9 month check up, new pillow, shoes, toys & swim trunks!

Eli had his 9 month well check on Friday and here are his stats:

Height: 29 in. (75%)
Weight: 25 lbs. 3 oz. (90-95%)
Head: 19 in. (OFF THE CHARTS-NO JOKE!!)

All checked out well and he is the picture of perfect health!! On the handout we get it talks about the skills he should have or on the verge of having. Here is what Eli can do:

1) spontaneous smile (and laugh!!)
2) turns towards voice
3) imitates speech sounds
4) works for toy
5) responds to name
6) indicates want
7) interactive games
8) drinks from cup (straw cup)
9) pincer grasp
10) bangs two blocks
11) looks for object (LOVES peek-a-boo)
12) passes object
13) stands holding on
14) sits without support
15) probes with fingers
16) puts blocks in cup/bucket

What he hasn't mastered yet is: feeds self (STILL not loving food), says mama/dada specific (only in a string of babbling), waves bye-bye, 1-2 words, stranger anxiety (not sure if he'll have this one, he loves to be around people and is a flirt!!! He also pretends he is shy and laughs and turns away or dives his face into whoever is holding him), gets to sitting position (ALMOST), crawling (not yet!!) & pulls to stand.

Eli is STILL not loving food. This continues to be no surprise to me as he has hated every attempt to give him anything besides breastfeeding (bottle, food, & only sometimes likes straw cup). I have tried a variety of foods, variety of methods, and still he only will take a minimal amount. This is only accomplished by using my finger and an occasional spoon attempt. I'm not worried about his nutrition, and neither is his doctor, it's the developmental skill of eating that he needs to work on. He takes a liquid vitamin with iron every other day to help with any issues with iron deficiency. The doc just said to continue to try daily with a variety of foods and textures, then after 2 weeks try 2x daily, working up to 3x daily with 2 snacks. She also said to give him larger finger foods so he can play with it and hopefully gum it. I've researched this online and found that he is not the only baby who doesn't like food. I've read of some 12-16 month olds still not liking solids. I would hope he wouldn't hold out that long. The hard thing is there is a fine line between force feeding and just following his lead. I'll just continue to offer & make multiple attempts with a variety of food and he'll eat when he is ready!!

Here is a video of Eli actually eating sweet potatoes on Saturday. But today, nothing. He even gagged and threw up! It's very inconsistent:



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This week Eli got a variety of new items. One is this soft bolster pillow that I saw at BBB & just had to get to see if it would help at all with his crawling efforts. Here he is trying it out:

Here I am trying to encourage his crawling.....he's trying but nothing yet!

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Eli also got a pair of fun new summer shoes. When I first put them on his feet he started hitting them together like this:

Here he is telling mommy he approves of his new shoes:

Mommy also decided to buy Eli a few new toys that were more "big boy". One is a pail & shovel set with a variety of fun items. Here he is wearing the pail. I'm sure when he is older he will wonder why mommy always puts things on his head ;) You can also see the shape sorter bucket.

The most fun toy is this xylophone/keyboard. Eli LOVES to hit and bang on things so he loved this right away in the store and had to have it!!

And to help bring in summer, Eli got his first pair of swim trunks and matching hat. He's pale like mommy so he'll have to wear A LOT of sunscreen to avoid being burned.

On Friday we invited over some friends from breastfeeding group to play at our house. Cheryl & Callie & Ursula & Jodi came over. It was a lot of fun! Callie is such a good little walker (with mommy's help) and Eli is jealous of her ability. Here are a couple cute of pics of the two love birds ;)

Eli enjoying some time in his diaper today:

Eli playing a fun game with mommy:

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Haven't heard whether or not I got the job I mentioned last post. I left a voice mail late Friday afternoon asking to call about their decision. If this one doesn't work out, I'm going to have to REALLY start to figure out our options. Unfortunately we forgot to plant a money tree in the back yard ;) so if anyone knows of a decent paying part-time job, let me know!

9 months!

This week was a little crazy but the weekend ended well with family being in town-although for a not so fun reason-but being able to enjoy time together. To make a long story short, my grandfather was in a car accident on 5/14 and no one found out until 5/21. He is okay and just has bruises & is in rehab to work on walking due to the accident, but the biggest thing is that his memory is starting to fail him. So, my dad, aunt & uncle came down to help out with the situation. Looks like he may be moving to Iowa to be close to my dad & sisters but we'll see. So, we've been a little occupied :)

Eli continues to love his walker & discovered he could open cabinets right away. The one I let him play in is the one with phone books. Here he is after opening it:

Here he is starting to pull out the phone books onto the floor....so much fun!!!

Thursday was our 4 year anniversary and we decided to celebrate yesterday by attending "Indiana Jones" while Grandma & Grandpa Clarkson watched Eli. Here is our 4 year anniversary picture (with an added addition this year :):

On Saturday evening we grilled out & relaxed. Cousin Mallory came over & she had a fun time pushing him around in his walker. After dinner & playing, it was time put on p.j.'s. Here is Eli looking through his crib at Mallory getting dressed:

He's growing so fast! He looks like such a big boy in this picture to me:

Mallory & mommy:

Mallory & Oma (Grandma):

Here they are playing together:

Sunday night we ate out at the restaurant Emily's is a waitress at. Here is Eli in his highchair:

While my dad was in town, he told me about a song by Three Dog Night called "Eli's Coming". We found it on Youtube and Eli seems to enjoy a song about him breaking girl's hearts :)


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And, last but not least, Eli turned 9 months on Sunday. He's such a big boy! I was thinking recently that in 3 short months he'll be 1 year old and I'll be sending out invitations to his party. My planner brain is already thinking about what kind of party we will have :)

Eli is still deciding that stationary is better than movement. He lunges like crazy, but doesn't do much more that that. He does lunge to his belly sometimes and kicks around and pushes up, but no movement and no belly off the ground. I think the army crawl may occur at some point! Still likes to stand and is holding weight well, but no walking movements yet. Believe me, I'm in no rush for him to become mobile! We have his 9 month well visit on Friday and I'll post his stats on Saturday.

Tomorrow I have a 2nd interview with a part-time job I'm interested in. We'll see how it works out! Hope everyone has a great week!!

Grandpa Bidney, Mallory's birthday party, & chicken dance!

Grandpa Bidney visited for a short time coming and going from taking a sailing trip in Belize. Here is Eli with tan & scruffy Grandpa :)

Cousin Mallory turned 2 years old yesterday & her party was today. It was a perfect day and Emily made these cute hats for the kids to wear. Eli only wore his for a short time:

Mallory had a fun slide that Eli decided to try out. He didn't seem all that excited about it but he didn't cry either, so that was good :)

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Eli spent a good chunk of time at the end of the party laying on a blanket and daydreaming. It was too cute and he just loved to look at the trees & the clouds. Awww.....life of a baby!

The below video is what I hear many times throughout the day. He is very good with his "d" & "b" sounds, making fleeting "dada" sounds....not sure if they could count yet, though.

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Here's Mallory opening her gift from us. One of the items we bought her (including my sisters & mom) is a cute doll that drinks, wets herself, and a backpack/changing pad. The doll looks like Mallory so we had to buy it. Maybe this will help train her to be an excellent big sister!

Singing "Happy Birthday":


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Mallory swinging on the fun swing they have in their yard:


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Eli is still jumping/walking in the walker. We keep it in the kitchen since it is easiest to walk on vs. carpet. He enjoys his time in it while mommy cooks or does some cleaning in the kitchen:


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Grandpa Clarkson bought us a button that says "Are You Chicken" on it and when you press it, it plays the chicken dance. The chicken dance was played at our wedding reception so it is to serve as an instant flashback to that special day. Not so sure Eli likes it too much, as you'll see :)


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Eli is starting to show some signs of possible crawling attempts. He used to HATE being on his tummy, & when he would end up there by accident, he always cried and would wait for me to turn him over or turn himself. He has been lunging for things out of reach for a couple weeks now, but this week he has been lunging and then falling on his belly. When on his belly he then starts to move his legs like he is trying to get them underneath him and then pushing up on his hands. But, the 2 never quite coordinate and so he is either doing a push up or kicking/pushing his feet. Once he does them at the same time, we have some sort of crawl!! It may be some sort of army crawl, but movement none the less. We shall see!!

This coming week there will be a lot to celebrate! My aunt Susie's birthday is tomorrow, my cousin, Laura turns 32 on Thursday, and my sister, Sarah, turns 29 on Friday. In particular for our little family, this Thursday is our 4th wedding anniversary and Eli turns 9 months next Sunday! In a little over 3 months we'll be celebrating his 1st birthday....truly amazing!! Eli & I look forward to the warm weather this week is supposed to bring and we have a couple of play dates planned already! Should be a good week!

What a wonderful 1st Mother's Day!!!

My 1st Mother's day....what can I say!! It was wonderful & I am so blessed to have such wonderful family, hubby & son!! Awhile ago I found a poem about being a mom that really summed up how having Eli has changed my life....for the better!!! Here it is for all you moms out there!

Before I was a Mom

I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.

I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.

I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom -

I had never been puked on.

Pooped on.

Chewed on.

Peed on.

I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.

I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom

I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.

Or give shots.

I never looked into teary eyes and cried.

I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom

I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put him down.

I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.

I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.

I never knew that I could love someone so much.

I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom -

I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.

I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.

I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.

I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom -

I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.

I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache,

the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom.

Today started with Eric taking Eli & allowing me to sleep for an additional hour or so. I also was brought a cinnamon roll & orange juice & later my favorite drink from Starbucks! So far so good ;) I then opened my gift from my amazing hubby....an ipod Touch....the ipod I had wanted for awhile but I was shocked by the upgrade of a Touch!! Now I just have to learn to use it! Thanks honey & I love you!! I also received a card from Eli that Eric helped him sign....priceless!

Then we had a large group of us including me, Eric, Eli, Holly, Chris, Sarah, Stephanie, my mom, Eric's parents, Chris' mom, Chris' sister & her son, and my aunt & uncle, eat at Zio's. Yummm!!! It was a great time and my sisters treated all moms with a single rose....very sweet! Upon returning home, Eric's parents gave me a Starbucks card & a lovely mother's day card.

It's amazing to think that this time last year, I was about 6 months pregnant with Eli & dreaming of his arrival. Now he has been in our life for over 8 months & it's amazing the love I feel for him. He is such a smart, fun, handsome, loving little boy & I just know it will just get better & better. Being a mom is the best job in the world! I love you Eli!!

Mother's Day 2008

Walker, silly tongue & puppy!

This week we spent a lot of time helping Grandma Bidney prepare for her move to Kansas City. We furniture shopped (& bought ;) on Sunday, bought linens & such on Monday, closed on her condo on Tuesday, and she went back to Des Moines on Thursday to finish packing up to move on Saturday!! She moved Saturday and we successfully packed the U-Haul (my sisters & their spouses, I should say), unpacked & even had time to visit our cousin Emily & her hubby Josh & daughter, Mallory. While at Emily's, she brought out Mallory's walker so we could see if Eli would enjoy it. Well, it turned out to be the highlight of the evening. As you'll see in the video below, Eli couldn't quite tell the difference from his jumperoo & the walker!! We have the walker at home now & plan to use it so he can actually learn to move his feet instead of jump!!!


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Here Mallory decides to try to help Eli get going:


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Here's a pic of Eli & Mallory playing together:


Today, Eli just started to explore the use of his tongue! He was sitting with Grandma Clarkson and just started sticking his tongue out and licking all around his lips. It was too funny!! He just surprises us all the time with new things he learns & tries! Here's a pic and video (sorry it's sideways, I forgot that I can't turn it sideways):


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I decided to buy a little bath tub that a mommy at breastfeeding group bought for her little girl. It's too cute because it quacks when you squeeze it's beak:




Aunt Sarah & Aunt Stephanie brought their dog, Dylan, to visit this weekend. Eli found his licking to be quite funny:


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Drummer boy, pincher grasp, & bouncing balls

Sorry for the delay in posting, but Eli was sick this last week with a cold and was a little grump a lot of the time this weekend. He feels MUCH better today and has had a happy day....which also makes mommy happy! Grandma Bidney is in town to close on her condo and also bought furniture. Next weekend is the big move date, then she'll officially be a Missourian!

This last week Eli has enjoyed learning how to play drums....using spatulas and a cake pan, that is! He really enjoys it and uses both ends, which makes different sounds, and seems to like just playing around with his "drum sticks", as you can see in this video:


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Eli also has learned the pincher grasp and actually has his fingers in this pose most of the day. It's too funny. Here he is using his new skill to pick up banana puffs:


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I bought him 2 balls at Target: one his size that is SpongeBob and another that is bigger. He really liked the exercise ball we have in his room (to help put to sleep) and decided to buy him a couple more. Here is video of him enjoying daddy bouncing the ball:


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Here are some pics from the week. I didn't take a lot just because he wasn't feeling well. Enjoy!

Enjoying reading time with mommy

Today I decided to watch Sesame Street in a lounging fashion

Lunging....precursor to crawling!!

If only I could reach.....

I'm just cute

Standing against the couch...leaning, really

Aren't I just the cutest chubby whubby!