My Brother sent Eli a Monkey pupet from the Charles Paddock Zoo. Monkeys are Eli's favorite, thanks Uncle Chris!

Happy 4 month Birthday! Eli was 19 pounds and 28 inches long on Tuesday.

I haven't had time to blog lately because I had a cold and passed it onto Eli. Poor baby is all stuffed up and having trouble sleeping. He's only been sleeping well for the last couple of weeks, so I hope we return to "normal" when he's feeling better.

I just found out that Ben has pictures of Eli in the hospital on his phone. I didn't know we had any of him when he was so little, so I'm very excited.

Yep, I think they look a lot alike.

Here's a picture of my brother Chris when he was a baby. We think Eli looks a lot like him!

Our first family picture with Eli.

He likes looking at the diaper bag.

I know in the bath again, but can you blame me?

Eli likes getting cards from my Mom.


Here he's getting a really close look!

Eli is starting to grab toys now. He loves his fish and his new puppy from Grandma Rowe.

I made my first children's birthday cake. It was Robert's (Ben's Nephew) 4th birthday on Sunday and we had a family get together. We were also celebrating Eli's blessing (finally), Mother's day and Ben Dick's birthday all at once.

Here's Eli in his church outfit. Yes, these are size 12 mos., we weighed him yesterday and he's 18 lbs. and couple of weeks ago he was 27 in. long. Our baby is a tank (according to our Bishop).

I know, I know, I keep posting pictures of Eli in the tub. He's just so happy and cute at bath time I can't help myself. (Yes that's a scratch on his head, the snap on his onesie scraped his head on the way off. It's been a couple of hours now and you can't see it anymore)

Eli likes to look at himself in the mirror. This was difficult to get a picture of, but here was the best picture out of many flops.

We got our futon back from a friend on Monday. I went to Ross yesterday looking for new bedding and found this. I got the whole set, sheets, comforter cover, bed skirt and pillow shams for less than $50. We're using the comforter cover for a futon cover, I love shopping at Ross!

On Friday Eli rolled over for the first time. I was surprised because he hasn't really been trying to roll over and then he just did it. Now he rolls over a few times a day and is getting pretty good at it, although sometimes he gets stuck on his arm just before he gets to his belly.

Eli likes to hold his own hands now.



We got a new La-z-boy yesterday and I love it. We can rock Eli to sleep now instead of bouncing him on the ball. This is a lot easier on our backs, and a great place to take a nap.

This is how Eli likes to be put to sleep, bouncing on the exercise ball. He will hang out doing this as long as we will (can) bounce.

Eli started on Rice Cereal day before yesterday. I know it's a little early, he's only 3 mos., but the big boy is always hungry. He's been waking me up every two hours at night to eat, so I thought this would buy me some sleep, and it worked. I've had 4-5 hrs straight sleep after he goes down the first time!
I was a little worried about how he'd do, but my Mom said she started my Brothers on cereal at 6 wks and they were fine. It turns out I had nothing to worry about, Eli slurps it right up, swallows it down and opens his mouth for more.

I bought Eli some size 12 mos. pajamas and they're too small. His chubby little arms were squeezed in so tight he lost circulation in his hands after just a few minutes. I guess I'll go back and look for 18 mos.


Eli is having tummy time. He loves it when this little chick peeps (actually it sounds like an old school video game).

My Mom gave Eli a duck for Easter, and he loves it.

Today I was eating lunch and Eli started to fuss. I really wanted to finish, and I just had some Lime Jello left. So I thought to myself "What would happen if I gave Eli some Jello?" I expected that he would just let it fall out of his mouth, but to my surprise he smacked his lips and wanted more.

I fed him about a teaspoon total, but felt a little bad when his tongue was green. I guess baby's first food was Lime Jello.

This is Ben's favorite picture of Eli. He says it really "captures" him.

This week has been great, Eli is starting to be a little more independent. He's letting me put him down on a blanket for a few minutes a couple of times a day. He's still working on controlling his arms, but as you can see he's trying to reach for toys. I think his interest in the world is just starting to overpower his desire to be held my Mommy all day.

Eli discovered his hand yesterday, since then he has spent many a minute staring at this new wonder.

We bought the Moby Sling for Eli yesterday. He loves it and I think it's so much more comfortable than our Baby Bjorn. The material is wide, so it disperses the weight better than a narrow strap, and this really saves my shoulders and back. It's also fun to tie it in different ways, he can face towards me, away from me or ride on my back.

I've finally reconciled myself to the fact that I'll be carrying him around a lot, so comfort is key.

Check it out at: www.mobywrap.com

Chubb Chubb in the Tub Tub.

Eli likes the bath more an more everyday. Now he just lounges in the tub.

Eli is staying busy on the kitchen table while I make breakfast.

Eli looks like such a big boy in his overalls.

We finally found something Eli likes, the Rainforest Swing. He likes to swing, nap and look at the bright mobile. It also makes animal noises and when the monkey hoots Eli makes little baby noises back at it.

I have discovered that my Baby has a snooze button. When he starts to wake up he grunts and groans, and if I catch it early enough I can stave him off. I just give him a few pats and he'll go back to sleep for about 5 minutes. This only works 2 or 3 times, and gives me just enough time to really wake up. I didn't know we signed up for this feature, but I love it.

Before we had Eli we had all of these great ideas about parenting, we thought we knew it all. I've had some experience with children from helping my Mom with her daycare and I knew I never wanted to start patting my child to sleep, give him a pacifier or let him sleep in my bed. I thought it was a mark of good parenting if a child would go to bed on their own, unassisted.

Well, after almost 7 weeks of not sleeping you can see what we've resorted to. I should've learned by now not to judge people, sometimes you end up doing just what you thought was all wrong and then you have to eat your words. It's a good thing words are calorie free, or I'd be having a tough time loosing this pregnancy weight!

Last night Eli slept for 6 hours straight, same as the night before. I love the Binki and he loves our bed!

Yesterday was Eli's first trip to the park. He ate and then slept while Sterling had some fun on the slide.

I couldn't help myself, even though I know outfits with ears are embarrassing.

It seems like every time I nurse Eli he's a little bit longer and a little bit heavier. Yesterday I decided to weigh and measure him and even I was surprised. He's 24 1/2 inches long and 14 lbs. I guess we're going to have a big boy!