HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Hopefully everyone had a wonderful Christmas... Here's to a great New Year! Eli and I are looking forward to seeing all of our Vermont family and friends in a couple of weeks! Yippee!

4 Months Old!

Hello Everyone!

Eli was 4 months old on Thursday. We had his 4 month well visit yesterday. Weighing in at 17 lbs, 12.5 ounces and 26.5 inches long, he is still in the 95th percentile. His head is just shy of 17 inches, and in the 50th percentile.

Our second experience with vaccinations was only a little better than the first. Our little pin cushion tends to cry quite a bit following shots. We don't have too much to complain about since he hardly cries the rest of the time. Still a very happy boy.

Eli has started rolling over from his tummy to his back. All that tummy time has paid off! His teething has disturbed his night time sleep patterns some, and he has started waking up more frequently, usually about 4 times a night. Hopefully that doesn't last too long. I was really enjoying those 5 hours stretches!

We have our Christmas Tree up, and Eli loves looking at the lights....actually he loves anything that lights up. Kevin has nick named him "Tater," (as in "couch potato") since he is always trying to steal a glimpse of the TV if its on. We try not to let him watch it, but that doesn't stop him from trying!

We want to congratulate a few friends on some exciting news!

Denise, Jon, Jillian and Kira Rundle welcomed little brother Nathan Robert Rundle on Dec. 4.

Our Wyoming friends Morgane Boag and Travis Van Voorst were just engaged! CONGRATS TO YOU ALL!

Wishing you all a great upcoming holiday!

XOXO

The latest....

We've had a pretty quiet November. Nonni came to visit for a few days earlier in the month... of course she was here to see Eli, not us ;-) We had a quiet Thanksgiving at home, just the three of us. We celebrated a Turkey dinner when Nonni was here, so we threw out tradition and enjoyed King Crab Legs for Thanksgiving dinner instead of turkey. Yummy!

I am still at home, but am anticipating some work coming my way from my old boss (the lawyer), so that will help with the Christmas funds! I can't say I'm complaining too much. Eli is a joy to be around and I'm pretty happy to be able to spend such quality time with him.

Eli is still growing like a weed. He has his 4 month check up on December 10, and we're not looking forward to the next round of vaccinations. I weighed him at home the other day and he was 16.7 lbs. Still pretty big, although his growth rate seems to be leveling off a bit (thankfully...he's getting heavy!) He has started teething a bit, and spends much of the day with his fist shoved in his mouth, covered in drool! He is able to hold on to many of his toys now, most of which he attempts to chew on, but can't quite line them up with his mouth yet. He's just now starting to roll a bit, from his back to his side, but hasn't made it all the way over yet.

We are looking forward to Eli's first Christmas. We were ambitious this year and just cut our Christmas Tree today! Trees can be cut in certain areas of the national forest around here for a $5 permit. Not a bad deal! We saw lots of wildlife today as well, including 5 moose all with antlers. Unfortunately, they were too far away for photos.

Kevin had an exciting experience the day before Thanksgiving. The Game and Fish Dept. was capturing bald eagles for lead testing up the road from our house, and Kevin was there to witness the event. He even got to hold one of the eagles captured. Photos below!

We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Our love to you all! Happy Holidays!

More of Eli

Well, I have been officially laid off for the winter. While it is certainly not ideal, I must say if ever there was a time... I suppose this ought to be it! Initially I was going to be able to bring Eli to work with me most days, so the situation was about perfect, but with the current economy, things at the inn have been slow and I'm at the top of the pay-scale so.....
Now I will spend the winter focusing on Eli and getting in as much quality time as possible. It is so hard to believe how fast he is growing. Delighted as I am at watching his growth and development into a little man, I already miss that "new baby" stage. Imagine what a wreck I'm going to be when he turns a year!
Nonni will be her next week for his 3 month birthday... I'm sure we'll find a fun way to celebrate! Love to you all!

A Visit from the Aunt and Uncles!

Sorry it's been a while since we've posted. Things have been busier around here! Eli was 2 months on the 10th. At his 2 month check up (the 12th) he was 13 lbs, 2 oz., 23.5 inches and his head was 15.5 inches. Apparently I still have a little case of baby brain, because I forgot to ask where that puts him on the charts officially, but from what I can tell, he's about in the 95th percentile for his weight for a full term baby.... since we all know he was a bit early, I imagine that makes him a pretty big boy as far as growth charts go!

Eli is smiling and giggling quite a bit now. He can hold up his head, and extends his legs putting all of his weight on them... we just need to keep him from falling over ;-) He's a pretty strong boy...Daddy is of course very proud! We even got him a new bouncer to play on, which he seems to enjoy so far! Eli is still up about every three hours, but has started sleeping a longer stretch at the beginning of the night, usually about 5 hours. He is still a great baby, and is rarely fussy with the exception of the day of his checkup following vaccinations... the poor little guy cried for several hours that night.

We just said goodbye to Auntie Lizzy, Uncle Mike and Uncle Jay. They were here for a week and we all had a great time. We made it up to Yellowstone for a couple of days. Didn't get to see all of the park due to road closures but saw most of the southern loop. It was Uncle Jay's first trip... and Eli's of course! We saw Old Faithful, Upper and Lower Falls, and paid a visit to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone. Pictures below!

Nonni can't stay away and will be making another trip to visit on Nov. 9th for a few days.... She's missing her little snuggler. Eli and I will be making the trip to Vermont in January, but that's apparently too long to wait! We'll be excited to see her again.

Love to all!

Big Bouncing Baby Boy

Greetings everyone!

Fall is in the air, the elk are in rut and bugling all around the ranch. The leaves have all but fallen, and we've turned on the heat! We decided to make the most of the nice fall days, and took Eli on his first camping adventure this weekend - that is if you can consider an RV camping! We headed to Granite Creek on Thursday for 2 nights. Eli was toasty warm at night, snuggled in with Mom and Dad in the nice heated camper, and a good time was had by all. He even napped long enough for us to take a dip in the hot springs!

Eli is still growing like a weed! I keep reading about 3 and 6 week growth spurts, but I think our little guy is on a perpetual growth spurt! At 6 weeks, 2 days he weighed 11 lbs. on the nose! Considering his early arrival, I'm told that's pretty impressive... I haven't charted it yet, but I'm betting he is right up there on percentile growth!

Eli is still a great baby... has been giving us great big toothless grins more and more. He only fusses when he's being dressed, buckled in his car seat, or trying to nap but too distracted to fall asleep. The old boob generally does the trick to calm him down! He is still up about every 3 to 4 hours to nurse at night, but sleeps well for about 10 hours around that, allowing me to still get 7-8 hours every night. Kevin is going to start giving him a bottle (pumped breast milk) at night until snowmobile season starts to give Mom a bit of a break. Once the snowmobile season starts, his days will be really long, so I'll take back over for most feedings during the night.

I have gone back to work part-time. I am taking Eli in to the office about 8-10 hours a week (2 to 3 days), and taking work home with me. I plan on continuing part-time until the end of October, and will reevaluate then.

Hope all is well with everyone! Happy Fall!

Look Alike?

We had fun looking at old baby pictures while Nonni & Opa visited! It seems Eli looks like his Mom! Here's a who's who of babies!


Erika in the hospital - 1975


Eli, just home from the hospital - 2009-


Kevin, about 6 months - 1972


Eli 2 weeks - 2009


Erika - 1975

ONE MONTH OLD!!!

Hard to believe Eli is now over a month old. Time is flying by, and our little monkey has grown so much already! We are feeling very blessed to have such a good baby (yes, I am knocking on wood in the hopes that it continues:-)

Nonni was here to celebrate Eli's one month birthday... we adults had cheesecake, while Eli enjoyed a trip to the "Dairy Queen," as Kevin likes to call me. He has no problems making frequent visits to the Dairy Queen.

A few more pictures below!

Love to All!

Another Clip... per Auntie Liz's request!

We've figured out the video!!!

Here's a little clip of Eli awake!

First Family Visit

Nonni and Opa arrived on Wednesday for their first visit with Eli (we're pretty well convinced no one will be coming to see us anymore.... just the baby)! They are quite taken with the newest addition to the family, and first grandchild! Some pics are below for you all to enjoy... and more to come!