Thanksgiving

Last week we traveled to Estes Park to have Thanksgiving with my grandparents and family in Colorado. Eli did great in the car, sleeping most of the time, but he started to not enjoy his car seat as much on the way home. :) We had lots of fun hanging out with the family; playing cards, walking around downtown, putting up the Christmas tree for (great) Grandma and Grandpa. Everyone took turns holding Eli, but Grandpa Jim thought Gram was a little greedy in her holding time, so he claimed the right to carry Eli in the sling while we walked downtown. Eli loves his sling and slept the whole time!

I am so thankful for family that loves me, but I am even more thankful for them loving Eli!

Gram with Eli

Playing cards

Gram with Eli again!

Hence the 'greedy' accusation...

Aunt Christine with Eli

Sleeping on Uncle Luke

Luke must be more snuggly than he looks!

Putting up the Christmas tree

Gram taking pictures of Eli

Christine and Great-Grandma

And some pictures from home!

Happy baby!

This is his sneezing face!

P.S. Eli is 6 weeks old today!

Cousins!

Saturday we went to see Uncle Jake in the Nutcracker and celebrate Aunt Beth's birthday with the family... and Eli met cousin Scout for the first time! Scout wasn't sure about this little person, but he was very curious to see what it did. Eli was excited on the inside.

Scout and Eli are less than a year apart, so they will have lots of fun together as they get older!

Short post, but we'll end with some random happy baby pictures from this morning! (He likes to look at the window, can you tell?)

One Month Old

My baby is a month old! I can't believe it's already been that long! He is getting almost too big for his newborn clothes (most still fit, just are getting a little tight), has moved up to size 1 diapers, and is too long for baths in the sink (we've moved on the the baby bath tub in the regular tub!).  He has gone on several car rides, and seems to like his car seat for the most part. He met lots of family on the 3rd for family birthdays and Thanksgiving; Great-Grandma Robinson thought he was pretty cool and didn't want to share him with anyone else.

Great-Grandma meets Eli

Gram with Eli

Great-Aunt Jan with Eli

He has gotten into a schedule during the day where he eats, is awake for another hour or so, sleeps for 1-2 hours, then wakes up to eat again. At night he wakes up every 3-4 hours to eat, then goes right back to sleep (most of the time!).

Eli likes his bouncy seat and swing a lot, but also hangs out in the boppy pillow on the couch with us. We try not to spoil him and hold him ALL the time, but really, when you have a baby this cute, how can you help it? He also like to listen to music when he is hanging out; Josh has gotten him in to bluegrass, but he also likes classics like Louis Armstrong, Etta James, and Frank Sinatra along with some newer people like Michael Buble, Adel, and John Mayer. If we sing or do any motions along with the songs, he thinks it is fascinating. Or just scary. It's hard to tell.

Story time is also a hit most of the time; right now we are reading Winnie-the-Pooh.

This is my 'reading' face. 

And this is what happens after story time...

Nap time!

And, because he is 1 month old.... we have Monkey Adventure pictures! Eli is sharing his book with Mr. Monkey very nicely (for now).

First, lets see if he's gotten any bigger in the last two weeks!

Today we are reading "Are You a Cow?"
"I love mysteries!"

"Hey, give me a little room here.
Don't crowd the storyteller."

"I'm not a cow... or a duck... or a dog..."

"What am I?'

"This is how they lure you into the stories.
It's called 'plot'."

"Hey! Don't call names!"

"I am NOT a monkey! Take it back!"

"We can't be friends anymore."

Will they make up? Will Eli forgive Mr. Monkey for calling him a monkey? Maybe I can explain Mr. Monkey meant it as a complement... we'll find out next month when Monkey Adventures continues!

2 Weeks!

Eli turned 2 weeks old last Thursday (11/1/12)! We went to the doctor to get weighed and checked; he is now 7 pounds 13.5 ounces and 20 1/4 inches long, so he is one pound and almost 2 inches over his birth length and weight! Normally, babies can loose up to 10% of their birth weight in the first week of life, but are expected to be back up to their birth weight by two weeks old, and Eli is a pound more than his birth weight. The doctor was very impressed with Eli's growth!

A few pictures from this last week!

Hanging out with Dad

Worn out baby :)

These are some pictures with his sock monkey; my plan is to take pictures with the monkey every month to show how much he grows! He's already bigger than when he was born (look at that little belly!), but I'll try to stay on track as much as possible in the coming months.

"Is that a monkey?!"

"Hello monkey!"

"So, what'd ya think of that bath this morning?"

"Ha, ha! You crack me up!"

"Oh, hey, Mom. We were just... talking."

"Sooo... anyways..."

"Oh, you're still here?"

"Would you look at that window?
So awesome, I know."

"Well, it's about my nap time, so we'll have
to talk about this window thing later."