Take your baby to work day...

I am very fortunate to work for a company that is very understanding of my situation as a working mom.  On days like today when Melissa is on vacation but my office is open, I am always welcome to bring Eli with me.  I have him set up today (thanks to my coworker, Carl) with his own laptop playing Baby Einstein.  Every few hours he eats and takes a good nap in his stroller, that's when I can really get some work done!

I set him up this morning in our CEO's office

Here is our view, watching Baby Einstein

and Mommy's computer

And now he sleeps...

Belly Sleeper

Well, just when we thought we had the whole sleeping routine down, someone decided to mix it up and start flipping over if we didn't come running as soon as he started crying if he had trouble settling down.  This led to hours of Eli getting restless in his sleep, rolling over (despite the sleep positioner that he would just roll over), waking himself up, crying, then one of us running in to flip him back over (since he hasn't learned how to do that yet).  We spent a few nights doing this routine then thought that maybe that is just how he wants to sleep. 

Payton and I were both worried at first when he would just lay face down because he didn't quite understand how to turn his head left or right.  Our sleep was ruined by hours of checking the monitor every few minutes to see if he was still breathing or anytime that we heard even the slightest noise.  I have to admit we were pretty miserable with worry and lack of sleep.  Over the past few days, he has learned how to turn his head and is now sleeping on his stomache all night.  We don't fight him to keep him on his back anymore and he seems pretty comfortable with that.

Payton sent me this picture the other night when

I was went to dinner with some friends.  Little Bug

fast sleep with his butt up in the air!

I spoke to his pediatrician's office the other day and she said that we shouldn't worry ourselves or fight him to keep him on his back.  If he can roll over (and now move his head side to side when on his stomach) he is developmentally mature enough to keep sleeping on his belly and be fine.  She did however recommend that we remove the bumpers (which we did a few weeks ago already, sniff sniff).  For the past 4 nights, he has gone to sleep before 8:00pm and slept on his stomach all night, only waking up once looking for his pacifier (he settles back to sleep as soon as you put it in his mouth).  Melissa also said that he won't sleep in the swing at her house any more and prefers to nap in the crib on his belly, which is a huge move for him.

First Christmas

Eli celebrated his first Christmas in Plano with lots of festivities!

FIRST GIFTS

Eli really got into opening gifts.  If I positioned his hand just right, he would grab onto the paper and rip the gift open.  I think he really liked the colors on the paper, the sound of the paper ripping, and the silly response (all of the oohs and aahs from the adults) he got.

SANTA

We visited Santa at a mall in Plano, The Shops at Willow Bend.  We got there a little after they opened at 10:00 and there was already a looooong line.  We ended up waiting and hour and a half with lots of other kids to see Santa.  We were a little disappointed in the quality of the Santa (he was a little greasy) and his attitude (we were working to get Eli situated in his lap and Santa said "If you guys would move out of the way we might have a chance at getting a good picture") but hey, at least we got a good picture (which I seem to have misplaced, gasp!)!

Waiting in line to see Santa!

FIRST TRIP TO TYLER

On Christmas Eve Eve we headed to Tyler to visit Eli's great-grandparents, Granny and Papa, and see his cousins and great Aunt Angela and great Uncle Chris.  We had a great time and Eli definitely didn't lack for attention.  Everyone loved seeing him and couldn't believe how much he had grown.  He is such a good traveler and slept the entire drive there and back. 

Papa carving the turkey

Time to eat!  Thanks P for the cheesy face!

Eli and his Great Aunt Angela

He's reaching for everything these days!

FIRST VEGGIES
Eli turned 5 months old on Christmas Eve and since he had done so great with the rice cereal over the past few weeks, we decided to try some green beans on Christmas day.  He took the first few bites (in the video below) then I think it actually hit him that it was something different from the rice cereal and he started gagging after every bite.  He only ate a small portion of the container, but the next night and every night after, he has eaten the entire container.  He is now eating a fruit and rice cereal for breakfast (his first fruit was bananas and he LOVED them) and a vegetable and rice cereal for dinner.  He LOVES eating and after every bite, he opens his mouth wide for the next one.  When we are finished, I have to do the sign for "all done" so that he will know "we're finished".

He is now doing a "solid" breakfast (fruit and rice cereal), a bottle at 11 and a bottle at 2, then a "solid" dinner (vegetable and rice cereal), and a bedtime bottle.  He's got a great schedule going!

New Tooth

Eli has his first tooth!  We first noticed it the Monday before Christmas.  I just happened to stick my finger in his mouth after his bath because he is always looking for something to chew on.  I felt it almost immediately, definitely different from the soft gums, it was a hard jagged little tooth.  Over the past few days he has been a little cranky and very drooly, but overall, teething is not as terrible as I had imagined, and that precious little tooth makes it all worth it!  Here he is the day we found the tooth...

Giggle box

Our hobbies these days include changing diapers, feeding Eli, entertaining Eli, and most enjoyably, trying to get Eli to laugh.  Here is one of our successful attempts caught on camera, he sure does love his daddy!

Kung Fu Baby

Payton did the branding for a local "establishment" here in Austin called Kung Fu Saloon.  Eli loves sporting the hat...

4 months old

Weekend in Carmine

We headed to the town of Carmine, TX, this weekend to visit Meme and Papa and see Aunt Lesley, Uncle Marc and the cousins (Taylor, Noah, Jesse, and Emily).  We had a great time visiting with everyone and going to the Lane of Lights in Ledbetter.  We also attended the Carmine Christmas Festival at the Carmine Dance Hall.

We always have such a great time in Carmine, it is so relaxing and peaceful out there.  The weather was true Texas weather...75 on Saturday and 52 on Sunday, but it was sunny and absolutely beautiful both days.

The dogs always have a blast because they get to run free and do whatever they want all weekend.  Maddie had a run-in with Meme's new cat, Spooks.  Maddie is usually a feisty little you-know-what, but Meme's cat put her in her place with a few swats to the face.  I don't think that they will be friends any time soon.

Here are a few pictures from the weekend...

Eli sleeping on the couch...

Playing with Daddy's face...

Relaxing on the front porch...

Sleeping on the couch, again...

Hanging out with Papa before heading back home to Austin.

More adventures in rice cereal...

I was attempting to feed Eli rice cereal again tonight and as I was sitting there, fighting to get the spoon in his mouth only to have him spit out whatever actually made it in, I was thinking about emailing some friends with kids to ask them what the trick was for getting infants to take rice cereal. 

Then all of a sudden, I put the spoon up to Eli's mouth and he magically opened it, let me put the spoon in his mouth, and didn't immediately spit out the contents.  We actually made it through the whole bowl of cereal (it was really small).  Don't get me wrong, most of it ended up on the bib, but I think a little made it down the chute...we'll try again tomorrow, but here is a video of his reaction.  And the only reason that I am laughing like an idiot is because it usually gets a good laugh out of Eli.

All done!

Finally sleeping

Baby boy has slept from 7:30pm to 7:00am the past 3 nights in a row...I hope I'm not jinxing us by being so excited...but it really is awesome!  It just happened one night, I almost had a heart attack because I thought we had accidentally turned the monitor off and had missed him crying.  I clawed over Payton in bed and looked at the monitor and there was my precious boy, fast asleep, looking like an angel (by the way, the video monitor is the best thing EVER - thanks Papa, Granny, and Aunt Angela!).  Here is my big boy this morning, all rested, ready to go to Melissa's house and play with his friends:

LOVE his new hat!