Merry Christmas!

We had a really good first Christmas with Eli.   For the record, Christmas is about 1000x better with a baby.  The above photos are of Eli with my little cousin, Chloe, who will be 3 at the beginning of next month.  She is totally into Eli and I think it's too sweet.  She didn't even make a fuss when he started ripping her hair!

4 months!

As of 12:52 on the 18th, my baby boy is 4 months old!

Here are some photos from the past month:

Hanging out.

First play date with the rest of the currently birthed 3A babies.

Bumbo-ing it up in front of the Christmas tree in his Santa bib.  How festive.

I like to think in this picture he is saying, "What the, mom!  I'm in my diaper!"

Officially 4 months old!

Waiting for dad to get home.

Going after his feet.

Eli's 4 month measurements:

length - 27 1/4 inches!

weight - 17 pounds 3 ounces!

90-95 percentiles for all measurements

Things Eli enjoys at 4 months:

- Watching Simon

- Grabbing anything he can get his hands on (especially momma's hair)

- Grabbing his feet

- Sitting up (with aids, obviously)

- Watching mom and dad talk :)

- Looking in mirrors

- Bath time (still)

- Chewing on toys, his sleeves, or people's hands

- Car rides

- Shopping (he likes to watch the lights and different scenery passing)

We also suspect Eli is teething, though no tooth can be felt yet.  He drools incessantly and has some very cranky times...also trouble sleeping.  He has started waking up several times a night again crying out, which we assume is because he is in pain.  Hopefully this passes soon because we could all use a little more sleep around here :)

resolutions?

January first is exactly twenty-four days away.  This year I am actually setting some goals for myself, because since having a baby I feel a lot of the time my life is out of control and at the end of the day I realize all I really did was survive.

So, without further ado, my list of goals for the new year...

+ Get into shape.  I mean, duh.  Isn't this on everyone's list every year?  But this year it is a little more important to me.  Post-baby body needs it.  I am actually just a few pounds shy of my pre-pregnancy weight, which was a goal I had for myself by the end of the year, but I still can't fit into some of my pants.  My hips don't lie.

+ Choose my favorites and start printing from the zillions of photos I've taken of Eli and arranging them into some kind of coherent album we can enjoy in the coming years.

+ Get that blog crap up and running.  I talk about it sometimes.

+ I really want to make/start a quilt.  I've never done this before, but I feel like I could do it.  I was thinking it would be nice to make one for Eli's first big boy bed, thus giving myself a couple years...and a smaller quilt :)

+ Be thankful for what I already have and stop wanting so much.  I mean, I know Thanksgiving has come and gone so I'm a bit fashionably late but I keep finding myself in these modes where I think I need to obtain things and make my life look a certain way and I'll be happier.  Not true, guys, not true.  I think we all know this but it's hard not to get caught up in it.

+ Rekindle and build new friendships.  I am a pretty introverted person.  Since I was a kid I basically have only kept one or two people close at a time.  It's been a long time since I have really felt connected to and able to be completely myself around another person (aside from Rob, obv).  I'm not a social butterfly, my post-college jobs have been nanny positions so I haven't made friends with colleagues, and now I am a stay at home mom in a neighborhood full of old people.  

Stuff like that.

And to close, here's a picture of Eli lounging in his bouncy seat while I was doing something in the kitchen.  Seriously, I looked over and the kid had his feet crossed and his arm behind his head watching the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" show.  Please ignore the unfinished baseboards.

THXGVNG

So, this past year has been the most notable yet, and so I thought I might reflect on the things I have been super thankful for during the past twelve months -

1. A healthy pregnancy.  When I first found out I was pregnant, I worried a lot about miscarriage, gestational diabetes, birth defects...I think all women do to some extent.  I was lucky to have smooth sailing basically the whole way, and a healthy baby boy in the end.

2. Obviously...Eli.  I am for real, having a baby changes the way you see yourself and everything around you.  He has completely turned our world upside down and I honestly cannot even imagine how we ever did life before him.  

3. Our family, all of who are kind and generous and supportive to the nth degree.

4. Rob and his rockin' ability to find good jobs.  Rob went through a briefly tumultuous job situation right around the time Eli was born.  I hadn't been working since May, and so I was a little worried about our financial situation.  However, as he has managed to do again and again, he found an even better job, that paid $17k more a year and has way better benefits, and we are even more financially stable.  We have been EXTREMELY blessed to have no trouble paying all of our bills and saving all under one income.

5. Friends.  I mean, yeah.  Especially friends that are still cool to hang out with us even when our baby poops all over when we are out for dinner (obviously that means you, Paige Jessee and Jarrod Geary :)

6. The gym.  Yeah, I am trying to do the gym thing again.  It's hard with a baby.  I can't go as long as I'd like and I'm more tired when I start, but cardio exercise makes me feel 1000x better about myself and the world around me.  It also helps me fit into my pants better, which is good, too.

7. SLEEP.  Eli is sleeping better now.  Through the night?  Ehh, he's done it three times now.  Usually he wakes up once.  But it's only once, and he's back to bed within 15 minutes.  This gives me hope for the future!

8. Restaurants that are fast, and close by.  I am mostly referencing Chipotle, here.  Mostly I never want to cook, and I love that we can just pick up dinner out and Rob doesn't even judge me.  Honestly, he probably prefers it.

9.  Our house, which is almost finished.  Probably you know we are renovating our basement.  That process is moving along slowly but when that is done, it is going to be THE BEST.  Can't wait.  Also, I am thankful that my parents rent us our house and do stuff like renovate the basement just because we'd prefer it.  That's convenient.  

10.  I am thankful for God.  I don't always talk about being a Christian and stuff, but I am, and therefore I credit all the aforementioned blessings to Him.  

3 months!

Ok, so Eli is 3 months old as of yesterday.  Here are some photos from the month of November...

Babies are so cute when they're bundled up.

Lounging in the bath...which he goes crazy in.  For real, there is water splashed everywhere by the end of bath time.

Meeting other babies...this is my friend Brittany's son, Cael (just a few weeks younger).

Hanging out with Dad in the morning.

Lounging on the couch.

Getting a little closer to fitting into his hat :)

Officially 3 months old, battle wounds included.

Great-grandpa Santel was visiting from Georgia and spent an afternoon with Eli.

Eli and his dad after some tummy time.

Things Eli enjoys at 3 months:

Bath time/splashing (still)

Looking at mirrors

Watching TV (yep.)

Being sung to

Smiling/being smiled at

Chatting

Kicking his legs

Watching Simon

Things Eli now hates that he used to like:

Tummy time.

He really hates it.

Proof:

And he's even cheating with a Boppy.  Oh well.

(The only thing that was helping at all was that Toy Story 3 was on TV)

baby rob, baby me

And that's where this little guy came from :)

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from my little gnome! 

(Who was surprisingly okay with wearing this beard, by the way.)

typical sunday.

My boys.

(all three of them)

grooming fails and baby grins

So...I took Simon to get groomed at Petsmart today.  This has been his first grooming since becoming our dog, mind you.

It didn't really work out.

They called me after his bath and nail trimming, that when they were trying to trim the hair around face he basically had the dog equivalent of a nervous breakdown.  He was showing signs of "major stress" so I went and picked him up.  He's super clean, but still a bit shaggy.  His face is a little more groomed but now uneven..ha.

Look at that face!  Little chubby cheeks is giving me a smooshed little grin.  I have been trying very hard to get a photo of him smiling but every. single. time. I hold the camera up when he starts smiling he goes straight-faced.  Rude.

So...that little photo above is the closest I have :)

scattered thoughts for [wednesday]

+ I used to want to buy too many things for myself.  If I saw something wanted to wear or put in our home, I would buy it.  Good news: I no longer do that!  Bad news: It's because I've focused my consumerism on Eli. Gosh, baby stuff is too cute, and I kind of want all of it.

+ This morning Eli and I ventured over to Rookwood Commons, to Joseph Beth Booksellers, where I often took little girl (of my previous nanny job).  Monday/Wednesday/Friday at 10:30 is story time at the bookstore and while I did not take Eli to story time (yet...I will when he's old enough!), he got to meet Miss Audrey, who is my favorite story time lady :)

+ It has been really warm this past few days in southern Ohio/northern Kentucky which has been really nice for drying clothes outside!

+ Rob bought me my first domain!! If you recall I once said long ago that I desired to turn this into a *real*-ish blog, with more of a purpose and less random.  That hasn't happened for two years, and as soon as I come up with a blog layout, Rob is going to put it together for me!  We'll see when I get around to that...

+ There are so many projects and crafts I have floating around in my head but I just can't find the time/energy to execute them.

+ For lunch I am eating soup from a can.  I frequently eat soup from a can.

+ It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is playing in our DVD player right now.  Eli doesn't care, though.  He fell asleep in his swing.

+ While I really love fall and all fall-type things, I am really looking forward to the Christmas season.  Christmas is my favorite.

+ Soon I will be joining the smartphone community!  I have an iPhone 5 coming my way! (Hopefully, eventually).  We ordered it last month but because it was on back order and it may not ship out until November 2.  Ridiculous.

+ I just realized my child has the same hair as Linus Van Pelt.

well...

Intense.

These are just some photos we took on Eli's 2 month marker :)

shots, shots, and more shots.

Photo taken last October.

Thursday, Eli had his checkup and round of shots.  Friday, it was Simon's turn.  What I initially thought was going to be a physical exam and a rabies shot (he was due in the beginning of September...oops) turned out to be three different shots, some blood drawn for a heart worm test, and I have to bring back a stool sample  some time in the next ten days (fun).  So what I thought was going to be a $50 vet bill turned into a $150 vet bill.  Oh well, it's the least we can do for the little guy.

I also found out Simon weighs 18.2 pounds.  Eli will probably surpass him by his 4 month check up, which both amuses and disgusts me.  Why do babies grow so fast (...especially, it seems, my baby)?  Our vet also said Simon is two years old.  Up to this point we were unsure, as he was a stray before he went to the shelter, although that is what the shelter guessed his age to be around.

Anyway...hey!  I [kind of] made a post about something other than Eli! Ha.

2 months!

Today my baby is 2 months old!  Eli weighs 14 pounds and 3 ounces, and is 24 3/4 inches long.  He is so, so big!  At this point he is already wearing some 6 month clothing!  He is looking healthy all around and had to get two shots today, one in each leg.  The first shot he recovered from quickly, but with the second one he cried and cried! There were even little tears coming out of his eyes :( It was a pretty rough morning and he has been pretty sleepy ever since.  

Also: I have really relaxed on the whole BabyWise thing.  I just wasn't getting the hang of it.  I know I probably didn't give it long enough but scheduling and organization is not my forte.  I am still using the principle of eat/wake/sleep but not rigidly.  He has been going to bed around the same time every night, but the first feeding comes at different times every day (a BabyWise no-no) and he goes anywhere from an hour and a half to three hours between feedings so there is obviously no schedule there.  I do think he's discerning a bit from night and day now as his naps during the day are pretty short and he sleeps for longer chunks at night, but as a general rule he still wants to be fed twice at night.  A couple nights ago he slept for 5 1/2 hours straight and I thought I hit the jackpot!

Some of Eli's favorite things at 2 months:

Baths

Being talked/sung to

Tummy time in his activity gym

Pacifier 

Bouncy seat

Looking at light (we call him moth boy)

Stroller rides

Being outdoors

Car rides

Being held by someone standing up

(apparently this is way, way more desirable than being held by someone sitting down)

He is such a sweetheart and so mild mannered!  He hardly ever has temper tantrums and when he cries out it's almost scary because it happens so rarely.  He's more of a 'yeller'.  He kind of yelps and calls out when he wants something or doesn't want something (ex: going to bed).  It is crazy to think how we ever lived before Eli was here!  We love him so much!

someone hates naps.

hint: his name begins with 'e' and ends in 'i'.

(it's him.)

blah.

So, day one of the grand experiment went just okay.  Day two I kind of neglected some basic principles, because I was too tired, so...yeah.  Eli didn't nap at all until the end-ish of his second nap, which was around 3:45, then he woke up and ate for fifteen minutes (couldn't get him to stay awake any longer than that, no matter what I tried), and then he promptly continued into another nap which has been going on ever since.

Hmm.

Whatever.

Anyway, I have ordered a crap ton of things from the internet in the past week or so, and it has been delightful receiving packages in the mail everyday.  This, however, must stop.  Rob and I have been talking more and more about moving (in time, folks, in time), though if anyone wants to buy me this house that would be wonderful and fine and I would move in tomorrow.

I don't know what it has been about the past two days, but I feel like I have been hit by a bus.  I feel sickly and tired and have no motivation to do anything.  For dinner tonight we are having frozen pizza, if that is suggestive of anything.

Tomorrow the bookcase I ordered Eli should be getting and I am so excited about that.  It will be good to have Eli's room feel a bit more finished since he is actually using it now.  I think this weekend we are going to move Rob's junk out of there and put it who knows where until the basement is ready for it.  Speaking of!  Apparently my dad has drawn out a plan for the basement, and should soon be in the hand of his contractor friend.   Hopefully things start speeding up here.

love.

a grand experiment.

I had been recommended to read BabyWise by multiple people every time I would whine and complain about how little Eli was not sleeping (day and night).  Firstly, I ignored it, assuming the problem would work itself out and I didn't need some 'program' to get my baby to sleep.  Then, as the weeks progressed and I became more desperate so I ordered the book from Amazon, but never read it.  Finally, after Sunday night (where he slept a mere fifty minutes on his own), I broke down and seriously began *skimming* the book. As I began to realize that according to this sleep program I was failing to the extreme, I took note of some things to change about our day.  The biggest being how long I made Eli eat.

Normally, Eli only eats for about 10 minutes from one side.  He is uninterested in eating after that, and my pediatrician even told me that if he is eating quickly, 10-15 minutes for a feeding should suffice, and it is very obvious that Eli is getting enough to eat, so I didn't think much of it.  Lately, though, he has slowed down the rate at which he feeds.  I decided to try and get him to eat 10 minutes from both sides as a starting point (the book says 15-20).  I was surprised how easy it was to get him to do this.  We continued into a bit of playtime (BabyWise has you to implement a feed/wake/sleep pattern) and then I put him down to a nap.  HE ACTUALLY TOOK A NAP.  I continued the day with basic principles from the book and can I tell you, the day was so so so much easier?!  By the end of the day I felt I had drawn enough from the book to know how to follow a version of the program that would work for us, and I'm currently sitting in Eli's nursery (he had his first night in the crib last night...bittersweet) because he started fussing a bit at around 6:15 and I'd like him to sleep until 7.

So, today, October 9, 2012, I begin our grand experiment, a full day of the BabyWise program, and I am hoping beyond hope that it does wonders for everyone in our little family.

------>>> side note though: why doesn't anyone tell you this kind of stuff before you have the baby!?  I would have loved to have been informed that legit sleep programs existed before all the terrible nights where Eli got maybe one or two hours of sleep and we got even less.  Oh well, live and learn.  Obviously I will update later on progress.

first nap in the crib!

...well, for 20 minutes at least.

I finally cleaned his clothes out and put them away in his wardrobe!  And sadly boxed up many clothes that he no longer fits in...

!!!

Sheesh.

Well, here's some crib-napping cuteness...

...He is the sweetest.