Jayden boy

So I was scrolling through the blog and realized its been SUPER Eli heavy of late, what with him turning 1 and all. So I thought I'd give a shout out to our firstborn, our crazy 2 year old Jayden. :)
He is such a delight to watch as he blossoms into a little boy and not a baby right before our very eyes. His vocabulary is expanding everyday and we are amazed at how well he communicates with us now. He is super social, and loves to be with people. But we are also seeing a more timid, scared side emerge. He often comes over to me and says, "Mommy, scared. Mommy, scared." He doesn't like things too wild and crazy, unless its him dancing wild and crazy. As I type this, he is dancing around the living room. :) Jayden amazes us with his sweet heart, and his affectionate nature. He loves to give his little brother kisses, and loves to give us hugs and kisses too.

And just because he's too stinking cute lately...

And an example of his sweet affectionate nature. This is baby Charlie, born on Eli's first birthday to our friends Kevin and Stacey. He has a twin sister, too, Eva. She was in the NICU when we visited but is now home!! Yay Eva!!

heartbreaker

Cutest little 1 year old in the world, I tell ya!!!

a boy in a box

Steph was carrying Eli around in one of the new storage bins she bought.

Kinda reminds me of this...
from last fall.

It is a fairly frequent occurence for me to think, "Weren't we JUST doing this a year ago with Jayden?" One of the joys of having children this close together!! :)

Eli's 1 year old stats

So we took Eli for his one year check-up last week.

Here he is waiting in the waiting room.
And with Dr. Alban. Meant to get one of him on the scale. Forgot. Whoops!

So without further adieu...

Weight: 20 lbs, 10 oz (25th percentile)
Height: 29 inches (30th percentile)
Head circumference: 18 inches (50th percentile)

So he's on the small side, which is hilarious, if you've seen his CHUNKY thighs and little Buddha belly.

We didn't have to do his shots cause they were out of some. So unfortunately we have to go back for them. So we'll do that sometime this week or next.

But all in all he's growing well, conquering his milestones, etc.

What's he up to?
*not walking yet. a step here and there but nothing documentable. he stands well but just doesn't seem to have a huge interest in walking. so that's fine! :)
*sleeping 11-12 hours a night and still taking two naps. he's starting to show early signs of dropping one nap.
*eating super well. loving almost all food we put on his tray
*still nursing twice a day. we are slowing weaning. I have such mixed emotions. part of me wants to keep breastfeeding as long as possible, and part of me is SO excited to have my body back after three straight years of breastfeeding and pregnancy. :)
*he is talking a little. he says ball (BA), balloon (BOON), Mama, Dada, and Baba, which he uses for sippy cup.
*if you ask him, "How old is Eli?" he holds up one finger and says, "BOO" which I think is him trying to say "One."
*he is a pretty mellow guy. loves to laugh but is not overly silly. loves to be with people but also plays very well independently. he has quite a temper when he gets mad, though, although that doesn't happen very often.
*all in all, Eli is growing and learning well. he is such a joy and I thank God everyday for His providence in giving us our second little son. we were surprised by his conception, and some days I still wake to find myself shocked i have two little boys. but we are SO thankful for all the joy raising Eli brings to us.

Eli's First Year in Video!

party party party

We had a smallish party for Eli's birthday. Mostly just family and neighbors. We tried to keep it small in the interest of not wearing out my dad. But, still, there was celebrating to be done, and cake to be eaten!!

Just love this shot.

Let's just say Eli was a HUGE fan of his cake. But this boy LOVES to eat so its no surprise.


But he, of course, wanted to share with Mommy

And a quick family pic!!

one year later...to the minute!

3:51 PM, July 9, 2008

And.....

3:51 PM, July 9, 2009

We were in the car at the exact minute and this is what he was doing!! :) Ha ha ha.

whatcha looking at?

ELI IS ONE!!!!!!

Today is Eli's birthday!! We started the day with a trip to IHOP for some tasty pancakes. He loved every bit. But, of course, this is Eli we're talking about. That boys LOVES to eat, to put it mildly! :)

Here's the birthday boy!

And Jayden and Mommy hanging out. He is in a big "hold me" phase. So here I am obliging his "hold me."

Here are some pics we shot today of the sweet birthday boy!






And here he is working on his walking skills.

I'll post more later on with updates on what he is up to these days. His 1 year check up isn't until next week so we'll have height and weight stats then! :) Oh and his party is Saturday so we'll have lots of pics from that too.

4th of July

On the 4th we kept it mellow since my dad is still recovering from his multiple procedures and brushes with death. But we got the giraffe pool out and let the boys play. They loved it!!
An attempt to get a picture of both boys in the pool. Ha ha.
And each boy just being cute!!

We wrapped up the evening with BBQing and then watching the fireworks after the boys were in bed.

P.S. Eli turns ONE tomorrow. holy smokes.

Mama's Boy

Today during snack...

hospital lifesavers!!

Just a few fun pics from my dad's hospital stay.

Here are two lifesavers, literally. On the right is Dr. Magliato (who, by the way, is one of FOUR female cardiothoracic surgeons in the whole country), who was putting on her gloves in the OR when my dad flatlined. She was the one who cracked his chest open and massaged his heart with her hands. WOW. And on the left, is our favorite nurse EVER, Lisa. When my dad decided to suddenly flatline three days after his surgery, she was one who plugged in his external pacemaker so he wouldn't die. We love these ladies!!

The ICU at St. John's Hospital is so great and let us bring Owen, Everett, and Eleni to see my dad even though the rule is normally no kids under 10 years old (since they were here all the way from Oregon and my dad ended up in the ICU longer than anticipated). Dr. Magliato was there as well and was SO great with them. Here she is letting Everett use the stethoscope to check my dad's heart.
And here's Everett doing what Everett does best- making people laugh!

This is my dad two days before his stroke and three days after his surgery. Looking pretty good, eh? and he looks about the same these days, praise God! :)

two of my four favorite boys in all the world!!

This is Everett, my 5 year old nephew, in the Pack N Play with Eli. Ha ha.