Have a safe and happy New Year!

I thought I'd take a minute to post this cute picture I found. Isn't it sweet? As you can see Daddy just loves his little man and Elijah just eats it up. He's doing his Cabbage Patch face. I could just squeeze him!
I hope everyone has a nice New Years. For me it's church and then to work at 11pm. They're hurting for staff and until the end of this week its double time. I figured I'd better take advantage of the extra money to help contribute to those holiday bills that are so easily acquired! Of course I'd much rather stay home with my family though. Jake and I decided we're going to go on a date on Saturday (hopefully!) so I'm just looking forward to that. We haven't had many of those since Elijah's been born so I cherish the time that we spend together.
All for now!

Elijah's 7 months old!

Such a happy baby he is! And he's getting better and better about playing by himself! He still loves when Mommy and Daddy play with him of course! I measured him today and he is 28 inches long! Weighing him on our scale at home still keeps him at 20 pounds (of course he only went to the doctor 2 weeks ago). We guessed he got longer because it just seemed like he did. He's wearing one of my favorite outfits for the last time. He's just too big and the shirt comes up and the pants are a little short. Sigh.





He now has a second tooth! You can just barely see it and can definitely feel it! He loves to chew on things! I gave him a banana to chew on yesterday. He wasn't quite so sure about it but loved to smoosh it in his hand.

Well, I guess that's all for now!

Merry (belated) Christmas..and a happy New Year!

Okay, so I haven't gotten around to blogging the way I like to but boy do the holidays take a lot of time! I was blessed to have Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off (a rarity in the nursing world but I DID work BOTH last year!). Christmas Eve was spent at Jake's parents' house. It's been a tradition in his family to go to "Nanna and Nannu's" house on Christmas Eve. All of us (of course) wished we could be with all the rest of the Michigan clan at Buz Nanna and Buz Nannu's house but we at least had a few people to celebrate with. Jake's sister and brother-in-law were in town with our nephew and niece so we at least had some more family members as well as good neighbors to celebrate with. We repeated it the next day at our house. I had to cook the traditional things that MY mom makes at Christmas. It's just so hard to be apart from family at Christmas. Despite the merriness that the season should bring I often find it a very hard time, especially with all of my family in Michigan. I think it has been especially hard b/c I want everyone to be able to see what a joy Elijah is.





So what did Elijah think? Let's just say he loves paper. To eat it that is! He actually did open the presents that he had..mostly to get the paper, but hey, what can I say? The kid knows what he likes. He has enjoyed all of his toys but I have to say that he has really liked one toy that I never thought that he would. I had bought this little piano at WalMart the day after Thanksgiving for $15 (it was a good deal) and it's listed for 1 and up so I figured it was a "not yet" toy. I put it together just for kicks and (after I took the seat off that he kept falling off of) he LOVES it. Maybe this is just a hint of what's to come. I would be so proud if he learned an instrument like the piano and could play it in church. I guess we'll know in time. He sure does love music though. The one funny thing that we noticed is that he is very sensitive to music. Why do I say that? Because when he hears "O Holy Night" he cries. I think he senses that it's a very spiritual song..my favorite Christmas song too. Bummer for me because I couldn't sing it without him getting a big pouchy lip. Who am I kidding, I couldn't sing it anyway because I had NO VOICE! I lost it the Friday before Christmas and am just barely getting it back now. Those of you that know me well, know that it was SO HARD for me to not have a voice. Not just because I talk a lot, but because I LOVE to sing...especially Christmas songs. Who doesn't? They seem to be the one kind of songs everyone knows the words to.

Going on. Jake and I enjoyed our presents too. Jake got a Nintendo DS and an RC car and I got an IPod. I also got a bunch of goodies for the kitchen (cook books, olive wood utensils, ramekins, etc) and some other great goodies. On Christmas night after everyone went home and Elijah went to bed I ended up making a pot of tea in my new Japanese tea pot, sitting down and soaking my feet in my new foot soak, and watching White Christmas (my FAVORITE Christmas movie). I just love Bing Crosby. What a voice . Of course I love Rosmary Cloony too. The song White Christmas reminds me of my Grandpa. He was an excellent whistler and used to always whistle along. I miss him and my Grandmas (another hard thing about the holidays).

NEWS!

Just a quick post to tell you that Elijah has his first TOOTH! His bottom left tooth is just barely up. It's hard to see (especially with a drooly tongue that gets in the way) but I can definitely feel it. He's been fussy today with a runny nose so I'm wondering if the right one will be here in a couple days. We'll see!

I'm HUNGRY Mom! Can I eat THESE?

At least that's what these pictures look like. I'm thinking that Elijah may be teething. He is chewing on EVERYTHING and pulling on his ears. I know that he has had a cold but he is MUCH better and just has a little runny nose. He is back to sleeping the whole night and isn't nearly as clingy. I guess we'll find out soon. Anyway. Just wanted to do a quick post of some more pics!

Sick

We have officially caught "the bug". Well, maybe not me, but Jake and Elijah have. Poor Elijah was up all night (poor me too!) because he couldn't breathe through the stuffy nose. I don't have much time as he just fell asleep for his nap so I want to take one too (go figure) but I wanted to post a few of the pictures we got this weekend before little man got sick. Isn't he too cute! There are a lot more "keepers" I just didn't have time to pick "the best" so those will come another day.
Keep us all in your prayers! Hopefully Elijah will be better tonight as Jake is home with him for the next 2 days b/c I work. I don't want him to keep Daddy up all night since Daddy doesn't feel well either!

Look How BIG!

We went for Elijah's 6 month checkup on Thursday. It was in the morning and on a day that Mommy worked so of course there were a few snags. Most occurred during bath time. Like the fact that he peed on me right when I went to put him in the tub. Of course it couldn't be just on my shirt it had to be on my shirt, sweater, and skirt (not to mention the floor..and socks!). What's up? Then (of course) he proceeded to throw up in the tub. Not a little either. So here I am, peed on, pulling a wet (and now chilly) baby out of the tub while trying to dump the nasty water out. Nice picture I'm sure. We got to the Dr. in time despite all the misc occurrences. As for Elijah he is doing great. He's 20 pounds and 27 inches. I get 27.5 inches but I'm a little more aggressive in my measurements :) I can't believe it! At this rate he'll be out of his infant seat by February! Anyway I thought I'd share a snapshot of him sleeping now and 5 months ago on his Boppy pillow. Crazy, huh?

How do you keep a 6 month old occupied?

Elijah is just so funny. He has a very short attention span but when he finds something that he likes he will stay occupied with it for about 20 minutes. That's 20 minutes that I'm running around trying to get the most I can possibly get done in the shortest amount of time. Here Elijah is chewing on a bow while I'm wrapping presents. I know...not the best thing for him to chew on but it crinkled, was sparkly, easy to handle...he loved it. Who was I to interfere...at least until it looked like he might get a piece of it off because he had gummed it so much. The other picture is of him chewing on his pacifier...backwards. He no longer can chew on just the nipple part. He also has to chew on the back too. Crazy kid. That's all for now!

Baby Food

I decided awhile ago to try to make my own baby food. It's not that I'm super concerned with organic baby food and things that may be in store bought (although with the whole melamine in formula you never know) but I just think it's gotta be a lot cheaper and not too hard to do. I decided that I didn't want to do the whole ice cube trays and baggies thing though. It just seemed like a hassle. Instead I found these containers that are 1 or 2 oz (I bought the 2 oz) that are similar to ice cube trays but they are individual and have lids on them. They can be frozen, microwaved, and are dishwasher safe. Anyway. So I invested in 4 sets of them and they came in the mail Monday so I started making food this week. The picture of the "green stuff" is actually a comparison of Gerber and homemade peas. The homemade ones are brighter green. To be quite honest I think they taste much better. I'm not a fan of canned peas, I like frozen or fresh. I made them from a bag of frozen peas that I got for free. Yes, free. They were on sale for $1 and I had a 0.50 coupon that was doubled. Yeah, I think making your own food can be cheaper. I am going to keep up with the cost so I can figure it out in the end, factoring in the cost of the containers (which can be used for the next baby(s) I might add). So far I have made peas, green beans, acorn squash, peaches, and pears. I was going to make prunes but there is only one brand of prunes that doesn't have additives and Fry's must not have realized that b/c of that there is actually an expiration date on them...the whole shelf was expired. Anywho...the peas were the hardest to make because of the casing. They just needed more time in the food processor. I used canned peaches and pears that were free of additives (just 100% juice). They were super easy AND I got 4 oz of juice from each that I also froze to mix 50/50 with water once I give him juice. I figured out that I made 46 oz of baby food and 8 oz of juice for about $6. It would have been a lot cheaper had I not made the squash. I need a garden for those b/c they're kind of expensive. I'm not going to make carrots or sweet potatoes until he is older b/c they say the homemade nitrate levels are higher. Apparently Gerber etc. takes this out somehow.














I took these pictures of Elijah yesterday..little cutie. He has been SO clingy though! I really can't get anything done. I set him on the couch next to me so I could sort through some things and within minutes he was asleep.Little stinker fights sleep so terrible. He thinks he's going to miss something I think.

Well, that's all for now!

Love My Family

Today has not been the greatest of days. I wish that I could say after six months I am finally back to my self but I can't. I still have so much trouble focusing on things. I sometimes feel that the only time I am truly focused is at work and I'm sure that is out of necessity. Today I had a long list of things to do but they were pushed by the wayside. I'd like to say that happened b/c I had something important to do...not really. Maybe...See I've always had this thing when I'm feeling down I make my Grandma's oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. They always make me feel better. My mom always had them on the first day of school. Change has always been hard for me and being the great mom that she is she anticipated my need for a little something special. I am so thankful for her! We are planning to put the tree and lights up today. You'd think I'd be looking forward to that and could get some things done...but not really. I wish I knew exactly how to pinpoint the way that I feel..but I can't. And I think that is really hard for some people...including myself...to understand. I guess all that I can say is that I look forward to the day that I can make a list, stick to it, get everything done and not feel like I'm going to have a breakdown and rush to the nearest exit (meaning my car and wherever it takes me...generally Target) or to bed with the baby wishing I could just sleep reality away. I feel pathetic..like a failure...but I know I am doing all that I can and Elijah's being well cared for. He doesn't care that there is a pile of ironing or that the floors need to be washed (at least until he starts crawling). He just wants his Momma to hold him tight and love on him. That, I can do.

So Thankful

For some reason I can't get this picture to move where I want it. I had to show it off b/c I love it! Jake and I took Christmas card pictures yesterday and this is one of the ones I just love!

I apologize for not posting as quickly as I wanted! Thanksgiving was a wonderful time to reflect on all of the blessings that the Lord has bestowed upon us as well as spend time with family and fill ourselves with yummy food. Of course I was a little saddened thinking about last Thanksgiving. We were able to fly to Michigan and tell our family our good news about us expecting Elijah. I miss everyone "back home" so much and holidays seem a little bit harder because of that. Anyway. I was able to get a picture of Elijah in his 1st Thanksgiving outfit right before he pooped ALL over it (I'm talking ALL over it). What a little cutie pie!


I had decided that Thanksgiving would be when I started him on more solid foods (other than cereal and the occasional prunes to get things moving) so he had peas for the first time. Not so fond of them as you can see. Unfortunately he didn't just make this face on the first bite. It's a consistent "EWW" face. Oh well. He's not going to like everything. We're still trying with them though.


On Friday I joined the other crazy people in the world and went to Kohls at 4 am...with Elijah. He was sleeping and I just couldn't bear to leave him home with Jake's mom b/c I eould be working later and love all the time I get with him. He stayed in the Moby and slept the whole time. Why 4 am. Well, I had to work Friday night so I wanted to get back and get some sleep AND they had toys 50% off. How can you beat that. I went to Walmart too. Never doing that again. People at Kohls are civilized. Not so much at Walmart. Needless to say I was a little frustrated. I was home and in bed by 630.

He loves his Moby as you can tell by this picture on Thanksgiving.




This is a picture of him after our outing on Friday. We slept from 630 to 1pm. Amazing huh? Great for a gal that has to go to work!

Tag You're It

Okay so I was challenged by Anjee to put my fourth album, fourth picture (from the computer) onto my blog and write four things about it AND challenge four people to do the same...so..

1. The picture is from Julia's shower at Olive Garden in January...mmmm Olive Garden

2. I'm so glad that we have so many sweet people that we work with that take their time to come and share a joyous occasion...like a new baby boy!

3. It's odd to think that 3 of the people in this photo (I should say taking the photo too) have since had babies! Julia (obviously), myself, and Rachel. What a blessing.

4. It's sad to think that we no longer are able to see Alexis on a somewhat daily/weekly schedule (but happy to know she'll be visiting soon!)

So now I challenge
Stephanee
Clarinda
Julia (LOL b/c it'll be a month or so before she does!)
Alexis

Little Boy

Okay, so there's just something about boys in overalls that just makes me want to squeeze them. Maybe it just seems fitting for little boys to wear them because of all the movies that show the little rascals in them..take Dennis the Menace for example. Gotta love him. He's an imp for sure but how can you not fall in love with him? I just had to take a couple pictures of Elijah in his overalls today. He's just so squeezable! And so loving too! Today he just beamed when Daddy came home and just had to give him hugs and kisses right away. He just makes your heart melt when he opens his arms for you and opens his mouth for a goobery kiss. We just love him to death!






He's been sitting up better and better each day. I put him in his toddler bed with some of his animals and he just had a ball. He just couldn't believe that all the animals were his to play with. He kept looking at me like "Really? They're mine?" I'm so glad that he enjoys them!

More (hopefully) tomorrow!

My Little Turkey

I was supposed to work last night but got canceled due to low census. Bummer. I would have rather been canceled tonight because we have something going on tomorrow morning and that way I could actually get some sleep. Speaking of sleep...or lack thereof...I have a big turkey on my hands. Last night my little turkey did not want to stay sleeping! Whenever Jake is home by himself, Elijah goes to bed at 730. Not for me...ever. So last night he started getting sleepy (or so I thought) at 715. Tried to nurse him and put him to bed. Two hour process. He's not normally like that. Of course I'm the wimp that wouldn't let him cry longer than 10 minutes. I can't really say that I minded too much. The idea of not having to be at work and spending the time rocking my own precious baby was fine by me. Yes there are things I could have been doing but who can resist his sweet sleepy face. Of course I don't know how sweet I thought it was at 1200 when he woke up...or 115 when he woke up AGAIN but I can't really blame him. The second time I got up with him I could hear his poor tummy rumbling. Anyway. He was bright eyed and bushy tailed at 730am to give Daddy hugs and kisses before he had to go to work. Little turkey! We shall see if he will take a long nap so mommy can get rest before she has to work.

Messy Day

Today must be a messy day. I've been working on some projects to sell to make a little extra money for Christmas and so our kitchen is a mess of stamps, paper, and ink. I hate the mess but love the work so what can I say? Thankfully Jake is being great about it all. Hopefully it will be done soon. Bummer that I have to work the next two nights...Anyway. So Elijah must realize it's a messy day. He woke up with this crazy hair do. Messy but cute on him..of course I think anything is cute on him.


So once I fed him this morning (I decided to start am feedings b/c he just stares at me longingly while I eat MY breakfast) I realized that he would not be clean about this either. You may think it's strange but he is usually a very clean eater. Not today. Everything that went in came out...sometimes forcefully...all over the high chair. He found it funny. Needless to say we got a bath.


Of course after his bath he looked like my sweet little boy again. I just love him in this outfit. Thanks to his buddy Brandon for it! Look at his face! What a cutie!


Well, I better go. He's getting tired. He doesn't want to just go to sleep. What a fighter...silly goose!

Purple Thumb

Okay, so I grew up in a home with two green thumbs and somehow I got a purple one instead. I love flowers and having houseplants but apparently I'm not a very good "houseplant mommy". I have managed to pretty much kill anything that I get...or at least make it very homely looking. I have had African violets...for a little while. I did have a pretty nice arrangement for awhile...until Kitty ate it. Jake was sweet and brought me a mini rose and a mum (reminds me of home in the fall!). As you can see...I killed them. And I don't know why! I watered them..not too much..not too little. I seriously had them for 2 days and they died. What gives?

My only success story is an Umbrella Plant that Jake's Mom gave me. She kept it alive and well for a year and was afraid she might kill it (apparently she has the purple thumb gene too) so she had the idea that since my family has the green thumb gene (seriously, my Mom, Dad, Grandma...etc... beautiful plants) I would keep it alive. It has been good to me and made me feel like I can at least keep SOMETHING green alive.
I guess I shouldn't complain too much. At least I got the baker gene. I made an apple crisp in the crockpot yesterday. Well, I don't really know how it can be crispy in the crockpot but it was great for breakfast. Really easy too. Just sliced apples covered in some lemon juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg topped with a mixture of a little honey, butter and granola with raisins. Yummy.

On to other things. Elijah is such a sweetie pie. He sure loves his mommy and daddy! He takes his hand and caresses our face. I've done that to him since he was born so I think he has learned that this is a sign of affection. He reaches out for us AND he can now give kisses. He holds our face and then leans in with a nice, big, slobbery mouth. I never thought the feeling of an open mouth slobbery kiss would make me feel so good. He has to be in the mood for it but he does know what give mama (or daddy) kisses means b/c that when he does it. Of course I captured a really good shot with my camera..without the memory card in it so this is the second place picture.


It is cool here now so we are into sweaters. YEAH! It's weird I LOVE sweaters..hate jackets. Too bulky. There's nothing like slipping into a sweater and drinking hot cider, tea, or hot chocolate. Add to that reading a book or magazine (who am I kidding...who has time for that with a 5 month old) and it's a great day. I found some great sweaters at that kid sale a month ago and have been waiting for Elijah to be able to wear them.

This one has a little hedgehog on it. At first I thought it was a squirrel but Jake informed me that no, it was a hedgehog. I guess it is..doesn't really matter..it's cute..and cuter with him in it. Not the best picture as I'm not the photographer in the family but oh well.

I guess that's all for now!

It's been over a week!

I can't believe it's been over a week since I've posted! Wow! I've been busy..not that I have much to show for it though! As some of you know, Jake went to Michigan to get a car. A Mazda Speed6. He got home late last night after a VERY long drive. Of course we missed him greatly while he was gone. Elijah was already in bed when he got home so he didn't see him until this morning and he commented on how much he changed in 3 days. I said, no way...but now looking at him, maybe he has a little. He's definitely maturing more and more each day with his actions and sounds. I gave him some oatmeal cereal yesterday and he's already had prune juice from a sippy cup. He was officially 5 months old on Thursday. Jake's comment (and the fact that Elijah's 6mo pj's no longer fit his lengthy body!) made me measure him today. Are you ready for this? He's 27 1/2 inches and 18 1/2 pounds! Can you believe it! I can't! Jake bought Elijah a pair of moccasins on his journey through the reservation. They're supposed to fit when he's about a year old...at this rate it may be sooner! It's just amazing how much he matures both physically and developmentally. He's such a blessing. Well, I best get on with my day. Today I have the luxury of sipping on tea with Nannu cookies! Yummy!

Odds and Ends

There hasn't been too much going on around here but I wanted to post some misc updates that I haven't had the chance to because they are pretty random. Jessica's post on her apple pie got me in the mood to make something so I made some apple muffins and am awaiting my mom's new recipe for pumpkin banana bread. I love the fall because it brings baking. Yummy! I also have been bored with my old recipes and have been trying some new things. I made some salmon that was EXCELLENT. At least I thought so. It was really easy too. I just put the salmon on a piece of foil, sprinkled salt, rosemary, garlic, some slice onions, a little lemon juice and sprayed a little olive oil on it and baked it. Yummy! I also tried the buffalo chicken lasagna from the crockpot blog that I have a link to. It was pretty good. Something different. Of course I've tried some things that haven't been so good...we won't talk about those though.

Elijah is sitting up by himself little by little. Right now he leans forward a lot and then gets kind of wobbly and then falls but he's trying! He can take his time though. I'm not anxious for him to grow up. He already has so much in almost 5 months...where has time gone?!!


Jake and I started dating 7 years ago this month. I can't believe it. I've been going through old photos and think how young we look! This picture was taking 3 years ago. I don't have a picture to post of us 7 years ago but I can tell you that we look even younger! We have done so many fun things together. I am sure glad that the Lord gave me a best friend like him. It's been really hard on him with my depression and although it's been a LOT better I have been a little down this week and I think he takes it personally and thinks that I'm upset with him. I just need a big hug and someone to listen to me. This may sound silly (although it may not to all you moms out there) but I was looking at my feet and realized how awful they look and how I don't feel like I have the time to put in to myself (as I'm sitting here blogging! Well, that's therapeutic for me) and have neglected some things...like lotion on my feet! I actually went out the other day and bought some new shampoo and conditioner and let me tell you, I felt like a new person the next day in the shower. I even used some of my "special" smelling soap. I have inherited a nasty gene from my mother...it's called don't use the nice things that you have. I haven't been using my favorite scent since...I don't know when actually because it's more expensive than regular soap. Is that dumb? I guess I could just ask for some more for my birthday or something. Anyway...off on a tangent.

So the other thing that I'm looking forward to doing (although I don't know when!) is getting to scrapbook! I just got a new kit from Creating Keepsakes that is a baby album. It's VERY cool and has a lot of the pages already set up as far as things like baby shower, family tree, etc, etc. I am itching to do it and maybe relax a little bit. Scrapbooking is a stress reliever for me. Why would I have any stress? Ha! Well for starters I just BARELY have enough milk for Jake to feel Elijah tonight. For some reason Elijah is just not getting enough from me and has depleted the supply of milk I have in the freezer. I started taking fenugreek yesterday and have been drinking mother's milk tea so I am hoping that helps and I can get my stores up again. It's very discouraging when your baby pulls away from you crying because he is still hungry and you have nothing for him.


That's all for now!