Grammy & Pappy Visit

Eli is one lucky baby! His Grammy & Pappy came for a visit! It was so much fun to have them here. I know Eli was especially happy because he finally had two new people to play with him. I am pretty sure he is getting tired of just Milan and I day in and day out! Luckily their visit was at the end of "sleep bootcamp" so Eli was in a great mood during their stay.

The teething ring is Eli's favorite new toy.
Milan and Dave cleaned out the garage. There should have been a "before" and "after" picture! You wouldn't believe what a disaster it was before this picture. Thanks for your help Dave!

Dave installed a rotisserie on our grill! The boys rewarded themselves for all the hardwork in the garage by cooking up some lamb.

Eli's first Elmo. I knew it wouldn't be long before Grammy showed up with one! Eli loves it so I guess I do too! :)

Grammy gets to feed Eli!

Thanks for visiting! Please hurry back. We miss you! XOXO

Mmmm Bananas!

Ok, babies seriously need to come with a personalized owner's manual! Sure there are TONS of books out there to read and TONS of people with advice but each baby needs it's very own manual. As we all know I love to read books and research everything before I do something new. That would be my type A personality coming through as a new parent. From birth to month 4 or so I would say this new parent stuff was pretty easy. Other than dealing with the reflux we haven't had too many issues.

Then one day when Eli was around 4 1/2 months something changed. He went from being a newborn to being a baby with his own little personality and agenda. He simply decided he didn't need naps, food was to be ate in the middle of the night, and sleeping was unnecessary. That is of course unless he was riding in the car or strolling along while I walked outside then he would nap like a champ. For the first two weeks of this I don't think I realized what was happening. I was slowly sinking back into this dazed state of sleepless confusion that I used to live in back in January. That's when I hit the books. What on earth is going on with my baby?! I also called many friends for their advice too. It took about two weeks of reading different doctor's opinions and getting advice from others before I came to form my own belief and opinion on how to handle my new little man.

Our days went something like this. Wake up at 7, fuss when eating, get sleepy and crabby around 8:30, refuse to nap, finally fall asleep, wake up 35 minutes later crabby, refuse to fall back asleep, get up and play, act crabby, fuss while eating, get sleepy, refuse to nap, finally fall asleep, wake up 35 minutes later crabby, refuse to fall back asleep, get up and play, act crabby, fuss while eating, get sleepy, refuse to nap, finally fall asleep, wake up 35 minutes later crabby, refuse to fall back to sleep, get up and play, act crabby, fuss while eating, and on and on and on. Until about 7:30 pm. Then the real fun begins. Bedtime would roll around and Eli would decide it's screaming time. He would SCREAM as loud as possible for an hour or more on and off. Of course it was because he didn't eat well or take a nap all day. After a lot of effort on our part we'd finally settle him down and boom 35 minutes later he would wake up crying and we'd start all over. Eventually he'd fall into a deeper slumber and only wake up every 3 hours or so. Starving for food of course since he was fussy while eating during the day.

This is where the personalized owner's manual becomes necessary. NO ones advice and no stupid book had an answer for this. There are basically two schools of thought on this sleep subject. There is the "let them cry it out" school and the "attachment parenting" school which is basically the school of thinking that says to comfort comfort comfort. Well dang it I have been comforting comforting comforting and it wasn't working! I knew the cry it out school was not the school for us but after so many sleepless nights I had to give it a try. The cry it out method was complete torture but we basically survived it for 4 days. We called this "Sleep bootcamp" in order for me to get through it. I can not tell you how hard this was for me (and for Milan). I was still not getting any sleep because instead of being up with Eli and comforting him through his sleepless nights I was now staring at he monitor watching him cry. He was still eating poorly during the day and not napping but the waking to eat at night was getting better and so was bedtime.

Finally after four days of bootcamp and no nap success I called the doctor. She said not napping was not normal and that babies need somewhere between 12-14 hours a sleep a day between naps and nighttime. What! Eli was averaging 9 0r 10. So I bring him in so she could check him out. What do we conclude? Um, nothing. It's just his personality. Oh and this sharp little razor in his mouth called a NEW TOOTH!

We had suspected for a while that he was teething but it was that very day that the first sign of a tooth was evident when you rubbed his gums. So here I am thinking the poor kid needs stupid cry it out bootcamp and what he really needed was some Tylenol for the pain, his mama's hugs and kisses, and some bananas!

For the record, I was opposed to giving him any solids until he was at least 6 months and maybe even longer since he seems to have such an immature digestive system. However, after seeing him so fussy with just milk I made a mama decision to try a little rice cereal with bananas. As you will see from the pictures the bananas were a hit.

Ahhh, the moral of the story. There is a reason for everything. Babies don't just "act up" because they want to drive their mamas crazy. They are telling you something. Finding out what they are trying to tell you is the hard, I mean fun, part! I do believe sleep bootcamp was somewhat helpful but I mostly believe that darn tooth was the culprit. I also think Eli was ready for some yummy food. He is now taking 3 naps a day in his bed. I broke him of his need for movement during a nap. I do wish his naps were longer than 35-45 minutes but I can live with that. He is finally going to bed without screaming and sleeping for at least 5-6 hours without waking up. The cereal and bananas are making him happy and full which means less fussing! Hooray. I survived the first of many battles to come.

And just for the record. This is Milan's child. He chugs his milk like his Tata chugs beer. He chows his food and it is gone in minutes just like his Tata. His minimal need for sleep is just like Milan's as are his belly aches and reflux issues!

"Mama! You said this would taste yummy! This bland cereal is anything but yummy! There has to be something better than this stuff."

"Mmmm, now were talking! Bananas, yum yum!"

"How about you give me that spoon! I can do it myself!"

"Hurry it up, I'm getting bored and playing with my feet again!"

"See this is how you get me to smile. Get rid of that boring cereal and give me the yummy good stuff!"

Little does he know... the cereal is being mixed in with bananas. Ahh, the trickery has already begun.

Let's Compare

5 months

4 months

3 months

2 months

1 month

It's about the journey not the destination

Look at this little boy! Where did my baby go? Is it just me or does he look older than 5 months? It's gotta be the hair. I just can't believe he is 5 months old today. There has to be a way to make time slow down. When I was at this little class called Bundles of Joy on Monday (it's a group of Mommies who get together with their babies) we talked about the idea we need to think about raising our chidren as being about the journey not the destination. Is there anything more true than that? I often find myself thinking "oh I can't wait until Eli can sit up or crawl or talk" and then I remind myself that each stage is so short that I should cherish the moment I am in instead of waiting for the next one to come.

This past month has been fun filled. Here are some of my favorite pictures capturing the day in the life of Baby Eli.

Hummm, I wonder what color his eyes are going to be? Mine are dark brown and Milan's are hazel. Some days Eli's look hazel and other days they are blue. We'll have to wait and see.

This is Eli's curious/surprised face.

Milan is such a great Tata. Every night after dinner he plays with Eli and gives him a bath. I caught him reading a book to Eli the other night. Notice the title "My Daddy and Me". Seriously, how sweet is that? Of course Jack is right there with them.

This is one of my favorite pictures. Who knew babies can wink!

Oh yes another picture in the backseat of the car. Eli is getting so big now that he can sit up against things without toppling over. I am telling you he is a little ham when it comes to getting his picture taken.

Surprisingly Eli does a good job hanging out in his highchair during dinnertime. He enjoys watching us eat. We are still working on him staying in there until we are finished eating but at least this is a start!

This boy loves his toes. They are in his mouth all the time. Sometimes his big toe is wrinkled from being wet!

Yep, there they are in his mouth again.

Here's my boys just hanging out together. Like father like son.

Eli loves the car. I am so lucky.

Here he is at his 4 month doctor's appointment. He weighed 16 lbs. 4 oz and was 26.5 inches long. The doctor says he is long and lean. His weight is in the 69th percentile and his length was in the 94th. Notice the toes are in the mouth again.

This nurse is super nice. He just stares and stares at her when she talks to him in her sweet southern accent. There is no doubt in my mind Eli will fall for a girl with a southern accent. Everywhere I go woman are stopping me and talking to Eli.

This is my absolute favorite picture. Look at that hair do! He is my little sunshine. He wakes up like a honey bear.

I call this Eli's bird's nest. His hair is out of control in the morning.

This is the after. I try hard to keep it tamed but it always seem to end up messy in the back. It is thinning like an old man. :)

Mother's Day

Of course my little photogetic man wasn't feeling photogetic today!

Ahh yet again not very happy about

getting his picture taken!

Ok, that's better Eli!

Here is my windchime!

I Love it!

Hooray, my first Mother's Day! Who knew I'd be so excited about this? As the day approached I didn't really give it any thought. Milan and I made plans for lunch in Atlanta but it didn't really hit me until Sunday morning that I AM A MOM! I am someone's mom! Not just someone's mom. I am Baby Eli's Mom. Is there anything better than that? I certainly don't think so.

My day started just as any other day would start. Eli gave me my morning wake up call with his chitter chatter that he does in the morning. He wakes around 6:45 and lays in bed with us just cooing and laughing. It really is adorable even at 6:45. What a nice way to wake up. I will never forget that sound for as long as I live. He then proceeds to do the next thing I can always count on in the morning which is poop. Only this time we had a nice blowout diaper poop that required cleaning his back, his pajamas, the sheet and mattress cover, as well as the changing table pad. Nice. Thank you Eli what a great present! :)


Milan made lunch reservations in Atlanta at Maggiano's. Yum. We love Maggiano's because the food is delicious but also because it is where we went on our first date. Awww, sweet I know. Now we will think of it as the place where we went on my first Mother's Day too. It was a beautiful sunny day perfect for patio dining. I have to admit I was a bit anxious about how Eli was going to behave. It really helped sitting on the patio because he had tons to look at. Other than throwing up (not spitting up throwing up) on Milan's shirt as soon as we sat down Eli was an angel.

I don't know how many of you know this but Milan is a romantic at heart. I can sometimes make that difficult for him because I have a tendency to be too practical and end up not appreciating how lucky I am to have a husband who goes out of his way to do nice things for me. It took a while for us to get in sync with each other but I have come to accept he loves to get things for me and he has come to accept I do not like surprises. So for my special first Mother's Day gift he didn't even get a chance to ask what I wanted because I came right out and told him what to get me! I have always wanted a windchime. Every time we are in a store with windchimes I stare at them. Milan always says "why don't you just buy one?" I don't know why I didn't buy one. So this year with our porch lookin' so cute I knew that it was time for my windchime!

After lunch on Sunday we went to Garden Ridge and picked one out together. Milan was bound and determined to get that windchime on Mother's Day so I could have my gift on the exact day. The minute we came home he went right to the porch and hung it for me by my rocking chair. I love it. I really really love it. Since our bedroom is right off the porch I can even hear it in the house.

Now whenever I hear my windchime or any other windchime for that matter I was always think of my first Mother's Day. In addition to becoming Milan's wife becoming a mom has truly been the best thing that has ever happened to me.

Thank you Milan for making my first Mother's Day such a special one. You are the best and I love you.

The Strawberry Patch

It is strawberry season and we are lucky enough to have a strawberry patch just a couple miles away from the house! We have never been strawberry pickin' so I couldn't wait to get out there with Eli and take some pictures! It was a perfect day for pickin'. Not too hot and not too sunny. Before Eli came along Milan and I were always out and about doing things like this and would say to each other "won't it be fun to do this when we have kids!" Well, sometimes it is very surreal that Eli is here and we are out doing family stuff now! It is so much fun making these sweet little memories as a family.

"Ooooh Tata, what's that in the bucket? Can I touch it?"

"This is sort of squishy. I think it might be fun to see what happens if I give it a little squeeze."

Eli did end up giving the strawberries a squeeze. Of course the inexperienced Mama that I am didn't bring an old ugly burp cloth for clean up. Oh no, I bring the nice embroidered one. Needless to say the burp cloth and Eli's outfit have been soaking in Simple Green since Saturday. I didn't get to photograph what happened next since I was too busy cleaning up smooshy strawberries. :) I'm sure you get the idea.

"Me & Mama pickin' strawberries. This is fun!"