A Year Ago Today...

Last summer, I had three wonderful weddings to attend...in a row. First, my childhood best friend Elizabeth. Second, my other childhood best friend Christa. Third, my sister-in-law AND friend Leah. During Christa's wedding bonanza, I started feeling a little nauseous. duh duh duhm.

My friend and all-knowing momma Corinne said, "You're pregnant." I wasn't so sure. I went through the rest of the wedding feeling kind of sea sick and wondering what my problem was. Her reception was a blast, overlooking the city of Nashville, and as all my friends were dancing the night away, I sat a few out and tried not to vomit.

That week, back at home, I was waiting for the good ole' cramps to start...they were supposed to. I had already taken a test about once a month for the past four months in anticipation of becoming pregnant, and I was disappointed every time. This time, I made myself wait until the morning I was supposed to see something happen, and when it never did, I decided I would go buy a couple tests and wait a week to take them. Once I got home, I waited all of ...oh, one night. I woke up early the next morning to the sounds of my husband getting in the shower for work. As soon as my sleepy eyes cracked open, those tests were the first thing I thought of.

I crept off to the guest bathroom, and carefully unwrapped one test. I re-read the instructions, although I had done this multiple times before. I wanted to be sure I was doing it absolutely correct; I didn't want to leave any room for error. (How hard is it to pee on a stick?!!) I sat in the bathroom and waited the five minutes, which felt like thirty. Slowly, but surely, one thick pink line appeared. Tears formed in my eyes as I began to feel the familiar frustration I had felt every month beforehand. I turned my head and told myself, "God will let it happen when He's ready and when He knows we're ready..." and I glanced at the stick one more time....and again, and again. There it was--a faint pink line standing next to the other thick line. WAIT--2 PINK LINES??!!

I read the instructions AGAIN. Two lines means...but it's faint, does that mean...what DOES that mean? I think....that means...I'm pregnant.

My heart was racing, and a smile was plastered on my face. I went into our master bathroom, and said in my "everything's perfectly normal" voice, "Good Morning Babe." He asked if I was still feeling sick, and I told him yes. He asked if I had taken a test yet. I waited. Then I told him no. He asked when I was going to take one. Then I said: "Just kidding, I just took one." He waited. I waited. "And?" He asked. "And...we're having a baby!!"

With a look of disbelief and complete bafflement (probably not a real word), He jumped out of the shower and gave me a huge hug and kiss..."Really? Are you sure?" Two lines?" We were both still dazed by the news, but so very excited about the idea that our dreams of becoming parents had just become a HUGE reality. We didn't even know that it was our sweet Eli Matthew in my belly, but there was a baby in there, just waiting to call us Mommy and Daddy, and we were waiting to call him son.

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Diagnose My Child Please.

Teething!!???!! Is that even possible? My little man has been SUPER fussy lately..the littlest things seem to upset him when he normally wouldn't get upset. He's had a slight fever for a couple days here and there, and is waking up more at night lately. He is a drooling mess, and chomps on his hands, my shirts, his toys, anything he can. It seems to me that these are all the signs of teething, but I feel like it's a bit early. I can't see any little "pearls" on his gums, but every other sign points to yes. He has also decided he needs to be held from about 6-11:30 every evening. Not just held, but bounced. I am getting a great workout at night (let's just all pretend I'm really burning calories so I don't have to REALLY work out). Okay thanks.

P.S. CONGRATS to Jessie and Evan for having Eli's future girlfriend. Audrey is beautiful and we can't wait to meet her! Eli will be on his best behavior, we hope promise.

July's Resolution.

I'm going to learn how to sew. Yep, I'm starting a new year's resolution in July. Call it my summer resolution. I think I am finally getting to the point where I can rely on Eli taking at least a one hour nap every day, sometimes two- three hours. So, I want to learn how to sew. Why? Because 1. This Fall, when almost everyone else goes back to work, I'm going to need a hobby. 2. I love smocked and hand-sewn outfits for babies, and I don't want to spend $40 every time I buy one. So, what's a girl to do? I want to learn how to make:

Remember Nguyen?                       

Etsy                                               

Remember Nguyen

Sorry, I don't remember where I got the other ones, but they are all fairly basic shortall jon-jons and bubbles. I think I can do it. First step, fix my "vintage" old and banged up Singer machine. Second, order some cheap fabric to practice. Third, practice! We'll see how this goes.

Oh, and I want his closet to look like this:

I'm too embarrassed to show you what it actually looks like right now.

There's a Crow in our House.

Eli has learned a new trick. He has done this "talking" in spurts here or there, but apparently he has just learned how to control it. He starts around 1 minute on the video...he will talk like this for hours...we love it! This is actually a more subdued version of what he normally does.

Look what I learned to do...

Well it only took me about an entire year to figure out how to upload a video. I promise I have looked before, but today I finally noticed there is an icon that says..."Insert a video". Surely that has not always been there. Surely I am not that dumb. Either way, here's my little thumb sucker. Enjoy my annoying voice.

Mr. Three Months.

Is this even possible? My baby is actually 14 weeks old today, so I'm a little behind with this post. Eli is growing like a weed, and learning new things every day. He really likes his play mat now, and kicks constantly and grabs at his toys and links. He can also roll over from front to back and back to front. He loves to roll from back to front, but then he hates being on his belly and fusses until he finally flips himself over or I go rescue him.

He's giggled once or twice, but hasn't been too interested in doing it again. Guess his parents aren't too funny. He does coo and gab a lot, and throws some high-pitched squeals in there every now and then. I used to be able to get him to talk, but now his daddy has the touch. Guess E is tired of hearing my voice all day every day.

These pics are out of order, but this was the last shot right before he started fussing and took a huge afternoon nap. Everyone used to think he looked just like my baby pics, but now they say he is looking like his daddy.

 

He's a hand eater. He loves gnawing on his fingers, grabbing toys, batting at objects, and loves trying to chew on his teething toys. He is wearing 3 mo. clothing, but can't wear many footed things b/c he is too tall for them.

Even though he's not laughing too much, he is beaming those gummy smiles at us all the time. Usually he hams it up right after his naps; he'll take a break from eating just to stare at me and smile.

He's eating about 5-6 ounces every 3 1/2 - 4 hours. He is still bf throughout the day, but we give him a bedtime bottle of formula in hopes of him sleeping a little longer since it takes longer to digest.

His sleep is all over the place. Lately he's been waking up a couple of times a night, just to be cuddled and once to eat. Last night, he slept from 10:30 - 5:30; he ate, and slept again until 9. It was fantastic.

He now wants to be sitting or "standing" in someone's arms. He likes to face out so he can see what's going on. He still has all his fine blonde hair from his newborn days, and we can tell it's getting a little longer since it no longer sticks straight up after a bath. I'm still dreading the day it may fall out.

Last, his little milia on his button nose is almost completely gone, but his little storkbites on his face are still hanging out. Some people still ask about them, but I don't even notice them anymore. Why? Because he's perfect!

Father's Day Twice?

I already did my Father's Day post, but I didn't upload any of the pictures from then until today. Call me super busy lazy. We had a nice relaxing first Father's Day. Eli and I woke up the big daddy-o super early to give him his card and gift before church. Eli wrote his daddy a sweet poem and gave him an awesome gift...a new pair of sunglasses. This daddy/fisherman has been wanting a new pair of shades for a few years now, but I have always been too cheap to buy them for him. Then came Eli.

Eli convinced me that his daddy deserved these sunglasses b/c not only did he clean and cook for the 24 weeks I was sick and pregnant, but he also took care of me the 2 weeks I was recovering from my c-section. Not only that, but he's a pretty darn good new daddy. He even volunteers to change diapers.

Well daddy-o was very surprised and excited about his glasses, but had to wait in anticipation before they could arrive in the mail later that week. We let him choose where to eat, and he picked BBQ since I NEVER want to eat bbq...yuck. Aunt Leah and Uncle Luke joined us for lunch, and we headed home for a nap and photo shoot in our front yard.

Eli was wiped out b/c church always starts during is morning nap time, and he usually doesn't get his nap in until that afternoon. He's done with pictures here. Look at those fat baby lips.

One Happy Daddy and Snake Handler

Matthew has been excited about getting Eli's social security card in the mail for weeks...why, you ask?

Because that little number was necessary for getting this: Eli's Lifetime Sportsman License. Yep, my little man can strap on some camo and hunt and fish all he wants for the rest of his life, which makes one happy daddy.

This baby, however, isn't quite as excited yet. I'm sure he'll be more pumped when he can actually hold onto things with two hands for longer than 10 minutes.

In other news,

my hubby is also a snake handler extraordinaire. Did you know? We have been doing some landscaping in our backyard lately. We've planted plants and are growing grass in the dirt areas our dogs have played in ruined. To try and actually keep our plants and new grass, we've staked it all off with some fencing. The other day, after a fishing excursion with his little brother, Matth was out back with the dogs and came across this guy trapped in our fencing.

My reaction? Kill him. I know, not the nicest thing to do, but I can't stand snakes...not even tiny little harmless garden snakes. After telling me how beneficial they are to gardens and what-not, we decided to let him live. These two brave men assured me over and over again that he was not a poisonous fella, (something about his eyes and tongue). Then they cut him loose.

He was probably about 3 1/2 feet long or so...and black, with a shaking tail, and smelly.

This is the look I get when I ask for another smiling picture of him and the snake. Thanks, hubby. We threw that big nasty fella over the fence so he could go and bother someone else's yard. The dogs are in a much better  place without that snake rattling away at them.