Eli's First Haircut and new BFF!

(Quick note: This is one of two blog updates, so be sure to check out the other one below with pictures!)

Well, we finally did it! We got Eli a hair cut! Man oh man...was I/were we on the fence about it. He looked so so cute with his shaggy little mop hair, but we moved forward. I noticed in last nights bath that the back was getting a little long and kind of girlie. So, we decided to go in for a trim. We actually just picked a spot close to the house that specializes in kids. The shop and hair dresser were so-so. You could tell that Eli was not a fan and pretty uncomfortable. He got pretty fussy towards the end and it helped when I put him in my lap to finish the cut. I feel like the whole thing was over and done with in a matter of minutes. I suppose they learn how to cut quick, considering the kid's tempers. But, Eli did really well, and we let him have a reward at the end. Yes...yes, we let him have a little cherry dum-dum sucker, which he absolutley loved! I will also admit, at first, I had MAJOR hair cut remorse! The minute my lil' man didn't look like himself I wanted to cry! I hated that it was all chopped off and would be awhile before it came back. I hated that Eli didn't look like 'Eli' .... :(. However, after a few hours and some styling tricks by Keith I am pretty sold!

So, before moving straight to the photos, I just have to share a few other tidbits. First, is that Eli learned to blow kisses today! :) So cute! Keith taught him while I was rummaging around a store for some clothes...hehe.

Second, is a cute story from the grocery store tonight. The three of us made a quick stop at the grocery store on the way home from dinner. As we were at the register checking out a young grocery bagger asked me a few questions about Eli. About that time Eli walked over to him with his arms outstretched to be picked up. The young man picked up Eli with a look of surprise on his face. We insisted that our child doesn't always ask to be picked up by strangers and he was 'special'. You could tell the guy was shocked and flattered at the same time. It is store policy that the baggers take the groceries to the car, so Keith insisted on pushing the cart while the young kid carried Eli. Yes...we walked all the way to the car with Keith and the cart and the young high school aged bagger-boy carrying Eli. LOL! Eli was loving it! The kid was somewhat awkward and I was laughing hysterically. Finally, we arrived at the car and I tried to grab Eli to put him in. He began to fuss so I gave the two new BFF's a few more minutes together. Finally, after a bit of a fit, Eli went unwillingly back into my arms. That, of course, was not after Eli reached back out to get one final hug goodbye. It was such a cute and sweet moment. I never got the kids name, but certainly called the store and put in a good word for him with the manager on duty! Only regret...? I didn't snap any pictures of it. :(

Ok...now back to the haircut! :)

Eli, before the haircut.

The shaggy mop....so cute!!

'What is going on? What is this thing they put on me? I feel violated!'

'Um, ok...why are we doing this again?! I am not happy!'

Finally calm once he got in my lap to finish off the cut. Um, yeah...shoulda tried this in the beginning. Looking dapper, though...huh?

Yes, because Eli was so great for his first hair cut, he got a sucker like all of the other kids. And he LOVED it. Ok, so he might have put the wrong end in his mouth a few times and got sugary gooeyness all over the car, but 'hey'!

Here is Eli studying his new favorite thing....a cherry sucker!

And here is the finished product, after some post 'dad styling techniques'. I must say, I am a much bigger fan!

Yikes, I am slackin'...many updates and pictures!

Ok, I have been slackin' in a major way...two whole weeks have past since my last update!?! So, while I am not really a fan of two updates around the same time, I have to do it. There are just way too many cute pictures of Eli to go unnoticed. Not to mention, Eli got his first haircut today! So, that will be in the second update....that is too important to wait.

So, with out much ado, I will move onto the pictures. There is so much to be said about them, so be sure to read the captions so you know what is going on. :)

Yes, I taught Eli to stick his tongue out...'way to go mom'. It is so cute! It is kind of an inside joke between us.

Isn't he so cute with his little tongue sticking out!?! You can tell he is fully committed here.

Here is Eli joining Keith and I on a 5K walk. This was his first big walk to complete, and he did it with style.

What would a victory be without a picture at the finish line!?

Eli expressed such an enthusiasm for walking after the 5K we kept it going.

That is one excited kid! He loves to go on walks....ok, and look at puppy dogs too (considering I am pretty sure that is what he was looking at during this picture).

Here is one of Eli's FAVORITE things to do now. He LOVES feeding himself with a spoon. And well, he also loves chocolate yogurt. He pretty much insists on putting every bite of food into his own mouth, not crazy about being spoon fed by someone else. He also loves to go through the act of putting food on the spoon, even if he never actually gets anything into his mouth.

Here is what you get when he 'did it himself'. Yes, he pulled the suction cup bowl off the table and went crazy!!!

Sick, Sick, Sick

This can be interpreted a few different ways. First, you could look at it in terms of Eli being sick three times since being in daycare for 3 weeks, yikes! Or, you could know that all three members of our tiny family have been hit this week/weekend with sickness.

We got our first 'sick call' 3 days into school. He had a fever, had to go home, and couldn't return for at least 24 hours. The second sickness came this week....(so, YES, we went a whole week without illness, round of applause please!). I picked him up on Wednesday and had been told that my little man threw up twice in the late afternoon. Shortly after we arrived home, I got my first 'real mom moment' when the poor guy threw up all over me, after walking in the door. A few hours later, Keith got the first 'real dad moment' when the same thing happened to him. So, he stayed home on Thursday and went back on Friday. Well, it was around Friday afternoon that I suddenly got a little lightheaded and ill feeling. Not to much longer after that, I had the full blown stomach bug. Meanwhile, Keith has been battling a scratchy throat/head cold all week.

In the grand finale of it all Eli, Keith, and I all ended up being laid up in bed this entire weekend (despite having birthday plans to celebrate Keith's big 2-8). Eli woke up this morning (Sunday) with a major fever and continued to fight it all day long. He has been very lethargic and just wanting to lounge around the bed. The plus side? He is extra cuddly and sweet! He has spent all weekend laying all over us and holding us so tight....it is sick and selfish of me, but I am enjoying that part. So, after a full day of vegging, it came to a climax with another major sick episode. This one was a lot more 'major' than the rest, and nearly caused a chain reaction (I will refrain from more details). So, this evening the fever seems to have broke and we are praying that little boy will manage to get some sleep tonight. Us? Well, I am already set-up for a three day weekend in order to take him to the doctor tomorrow, Gammie (my mom) has Tuesday covered, and Keith may take some of the rest of the week (if not all). Looks like he is going to be 'out of school' as much as he has been 'in school' over the last 4 weeks.

Do need to send out a 'Happy Birthday' shout out to Keith! Tuesday, March 29th he will be 28!

So, here are some 'sick pics'. These were taken today. The first one is Eli looking so cute and sad laying in bed. And, the other three are some 'bad dude' pics...post 'after sick' bath, and Keith giving him a feel good-cool dude hair do.

Picture update!

Ok, so I had planned to update my last blog post with some recent pictures. However, I never did it...duh! Also, for the record....yes, I do know there is a '1' lingering in my blog background. While I am something of perfectionist in the form of art...I'm gonna let this one go, because it is hard to fix. I apologize if it is a distraction. Remedy? Look at the precious pictures of my sweet baby boy to cope.....

Here is lil' man on the way to his new 'school'...lookin' so precious!

Love this! This is Eli's 'car toy'...that actually makes cars drive round and round. However, he prefers to sit in it like his personal throne. I suppose I should look at this as a positive sign for potty training?

Here is Eli 'getting into' the tubberware cabinet. After an accidental mixing bowl break, he is now into the less expensive cabinet. He loves to stack and un-stack all of the dishes. Very meticulous, this one. ;)

Lastly, a picture that Keith took of lil' man 'brushing his teeth'. Yes, he has 8 teeth...and LOVES brushing them!!

Nanny Drama...Once and For All!

If you have been following this blog at any point in the last year then you are well aware of some of the nanny drama that Keith and I have experienced. First, we had our first nanny get engaged and tell us she was moving to Alaska. Nanny #2 had to follow her husband to Corsicana for a teaching job. ....and Nanny #3 was alright, but just didn't work out (scheduling and overall dissatisfaction). So, we moved onto Nanny #4! Great girl, young, good head on her shoulders, ect...ect..(or so we thought). #4 was doing great for us, but I still mentioned to Keith that we might want to consider day care, because it would save us some money. He wasn't exactly a fan of the idea, but Eli is old enough to benefit from the interaction and extra education. So, that was the end of that conversation...in a nutshell.

Fast forward about 3-4 days. I get a text at 6:30am from #4 saying she has food poisoning. Keith calls in sick and spends the day with Eli. I ask that he use some of his spare time to stop by the daycare for a tour to get educated on the place...just in case (he does, and was pleased). Next day...#4 calls in sick AGAIN, ugh! Drama! She comes back to watch Eli on Thursday, and had already requested off for Friday (b/c it was her birthday). So, my mom watches Eli on Friday...when around 3pm I get a text from #4....YES, A TEXT!! Saying something to the extent of 'I have found another job with benefits and it starts on Monday, sorry for the inconvenience'. Yes...that short and sweet...and again, VIA TEXT! Argh!

I flip...immediately call the daycare ask if they can work miracles for us (as they weren't supposed to have an opening until May). Well, lucky for us the opening got pushed up until March 18th...but we still needed a miracle. After an hour of them figuring out how to move kids around, they came to our rescue and said that he could start Monday, hooray! So, after that problem was solved I made sure to get #4 on the phone. I stern fully, but politely told her how unprofessional and disrespectful she was. Also, how horrible it was that she left us in a lurch in such short notice, and she needed to know that as a future mother. I also learned that her 'food poison' was a cover for some interview days....yeah, awesome. Argh! Well...the conversation didn't go anywhere, but I did get my point across!

So...Monday arrives! We get Eli ready for school and both take him up there. When we arrive we meet his teacher to which he holds out his arms and asks to be held by her. He took to her and continued to be carried around the room like a little koala bear. No tears on our departure...but a ton after we left. Day #1: No sleep, hardly ate and cried all day. #2 : Little sleep, little food, little less crying. #3: More sleep, more food, less less crying. #4: SICK! Yes...little guy didn't even make it through the first week before getting sick. We got the call to pick him up and then had to find care for Friday. He has been recovering from a throat infection all weekend and is going to hang around the house with me tomorrow for extra precaution.

Needless to say, the last week has been drama filled. But, it was divine intervention and things will totally work out for the best. We are very excited about the potential that the daycare has for him and bought some vitamins today to help boost his immune system. :)

A Year of Eli!

Ok so, I have given myself the impossible task of picking pictures of my favorite person in the whole world, over an entire year! Yes...impossible. Not to mention, I think I collected thousands of pictures in just the first month. Between Keith's awesome camera and the invention of the Iphone, Eli's life is more documented than he could possibly ever imagine. However, if you are reading this post, then clearly I have succeeded. Part of me seemed to think it was only natural to pick pictures from all of the milestones and and 'big events' (Easter, Christmas, ect..). However, a majority of those events received posts of their own. So, I am going to go with 12 pictures (can't fathom) that show my cute baby boy and how much he has grown in a year.

February 12, 2010 at 6:24am, my sweet baby boy entered into the world!

Eli at 1 month old

Eli at 2 months old, playing on his tummy mat

3 month old Eli out on a walk one day and looking super cute.

Eli at 4 months old, and going for his first swim.

Sweet sweet baby at 5 months old. Personally? I think this picture show the biggest change from 'little baby Eli' to 'growing up Eli'.

Looking so dapper at 6 months old.

Definitely settling into his 'look' at 7 months old.

Striking a pose as a great looking 8 month old.

9 month old Eli starting to work his smile more.

One very happy baby at 10 months old flashing a great big tooth filled grin.

Eli at 11 months old, anticipating the big '1 year mark'...very serious. Who would guess?

February 12, 2011. Eli celebrating his 'FIRST' birthday. Man, this kid makes 1 look so good.

Happy Birthday Eli!

Wow! Well, it came and went way too fast....Eli turned 1!! We had the blessing of getting to celebrate his birthday, on his birthday! February 12th at 6:24am Eli turned 1! Thankfully, I can say that I was not up at 6:24am to celebrate with him, while it would have been sentimental.

It was one year ago on February 11th that we were in the hospital preparing for the arrival of our little man. After 24 hours of labor, Eli made his entrance! And, now...1 year later, here we are! Wow, man! An entire year...I wouldn't believe it if I didn't have a long blog and thousands of pictures to prove it.

I feel like I should do a 'year in review' post...and probably will. So, just wait in anticipation! In the mean time, I will show off some pictures from party. To every ones surprise, there was no theme! I know a lot of friends and family were anticipating a 'theme'. Heck, I had been mentally planning this party for a year, so it actually shocked me as much as it did them. So, the theme was '1'. Eli managed to get in a small nap before the party started and was a little overwhelmed when things got started. It was a little overwhelming with all of the people, but Eli saw enough wonderful, loving, and familiar faces that he was content going from arms to arms.

After mingling we did bday cake. Funny, cause I wondered what he was going to do with it, and should have known he would attack all of the 'details' on the cake. He started picking off all of the fondant decorations and using his middle finger to poke around on it. Finally, Keith and I shoved his hands into the cake and things got going. He really enjoyed snacking on all of the sweets and sugar. After the 'cake festivities' we moved onto presents. He actually had no problem being the center of attention as we opened cards, gift wrap, and toys. He climbed all over the boxes and enjoyed walking around for everyone.

The party wouldn't be complete without at least one breakdown. So, as things started to roll to an end with just a few presents left to open, he became inconsolable. He officially threw a fit and required some 'mommy/Eli private time' in the nursery while the guests departed.

All in all it was a great party! Not that I could really imagine what it was supposed to be like, but it met all expectations. Keith and I stayed up the night before the party until about 1 or 2am getting things prepped. I was decorating the cake while Keith decorated and picked up the house. We also realized this was going to just be one night of many to come of doing things for Eli. We look forward to all of the Christmas's and late night school projects in our future. More importantly....we look forward to many more amazing birthdays and parties to come!! :)

We love you Eli, Happy 1st Birthday!