New Additions...

I absolutely LOVE the Christmas season and all of the fun decorations and traditions that come along with it. As I put-up our tree this year, there were quite a few new ornaments to add, as this is Elijah's very first Christmas with our family. It was such a cool feeling to hang-up my own "Baby's 1st Christmas" ornaments right alongside those of my son's. Here are the new additions to our tree this year:


My mom gave me these ornaments right after Mark and I found out that we were pregnant in January. I was so excited when I opened them!




Love these little baby shoes!



Mark's Mom bought Eli this sweet personalized ornament.




I thought it was so perfect that this year's Hallmark ornament for "Baby's 1st Christmas" was a pea-pod! (Remember Eli's Halloween costume? Love it!)

3 Months Old!

Eli is another month older and getting more and more fun each day! We won't go to the pediatrician again until his 4-month check-up next month, so unfortunately we don't know his current weight/length stats, but he's definitely growing a lot these days! Here are a few things that Eli is up to:

* He is becoming increasingly vocal and loves to "talk" to and squeal at various things, like ceiling fans, toys, our dog Candy, etc.

* This past month Eli has really begun to LOVE playing on his Play Gym--his favorite toy is the parrot who he is constantly batting at and talking to.

* Elijah continues to consistently sleep through the night (he's been doing this since about mid-October..Yay!)However, his new thing this past month is to smile really big when we put him down to sleep in his crib. We think he is definitely trying to work the cuteness so Mom & Dad won't put him to bed!

* He loves it when we wind-up his mobile over his bed so he can "talk" to his fish friends.

* He has begun to really grasp and hold on to toys and other objects around him.

* Eli is definitely becoming a lot more mobile. When we went to Wilmington area to celebrate Thanksgiving with Mark's family, many a time we would wake-up to find our little guy turned at least 90 degrees in his pack-n-play! He will arch his back and push-off with his legs to scoot or just kick/wiggle so much that he moves his little body around. Mark and I like to call the latter his "running-man."

* He really enjoys sitting upright and getting a new view of the world around him. Still not a huge fan of his Bumbo seat, but we'll see if that begins to change over the next few months.

* Due to Elijah's more active nature (and the fact that he would get really mad when we immobilized his hands), we've stopped trying to swaddle him for sleeping and begun using a "Sleep Sack", which we absolutely love! Now we know that no matter how much he wiggles and moves, Eli will always stay warm and covered in bed!

* He continues to love sucking on his thumbs these days, giving equal opportunity to both hands.

* He travels out-to-eat and on errands regularly now. Sometimes he will sleep through the trips while other times he'll just sit very alert in his carseat, taking everything in around him.

* He LOVES to smile and coo at his Daddy and Mommy more and more these days, which we just can't get enough of!

Overall, Eli continues to be a pretty mellow baby, only crying when he's hungry or overly tired. Mark and I continue to feel truly blessed by our sweet little boy! Looking forward to the fun new experiences the next month will bring!


Enjoying some time on his play gym!




Cuddling with Mommy

Advent Devotions

I've had a real desire to find a daily devotion dedicated to this season of advent and stumbled upon this really neat site. Check it out for yourself!

Following The Star

Thanksgiving 2K9!

This year we spent the Thanksgiving holiday with Mark's family and extended family in the Wilmington area of North Carolina. Eli was very much the celebrity at this year's event, as you can imagine. The weekend consisted of lots of eating, sleeping, and visiting with everyone. Eli is really beginning to "talk" a lot more. Mark and I would lay him on a blanket on the floor in the morning and he would literally have a conversation with himself for at least 45 minutes! It's getting more and more fun to interact with him each day, as now he's really starting to pay attention to and respond to us. Our weekend also introduced Mark and I to Elijah's affinity for the "running-man" while he lays in bed. What is this, you may ask? Well, Eli sleeps in the Pack-n-Play in a room with us when we travel (usually he's in the crib in his nursery), and every night he would thrash his legs so much, that he would destroy his swaddle and oftentimes end-up turned in another direction. Mark and I couldn't help but laugh when we'd hear the swishing of his little diaper-butt as he would run in place. Here is a pic of what he looked like one of the times...




Overall, we had a great visit with family and continue to realize how thankful we are to be blessed with such a content and sweet little guy. It's so amazing to look back and see how much our lives have changed in just a few short months! We love it!

Here are some pics from our Thanksgiving travels:
















One other special moment of our trip...Mark was able to introduce Elijah to his grandparents!

A Discovery Has Been Made...

Eli has found his thumb! Ever since he was a couple weeks old, Elijah has been sucking on his fists, but as of this past weekend, he is regularly finding and sucking on his thumb. He tends to prefer his left one at the moment. Very cute!


This is how I found him during his nap yesterday...





He likes to find it when he's awake too!





Bonus Pic:
This is how I found Eli & his Daddy on Sunday afternoon. There is no doubt they are related!

Busy Weekend!

Our weekend of fun kicked-off with a visit from Aunt Erin from Thursday to Friday. She hadn't really seen Eli since our big apple picking trip, so it was fun seeing her enjoy all of the fun things that he can do now. It was so much fun hanging-out and just catching-up. Neither one of us ever really have a lack of things to talk about! ;-) We can't wait to have her visit again...especially Elijah, who "flirted" with her the entire time she was here! Enjoy some of the pics Erin took while she was here!


So serious...not quite sure what about though!












"Playing with Aunt Erin is fun!"







"I don't want her to go back home to Richmond!"





Oh, I almost forgot! Eli attended his first birthday parties this past weekend. Happy 1st birthday to Preston and Cannon! We had a great time celebrating with you!

2 Months Old!

Ok, so I didn't do such a great job posting about his 1 month stats, but from here on out I am going to try my hardest to document the changes each month brings. So, first, here are Eli's stats:

1-Month-Old:
Weight: 9lbs 7 oz.
Height: 21.5 inches (I really don't think this measure was very accurate, as this was his length when he was born...)



2-Month-Old:
Weight: 10lb 15oz (Mark & I were both guessing he'd be somewhere around 11 pounds...just one ounce shy!)
Height: 22.75 inches

So, according to the percentiles of growth, our little guy continues to be perfectly symmetrical.

What is Eli up to these days?

* He's smiling a LOT and has started to "talk" more, especially when he's laying on the changing table or right after he's eaten.

* As of a few weeks ago, Eli's sleeping pretty well at night. Mark and I joke that after his final feeding aroun 10-11pm, his "switch" just turns off and he's out for the night, typically not waking up until sometime around 6-7am. Now, I just need to be better about going to sleep soon after Eli does, so I can get some sleep too! It's just so hard to not want to stay up and get things done that weren't accomplished during the day!

* He's nursing really well, although it has been determined that his little tummy does NOT like onions very much. Can we say major gas attack!

* He's getting stronger and stronger each day! Just recently, he began supporting himself on his legs when we hold him in our lap or there's some firm surface below him. Eli also continues to hold his head and shoulders up for long periods of time during "tummy time."

* He is also tracking objects a lot more! He especially likes to follow daddy and mommy with his eyes. He still hasn't really noticed Candy yet...and quite honestly, the reverse is also true!

* Eli and mommy made their first solo roadtrip back to Virginia to surprise Great-Grandma. While there, he experienced his very first Noreaster!

* He has survived his first round of vaccinations at his 2-month appointment today. Poor little guy had fallen sound asleep while we were waiting for the nurse to come and give him the shots. She gave him an oral medication (which he sucked right down...our child will eat anything!)and then he received all of his injections. I had prepared myself for the tears, but it still got to me when he let our the longest cry (in one breath) I think I've ever heard from him. Thankfully, he calmed right down after I was able to pick him up to cuddle. He did get some pretty sweet band-aids though!

So, that's about it for month two. We can't believe how quickly time is just flying by since Elijah's arrival, but we're enjoying and loving him so much more with each passing day! It's so crazy how a little baby can completely turn your world upside down in such a beautiful way! We are VERY blessed!