Home again, home again....

Eli and I just got back from a wonderful visit with Grandma and Grandpa Piper. We also got to stop twice and visit with the great-grandparents which was so fun! We are gearing up for a busy traveling holiday season! Luckily, Eli is doing just fabulously on his sleeping away from home. While we were with Grandma Jackie we traveled overnight to Iowa to visit with our friends Mason, Diane and Micah. We had a great little trip in a trip! We shopped and ate at restaurants then Eli and I got to spend the night at Mason's house. Eli was a star! He slept nearly all night (except for a dirty diaper at 11:00) and even went down for a nap the next morning. Can I say that I'm in love with Dr. Ferber again? Best book I ever bought!
In just two short days we will be off again to visit Grandma and Grandpa Welch in Wisconsin for Thanksgiving. While sleeping is getting better the car rides are a little tougher. Seems like both the babies (Eli and Eva) are getting a shortened tolerance for the car. Not good! But we'll make it eventually. We're going to try driving overnight coming home- we'll get Eli all bathed and bottled then pop him in the car and pray for a sleepy ride home. I'll let you know how it goes! After that I'm sure we'll head to Galesburg one more time before Christmas and we're also going back to WI for another family Christmas- whew!
As I write my post I am listening to an awesome Pandora radio station that I created with nothing but Christmas music! Check out Pandora.com if you've never heard of it, I love setting it and listening to music all day. Cammie is coming over today for present wrapping and I think after the Bears play we'll watch Polar Express and really get in the Christmas mood! Happy Thanksgiving week to everyone!

A smooth transition...

Dylan and I played with Eli for a long time last night in his room. We practiced his butt to belly transition and he did it 5 times! Isn't it funny how proud and excited you can be for a little boy who is figuring things out? And if this is how I feel when he does something inadvertently (by reaching as far as he can in front of him and bouncing on his butt a little) then how much more proud and excited am I going to feel when he is a big boy and trying to do things.... and then succeeding? I'm worried I may just be crying tears of happiness all the time because he's accomplishing things! Tying your shoe, hopping on one foot, putting on a sock? I may just be one big ball of tears and snot (happy tears and snot) until he graduates from college! I guess I really just hope I can still get that excited about my baby boy as he gets bigger and no doubt sassier. I want to always feel like whatever he is doing is the most important thing in my day because I think our babies and big kids need to feel that from their moms. What? I'm a mom? Oh yeah, there's that realization again :) And finally- video proof that my baby is getting a little more mobile....

(Please excuse the sideways view! Now I know not to hold the camera like that!)

Waiting for Carpet

Tomorrow we get our new carpet (hooray!) but in anticipation I moved much of our furniture/belongings into the garage and kitchen. Here are a few pictures of Eli and the kitties enjoying the empty rooms!

Bathtime Song

I'm feeling too lazy to write much, so I thought I'd post a cute video of Eli singing in the tub...

My First Cookie

Here is a little lesson from Eli on enjoying your first chocolate chip cookie with picture tutorials...

#1) It is a must to use two hands when placing the cookie in you mouth. Also known as 'double-fisting' it is a clever technique that is helpful when you are trying to get as much food in your mouth at one time as possible.

#2) While eating, smear as much chocolate on your mouth as you can. This helps release the essence of the chips so you not only enjoy the taste but also the delicious aroma of chocolate for a well-rounded cookie eating experience.

#3) Smiling, cooing, babbling and flapping of arms are all acceptable while eating your cookie. This lets the baker (daddy) know that you think they are fabulous and may actually lead to you getting to eat more cookie. Play your parents as much as possible before they start catching on to your devious ways.




#4) Pausing for a milk break is an important part of cookie eating. An experienced diner will hold pieces of cookie in his mouth and then drink the milk, essentially 'dipping' his cookie in milk even though his mom won't take the lid off his cup so he can do it the fun (messy) way.



#5) And finally, place cookie on your shoulder and in your hair and ear to save for later. If you're lucky, mom won't notice the chunk you hid just under your bib (she noticed) as well as the whole chocolate chip that you melted with your fingers before smearing it into your ear (she noticed but decided to tackle it in the bath later).




Eli thinks that this is the BEST way to eat a cookie and everyone should try it like this at least once!

Cute Stuff

Our little goofball.....doesn't he just look so innocent?

Eli is getting cuter and cuter by the minute- is that possible? Dylan and I are constantly laughing at his goofy shenigans so I thought I would record some of the funnier things on our blog.

-- He has started sniffing his food. At first I thought he was just missing his mouth and aiming too high, but then today at lunch I saw his little nostrils flare in and out and I swear he was sniffing a kix! Probably not much smell but when I laughed he smiled back like he knew he was funny!

-- And I think he is figuring out that he can make people laugh and smile. He's been doing this goofy head bob/shake while he eats and if you laugh or do it back he keeps on going! I love his look when he sees you watching him and grins at you- it's priceless!

-- He is obsessed with a lamp in our living room. This is kind of a weird one- but anytime you walk by it he lunges at it and tries to grab it. He likes to scrape his fingernails on the shade/chew on the shade/ stare directly into the light. Luckily he remains immobile and can't seek it out on his own or I'm sure we'd have to put it somewhere besides the living room!

-- He also has a deep love of ceiling fans. As soon as you get him up from naps or for the morning he leans back to stare at his fan in his room and it always makes him smile. Moving or not matters little, the knowledge that it does spin is enough to make his day :)

-- He is emphatically done with his cup after a drink! He usually wings it on the ground and then quickly looks over the edge to see where it is. Today he did this and as I was saying something like "No Eli, we don't throw our cups" he looked up at me and smiled this mischievous little smile. We may have a trouble maker on our hands here but we are loving it and laughing every minute!

Stop the SCREAMING!

So, needless to say you may have guessed from the title that E and I had a rough night last night... There are a couple things that played into this, I think. Although to be honest I usually have no idea what is going on in Eli's head and am frequently asking him to "use his words". But I digress. What I think was going on last night was raging hunger and the excessive use of the new scream he is developing just for his parents' pleasure. Let's explore the hunger...
I recently started to notice a definite decline in my milk supply. Not only did E seem less satisfied and crankier when I was trying to feed him but the other day I caught a glimpse of my naked chest before I got in the shower and I'm pretty sure I'm down to an 'A' cup. And it's not a cute, perky 'A' cup (don't worry, I won't post pictures). So, while visiting my parents in Galesburg we tried a number of different things. First I tried pushing fluids and eating oatmeal to up the milk supply. This was marginally successful. But feedings with E continued to be a trial for both of us, him angry and crying when the milk just wasn't there and me frustrated (and sometimes tearful) that I couldn't just feed him like I used to be able to. So I came to a place where I felt ready to let go of breastfeeding (becoming tearful again just thinking about it) and decided we would probably both be happier in the long run if he got a bottle of formula a couple times a day. Here's the kicker- the kid was now refusing both the bottle and formula! I realize I'm bigger then he is and should be able to overcome his refusals but you try and force a bottle into clenched lips attached to a twisting head. It isn't easy! So since we got home we've been doing regular vitamin D milk (pediatric gods strike me down) and I also try (with my meager supply) to breastfeed him at bedtime and in the morning. Which brings us to the next problem- I work once a week at night and I usually take my boobs with me. I've been stressing all week looking forward to Friday when my husband and I both work and my poor poor sister, who did nothing to deserve this, will spend the night with my screaming child. So to prepare for this I've been trying to just let E drink out of his cup before bed. At 2am this morning I decided that this wasn't working. Or maybe E was 'using his words' ie screaming uncontrollably and that's what tipped me off. So I broke down and made him a bottle spiked with juice. Did I mention this kid is a juice junkie? Finally, FINALLY he drank about 3-4oz and laid back down. So I do have hope for you, Cammie, on Friday night that you won't be calling me at 3am and asking how I feel about putting E in the garage for the night! So this brings us to the screaming...
There is just nothing I can say to even describe the anger Eli puts behind these screams. I really contemplated getting my camera out last night and taping the unearthly sounds coming from my baby but in the end was too tired/distraught. I'm hoping it is just a phase and he realizes that A) his throat gets really sore when he does it and B) mommy doesn't respond to it well. If not, I'll definitely work on getting it taped so you can all suffer along with me in a small way.
When I finally got back to bed last night- and thank god Will and Grace was on for me to watch during the whole hungry screaming debacle- Dylan asked me what was going on with E. I told him I thought the baby was probably crazy. I also decided that while everyone tells me, my mom included, that 'if a baby is hungry enough he will eat what is offered', I think it should be changed to 'if a baby is hungry enough he will scream for hours until you offer him what he wants to eat'. What do you guys think?