Eli - 8 weeks old

Eli is eight weeks today! We are falling more and more in love with him everyday! He is getting very interactive and loves to smile and talk to us. His big blue eyes just capture you in. 


Here are some pictures I took of him taking a nap this afternoon... I could watch him sleep all day! He is beautiful. 

No more pictures mom!

what you don't see is after this he had a huge blow out poopy diaper.

Big milestone - Eli is starting to need to be entertained! No more are the days of laying contently next to mommy for hours on end. He loves to explore his toys, some he just stares at others he "plays" with. We got him a Bumbo seat, and he loves his big boy seat.  





 

 

 

Are these enough toys Eli? 

Favorite toy - Saturday we made a Target trip and bought Eli his new favorite toy! These pictures alone made this purchase worth it!! Below is a video of Eli loving his new hangout! 

 

 

 

 





Special visitors - On Saturday my Aunt Kim, Uncle Scott, cousins Reagan and Kendall came over to my house with my Meemaw. It was so great to visit with them, I had not seen them in YEARS!!! 


Also, my MIL came into town today! She is going to come with me on my trip up to Gadsden to teach two cheerleading camps! This will be Eli's first road trip, fingers crossed! The plan is to leave after church on Sunday at noon, then we should be able to drive 2 hours before he needs to eat. Then we will be able to make it the rest of the way! We will not be in a rush, and just take our time, making stops so Eli can stretch. 




Looking forward to this weekend - Tonight Christian and I are going on our first date! My awesome MIL is going to stay with Mr. Man, while we head out to the beach. Tonight my sister Amelia is having a dance at her house, so we will stop by and see how that is going! Also, my MIL is looking at houses here in Pensacola to purchase for a vacation rental, so tomorrow we will go out to the beach with her to look at condos. 




Looking forward to this week - This week I am soo excited about but also nervous! We will be up in Gadsden for me to teach the Varsity and JV for Westbrook Christian School. My best friend Haley is the coach of the Varsity and I can't wait to spend some quality time with her. She is such an awesome friend, and an all around amazing person. I am so blessed to have her in my life. Here is a picture of Haley with baby Eli. Her and her also amazing husband Pat came down to see Eli after he was born. They are the best friends we could ask for. 

Funny Story...  So my family LOVES starbucks. Really my sister and mom. So before church last Sunday we were going through the drive thru to pick up some drinks and breakfast... towards the end of our order (1 oatmeal, 3 drinks and a crumb cake) I realized that I had forgotten my wallet! Amelia started digging in her purse and found 2 Starbucks cards that could maybe possibly have any money on them... so I ask the guy if we should keep ordering or stop because we didn't know if we had any money... he said to keep ordering and we can take away some drinks if we didn't have enough $$... we call the number on the back of one of the Starbucks cards... balance 2 dollars... that is not enough! So we try the next card, we all wait on the edge of our seats... balance 20 dollars!! YES!! Victory. There were high fives and cheers in that car! 

This is Amelia driving my moms car in the starbucks drive thru

Special outings - As I said earlier, my MIL is looking at homes to buy for a vacation rental... and crazy enough my mom and my old house is for sale. And even though this isn't what my MIL is looking for, our awesome Realtor and friend Peggy took us to look at it... it has been 18 years since we have lived here, and nothing has been updated or changed, but time has definitely taken it's toll...

These front doors didn't lock then and they don't lock now

My mom's best friend Rhela hung this chandelier while my mom stood by with a broom to push her onto a mattress on the floor if Rhela got electrocuted 

This is my playhouse I got for Christmas one year, my mom had to take down a fence and  back up the 18 wheeler

This bathroom had no floors or plumbing when we first moved in

My old room

Favorite Day - Saturday we had lunch with the amazing Rachel and then went to a baseball game with our family and friends to celebrate our buddy Paul's birthday




 




 

 

Memorial Day we spent by the pool and playing at my mom's house



 

 

 






How is Eli sleeping? We put him down at 8:30, wake him up at 10:30 to 11 to feed him then this week he woke up between 5 and 6!!! He stays awake for 30-45 min then we sleep until 8:30 to 9 


Pictures throughout the week: 

holding daddys hand

morning run

With Aunt Amama at her piano practice 

Eli - 7 weeks old

My sweet baby boy is 7 weeks old today! 

time is flying by...

I would like to introduce Eli's new best friend, "El" This sweet elephant blanket was given to Eli by my long time friend's Jamaica and Hannah Christine. I have know them for a long time and they are near and dear to me. 

Notice the sweet puppy Cowboy in the background

Here are some pictures I took this morning of little man. I love how his personal is emerging, and he is a charmer!! Baby Eli loves the ladies. It doesn't matter if he is tired or hungry, he will show off those gummy grins for girls (or mommy)! I am so blessed by my sweet baby. 

Big milestone - Kisses!! I love me some baby sugga! I kiss Eli all the time. anytime I pick him up, feed him, put him down, change him, look at him,...I can not stop kissing this sweet baby boy. So I think that he is starting to catch on... this morning we were sharing my pillow, and he kept scooting closer to me (which is not unusual and is super sweet) but when he got to my face he went straight to my lips and kept lightly banging his little head into my lips. This was precious. 


Special visitors - This Saturday my Aunt Kim and Meemaw are coming to meet baby Eli! We are so excited to see them. 


Weight - 12 lbs according to our bathroom scale (wow! - he was 7lbs 14 oz at birth) 

My baby is growing so fast! He wore this outfit last week and now it is too small!! 

Looking forward to this weekend - This weekend is going to be so fun! Tomorrow after Aunt Kim and Meemaw come visit we are going to lunch with our dear friend Rachel. Then that night we are going to a Wahoo's baseball game. We are so excited that Pensacola has a baseball team! I even bought baby boy a cute little baseball outfit!! 


Looking forward to this week - This coming week is my last week with Foley Middle School's cheerleading team. They are all such sweet girls, I have enjoyed working with them. And Eli's grandmum is coming Friday! 


Special outings - This week Eli and I went to lunch with Christian, Jazzercise, Starbucks and Sam's Club. And Eli was awesome! With Gma, Aunt Amae-mae and Uncle Muscles he went to Lowes. 

Lunch with daddy at Firehouse 

Favorite part of the day - I love mornings with Eli. He is so sweet and happy then. He makes the best noises! 

Growth activities - Eli is so strong. His legs are especially strong. He can hold the majority of his weight already! He is such a little show-off baby! Here is a video of him trying to walk with Aunt Amae-mae

How is nursing & Babywise going-  Nursing is going great. We are on a good schedule during the day, and I am able to pump about 2x a day. I counted the ounces I have stored up in the freezer, and I have about 90!! BabyWise is going good... he seems to be pretty much on schedule, some nights are better than others.They say that for every week old he is, he should be able to sleep that many hours through the night. Part of BabyWise is CIO (crying it out), and we have not done that yet... I can't stand to see him cry, it breaks my heart. 


Now that I am pumping, Christian has started giving Eli his dream-feed at 10:30, so I can go to sleep around 9. Which gives me more zzzzs! yay!


What our schedule looks like -
6:30 - 7:00 AM hungry then falls back asleep
8:30 - 9:00 AM hungry and up for the day
9:30 AM - play time 
10:00 AM - nap time (this is when I do the laundry, clean the kitchen and get ready for the day)
11:30 AM - hungry
12:00 PM- MWF we go to Jazzercise T&TH errands
1:00 PM - come home & Gma comes over MWF
2:30 PM - hungry & Gma leaves to go get Aunt Amae-mae & Uncle Muscles/ T&TH Gma picks up Eli and I leave for Foley
3:45 PM - Christian comes home from work and starts playing with Eli

5:00 PM - hungry
6:30 PM - T&TH I leave Foley
7:15 PM - bathtime
7:30 PM - hungry
8:00 PM- Christian reads to him and we say our prayers then Eli goes to bed
10:30 PM - Christian or I wake Eli up to feed him
3:30 - 4:30 AM - hungry 
5:00 -  6:00 AM - wakes up and goes back to sleep 

Here are some sweet baby Eli pictures that I took throughout the week:

Thanks Aunt Haley for my sweet onesie

Asleep at Jazzercise

At Starbucks with El

One morning I couldn't find El, so I tried out Ducky.. but Eli ignored him!