May 11 - May 12

Hi buddy!
We are getting so boring around here - work/daycare, eat, sleep! You have been working through a new sleeping schedule so you have been getting up once a night to eat. That is ok as we work out the kinks. Your mom read a book that we should put you in your crib whenever you look tired so you get better naps and that you should be sleeping 12 hours a night! I think that you want to sleep that long but you also need food. When you wake up periodically, it isn't to play, it is to eat. I have noticed in the last 2 weeks or so, you certainly do know your bottle & you are getting more coordinated in reaching for it. I was walking from your room to ours to get you settled to feed you. I had my arm under your bum and you were looking over my shoulder. I had your bottle in my hand and you twisted yourself all around (bent down, forward and to the right) to get to it! I didn't realize what you were doing then you CRACKED me up!

The other thing going on recently is your total love of your bouncy. You will play on your mat for 30-45 minutes before you get bored. You will stay in your bouncy for 2 hours before you get bored! It is so funny watching you that your daddy even busted out the video the other night. He said that you were planting your feet, bending your knees and catapulting! We did learn that you only like to play that long when you know one of us is in the room with you!

I do have pictures for you that I will add later - of course, you are always cute but these aren't that spectacular. However, I will add 2 new scrapbook pages for you now.

Talk to you later gator!

May 10

Hi Lijah!
Mommy doesn't have anything to report. I picked you up then I was gone for the evening. You & your daddy had a guys-only night. He fed you, bathed you and put you to bed. We are trying a new sleeping schedule so you were out EARLY and he was lonely for you. My photo for today was just you sleeping in your crib so I figured I would share some scrapbook pages with you instead. Talk to you later gator!

May 4 - May 9

Oh man Elijah - I am so far behind, aren't I? It isn't a reflection of how much fun we are having together but that we are so busy! Let's recap what we did this week -

Tuesday
Nothing much to report this day baby - work, daycare/Grampa Keith's, food, sleep!


Wednesday
Today was the day that I was dreading! We went to the doctor and you got your shots. It was much better than I expected! You didn't scream as much and we didn't get in a lot of trouble with the pediatrician! You weighed 15 lbs 14 oz and were 27.25" long. You are still a tall boy but you went down a bit in the percentile for weight. Guess that means you are well proportioned. Dr. Macklem said that we did a great job of flipping your head and it is now growing exactly where it should be. Yeah mommy & daddy! At night, we went over to the Beaty's house for dinner & you were able to meet Debbie's mom and dad.


Thursday
Fussy pants today because of your shots. For the first time, my phone rang with the special ring tone that meant it was Mary calling. My heart stopped for a second and then I figured you might have a fever with your shots. She just wanted to juice you up with Tylenol to help you feel better! We kept you juiced up at night too so you would sleep through it. Darn it - we hate shots!


Friday
Not a ton to report here either - work, out to eat, juiced you and hoped that you would feel better. It is hard for us to watch you be in discomfort and know that you don't want to be because you smile at us in between those sniffles. Even though it didn't look like it in the picture below, you were mostly fussy with a few spots of happy Lijah. I didn't take you to Great Gramma's because you were fussy pants.

Saturday
We went down to Farmer's Market and walked around a bit then it was all about Baby Jake as we did our photo shoot with him. You slept through most of it but then I think you were a bit out of sorts because you are so used to having your photo taken. :) You still had a touch of fussiness in you because of your shots so we had to juice you up a bit. I am hoping this is the end of it. We went out to dinner and I had the most unreal experience. I had you sitting on the table with my hand in front of you. You started sucking and chewing on my thumb. It was a weird sensation to feel you gumming my thumb and sucking. Kind of like the Sting Rays at Sea World. You sure did love your bouncey today - you were in it for about 2 hours!! It cracks me and your daddy up to watch you.

You & your newest cousin - Baby Jake!


Quick shot of you in your crib while we were taking Baby Jake's photos


My favorite two Baby Jake photos


Sunday
Today was Mommy's day. It was a good day Mister! You & your daddy had some doughnuts for me when I woke up along with a card, flowers and a movie I wanted. He let me sleep in while you two played together. HEAVEN :) You and him went to see Gramma Brigham then we went over Auntie Sheila's for dinner with the Langs. It was a packed house! The highlight of my day was our mini-photos. I really wanted some photos with my son on Mother's Day. And, we even got your daddy involved and some really good photos. Then, we went to see Gramma Debbie. Since I am going out with her tomorrow, our visit was all about her having some Elijah time :) Thank you buddy for being here and treating me to a great Mother's Day.

I have to be really honest with you about something though. During the time that I was by myself, I had a really rough time. For some reason, this Mother's Day was the hardest day yet. You would think that it would be the best Mother's Day ever since my baby is here but realizing how great you are made me sad to know that so many little ones aren't with us. I am not sure if it was because people were so nice to me and said "Happy First Mother's Day." It was great to celebrate my first Mother's day but not the first year I felt like a mommy!

May 3

Hi Elijah!
I don't have a ton to tell you today either. Daycare, house work, sleep. We were pretty boring. You flipped your mom and dad out because you took your normal nap from 3:40-4:40 then you were asleep again from 6:30-9:00. We were debating back and forth whether or not to wake you. We didn't and you stayed up until about 11 then went to sleep until 7 so we were all good.

One interesting thing is that you are now giving clear signs of when the fussiness is about to come out. Not everyone would recognize them but I do. You get all happy and play for a few minutes, then you make a certain "coo" sound and I know that within 5 minutes, Fussypants is in the house :) Last night, I told your dad that he had officially 8 minutes until you got fussy. I think you made it 6.

You were playing in your bumbo while mommy and daddy cooked dinner tonight so I snapped a photo. It is a bummer that your eyes are closed but I like the expression on your face.

April 29 - May 2

Hi baby!
Been a few days since I have chatted with you, huh? We have been busy beavers!
Thursday was Taco Thursday at Darbys with Brandi, Jeff, Uncle Jeff and Aunt Sheila! You played up a storm with Uncle Jeff. There was a storm brewing and you would not sleep for anything! We kept feeding you and trying to put you to bed but you just kept screaming. It didn't matter that you were so tired! We threw you in bed with us and you passed out! You did great sleeping. About 4, I took you off your boppy and you rolled right up to me and sucked up next to me. We made it until 6:50 when you started being squirmy and started waking up.

I love, love, love this photo! How silly are you?



On Friday, you went over Great Gramma's for a visit. Then, we had dinner with Brandi & went to bowling with dad.

Close up with bug eyes:

On Saturday, we were out and about all day. We went to Farmers Market, had lunch in the old market, went to the Renaissance Fair and then you went over the Beaty's house while mommy and daddy went out. Debbie said you were really good playing with Morgan then in the stroller. But, you were tired and conked out!

Farmers Market - don't we look all granola?


Sleeping at the restaurant during lunch:


Indecent exposure in the Old Market - yep, we pretty much strip you nekked and change you in the trunk if we have to. We have no shame. While we were doing this, someone pulled over and asked us where the "Hemp festival" was. Your dad about stroked out that he may look like the type of person that would know the answer to that question. haha.


At the Renaissance Fair - pretty much wasted $22 but look how cute you are in your hat?


We were pretty boring on Sunday - just hung out around the house and did house stuff. But, you were so fun all day. You played on your mat, played in your bouncy, sat in your swing. You are getting so big - I can't even believe it. You are almost too big for your swing. When you were born, you barely could stay in it you were so little. We put the batteries in your play mat and bouncy - you love all the noises. It was so fun watching you listening to the music, cooing and smiling. You also mastered the bouncy and were moving all over. It amazes me how you change day to day and week to week. The progress is amazing.

Tough love - want food? Hold your bottle...


We have a busy week this week and guess what, this weekend is all about Mommy! It is Mommy's day!!

April 27 & 28

Hi Elijah!
Happy Birthday baby boy! You are four months old today. I can't even believe it!

Yesterday, you spent a bit of time with Grampa and Heather then we went over Auntie Sheila's for dinner. You got to see Uncle Jeff again and you met Gramma and Grampa Naven! We also all got to see Baby Jakey some more. You did a great job playing on the floor and talking to everyone. You were only fussy when you were hungry and you needed a nappy!

Today, we started the day with you puking all over me. Literally all over me where I needed to change my clothes. Yep, good morning mommy! Mary said you were sick while you were at her house. You weren't quite yourself today but we did hang out and you were smiling a bit. You did let me get a few photos of you for your 4 month birthday. Today, Braeden told me that he is 4 months old just like you :) He means 4 years old but he was just so excited that you were the same age.

As we have closed the day on your 4 month birthday, we need to have a serious talk. You need to start pulling your weight around here and you are a bit older now so you can start having some chores. Here are some things you need to start doing -
1) Holding your own darn bottle. It is hard enough for your mom and dad to shovel food in their own mouths fast enough. You need to feed your own self.
2) Need to poo on the potty chair when we put you on there. Washing your diapers is hard work and we need to conserve where possible.
3) Give us a clue when you are going to puke all over us so we can get you to the toilet. Again, laundry is hard work and we need to conserve all of our clothes where possible.
4) You should be learning sign language by now at daycare so start using it at home instead of just crying when you want something. You are a big boy now.
We will have a performance evaluation at 5 months and you better be making the cut buddy. :)
Speaking of conservation, Mary might go back to cloth diapers. She really liked your liners and how they make dirty diapers easy to clean. What a great thing! You are already teaching people to be more green - haha!

April 22 - April 26

Hi Elijah!
We have had a busy few days & lots to catch up on! Tomorrow is your last day of being a 3 month old. You are going to turn 4 months old on Wednesday. Each passing day of you getting bigger just amazes me!

Thursday - when I picked you up from Mary's, she said that you act like a trained circus seal. You roll over from your back to your tummy, the kids all cheer and you smile. Then, you roll back over from your tummy to your back, the kids all cheer and you smile. I don't ever see this at home so I think you are lazy at home but I tell you it is because your cloth diapers are too big for you to be so active :) Thursday night, we had dinner with Gramma Debi D & Mr. Pepsi. Then, we ran errands to get ready for our trip.


Friday - it was off to see your Minnesota family! We packed up Great Gramma's car and we took off. You were so good on the way up there - you slept most of the ride. When we got there, Brandon was in town already and your Minnesota Godparents were working. You and I took a quick nappie before we hung out with the family at a late dinner. We stayed at a hotel and you slept with Daddy tonight. You were so cute laying in bed next to him with the blankets up all around you. You looked like such a big boy! I really love this photo because not only are you & your daddy super cute lying next to each other, you can see both of your bottles in the background. You are both addicted to your individual bottles - you to formula and him to Diet Coke!


Saturday - You woke up for some food then we all slept in until 9:30. You are a good vacation sleeper! We went over your Baby God Daddy's house for awhile then we went shopping. We finally found you a diaper bag we could use. It is a Nike Backpack inspired by Brian. I think we have finally found our final diaper bag. We bought you a little windbreaker jacket and it was one of those moments where I look down at my hand carrying this little squirt's coat and I think "Who does this belong to?" Then, I remember, that I am a mommy now and you are my son and I have to buy you coats. Almost 4 months later and I still am occasionally taken off guard. When we got back to the apartment, Auntie Val was in town to love you up. She spoiled you while we grabbed dinner. Your mom and dad packed our bags for 75 degree weather but it was in the 50s. It made soccer a tad chilly. Thankfully, your Auntie and Great Gramma loaded up a bag with winter coats. We wrapped you up in one of those to stay warm. You liked all the cheering but when the crowd boo'd, you got upset and started crying. Baby GodDaddy played for 28 minutes and their team won! Afterwards, you hung out with Auntie Val while we played cards. It was your last chance to hang out with your cousin Brandon. Each time he held you, you were fussy & he didn't quite know what to do with you. I think he just picked the worst times to hold you rather than you disliking him :) He has committed to teaching you how to ski when you are able to walk so you need to stay on his good side!!



Sunday - You woke up again for food then slept until 10:00!! I loved it! We had breakfast at Brian's and you got some last minute loving from Auntie Val before we packed up the car and headed out again. You slept almost the entire way home. Your job was to entertain Great Gramma in the car and I don't think you passed! Sleeping is not entertaining but we were all happy since you were not fussing.




Monday - Back to daycare and to your routine! Mary said you were all smiles this morning. She is altering your schedule a tad so that you sleep when I pick you up so I can keep working. It has been working out good. You give me a couple of smiles then you fall asleep for about 45 minutes. Afterwards, I was going out to run errands and Gramma Debbie wanted to see you so you hung out with her tonight. When you got home, it was bath time (plus some oily gook on your head again!), food time and bed time!



Tomorrow, you are going to hang out with Grampa Keith & Heather during my last hour of work then we are going to go see Uncle Jeff! You haven't seen him in 3 months! You will also get to meet Auntie Sheila's parents - Linnea and Norm. I think we are also going to get to smooch up Baby Jacob if we can snatch him away from all those other people who want to love him up!!