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! :)