A new home

Well, we are officially in our new home! We actually spent our first night last night, but I was WAY too exhausted to update last night :) Moving day went extremely well. We got up early and finished a few last things before people started arriving at 8:00.

I went to Einsteins and got bagels and coffee for everyone-even Eli :) He thoroughly enjoyed his bagel and milk. Like the hair? :)

And then this:

Went in this:

Well...and a WHOLE lot more stuff. It took two truck loads to bring everything over. Plus, we had already moved the kitchen stuff over (I had wanted to have the kitchen somewhat set up before moving day). We started at 8 and everything was in our new home by noon. It was amazing how quickly everything went! We had about 10 guys helping, so I think I only carried about 2 boxes the whole day. My job was pointing the guys in the right direction.

Eli tried to clean the floors with his feet...ummm...

I actually just finished mopping the floor (finally!) so hopefully his feet won't look like that again tomorrow.

The whole family came to help. Mom got 'kid duty' which was a HUGE blessing. I'm pretty sure this whole move and thrown Eli for a bit of a 'loop' and he's been pretty fussy. Hopefully that will pass...soon...

We had pizza for lunch and then started the 'real work'...the house we're in hasn't been lived in for a while, and we had hoped to scrub it top to bottom before we moved in. However, we didn't quite accomplish that-though mom had cleaned the bathrooms and kitchen for us, and dad had done quite a bit of work too (THANKS!) so we cleaned, and unpacked. Krista helped me unload the rest of the kitchen and clean. I was so glad everyone was there helping, because for some reason, by 2 I was totally exhausted. I have no idea how Edgar had the energy to keep going all day...

Eli took a bath in his new tub. I only took one picture, and then got sidetracked, so this isn't a great picture.

Eli went to bed and everyone headed for home, so Edgar and I cleaned up a few more things and went to bed, completely exhausted! (I think I've overused the word exhausted in this post...)
Today I worked on getting the living room in order, and was completely amused by this:

I love my husband...

...and my completely level TV.

Believe it or not, I really don't have any pictures of the house...I'll try and post some tomorrow. It's getting late, and I really should head to bed. I can't wait until I have an evening where I have nothing to do... :)

So busy I only have time to update while watching 'The Office'...

...But I DO take time to watch the Office :)

Today Krista came over to help me. We were working away, and Katie was playing with Eli. We came around the corner to see how they were doing, and saw this:

Who could it be?

It's Katie!

She was so cute. She kept getting in the empty boxes :) She played really well with Eli too...well...Eli kinda watched her play most of the time, but he was completely entertained :)

We came back home and had dinner. Krista brought us a DELICIOUS lasagna.

And then...

...Eli finally got his birthday cake.

And he loved it!

(Yes, that is lasagna and cake on his face...)

Eli's Birthday

Eli's actual birthday ended up being rather eventful. I had gotten up at 1:30 to check on him, and he was still running a fever, so I gave him some Tylenol.

Then he was on TV :) You can send in your 1-year old's picture to our local news station, and they will wish them a happy 1st birthday :) I taped it on the VCR too (No...we don't have TIVO...) and Edgar's dad said he'd put it on a DVD for me...so we'll have it forever :)

Jennifer came over and brought Eli his birthday breakfast. He liked the donut, but wasn't really very hungry. His appetite hasn't been great since he's been sick...He DID eat some of the donut (and finished what I left for him today...) He did NOT drink the coffee. That was mine. I don't share my coffee. I do, however, make it look like my son drinks it...(Thanks Jennifer for breakfast!)

Then we played with toys, and went for a walk in Eli's wagon.

As we were coming back Abuela & Abuelo pulled in. They were coming over to get a couple of things, so they got to see Eli on his big day! Eli was wearing a shirt that Abuela got him-it said 'Mi primo cumpleano'. It was pretty cute!

I had called the doctor on Monday to see if I should take Eli in, and they said to wait one more day. So when he woke up with a fever on Tuesday, I called and made an appointment for 11:20. I put him down for his nap at 10, and when I went to wake him up at 11 he looked like this:

He was SOAKED! Yes, his fever had broken. I debated whether to take him to the doctor or not, but figured I had the appointment, so I might as well keep it, just to be sure.

He was in such a good mood at the office! It's a good thing, because we waited for over an hour before we got to see the doctor.

He's fine. The doctor said it is just a virus, and it needed to run its course.

(As of 10:00 tonight he's been fever free since last night...so I think he's over it!)

We spent the rest of the afternoon doing stuff around the house.

We went over to see Abuela & Abuelo for dinner. Eli lost his other shoe somewhere...

Eli was the only one that got a chair :) Quite fitting...it WAS his birthday, after all...

Still no cake...I'm waiting until I'm SURE he feels good. Maybe tomorrow night. I'm determined to get the picture :)

Eli's Party!

This past weekend my mom & dad came to help celebrate Eli's birthday. It was so nice to see them...I know we have gotten to see them more than 'normal' this year, but it never seems like it's enough!

My mom took all of these pictures, so you won't see much of her. Believe it or not, I hardly took any pictures!

They arrived late Thursday night, so Friday morning Eli and I went over to Ryan & Jennifer's house. You can read about Friday here. (And yes, I DID hug the refrigerator. In fact, I'm pretty sure I'll hug it again once it's in our new house. I LOVE that refrigerator. In fact...I think the freezer is big enough for me to take a nap in...hmmm...might have to try that... BEFORE we plug it in...)

Saturday was busy preparing for Eli's party. We went to Walmart and bought the rest of the supplies that we needed. We had a birthday celebration for Ryan & Dad (no pictures...I KNOW! Can you believe how much of a slacker I was?!) We had blueberry and apple pie instead of cake...since there would be PLENTY of cake at Eli's party.

Jennifer had to work :( So Mom, Carly and I worked on decorating cookies for Eli's goodie bag. Carly did a great job helping us fill them in!

I also made a small cake for Eli to eat. There's a picture of that coming up...oh...and we made a pasta salad. I have to say...if my mom (and Carly!) weren't helping me, I don't think I would have gotten everything done! THANKS!

Sunday morning came, and I had so much to do I wasn't able to go to church. Mom came over and helped me get the goodie bags together, and gather up all the 'stuff' to take to the park. Then we gave Eli a bath.

Ummm...is it just me, or do his eyes match the towel? :)

We loaded everything in the car and headed over to the park.

Dad and Ben helped blow up balloons, which we tied to the shelter...and then had to take down and tie to the tables...apparently we weren't allowed to tie balloons to the shelter...

Krista brought the cake. Didn't she do an AWESOME job?! I loved it! AND, I loved that I didn't have to do it :)

Above are just a few of the decorations we had. The bottom left is the cake that I made for Eli to eat.

And the star of the show. Dad decorated his stroller with balloons :)

We had hot dogs for lunch. Eli wasn't at all interested...I was a little surprised-he usually eats everything!

Come to find out, he wasn't feeling very good. By the time it was time for cake, he was running a pretty good fever :( So when we sang happy birthday, and got our cameras ready to shoot the 'frosting on the face' pictures, Eli wouldn't even try the cake. I tried to put some icing in his mouth to taste, but he really didn't want it...

...even with daddy showing him 'how to eat a cake'...

And that's what Eli thought...

Oh well, I guess. I was a little sad that he didn't eat it, but I was fairly worried about him. He's never been sick before :( He really did good hanging out at the party, even though he didn't feel good. As long as someone was holding him, he was great.

These are the 'kids' that came. I'm pretty sure Ben wasn't thrilled to be included with 'the kids'...so I'm going to say this is the picture of 'the kids' and the one boy who is way older an mature than the rest... :)

Edgar's mom wrote a beautiful blessing for Eli. I'm going to put it at the end of the post. It was very touching.

Grandma & Grandpa! Go Tigers! Notice the one 'non-tiger' fan isn't even showing his shirt... :)

Abuela & Abuelo

Opening presents! Eli sat on my lap perfectly content, while daddy opened all the gifts. He got some REALLY nice stuff!

Grandpa & Grandma got him a seat that goes on the back of a bike. Edgar is really excited to take Eli for a ride!

Edgar's grandfather gave Eli a gift too. I almost started to cry when he got up and walked over and handed Eli his gift. It was very touching to me.

And Abuela & Abuelo got Eli a wagon :) Eli has already gotten a lot of use out of it! It's super cute-and it has little 'seat belts' so he can't climb/fall out if it! (Until he learns how to undo the seat belt...)

The party was wonderful. Even with Eli feeling a bit under the weather. We loaded up and went home. Eli took a nap, and we just relaxed a bit. We went over to Ryan & Jennifer's house for dinner (Chinese...YUM!) and hung out for the evening. Edgar took Eli home at 8 so I could spend a few more hours with my mom and dad. It was SO nice to sit and talk with them. I wish they didn't live so far away!

They went home Monday morning...but I'm SO glad Christmas isn't far away!

I will leave you with the beautiful blessing Ruth wrote for Eli. How beautiful that Eli is surrounded by people that love him and pray for him!

Eli's Blessing

Eli Francisco, your name means 'Uplifted and free'

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul;

In you I trust, O my God. Psalm 25:1

Eli, I bless you in the name of God our Father and Lord Jesus Christ

You are my answer to prayer. A gift fearfully and wonderfully made in His image, sent to us from Heaven. He has given you parents who conceived you in love and welcomed you with much joy.

May God bless you with wisdom and knowledge of His love and acceptance.

Be pure and filled with the Holy Spirit. May He bless you with ears to hear His voice. Be blessed with a heart of love, compassion and mercy. May kindness surround you as you learn to share it with others.

May God bless you with salvation, Eli, as He helps you to understand the reality of the atoning blood of Jesus, His Son. Embrace Him as your Savior and Friend and the blessing of His intimate friendship will be yours all the days of your life.

He has given you parents, grandparents and a family who loves you and will be Godly role models in your live. I will uphold you in prayer and claim the promises of God on your behalf.

God BLESS you my sweet Eli with the fullness of the Godhead and may your life be a blessing to others.

Te Quiero Mucho

Tu Abuelo Ruth

On your 1st Birthday

Happy Birthday Baby!

Wow. I can't believe my little boy is a year old! It seems like just yesterday that we were welcoming him into this world...

If you feel like a stroll down memory lane, you can read about his birth here.
I thought it might be fun to watch how Eli has changed this year :) You can click on each month heading to read the blog entry from that month. It's kinda fun to see what he was doing :)

Eli's birthday:

One Month:

Two Months:

Three Months:

Four Months:

5 Months:

6 Months:

7 Months:

8 Months:

9 Months:

10 Months:

11 Months:

One Year!

I can't believe how God has blessed us with such a beautiful, happy, healthy baby boy. He's such a delight. Edgar and I talk often about how we don't deserve the many gifts God has given us...and Eli is a daily reminder of just how very good God is to us.

Happy Birthday Eli. You've changed our life-and we love it! You are the best gift God has given to us. We love you very much!