Eli in Seattle!

Jessa and Eli are in Seattle for a week, and while they don't have consistent computer and internet access, Jessa has been sending back photos on her cell phone. Here are some of them. Keep in mind that these are cell phone pictures, so the quality might not always be so good.

Eli's Yaya's South African something-something tortoises, and the dog.
Wearing the stylish hat at Aunt Kelly's apartment.
Snoozing out in the car, on his favorite monkey's head.
There was a series of tryings on of funny hats, one of his mom's favorite pastimes.
Another sleeping picture.
Again, clutching his favorite rubbery koi fish toy.
Another hat picture.
Big blue eyes.
Fun time on Yaya's floor.
Getting his feet washed for some reason.
Jumping on his consignment jumper thingy in the park.

As a side note, this is the 100th post on And Baby Makes Three!

Hopefully, more Seattle pics to come.

Quick one

Hello Friends. Eli and I are getting ready to fly to Seattle tomorrow to see some fam. But we thought we'd do a quick entry about what we've been up to lately. On Saturday evening Eric and I got a wild hair to rearrange the living room. So we took the rug out and moved some couches and chairs from the rest of the house, and made Eli the new little play corner seen here. It's in front of a big window, which he loves. The pulling up and standing is pretty much old news to him at this point. He pulls up on pulling up toys, couches, tables, people and his crib. He's starting to think about moving laterally around the things he gets up on, but hasn't done it successfully just yet.
Hello Blue Eyes.
Give him a finger food and he's happy.
How's that stuffed animal disguise working out for you Wendell?
He was entertained an inordinately long time by this yellow ball. I was trying to get a photo of him palming it like a basketball, but, though he did it for some time, I couldn't get the shot.
Getting cocky with the sitting.
There's a tiny baby head over there.

One of Eli's favorite things is knocking over block towers. He simply can't leave one standing, and he gets the biggest kick out of it every time. Here, for your enjoyment, is a video of this, a favorite activity of our 8 month old.

In Celebration of Sleep

Finally! We have stumbled out of the darkness into the light of the wisdom of a book called The Sleep Easy Solution. I don't know why we didn't buy this book months ago! Our trip to Barnes and Noble after the nth sleepless night was quite fruitful. We brought home this book and went to reading. The next night we put their suggestions in place and it actually worked! They propose a technique which is a middle ground between full on soothing/holding/rocking/nursing/walking the baby to sleep (which we've been doing for oh...8 months now) and letting him "cry it out" (which we couldn't stomach. It involves checking in at certain intervals while he's crying, and offering reassurance verbally without actually touching or picking him up. The first night he was out in 32 minutes (average is an hour for first nighters, according to TSES). Next time it was five minutes, then four, then one, and now there is nary a whimper when we put him down!!! Hallelujah! And, it also involves a sleep routine you perform each bed time (nap or night) in the same order. It has created a lovely snuggle/bonding/reading time out of what used to be a frustrating struggle. And, he's learned how to soothe himself back to sleep when he wakes in the night. AND, he sleeps for 11-12 hours a night now. MAGIC!

So, imagine this. We're four nights into TSES training. It's working great. And, in these four nights, as guided by the book, I have been weaning him from the night feedings. So...tonight...I could actually sleep...all night...without waking up...without feeding...without an alarm...without bumping into stuff in the dark...all night! Can you imagine it?

I will miss him though.

In other news, tomorrow is the long planned Ladies' Night to have dinner/drinks and see Sex and the City. I am so excited. I've rustled up about 12 ladies (no small feat for one who not long ago knew no one in the state), and we're heading downtown tomorrow night for the festivities. I have purchased (at an outlet) the loveliest of dresses for the occasion. Girl Clothes! Clean Girl Clothes! How exciting!

Posted by Mama (I don't know what is up with the crazy lay out, but I couldn't fix it).

Saturday Photo Fun

What a lovely Saturday, preceded by a somewhat less lovely Friday night/Saturday early morning. Thing is, Eli's forgotten how to sleep. So nobody's sleeping much around here. At least not at night. During his morning nap this morning, I slept, and now Eric's snoozing through his afternoon nap. So, I blog. We've been lazing in between all the napping and once my boys wake up we're going to have a lovely dinner at Sweet Tomatoes (the best salad joint ever) , followed by a trip to the bookstore to read books on baby sleep, and an evening jaunt to the park. Sounds nice, no?

So, we've had much fun lately. Here's photographic evidence:

First...meet Farmer Eli! We had the grand idea to head over to our friends' the Vineyards' farm yesterday. They needed their lawnmower back and we needed a fun outing. So, I loaded up their mower and headed over to the farm. I wasn't sure how Eli would react to critters bigger than our cats. Well, he LOVED it! He cackled with laughter and jumped right in head and hands first. We met a farm dog, three sheep, 6 pigs (including the biggest one I've ever seen, Sapphire), and four horses. We even went in the corral with the four very friendly horses, and proceeded to be surrounded. Eli wasn't phased (I was a bit). Unfortunately the camera battery died about three minutes into our visit. The photos I got came from the phone, so they're not great. And I so wish I could have gotten a video of Eli's guffawing. We'll definitely make a return trip and make sure our camera is fully charged.




And now, another selection of hat photos. I cannot resist a hat photo op.
Ello Govneh.
Yee Haw.
Ole!

And, some random fun:
Sweet new curls.
Yay! Spoons!
Whoa. Spoons.
My sweet happy fellas.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Posted by Mama

Porch Morning and Play Date

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous the past few days, especially in the morning. On Wednesday morning, Eli took a blanket, toys, books and breakfast out onto the deck. Here are some highlights:



Today we enjoyed a fabulous play date at a friend's house. Here Eli watches eagerly as all the kids are playing:
Grace and Christopher had lots of fun in the blue sand.
Eli's chair came in handy, as always. Thanks Auntie Alli!
Both the most fun of the day...crawling in and out of the doggy door:
We don't have a doggy, but we may need a doggy door.

And in other news, there have been lots of firsts this week. Here are Eli's latest tricks:
~Growing THREE new teeth. That makes five total.
~Clapping. He now knows that saying "YAY" and clapping go together, so anytime we "YAY," he claps.
~He can now get himself from his belly to his booty, which is a very complex maneuver. Quite impressive.
~Pulling up to standing on the couch, coffee table, mama, his crib, etc. Trouble!

Hope all are well!
Posted by Mama

Eight Lovely Years

Eight years ago today, at dusk, on a steamy hot summer's night in Hickory, North Carolina, we were married. It was an incredible day, full of love and celebration. And they've been eight wonderful years, each better than the last. This one has been the best though, because little Eli has multiplied our joy. Here's how:
Eating his new dinosaur and looking peaceful.
Finding ways to be entertained, even when being forced to shop for many hours with Mama and Auntie Selena.
Peeping in on Auntie Selena.
The sweetest baby face.
The sweetest baby roar laugh.
Here's to the next eight! Much love!