Sitting Tall

Eli can sit. I know I've posted before that he can sit, but he's getting so much better at it. Renae suggested that I put the boppy seat around him to help support him a bit, and break his fall if he does fall, and that seems to help...

..and he does fall...

..and then realizes it's kinda fun to be semi-upside down. He'll hang out there for a bit, and realize he's stuck...and then let me know he's stuck.

Then we discovered as long as he has something to play with in his hands, he really does pretty good sitting up without support.

Although daddy's close by to make sure he doesn't fall and knock his head on the floor. :)

He is quite pleased with himself!

Actually, the day I discovered that he could sit on his own was Friday when I took him to get his picture taken. I got a coupon for a free 8x10 from the Picture People, so we went and got a free shot :) This is actually a picture of the picture we got. Anyway, when I went in the photographer asked how old he was, and if he could sit on his own. I said 'well...he can, for about a second...' So she took some shots on his belly-very cute :) Then she had me sit him up-and he sat on his own for about 10 minutes! I couldn't believe it! I kept saying 'he couldn't do that yesterday!'

Amazing what they learn in their sleep...

Guess Who...

is seven months old today :)

This and that

Much to Jenny's distaste, I am going to put several events into one blog :) I just haven't gotten around to the daily entry... The other day Edgar was playing with Eli, and every time Edgar would stick out his tongue, Eli would copy him. It was pretty funny. Of course, as soon as I got the camera out he stopped...this is as close as I could get :)

On Saturday we went over to the Stalter's to hang out. We had a really nice time with them just talking and catching up. Near the end of the evening we put Eli in Jessie's bean bag chair, and he loved it. He laid there for about a half hour just hangin' out. He didn't even seem to mind that it was purple! :)

Eli has a new love...Ryan and Jennifer got him a singing dog for Christmas, and he just now has discovered it. He really likes playing with it, and gets really mad when it goes away. He can sit in the corner of the couch and play with it for quite some time.

Sunday the family got together. We wanted to get together with mom before she left on her missions trip. We ate, hung out, and prayed for mom as a family. It was a very nice afternoon-always good to be with family!

Katie got to feed Eli for the first time. She did really good! She only stuck the spoon too far in his mouth once :) She would give him a bite, and then I would take the spoon and feed him for a bit...then she would say that she wanted to feed 'baby Eli' (how she always refers to Eli) and would take another turn. Pretty cute.

And finally...here's 30 seconds of the cutest laugh ever.

Eli Reading

***This is just an edit of a previous post :) *** Eli has started sitting really well on the couch, which is kinda fun-he can sit with me on the couch after he eats. He just hangs out and looks around for a little while. I think he's starting to get tired of being on his back, and seems to really enjoy sitting. He's getting better and better at sitting on his own, though I have to sit right near him because he falls over pretty quickly.

He's really been into playing with books the past few days. He bypasses all of his toys and goes right for the books (though often he is looking at them upside down...) I think he likes to play with the pages.

He's napping right now, and I should be doing something productive...

A trip to IKEA

Today Christine and I loaded up the kids and headed to the new IKEA in town. It opened a few weeks ago, and we've both been wanting to get over there. We walked around for a little while and then got some lunch. It's so nice that Eli can sit in restaurant high chairs now-I have a place to put him while I eat! He and Olivia played with their toys while Christine and I ate.

I took these pictures with my phone-Christine told me that you can take a picture with your phone and then send it to your e-mail-just type in your e-mail address instead of a cell phone number. I was pretty excited! Sometimes I don't have my camera, so now I know I can take pictures with my phone and still use them :) The kids were so good. Christine and I both carried them in the baby bjorn which took a toll on our backs, but the kids liked it.

IKEA is massive-we walked around for about 2 hours just skimming over things. I bought a few things-mostly for Eli. There was a cute cloth book for him, and a couple of toys. I got him a little puppet-he loves puppets! I've been wanting to get him one. The one I got him is pretty simple-the mouth doesn't move or anything. He played with it while we walked around, so I had to buy it...I also got a new toilet bowl brush and thing for the kitchen.

It was very fun, and quite tiring. The kids were out by the time we left the parking lot. Eli is still asleep, and hopefully will be for a bit longer. I've been sitting here updating blogs since we got home, and I probably should get something else done...or I could take a nap...

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Christine just e-mailed me this picture of Eli...whatta cutie!

Eli's new skill

Eli loves playing with his hands. He seems fascinated by them. He's been playing with them for a while, so I figured it wouldn't be too long before he started to clap. Well...yesterday was the first day I noticed him clapping :) Edgar said he was clapping the day before, but I didn't see it. He doesn't quite get that it's something you do when you're excited or happy-he seems to just concentrate on getting his two hands together...but it's pretty cute!

And here's a video for your enjoyment :)

We've got vegetables people!

I remember rolling my eyes when I would hear people talk about how they had to take a picture of something because it would make a good scrapbook page. How ridiculous! Shouldn't the scrapbook happen because of the picture, not the picture because of the scrapbook?! And then I started my blog...and now I find myself taking pictures of cucumbers...I can no longer roll my eyes.
Just thought I'd do a whole post dedicated to a cucumber. One I am actually munching on while I write :) This is actually the second cucumber from our 'garden'. I wasn't sure if the first one was really ready or not, so I picked it without fanfare...and ate the whole thing.

Not to be left out, the tomatoes are coming along nicely...

I have been pretty impressed by the size of the cucumbers. I didn't expect them to get as big as the ones in the stores, but I was wrong! (Yes, I am a math teacher, and no, I do not own a ruler. Yes, this is Edgar's measuring tape.)

The finished product :) I can honestly say I have never before photographed a vegetable that I have cut up before...I'm sure I'll have a 'first tomato' picture as well.

The good news is that there are MANY more cucumbers to come. The even better news? They taste great!