Mommy Post

Okay, so I've posted the last few times about Eli and I figure it's time for a post on me :) And it's even more appropriate because today is my birthday... 27 whole years old-yikes! My husband asked me how it felt to be 27- I said "fat and unattractive". Now, this may be a little bit of an over-exaggeration! But we do all have days like that, right? I told my sister that I'm heading back to weight watchers this week, so this is truly my last 'free' day. I have been thinking of getting back on track for quite a while, I've even had a few attempts/false starts. My day usually progresses like this:

Morning=motivated and eating a healthy breakfast
Afternoon= "well, this isn't that healthy but I had a healthy breakfast so it's okay"
Dinner = totally motivated....for starting tomorrow and will therefore finish tonight off with a blizzard from DQ!

But with an upcoming wedding where we'll see friends from college I'm really feeling the pressure (all self-applied) to start treating my body better! In the past few weeks there have been a number of occasions coming up that have prompted me to want to wait to really get back on the wagon - going on vacation for two weeks in MN, my birthday, going to Omaha, going to Disney World, Thanksgiving, Christmas.... and then- time to have another baby? But then I realize- OH CRAP- if I weigh 250# before I get pregnant for a second time I'll have to invest an ungodly amount of money in new maternity clothes! What a kick in the pants :) And so, it is with some trepidation I start up again tomorrow- mostly because I loathe giving up things I want to eat. Any other moms out there reward themselves during naptimes with a snack on the couch? But, I know it needs to be done, and I really do want to set a good example for Eli. So, wish me luck! My goal is to lose 15# by February- seems doable, eh?

Reasons we love our Minky....

Eli has adopted a "minky" as his security blanket (thanks Uncle Timmy for the letting us use your childhood word!). His minky is wonderful in many ways to both his mommy and him and he wanted to share them with you!

*A minky is always available and easy for mommy to wash because there are actually about 25 minkies as they are simply a cloth diaper. So replaceable! Any mommy knows that the key to a good security item is that you can replace it in a pinch.

*A minky is multifunctional in terms of bodily fluids and has a number of purposes: vomit wiper, drool catcher, tear dabber, etc.

*A minky can be used for entertainment when certain mommies forget to bring any baby toys. Peek-a-boo is a popular game with minky but tug-of-war is also fun.

*A minky can be the envy of all your friends. Eva, in particular, loves to grab Eli's minky and chew on it just like he does! Weird, since she doesn't really chew on any other blankets. She must be learning by watching him!

*And finally, the best use for a minky is to stuff as much of it as you can in your mouth as you fall asleep for naps and bedtime. Eli can tell you, it's the only way to put yourself to sleep! Mommy hasn't tried it yet though!

Here is a little video of Eli playing with his minky!

Hotel Sleeping

Or rather, hotel NOT sleeping! We just spent two fun-filled days in Chicago visiting my youngest brother and meeting his new girl and we had a great time. We went out to eat and went to IKEA and went swimming in the hotel pool and on and on and on. I was exhausted at the end of each of the two nights we spent there. Being on the go with Eli is so much fun but it's a little work as well! However, being on the go with me must not be quite as much work for Eli, as he decided against sleeping for most of the second night in the hotel....

......well, that might be a slight exaggeration! But after getting solid, uninterrupted sleep with your baby going back to the getting up every 2-3 hours is brutal. And so, looking ahead to our trip to NE to visit friends and then to Disney world I'm beginning to get a little (understandably) worried. What if he decides then that sleep is overrated and is up at all hours of the night? How will I function? And so, as I lay awake last night listening to him trying to settle himself, unsuccessfully, I devised my plan for the week....

We are now entering sleep training: Phase II. Sounds impressive, right? Well, hopefully Eli will be impressed as well! Over the next couple weeks my goal will be to gradually move is night-time feeding (which used to be between 4-6am but last night was 12:30, 3:30, 5:30...) until it is at 8 or 9am. That is when he usually sleeps till and I know in my head that he really doesn't need to eat in the middle of the night, although convincing him of this may be more difficult. I'll let you know how the training goes! Pray for us!

Eli's video debut

Here is it! My first video posting of Eli! I can tell that this is going to be addicting, mostly because it is so darn easy. Plus, being able to look back not only at the words I wrote but of cute little snippets of video? I mean, c'mon, what could be better! So here is what Eli has been doing lately...

~He figured out how to roll from back to front and then back again! What a huge milestone! He refrains from doing it in the presence of his mother, but I'll take what I can get.

~Using his newly acquired skill he slept on his belly last night which is how he has always loved to sleep. Here's hoping this makes him sleep even better and by better I mean LONGER!

~He is eating everything in sight. This morning he almost finished 6oz of applesauce! For those of you how can't put that in perspective it's probably like you putting down a pound and a half of food at a sitting! So now I might have to delve into the world of homemade baby food to save a little money, the little monster is already through his weekly supply.

~He continues to love his exersaucer and is getting pretty tall in it- guess it's time to pull out the directions and figure out how to make it higher. Hmmm, I know I put them some place safe....

That's all from Eli's world right now. Later in the week we will hopefully be traveling up to Chicago to visit with Uncle Tim. Our Eva has been under the weather but I'm hoping she is feeling better now that she is on some medicine!

Video trial...

So this is a test video of Dylan on the couch watching the Olympics tonight. My cousin Roz, of benandlucien.blogspot.com, told me how to do it and I just had to try it tonight even though the main star of our show is sleeping. If this works I will battle with the urge to wake Eli up and make him do something cute for the camera.....but I will hold back because that would be ridiculous! However, I may post 5-10 times tomorrow depending on how adorable Eli is being. Well, here goes nothing!

PS- Disregard the lighting and non-entertaining conversation. Remember, this was a test, and I assured Dylan I would erase it. But I lied a little :)

You can tell you have pms when....

.... the beer commercial makes you tear up because the horse doesn't get picked in the beginning to pull the wagon. And then you tear up at the end when, after hard-core training with the dalmatian, the horse gets to be on the team...

Expectations

I was reading an article in Parenting magazine last night (always a great way to make yourself feel incompetent as a parent) and I ran across an article about mother's dirty little secrets. One of the 'secrets' was that your child might not turn out the way you want him to. The example was a mom who was very athletic and slender as well as good in school (basically the perfect child) and her daughter was none of the above, she was chubby and hated school and sports. My first thought was how could the poor child have ever lived up to those expectations- I mean, the mother was obviously perfect, right? But then I turned to Dylan and asked him what our expectations of Eli were. I thought maybe we would have a deep conversation about all of our hopes and dreams for him.....

Guess what we came up with.....

The one and only hope we have for Eli is that he likes all types of FOOD! How hilarious! I got the giggles and realized that our lives truly do revolve around eating :) And on that note, Eli had turkey and vegetables tonight and thought they were fabulous. We are well on our way to raising a little foodie!