Seattle Adventures

Eli and I have just returned home from a wonderful visit to my family in Seattle. There he was reunited with his Yaya, my mom, who was present for his birth and for the first 10 days of his life. He also finally met the rest of his aunties, one uncle and some cousins. He formed mutual admiration societies with each of them.

Eli was a fabulous traveler. In the past four weeks he slept through five plane rides, slept in countless beds, pack-and-plays, bassinets, couches, cars, and even on a few tables. He even slept his longest stretch ever (7 hours - yippee). He and I both have come back from our travels more laid back and adaptable. He now is content to hang out and play just about anywhere, and has gotten quite dexterous at toy holding and hand eating, which keeps him endlessly entertained. He has acquired a number of baby accouterments - the excer-saucer, pack-and-play, johnny jump-up, and bouncy chair - and although he enjoys them all tremendously, a blanket with some toys and an adoring adult will do just fine. This is a wonderful change, for a boy who used to only be content in arms.

We arrived home yesterday and reunited with a baby-deprived Dad. We decided since Eli was used to different beds anyway, it was a good night to move him into the fabulous baby nursery and out of our room. It was rocky - up every two hours - but we're trying again tonight and hoping for the best.

Here are some photos from our trip:

Here is a shot of Eli and I with his Yaya (holding him) and two of his aunties, my sisters Michelle (far left) and Madeline (far right). This amazing photo was taken by the lovely and talented Madeline, who is in photography school and has obviously learned a lot, since she was able to get some decent shots of this crew of cut-ups. We had so much fun photo-shooting in her make-shift studio in Michelle's room.

Eli and I got to see Auntie Michelle in action in all her Ballroom Dancing glory. We got to watch rehearsals for the upcoming show she'll be in and Eli made her his dancing partner all week long. He couldn't get enough.

Here Eli is sharing some tummy time with the coolest of the cool - cousin Grifinn!


Yaya's house is super fun. Not only does she have his pack-and-play decorated like a super happening (and diverse) disco, but...She gives him CANDY!!! That's right, Eli enjoyed his first non-MomMade food: a chocolate flavored candy cane. Boy oh boy, was it a hit! She also snuck him some whipped cream at a party celebrating Michelle's highschool graduation (yay Chelle!). Then I gave him a taste of apple in the airport, and a taste of grape today. He licked and like both, very much.

The week was full of firsts, here is a shot of Eli's first meeting with poultry. He saw ducks and chickens at this little shopping village near Yaya's house. At first he was not impressed...But eventually those birds got a chuckle out of him. Friday night we went up to meet Auntie Cheryl, Uncle Brad, Auntie Deidre and Cousins Tim, Lauren, Chandler, and Christian. We had a blast. We had pizza, play a great game I remembered from my childhood and gave Grifinn for Christmas (It's a maze game called the Labyrinth. Totally fun), and got silly playing Guitar Hero II. Here Grifinn and I are rocking out to Sweet Child of Mine. She schooled me.

We had an amazing trip and we already miss all the folks we got to see. Hopefully we'll be making many more visits to NC and WA soon! Love you all!

This is completely unrelated. This is a short video from our birth (totally G-rated). When I talk to people about my labor experience, they always look at me weird because I remember it as being so much fun. Yeah, there was pain, discomfort, and some compromising positions, but mostly it was laughing, good music and a spirit of celebration. I'll have to translate the following video clip, because I'm unintelligible due to the laughing and wincing:



Just before he started recording, Eric made a quote from my favorite show (and obsession) Friends. I burst into laughter, in the midst of a big contraction and said:
"That's why I love Eric. He hates friends but he quotes it all the time for me."

And it's true.

Posted by Mama