlight of our weekend!

Here are some more pictures of our weekend.

Eli standing at the couch

Hanging with Belle

Love my Uncle Billy

Aren't we cute?

Uncle Billy and Puppy Jim

This is Uncle Billy

This is Puppy Jim

Evia's brother, Billy, came to visit us this weekend. It was so great to see him and watch him and Eli play. The last time Billy came up, Eli was only a few weeks old so he was much more interactive this time. We had a very busy weekend. Friday night we went out to eat and Eli had his first dinner out. Sweet potatoes, squash and applesauce at the restaurant. He also sat in a restaurant high chair for the first time. Saturday, we did water class - fun as always! - and went to the mall. The weather wasn't that great so it was a good day to bum around. We went to Build a Bear and made Eli a new friend. Since Eli's nickname is 'Bubba Jim', it was only fitting that his doggie be called 'Puppy Jim'. Last night we went to Red Robin for an early dinner and came home to play. Today was a lazy kind of day and we just hung out and played. Next posting will tell you all about Eli's new trick!

Finding Puppy's heart

Fluff him up - breathing life into Puppy

Air bath - got to look good

Creating his birth certificate - 17" long, 10 ounces

Daddy, Eli & Puppy Jim, the newest family member

Mid-year report card

Today was Eli's 6 month visit to the doctor - time for the mid-year check. He was such a good boy during the doctor visit. All the normal stuff - weight, length, checking him out - and he got 2 shots and one oral vaccine. He was such a brave little boy and got 2 Scooby Doo band-aids to show Daddy. Here are the stats:

Weight - 19 pounds, 3.4 oz - 75th percentile
Length - 28-1/4" - 95th percentile
Head Circ - 44.2cm - 50th-75th percentile

So far he's tracking to be a big boy! We also talked about issues from his 4 month visit - flatness of the head and his eczema. Good news, the eczema is doing great with our twice daily lotion treatments. Bad news, the head flatness hasn't improved as well as they would like to see. Eli's doctor gave me the name of a specialist at UNC to contact. We will go see him and his team and they will develop a strategy for Eli. It could involve a helmet, either at night or all day. And, believe it or not, we're ok with that. We would rather Eli get help now while his head is still molding than miss a window of opportunity to help it. Tim reminded me tonight that Eli did have a quick entrance into the world so the skull issues could be more than just how he lays to sleep at night. The stretching exercises we have been doing definitely improved his range of motion but we need more than that.

We did get the go ahead to add a 3rd feeding of solids each day. Plus we can start adding more variety to his diet. Time to make some more baby food!

Report card for Mommy & Daddy - we're still figuring this whole thing out but so far, we're doing pretty darn good. Tim and Evia - Tag Team Champions of the World! We've had our moments but overall we're all healthy and happy - so lucky and blessed. =)

Happy 6 months Eli!

Today is Eli's 6 month birthday - man how time flies! This time last year we were just telling people that we were expecting.

Eli is doing great. Getting bigger every day and every night. He has his 6 month appt on Friday so we'll get the official results but I'm guessing 18+ pounds and 30 inches. We're having so much fun. Just this week he has really started sitting up on his own. He is trying hard to hold his bottle and also learning to drink from a sippy cup. Foods, well he eats almost everything put in front of him (green is iffy depending on the day). Tonight he gave Belle a treat for the first time and just giggled doing it.

This morning after breakfast, Eli got to open his 6 month birthday present from Grandma. He got some Garanimals! I've always heard about them but never seen any. They're so cute.

Eli's now off to sleep after a fun filled busy day. Hope he sleeps well!

I got a present!

My new wrapping paper hat

Camo garanimals!!!

I'm so big - sitting up on my own

My body - friend or foe?

I know I am not the only new Mom out there wondering this exact thing. Does my body hate me now? Will it ever be back to where it was before I got pregnant? Or even close? Some of my friends, bless their souls, have had the great fortune of weight loss with breastfeeding. Well, as noted in a previous post, weight loss was not a benefit of breastfeeding for me. I was hopeful but just didn't see the pounds melt away. One of my "veteran" mom friends told me that weight comes off in increments - it goes, then plateaus and then starts again. Well, according to her, the next "start" is at 6 months. Eli will be 6 months on Wednesday so I'm fully expecting to wake up 10 pounds lighter on Thursday!

All kidding aside, I have been trying. The scale has refused to budge - it even started going up again! I have convinced myself and repeatedly told Tim that I broke the springs in the scale when I was pregnant and now it won't record weight accurately. That is probably not the real case so this morning I went in search of scientific proof of what's going on with my body. The truth hurts sometimes and a lot of this is what I expected but one thing was not.

I went to Meredith College's Human Performance Lab to have my Resting Metabolic Rate (calories you burn just existing), body composition and calories burned during exercise checked. I feel like I have been working against my body so my hope was that with some hard facts, I'd be able to work with my body.

The morning started with a weigh in and 7 site skin fold test. Then I sat in a chair, feet propped up and had a mask on that measured my breathing and who knows what else to find my resting metabolic rate. After that, we did a treadmill test where the machine measured the amount of calories I burned at various heart rates. So the results....

My weight and body fat were pretty much what I expected. An ideal body composition would require losing 30-40 pounds. I would love to do that!! My Resting Metabolic Rate was pretty depressing (and surprising) to me. I burn 1008 calories per day just existing. That's it! I have tortise slow metabolism. I was hoping for so much more. Nonetheless, you add to that 300-500 calories per day for daily activities to get the amount you need per day. I had previously used some equations to calculate what I need per day and boy were they off! This is exactly why I wanted to do this. I WAS working against my body. Through the test I also found out how many calories I burn per minute at various heart rates and intensities. They further broke that down to show how much fat and carbohydrates were burned per minute. It was pretty cool.

So now armed with scientific knowledge about my "work in progress" body, I'm ready to make this happen. The 1st five pounds will be the hardest for me. Once I see progress, it'll be much easier to stay focused. If you're one of those people - male or female - with a high metabolism, count yourself lucky.....worrying about weight isn't fun.

Sunday Shopping

After a rough night last night (Eli didn't sleep well, we were up a lot with him and he had a hacking cough) and a lazy morning for the boys (Mom had to go to the office), we decided to do some shopping this afternoon - off to Brier Creek. Eli made his first visit to Barnes & Noble. We purchased a book and flash cards on baby sign language. We're hoping Eli will teach it to us! Then we went to Target and Eli got to sit in the shopping cart - his 1st time ever! He was so cute and enjoyed looking around. Now it's time to get ready for another racetrack kind of week - I have no idea where all the time goes!

Love my snuggles

This has been a stressful week. Work has been insanely busy and intense. I've worked at night, on weekends and will again this weekend. I do see an end in sight but that doesn't make it a whole lot better. Being a mom is hard, being a working woman is hard, being a working mom is just plain tough! When it all gets stressful, I just think about Eli and how good the after work snuggles will feel when I pick him up from school. At the end of any day, nothing can beat some good baby love and snuggles.

Some fun stuff....

Tonight Eli decided to try to feed himself - he did pretty good!

Our Valentine's Day present from Eli

We went on a family walk tonight to enjoy the nice day and wind down.

Happy Valentine's Day

Hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day. Tim & I received a very nice valentine from Eli. A plaster heart with a casting of his footprint. They have been working on them at school - it's so precious!! He's the best valentine we could ask for. It's funny how every holiday is new again when you have a child. We sent little valentine's cards to his classmates at school. Remember how fun (and agonizing) that used to be? Class rules, you HAD to give a valentine to everyone....even the people you didn't like very much. =) Oh the memories that having a child brings back........

Our budding cyclist

Eli is ready to go - got his water bottle, just waiting for some nice weather to catch a ride.

Off to school in my big boy seat

This morning was Eli's first ride in his new car seat. Off to school like a big boy. He's growing so fast and that happy personality just shines through. We're so lucky and blessed! Tonight Eli was so cute when Tim went to put him to bed. We read stories to him every night before his bedtime bottle. Well, tonight Eli didn't make it through his stories before he fell asleep in Tim's arms. He was tuckered out from the day and from a big dinner.

This new seat rocks!

Weekend Review - 2 Thumbs Up!

Oh my goodness - we had the best weekend! We were so busy, had no time to post any pictures. So now we'll do the weekend in review through pictures.

Saturday morning AquaMoms class

Eli's BIG box from his big boy carseat

You can have tons of fun with a big box

Test drive the new seat before it goes in Mommy's truck

Hanging with Daddy trying to watch tv

Fitting the backpack carrier - ohhhh, fun times ahead now!

All strapped in and ready to go

My first "hike" to Owen's house

Dueling Leap Frog with Owen

First time in my Johnny Jump up

Hanging in the clothes basket - man, life is rough!

So there you have it: Saturday - AquaMoms, installed new big boy carseat, made some baby food, went to our friends Brian and Kara's house (and Eli's pal Owen) for dinner. Sunday - made more baby food, laundry, tons of house chores, Evia worked some and we went on a walk. Eli was so good all weekend and we just had so much fun!

The coolest bottle ID

One of the boys in Eli's class at school has the coolest identification bands for his bottle. They're kinda rubbery with his name imprinted on them and they fit over the bottle - so great for taking bottles to daycare! I had to search and search on line to find them but here they are - InchBug. I think I'm going to have to order some for Eli. Thought all my new mom friends would like them!

Mystery Rollover

Big news from school today - Eli rolled over from back to tummy!! We've seen tummy to back but not the reverse yet. We tried over and over tonight to get him to do it but nope, he was just showing off for the ladies at school. =) He would get so close for us but not make that final flop. We're looking forward to seeing it very soon.

Congrats Eli

Must admit, we're not big NFL fans in this house but we did have fun rooting for Eli Manning tonight - for obvious reasons, of course. Great game, awesome last few plays and Eli won!!

Visit with Grandpa & Grandma

Yesterday Grandpa & Grandma came up for a visit. It was so great to see them. Grandma has been able to make several trips up but this was Grandpa's first to Raleigh in a while. Eli was happy to see them and we had a good time. Their visit gave Tim and I a few hours off duty and allowed us to go out to lunch together and run a few errands. We appreciate their visit and enjoyed spending time with them. I must say my favorite part of the day was doing "If you're happy and you know it" with Eli & my dad. We now have our own family version of the song!

Happy with Grandpa

Getting my Vitamin D from the sunshine

Love my Grandpa & Grandma

There was a dog who had a boy

and Eli was his name-o. E-li, E-li-o....E-li, E-li-o.....E-li, E-li-o....and Eli was his name-o.

(to the tune of BINGO - this is one of Evia's silly songs)

Fun photos

Some cute, hard to resist pictures

Our little Smurf boy - Eli is his fuzzy suit ready for a walk

100% Cool Little Man - Grandma finds the best shirts!