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!!!