Helmet update - week 12

Wow, today makes 12 weeks that Eli has had his helmet. Things are going well with it. He had an appointment at UNC this morning. The measurements didn't show a lot of growth but it was obvious to the orthotists that he had indeed grown. It is just not reflected in the specific measurements they take. Eli loved seeing the ladies and was being Mr. Charming. After measurements, they did quite a bit of grinding on his helmet to allow for growth. We've noticed it becoming more and more tight - I never imagined it when he first got it b/c the helmet was so wobbly on his head. I asked the magical question today - "How much longer do you think he'll need to wear it?". The response wasn't quite as soon as I had hoped but we're close. She said probably 2 more months, conservatively. We're still holding out hope that he'll have it off by his 1st birthday but we look at it this way, by then he'll be walking and we'll have saved many head bumps and bruises. :-)

Next appointment is 3 more weeks. Keep your fingers crossed for some good growth!!

Weekend at home

Whew....who knew a weekend at home with virtually no "plans" could be exhausting?! We started the weekend with no agenda and nowhere that we had to be but we somehow filled the weekend with stuff!

Saturday we started our day with a hike at Umstead. We tried to go early so a) Eli would be awake and b) it would be cooler. Well, Eli managed to stay awake for over half the hike and it was cooler and very enjoyable. We let Eli go helmet free and he really enjoyed it. Then it was home for a snack and nap. After nap, lunch and fun play time in the blow up pool in the yard. We visited with neighbors and hung out around the house.

Today Eli & I went for an early morning walk after breakfast (about 6:30am). It never fails that he gets up early for me but sleeps in for Tim. I decided this morning to enjoy the quiet Sunday morning and go for a walk - just Mommy and her little boy. Then it was grocery store, play play play time, a short nap and lunch. Lunch was pretty fun - Eli had raviolis for the first time. This afternoon my friend Kara and her son Owen came over to play in the pool and hang out. Our schedules have been opposite lately so it was great to finally catch up. Another short nap, more play time, dinner, family walk, bath, bottle and now bed.

The weekend probably sounds so boring when I write about it. Of course, interspersed in there were plenty of chores for Mommy & Daddy. Tim worked on a retaining wall project in the back yard. You really know you're getting old when you start doing yard projects and spend any extra money on that type of stuff instead of blowing it on something "fun".

We're off on another crazy week. My week schedules are so insane at work, it's a good thing this weekend was fairly calm. Tomorrow we have a helmet appointment so we'll see how it's going. Tomorrow makes 12 weeks - I can not believe it! Hope you all had a great weekend.

Little hiker boy

The hike wore me out

Retaining wall project

Fun pool play time

Eli meets Chef Boyardee

Bye Bye Paci?

I'm not quite sure but I think we're on our way to saying Goodbye to the pacifier. Just like all things so far, Eli has initiated change - weaning himself off nightime feedings, changing food and nap schedules. Two nights in a row now, Eli has gone to sleep with no pacifier. Last night he didn't use it all night....and he slept 10 hours straight! Tonight he was so pooped that he took a nap snuggled with me about 6:30 and then after bath, he had a bottle and off to bed with no pacifier. I'm pretty shocked but think it's great. At school, they told us just to let them know when we don't want them giving it to him for naps. We're so lucky. Eli is such an easy (so I'm told) baby and he's just so darn cute and happy. We're also not too far from no more bottles - at least during the day. In a month, we'll start weaning him from formula and moving to cow's milk. It seems just like yesterday that he was so tiny, now he's just big! I don't think we have a baby anymore, he's our sweet little boy. =)

Extra hands

Isn't that every Mother's dream - extra hands? This weekend, we had an extra set of hands as Evia's Mom came to visit Friday night and Saturday. Eli enjoyed playing with Grandma and Tim & I enjoyed being able to do some things. Friday night we went to see 'Get Smart'. Our first full price movie, and especially one on a Friday night, in years. We are usually matinee people because they're just so darn expensive. We did enjoy an actual date though. Saturday Grandma let us sleep in and she got up with Eli. She fed him breakfast and then they went on a walk. After Tim & I got moving, we ran to Lowe's and picked up some stuff for yard projects. We spent time cleaning out Belle's dog run - getting the old pine straw and poop out of there. It was a good thing we did it because I uncovered a copperhead. It was a small one curled up and I called Tim to come over. When he tested to see if it was alive, it tried to strike the rake. Of course, even though we're pretty good animal people, the copperhead had to go. Can't chance that with Belle & Eli outside. Then we did some inside chores while Grandma and Eli played more. It was a Grandma-play-apolooza.

Today we did a bike ride with Eli to Lake Lynn. We did it after lunch so Eli would stay awake (he's normally asleep in no time). We rode over to the playground to swing and play for a while. Eli loved the swing, was indifferent about the bouncing animals and was not happy about the slide. A nap and then our friend Deirdre stopped by for a visit. It has been a while since we've seen her so it was great having her stop over. We tried to take a post dinner walk but God had other plans for us as about a 1/4 mile from home it started raining. Toy playing, bath and two books later, Eli is on his way to dreamland.

It was a really good weekend and we appreciate Grandma's extra hands - thanks for coming to visit!!

Lunch with Grandma

Meeting a turtle that Daddy found

Little baby turtle - we have a soft spot for turtles

Bike riding with Daddy

Happy swinging boy

Not so happy on the slide

10 months big

Actually it's more like 24 months if you look at his shirts!! Another month down moving ever closer the 1 year milestone - a celebration for both Eli and us. =) Eli is all over the place these days and his stubborn personality is coming through. He gets very frustrated if he can't figure out how to do what he wants and also when we won't let him do what he wants. He is still eating very well and it's really nice that the three of us have dinner as a family these days. Eli eats what we do and we are all at the table together. This week he also said what we consider to be his first word - "dog". He's not perfect at the "g" yet but if you ask him to say "dog", he'll repeat back to you. Of course he hears us fuss at Belle all the time so it was natural that he'd say dog!

The car-seat-turn-around countdown has begun. We're very much looking forward to Eli being forward facing (the 20 pounds obviously isn't a problem!!).
61 days and counting.....

Sooooo big!

Celebrating 3 years

Today, in honor of our 3 year wedding anniversary, Tim & I played hooky from work. Ok, not really hooky, we got the day off approved in advance but we spent the entire day together. It was great! We had a leisurely morning and had fun playing with Eli. We took him to school an hour later than normal. After a few odds and ends at the house, we went for a mountain bike ride at Umstead and Lake Crabtree. The weather was perfect and for most of the ride, it seemed like we had the park to ourselves. Being on the bike together again was such fun. We're not in as good of shape or quite as fast as we used to be but we still had fun. We treated ourselves to Moe's - Welcome to Moe's! - for lunch. Then a few errands and back home for a brief bit before we picked up Eli. Tim tried to install a baby gate but it didn't fit at the top of our stairs and he installed one of our Tot Loks. Babyproofing is definitely on the "to-do" list this weekend.

Today was a wonderful day. We think this may be our new tradition. Dinner out isn't enough for us, we deserve a whole day together!!

Lake Crabtree in the background

Out on the trail

Blog-aversary

Wow, it was one year ago today that I started this blog. A year ago Tim & I had just come back from our 2nd anniversary trip to Little Switzerland and I was very pregnant. Amazing how much your life can change in one year (shoot even just a few days!).

So a year's worth of blogging begs the question......why? Why do I write so much? I have pondered this question over and over trying to think of the best answer. There are so many obvious and not so obvious reasons. Let's see if I can capture some of them.

1. Blogging is a great way to keep friends and family (both near and far) up to date with what's going on in our life. And who am I kidding, as the blog title says it IS "Eli's World" and everyone is most concerned about what he's up to! And that's ok. =)
2. It helps me preserve thoughts and memories. As I've written before, I used to be an avid scrapbooker. Well since Eli I haven't been able to do the first page so blogging allows me to capture what he's doing, important dates and how I felt at certain times. Hopefully soon I'll be able to make some scrapbook pages and use the blog to fill in details.
3. It's easy. No doubt about it, keeping a blog is pretty darn easy. You just type and hit "Publish Post". It goes just about as fast as you can type.
4. I have so much free time. Well, that's not exactly true but blogging does give me more free time. That may sound weird but go back to Item #1. I don't send out a million emails and flood people's in-boxes with pictures of Eli. And I know that none of them think I love them any less because of it. Actually we have friends and family mention that they look at this blog every day or almost every day.
5. It's an outlet. Sometimes I need to vent (or brag) about what is going on. I have such a great network of friends and I get many off-blog emails of support. The comments are great too - everyone loves to get comments!

Those are just five reasons why I blog. I love my family and love sharing our adventures with you. Thanks for reading and keeping up with our family.

Here's to another year of fun and blogging!!

Sick Mommy

Man, being sick stinks. Now I know why Eli is so crabby when he's sick. So as I wrote yesterday, I woke up with a sore throat and had a fever by the end of the day. Today, very sore throat, lots of fatigue and muscle aches. I sucked it up and made an appt at the doctor. The rapid strep test came back negative but they did a 3 day to be sure. Doc told me that my throat looked very raw and sore - yep, that's why I was there. Have some fluid built up in my right ear canal that may or may not cause me problems. Final verdict....something viral. That part really really stinks because there's nothing they can do but let it run its' course. Think happy healthy thoughts for our house. Tonight was Eli's last dose of antibiotics so I hope I don't give it back to him.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day Daddy!!

This has been a busy and good weekend at our house. Yesterday I worked half the day at a Habitat for Humanity House while Tim & Eli enjoyed some Daddy / Son bonding. They went for a bike ride around the lake and neighborhood. Eli was a pretty good boy for Daddy. Then when I got home, Eli & I went to the mall to just walk around in the air conditioning. He loved looking at all the people and stuff. It really wore him out.

Today we tried to give Tim a good 1st Father's Day. We let him sleep late and made him breakfast. Then we gave him some presents and cards. Eli got Tim a neat book - it's called 'Daddy Hug'. It's a very sweet book and it will be Tim & Eli's special book - Mommy can't read it! Then Eli & I both gave Tim XM Radio. It was kind of a splurge but there will never be another 1st Father's Day!! After Eli's morning nap, Tim went for a mountain bike ride; Eli & I went on a walk with our neighbor Amy and then stopped by to see our friends Mike & Mary. After that some grocery shopping and a tired little boy!

We're hoping the antibiotics are working and we're getting rid of the ear infections. He is sleeping some better. Trouble now is that I'm running a fever and have been very cold tonight. I hope I'm not catching a bug.

Tim told me that his 1st Father's Day was a good one and that's what we hoped for! Happy Father's Day to all our 1st time Daddy friends. Hope you had a great day as well!!

Reading Daddy Hug

Trying to climb the stairs for bath time

Still going up....he didn't make it all the way....yet

Puppy Love

Today Eli met our new next door neighbor, Mocha. She's soft and furry and sweet as can be. Tuesday night, my neighbor Amy & I went for a walk and saw a lady in our neighborhood who had (originally) 10 puppies that needed good homes. I never ever thought I'd see Amy fall in love with a dog and want one. Well, she did and, of course, Henry & Samantha (her kids) fell in love too. All they had to do was convince Daddy last night to let them get one. Well it worked and sure enough, Mocha came to her new home today. She's so cute and our neighbors are so happy to have her.

Don't they look adorable together?!

Sleeping like a baby?

I think the old phrase "Sleeping like a baby" is all wrong. If we slept like babies, we'd nap for an hour here, maybe 10 minutes there and toss / turn a lot during the night. Yes babies look completely adorable when they're peacefully sleeping for however many minutes they're asleep but I imagine if we could look at ourselves sleeping, we'd look peaceful too. Well, last night Eli finally did not "sleep like a baby". He slept like us and made it ALL NIGHT LONG without waking up. Tim & I are completely happy and refreshed today - feels like a million bucks. Eli seems to be feeling better and the medications are doing their thing. The sleep may have been just one night but it does give hope that if he can do it once, he can do it again. We're crossing our fingers!!

Helmet update - week 9

Eli had an appointment this morning at UNC to check his helmet. He didn't do a lot of head growing over the past two weeks. His measurements were pretty close to the same. They told me that when the babies are sick, there's not as much growth so it was understandable. A little tweaking on his helmet to give him some room and we were on our way.

Next appointment is in 3 weeks. Since his growth seems to have slowed down, we're trying 3 weeks instead of 2. And to think, had we listened to the doctor, we would just now be starting the process. Tim & I are so happy we went ahead - we've had a lot of correction already and it's only going to get better!

Weekend in Review

Whew, it has been a busy weekend - and we really haven't accomplished much!!

Friday afternoon Tim's parents stopped in to see us and spend the night. We had a great dinner out at Boston Market and Eli had his favorites - turkey, mac & cheese and mashed potatoes. Saturday morning Tim & I were able to go on a bike ride while his parents watched Eli (thank you again). We did an 18 mile ride on our road bikes. No speed records broken but it was nice to get out riding together. After Tim's parents left, we had Eli's doctor appt. We have never taken him in on a Saturday but we were glad we did. As I posted earlier, he has a double ear infection, pink eye and a crappy cold. Since he was not feeling so good, Tim went to our friend Crandall's wedding by himself while Eli & I stayed home.

Last night wasn't Eli's best. He was very restless and we were up with him for about an hour at 2am. We're looking forward to when he starts sleeping well again. Today was a pretty good day. We did a family bike ride early before it got hot. Tim pulled Eli in the trailer while I tried to just pull myself. Along the way we saw our neighbors Carrie & Rich and they were riding with their two kids (co-pilot seat and tag-a-long) and we all went around the lake together. After the lake, Tim & I kept riding since Eli fell asleep. We then ran errands and Eli was quite the trooper. We did some helmet free time this afternoon as Eli was very hot. While he was helmet free, he bonked his head on the floor crawling and now has a nice bruised knot on his forehead. I can't imagine how beat up he would look if he didn't have the helmet. He is fearless and brave and would probably be falling all over the place trying new things.

Tonight we had a nice family dinner and then I went to the grocery after Eli went to bed. So nothing super special but we managed to fill up the entire weekend and stay busy. Tomorrow Eli has another appt at UNC for his helmet so hopefully I'll post the update tomorrow night.

Hope everyone had a great weekend and we wish you a wonderful week ahead.

Eli's 9 month pictures

Ok, so I'm a little slow getting these on here. If you recall, this was the picture sitting where Eli wasn't feeling too great but we did get a few cute shots.

For your viewing pleasure.....

Sleep in eye.....and more

Last night we noticed that some "sleep" was forming in Eli's left eye. It was actually a green slime-ish stuff. This morning, he woke with a lot in his eye so it was off to the doctor. The verdict....pink eye, double ear infection and a bad cold. We're back on antibiotics and also have antibiotic eye drops. We hope the medicine will help him feel better.

Oh and by the way, we're up to 23 pounds, 4 ounces.

Birthday Shout outs

Happy Birthday Stella Dot - the big #1. And congrats to Amy and Grant for making it through the first year!

And, we missed our shout out to Maya last week. She turned one on Wednesday. With that, congrats to Tia and Brad for surviving year #1.

It's just the start of birthday season for all of Eli's friends - should be a fun summer!

Uh-oh....

Eli had a little accident at school today. He has been getting VERY brave at climbing and crusing so it was only a matter of time. I got a call on my drive home from Charlotte from one of his teachers to tell me that he had fallen and warn me about it. Of course, I'm thinking his whole face has a big swollen spot and is bruised. I wasn't in time to pick him up from school so Tim did. When they got home, I saw that it was not as bad as I thought. They said that without his helmet, it would have been a whole lot worse. He was just standing at one of the bookshelves and flopped down. He hit his cute little face. All I can say is thank goodness for the side effects of the helmet!! It has saved us from many head bumps and bruises. Eli doesn't seem bothered by it at all - after his initial screaming at school, he has probably forgotten all about it.

"You should see the other kid!"

Can you imagine your 60th wedding anniversary?

This weekend we went down to the farm to celebrate Evia's grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary. Imagine how many ups and downs you've already been through in the years you've been married. Now imagine how many more to get to 60 years! My grandparents met at work and got married when they were 19 and 20. These days it is virtually unheard of for someone to get married that young and stay married. I asked my Grandpa about being married that long and he said that they had had their ups and downs but the hard times made the good ones so much better. I should totally remember that. Life can't always be perfect and it's the not so great times that make us appreciate the great ones. I asked him what advice he had for me. He told me to always be sweet and remember it's give and take. I'm sure that I'm like all little girls in that, to me, my Grandpa is the sweetest most handsome man on earth and I love him dearly.

We got to the farm about lunch on Saturday and my Mom was so excited to see Eli - it had been 5 whole weeks since she had seen him. Eli played for a bit and then we took a family nap. Tim & I lay down on the bed with him and had a good snooze. Then it was time to party! We had a great cookout to celebrate my Grandparents and were able to see family that we don't get to see every visit. Eli, of course, hammed it up and everyone just loved him.

Eli enjoyed spending time with his Grandma and Grandpa. My parents are so in love with their Grandson, I love it! Eli had fun feeding the goats and watching the cows. He also played with lots of toys and talked with Grandma and Grandpa. This morning, Grandma got out the tricycle and gave Eli rides around the living room. He just laughed and laughed. We definitely have an adrenalin junkie on our hands!!

It was a quick visit to the farm but we had a fun time. Great to see everyone but as always, it's great to get back home. Eli's in bed so time for us to reset for the week ahead. Hope everyone had a good weekend as well!

Evia, Eli & the guests of honor

Eli's first Camelbak bottle experience - he really liked it!

Eli didn't like his knees on the grass so he crawled on hands and feet

Eli at the farm looking for goats

Love my Grandma & Grandpa

This is a high chair that Eli's Great Great Grandfather made

Riding tricycle with Grandma - faster Grandma faster!

Uncle Billy - aren't we cute?

I decided to taste test my feet on the drive home. Don't worry - Mommy did feed me!

First steps

Oh my goodness, Eli gave us a big surprise this afternoon. He has gotten so brave with cruising the couch and any other furniture he can find. He went from the recliner to the end table to the couch and then.....he let go of the couch and took about 5 steps on his own. Tim & I looked at each other in complete amazement. Not quite sure what to think and hard to believe it was happening (kind of like Christmas morning when he opened the pregnancy test!). We're in major trouble now. Not only is Eli crawling like a mad man (he's fast!) now he's experimenting with walking on his own. I give him a month and he'll be all over. Time to finish our babyproofing!!