Oh. those. lips. I better lock them up. No girl besides me can ever kiss them. :)

Half a Year. 6 months. That's how long my little boy has been here in the world. I've known him longer than that though. Sometimes I feel like I've known who he would be my whole life. God has been holding this little gem for me...for ME!! He held him, waiting until he could put Matthew and I together, and give him to us. He's perfect for us. He's happy almost all the time, unless he's sleepy. He's funny. Matthew and I laugh at his little antics every day, like how he is starting to learn how to throw a tantrum. If you are sitting down with him, you may possibly be ruining his life. He arches his back, lets out his high-pitched squeal, and straightens his legs in attempts to stand. Matthew and I eventually give in and stand with him, but not before we are laughing at how hard he's trying to defy us.



He has a hard time opening his eyes outside. He and his daddy share the same sleepy look. I will have years ahead of me saying, "smile with your eyes OPEN." Eli can join his father in saying, "Just take the picture."


He has his daddy's smile. A giant, wide-mouthed beautiful smile. I hope he gets those nice straight teeth from his daddy too. I hear braces are kind of a pain. He will flash that smile in the morning when we wake up, usually in our bed together. He will flash it through sleepy eyes when I get him from his naps during the day. He will flash it just about every time I talk to him. And he will flash it to just about everyone who stops me to talk to him when we are out and about. He's my little joy-spreader. We'll call that his spiritual gift for now. :)




Look at those dimpled hands and wrist roll...LOVE.

 He still has light blonde hair. I was born with darker hair, but it quickly turned light blonde when I was around one. Matthew looked like the little Cherokee Indian that he is. Dark hair, olive skin, and dark eyes. Eli has zero resemblance to the skin tone his daddy has. Sorry baby, but you inherited your momma's German influence--light hair, light eyes, and fairer skin. You've got years of sunburns ahead of you.

Hmmm. How can I get back to eating that grass that is under this blanket?

He also seems to have my build. Apparently, I started out tall and thin, and have somehow managed to stay that way (give or take) since birth. I would like to thank my Dad's genes for that. My dad (Pop-pop) can down about 3 giant bags of potato chips in one sitting, and not gain a pound. Seriously, my mom said she used to buy snacks for the week and hide them from him because he would eat them all that day. One of their big fights was when she discovered he had eaten her Milano cookies, her "special treats". She would have one a day with her coffee, savoring each bite. One day, she came home, and Dad was down to the last one. Oh the travesty.

Hey Mom, it's hot as heck. I don't care that you and Daddy were trying to enjoy some fresh air, I'm going to scream until you find me some a/c.

Unfortunately for Eli, the doctors don't seem to take heredity into account. Every time I've gone, since he was 4 months old, I have been told he doesn't weigh enough. He's "not following the usual curve", "he's not emaciated, but needs to be fatter", "he may have kidney problems", "or maybe a digestive disorder"...and so on. Literally, I think it's time to switch pediatricians. My little boy is ACTIVE. I mean, extremely. He NEVER will sit still. He will scoot and roll his way across the living room floor all day, jump like a mad man in his jumparoo, kick constantly, push-up, sit-up, stand-up...everything. He's going to crawl any day now. He's up on all fours rocking away. I told my dr. this, but she wasn't convinced. She basically told me the internal problems he could have and even if I try not to worry, of course I will when his doctor mentions them. I seriously just think he burns almost every calorie I put in him. It would be hard for me to pack on any pounds too if I "worked out" all the time like Eli does. Unfortunately, I don't do a thing but the occasional walk, so looks like those darn pounds are here to stay. :)

These are the faces I get when we try to shoot outside. Scrunched up, squinty-eyed smirks. Oh, and precious too.

Long story even longer, I have to take him back in two weeks AGAIN for ANOTHER weight-check. Since I don't want them to have to run any tests on him, Matthew and I are shoveling food in our baby's mouth. Instead of mainly milk with a teeny tiny bit of fruit or veggie, we are back to the rice cereal, and we are making big ole' bowls of it. I had been not really feeding him much since I wanted him to have mainly milk until he was 6 months old, but looks like my active little guy just "needs" more. Now we are doing bottles of milk, AND 3 bowls of rice cereal with fruit 3 times a day. He is gobbling it up, so hopefully these extra calories will pack on the pounds, and he can become fatter, and the doctor can leave me alone. :)

And here's one that makes me laugh. Trying hard to open those eyes, but just. can't. quite. do. it.