An Update

When we were at the beach last weekend Doug was still recuperating from his trip to Arizona.  The day of the game he worked from around 9am until around 9am the next day.  After about 2 hours of sleep he was back at work until catching a flight around midnight and landing in Atlanta the next morning around 6am.  He finally got home around lunch and the next day it was back to work.  I'm sure you can imagine just how tired he was. 

So when Eli woke up at 6am on our first day at the beach I decided to feed him in the living room and let Doug sleep.  It wasn't long before my mom was up and getting ready to go for a walk on the beach.  I asked her to wait for me and a little while later, my mom, dad, Eli and I went out to the beach.  As we walked we looked for shells.  There were already quite a few people out on the beach and it was a little late for shell hunting so we weren't really expecting much.

We actually had found quite a few decent sized shells with only small cracks and holes and some sizeable sand dollar pieces before we decided it might be time to turn back.  When we actually made the decision to head back I saw a lump in the sand a little further ahead and suggested we see what it was before turning around.  We had had several walkers pass us from this direction and we had seen them picking up shells so I honestly was expecting to find a big rock or dead fish.  I definitely was not expecting what we found:

It's completely whole, not a single hole or crack and it's about the size of a baseball.  I've never actually seen a shell this perfect on the beach.  It made for quite a surprise on our trip!

Now onto what I was asked to write about... Eli!  One of our best friends has asked me to update about the things Eli is doing so here it is.

Eli is wearing very few 0-3 month clothes any more.  He's mostly wearing 3-6 month or 6 month clothes (some brands run a little small on him). To explain, the onesie Eli wore yesterday (in this picture) was a 6-9 month onesie!

He's also wearing his brand new Baby Legs in this picture.  We just got them yesterday and I already love them.  They're basically a mix between tights and socks.  They really make changing his disper easy and keep him warm too.  Plus, when he starts crawling around they'll be great on our tile floor!  Doug really hesitated when I first showed him Baby Legs but when I showed him the football pair I won him over :)

Eli still eats every 3 hours between 6am and 9pm and then sleeps through the night.  In the last few weeks he has been showing signs that he is ready to start eating more than just breastmilk so last week we officially started rice cereal.  Right now I'm just giving a little bit once a day but he really likes it and does well keeping it in his mouth.  His next appointment is a couple weeks away and our doctor told us that will be the appointment where we start introducing new foods and drinks so we'll be going slow with the cereal until then. 

He is a very happy baby and smiles and laughs out loud all the time.  Doug has this funny way of saying "what's going on?" that makes Eli laugh every time.  And he's ticklish under his arms.  He "talks" a lot too.  Sometimes when I pick him up from daycare he "talks" all the way home, almost as if he's telling me about his day. 

He also likes to play with his toys in his jumparoo or on his activity mat.  He's starting to really hold on to the toys and he also plays with his own fingers. 

We're really struggling lately with him trying to suck his fingers.  I am a strong believer in no thumb sucking but I am absolutely fine with him sucking his pacifier all day long (for right now).  However, Eli has figured out how to grab his paci and throw it, in addition to his previously honed skill of spitting it across the room :)  Yesterday he actually put the paci back in his mouth and Doug and I praised him as much as we could. 

Oh and one more first that I forgot to mention in my last post.  Eli started crying real tears while we were at the beach.  I'm sure they are the first of many in the years to come but it about breaks my heart watching them stream down his cheeks.

Eli still loves music, just like he has since... well, since forever I guess.  For as long as I could feel him moving, music made him dance.  And that hasn't stopped.  For the most part he rides well in the car but when he gets really upset we have to turn on his mirror music and the car radio.  It makes for a crazy sound for the other riders, but it sure calms him down. 

Eli still has not rolled over but he is trying.  I will be surprised if he doesn't go from back to tummy before he goes from tummy to back though. 

Also I want to say thanks to the awesome lady who sent Eli the onesie he's wearing the picture in this post for recommending these blankets:

I absolutely love them and finally feel comfortable letting Eli nap with a blanket.  I'm still working towards letting him sleep with them through the night, but I'm getting there :)

Oh and our neighbors brought home their new baby yesterday and seeing him really made me realize how much Eli has grown.  It almost made me cry to realize how fast the time is passing.