Christmas Part 3

Of course, the one day of the year I wouldn't mind Eli waking up early, he decides to sleep in on Christmas morning until 9:00, the latest he has ever slept in (although he had a busy 2 days before Christmas day).

Happy boy waking up on Christmas morning

After we celebrated our first Christmas together as our own little family in the morning and opened the presents from Santa, we traveled to my parents' house to celebrate with my family.

Christmas Part 2

On Christmas Eve, we went to Ian's grandma's house to celebrate Christmas with his Dad's side of the family. There were lots of new relatives for Eli to meet.

...all tired out...

Christmas Part 1

The first round of Christmas festivities began yesterday at Grammary's and Papa Ron's. Eli was able to meet his great aunts and his new cousin Betty, born just 2 months before him. He seemed to enjoy meeting Betty and was very curious. It was interesting to watch him try to interact with her as he has not been around other babies his age.

Seamus, Liam, Betty, and Elijah

After dinner, it was time for naps, picture taking, and of course presents.

We are looking forward to the rest of the family gatherings in the next few days as Eli celebrates his first Christmas.

A Visit to See Santa

This morning we took Eli to see Santa here in town. He really enjoyed taking in all the sights and people there. He is one curious and observant boy. After he had a little time to take in the new sights, we took him over to sit on Santa's lap, which really did not seem to bother him especially since he was much more interested in Santa's helper.

I wonder what next year will bring when he will be a little more
aware of what is going on.

Five Months

Now that Elijah is 5 months, he has started taking 6 ounces of formula about every 3 hours, which also necessitated a move up to the bigger sized bottles.

He has consistently been sleeping around 11 hours every night, usually from 8:00 at night to 7:00 in the morning. His record for nighttime sleep is 12 hours. Eli still takes a short morning nap and a longer afternoon nap, although his daytime naps have started becoming shorter.

Among Eli's new favorite things is playing in his ExerSaucer now that he is able to hold himself upright better and reach for the toys. He still enjoys bath time and loves to splash in the water. He also really likes to be tickled.


Elijah has just started to reach out his arms when he wants to be picked up. He has also started making new, higher pitched sounds. The heavy drooling that started about 2 months ago still comes and goes. I have been checking for teeth every so often, but I don't see any sign of them poking through yet.

One more month to go until the half year mark!

A Year Ago at this Time...

...we made the announcement to our families at Thanksgiving about the new addition to our family. It seems like just yesterday! These cupcakes shared the news:


...and now a year later, our greatest blessing:


(He gets a little warm in his layers, which is the reason for the red cheeks.)

We enjoyed our first Thanksgiving as a family together this year by spending the day last Sunday with Ian's family and Thanksgiving day with my family.

Thanksgiving would not be complete without a visit to see "Uncle" AJ on our way home.


It is hard to believe next year at this time Eli will also be able to enjoy the feast!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Eli's New Trick

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

Eli has just recently started to make the sound of blowing raspberries. He seems to do it most often when he is frustrated or upset. I wonder if it is his way to try to communicate this to us...

Four Months

Today, Eli went to his 4-month doctor's appointment (the reason for the delayed 4-month post since I wanted to have his updated stats before the post). The round of immunizations this time did not seem near as traumatic as the first time for him or me. He weighed in today at 18 pounds and 13 ounces and measured 27 inches long.

As for his feeding pattern, Elijah is still eating about every 3 hours and takes 5 ounces at a time.

He is sleeping at night now usually for an 11-hour stretch from 8:00 at night to 7:00 in the morning. He will still usually take a short morning nap and then a longer afternoon nap. He has not been taking his usual late afternoon nap as often anymore.

Eli is pretty good at entertaining himself now for longer periods of time. He is usually a very content little boy and loves to laugh and smile. He has just started rolling over from front to back.

As each month passes by, it has been more fun with each new milestone and his growing independence. Eli's little personality has really started to take shape. I think he will be a lot like his dad, friendly and easygoing:)

A Mini Getaway

After finding out on Monday that there were still good seats available for the Luke Bryan concert, Ian and I decided to go to the concert on Thursday. Luckily, Grandma Mary was available to watch Eli on such short notice to allow us to enjoy the mini getaway for the evening.
We actually saw him perform one other time when he was the opening act for Miranda Lambert at the Adler, and I loved that venue. I was a little reluctant to go to the I Wireless center again (which is where this concert was) after we went there last time to see Jason Aldean. When I ordered the tickets for that concert, I had clicked on "Best Available," which sure seems to be a matter of opinion as to what the "best available" seats really are. That time we were on the main floor, and I had a really hard time seeing. This time, we were in the lower bowl off to the side of the stage, which was MUCH better!

Luke Bryan put on a great performance besides being easy on the eyes, and that guy really knows how to dance! Plus, I'm not sure what it is about a country singer in a baseball cap versus a cowboy hat that makes him that much more attractive...

A Spooktacular Halloween

Happy Halloween from our little spider!

Jamie invited us over for dinner on Sunday to celebrate Halloween and to welcome us to her new house.


After dinner, it was time for a Halloween treat...that is, for the person with a sticker on the bottom of their pumpkin.

The winner...?

Elijah:) The treat...?

A framed picture and pajamas!

A Fabulous Fall Day

Eli and I took advantage of the unseasonably warm weather today by playing outside. He really seems to enjoy being outdoors; it is the perfect antidote to any crabby behavior. At first when we were sitting on the front step watching the leaves fall from the tree, he was attempting to crane his neck as far back as he could to see where they were coming from.



Below are other random pictures taken recently:

Trying out a new sleeping position


Trying out a new hat and mittens