Flashback Friday

In the spirit of blogging more while not stressing myself out I've decided to follow in Roz's (http://benandlucien.blogspot.com/) footsteps and do Flashback Fridays and Wordless Wednesdays. Fridays will be easy, I can just pull pictures off my computer and pop em' up! So here is what Eli was doing one year ago yesterday....

What a doll baby! And look how tiny! This was back when he was just starting to be a little more lively- although this isn't really evident in the pictures! Dylan and I used to wish he would open his eyes more and make more of his cute sounds! Now, there is rarely a time when some noise isn't coming out of his mouth (accompanied by copious amounts of drool) and his eyes are open more then enough for me!

New Movie Idea

Cammie and I are visiting Galesburg and it is GLORIOUS! I told my mom tonight that we love coming here because it is so relaxing and we have so much fun sharing all the cute things our babies do with them. We can also share all of our crazy mom thoughts and get a good laugh :) Earlier this evening we came up with a new movie idea- kind of a mom-take on a classic.

We were sitting and visiting before the kids went to bed and, as usual, I begin sniffing something in the air. My mom had made cookies earlier but that was not the odor I was detecting. Eli as sitting next to me and I was instantly suspicious of him and his ornery behind. I checked it out up close but the 'nose pressed into diaper' test was negative. My mom looked over and asked if he was dirty. I said, "No, sometimes I just smell poop." So we decided that instead of the classic line, "I see dead people", the line from our movie would be "I smell poop." After this we all proceeded to catch the giggles....

......soooo, ever have a story that was really funny when it happened and then you tried to tell it to someone who wasn't there and it wasn't as funny? Yeah, me neither..... :)

A Note for Jen

I have a good friend, and cousin actually, named Jen. Jen is ready for a baby. We are ready for a baby for Jen. My note for Jen is to tell her that we have been thinking of her all day and will think of her until we here the good word that she's done.....

.....that she has my permission to kick anyone who says "No one stays pregnant forever" and "This too shall pass" and "It will all be worth it" and "You look like you're about to pop". She may kick them directly in the shins and smile while doing it.

.... that we are praying for her to go into labor spontaneously or to have her water break and then go into labor.....

..... and that after our first prayer is answered we are praying for a quick and relatively comfortable delivery....

.....and that after this prayer is answered we are requesting some pictures of an adorable, much-awaited baby girl be sent our way from the proud Grandma Susie.

We (Jackie, Dan, Cammie, Annie, Eva, Eli) love you Jen! We can't wait to meet little miss Bloomquist!

T

Here He Scoots!

As promised, a video of Eli scooting down the hall to find either Dada or the kitty. Isn't he just too funny?

Four shots later

Can you believe that? Four shots? They wanted it to be five, but I had to draw the line. He's so little still, and his legs are skinny- I don't think they could have taken five pokes. Or maybe I couldn't have taken five pokes to my sweet little man. Either way, we held it down to four.

He did great at his one year appointment. He's doing well developmentally. Even though he doesn't crawl (he still just scoots around on his bottom) the pediatrician didn't seem concerned. We also asked about his picky eating, which started around nine months. She offered a few tips. Unfortunately, Eli was there to hear them and they haven't been super effective as he must have already caught on! :)

His one year stats are as follows: Height: 30.5 inches

Weight: 20# 15oz

I want to note some of my favorite things about Eli right now, so a year from now I can look back and remember who he was. Like I mentioned, he scoots everywhere on his bottom (I must post a video, it's pretty funny to watch), and he especially likes to scoot after the kitties. That was, incidentally, his first 'word'. He can say kitty and he knows what it means. He also says dada, nigh-nigh, and moo. He can say mama but he still doesn't know it's me! I can just as easily be dada or kitty. He loved getting into our cabinets right up until we put locks on (he was pulling out some of our sharper instruments). Note the christmas jammies and withold judgement- you go with what's warm and fits!

He loves to stand and cruise around furniture and walls. He also likes standing up in front of the dryer and 'helping' me by taking out all the clothes, which is truly helpful when they are dry, not as helpful when they are wet. He brushes his teeth everyday, usually twice. He'll sit at my feet while I try to brush and whine until I had him my rinsed tooth brush to chew on and then we brush with his own little one in the bath. He can also comb his hair- it usually looks fabulous when he's done! He has eight teeth that continue to make him look mischevious when he smiles. But, all those teeth and not much of an eater! If you refer to an earlier blog of mine this was one of Dylan and I's goals for him.....I guess kids have mind's of their own?! He does, however, love the new giant rice krispies- and eats them with gusto (see picture)!

And finally, his most favorite thing of all, besides his minky, is playing with our Eva! They sit and play, scoot/crawl and play, cruise and play, eat and play... pretty much any activity can be done together. When they've been apart and then see each other again they giggle and literally vibrate with excitement! I think Cammie would agree that it is the most fun to watch them interact and play together. Plus, Eva shows Eli fun things like how to work all the noises in her dollhouse and how to pull our cable cord out from the wall. Isn't that what cousins are all about? Our first year with Eli wouldn't have been the same without our beautiful girl!

Dylan and I have loved every minute of our first year with Eli. Typing it is weird, I still can't believe he's a year old! Fastest year of my life! We are looking forward to walking, talking, even sassing! He is so much fun and even after of year of constant companionship he's still one of my favorite people to hang out with!

Eli's First Haircut

I debated for weeks.... Is it too soon? Am I going to cry? Will he look really different, and all grown-up? But it got to the point that he was looking like a little rag-a-muffin on a daily basis, regardless of combing, using gel, spraying, using spit, etc.

So I made the call....and scheduled his very first haircut!

Luckily for me I have an awesome hair stylist that I love and I knew that she would be just as excited to be cutting it as I was to be photographing it. And she was. Dylan got to tag along and be the 'lap' so that I could focus on getting some snapshots. Eli was an absolute doll- he didn't mind at all!

Here are my boys getting all ready for the scissors. Notice the dorky center part in Eli's hair- not sure why it looked like that but it only reinforced my decision to trim it!

Here he is after getting it all wet down. He was checking himself out in the big mirror.

The introduction of the dum-dum sucker was a huge hit and made the haircut much easier if not a little sticky :)

Almost done....

....and finally, enjoying lunch with his best bud Eva in a smashing new hair-do!

Up and Coming

To hold myself accountable I am going to give my up and coming blog titles- hopefully that will motivate me to get back to it! My next two posts will be:

-Eli gets his first haircut

-One year updates

After these I am anticipating a birthday post with pictures from the babies' birthday party this Saturday.... Wish me luck on getting some things done on here!