Adventures in Eating

Eli has become quite the picky eater. In the last week we've tried a few new foods (carrots and bananas), and Eli rejected them both! He'll make faces after each taste for about three or four bites, and after that he'll refuse to open his mouth. The rejection of food continues even if I switch to rice cereal or something else he likes. (I guess he's not willing to chance me doing the old bait and switch on him.) So I've resorted to sneaking these less desirable foods in with foods he does like. The most popular combo so far is carrots mixed into avocado (since he likes the green stuff). Tomorrow I'll attempt the same with the banana. I tried to mix the shunned foods with cereal, but that doesn't help since the cereal has no taste (which means all Eli can taste is the 'bad' food).

Eli spent some time with an older woman this week: Lindsey, who is almost three months older. For once, Eli actually interacted with another baby! They grabbed each other's hands a few times, and they took turns petting each other's hair. Then last night Eli hung out with Cooper while Lehr and I went out to dinner. We saw a little bit of video and it appears the boys had a great time. At one point Cooper was even sucking on Eli's thumb!

Happy 1/2 Birthday!

Happy 6-month Birthday, Eli!! Time sure flies....

We went to Eli's pediatrician yesterday; Eli received more shots and doled out more tears. Eli had been a little congested over the weekend, and Sunday night his usual 'fake' cough seemed to have a different sound. The doctor confirmed that Eli is experiencing his first cold. This kid just can't cut a break between the teething, the shots, and now the sickness. He's a little fussier than normal, but it doesn't seem too bad so he should be back on his feet in a few days. The doctor gave him an otherwise clean bill of health and warned that over the next 2-3 months Eli will most likely be experiencing some separation anxiety anytime we put him down or leave his sight. He's already started to voice his displeasure when certain toys are taken away from him. This kid's got attitude!

Roll Over, Roll Over...

It's been a long week. Eli had three days of pretty bad teething, including one mostly sleepless night and a mild fever. The poor little guy wasn't himself all day Wednesday; even a bath didn't make him smile. For now it's over, but considering his top two teeth are visible through the gums, but not yet 'out', I'm sure the worst is yet to come.

Eli is still rolling over all the time. Lehr has yet to see it though; just this morning he was playing with Eli (on his back) and he walked away for a minute only to come back (literally 30 seconds later) and find him on his stomach.

We're still experimenting with new solids... Eli's foods now includes sweet potatoes, rice cereal, avocado, pears, and butternut squash, though the squash and potatoes gave him a slight rash. And the pears are not a favorite at all; Eli takes about three bites before refusing to open his mouth any more.

Tomorrow is Eli's six-month check-up with the pediatrician; WOW!

A New Way To Make A Mess.

Eli is still blowing raspberries whenever he can; he will try to make eye contact with me and then attempt (which ends up just being sort of an airy whistle) in hopes that I'll make the noise back at him. The smile he rewards me with is priceless... However, I could do without the raspberry attempts while Eli is eating. I've been covered in rice cereal too many times now.

BTW - For those who didn't know, I've created a video page. This link will take you to Dropshots which is a webpage that streams my video. The page will hold ten video clips for me, so I'll be taking old ones off whenever I add new ones. Feel free to check the link out periodically as I'll try to add a new clip each week.

Go West, Young Man

What a week! Eli had a lot of firsts this week: first plane ride, first snow, first full day without Mom or Dad....

We took a trip out to Lake Tahoe last week to introduce Eli to the snow and to get some winter sports in for ourselves. Eli's first plane trip went wonderfully. We arrived at the Atlanta airport 1 1/2 hours early in the hopes that we could secure the seat between us for Eli and his car seat. We were successful and Eli slept most of the flight (in his seat). Even when he was awake, he was quiet and happy (the flight attendant even commented on that when we left the plane, and the couple in front of us said they didn't even realize there was a baby behind them until we landed and they saw him). The plane ride home was very crowded, so we had to hold Eli the whole time (no extra seat), but he was still generally happy and quiet.

The first day in Tahoe was pretty laid back; Lehr and I stayed around the house to try to get Eli acclimated to the new surroundings before leaving him to ski or snowshoe. He did great; he had Grandma Cathie wrapped around his finger! The next day, Lehr and I went skiing for the whole day. That was the first time I was away from Eli for so long, and the first time he was away from both parents for ten hours. He did great though; Grandma Cathie kept him busy! I have to admit, the first day without him was pretty tough. It didn't hit me until around noon, but when it did, it was like a ton of bricks. It was as though a part of me was missing....I know it's cheesy, but it's true. I did better the second day, but I still missed him like crazy. I was almost glad there wasn't any fresh powder on the slopes beckoning us; we only skied two days (Heavenly and Northstar) which meant that I only had to be away from Eli for the whole day twice. While we were in Tahoe the weather was warm and sunny, so we were able to travel a little up the mountain (where the old snow was more built up) to take Eli snowshoeing one day. He seemed to enjoy it!

Eli's new favorite thing to do is attempt to blow raspberries. He's pretty good at it, but only by chance. One out of every five attempts is successful, and for some reason he thinks he has to have his thumb in his mouth to execute the sound. We arrived home last night and despite his thorough enjoyment of the vacation, he seems very excited to be home. I think he missed his bouncy seat, his exersaucer, his 'big' bathtub, and his crib. If he's a creature of habit, it's my fault for sure.