Busy Friday

Friday was my last day at home by myself with Eli. Kind of a bittersweet moment. I guess I'm feeling lots of things right now. I'm looking forward to seeing my little kiddos at school, but I know I'm REALLY going to miss not seeing my little boy all day. I have thoroughly enjoyed staying home with him. At first I thought that there was no way that I would be able to make it 3 months staying home with no one to talk to except him, but now I kind of wish that I had 3 more months. I knew when Josh and I made the decision that I would go back to work that it was going to be hard. I just didn't realize how hard it really was going to be. I'm so glad Josh is the one dropping him off at Tammy's on Monday. That's going to be the longest day ever for me! I know many people will criticize me for going back to work, but it's something I truly enjoy and feel called to do. I am in no way anxious or worried about Eli not being with me. We truly have been blessed with Tammy keeping him. She loves him just as if he belonged to her! Plus, Josh and I feel like it's good for Eli to be around other people besides just Mommy for some socialization. I don't want him to be one of those babies that is only happy with Mommy. I want him to be at ease with whoever (or is it whomever?) is holding/playing with him. Another plus...Tammy has cats and I've read that kids who are exposed to animals early have a less likely chance of developing allergies when they get older. I'll keep my fingers crossed on this one! Josh has really bad allergies and I have zero, so I guess Eli could go either way.

Eli and I didn't really have any major plans for Friday, but I knew that I wanted to go to the church to see our pastor, Dan, put the cross on top of the steeple on the new addition. It was kind of chilly, so I bundled Eli up and we made our way over to the church. When we got there, we saw lots of people from the church. Dan had mentioned the fact that he was doing this to the entire church and lots of people came out to witness this historic event.

Eli and I in front of the new addition to our church.
It's going to look SO good when it is completed!

Eli enjoying the cool weather.
Every time the wind would blow he would catch his breath and gasp...co cute!

Here's the church and here's the steeple....

Dan put all his safety gear on and proceeded to get into the lift that would take him up, up, up.

While Dan was getting ready for his little adventure, Eli and I paused for a photo op with Katie, Julia, and Douglas. Eli and Douglas are about 3 weeks apart. So many couples in our church have had babies this year. It's such a great sign of how our church is growing and growing.

Dan's in the bucket and he's about to start the journey to the top!

We took more pictures while Dan was going up...it took awhile for him to reach the very top.

At the very top!
I bet the view was amazing!

Dan on the phone. I think he was talking to his wife, Nicki.
She was checking on him to make sure he was okay.

I don't know if he really could see everything that was going on up there, but it sure looked like he did! He was laughing and cooing at something high in the sky. I guess the crane looked funny to him.

Or maybe he was thinking, "Hmmm, this blanket looks good enough to eat!"

After the cross was in place, we came home just in time for Josh's lunch break from work. I love the fact that we were able to see him every day for lunch while I was home with Eli. I've already made Josh promise me that he will go by Tammy's during his lunch break to check on Eli. I know Josh really looks forward to seeing his little buddy, so I'm sure he'll be by to check on him often!

The rest of our day went like normal-full of eating, playing, cooing, peeing...you get the idea! I can't believe 3 months has passed by so quickly. Just look at how far Eli has come just in tummy time! Wow! I can't wait to see how much more learns over the next 4 months. He'll be six months (almost seven) by the time school is out. He'll be rolling, teething, and probably scooting or crawling by then! Life with him is so much fun! I love every single minute of it!

Hanging with Daddy

I love watching my two boys hang out with each other. Eli adores his Daddy. Whenever he sees him walk up, he always gives him the biggest smile. It's going to be so much fun to watch these two in the years to come.

Tummy time + Daddy time = Lots of Fun

Chillin' in the recliner

My little chunk of love :)

Baby Got Crack

This Much

Eli, how much do you love Mommy?

"I love Mommy thiiiiiiiiiiisssssssss much!"

Successful at Last

Here are some tummy time pictures and a video that were taken over the course of a few days. He's getting it...FINALLY!

Sunday night

Tuesday afternoon
(in his birthday suit) =)

Look at how high his head is!

Wednesday morning
(He finally spotted himself in the mirror.)

He thought he was pretty cute.

Make that VERY cute!

Babies Beware

Attention Little Babies: Hold on to your paci's tight. There's a pacifier thief on the loose! Don't let him surprise you! Just follow Eli's example. Keep one hand on the paci at all times, even in sleep!

A Morning Cutie Pie

"It's too early for pictures!"

"Can't a baby get any sleep?"

"I'll oblige you with a smile."

"Oh, and I'll throw in a little smirk, too."

"Hey, I've got feet!"

"Raise your hand if you're sure!"

"Check out my do!"

"This is a bad case of bedhead!"

A Valentine Surprise in the Mail

Eli's first Valentine's gift came in the mail the other day from his Uncle David and Aunt Stephanie. They haven't seen Eli yet, but really enjoy reading about him and looking at him on the blog. We hope that they're going to come see us really soon. I know Stephanie can't wait to get her hands on him! They sent Eli some cute Valentine's Day outfits and this really cute Valentine leopard (I think it's a leopard; it may be a cheetah). Eli was very intrigued by the leopard/cheetah. I can't wait until Valentine's Day so he can wear his cute outfits. Thanks for thinking of him, Uncle David and Aunt Stephanie. We hope to see you soon!

Oohs, Coos, and Squeals

Eli just started really cooing a couple days ago and it's the cutest thing in the world! Josh and I die laughing every time he gets going. He's so fun to watch because he tries to mimic our mouths when we talk. These are three videos of him "talking" to Josh. You'll notice that he quits performing usually when he sees the camera, so I started standing off to the side. You can still hear him and it'll melt your heart!

Bumbo Seat and Diaper Mullet

I've been putting Eli in his Bumbo seat a few minutes everyday to help him strengthen his stomach and neck muscles. He's doing really well. I'm so impressed with how well he can support his head when he is upright. You'll notice a magazine behind his head in some of the pictures. We usually start off without the magazine, but if he starts to get tired and his head begins to flop, I've found that putting a magazine (actually it's the manual to the TV) behind his head helps him. I love how he's sticking his tongue out in one of the pictures. When I concentrate on something really hard that's exactly what I do.



Later on that night, when Eli needed a diaper change, Josh decided to "help out." This is one diaper change Eli will never forget! I think he looks like a Pilgrim in the first two pictures. Then Josh turned the diaper around to create the diaper mullet--business in the front, party in the back! Once again, my child will probably disown me when he's old enough to understand how incredibly embarrassing these pictures are :)

A Fresh Approach to Tummy Time

So you all know how hard I've been working to get Eli to like tummy time. Well, I'm happy to say that it's getting much better. We just had to try something a little new. He hated being placed on his stomach on a blanket because he couldn't see anything (even with a bolster), so now I place him on my legs while I'm laying down. He gets tummy time and I even get some exercise. He can see all around him since he's up so high, so he'll stay on my legs MUCH longer than on a blanket. Look at how much he's stretching his neck in the first picture!

"Wow! There's stuff above me!"

"Mommy, you look kind of funny like that."

"Are we finished here?"

Raffie

This is Eli's newest stuffed animal. His name is Raffie (he's a giraffe, after all) and he was a gift from Jon and Debbie. They came by while Eli and I were at a baby shower last Friday night. I hate that we didn't get to see them, but as you can tell Eli really likes Raffie. (No, this is not a posed photograph either. Raffie was on the changing table with us and Eli put his arm around him....so so sweet.) Thanks, Mr. Jon and Ms. Debbie!

Tagged

Audra tagged me to do this survey, and since my little man is sleeping right now, I thought I'd go ahead and do it.

4 things I did yesterday:
1. Updated the blog
2. Dusted the house
3. Cooked supper
4. Played with Eli

4 things on my wish list:
1. A healthy little boy
2. Tour Europe
3. Go to Hawaii
4. That Eli would keep sleeping through the night...oh, how I wish this would come true :)

4 things I look forward to:
1. Watching Eli grow
2. Summer vacation as a family
3. More children
4. Many more years with my hubby

4 restaurants I like:
1. Olive Garden
2. Chipotle
3. Texas de Brazil
4. Chili's

4 favorite TV shows:
1. Lost
2. Heroes
3. House
4. The Office

4 Tags:
Cheryl
Mary/Jordan
Jamie
Danielle

Newborn Pictures

This is just a sampling of the pictures Jami took of Eli when he was 2 weeks old.