Thanksgiving Eve

Many apologies for that long blogging hiatus. As we said in a previous post, our primary blogging computer has been in the shop, and we just recently got it back. We were told in no uncertain terms that our lives BE (before Eli) were not really interesting enough to read a blog about, so I'm sure all of you are glad to get back to updates on Eli.

As of Monday, he weighs 12 pounds, which is a pretty big gain from his birth weight of 8 pounds and 5 ounces (he was actually down in the mid-7s a couple of days after birth). You can definitely feel it, too--he's getting pretty heavy to lug around.

He's getting really good at standing with help. If you grab his arms or just keep him vertical, he'll push upward until he's standing. He's really very good at it. He's also getting better at hand-eye coordination, and he's babbling a little bit. He's even started matching cute noises to his smiles, which are getting more numerous.

Lots of pictures and commentary below:

Eli and dad chilling on the bed. This is the only way Eric is allowed to hold Eli...left arm under, right hand under Eli's armpit. Switch sides and he wails. Hold him with two hands and he wails. Pretty much any other configuration, and he wails. Eric's left bicep is always sore.

Our NC friends Christa and Tina came to visit last week. Christa is the mother of twin boys, and so has had lots of experience with little guys. They took to each other pretty well. Eli flirted with these ladies like flirts with all ladies.
Eli's hair is growing a bit (and turning redder). With all that extra hair, he's starting to get funny hairdos and bedhead patterns. Often there's a little tuft at the front now, but in this picture it's pretty much an epic wave. He looks like an extra in Grease.
This is one of two consecutive diapers over the weekend where things...escaped. What's impressive about this is that it wasn't like he was sitting, and it gradually leaked out the top. No...this was instant. He went from a non-poopy diaper to this in about 5 seconds. Twice in a row.
Eli sleeping in his crib. He's spending more and more time there. There's talk of transitioning him there at night after our NC trip. We'll see.


Finally, we have Eli reading a book. He likes to read, and has a quite extensive library.

More interesting news and photos to come in the days ahead, including (probably) some pictures of our second snowfall of the year (about 2 inches, last night).