First Christmas

Eli's first Christmas was fun-filled! As usual, we had 4 Christmases (actually, we usually have 5!), and traveled from place to place. This year was more of a hassel carting Eli and all his stuff around. He was a trooper though. It's hard work being cute for everyone all the time! I think next year we're going to try to tone it down a bit as far as the traveling goes. It was good to see family as always. Eli liked "opening" his gifts. Most of the time he was more interested in the tissue paper, bows, or the boxes his gifts came in...easily entertained! We got to meet Will and Alex, Eli's cousins, who are now 2 months old. I can't wait to see Eli and those two play together. Also, in the midst of all the activities, Eli had a cold...yes, just in time for Christmas...I gave it to him. So, he was a little more restless and fussy than usual, but he did good. He's also teething, so I'm sure he was uncomfortable! He's doing better now, although I think the teeth still hurt some. Those top two teeth are really visible now! He got his two front teeth for Christmas!















Here's Eli and his grandparents. Grandpa, my dad, and Grandad & Gramma, John's parents.

Merry Christmas!

Have a happy and safe Christmas!

Silly Face

Eli kept making this face when John and I were taking pictures of him. I think he had enough of the flash! I love this picture!

Food Fun

I read that if your baby grabs the spoon and tries to feed himself while your feeding him, let him try, encourage him, and ignore the mess. So that's what I did, and Eli loved it! I think he actually got some in his mouth. He learned that when you squeeze your hands, the food squishes through your fingers and makes a fun sound! It's really hard for me to ignore the mess, but I'm gonna have to get used to that. The only time he doesn't grab the spoon is when he's eating avacado. It's his favorite so I can't get the spoon to him quick enough!

The Culprit

Lately, I've been feeling like a bad mom because Eli hasn't been napping well and waking up way too early. He hasn't been on much of a schedule, and we've been taking him out and keeping him up late. He's been a bit more fussy and had a runny nose for two weeks. He's had no fever, so I didn't get him checked by the doctor. I've been wondering if it's allergies, a cold, an ear infection, or teething. Well, last night I think I found the culprit...a tooth! I can feel a tiny rough spot on the top left side where that little tooth cut through. It's amazing how much trouble one tiny tooth can be! I'm sure it's painful! It's nice to at least have something to blame for all the fussiness, sleeplessness, etc., rather than my lack of parenting skills. I hope the symptoms subside soon. I can see the other top tooth just beneath the gum. Now for the next tooth...it's never ending!

8 months Old

Eli is 8 months old today! He just gets cuter and cuter all the time, I swear! His happy, smiley personality comes out more each day, too! We HAVE had some trouble napping in the afternoon, so we've taken some trips up and down the Austin highways. Good thing he's so cute, right?

He's so close to crawling because he's rocking on his hands and knees and doing push-ups. So it could be any day now, but I'm in no hurry for him to crawl! He's babbling and interacting with us...giggles are the best. I think he waved "hi" to me 2 times the other day, too.

His most favorite things right now are tags and strings. He'll find the tag on any toy or anything and chew and inspect it for a long time...same with strings. For example, he loves when I wear my hoodie because it has strings he can play with. One of his favorite toys right now is some shoe strings, that's it. Easily entertained! The trick is: anytime he's upset, distract him by finding something with a tag or some strings, and he's happy...well, most of the time!

Family pictures

Winter weather?

It's hard to get into a Christmas decorating mood when it's 80 degrees outside! We went for a walk today wearing short sleeves in November! The weather man says a very cold front is coming early tomorrow morning, and there's a freeze warning. I can't wait. I guess I'll decorate tomorrow!

Jumping Away

Eli is really getting active, and he's not even crawling yet! He has been really enjoying his jumper. At first, he barely jumped in it, but now he acts like he's going to take off (as you see in the second video). He likes to jump, like when you hold him or when he's in his exersaucer, which isn't really made for that much jumping. In fact, I have to strap him in tight when I put him in most things because he tries to escape! We've had to say bye bye to the swing and the Bumbo for that reason. He also scoots and rolls on the floor and is into everything...just very curious. He's also saying dada now in addition to baba and mama. I can't wait when he looks at me and calls me Mama! In the first video you can hear him say dadada. Sorry, but I had to include the last video...it's just too funny!

Oh, and Eli will be 7 months old tomorrow! By my measurements, he's about 22 lbs. and 29 inches long! Wow!

Halloween

Eli had fun on his first Halloween. He was a frog, of coarse...I figured I should pick the costume of my choice while I can! We went trick-or-treating to a few neighbors houses, and we also had friends over. Eli was a hit with the trick-or-treaters at the door. I love these pictures! Eli actually looks small next to the pumpkin!

Eli & Friends

Here are some great pictures and a really funny video of Eli playing with his friends, Ellaiden and Cash. Eli took Ellaiden's hat off, but when she rolled over and started grabbing his ears and cheeks, he cried. He can dish it out, but he can't take it! Ellaiden pulled on Cash's ears as well, but he took it like a man! The whole encounter was hillarious!

Teething

Eli's 2nd bottom tooth has finally emerged from his gum, so now he's got two bottom teeth! However, the second one came with more of a fuss than the first. He's been having trouble sleeping both day and night, poor thing! I think the most painful time is when the tooth is working it's way through the gum, so now that they've both appeared hopefully they won't give us more trouble...until the next round of teeth come! I think it could've been worse!

6 months stats

Eli is 6 months old already! I say it every month, but it really has gone by so fast! This month especially feels like a big milestone month. He's so social, smiley, rolling all over the place, scooting around on the floor, grabbing things, putting everything in his mouth, he has almost two teeth, he's eating solid foods, he's almost sitting up by himself, and he's saying bababa and mamama as well as lots of other fun noises (I'm sure I'm forgetting other things)! It's so much fun to see all of these new things he's doing and discovering.

He had his 6 month check up today, and as we know, he's big!! He weighs 21.5 lbs and he's 28 1/2 inches long. He's greater than the 97th percentile as he's always been. He got more shots today, but did pretty well...just a little fussy and then sleepy most of the day. He got good reports from the doctor!

I'm trying to get a good video of Eli "talking", but can't seem to get a good one. I think I get a little annoying in this one. The picture is when he was eating avacado...I think he likes it, what do you think?

Welcome to the world!

John's brother Steve and his wife Laura welcomed their twin boys into the world yesterday evening at 8:45 Denver time. Born first was William Khaled who was 7 lbs 6 oz, 21 inches and second was Alex Hamze who was 5 lbs 11 oz, 19 inches. Laura is doing well, but recovering from a c-section. I wish we could be there to see them! We'll have to wait until Christmas to meet them! I can't wait to see Eli play with his cousins! Congratulations Steve and Laura! Also, Happy Birthday to Gramma (John's mom) who now shares a birthday with her grandsons! How fun! In the pictures, Will is on the left and Alex is on the right.

Big E & Little E

Eli went to his friend Ellaiden's house today, and they had fun playing together. Ellaiden thought it was fun to put her feet on Eli. He doesn't mind a little kick in the face every now and then! They are so cute together!

Exciting times!

Eli has had his first taste of "solid" food! I gave him some mashed banana yesterday morning and this morning. He likes it okay, but doesn't want much of it. He kept pulling my hands toward his mouth, but when he tasted it he made a funny face. When he had enough, he wouldn't open his mouth. You can see by the pictures he's not real sure that he likes it. Brynn was here, and she got some good pictures of it.

Also, Eli has his first tooth!! It literally suddenly appeared this afternoon. He was chewing on my finger as usual, but this time I felt something a little sharp. Sure enough, I could see the top of a tiny tooth on Eli's gum. I've been thinking he might be teething for months now just because he drools so much, and lately he's been putting everything in his mouth. I never noticed him acting fussier than usual or anything like that, so I didn't think he was teething. This week he's been resting his tongue on his bottom gum, sucking his bottom lip, and humming...I guess those were signs? I hope all the teeth come in without a fuss like this one!

John has been gone to San Jose, CA this week for work, and he hated missing these milestones for Eli. It's hard NOT to miss something because he changes and does something new daily!

Belly Laughs

Here are some videos of John getting Eli to laugh...John is the best at that! Eli loves his Daddy! In the last one, you can see Eli shake his head to try to get John to shake his. He was doing it more, but he didn't do it when I was videoing of coarse.

5 Months Old

Eli officially turned 5 months old yesterday! It's going by so fast! He weighs about 20 pounds and is about 28 inches if my measurements are accurate. He's been so much fun lately. His personality comes out more and more each day. He's so easy to make smile and laugh, I love it! I'm starting to sign to him so he can learn to communicate with sign language. He seems interested already, but does look at me like I'm crazy sometimes. I'm also looking for signs that he might be ready for some solid foods, but he doesn't seem like he's too interested or hungry yet...we'll see! I want to continue solely breastfeeding as long as possible (at least another month)...it IS free!

Steam Roller

As of yesterday, Eli can roll from his back to his belly! When I heard him wake up from a nap, I went to the crib and found him on his side working his way to his belly. He was trying so hard and was so close. I got it all on video, of coarse...sorry it's a little long! Since then he's rolled to his belly several times without help. In fact right after he woke up this morning he rolled to his belly, I think just so that he could make sure he could still do it! Now I officially have an active, mobile boy...better get my running shoes on!

Cool Pics & Pool Pics

I guess I got carried away when I put this hat on Eli. It was just too cute!



On Saturday, Eli had his first pool experience! Our friends Bubba and Anna were in town staying at a hotel in Austin, so we decided to go swimming. I wasn't planning taking Eli in the pool, but it was so hot and seemed like a good idea to strip him down and go in the pool. He loved it! We'll be doing more swimming soon for sure!


We've brought out the exersaucer, and it's been so fun to watch Eli explore all the toys. It's nice because he's entertained and stays in one spot for awhile.