Happy Holidays!

What a week! We started off the holidays with Mom-Mom driving into town for Christmas; we went to Christmas Eve service at the church and had a wonderful day at the house. Then Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Justin, and Treis (cousin) drove in the day after Christmas for a few days. We had a Christmas celebration on Tuesday complete with a hike down by the Sope Creek paper mill ruins. The highlight of the week was probably the new Georgia Aquarium. (Grandpa gave everyone a ticket in their stocking.) Eli loved seeing all of the fish and sea animals; he had a hard time closing his eyes for a nap! We finished up the week with a visit from Cooper.

Eli is still not rolling over unassisted, but he's close. However the big news in Eli's life is his thumb: he finally discovered it! He's been eating/chewing on toys, blankets, cloths, fingers,(everything BUT his thumb) for a few weeks now. (We're pretty certain he's been teething.) Now that he's found it, he takes quite care to place it and ONLY it (no other fingers) in his mouth.

Tongue Twisters

Eli's newest form of self-amusement is his tongue. He's found that when he makes different noises, it moves. On top of that, if he puts his fingers in his mouth while he's making those noises, he can feel his tongue move. When he thinks I'm not watching he gets really into it, adding several pitches and squeaks.

Other than that, we're just preparing for the onslaught of company due to arrive starting tomorrow. I'm expecting Eli's routine to take a hit; added people in the house always throw him off. I don't mind so much, but it always takes a good three days after people leave to get him back in his groove.

Stick 'em Up!

Eli had a pretty low-key weekend. Saturday we went hiking with Dave and Carolyn, and then the three of us went to dinner and to look at Christmas lights. (Eli slept through most of the last part.) Sunday was church and hanging around the house.

Today, however, was his four-month pediatrician check-up. In the waiting room we met a woman (and her two sons) who went through the bar process with her younger son. He looked to be about 18-24 months, and only wears the bar at night. She goes to the same doctor we do and her son's feet are doing great, which was music to my ears. Eli's appointment was uneventful; he was weighed, measured, and inspected routinely. He only weighed in at 13lb 14oz, but Lehr and I are convinced the scale was a little off because he is getting SO heavy! He started to get tired (and fussy) right before the doctor came in, and he actually fell asleep before the nurse came in to give him his shots. I can assure you the four shots woke him right up! Poor guy; all he wanted to do was sleep and as soon as he nodded off someone stuck him with a needle...

Naptime!

Naps, naps, naps. I used to dread that time of the day, but not anymore!! Eli used to require quite a few walks around the upstairs before he would be drowsy enough to go to sleep. Lehr and I only rocked/walked him to sleep in the very beginning, but since then we've tried to help him sleep by walking and rocking to a state of heavy-lids. About three weeks ago I decided it was time to start something new. Eli no longer had something new to contend with each week on his feet, and he was sleeping through the night, so I figured there was no reason he couldn't be trained to get to sleep completely on his own. I watch for his tired signs, take him into his room and shut the blinds, read him a story and then put him in his crib. It's week three, and with a rare exception (overtiredness, company in the house, etc.) it works like a charm! He sometimes fusses or cries while I read him his before-sleep-story, but as soon as I have him in the crib he throws his arms over his head (his favorite sleeping position) and gives in. I love it!!

Oh Happy Day

What a day! I think that up until about 9pm (when it was time to go to bed and Eli had a big gas bubble in his stomach), today was officially Eli's happiest day ever! After his morning nap, we headed to Centennial Olympic Park with Cooper and his parents to get some pictures. We then grabbed some lunch and headed home to play. After his last nap, Lehr and I took Eli to our favorite local sushi joint where the waitresses kept coming over to play with Eli (one even took him on a quick tour around the restaurant). The whole day he was in a super mood; no crying!

Last night we baby-sat Cooper and the two boys had a great time together. It was really interesting to be able to compare the development of both boys since they're only two weeks apart. They seem to have the same skills, but they use them so differently. They're finally starting to notice each other; it's really fun to see them checking each other out...
I came across an article about the method of clubfoot correction we're following. For those of you who might not want to read the whole Ponseti website, this is a quick synopsis.

Movie Time

Eli had another first today: Eli and I met Cooper and his mom at the movie theater this afternoon. I'm here to report success because both boys did great. Cooper watched some of the movie and 'oohed' and 'ahhed' quietly, and Eli snoozed through the entire thing. I had to get up to walk Eli a few times because it was hard for him to get comfortable with me holding him (a combination of the theater seat/armrests and his bar), but we never had to leave the theater.

Also, Eli is laughing a lot more now. Today I actually got a few giggles, which Eli refused to duplicate on the phone for his father (of course!).

Bad Mommy!

It's been a busy few days, so please excuse the lack of new pictures. Eli and I ran some errands yesterday morning; he's trying to finish his Christmas shopping early. After we finished shopping for his list we stopped by my office to drop off some gifts for the holidays. It was not intended to be a long stop, so I didn't bring any of Eli's supplies in with me. As luck would have it, Eli had a blow out about ten minutes into our visit. I'm officially a bad mother because not only did I not bring any diapers up to the office with me, but I felt the blowout and still stayed in the office for fifteen more minutes. On top of that, I didn't change him as soon as I got to the car (I knew it would be too much of a mess, and it would be easier to clean at home). Since the drive home would only take ten minutes, I figured I'd be safe. However Eli tried to sleep once he got into the car, but because I know how much he hates to be woken up when he just starts to nap (which I was going to have to do as soon as we walked in the door since his diaper so obviously needed to be changed...I wasn't going to make him sleep in it: I'm not THAT bad), I blared the music in the car really loud to keep him awake. He won out and slept for about five minutes before we got home, and then continued to sleep through my clean-up attempt. So not only did he have to sit in his own filth longer than necessary, but I also made sure he was awake to experience every moment of it. That kid hasn't got a chance with me as a parent...

Today we ran more errands. This time we finished Mom & Dad's shopping list. We then met Cooper and his parents for dinner. The two boys are almost exactly the same size now; they are both growing so fast!