Eli's 1st Halloween

Well, Eli has officially celebrated his first Halloween. We celebrated our 5th annual Halloween party this week, in conjunction with my 30th birthday. Not thrilled about turning 30, but it was a great party! I enjoyed celebrating with all of my closest friends and family. :) My actual bday in on Wednesday, November 3rd. But, it just seemed like a natural pairing. So, Saturday night Eli spent the night with Gammie and had a blast! Then, this morning (Halloween) Keith and I woke up (feeling surprisingly well given the night's events). We did a brunch with Mary and her boyfriend Brad at Blue Mesa, and Eli did great. Although, there was an incident where Brad and Eli got into a staring contest. Brad ended up winning that game and hurt little Eli's feelings. After the intense stare down, Eli turned to Keith...hugged him and proceeded to start balling. He was so upset and teary eyed, it actually took a lot of work to get him calmed down. Poor thing. He did, however, enjoy munching on some tortillas and his outside table view of the pond and fountain. So, after lunch, naps and other afternoon activities it was time to partake in his first trick or treating experience.

We were invited to the Jones's house for some dinner and trick or treating. I just had to put on my costume as the 'Wicked Witch' for themed mommy/Eli pictures. So? What was Eli? .....a Flying Monkey! After a lot of deliberation on what his important first costume should be, we settled on the flying monkey. It was so precious when we saw it online, a completely original costume idea (didn't think we would be seeing a lot of them around the neighborhood this year), and we were able to coordinate mommy-daddy costumes too (Wicked Witch & the Scarecrow). My mom had to do some alterations to make his costume work, but it turned out great! The one hic-cup? Well, Eli HATES having stuff on his head! So, we were pretty certain that he would throw a fit when we put the monkey head on him. To our surprise...? He didn't mind it at all! After a few seconds of discomfort he forgot all about it. This was the major shocker of the evening.

So, after dinner, putting on our costumes, and a few quick pictures, the boys were off. We loaded them up in the radio flyer wagon, buckled them in, gave them their candy buckets, and hit the houses. The boys were great! They were having so much fun in the wagon playing with their buckets they had no reason to complain. As Eli started to collect candy, he would quickly take the pieces out of the bucket put them in his mouth and then drop them back in the bucket. He continued this for the entire 7 or 8 houses that we hit. Pick up a piece, put it in his mouth, drop it onto the sidewalk or back in the bucket...pick up another piece, put it in his mouth, ect..ect. Finally, tiredness set in, and we were done. Back at the Jones's we snapped some more family pictures and then called it a night.

All in all, we had a great time and were really impressed with Eli's impersonation of a flying monkey. Not to mention, the fact that he actually wore the head piece. Here are a bunch of pictures from the night!

A Mother's Love

I wasn't really planning to blog again until I had a fun Halloween update, but just felt compelled to tell you about my day.

So, today I had the pleasure or curse of traveling to Atlanta, GA...up to your interpretation. The city is an awesome place, and my meeting went well. However, the 'monstrous storms' that were attacking the east combined with the stupidity of the Atlanta airport makes for a worse case scenario.

Anyway, while I was eating lunch with one of my female co-workers we had the pleasure of talking about everything but work. We talked about her possible engagement soon, eating healthy, wedding showers, baby showers...anything girly and 'non beer' we could think of. So, I was telling her a little bit about what motherhood is like and how I manage to balance the 'work-mommyhood' balance. Also, how much I think working has helped me as a person, a mom, a wife, and overall as a family. I do, actually, feel very blessed to have the job that I do and help provide for our lil' G-unit. Our conversation continued and we starting talking about all of our friends that are pregnant and a HUGE 100+ person shower she threw a month ago. But, this shower was so deserved because the couple had struggled with getting pregnant. Additionally, she talked about a miscarriage/still birth that her in-laws experienced at 6 months. It immediately made me think of my sorority sister who just lost her 1 and half year old son in an accident. The conversation instantly got directed on the blessings and curse that we experience as mothers. I explained, in the most sane way I could, how much torment we put ourselves through to look after our babies. The mother's mind has the unfortunate ability to think of the extreme worst case scenario and feel such fear just to keep our babies safe. We have to talk ourselves off so many ledges and realize that so many babies now and before our time have survived under tougher circumstances. But, God simply has us mommies wired to protect our young and think of all of the scenarios (that is my opinion). So, we often just have to take a deep breath and leave in God's hands and just enjoy every minute of the ride.

So, my coworker mentioned that her boyfriend is a pharmaceutical sales rep and calls on psychiatrists. And, one of the doctors once told him, "that there is no greater love in the world, than the love that exists between a mother and her child". I instantly got goose bumps, and couldn't agree more...or feel more validated.

4 hours later...I am sitting in the Atlanta airport waiting for my (later) 4 hour delayed flight...after my Delta flight was canceled. Suddenly....I notice my sorority sister walk by. Yes, the same sister I mentioned earlier. This was the first time that I have seen her since college over 6 years ago. We start making small talk, which turns into my condolences. Not to get into too much detail...I pray for her and think about her nearly daily. What she and her family went through are a person's living nightmare and I couldn't feel more terrible. However, despite her tragedy I was amazed at how strong of a woman and mother sat in front of me. Her strength should be admired and is worthy of an award greater than any stupid trophy we hand out for actors, musicians, or athletes. It broke my heart, but made me so happy to see that she travels with his baby blanket, as a precious reminder. It was ironic that all in this one Atlanta day I had an opportunity to talk about, feel, and witness the different levels of a mother's love. All in all, it was a very good day.

Here are some pictures from my day. This is the view from my airplane window this morning....simply stunning!

S

Drive down memory highway

Well, I had the pleasure of driving to and from Austin on Wednesday. Needless to say it was a long day. But, the fun part, was that it was the first time I had made the trip since the 'Eli-mommy' vacation that we had back in April (when Eli was just 2 1/2 months old) when Keith was working down south. He was traveling so much, I wanted Eli and I to spend more time with him and have a little River Walk fun.

So, as my coworker and I were voyaging down to the state capital I would occasionally glance off the side of the road and remember all of the stops that Eli and I had to make on our trip. I was still breastfeeding at the time, and stopping every 2-3 hours along the way. And, that was 2-3 hours from the start of the feeding. On top of that...that was the same time that Eli officially made it known that he HATED the car seat. The trip down to San Antonio was supposed to take 5 1/2 hours, but took our dynamic duo 8+ hours! I still can't believe that I attempted such a feet. To drive, solo, such a distance, with a young baby that hated the car seat. It was fun to look back on the trip in hindsight I am not saying that it can't be done, but we weren't the 'model road trip'.

The things that I remembered most from our little trip was Eli crying about 50% of the time, our little stops every hour and half or two, hitting HORRIBLE traffic with a crying baby in the back in Waco and San Antonio, singing 'The things on the highway go...." (sung to the tune of 'The Wheels on the Bus'), and trying to be more quiet than I would have ever imagined. I remember at one point, Eli was asleep and I was afraid to turn on my windshield wipers when I had bug splatter all over my car. I dared not make him unhappy.

So? Would I do it again...lol. Of course, just for the experience. Practically? No. ha ha. Knowing Eli like I do now, I should have known that his will is stronger than any other person I have ever met. And, there are no alternatives to him not getting his way. :)

What is he up to now? Laughing and having the most fun all the time! Seriously, Eli is all giggles and laughs, all the time. It is so much fun to discover a new noise, face, funny sound, game, or tickle spot that will set him off. I have had several friends say that every 'new age' is their favorite, as their babies have got older. And, I have to agree. Eli is growing into a little boy with a personality bigger than Keith and I combined. So, everyday is a blast!

The Weekend

Well, I gotta admit, we don't have a ton to report, this week. Eli's Halloween costume came in, and needs some major altering. However, I can vouch for it being super cute...now I just need to get him used to the head piece (not a fan!). Keith and I went to the Ranger game on Saturday and had a blast. Not to mention, we got to see the Rangers win their first ever series home game. Then, on Sunday we hit up McKinney Trade Days. Eli was quite the trooper, while Keith and I tried a large assortment of homemade salsas, jellies, kettle corn, and sweet tea...I'm stuffed just thinking about it...."Leigh, get back on the band wagon."

Here are some pictures from the week.

The Great Pumpkin Patch

Yep, we did it! We visited our first pumpkin patch with Eli. Was it everything that I had imagined? Not exactly. I guess that it because I always imagine everything playing out like a Martha Stewart magazine spread...seriously, who hasn't imagined their life in a magazine at some point? The reality? Crazy packed, burning up, crowded pumpkin patch. LOL. I had been wanting to go to the Flower Mound pumpkin patch for the last 6 years, and decided this would be the year. Well, 1pm on a Saturday isn't an ideal time. However, we did end up having a lot of fun. But, I would be lying if I didn't say that we (cough, cough...I) are already planning another pumpkin patch trip to somewhere local on a week night in cooler weather.

We arrived with our friends the Joneses and their family. After devouring a lot of high calorie, fried food (corny dogs, fries, burritos, flautas, and funnel cake...ugh, I feel sick), we moved on to the photo opportunities and pumpkins. We moved from location to location snapping a ton of pictures along the way. The boys were obsessed with eating whatever hay they could grab and enjoying looking around.

Keith took Eli over a cute red tractor, which Eli fell in love with, and didn't want to leave. We also lost track of him for a little bit, and realized that he had wondered into the pumpkin patch to browse through their selection(j/k). We also felt that a midday outfit change might be necessary because the little guy was probably getting hot in his jeans (thank you Shelley for lending us one of Gavin's outfits!) Then, finally, we concluded the day with discovering Eli's new preference of travel...standing up. Keith propped him up in the stroller and closely supervised his stroll.

Well, that concludes the pumpkin patch trip, enjoy the pictures. :) I will be sure to continue to post future pumpkin patch trips. Also, be sure to check out the video that I included, I couldn't resist...I snapped it during one of Eli and Keith's nightly playtime routines. Eli LOVES playing with his dad!

Eli's commemorative 'First Pumpkin Patch' photo.

Ahh...family shot.

Eli falling in love with the big red tractor

Eli refusing to let go of his big red tractor.

'Where's Eli?'

Oh, there he is, browsing the pumpkin selection.

Hanging out with his new friends, the peanut gang.

Mid-day outfit change to avoid heat exhaustion. Thanks Shelley!

Eli's new way to 'roll'.

Hear that....?

......ahhh...., a sigh of relief! Yes, Keith and I are home at last! Together again, and back with Eli. :) I would like to say that the week was all kinds of crazy and hectic, but the reality was that neither Keith or I were really here to experience it. So, it was most likely crazy for my mom, the nanny, and our neighbors (and crazy stressful anticipating and planning for the week). The crew was doing the Eli shuffle around town with transportation, day shift, night shift, and doggie shift.

Keith and I both had very good and productive business trips. Keith's trip up to Connecticut just reminded him of how much he really loves his new job and loves the Travelers organization. We both realize that his position was meant to be, and he couldn't be happier. My trip to New Orleans was good, but just reminded me of how much I hate New Orleans.

While our house is in need of some tender loving care (cough, cough..I mean cleaning), so was our little family. So, we put off the house work and went about our agenda for some fun. Friday night was spent grocery shopping and hanging out. Today was a fun adventure with the Joneses on a picnic and a great evening with the Mysers for dinner and some shopping. Tomorrow will be spent with Keith's dad for his bday and our church group. "Oh, whats that?...what am I doing Monday?" I am going to enjoy a day off! Yes, I took a much needed day off to enjoy spending time with Eli and putzing around town or the house..whatever. then, back to work on Tuesday, ho hum.

Here are some cute shots that Keith got from today.