Fun times with Eli

Just a quick update, and some fun pictures.Eli got this cute bib from his grandma for Valentines day. He wouldn't smile for any of the pictures I took but he still looks cute :)

This is a shot of some of Eli's friends at church. On the left is Christine with her baby, Olivia, and on the right is Jane with her baby Elizabeth. These are 3 of the 8 babies that are going to be born within a year of each other at church. Eli's sure to have load of friends!

Eli just started sitting in his 'bumbo' seat. He's pretty good at it! I don't have to hold his head up anymore. He sits and looks around, but I think he gets a little bored because he can't move around much. He sat in it for about 5 minutes, though. Sorry about the 'no pants' look...he had been fussy, so I took his pants off and he stopped...hey, I do whatever I can to keep him happy!

This is Eli's sleeping position. No matter when I check on him, he's always got his hands out like that :) Notice, however, that his head is to the LEFT! He no longer is always looking to the right. Wanna know how we solved it? We always position him on the floor so the tv is on his left...he looks at the tv even if it is off...we have an addict on our hands... :)

Things here are good. Edgar is at a conference all week, so Eli and I are hangin' out alone...well...actually we went to Ryan & Jenny's house tonight, and we're going to Ruth's all day tomorrow, so we aren't alone at all :) It's working out so that I don't have to cook the whole time he's gone, which is nice. We are looking forward to his return, though! The evenings are lonely without him!

Three Months Old!

Well, I'm a couple of days late...better late than never, right? This blog is devoted to Eli (aren't they always?!) and some of the things he loves at three months.

1) Jumping in his jump seat. (Notice the books...he's not quite tall enough to reach. I knew there was a reason I was keeping my college physics and differential equations books...) We've moved the seat, however, closer to the kitchen. So he hangs out in it while I am cooking or cleaning.

2) Eating. Here's a shot of Abuela giving a bottle to Eli for the first time! On the 7th I went to a baby shower and Edgar was going to baby sit. Edgar got lucky and his parents stopped by to give him an extra hand-not that he needs it! He's GREAT with Eli.

3) Playing with Spunky (that's the dog, in case you couldn't figure it out...) We never go anywhere without him :) He likes to lick and 'chew' him...he's pretty cute with him.

4) Listen to music. Someday he'll play, I'm sure. Right now he's pretty content to have music playing all the time. It's amazing how he calms right down when he's upset if I start singing to him or if I put one of his CD's on. He also will sit for about 30 minutes while I practice the piano-which I am trying to do every day. He likes to listen-especially when I have the metronome going (I'm sure that will change when HE'S practicing...)

5) Watch Baby Einstein. There comes a time nearly every day when I need to either get some housework done or take a shower, and he wants to be entertained...fortunately he loves watching his video. He usually watches Baby Beethoven, but Baby Bach is on order. (We listen to the Baby Bach CD in the car all of the time, and he seems to really like it, so I'm sure he'll like the video)

6) Meet his new friends. This picture is a little dark...and no, I have not had a second child already. Yesterday we got to meet Kaz. He was born February 11, and is the son of some friends of ours. He's pretty cute :) TONS of hair! I'm not sure why I didn't snap a bunch of shots of this cutie, but I was talking to Bri (Kaz's mom) and forgot. I believe you are looking at Eli's future running partner :)

7) Going for walks. I have been trying to get back into running...it is a slow process, but it is coming. Eli and I take walks on days when I'm home all day (usually...). He enjoys it-well...he sleeps through it, but I think he enjoys it anyway. Today I actually put him in his stroller without the car seat for the first time. He seemed to like it just fine, although the sunglasses only stayed on for about 5 minutes...He didn't seem to like them very well. He stayed awake for 15 minutes instead of 10, so apparently the 'face forward' position suits him.I got a close up (so close you can see my reflection in the glasses...) but I am not quite sure why it loaded sideways...that's not how it is saved on the computer. Oh well-he's cute no matter which way you look at him :)

We've been keeping busy. On Wednesday we went to a Valentines party. It was part of a mother's group I'm a part of...well, it's only the second meeting I've gone to, but I'm planning on sticking with it. He got lots of Valentines from a bunch of cute kids :)

This weekend we have big plans for hanging out as a family...NO WORKING ALLOWED! Gets me off the hook from laundry, moping the floor, dusting...right?! We'll see...
This video is just a quick video of Eli working on rolling over. He has a ways to go, but it's coming!

Superbowl and other fun stuff

The past few days have been busy...well, relatively speaking :) Eli has been working hard playing, and watching things. He is sleeping through the night, which is WONDERFUL. Well...actually, he slept 12 hours for 4 nights in a row, and then last night he got up at 5, so just a mild regression, but we're workin' on it. I really can't complain.
On Sunday we went to a Superbowl party at Eliott and Krista's. We had a very nice time. We got there early and hung out with them for a while before the game started. Katie asked if she could hold Eli, which, of course, I let her do :) But as soon as she got settled with Eli, Scott and Trish arrived...which also means Jessie arrived as well :) She had been pretty excited to see Jessie, so she quickly asked if she could let go of Eli. Below is a picture of Jessie and Trish. It had been a while since we had seen them, so it was nice to catch up with them. We ended up leaving at 7 so that we could get Eli home and in bed. (We still have yet to put him to bed somewhere else...I don't know how he would do being moved once he goes to sleep...we're kinda too chicken to try it...) We put Eli to bed, and then fell asleep during the rest of the Superbowl. I think Edgar woke up to see the end, but I was out. Apparently we weren't too into the game. I was really trying to stay up to see 'The Office' right after, but we ended up taping it and watching it Monday night.

This video below I took on Monday. Eli and I were playing with his rattle. He had it in his right hand, and was being pretty cute with it, so I, of course, got out the camera. I was taking a video of him, and while I was videoing, he switched the rattle from his right to his left hand. I was pretty impressed, and so I thought you would be as well, so enjoy.

Tuesday night Edgar put Eli's jumping thing (don't know what else to call it) together. Eli is a little small for it, but he seems to like it pretty good. His feet barely touch the floor, so I 'help' him jump, but he is entertained by it for a while. I was really glad that he can hold his head up so well while he's in it. It is quickly replacing the swing, which he seems to have lost interest in lately.

Today Eli and I went to a 'mommy group' for the first time. My neighbor invited me to join a while ago, and I was finally able to go today. They have 'meet-ups' almost every day of the week, and you can just go to whichever ones you want to. Today we went to the Upper Tampa Bay Trail and walked for just over an hour. The trail is beautiful--it's a paved trail, so we pushed the strollers and talked. Eli was pretty mad at first-I don't think he liked the wind blowing in his face...but he settled down and slept for most of the time. It was fun meeting some moms in the area and getting to know my neighbor better.

Anyhow...that's been our week so far. Not too exciting, but always entertaining for us!

Hanging out with Olivia

This past Friday night our friends, John and Christine, invited us over for dinner. They are good friends of ours, and they also just recently had a baby-her name is Olivia, and she is SO CUTE! She has the cutest little face :) She is so little compared to Eli, it seems. Her hair is amazing! I thought Eli had a lot! We thought it was time for the two of them to hang out. They pretty much just looked at each other. Hopefully they will be good friends as they grow up.

This isn't the best picture of Olivia, but it was the best one we got...She is adorable, and Eli and I look forward to many play dates :)

Picture Day

Last Friday I took Eli to get his first professional picture taken. This is a shot I 'stole' with my camera. He did really good--not very many smiles, but he didn't cry :) He was smiling the whole time Katie was getting her pictures done (Katie is his cousin) but as soon as it was his turn he stopped. Oh well.

This is Eli waiting in his stroller. He did a lot of that on Friday. I felt like I was carting him all over the place. He really likes his stroller, fortunately, especially when it is moving!

Picture day was made more fun because we had lots of friends there to enjoy it with. Krista and Katie were there, along with Ruth, Hailey, Maranatha, and her kids. This is Jasmine, Maranatha's daughter. She got her picture taken too.

After we got the pictures taken we had to wait a little bit, so we went to Chik-fil-a in the mall and enjoyed lunch--we were all pretty hungry.

Mom was helping Krista feed Katie and Hailey. Krista watches Hailey during the week. I don't know how she does it with two little kids so close in age!

Katie got her pictures taken too. Hers turned out very cute. Eli and Katie took a couple of shots together. It's pretty fun to have cousins around that live so close. Katie is pretty cute with Eli. She likes to touch his feet and hands and give him hugs. It's very cute.

After we picked out our pictures Eli was VERY hungry, so I headed to the 'nursing area' in the mall while Krista picked up the prints. Unfortunately, I turned the wrong way and speed walked my way through the mall. Oh well...Eli eventually got to eat :)

It was a very fun, though somewhat exhausting day, with fabulous results!

Eli's New Favorite Toy

A couple of days ago we received a package from Grandpa and Grandma. It included some curtains for Eli's room, a GREAT baseball blanket, and three beanie babies, one for each 'Florida' grandchild. I was playing with Eli, and put the three beanie babies in front of him and 'asked' him which one he wanted. It was amazing! He looked right at one particular dog! I thought it was probably just the one in the center, so I moved it away, and his eyes followed it. I tried to get him to look at the other two dogs, but he wouldn't have it. He wanted his dog back, so there was no question which one he chose :) He loves his dog. He smiles really big when he sees it, and likes it when it dances to Mozart (which he seems to do quite often...) He will hold it and hug it, but more than hugging, he seems to like to lick it. Here he is trying to put the dogs nose in his mouth...he likes to chew (or rather, gum...) the dog.

Here he is just huggin' his new friend (and getting sleepy while doing it). Here's hoping he enjoys this dog, because that is as close to owning a real dog as he will probably ever get :)

Our Anniversary Weekend

I can hardly believe that Edgar and I have been married for two years...actually, it seems like we've been together for much longer (in a GOOD way, of course!) SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED! We had a wonderful anniversary weekend. Saturday Edgar watched Eli while I went to a baby shower. He gave Eli a bottle for the first time Friday night in preparation for his Saturday morning babysitting. He wanted to give Eli a bottle at least once while I was there so that Saturday when he gave him a bottle he had some 'experience'. Edgar did a great job giving mom a 'break' while I went to the shower. After I got back from the shower we went to Edgar's parent's house to spend some time with them. We had a really nice time. Ruth made dinner (amazing, as always) and made a cookie cake for our anniversary. It was a relaxing evening. Eli is getting so much better in the evenings. I used to be nervous about taking him out past 5:00 because he would cry so much, but now he does great.

On Sunday Eli went to Uncle Ryan and Aunt Jenny's house while Edgar and I went on a date. We went to see 'Defiance'. It was a very good movie. It was a story about a group of people during WWII who hid from the Nazis. We really enjoyed it. We went to Applebees for dinner, and had a great time just talking and eating :) I'm not completely sure what Eli did at Ryan & Jenny's, but they said he was good. I think Jenny said she was going to update the event on her blog...still waiting... ;)

On our actual anniversary it was a fairly normal Monday. Edgar worked, and I played with Eli all day. I made chicken, rice and beans for dinner (big surprise) and it was a nice quite evening at home.

It is pretty amazing to think about all that has happened in the past two years. Both Edgar and I are so thankful, and recognize often how very blessed we are. I can't wait to see what the next few years have in store!

He just keeps gettin' cuter

Just recently I noticed that out of nowhere Eli's eye lashes sprouted out. They are so long, and completely adorable. I recall that I once had long eye lashes, but decided to pull them all out...here's hoping Eli has his father's sence in that area...There are MANY things I did as a child that I hope Eli never does... He's doing so good. Right now he is taking one of his naps. He takes 3-45 minute naps a day (usually). They aren't long naps, but they are a nice break for me to do important things...like updating my blog (or cleaning the kitchen like I SHOULD be doing...oh well) He is still getting up at 4:30 or 5 each morning to eat, but goes right back to sleep. Lately, however, he is peeing through everything I put on him. It is a little frustrating to get up at 4:30 and not just feed him, but change his entire outfit. Last night he didn't pee through...he waited until this morning when he was dressed for the day, and THEN peed/pooped through everything. Oh well...It gives me a chance to let him wear all of his clothes.
Speaking of clothes, he is getting really close to being out of 0-3 month clothes, which is fun. I'm looking forward to some new stuff :)
Ahh...I hear him stirring, so I better wrap it up. Enjoy some pictures, and hopefully a video of him playing...If I can get the video to upload. I've been having significant trouble with that. I took a shorter video, so I am hoping it will work.
Enjoy!

Woo-hoo! It loaded! It's just a silly video of him playing :) He's starting to bat at things and grab at things. Very fun to watch...well, fun for me anyway :)

Our zoo day and other fun activities

So Eli got his first pair of sunglasses...Of course they have little baseballs on the sides :) I think he looks good :) We had an eventful week this past week. We went to the zoo last Sunday. There was a 'deal' where you could get into the zoo for $5. Normally the price is $19, so we took advantage of the deal. Unfortunately, so did most of Tampa, so it was VERY crowded, but it was a very fun day with Edgar's family

Here is Edgar's brother trying to figure out the map. We had a large party with us, and three strollers, so it was important to know where we were going...we still got separated a few times :)

Katie had fun playing in the water...well, she never actually got in--I think this was close enough! She had fun seeing all of the animals. She's been to the zoo before, but she loves animals-especailly birds. Eli slept most of the time...I think he will enjoy the zoo more when he is a little older.

I was pretty impressed with my zoom on my camera. I got pretty close up here! We were pretty far away, and I thought this came out pretty clear.

Of course I had to get a shot of the baby elephant for Jennifer. He was pretty cute. He was playing with his mom for a while. It was cute.

We saw loads of other animals, and then headed for home. I was pretty exhausted by the end. (Apparently it doesn't take much)

This week we also had Eli's two month check-up. He now weighs 13 lb 1 oz, and is 24 1/4 inches long. The doctor said he looks really good, and is doing everything he is 'suppose' to be doing at this age. He also got four shots, which I was overly worried about, but he did completely fine. By the time we left the dr's office he was sleeping, and didn't fuss about it the rest of the day.

Yesterday we sent the afternoon with some friends. We had a really nice time eating and playing ping-pong.

Those are the 'high' points of the week :) No big plans for this week, but I'm sure I'll find excuses to take more pictures...

Eli's Two Months Old!

Can you believe it! Eli is already 2 months old! Time sure does fly by! He is getting so big! I can't believe how much he has changed in the past couple of weeks. He is smiling more and more. He squeels, and 'talks' a lot. He is especially happy in the mornings. He's been getting up around 4 or 5, then he goes back to sleep and gets up around 7 or 8. When I keep him on a good schedule he does better. We've been spending a lot of time playing on the floor. He like to lay on the big blanket great grandma got him and we play with his toys.

This is the toy that I have chosen for him to love :) It is the softest, cutest little bunny rabbit, and I am really hoping that he likes it as he grows older. I'm only moderately forcing it on him... :)

These are some pictures taken from today. Look at how cute he is when he smiles!! It is amazing, however, how quickly he goes from smiling...

To frowning...

To screaming, all in a matter of seconds. The funny thing is, he's cute no matter what face he's making :)

Eli is doing so well. He holds his head up better and better every day. Yesterday I put him in a 'bumbo' seat, which is a seat that helps kids sit before they are able to sit...anyway, he did pretty good. I had to hold his head steady a little bit, but he's not too far off from sitting in it on his own. He also spent his first night last night in his own room. Mom and dad have their room back!! He did really well (and so did I...I was worried I wouldn't hear him, and I did. Apparently 10 feet isn't really that far for noise to travel...) He also sat with us in his high chair at the dinner table tonight. We can now sit at dinner as a family.

He's really good at focusing in on things and following them. He watches his dad a lot when I'm holding him, and follows him with his eyes wherever he goes.

It's been such a fun 2 months. Hard at times, for sure, but amazing at the same time. I must be honest, though....it's MUCH easier, now that he smiles :)

Eli's First Christmas

I am so far behind! I am just now writing about Christmas, so it will be an abreviated version...
We had a wonderful holiday. We spend the Sunday before Christmas with the Melendez family. It was a nice time being together. Mom did a neat thing with Katie, and told the story of Jesus. Every part in the story had an ornament to go along with it, so Katie would put the ornament on the tree after reading a verse. It was a very cool way to remember Jesus.
Katie also passed out the Christmas gifts...except for the ones too heavy for her to move :)

And she got some gifts of her own.

It was such a nice time together. Mom had made a turkey and some rice, and we had a meal together before opening gifts. She also had a Hanukah table set up, as it was the first day of Hanukah. Eric and Leilani explained the significance of the celebration, and I think we all learned something new.

The next day Edgar, Eli, and I headed off to Michigan to be with the McGregor family.

We arrived a couple of days before Christmas, and we were able to settle in before everyone got there. Mom had 21 people at her house! I can't believe she didn't go crazy. The adults celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve, which was SO nice. It was a nice quite evening, and we were able to enjoy being with one another. The kids were in bed, and we could open gifts and talk without having to 'worry' about them.

Chritmas morning came, and Eli was dressed and ready to go...except I don't think he liked his outfit :)

He finally settled down, and slept through most of the chaos that followed. When you have 9 grandkids opening gifts, it is sure to be crazy...and it certainly was!

I couldn't help but put this picture in...Julean got the traditional peanut butter and jelly sandwhich this year (only the McGregor's could have a tradition like this...) He loved it, and ate it right away! On Christmas day we also went up to see Grandpa Tuinstra. All of the kids sang to him and he opened his gifts. He seems to be doing SO well! It was good to see him.

After Christmas day was over we all enjoyed spending time in Michigan. This is Eli's cousin, Adriana. She's got a new brother on the way! She looks like she's ready :)

Christmas day also brought the sad news that Edgar's grandmother passed away. It is hard to imagine that she is really gone. The last time I saw her was at Thanksgiving, and she seemed so healthy and full of life. She is now worshiping with our Saviour in Heaven.

Edgar went home to be with his family and go to the funeral. I wasn't able to go, but wished I could be there.

The week that followed was hard to be away from Edgar, but so good to be with family. I enjoyed Michigan so much, and always look forward to our Christmas visit each year.