Halloween Traditions

We went back to the pumpkin patch this year and Eli had so much more fun! He got to look at all the animals, play with the hay, and of course pick out his pumpkin. Last night we carved the pumpkin with him. We weren't sure what he'd think about the pumpkin goop but as you can see he LOVED it! I think I hear him waking up from his nap so I'll have to add those pictures later.

Happy Birthday!

Well I almost made my goal of posting once/month. August was very busy, Eli had his first birthday which was a blast and we've also had a total of 15 showings for our house! No offers yet but we think we're getting close. At least I hope we are because we have to come home and get the cats, their litter box, their food, and everything out then drive them around for an hour every time someone wants to see the house...what a pain!!

Eli's growing by the day. Eating lots of table food and walking everywhere so long as he has something to push or a finger to hold. Right now I'm dying for him to take his first steps but I'm sure once he does I'll be reminiscing about these days so I just enjoy it all as it comes.

Here are some pictures of his cake, it turned out pretty cute (I made it to look like one of his toy cars). He didn't really know what to do with the piece we gave him. All that worrying over him eating so much sugar and he didn't even want it!

The First Year

Wow, I can't believe that Eli is almost one! We're planning his first birthday party (we decided to keep it small-just family), and chasing Eli all over the house. He's crawling everywhere and pulling up on everything. He loves to walk with someone holding his hands and to stand up and push his Tonka Truck around. His favorite game is hide and seek. If you crawl out of the room he'll chase after you, then when he finds you he'll turn around and crawl away as fast as he can wanting you to chase him. It's so cute!! We also decided to put our house on the market. Not the best time to sell but it's a great time to buy so we thought we'd see if we can sell our house and get into something a little bigger. So that's exciting but very busy. The house looks great...if only we can keep it that way! Here are a few pictures that are more recent than Easter. Sorry about that :)
Eli got into his diaper bag and pulled out his sippy cup and his puffs, he made himself a little snack! And a big mess..

Fourth of July at Lake Michigan. Eli LOVED the water but unfortunately it was too cold to let him get in and play.

Big boy standing up in his crib, this was the last day for the bumper pads. I was too afraid to put them in until he was 9 months because of SIDS and this was his 10 month birthday...glad we got so much use of of those... ;)

First Easter

Here are some pictures from Eli's first Easter. We had fun giving him an Easter basket (no candy of course) and watching him play with the eggs. We put change inside for his piggy bank and once he realized they made noise he loved picking them up and shaking them! Of course he's teething right now so everything is going in his mouth. His hair does have a red tint but it's not NEARLY as red as these pictures make it look! We also got him a big stuffed sheep that he loved. We also spent time with both sets of grandparents, all in all it was a great day :)

Water Baby

Eli got to "swim" for the first time at the Hitz family reunion in Madison last weekend. He LOVED it just as much as we thought he would. Here are a couple pics of him in the pool.

Eli's first trucks

Elias got his first Tonka truck this weekend. He is a big fan of riding in it while Daddy is pushing him and making truck noises. Not real sure the kitties enjoy it quite as much. Sharon had no idea what a Tonka truck was which I found oddly amusing. He also got a Hippo that can he can ride around and eat Peek-a-blocks.

Lots of firsts

Eli is now 6 months old and has had lots of firsts since our last post. He's had his first cereal: rice at first but that really backed him up...you know...so that led to his first juice. Apple juice from a sippy cup (another first) but he wasn't quite ready for the sippy cup. We switched to oatmeal cereal which he absolutely loves and also to prune juice. Apparently apple juice can loose it's effectiveness? Anyway, he LOVES his juice and his cereal.

Today we started his first veggies. I made him some acorn squash and, true to form, he loved that too. Eli just loves to eat. Though you can't tell that from looking at him. At his 6 month check up he weighed in at a whopping 14 lbs 10 oz and 25 inches long. Still in the 10th percentile for both weight and length. At least he's proportional :) He loves sitting up, though he needs some help to avoid tipping over. And he also loves the cats. He stares at them whenever they walk by and he likes to "pet" them. They're surprisingly patient with him as he grabs fists full of fur and pats them a little too hard... We're trying to teach him to be gentle. He's also rolling over now but usually only from front to back. A few times we've seen him roll to his tummy but he usually needs help to get all the way over.

Sadly Eli also has his first cold. It started on Tuesday and is showing no signs of going away. He doesn't have a fever just lots and lots of congestion and a little coughing and sneezing. It's so pitiful :( He's also trying to get his first teeth. We can see some white spots and he's drooling like crazy and putting everything in his mouth but I think it'll be a while before they poke through.

The best news is that he's finally napping!!! He'd actually been sleeping too much at night (13 hours) so we're keeping him up a little later and he's taking 3 naps/day now for about an hour each. It's absolutely wonderful!!! Here are some pictures of him eating his first veggies. He loved it at first then started making a really funny face. He also loves when Daddy feeds him and makes airplane noises (last picture)