Merry Christmas

So I'd tell you all about how Eli wasn't really interested in opening presents and was more excited about the boxes than the toys, but you already know all that don't you?

Trick or Treat!

Technically, this was Eli's 2nd Halloween but since Eli was only a few days old this time last year we really didn't celebrate. This year we went to Hilloween - which is sort of like a block party in front of Eastern Market full of tons of kids in costumes. Eli had a lot of fun running around and almost getting run over by strollers. We even ran into one of Eli's teachers which made Eli very happy.

Here's our happy penguin...

Updates

Sorry we've been quiet for so long, the computer was with Daddy while he was off campaigning...Eli's been pretty busy these last few weeks. First, we celebrated his 1st birthday at home with our friends, Jaime and Helena, as you can see the cupcakes were a big hit.











Then we celebrated Eli's birthday at daycare (once again the cupcakes brought out the smiles).

Happy Birthday!

Eli is 1 today! The year has gone by so fast, it feels like we just brought him home from the hospital and now he's running all over the place. We are so lucky to have such a happy, healthy little boy.

Thanks

As Eli's 1st birthday quickly approaches I wanted to take a moment to say thanks to a few people...Thank you to all of our friends and family who have sent such thoughtful gifts over the last 12 months. Eli has enjoyed his new clothes, books, and toys very much. He has especially enjoyed the boxes that they came in. Thank you to everyone who has come to visit us, especially the Grammas who really saved the day right after Eli was born and we didn't know what we were doing. Thanks to our friends Jaime & Helena who have done so much for us - cooking dinner, playing with Eli, babysitting, and much more. Most importantly I want to thank my hubby for putting up with all of my post-baby mood swings, momnesia, and general craziness! This first year hasn't always been easy but having such a wonderful support system has made a huge difference.

oops... I can't believe I forgot to thank my sister, Anne, for always being there to offer advice or listen to me vent. Thanks for being such a great sister.

Grandma sent me a box...

and I love it!

Threads

As a rule, I'm pretty frugal when it comes to buying Eli's clothes. I'm always on the lookout for a good deal or a great sale. I also prefer to dress him in simple clothes - solid and striped shirts with plain bottoms. When he was a little baby there were a lot more animals in the mix but not too much anymore. I've found that the Carter's stuff holds up well and stays soft wash after wash. Old Navy and H&M also have nice simple clothes that don't hurt the pocket book. That being said, every time I dress Eli in one of the very cute, very hip (more costly) presents our friends and family have bought I just can't help but take a few pix. He just looks so damn cute. My baby the "Hipster". I can see how people spend so much on baby clothes. It's really fun to pick out the perfect little outfit.

Transitions

September was a month of transitions for us. I left my job at the YMCA and took a job at the YWCA doing fundraising outreach and event planning. Eli's daycare also moved to a new location which was subpar (to say the least). I won't bore you with the details of why the new site sucked but let's just say it involved screaming babies (not mine) and oreos for snack. Who feeds babies oreos for snack? ugh! All of this prompted a move to an entirely new daycare. On his first day the teachers made a little book out of construction paper with pictures of Eli and all of the things he did that day. When I saw the book my heart just melted.
Childcare in DC is hard to come by. We're #40 on one wait list and #101 on another. That's after they place the siblings of currently enrolled kids. It's also really expensive. We've been lucky up until this point because the Y was very affordable and I got a staff discount. Of course we're now discovering that you get what you pay for. The new daycare has fresh fruit every day, the teachers all have college experience, etc... It's worth the extra cost (no more fancy coffee drinks for mommy and daddy).

Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

Last weekend was full of baseball. On Saturday we went to a season ticket holder event where we got to go out on to the field and walk the bases. On Sunday we went to Eli's last game of the season.

As you can see Eli had a lot of fun checking out the bases and the dugout.

millions of peaches, peaches for me

Peaches are in season and we've been making good use of them all this week. First, we had grilled peaches with bourbon whipped cream, then I made a peach sauce to pour over ice cream and last night we had little peach cobblers.















2 of the 3 recipes came from this awesome website that I'm quickly becoming obsessed with. It's full of all kinds of interesting recipes, gadgets, and food related tidbits.

Speaking of websites that I've become obsessed with...I just recently found out about Kaboodle. It's like an amazon wishlist but you can use the whole internet. Now every time I read a magazine that mentions a really great toy for kids I can add it to my list for Eli (and now I can throw the magazines away). I have also been using it to keep track of my favorite things on Etsy (yet another site I love). I'm more than a little jealous of the crafty people who sell their stuff on this site.

Tummy Trouble

I'll worn you now that this post involves talk about poop...Eli has been home for the last few days with some serious poopy problems and a very red bottom. The days has consisted of oatmeal baths, diaper-less roaming around the upstairs of the house, lots of A+D, and more than a few poop explosions. Throughout all of this Eli has remained his usual cheerful self. He loves the extra bath time and really enjoys being sans diaper. I, on the other hand, will be very happy when this little stomach bug passes.

Since we've been home Eli has started walking! I haven't been able to get any video because it's mostly when he's diaper-less. Next time he's dressed I'll try and get some video of the amazing walking baby.

He Walks (kind of)

Recently Eli has started taking a few steps here and there.

Milestones

A few things must have just clicked for Eli...Last night he started actually drinking out of his sippy cup. Normally he just chews on it and bangs it around. He also waved goodnight to Daddy and when told to "give Daddy a kiss" he leaned over and made a little kissy face. On top of the few steps he took over the weekend, Eli's had a pretty eventful week.

South Haven

Vacation photos are online here. We took too few to really establish proper photo documentation of our trip. For example there are no pictures of the sweet bikes we rode around on all week, or of the many doughnuts we consumed. Perhaps most tragically we failed to take any pictures of Eli swimming, either in the pool or in Lake Michigan. This kid loves water.

Cupcakes!

I recently discovered the most awesome cupcake website. Unfortunately, she's no longer posting but there are enough recipes to last me a long time. I decided that my first attempt would be the Mint Cream Filled Cupcakes with Raspberry Mousse Frosting. I don't have the right attachment on my frosting bag to make the nice smooth piping that the cupcake lady has on her cupcakes but they were still very tasty.

A Few Things That Eli Has Discovered He Likes...

Teething biscuits and the sliding glass door!

Eli's 9 Month Well Baby Visit

Once again Eli's in the 50th percentile across the board...19.5 lbs and 27.5 inches. Dr. Wirt says he seems to be a very happy healthy baby. The visit went well and Eli was his usual charming self and won over all the nurses. Eli was a fighter and wouldn't let the nurse draw any blood so we'll have that to look forward to at his next visit in October.

Eli's First Tigers Game

Hey, is that a button?



It is a button!



I wonder what this button tastes like?



Mmmmmm. Button.

My Baby's Growing Up

Not that long ago Eli was taking his first bite of rice cereal and then he was sucking food off of the tray of his highchair


And now he's feeding himself!

Re: Happy Father's Day!

This was the edible portion of my Father's Day gift. Delicious.

Happy Father's Day!

New Interweb Activities

If you look to the right you'll see a link called "Daddy's Tumblr." What is Daddy's Tumblr you ask? Click here to find out.

Lunches, Brunches, Interviews by the Pool

It's 5:45 and I'm Awake!

Now how do I get down?

Yikes!

This morning at about 5:55am I heard Eli making some noise in his room. I have recently adopted a "Nothing Before 6am" policy in hopes of encouraging El Nino Diablo to sleep a little later. However, this didn't sound like his usual noises so I went to see what was going on and there was my baby standing in his crib! He was pretty pleased with himself but couldn't quite figure out how to get back down. Thank goodness that dad lowered the crib mattress on Sunday. I'm really not ready for a fully mobil Eli! Let the baby proofing begin...

Memorial Day in Michigan

Eli's grandparents were nice enough to fly us home for the weekend. While home I was able to hit my usual favorite spots...El Az, Beaners, and the Lickity Split. I also got to eat my Mom's strawberry rhubarb pie (made special for me in honor of my 31st birthday).



Eli hanging out with Nana and cousin Riley.



Eli's really in to hugging right now. I'm not sure that my friend Fran's baby Aiden appreciated Eli's attention.

Sunday Afternoon, Without Baby

Last Weekend

Last weekend was very eventful...











My sister and my niece came to visit. Eli loved having another little kid in the house and Riley loves her little cousin. Anne was nice enough to watch both kids so we could go to the movies!












We had some friends over to celebrate Eli's 1/2 birthday. The party was really just an excuse to see a lot of our friends that we haven't gotten to see much over the last 6 months. As you can see, Eli was the life of the party. He loves having lots of people around.

Eli also took his first Metro ride on our way to the Zoo. Eli slept for most of the trip but the rest of us had fun. We even got to see the pandas eating breakfast.

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

This was actually Eli's second game, but the first time his parents remembered to bring a camera.

Cousins

Balmer

Picture from flickr user Spike55151 under a creative commons license.

This family needs a vacation, but it ain't in the cards so we did the next best thing and took a road trip up to the Charm City. I have no idea how Baltimore got its nickname, but it is safe to say that we did have a charming time. First stop was brunch at a cool diner. Next up was browsing the many used furniture stores and hipster boutiques of Hampden. The high point for me was visiting Atomic Books, a place I had heard a lot about and which lived up to expectations. On the way out of town we picked up a pie from some kind of punk rock pie shop, which was excellent. All of this was only an hour away!

We forgot the camera, but trust me - Eli was very cute the entire time. So there you go, our first family road trip. Eli turns six months old a week from today, so hopefully I'll get around to taking some more pictures of him soon.

Eli's (almost) 6 Month Well Baby Visit

Eli had his 6 month check up on Friday and things went pretty smoothly. He continues to be the 50th percentile in height, weight and head size. He's now 16 lbs 11 oz and 25 1/2 inches long. The Doc thinks he'll probably start crawling soon based on how active he was on the table. Eli has now discovered a new favorite thing, the paper that covers the examine table.

I Like Food, Food Tastes Good

You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb

Big weekend for Eli and crew. Grandma was in town, so we hit the mall for some cherry blossoms.



Also there were some kites.



Eli remained relatively unimpressed.

Weekends

This picture summarizes what makes weekends with a five month old so terrible such a fun and wonderful challenge. As you can see from the EXIF data it was taken at around 8:47 am, and as you can tell from the look on my face I have been up for hours and am very tired. Whereas my dear son Elijah, who has also been up for hours, is still in the midst of some kind of drooly frenzy.

The Many Faces of Eli

Baby's First Corndog Day

Sadly, there is no documentary evidence, but Eli was undoubtedly a hit at his first ever National Corndog Day party (though as was pointed out, it could technically be considered his second).

Hobbies

I've already mentioned young Elijah's propensity towards growling. However, I failed to mention that his second favorite hobby these days is grabbing his feet. Below you will find documentary evidence of my son engaging in both activities simultaneously. Clearly he must be gifted!

Is It Too Late For Oscar Submissions?

No, it's not a video of Eli growling, in fact it is even more boring than that! It's two minutes of Eli eating rice cereal for the first time. Enjoy!

Eli's First Word

The vast amount of baby literature we've read (i.e., one or two books and the internets) assured us that our child would soon begin politely cooing at us and experimenting with consonants, such as "ma," "da," and of course "ba." However, Eli has bypassed that stage of language development and instead chosen to focus on the word "RAWR!" Seriously, all he does is growl. It'll be six in the morning and what do we hear coming from his room? A low pitched "RAWR!" How does he let us know he's hungry? A higher pitched, more whiny growl. At first it was funny, but now it's just kind of weird. I'll try to get some video documentation for your viewing pleasure.

Eli's (Almost) 4 Month Check Up

We just got back from Eli's 4 month check up and things went good. We're a little ahead of schedule because of our trip home in December. Eli is now 24 inches long and weighs 15 lbs. 2 oz. He did much better with his shots this time around and the doctor says he's very healthy.

Home From Work and Daycare

Eli and his Moose

Eli really loves this moose...

Hi!

Absence Explained

DC to LA to DC to MI to DC to MI to DC in the last eleven days. Add into the mix a funeral and an unexpectedly leaving mother-in-law. So no pictures. But Eli is actually doing a lot of cool stuff right now. If you hold his hands he will pull himself up into a standing position; when laying on his stomach he can hold his head up at a 45 degree angle and roll himself onto his back; if you hold him above your head he will put his legs back into the superman position; and for awhile now he's been smiling like crazy.

Yeah! Nanna's Here!

We're so lucky that my mom is here for the next few weeks to help out with Eli. Thanks to my sister for finding alternate childcare for my niece while mom's here. It's been great having her around especially since Jon's in LA for our friend Lewis' 30th birthday. Happy birthday Lewis!

Loverboy

Renee's update: Here's the story...
At our baby shower thrown by our friends Helena (& Jaime) and MoGo, guests were asked to leave us notes written on diapers for our enjoyment later. Boy did I enjoy this one after Eli had a major diaper blow out in my lap! Thank you to whoever wrote this one, it made the poop explosion that much funnier.

My update: There's only one person who could have left this diaper comment. Dan Rubin, who knows how much I love to work for the weekend.

Best Movie of 2008!

The long lost hospital room videos have been recovered.



You can see Renee was pretty alert and awake still at this point.



You can see the frustration is starting to build here.



Here, Renee is both tired and drugged up.



A baby!



As you can see, the whole process was pretty tough on dad.