A Day to Celebrate

Today was a big day for Eli. He finally got to eat something other than milk! I have a few videos of the 'event' and, of course, some pictures. Thought you might enjoy the show. Notice the bib-always a Tiger's fan :)

He ate rice cereal...well...it was actually a whole lot of milk, and a little bit of cereal :) I'm pretty sure he just thought it was milk from a spoon. I didn't mean to put that much milk in...I was just putting 'a little bit more' in, and I dumped way too much. Oh well...I guess it's better too thin than too thick, right?!

The spoon that he took his first bite with was a spoon that Edgar's grandmother gave to us. It was pretty special to us, and we are glad that we were able to use that.

Anyway, here's his first bite:

Here's a little more:

And then after he was done, he got to play with his spoon :)

And then the pictures... :)

"This eating thing isn't so bad!"

"Hey...now that I'm done eating, I wonder if I can make a real mess..."

Eli really did pretty good. I'm looking forward to adding this to our evening routine. I had been putting it off, but the last few days have been anxious to try. I think he was really ready for it. He's been sitting at the dinner table with us for a while, and really watches us eat. The evening strech is a little long for him (He eats at 4 and then doesn't nap or anything until he eats again at 8) so I think he was needing something to break that up.

Afterwards we 'celebrated' by going to Dairy Queen. (Okay...so there may have been another event we were celebrating...) Eli stayed in his seat and played for a little while while we ate.

Ryan, Ben and Carly joined us for ice cream. Amazingly enough, on my camera the red cone is not what sticks out-Carly's eyes are as blue as her shirt! It didn't transfer over to the blog very well, though...

Ryan held Eli while I ate my blizzard (Strawberry Cheesecake blizzard...yummm! and the only option when you can't eat chocolate...) Eli was pretty funny-he watched my spoon as it went from the blizzard to my mouth...I think he wanted some ice cream too :)

It was a very fun evening for us. Soon Eli will be eating everything we eat-crazy! I think I'll enjoy feeding him cereal while I can!

Birthday Bash

It seems as if it is time for birthdays! Ruth, Kristi, my mom, Krista and my birthday all fall in a 16 day period...(oddly enough, Ruth & Kristi's are on the same day, and Krista & my mom's are on the same day...makes remembering birthdays easier!)

This year we decided to celebrate Krista's, Ruth's and my birthday all together. Eliott and Edgar planned the party, and we all got together on Sunday. They did a great job. The food was good, the cake was amazing, and no one teased anyone about their age. It was a good day :)

Eli sat in a high chair...for about 10 minutes, then it was time for a nap. Katie was so cute as they were sitting next to each other. She just kept saying 'Hi baby Eli! Hi baby Eli!'

The birthday girls.


Singing 'Happy birthday'.

It really was a very nice day. We had so much fun just talking and hanging out. We even got a chance to go look at a house! Unfortunately, it's probably too far from Edgar's work and church...but it was such a good deal! Oh well.

Speaking of that...we're meeting with our realtor this Thursday, and a sign should be in our yard soon! Then the praying will really begin...

Eli update

It seems like it's been a while since I've posted pictures of our little cutie, so I thought I'd send some your way. Eli has been growing so quickly! Besides his two teeth and rolling over, he's now very close to sitting on his own. Here he is with 'toy support' and mommy's feet...

...toy support and mommy's foot...

...just toy support!

...and mommy trying to catch him as he goes down...no worries, he didn't get hurt :) He is also spending a lot more time on his belly, mainly because he is rolling over a lot more (just never when the camera is around). It seems like he rolled over 5 times in one week, and then a couple days ago rolled over 5 times in 10 minutes. He is getting the hang of it, to say the least. Now he just has to learn how to roll from his belly to his back. He gets stuck on his belly and gets pretty mad. The other day he 'got stuck' as he was trying to go to sleep...he was screaming pretty good. I 'rescued' him, and he zonked right out.

We've been staying pretty busy-it seems like every day we have somewhere to go. I'm so glad that I only have 3 more weeks of teaching. I know it's only for an hour and 15 minutes, but it is such a hassle to have to do that twice a week.

I put a couple of videos on for your viewing enjoyment. Thought you might enjoy seeing Eli play :)

He has really gotten the hang of his jumparoo. He has also started nodding his head back and forth-he does it right in the beginning of this video. It's so cute!

I got him his first truck the other day. He likes playing with it-well...he likes to watch me play with it :) Actually, he's getting so good with his hands! He can hold it and play with it a little-just not in this video :)

by the way...

It is now teeth...not tooth.

No longer toothless...

Just a quick update :) Today Eli was chomping on my finger, and I felt something...yup, my baby has a tooth!! He's been a little fussy lately, but not too bad. Last night he couldn't keep his hands out of his mouth, though, so his little gums were probably bugging him. He didn't run a fever or anything (that I know of anyway...)-just popped out a tooth! My baby's growin' up!!

Beatin' on taters...

I failed to mention that Eli got a Detroit Tiger's Mr. Potato head for Easter. It's pretty cute, and the perfect addition to his room. Here's Eli playing...

'ummm....mom....there's a tater lookin' at me...'

'I think it's trying to sneak up on me...'

'I will show him my super Taekwondo skills (my daddy taught them to me)'

'Hi-yah!'

'I have defeated yet another foe'

Oh yeah...and Eli decided to roll over again today. However, I still have yet to see him actually do it...this is what I saw today. He had rolled over once, but it was on the bed, and he kind of rolled toward Edgar, so today's 'feat' is a little more impressive. He rolled over 4 times today-and I missed every single one of them. It was like he waited for me to leave, and then would roll over. He let daddy see him...hmmm. I carried the camera with me all day, but didn't catch it. I'll keep working on catching him, but he's pretty sneaky...

He Is Risen!

Happy Easter! We had a wonderful day of worship and fellowship. We got to church early because Edgar had to drive the carts, so Eli got ready at church. After church we rode with daddy while he drove everyone back to their car. I thought Eli should match his daddy-glasses, hat and all.

Eli and his cousins. I think Jennifer got some even better pictures. Don't they all look so cute?! I about started to cry when I saw Ben all dressed up. He's SO handsome! I think Eli looks like Ben when he was a baby...so here's hopin' handsome is in the future for Eli too :)

Eli's friend, Olivia (and mommy's friend, Christine). Eli doesn't look too thrilled, but it was the best picture of Christine and I...so, since we have tons of cute Eli pics, I thought I'd put a nice one of someone else :) Who am I kidding? Eli looks cute in this one too! Olivia must know when I am taking her picture...sound asleep in this one. I have such rotten luck getting pictures of her! She looked adorable in her little Easter dress! These two kiddos are sure to be buds growin' up!

I LOVE this picture of Eli with his Abuelo! I thought it was so cute! After church we headed over to Edgar's parent's house. We had a great afternoon hanging out with family and eating...and eating...and eating! Mom made tons of food-all fabulous, of course. There were 16 people there, and we were all stuffed at the end :)

Eli and his daddy

Eli 'discovered' Abuela's chair, and boy did he like spinning in it!

The other day I was going through all of my pictures since Eli's birth (ya know, all 2000 of them...yes, literally) and I realized that I didn't have one of Eric and Eli, so we remedied that today. Unfortunately, Eli was tired, and fairly cranky. We'll get a better one next time!

I thought this was a neat picture. There are four generations in this picture. It was so nice to see Edgar's grandfather. He seems to be doing really well.

She looks like a natural...

This was pretty cute...Katie sat next to Eli, and he immediately reached for her hand and held it. It was adorable.

Yup, Edgar and I are still in luv (awwwww...)

The super happy family

Abuela y Abuelo

Hangin' out with the grandkids :)

Catchin' up to Katie!

What a good way to end the day-on Abuela's lap!

We had such a great Easter. It was so special to celebrate this day as a mother. I am so thankful for our little boy, and so incredibly thankful that he is surrounded by a family that loves him, and loves God. It is so good to know that Eli will grow up knowing about our Saviour, and that Easter won't be about egg hunts or Easter baskets (although he will get one ;) ) but about how God saved us. He continues to give very good gifts to His children!

Sugar cookies...

I have a confession to make...I LOVE sugar cookies :) I love rolling out the dough, I love baking them, (and sneaking one fresh out of the oven...) I love icing them, and, of course, I love eating them (especially with a fresh cup of coffee). It's a ridiculous thing to love, I know, but I do. I use whatever excuse I can to make these yummy snacks. I've decided that this is what I do. This is to me what cards are to Jennifer :) My most recent excuse was Easter. I had 'promised' Jennifer's parents I would make them some when they returned from Israel (of course, that was only after they lied about it being Al's birthday...when will I ever learn?!) We also plan on seeing Edgar's grandfather tomorrow and taking him a few to snack on. We saved a few for ourselves...but there are only 2 left...RATS! Guess I'll have to make more. All that to say, if you ever have a need for sugar cookies, let me know, and I'd love to bake you some!!!

A GOOD Friday

Hey. I'm 5 months old today. Daddy got to stay home from work. The Tigers won. I got a new cousin. It's been a good day.

Passover

Wednesday was an eventful day for us. In addition to going to the mall, we had the opportunity to go to Eric & Leilani's house to celebrate the start of Passover. This was the second year we were able to join them, but each time is very interesting, and such a great learning experience. It is amazing to recount the great lengths our Father goes to show us his love.
(I apologize now for any mistakes in my descriptions of any of this. I missed a lot of it, so if any of this is completely wrong, feel free to correct me :) )

This is a special plate that holds the elements for the Passover Seder. I missed a lot of it because I was feeding Eli and putting him to bed, so I don't remember what each element stands for, but I did make it for the 'bitter herbs'. I will forever remember the tears that rolled down my face-yes, literal tears. We had horseradish for the bitter herbs, and it was SO strong I thought my head was going to explode :) Everyone started coughing and many had tears. That was kind of the point, though. It was suppose to remind you of the bitter years that the Israelites spent in Egypt and how they wept in their suffering.

This was the table set up. Everyone had a booklet to follow along with. The leader would read, and we would read and sing songs.

This plate was for the matza crackers (No leaven at Passover!) The plates that held all of these things were Eric & Leilani's. They bought them while they were in Israel.

The matza crackers on the plate :)

This is the place setting for Elijah. It is set, and no one sits there. At the end of the Seder the children open the door to see if Elijah has come.

Eli's first Seder :) He slept through most of it...

Eric & mom

Eric was the leader of the Seder. He did a really good job with the whole thing.

This is the whole group singing a song at the end.

The whole celebration was really neat. Eric & Leilani did a great job hosting it. Next year in Jerusalem! (That's what you say at the end of a Seder ;) )