11 months!!

Eli turned 11 months old today and like I say every month.....how did he get so big so fast?? Here's his 11 month picture with Mr. Monkey:

11 months (this is the best you'll get, mama ;)

This week we did a lot of socializing. Breastfeeding/play group on Monday & Friday, our first Graceland play group on Thursday, and went to lunch today with some friends from breastfeeding group. I'm so glad that Eli can socialize with babies/toddlers each week since he is our first child (thus no siblings....duh, right??). He really likes playing with the other babies & is doing much better with not trying to gauge his friends' eyes out ;) It always makes me laugh how much babies enjoy exploring each other & how much they love every other baby's toys but their own when together. Us mommies just decided that sharing all those germs (because they always end up in the mouth, ya know) is just building immunities! Eli & I really hit the jackpot with our breastfeeding group as we have made some good friends who have essentially seen Eli grow up & have been support twice a week since he was 2 weeks old! I see these women more often than I do a lot of my friends & family! Hopefully as some mommies begin to wean and others continue breastfeeding (as Eli & I will be) we can continue on some form of our playdates for some time to come.

Of course, when participating in these fun play groups, I often completely forget that I own a camera. This usually hits me either at the end of the play group or after everyone leaves. Here are some pictures I got from the Graceland get together:

Kalani taking a little snooze

Zoe aka burrito baby


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Eli & Lucy had a great time at play group. She was piling stuffed animals on him & he laughed & laughed. This video is just the tail end of the funny event. He is starting to like older women (Lucy & Eli are almost exactly 1 year apart)....don't worry Callie, you still have his heart :)

Here is what Eli's play area looks like when it is cleaned up

Here is what it looks like after Eli "the destroyer" has made his mark

Eli really likes his zebra. He can jump up & down & hold on really well but when he is done, he just decides to fall off....not the greatest exit strategy

Look at those thighs of steel!!

Eli is liking to stand more & more. Here is a picture of what I see when he is standing and using me as support


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This is video of a little game Eli & I play sometimes....good times


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We have a video monitor that we watch while Eli is napping. When he wakes up, he either cries saying he is still tired and wants to go back to sleep or is awake & explores his crib. This video is of Eli waking up from his nap this morning.

When Eli's bath is done, we watch the water drain and I say "good bye water" & wave to the drain. This is what Eli decided to do tonight as the water was going "bye-bye"


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Eli decided he wanted to try out a new laugh (one of many) a couple of days ago. Here he is providing proof of this new skill

A few updates:

1. Monday will be 2 weeks before I start my new job. My mom has come over a number of times and Eli is doing much better without my presence :) Still having issues with taking mommy's milk from a cup & napping, but those will fall into place as he gets accustomed to the new schedule.

2. Eli is still getting himself into the crawling position & then falling. But, he did make a couple of crawling moves once & then he seemed to be surprised and just collapsed on his belly. He'll get it sometime soon I'm sure :)

3. Eli is doing a great impersonation of a drunk person walking when he practices walking while we hold his hands. But this is quite an improvement from him acting like his feet were in cement!

4. Eli babbles & babbles with many sounds that resemble words but I somehow can't qualify as a "first word". He definitely says "mama" & "dada" well & says "nah" a lot when someone is talking to him followed by a lot of smiles & laughing. Not sure what "nah" means, but it means something to him!

5. Eli is a champ at turning pages while being read to.

6. Eli laughs after he sneezes.

7. Eli LOVES biter biscuits & Zwieback toast by Gerber. He sucks on them & rubs them on his teeth. But put anything else in his mouth and he gags....little stinker likes to be in control that's for sure!

8. Eli drinks water out of a sippy cup, straw cup & open cup really well. He did drink about 1 oz. of my breastmilk out of a straw cup for ME this week. Progress!

9. Eli can sit and watch almost an entire Baby Einstein DVD. If it's one of his favorites he can watch the entire 20-25 minutes. He loves them & often laughs at parts he finds funny.

10. Eli bites when he gets excited which I swiftly try to respond with a "NO, hurts mommy!" in which he either laughs or just moves on to something else. Doesn't seem to phase the boy....I'm a little scared if this is his response!!

11. Eli pushes the garage door button to close it when we go inside the house.

12. We are feverishly planning Eli's birthday party :) We are doing a monkey theme and have found several cute ideas for decor, food, etc. We got the invitations from Kylie in the mail and they are so adorable!! We'll get them in the mail soon!

Thanks for checking in!

P.S. Sorry about the strange text size & italics near the end of this post. I have been trying to fix it for about 45 minutes with no luck. Dumb computer stuff REALLY makes my blood boil!!