Real Life

Oh, the glamour of motherhood.

I'm typing this while frantically rocking Eli's bouncer with my foot in hopes that he will finally (FINALLY) take a nap longer than five minutes this morning. I don't think he appreciates it very much since he's giving me an exceedingly dirty look. Wait, let me get a picture of it...

Oh yeah. Check out that face. Somebody is just oozing sunshine and butterflies this morning, aren't they?

I know he must be exhausted. The dear child woke up more than a few times last night, probably to make up for sleeping so well this week. And yet he insists on fighting tooth gum and nail to stay awake. Silly, silly boy.

It's mornings like this when I'm torn between two strong emotions. On one hand, I think to myself, "There are so many things I would rather be doing right now than have a grumpy baby kicking me with his brace while he cries in my ear."

Yet, on the other hand, I can't help but know that there is nothing I could do that is more important than to comfort the sweet little babe I've been given. And when I hear his tiny sigh of relief once I successfully help him calm down, I know that this job, difficult as it might be, is more fulfilling and sweet than anything else in the world.

And even though I haven't been able to shower in longer than I'd care to admit, and my half-eaten bowl of cereal I was never able to finish is almost certainly sludge by now, and I'll have to re-wash the load of laundry I realized I never did dry last night (dang it!), and I'm beginning to feel like I haven't slept in years, I'm so thankful to be this tiny little man's mama. He is worth it, 100%, and I love him more than I can explain.

And look! He even slept long enough for me to write this.

If he stays asleep for a few minutes, maybe I'll go do something crazy like, I don't know... take a shower or something. I know, I know. What can I say? I'm a wild child.

Peace out.

Eli Thursday

11 weeks

 Yesterday, Eli got his last (!!!) cast taken off. Yippee! He traded it in for a fancy schmancy new brace which he gets to take off for an hour every day. He kicked those little legs of his the whole hour like there was no tomorrow. I think he likes this change a lot. I sure do!

Plus, as I mentioned on instagram, he looks like an itty bitty snowboarder now and that makes me happy. :)

Blessing Day

Little Eli's baby blessing was yesterday!

We packed our little Spanish branch full of family and friends who came for the occasion.

And little Eli James looked quite dapper in his (nontraditional) blessing outfit. 

The blessing went perfectly. Eli fussed a bit at first but then fell asleep. 

A sweet lady from our ward made him this white blanket that we wrapped him in for the blessing.

If you can't tell, he wasn't too pleased about being woken up for pictures. ;)

I'm so thankful for my little family. Becoming a mom has been quite an adjustment in some ways, but these handsome boys make me oh so happy. I think I'll keep them!

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P.S. If you are unfamiliar with baby blessings, here is a quick explanation that I found here:

"When babies are just a few weeks old, they are usually given a priesthood blessing for the special purpose of conferring a name by which the baby will be known and bestowing promises based on spiritual impressions regarding the baby's future life. A quality of prophecy attends this process. If a baby's father is a worthy holder of the Melchizedek Priesthood, he will usually pronounce the blessing, but it may be given by a grandfather, a family friend, or any other qualified priesthood holder chosen by the baby's parents. Babies are usually blessed in the presence of the congregation at a fast and testimony meeting. However, the blessing may be given at other times and places, such as in a hospital or home, if there is a special need."

Eli Thursday

10 weeks

Because I am a crazy person, I started a painting project this week... with a 2-month-old baby in tow. Thankfully, Eli was pretty patient and happily chatted with me while chilling in his bouncer as I worked.

Still, no matter how patient you are, there comes a time when enough is enough. The poor fellow is starving to death (for the umpteenth time that day) and what do I do? Grab the camera, of course. 

Mother of the year? That would be me. ;)

Eli Thursday

9 weeks

Eli was blessed with a herd of doting uncles and aunts on my side. I think he kinda likes them too.

Eli Thursday

8 weeks

Funny how my favorite picture of him this week was shot from the hip without checking the settings first. It's hard to catch that happy little smirk of his since it comes and goes so quickly. 

He had surgery on Tuesday to help straighten out his foot. I'm really happy to see him back to his cheery old self again after having a rough couple of days. 

Eli Thursday

First things first: Yes, I know it isn't Thursday, and yes, I am shamelessly copying Jen.

Now that we have that cleared up, welcome to the first edition of Eli Thursday. (Tangent: I was hoping to come up with something more catchy or clever but since the only thing I could think of was Eli Erryday I decided to stick with Eli Thursday for obvious reasons. End tangent.) The idea is that I post a picture or two every Thursday, partially to help me remember to not only take pictures with my real camera, but actually do something with them besides just let them sit on my computer. I'm hoping to stick with it for a year and then print them off and put them in an album. We'll see how it goes, eh?

Week 7

He's my little workout buddy. He loves the stroller and slept the whole time, except for when I peeked in the canopy a couple times and he glared at me as if to say, "Hey, you're letting in the light. Can't you see I'm trying to sleep?" 

I just started exercising this week and boy howdy, am I out of shape. I don't care as much about getting down to my pre-pregnancy weight as I do about being able to do stuff like play frisbee and go hiking without getting exhausted after 10 minutes. Going walking/running (let's be honest, there ain't much running) with him helps though since the faster I move the better he sleeps. 

I guess I better play catch-up since I'm starting this so late, so... here's the past 6 weeks too.

Week 1

He loves being Eli's daddy and it makes me happy.

Week 2

Sleepy smiles. The best.

Week 3

He really loves being photographed, can't you tell? That kid has killer brows.

Week 4

Such a champ with his first cast (which is to straighten out his club foot, and not because we let him play in the street. I know you were wondering.).

 Week 5

This kid loves to stretch, and makes the goofiest faces when he does it.

Week 6

Meeting great-grandma Carmen, Dallin's (97-year-old!) grandma.