A fun update!

Eli rolled over tonight! He's been so close for so long :) He was on the bed with Edgar, and I was making dinner. Edgar called me and told me he had rolled over...so I missed it, but daddy saw it! Now granted, it was on the bed, and he rolled towards Edgar, so he may have had a little help, but he still did it on his own. He rolled from his back to his belly...and then wasn't too sure what to do when he got to his belly-not his favorite position. We'll see if he does it again any time soon.

A new deck and a 'cook-out'

Our newest 'adventure'? We've decided to put our house on the market to see if it will sell. We really hope that we can get a good price for our house, but we will see. Before we can actually list it, though, we have a few minor repairs and 'updates' to do to the house. The first big project was replacing a small deck in our back yard. I didn't get a 'before' picture, but this is the original deck all 'piled up'.

Edgar took a day off of work to get the deck done. he did a really good job, and only has a few blisters from all the hammering (why don't we have a nail gun?!). Here he is hammering in the last board. He just has to seal it, and it is completely finished. He also painted the front door this weekend. It looks really nice-he painted it blue to match all of the trim.

On Sunday evening Edgar went riding with his friend Tim, so Eli and I decided to have a 'cook-out'. This was our little set-up on our new deck.

Eli had a BLAST! He loves being outside! He talked and giggled the entire time we were out there. I think he liked seeing the shadows and looking at the trees. I could hardly eat, because I kept laughing at him laughing. We had a great time. I put a couple of videos on so you could see just how much our little boy enjoys the great outdoors!

Some pictures of Eli

So it's been a while since I've sent any pictures of our handsome little boy, so I thought I'd shoot a few out :) Eli is sporting his Tiger's overalls...unfortunately for the last time :( He's already getting too big for them! We just bought him his Easter outfit, and it's size 12 months! Crazy kid likes to eat as much as his mommy...
Still trying to roll over...

Somehow I think this kid is going to end up a Rays fan...especially since he has a Rays T-shirt in every size! Today he's sporting the American League champ shirt. One more week until baseball season starts! Yahoo!! Can't wait for Eli's first game!

Eli's trying to cross his fingers...hoping the Rays will do as good this year...

Lately he just stares at his fingers and plays with them. Prety cute :)

Jonah

I know I've told you about Jonah before. Today is a big day for their family. They have been waiting three weeks to find out the severity of his disease. Please pray for them today as they get the results. Jonah is healing some, but is still very sick, and it appears to be a bad case...I cannot imagine what they are going through. I look at Eli and am SO thankful that he is a healthy baby boy. I feel so blessed that God has allowed me to have this beautiful child, and I wonder why the Williams family has to go through this.
Read the words Patrice wrote last night (Gabe is their boy that was stillborn 11 months ago):
I wonder if God has brought him into this world just to take him out again. I wonder if my heart could take it. I wonder if my faith really is strong enough to survive it if Jonah leaves. I miss Gabe. I'm broken tonight, praying for renewed hope and new mercies for the morning. Jonah continues to be strong, and my God continues to be mighty. But I feel like I don't believe enough and don't have faith that's strong enough. I know that in my weakness, He is strong. But He doesn't promise us healing for Jonah or even his survival. He promises to work for the good of those who seek him and to make their paths straight. But what exactly does that mean?I just wish, as I lie here in bed, that I had an 11 month old sleeping upstairs in our beautiful nursery and a 2 1/2 week old sleeping beside me in his bassinet.
Please pray.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day one and all! Today Eli and I went to a St. Patrick's day party hosted by one of the moms of the mommy group I am in. (No, the cookie wasn't for the party...it was for Carly's class, but I thought they turned out cute)

The house we went to was pretty fun for the kids. Eli, of course, is too little to enjoy most of it, but I tried to get him to join in the fun...

There was a kiddie pool filled with balls...

...a bubble machine...

...and a jump house. What more could you want? And what did Eli do you ask?

He watched 'Finding Nemo'. Actually he didn't do that for very long. I think the kids all running around started to get to be too much for him, and he got pretty fussy. As soon as we got in the car he zonked out, so apparently he was tired too.

The best part of this party was that it was only 5 minutes from where Edgar works, so we got to eat lunch with daddy!

We went to Applebees. Eli was mostly interested in the tvs all around the room...Oh, and by the way, notice the different outfit. Yes, he pooped through his outfit, right onto his car seat. Fabulous...

We got home shortly after 2 and spent some time playing. Eli's still working on the 'belly' thing. He's starting to enjoy it more. He's taking a nap now. Hopefully it will be a long one, because his other two naps were only 30 minutes long. (Ahhh...wouldn't it be wonderful to nap three times a day?!)

Hope your day was great!

Happy birthday Edgar!

In celebration of my husband turning yet another year older, we had a party for him this past Sunday. It was a BEAUTIFUL day, and the whole family was there to celebrate. I made the cake for him-at his request we had cookie cake. I made two, just in case one wasn't enough...so we had an extra at the end of the party, but oh well :)

Krista got to give Eli his bottle-notice how he is holding on...soon he won't even need someone to hold it for him! The little stinker ate 10 oz of milk and was completely content for the rest of the party. Krista was nice enough to give me a break and feed him for me.

The whole Melendez gang was there...although I'm not sure why Eliott didn't make the picture...

Ryan and Jennifer were there too. Jenny saved the day by kicking out the people that were invading our shelter when we first arrived. I had reserved the shelter, and paid for it, so when we got there and saw a whole party going on I was a little worried. They were cooking and had all their food spread out, and were standing right next to the "Reserved today" sign...Jenny went over and told them it was reserved, and they seemed perfectly content to share the shelter with us...until she informed them that we had reserved the WHOLE shelter :) They did leave, but unfortunately for them, there were no other shelters available. So they packed up their party and went home. Oh well, I guess :) Thanks Jenny!

Ryan was the chef for the day, though he didn't seem to want to wear the apron I brought...He cooked the hamburgers and hot dogs and did a fabulous job. They were DELICIOUS!

We were right next to the playground which was nice for the kids. I'm not sure why this was the only picture I had of Ben...He really didn't sit under the slide by himself the whole time...Actually, he said it was his secret lab...hmmm...TTS anyone? (For those non-McGregors...that stands for 'traveling through space'...a favorite game of ours growing up.)

Carly also had fun. She informed me that what she was doing was NOT safe, but that she thought she could handle it. Hmmmmm....

We had a hard time with the candles...it was a bit breezy, so by the time the singing of 'Happy Birthday' was over, the candles were already out. We were trying to block the wind, but it did no good. I guess when you are as old as Edgar you need the wind to help you blow the candles out... :) (just kidding, dear. You know I love you!)

Edgar opened his cards. He got lots of gift cards to places he loves to shop at. He was pretty excited, and has plans for spending them soon.

Katie thoroughly enjoyed the cookie cake and ice cream. By the way, Krista-I have Katie's bib!

Katie decided that she was finally old enough to enjoy swinging on a swing. Krista said that she has been very afraid of swings up to this point, but on Sunday she got right on and had a blast.

It was such a fun day, and we were thrilled to have everyone there.

Some videos of Eli

Just couldn't resist putting these videos on the blog....The first is Eli's new skill...and the second is Eli perfecting an 'old' skill :)

Another Song...

Okay, so I meant to put this video on...but hey, he's cute in both of them! Enjoy video #2

Come read and sing with me!

Believe it or not, Eli is 4 months old already! I'm a little amazed myself. Lovin' the smiles :) Although, he was mildly grumpy during this photo shoot...but fortunately, if you sing him songs by "The Spice Girls" he tends to smile...I put a picture of Eli when he was just a couple of weeks old in his swing...think he's changed at all?Just can't stop kissin' my baby!

Yesterday we went to the doctor-Eli is officially 17 pounds and 27 inches long...which puts him in the 90th percintile for weight and 99.5% for height...only 25-50% for his head, though...where's the giant McGregor head?! He's doing SO good. The doctor was very pleased. He also got 4 shots, but did amazingly well. He cried for about 15 seconds, and then he was done, and zonked out in his car seat for an hour and a half :) He has been fine since. Here's hoping shots are always that easy.

I thought you might enjoy reading a book with Eli. He's been sitting in his bumbo seat a lot lately-he apparently has become bored with laying on the floor, and will hardly let me lay him there any more...he wants to be sitting up! He likes to look at (and sometimes eat) books while he's sitting, and this is one of his favorites.

"That Spot! He hasn't eaten his dinner! Where could he be?"

"Is he behind the door? No!"

"Is he in the piano? No!"

"Is he under the stairs? No!"

"Is he in the closet?"

"No!"
(For those of you that are worried, Spot is found. He's in the basket. And he gets to eat his dinner.)

He's so cute when he sits in the chair-notice the folded hands :) Such a good student!

Abuela came over and played with Eli the other day. I thought these pictures were adorable. He was giggling at his Abuela :)

Here's a little song with Eli. He loves songs with motions-as long as you help him do them :)

Our (almost) daily Eli update

Nothing too new to update, just thought I'd send out some more super-cute pictures of our boy. He's working on rolling over...not too much longer now! He likes it when I help him roll back and forth. He's getting better about being on his belly too. He will pick his head up and look around for about 3 minutes before he starts crying to be turned back over. That's about 3 minutes longer than he used to hang out on his belly. Our days are filled with playing. It's pretty fun being a mom :) I try and read to him every day-although today I think he was more interested in eating the book than reading it. One of my new favorite things he does is give me kisses...well...sort of. I put my cheek up to his mouth and he licks my face. It makes me laugh every time he does it.

Yesterday Edgar and I went for a walk with Eli. It was fairly chilly (ya know...50 degrees or so...don't laugh all you Michiganders) so Eli got a little bundled up. I thought he looked so cute in his little jacket.
Edgar did most of the work carrying him. He will often take Eli on walks when he gets home from work-usually when I am tutoring. It's nice daddy-Eli time. We went as a family last night, though, and had a fun time walking together. It was pretty cold and dark by the time we got back, but Eli didn't seem to mind much.

Here's a little video of Eli playing with a rattle he got for Christmas. His hand dexterity is getting so much better! He grabs onto things really well and is getting better at grabbing things and putting them in his mouth...which is good for the 'teething' thing, but not so good for the 'junk on the floor' thing...guess I better start vacuuming more often...

Enjoy him! (We sure do!)

Prayer

I know a lot of you that read my blog also read Jennifers, but this little boy's story has comletely touched my heart. Please go to the site and pray for Jonah. Then go hug your healthy kids.

Grandpa Melendez's 86th Birthday

On Sunday we headed over to Grandpa Melendez's house for his 86th birthday party. We had a really nice time hanging out with family. Ruth made most of the food, and did a terrific job, as usual.

It was so good to see grandpa. He seems to be doing really well. I have decided, however, that I NEED to learn some spanish! I was trying to talk to him, and I got completely confused...I feel bad that I can't communicate well with him. Edgar is MUCH better at spanish, and can at least carry on a simple conversation.

Here's a family shot. He held Eli for a little while-very cute!

After we left grandpa's Eliott and Krista came over to hang out at our place. It seems like such a long time since we've been able to hang out! Katie, of course, loved playing with Eli.

She loved touching his hands and feet, and made sure to note that she shouldn't touch his eyes :) She's so cute with him!