Tryin' to get caught up...

Okay, so I'm way behind in my updates...so I am going to just throw a bunch of pictures at you, and hopefully you will enjoy the show :) I am also sending out pics on the Kodak site, so if you don't get that link and want to see them, just let me know.
Mom...I feel like I've seen this picture (the first one) before...is it just me, or does this picture of Eli look like me as a baby? Maybe I'm just imagining things...let me know :) These pictures are kind of out of order, but oh well :) Eli has been enjoying is jumping 'thing' (don't really know what to call it). His toes barely touch the floor, but he enjoys looking at the lights, and is even starting to play with a few of the things on it. He'll sit in it for about 15-20 minutes, which is very nice for mom :)

Edgar took this shot of Eli this past Saturday. He's definately found his thumb, and there is no turning back...

Trying to crawl...

The other day I took a TON of pictures of him in his diaper (about 60...). He's SO cute!!! On the Kodak site you'll see many many more :)

Holdin' on tight to Spunky...

Eli is officially in 6-9 month clothes. This is the first day I put them on him...and they fit him perfectly. A little disturbing that my little baby is getting so big SO FAST!!!

I hate it when the blog turns the pics like this!!! I realized I have hardly any pictures of Eli and me...so this is a self-portrait :) Notice any similarities? :)

Things are good. We go to the doctor next week, so we'll see just how big he really is. I have some other blog updates to do too, so check back soon!

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 :)