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!