I can crawl!

Today was the day! I've been working on learning to crawl for a few weeks now, and I actually got somewhere today. Before, I would get up on my hands and knees, rock back and forth, and just kind of fall flat where I am at; or sometimes I would kick my legs and put my head down until my booty sticks way up in the air, then pick my head up and move forward a bit. But today I was able to move across our family room floor all on my own, and in pretty good time too!

Mommy had just gotten me up from my nap and we were playing on the floor. Daddy came out and sat on the couch and said "Eli, if you want to play with me you should crawl over here." Well, I got so excited to see Daddy up for the day, and I really did want to play with him, so I decided I just had to crawl over to him. And I did!! I got up on my hands and knees, did the rocking, and kind of flattened out a few times, but moving forward the whole time. I crawled right off the blanket Mommy likes to keep me on and across part of the carpet until I got Daddy's feet. I love feet (Mommy is grossed out because she does NOT like feet at all). I got all cuddled up to Daddy's feet and played with them for a bit, then he picked me up and I played with him for a bit too.

I also learned to pull myself up to standing today...sort of. Mommy was laying on the floor while I was sitting and playing. I turned around to her and kind of laid on her tummy. Then I pushed down on my arms and stood with my legs! It was the first time I've done this all by myself, and Mommy and Daddy were very excited to see it. Especially because Mommy wants me to walk as soon as I can after crawling--she thinks it's a lot cleaner. Boy does she have a lot to learn about boys and dirt!

I guess today was my day to show off my skills because I have also been saying Mamamamama, and Dadadadada a lot more today. I can usually say it back to Mommy or Daddy when they say it to me, and I love to laugh and giggle with them when I do.

What a fun and busy day it has been for me! I've been sick this past weekend--my first cold. Luckily for Mommy and Daddy I've been pretty good during the day, but at night I wake up around 3 am because I can't breathe any more, then I am fussy for the rest of the morning. Sometimes Daddy stayed up with me and sometimes I woke Mommy up. It ended up that Mommy and I did not get very much sleep this past weekend, but I am feeling better now and am able to do all these fun, grown up (for a baby) things!

Chargers vs Cardinals

We went to the football game this past weekend out in Glendale. Mommy and Daddy really wanted to take me to the game but were nervous and didn't decide for sure until the last minute. In the end, they decided to take me and we all got to go to the big game. When we first walked into the stadium all the noise was overwhelming for me and I cried a bit, but once we got to our seats Mommy just held me close and I manged to calm down. I still got scared sometimes when everyone cheered, but for the most part we all had a really good time. We had excellent seats just 6 rows back on the 20 yard line behind the Chargers' bench. Daddy and I wore our Chargers blue shirts and they even won that night! Mommy was sad that the Cardinals lost, but over all we had a great time and Daddy got some really neat pictures of the game.
Happy Father's Day Daddy!!

Mommy says Go Cardinals!

Hey, maybe this is fun!

Yay for football!!

Another Month Gone By

Well, it's been over a month and we've had a lot of fun things to do. I am now sitting up on my own with no problems and no help. I love to sit and play with my toys, but I still prefer to stand. I stand and play all the time, and only fall over every once in a while. I only need help to get standing, but once I'm up, I can balance pretty well. I am also starting to learn to cruise around just a little bit with some toys, or the couch, or the pews at church.

One of my favorite things to do with Mommy is to try and eat her face--especially her chin. Mommy calls them kisses, but I just think it's fun to slobber on her. I like to grab the sides of her face or her hair and pull her to me and then bit and drool all over her chin. Mommy says it's a good thing I don't have teeth yet!

One of my favorite things to do with Daddy is to play, play, PLAY!! Daddy and I have lots of fun things we do. I like to stand on his lap and jump up and down as fast as I can. I also LOVE to get tossed in the air by Daddy. This makes me laugh and laugh and laugh and is one of my most favorite things. Even when I am really fussy, I have to laugh when Daddy starts to toss me in the air.

Mommy and Daddy discovered that I like AC/DC music. Actually, it's one specific song--Thunderstruck. It was on the other night and Mommy started to sing the "thunder" part, and every time she did I laughed. Then Daddy joined in, and I just laughed even harder. Now it's sort of a game with us, and Mommy and Daddy will say "thunder" throughout the day, and every time they do I smile and then start to laugh.

I had my 6-month check-up last week. I am healthy and growing just fun. I got all my shots again, and got a bit of a fever the next day. But it wasn't as bad as last time, and now I don't have to go back until I am 9 months old! Also, the doctor said it's time for me to eat a variety of things now, so Mommy and Daddy have been having fun letting me try all sorts of foods--baby food and people food.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

This past Wednesday was Daddy's birthday. Mommy and I were very careful to make sure it was a nice and relaxing day for Daddy...sort of. Actually, Aunt Julie got engaged the weekend before so we had plans to go wedding dress shopping with her, Grandma Romney, and Aunt Melanie on that day. It was also our last time to see her before she goes back to school. We figured this would be a good thing for Daddy becuase he could sleep in and have a nice quite house for a little while.

Mommy made Daddy some breakfast the night before, so all he had to do that day was put it in the oven when he was ready to eat it. We also got him a video game he likes--Gran Turismo--hoping he could relax and play games while we were gone. Then that morning Mommy and I got up and went dress shopping!

Daddy did get to sleep in, but he had a busy day after that. He really likes to cook for people, and since Grandma and Grandpa Romney and Julie were in town he wanted to have everyone over for a BBQ and cake. So as soon as he got up he started making a very yummy lemon cake, then when everyone came over he grilled some hamburgers. We also had delicious baked beans and corn on the cob. It was a wonderful meal and it was so fun to celebrate with everyone. Even though he was busy cooking all the stuff, Daddy says it was a great birthday for him too.

He also got more presents--we got him an ice cream maker for his kitchen aid and a Ben and Jerry's ice cream recipe book. Daddy's favorite kind of Ben and Jerry's ice cream got discontinued this year, so Mommy decided this was the best way for him to still get his ice cream. And we got him a political book on tape, and some other fun things.

It was a busy day full of fun and family. Aunt Julie got a beautiful wedding dress, and Mommy had a great time with her Mommy and sisters that day. And in the end, we had a fun birthday celebration with Daddy.
Birthday's are fun!


Blowing out the candles

Chitter Chatter

One more thing I forgot to mention...I said "mama" the other day! Well, at least Mommy is claiming I said that. Mommy and I have chat sessions all the time, and last Friday it was just her and me at home because Daddy was at work. So, as usual, we were talking with each other. Mommy and Daddy always say "mamamamama" and "dadadadadadada" to me. Well, on this day, I decided I would surprise Mommy. I started to put my lips together and make an "mmmmmm" sounds. I kept doing this over and over, so Mommy started to say "mamamamamamam" over and over. Suddenly, I added a few vowels and it became "mmmmmmmamammmmm!". Mommy was so excited, and that got me excited. We both laughed and talked for a few more minutes. Of course, Mommy hurriedly got the video camera, but I decided to keep my skills to myself and did not display them for the recording. Still, it was a fun time with Mommy, and now she is telling everyone that I said "mama."

I am 5 months old!

Happy 5-month-old birthday to me! I am growing so much every day. Here are some things I am doing now.

Teething
I am still teething but haven't gotten any pearly whites yet. I have two teeth that want to poke through on my bottom gum, but they are taking their precious time getting here. Some days I am fine, and some days I am pretty fussy because my mouth hurt. Mommy and Daddy do everything they can to help me feel better, there's just not always a lot they can do.

Eating
I am eating cereal now! I started on rice cereal (organic, of course!) but that seemed to stop me up inside a bit. Instead, Mommy switched me to oatmeal cereal. I have also eaten some carrots and peas, and even tried a taste of prunes--I didn't like the prunes very much. Mostly I just eat the cereal and I LOVE it! I love to sit at the table with Mommy and Daddy when they eat, and it is especially fun now that I get to eat my own food too! Because of my teething, I like to chew on things, and once Daddy gave me a big hard pretzel to chew on. I really liked this and hope to have more things to chew on soon!


Sitting Up
I do not like to lay down--I want to be up and see the world. Now that I am bigger, I can even sit up on my own for a little bit. I'm still pretty wobbly, so Mommy or Daddy have to stay close. But when they sit me up and let me play, I can sit up all by myself! Next I will have to learn how to get myself to sit up all by myself!


Standing
More than sitting up, I love to stand! I am always trying to be up and standing whenever I can. In fact, I wake mommy up in the mornings, not by crying, but by grunting because I'm trying to get up. Mommy and Daddy discovered that I can stand all on my own--sort of. I can stand up outside of my jumper, and as long as I hold on to the jumper I can stand up. I love doing this and stand for a really long time.


Sleeping In My Crib
My crib is all set up in my room, and this past month we got a mattress for it. I was getting too big for my bassinet, and my doctor said I should be sleeping through the night, so Mommy and Daddy are working on getting me used to sleeping in my crib. I now take all of my naps in there and am pretty good at that. I also fall asleep in there at night, but still wake up after a couple hours to nurse. Mommy and Daddy are going to start working on letting me put myself back to sleep. We'll see how that goes--I can be pretty loud and cranky when I don't get what I want. But I do have a really nice crib in a nice room all my own, so maybe I will start sleeping in there more. (Mommy can only hope!)

News, news, news

So, Mommy has been a little busy and we haven't updated my blog in over a month. Here's what has been going on:

New Car
Mommy got a new car!! Mommy had her 99 Jeep Wrangler and I guess I was getting too big for her to be able to put me and my car seat into the backseat, so she needed a new car. Mommy and Daddy have been looking at different small SUVs, but didn't know for sure what they wanted. They decided on a Toyota RAV4--not too big and not too little (and a nice V6 engine). Grandpa Romney was in town and he and Mommy went to look at the Toyota dealership to make sure that was what we wanted. Mommy test drove one and decided it would be a good car--but it was Daddy's first day of work for the week so we would wait a little bit to get one. That night, Grandpa Romney did some looking on the internet and found the perfect car--right model, color, price, everything. He and Mommy and I went the next morning to look at them. Mommy was just planning on looking, but the car was exctly what we wanted and the deal was so good she ended up buying it! Then we brought it home and Daddy loved it too--now we are all very happy with our new car. Although, Mommy had to trade in her Jeep--I think we all miss it a bit--but this one is much better for driving me around.

Aunt Julie's Visit
Aunt Julie came down to visit! It was a last minute trip and she came down late on Friday and was planning to leave on Sunday afternoon (6/26 - 6/28). She carpooled with a friend, and her friend's car wouldn't start on Sunday so Aunt Julie got to stay an extra day here! We had a lot of fun together--I love my Aunt Julie. On Saturday, Mommy, me, Aunt Julie, Aunt Melanie, and Hailee all went to the Chandler mall to hang out for the day. Then we all had dinner together that night with Daddy and Uncle David. It is so much fun to have all this family around. Aunt Julie left on Monday evening, and something very scary happened. She got in a car accident on the way home! Their was a sudden downpour of rain and their car hydroplaned and pinballed back and forth across the I-17 freeway. Thankfully her and her friend were okay. Mommy was really scared when she heard the news, but we are all so glad that Aunt Julie is safe and sound, and we are looking forward to her next visit.


My 4-Month Visit
I went to the doctor for my 4-month check-up. I am such a big boy--I weigh 14 pounds 6 ounces (50th percentile), and am 25.5 inches long(75th percentile). My tiny head is only 16 cm in circumference (10th percentile). I am a healthy, growing boy. I still had to get my shots, and they made me a little sick afterward. I had a high fever of about 102 for a few days, but apparently that is normal and it finally went away.

Happy Father's Day!
For his first Father's Day Mommy and I got some fun presents for Daddy. I got him a Superman card that records my giggle and a cookbook especially for babies because Daddy likes to cook such yummy food. Mommy got him a box of See's candy, a Charger's shirt, and surprised him with tickets to a Chargers vs. Cardinals (preseason) football game! The game isn't until August, but Daddy seemed to be pretty excited and surprised by this present.
My Daddy Rocks (that's what my shirt says)




Independence Day
For the 4th of July, we went over to Hailee's house. We had a yummy summer feast of grilled hot dogs, potato salad, watermelon, chips, and corn. Aunt Carol also came over and made an apple pie. Daddy also made his delicious lemon curd dessert--they are like lemon squares but ten times better! We tried to watch the fireworks, but couldn't see them from their backyard because of all the houses around. Then Hailee discovered (with Aunt Melanie) that we could see them from their 2nd story guest bedroom window. We all headed upstairs and watched the fireworks from there. We could actually see a few different hows across the east valley and all had a good time hanging out together. I didn't really notice the fireworks because we were inside and too far away...maybe next year.