Read to Me

Sick babies are absolutely no fun. :( This is the third illness with fever Eli has had since he has been born, and it isn't getting any easier. We are pretty sure he has RSV based on his symptoms and the fact that it has been going around his daycare class right now. He is doing better today and actually enjoyed some pepperoni pizza and green beans tonight with us for dinner! Hopefully, his fever will finally be gone tomorrow so we can all go back to work/school on Monday. Eli is not normally a cuddly baby. does not like sitting still for too long, and really does not like being held like a baby... until he gets sick. :) We have so enjoyed snuggling with him all weekend. When he is not sick, the only time we can ever get him to sit still in our laps (other than when he drinks a bottle) is when we read him books. He LOVES his books! He will sit with us and let us read to him for half an hour and be perfectly content. He loves turning the pages and touching anything on the page with texture.

These are some of his favorite books right now:

Books are so wonderful. Don't you remember your favorite books as a child? A few years ago before Marc and I were married, I started collecting a few of my favorite books from my childhood to have to share with my children one day. I bought Goodnight Moon, Caps for Sale, Amy the Dancing Bear, and a few others. One of my favorite books, No Baths for Tabitha, is no longer in print and was not really worth the $115 price tag on Amazon. Isn't that crazy??? Maybe I will run across it someday at a garage sale. :) I really loved reading as a child and I am so glad that Eli enjoys books as well.

Happy Birthday Marc!

Marc is 29 years old today (one year away from one of those big birthdays that ends in a zero!) so I thought I would write a post in honor of his birthday. We are planning on going out to eat with some friends (and Eli) from residency tonight at one of his favorite pizza places. Then, I have gotten a babysitter to watch Eli for us this Friday so we can have a date night (without Eli :)) of dinner and a movie.

I am so proud of Marc. I know that I don't tell him that enough so I decided to publicly profess it today. :) He works really hard at his job and still manages to help out around the house and to be a great dad and husband for our family.

A few months ago, I was seeing a patient in clinic who happened to be a social worker at one of the hospitals Marc works at. When I asked if she knew Marc she immediately started telling me about what a nice person he is to work with. Marc has a genuine concern for people, and I think that is what left an impression on her the times she had worked with him and his patients. This is not the first time this has happened to me. Many times when people find out that I am married to Marc they talk to me about how wonderful he is on both a professional and personal level. His attending physicians have told me this, his friends have told me this, and complete strangers who have only met Marc briefly have told me this. This always warms my heart. It is such a sweet reminder to have someone tell me what a great man I am married to, and it makes me appreciate him that much more. Marc is one of the most compassionate and generous people I have ever met and those are two qualities that will always suit him very well in the field he is in. :)

At the end of the day, Marc is still very human (that is tomorrow's post.. ha!.. just kidding), but I see Christ's light shining through his life so much and he inspires me to love people better. Happy birthday Marc! I love you and am praising God today for you.

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. "
Matthew: 5:14-16

Water Logged

Aren't indoor pools a wonderful invention??? Even when it is 40 degrees outside you can enjoy a day at the pool. We took Eli swimming this afternoon, and he had a great time. The water is around 85 degrees so he stays pretty warm, and he loves splashing around and chasing his toys. We are thinking about starting him in some baby swim lessons. I think he would love it, especially getting to watch other babies his age playing in the water along side him!

Get me to the pool before I go crazy and throw this rattle or something

Our little fish with his little fish

It seems that every week Eli is doing something new that we get a kick out of. This weekend I taught him how to say "uh oh" and he has been saying it non-stop. Most of the time he says "uh uh oh," but it is pretty cute. He turned 10 months this past week. I can't believe his first birthday is right around the corner. I was trying to decide for his party whether to do a theme or not since he is so young and really doesn't care at this point, but I think in the end, I decided to go with a monkey theme. I think that currently suits him well, and it will be fun to plan and decorate for. :)

Eli is Walking!

This is my first attempt at uploading some video so I hope it works! This is video of Eli's first steps a week ago. He was 9 months and 3 weeks old. As you can tell we were both just a little excited. :)

This is Eli playing ball with Marc about a month ago. He has a pretty good arm for 9 months! :)

Valentine's Day

What a FUN weekend we had! My parents, sister, and her fiance came into town this past weekend for a short visit. They were snowed in a few weeks ago and were unable to make it but were determined to come this weekend regardless of what the weather brought. We had traveled so many places over Christmas that we were unable to bring all of our gifts with us at the time so they brought the remainder of our Christmas presents this weekend as well. Fortunately, the weather this weekend was very nice! Most of the recent snow is now melted, but maybe we will get one more good snow this year so Eli can wear his new snow suit. He sure didn't know what to think about this marshmallow outfit but he was a good sport!

  Eli had so much fun getting into his new toys that he hadn't seen in several weeks. Our basement now looks like a daycare with all the toys Eli has to play with! You can tell he is a VERY loved little boy. :) His favorite things are always the most simple and basic toys. He really loves playing with blocks and things that stack right now. My mom got him these stackable cups, and he could have played with them for hours! It was a race to see how many we could stack before he knocked them all over!

My parents kept Eli for us on Saturday night and sent Brandon, Stacey, Marc, and me out to dinner and to see a movie. I think they figured fewer people in the house meant more snuggle time for them with Eli! We had a great time! Dinner was very good and we enjoyed seeing Valentine's Day the movie. What a treat. Thanks mom and dad!

Brandon and Stacey make a great couple. They are getting married this coming December!

Here is MY valentine! Smoochie!

And here are the pretty flowers Marc got me. He loves putting together his own flower bouquets and does a great job. :)

We said our goodbyes this morning and the family headed back to Arkansas!

Eli was sick the entire weekend with a cold so Marc and I plan on relaxing today with him and enjoying some of the Olympics. We LOVE watching the Olympics! It is so amazing to see what the human body is capable of. As we saw on Friday with the death of one of the luge athletes, there is certainly danger and risk that go along with these sports.  That was so terrible. I feel so sad for his family and country. I would be SO scared to ever attempt some of the stuff they do. I think I will just stick to the TV and couch. Go Team USA!!!

Ready, Set, Go!

I guess it was a good thing we didn't do any practice with walking this past weekend with Marc gone because sure enough, Eli was just that close! Eli took 5 steps all by himself last night to me and then again to Marc. What fun! He looks SO precious taking those ever cautious steps. We have it on video and I am hoping to figure out how to post it on here soon enough. :)

Besides enjoying one of Eli's firsts last night, I was busy cooking up a storm for work today. We each have secret pals at work and are supposed to bring snacks for the office on their birthday. I really love cooking for other people (I often think about how fun it would be to have a Bed and Breakfast!) but really despise the clean-up afterwards (thank goodness for a husband who often does the dishes!). Unfortunately, after last night my kitchen looked like a Kansas tornado had come barreling through. :) I just did not feel like cooking tonight after coming home and seeing the mess I had made! I decided to heat up some leftovers, chicken and spinach pasta bake. Mmmm! Eli really liked this dish last night when we ate it so I decided we would eat leftovers together while Marc worked some hours at the prompt care clinic.

I really look forward to our meal times as a family especially now that Eli is starting to feed himself. Hopefully, we can enjoy our food now as well instead of eating a quick bite in between shoveling food into our hungry boy's mouth. Ha! Our pastor this past Sunday was talking about how important family meal times are. He had some great statistics on how sitting down as a family improves the relationships within the family. This was actually just his introduction to a sermon on how Jesus longs to "dine" with us in life, but it still really left an impression on me. I hope that even as life gets busier I can still manage to protect our meal times together as a family. I think Eli hopes so too. :)

Is this a satisfied belly or what???

Good Times with Mommy

Well, the weekend is over. It somehow seems to disappear more quickly when you spend most of it chasing after an almost 10 month old! We had lots of fun though. I love that Eli is at the age where I can do more things with him and that he loves going everywhere with me. I think this weekend we enjoyed three trips to the grocery store, one trip to Babies R Us, one dinner at Panera, a stop at Blockbuster, Sunday morning at church, and a Super Bowl party. Whew! I think we are both worn out.

We made major headway in the feeding department this weekend, and I am feeling MUCH better about it all. Eli enjoyed some bits of bread at Panera, ate a good amount of a waffle one morning for breakfast, and gobbled up some cut up green beans today at lunch. He also loves it when I feed him cheese, and he enjoyed some pieces of sliced cheese tonight at the Super Bowl party. Maybe in another week or two he will finally eat some fruit.

Marc has (so far) had a very calm weekend from what I could gather, but our calls keep getting dropped (that's when you know you're in the boonies) so we haven't been able to talk very long. I am certainly ready for him to return home tomorrow and hope the snow doesn't delay him too much in the morning when he leaves. I am thankful he is willing to work extra weekend shifts like this for us to continue whittling away at our student loans. He is such a good man and I am blessed to have him.

I promised Marc that I wouldn't let Eli take his first few steps this weekend but he is SO very close to walking. He can now stand by himself for a minute or two and will walk beside me holding on with just one hand. This past week he started taking one step towards me when he wanted me and then would fall after that. At the party tonight he crawled up an entire staircase by himself with me behind him as he went. I was so preoccupied with Eli that I don't think I saw a single play or even a commercial! He is just so busy and growing so fast. I can't believe his one year birthday is right around the corner.


So, with Marc gone this weekend there were two things that Eli did that might not have happened if Marc was around. He wore his overalls out of the house (I just love them and Marc can't stand them!) and he played in a playhouse with GIRLS and BABY DOLLS. Ha! Maybe when daddy sees these cute pictures he will think twice about the overalls. :)

Can I come in?

This little girl is a year older than Eli. It cracks me up seeing him play with the "big" kids.

Well, if those pictures don't get your week off to a good start then I don't know what will. :)

Simple Pleasures...

This past week Kelly was blogging about her simple pleasures in life. You know, the things that get you really excited that may or may not mean anything to anyone else in the world. So, I have been thinking about what my simple pleasures are. The thing that I REALLY love right now is checking in on Eli one last time before Marc and I go to bed. I walk into his room while he is sound asleep and rub his sweet head for a minute or two. I listen to him quietly breathe and thank God for what a blessing he is. Oh, he is so precious and I love him more and more every day. Here are some of my other simple pleasures:

Starbuck's hot chocolate
crawling into bed with clean, warm sheets
some good chips and salsa
warm breezy days
Christmas cards in the mail
listening to rain when going to sleep
a clean house
putting my feet up after a day of work
ordering dessert at the end of a great meal
a fire in the fireplace while watching a movie
the smell of rain
getting a really good deal on something
going out to eat last minute instead of cooking

It brings a smile to my face just thinking about them all! What are your simple pleasures???


Marc had yesterday morning off so he kept Eli home from daycare and took him to the pool. Eli loves his daddy so much and really enjoys the time they spend together! Apparently there was an older women's water aerobic class going on while Marc and Eli were playing in the pool and they all came over to dote on Eli. :)


Last night we went out to dinner and then to Marc's first basketball game for the season (and they won!). Eli did SO well even though we kept him up way past his bedtime. We had a great time. We are certainly going to miss Marc this weekend.... terribly! He is working the ER and doing hospital rounds in a small town near us for the weekend. When I say small I mean Marc is the ONLY doctor working for the weekend which means he will take care of whatever comes in. I am sure he is nervous but he will do great (just pray for nothing TOO crazy to happen!). I had orignally planned on taking Eli out there as well for the weekend but decided it was going to be too hard on both of us, especially if Marc is busy. So, I am going to be a single parent this weekend for three whole nights and days! I think I can.. I think I can.. I think I can... Ha! No, we will do fine I am sure. Eli is very easy going. I am sure he will enjoy making lots of messes, and I will follow right behind cleaning them up. :) Lately, when I am in the kitchen he will pull out all of the bottles and bowls from one of our lower cabinets that we keep his stuff in.

So our kitchen around 6 o'clock every evening usually looks something like this.

We are continuing to try Eli on some table foods. He had a really hard time with baby food when we first started. He did not like the texture at first and gagged on most anything if it was too thick. He is having a similar issue so far with table food. Most of the time he will put a piece of food in his mouth and spit it out right away. I have to try really hard not to laugh! So, we are still doing 99% baby food for the time being. He did try some waffles pieces this morning and actually kept them in long enough to chew them up (which is better than our last attempt!), but then he wouldn't swallow them. When he got tired of chewing, he would just spit the mush all back out, make his motorboat/rasberry noise, and then clap his hands like he was very pleased with himself. Maybe he can just eat cheerios for the rest of his life??? Well, I better go get ready before Eli wakes up from his nap. We are heading to Babies R Us this morning. Fun!

More Bibs Please

Poor, poor Eli. If only this sweet boy could figure out how to swallow his drool! We went through a phase with him at four months where he was drooling an insane amount and requiring a bib all the time. We used to joke that he was going to get dehydrated. :) We really thought Eli was teething at that point but here we are five months later and still not a tooth in sight. Well, the damn broke loose again last week and Eli is drooling so much now that I could literally wring his shirts out after just a few hours. So he is back to wearing bibs all day again. I went to Target this weekend to try to buy some more "waterproof" bibs and was hard pressed to find any that would even fit around his nine month old neck! Today when I picked him up from daycare his two "waterproof" bibs that I had sent were soaked and the teachers asked on his report card if I could please send more bibs. I hope that at least this time we get a tooth out of all this drool!

Who couldn't love this sweet face though, drool and all. :)

Tuesdays are always MUCH better days than Mondays. Don't you think??? We had a great day today! I made some taco soup for dinner tonight (which is so fast and yummy) which gave me some extra time to enjoy with Eli and Marc. Eli just cracks us up these days. It is so entertaining watching him play and "talk" to us or his toys. Letting him slowly try some finger foods has been pretty fun as well (even though he is not the biggest fan of much of it yet). We gave him some cut up bananas to try after his dinner tonight and he was a HUGE mess so we sent him straight to the tub.

And who doesn't love cuddling a clean baby!

Well, at least clean until tomorrow. :) Goodnight!