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10 months...double digits!

Today Eli turns 10 months old! Taking our monthly photos are proving to be harder & harder as he cannot sit still for anything!! Here is the progression of our photo session:

Monkey, what are you doing here??

Awww.....I do love monkey!

Wait, what's over there??

What's behind me?

My blanket! There it is I wondered where it has been!

My blankie, my friend....

I guess mom wised up & put me on the floor to see if she could get better pictures!

Maybe I'll give her one goofy smile!

Tackle monkey....1, 2, 3!!!

I'm just cute....that's all!

And this picture I took this morning....love my little man!!

Good times!

First off, Eric loves to take pictures of the flowers in our yard, along side the road, anywhere :)!! He could really make a living just taking pictures of flowers as they always turn out really beautiful. Maybe someday..... Here are some he's taken recently:

Our stairs go along side our kitchen and Eric likes to go down & look through the railing at him. This is what he sees:

Spending some time with Grandma. In a little over a month they will be spending more & more time together!

Hangin' with mommy

This weekend we went up to Des Moines to visit. Eli did okay in the car for about an hour, and then melted down. Once we got him out of the car, he was all smiles (stinker :). He then was able to sleep most of the remaining way due to Eric sitting in the back & "shushing" him. The way back was about the same. He just doesn't like to be trapped in there for too long!! Here he is FINALLY asleep with monkey as head support:



Aunt Holly & Uncle Chris have a hammock in their back yard. Eric put him on it and he really liked it. This picture is funny because he looks a little scared, but he really did like it :)

This is the life!!

I love my Aunt Holly....

....and Aunt Stephanie!

Just playing around

Fun in the sun with mommy!

Took Eli to the doc today as he had developed some red in his eye over the weekend. It was starting to get better but we wanted to check it out as it looked a little filmy. The doc said that she thought he had an infection but that it could also be due to allergies. So, we are starting to treat with an eye gel & an oral medication. I HATE giving him medication as he fights it with all his might. HE IS STRONG!!! Eli has had his share of sickness in his short life: colds, bronchiolitis, ear infection, and fever with tummy problems. I talked to the doc today about the ear, nose & throat stuff he's had being a lot more allergies as Eric & I both have allergies. She agreed & he will probably have to be tested when he is around 3 years old. Poor guy. ...can't fight genetics (as my dad would say :)!!

This week holds the usual but also some birthdays: Aunt Holly turned 27 yesterday, Grandpa Bidney turns 57 on Thursday, and Eli turns 10 months tomorrow!! Happy Birthday!

Happy Father's Day!

This Father's Day started with Eli & mommy making & bringing daddy pancakes and cards in bed. Here is what Eli wrote in his card to daddy (he's a wonderful writer, don't you think ;)

My Daddy’s Hand

Daddy, take my hand in yours,
and you will plainly see,
How very much I need you now
to love and care for me.
As my little hand grows,
I will need you even more
Everything I do in life,
I have never done before
Teach me to be kind and loving,
sharing and forgiving,
Show me through your acts of love
the pure joy of living.
The years will pass by quickly,
and one day I will be grown,
I will pass what you taught me
onto children of my own.
Hold me always in your thoughts
and remember when we are apart,
The special love between a son
and a daddy’s heart.

We then went over to Grandma & Grandpa Clarkson's for some yummy food & company. Here is cousin Sammie playing with Eli:

Three Clarkson guys:

Happy Father's Day, Daddy, you are the best daddy there ever was (mommy thinks so, too!)

And Happy Father's Day to my dad, too!

No girls allowed :)

I'll get to the title of the post in a little bit, but first, another cute picture of Eli & his cousin Mallory. What's so funny is that they are 15 months apart and don't look that much different in size!! Mallory is taller & leaner of course, but I think their heads are the same size. Too funny.

My continued attempts at feeding Eli solids have yet to be successful. Here he is trying squash and the look on his face says it all:

Our next door neighbors have a pig. I'm not sure of his name but he LOVES to eat carrots. Eli enjoyed watching him eat & even tried to stick his fingers through the fence. I didn't think this was a great idea as I wonder if the pig would nibble on his fingers, too.

Eli really loves to be outside. He will sit out on the deck with us for quite awhile and loves to sit in the grass on a blanket or go on a walk. I will be happy when this stormy weather goes away so we can do more outside. Here he is picking blades of grass:

Okay, now for the picture about the post title. As I stated last post, my friend Sue had her little boy on Thursday. She hasn't posted as of yet any pictures and I don't want to post pictures of him before she does, but I had to post this picture of the "Boys Club". Little Kalani is a welcomed addition to the boys in the little G-land group I hang out with. I have breastfeeding group at Centerpoint (where Sue & I both delivered) and was able to just pop in for a quick visit. Congrats Sue & Kevin and I'm so glad I got to meet him! Look forward to hanging out while you are on maternity leave, Sue!
Left to Right: Kalani being held by his daddy, Kevin, Eli & I, Mi Jean & her 4 month old boy, Gael:

Here's Mi Jean holding Eli while I hold Kalani:

Fun times in the bath:

Eli loves to see how things work. Here he is checking out the bubble machine and completely ignoring the bubbles :)

Funny picture of the week:

Hello mommy!

Eli helped me make the bed and LOVED playing peek-a-boo under the sheet:

Eli LOVES peek-a-boo!

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Daddy is always SO funny!!

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

This week will probably be similar to next week except we are leaving to go to Des Moines to see my family on Friday. Hopefully Eli will LOVE the 3 hour trip (wish us luck;)

Oh, and playdates are still something we want to do. Let's get them organized mommies!!

Messy boy who says mama & dada??!!

In an attempt to help Eli with his eating, I laid out a plastic mat on the floor, undressed him, and allowed him to play with his carrots. Unfortunately, nothing actually made it into his mouth, but he did make a nice mess:

I've been meaning to lay a blanket out in our back yard but with all the rain, it hasn't seemed like the greatest idea. I finally did this week and Eli seemed to enjoy our time:

Just hanging out with mommy outside:

Eli swung for the first time in our friends the Smith's swing. He seemed to enjoy himself & was also quite interested in the "big" girls swinging really high next to him:

The Jumperoo says the weight limit is 25 lbs. Well, Eli weighs almost 26 lbs. but still loves it so much. I don't have the heart to put it away yet. It's funny, though, because he can stand up in it and just lets his legs go to jump:

He has the same problem with the walker at Grandma & Grandpa Clarksons:

Eli playing with mommy with a lovely finale :)

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Eli has always talked a lot whether it be "ah ah" or "ba ba" or just screaming. Just this week, though, he seems to somewhat purposefully say "mama" & "dada". Now, he doesn't look at us & say "mama" or "dada", but he does seem to say one or the other when he is with us. He also seems to say "mama" more when he is hungry or tired. Here is video of Eli talking to his "dada":

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
This coming week doesn't hold much excitement, but that's okay! I know that for the first time in many, MANY months it won't involve job searching :) My last 2 months home full time I hope to be able to relax and do more outside & with friends (play groups anyone??). For sure we will attend breastfeeding group, Music with Mar, help Grandma Bidney get her license plate & other items, go to the grocery store, hopefully do some cleaning & laundry, & visit Great-Grandpa at the rehab center. Oh, and we will continue to work on Eli's eating twice a day starting tomorrow.

Oh yes, and by Thursday (induction scheduled for Thursday if he doesn't decide to come sooner), Eli will FINALLY welcome another boy into the Graceland friends group as Sue will deliver her little boy. We can't wait to meet him!!