17.6 lbs and counting!

Mom weighed me this morning. It has been a while since she's made me get weighed and I was 17.6 lbs! Boy was she surprised! I'm getting to be "big stuff" as my daddy tells me! I thought I should let all my fans know what I'm up to these days:

• I'm almost 6 months old (May 12 I will be!)
• I've been sleeping through the night since I was about 2 months old...right now I go to bed around 8 pm and get up around 6:30 am.
• I'm eating "solid" foods...if you call baby cereal & pureed fruits and veggies "solid". I like all these things, but boy do they make me STINKY! I made my Uncle Pete "cry" when he held me on Easter with my toots! Yeah!
• I am working on coordinating my legs and arms so that I can crawl. I'm really close to doing it...in the meantime however, I sure can roll or twist to get where I want to go. Mom has put this one blanket down on the floor in our family room for me to play on and I trick her all the time and roll off of it and all around the room. She always gets after me for "getting off the reservation". Like I'm really going to stay on that blanket! That is like thinking that when you see one of those deer crossing signs that the deer just cross where the sign is! Duh!
• I LOVE my offices. I have a downstairs one and an upstairs one. Normal folks call them an exersaucer and a walker. My family calls them my offices...I do like to do my work there. Mom & dad think I'm in waste management.
• When the weather is nice mom & I go for walks. I like them a lot. I can see all sorts of cool things like birds, cars, and loads of construction equipment. (they are doing lots of work in our neighborhood) I also like it because it puts me to sleep! :)
• My mom & dad are going to dedicate me to God at Church on May 10th. They keep telling me I was a gift from God and that they are supposed to be taking good care of me for Him. They are...I think! They feed me, clothe me, wash me, they gave me a nice bed in a nice room, they have given me lots of fun things to play with, they read to me, they pray with me, and mom sings me fun songs about Jesus during the day and when I go to sleep at night. I've got some pretty great parents!
• I'm kind of nosey...I like to be in the know. I have to check everything out that is happening around me. Not sure where that comes from...
• I love all my cousins! They are fun to play with. They make me laugh!
  
• I like to fly in daddy's air plane. I've been on a few trips in it now and it is fun. Mom sits in back with me and keeps me company while dad flys the plane. I can almost see out the window. It won't be much longer now!
• I LOVE "tubby time"! When mom says "splash 'em" I splash a lot! It is so much fun! I've got a bunch of tub toys that I play with too.
• My new best friends are my feet. My hands used to be my best friends (meaning I really didn't like it if they weren't right up by my face at every moment.), but since I discovered my feet are attached...I love to hold them, pull on them, pull off my socks, and even suck on my big toe!
• While you can't see them yet, I'm working on getting teeth. I really "munch" on everything that I can get in my mouth.
• Ooh, this may sound odd, but I really like breastfeeding now. At first I was kind of lazy (I admit it) and I just didn't like all the work involved in feeding this way, but since about 3 1/2 months old I really like being fed from Mom...but I'm still not a fan of having my head covered when being fed, so mom gives me a bottle when we are out and about, but mostly I don't have bottles. Sorry mom that I showed the funeral director in KY your boob. It was just so stuffy under that blanket!
• I'm trying hard to sit up on my own with out falling over. I can do it if mom holds my legs just right. Most of the time I'd just rather roll around though.
• I'm mom's helper. I help her make the bed every day, I help her do her hair and make-up, I help her make dinner, I help her do the laundry (I love to ride the clean clothes express too...Mom will put me in the laundry basket with the clean clothes to go from out laundry room on the main level to the upstairs. She even makes choo-choo sounds as we go!) I like to be a helper.
• I love my family. I have the best Nana, Grammie, & Papa's!
  

What more is there to say. Maybe Mom will put some pics of me up here for all to see! :)

8 weeks already!

So today I'm 8 weeks old! Here are some of my newest accomplishments:

• I really like my bath time...I dangle my feet over the edge of the sling that is in my baby tub and splash my feet in the warm water. Taking a bath totally relaxes me (for a few minutes while I'm in the tub at least!)
• I can almost turn over from my tummy to my back. I've been practicing and mama thinks I'll accomplish this trick any day now!
• For the past 4 nights I've gone 7 hours from my last feeding of the night to when I wake up...so mommy has been getting more sleep! She puts me down around 10 pm and I sleep until at least 5 am. It is funny how that seems to make her soooo happy!
• Mom put some curtains up in my bedroom that make it really dark in there during the day time...I like that better for taking a nap during the day. Mom has been making me sleep in my crib for my daytime naps...instead of letting me sleep on her or in the swing.
• Today I got kind of mad when I woke up from my morning nap and I worked myself from one of the crib to the other end of the crib. Watch out folks...I'm getting sort of mobile!
• Momma got her hair cut shorter because I was always pulling on it. I like the new look mom!
• Oh, and I'm finally big enough to wear my "boobs" onesie. Dad is very happy about this...he's been dying for me to fit into this. What's the big deal?

Aren't I cute?

1-month-old!!

From the Start Healthy, Stay Healthy Gerber website:
During the first month of life, your baby will focus on learning how to make sense of his new environment using his eyes, ears, sense of smell, and touch.Through the love, comfort, and attention you'll provide, he'll bond even more closely with you. If you notice a lot of crying, realize that it's part of your baby's communication with you since he sees that you respond to his cries by meeting his needs. With your help he's learning new things and growing every day.
Your baby’s growth
At each checkup your doctor will measure your child's height, weight, and head circumference, plotting his development in percentiles. What’s most important isn’t exactly how much your baby weighs but that he continues to grow in a steady way.
Length for 1-month-old babies usually ranges from 18 inches (10th percentile) to 20.5 inches (90th percentile). Weight usually ranges from 7 pounds (10th percentile) to 10.5 pounds (90th percentile).
we have a Dr. app't on Monday...it will be interesting to see exactly how much Eli weighs...We think he's close to 11 lbs...and he was 20 inches long when he was born, so we'll see how much he's grown that way too! It will be fun 2 see his progress!

This month your baby may be able to:
· lift his head slightly as his neck muscles strengthen (he does this already quite a bit!)
· focus his eyes on your face as he begins to learn how to focus both eyes together (does this too!)
· visually follow an object that moves about 6 inches above his face (high-contrast colors such as black and white are what she can see best at this time) (does only when he wants too...he's pretty stubborn already!)
· blink at a bright light (he loves lights!)
· recognize familiar sounds and voices and respond by turning his head toward them (he recognizes mom & dad's voices!)
· grip your finger when you stroke his palm—part of his developing grasping reflex (sometimes...he really doesn't like to share his hands with anyone!)
· turn toward your finger when you rub a corner of his mouth (this rooting instinct is what helps him to latch onto your nipple for feeding)
· recognize you by your scent (he can smell your milk if you’re breastfeeding) (he does know mom's scent!)

What you can do
· Develop his awareness of his environment by stimulating his senses.
· Speak to your baby in a higher-pitched voice—he’ll best respond to this sound. (as corny as it sounds we do this a lot!)
· Stimulate his hearing by playing soothing music, hanging wind chimes outside his window, and providing soft toys that make interesting sounds. (he loves the Christmas music. We listen to a lot of that during the day!)
· Stimulate his visual development by hanging bright mobiles or soft sculptures in black-and-white patterns near his crib. (Babies this age seem to prefer black and white over other colors.)
· Stimulate his sense of touch by letting him feel age-appropriate soft toys and blankets. (we do this too, but need to more of it I think!)

Crazy to think that Eli is a month old already...wow how time flies! Yet is hard to imagine life without him...and it wasn't that long ago that he wasn't here yet!

4 weeks...already!

Hi! Guess what...4 weeks ago I was still in Mama's belly and resisting my entrance into this world, but Mom & Dad had their way & I was born, 4 weeks ago!

Lots has gone on in the past 4 weeks. I'm gaining weight...I now weigh over 10 lbs! I go to the Doctor next Monday & then he'll weigh me officially and we'll see how much I gained! I have traveled some...to Dyer, IN...where my Nana & Papa live for Thanksgiving & for a celebration this past weekend with my cousins and Aunties & Uncles of the many birthday's in December! (Happy birthday Clayton & Peter, Auntie Dar, Uncle Pete, & Curtis!) I also had my 1st trip to Chicago! Saturday night my mom & dad took me to Grammie & Papa's condo in the Hancock building for the night. Our friends the Cohen's came over for dinner and to visit. They are great! I got to get to know Haley, and Haley's mom & dad. Haley's mom held me for a long time...I liked that. She has a baby in her tummy and he kept kicking me. I don't think he liked me on his mom's lap.

Sunday my mom & dad took me to a restaurant that they used to like which is just across the street from the condo...the Oak Tree. Lots of people checked me out while we were there, but I just played like I was asleep because I wasn't sure I wanted to get to know all those people! Mom & dad kept talking about how the restaurant has changed...they aren't sure that they will be going back there very much. I don't know...it seemed fine to me!

Oh, Friday I got to spend the entire day with my Nana. She read to me, held me, snuggled me, gave me a bath, and napped with me. It was a good day. My mom was kind of pesty though...she was judging at a student competition in Chicago and she kept calling Nana to check on me. Once she even woke Nana up from a nap. That wasn't so nice, mom! Nana is a pro...she can handle me! I liked being with Nana so much that I cried and cried when it was time to leave Nana's on Saturday. Mom & dad said I was being like my cousins. They never want to leave Nana's either!

Oh, I'm also growing out of some of my clothes. Mom has started a pile of clothes that no longer fit me.

Tomorrow is a shopping outing with mom & grammie. Mom said something about needing to do Christmas shopping. I guess she needs grammie's help to keep me happy or something. I don't know...I'm just a baby.

1st snow & 1st bath an eventful day!

When we woke up this morning there was some snow on the ground...the 1st real snow of the season & Eli's 1st snow. Looking out our back window we saw that the neighbors had all been out early to enjoy the snow...some making a huge snowman, others just running around in it (I think!)

Eli & Mom went to our church for the 1st time today too...daddy wasn't feeling good so he stayed home. Eli was a big hit at church. Everyone who saw him thought he was cute & since he slept part of the time they all thought he was so good! He was really good while we were there. I fed him and then he was awake for most of the sermon. He fell asleep right before we had communion and slept until we got home.

Just a little bit ago he had a pretty big BM and so daddy & mommy gave him his first bath. Mom did the washing & dad took the pics. Since Eli doesn't really like to be naked we didn't think he'd really like this experience either, and he did let us know he wasn't too pleased, but after the bath he was pretty calm and enjoyed some time hanging out in his hooded towel.