Mornings with Eli

The mornings are the best with Elijah.  He's always so happy and talkative.  This morning he was particularly cute and chatty.....could be due to the fact that we was asleep by 9:00pm and didn't wake up until 6:30am this morning!  What a sleepy head:)  You only get 30 seconds of the fun, but we got almost an hour...I love mornings with my little one!

Wubbanub, Jumperoo and Boppy....Things I had never heard of until Eli!

Before I had Elijah, Wubbanub, Jumperoo and Boppy were just fun words to say and didn't have much meaning...so I'm here to educate you on what I have learned beyond the fact that these are really fun words to say, especially Wubbanub!

This past weekend, we spent Friday night with Aubrey and Dustin (yes, Nanny Aubrey wanted to come back after a long week with Eli) and watched the Tiger vs. Twin game.  This seems like it would be a big deal, you know two teams in the same division going head to head.....but not this year.  The Twinkies aren't so hot and the Tigers are!  Anyway, we had a great time and Elijah was the perfect little boy!  Saturday, Ben had to work a charity event in Detroit, so Eli and I went to our first ever Mom-to-Mom sale.  The only thing I was looking for was a Jumperoo since Eli is getting to the point where he's ready for it.  Basically, it's an activity center where you sit in the middle and can turn to the different stations all while using your legs to jump. And SCORE!  We found one, for a fraction of the cost of a new one, genius idea!  Look how happy (or scare depending on how you interpret the picture) he is!

 Sunday, Eli had a very fun-filled day.  We got up and went to church where all the members of the congregation admired his beautiful eyes and ignored his scent of baby spit up!  Then, we went to the Cozy Cafe in Plymouth for some breakfast outside, walked to the Cherry Hill Village Farmer's Market and topped it off with a trip to Target (I swear Target will be his first word).  As you can see from the photo below....it tired Eli out.

In fact, it tired him out so much, then I left him in the Boppy (big round pillow he is laying on) and ran to Buy Buy Baby and when I came home he was still in this position.  And yes, Ben was home watching him the whole time!  And in true Heather fashion, I only went to Buy Buy Baby to get Eli's special laundry detergent and walked out with that, some socks and what they call a Wubbanub.  I didn't buy the Wubbanub just for the fun name, I bought it because it's an upgraded, bigger pacifier with an attached animal!  In Eli's case, he got the frog.  He has been grabbing things more and more, and this is perfect because when he grabs it, he can usually put the pacifier back in his mouth if it falls out!  

 

Nanny McAubrey!!

Last Monday, we were delighted to have Aubrey Couture (of the Couture cousin clan!) take on the challenge of nanny for Eli!  As previously documented, I was a mess about daycare and didn't feel that it was the right decision for us and/or Eli.  She started last Monday (8/22) and it has been working out wonderfully!  It's so nice to know that we have someone who cares about Eli taking care of Eli while we are at work.  It's also nice that I get to work from home two days a week and can take breaks and lunch with my little guy!  As you can see from the photo below, Aubrey already has Elijah reading books!

Elijah's First Tiger Game

We finally did it!  We took Elijah to his first Tiger game Sunday against the Indians with Nana and Grandpa D.  This was an important series and by sweeping the Indians, the Tigers are up 4.5 on them!  Sunday was the perfect day to take our little peanut.  The weather was amazing, the Victor Martinez backpack is cool, a certificate for Eli's first Tiger game and a Tiger win!  We were glad we waited to take him until he was 13 weeks, he was a great baby all day and only cried when we were headed home.    Being a season ticket holder we get access to the Tiger Den which is a restaurant inside the ball park.  Relatively clean bathrooms, changing station in the men's and women's restrooms and a comfortable place to feed Eli and did I mention air conditioned!  It was the perfect blend of comfort items to assist in making our experience with Elijah a great one!  He slept in the Ergo (baby carrier) a decent amount of time with me and Nana had him the rest of the time (Thanks Nana!).  He was one happy baby and with a Tiger win, a happy mom and dad!

 Hanging with Nana

Sitting with Nana

 Thanks Roy for taking our picture!

Feeding Time (Nana tempting Eli with a french fry!)

Changing Time!  (Ben wasn't messing around in there!)

 Heading down to the seats!

Eli meets Roy!  Roy is onfield security and has been out at our seats for many years!  Roy's wife made Elijah beautiful blankets and burp cloths! 

Sitting with dad

Ergo with mom!

Today was one of the best days yet we've had as parents.  We had a full nights sleep since Eli slept from 9pm to 6am!  Yep, sleeping through the night!  We had some Cafe Du Monde (special because it was my favorite place in New Orleans!) coffee and just hung out with Eli and then we decided we'd head to Maybury State Park in Northville and go for a walk.  It was a beautiful morning and we were able to walk about 2 miles until I started to become bug food.  After our walk, we headed to downtown Plymouth where we enjoyed walking around through the great little shops and farmers market.  There's a huge fountain in the middle of the park in the center of town where everyone gathers and today was no exception.  There were so many families doing just what we were, enjoying being outside on a Saturday afternoon.  This was the first time Ben and I have fed and changed Eli in public, so it was a big step for the both of us and we succeeded!  After Eli had his lunch we headed over to the Penn and sat outside while enjoying our lunch!  We were finally away from the house for more than a few hours at one time, it was a first for us! 

After all this excitement, we headed home where Eli continued to make Ben's day his favorite thus far!  He fell asleep in his dad's arms while rocking on the front porch watching the rain roll in!  To end Ben's great day, he headed to the Tiger game with his parents where the Tigers beat the Indians (this is important because they are fighting for the lead in the division!)

Some Pictures as Promised!

 The onsie is a gift from the Minnesota Couture clan!  Authentic from where we were in New Orleans last December for Andi and Ed's wedding!

Eli's playroom has been invaded by the Muppets!

 He's learning to put things in his mouth....yikes!

Hanging in the park downtown Plymouth!

This is from the August 13th when Eli rolled over!  You can see he's leaning so far over!!

My little Tiger:)



Going back to Work

The week that I have dreaded since the day I gave birth to Elijah finally came on Tuesday, I had to go back to work and Elijah had to go to daycare.  I spent a lot of time at the daycare last week trying to get used to the idea and for Elijah to get used to being around others, but as I sat there, I couldn't convince myself this is what I wanted for Elijah.  It's funny, when you are pregnant, you are frantic about trying to find great care for your child, but when it comes to actually taking them, you second guess yourself. I didn't know how "needy" Eli would be, so I didn't choose a place based on this fact.  Last Thursday night, I was sobbing about taking Eli to daycare, so concerned with who would have the time to hold him all day when we came up with a great idea!  Cousin Aubrey is moving to town...maybe she'll take care of Eli???  Ben sent her a text message at 10:00pm and within a few hours we had a response from her paraphrased of course..."When I first read your message I thought it said how do you feel about getting married.  I thought, well that's a random question...".  We talked through our plan over the next few days and cousin Aubrey has agreed to be Eli's nanny!  I couldn't be happier about having someone who cares about Eli taking care of Eli.

Either way, on Monday morning I went to drop Eli up (on his first day) and cancelled.  He finished the week with 3 half days and next week he'll be with a combination of Nana, Ben and I as well as Aubrey.  There's something to be said about feeling good with the decision you make about the care for your child.  I thought that so many women I work with use daycare, it was no big deal but the fact of the matter is that it is a very big deal and what works for others isn't necessarily going to work with you. 

As far as my week back to work, it went OK and could have gone much worse.  I cried on the way to work and any time I had the chance to think about strangers taking care of Eli, but as everyone told me, it got better as time went on.  I'm just going to have a better week next week when he has special people with him all day!

Pictures and Video's of Eli to follow since I know that's really what you are here for!

The Last 3 Months

The last 3 months have been a whirlwind.  From having a really long labor process to bringing home our bundle of joy to hitting his little milestones, it has been a wonderful journey so far.  I went from wondering what I had gotten myself into to wondering why we didn't do this sooner.  Eli has brought me so much happiness over the last 3 months that it is going to be painful for me to be away from him for a little more than 8 hours a day.  His little gummy grin is the first thing he greats me in the morning with and the last face he makes at night (he smiles in his sleep).  He is our blessing and we couldn't imagine life without him. I can't believe my baby is already 3 months old!  I love you Elijah David Stubbs:)

Eli Rolled Over!

Today, August 13th, Elijah rolled over!!!!  Ben and I woke up early with Elijah and were having some quality tummy time when he started to lean toward the side with his back legs up.  He's been doing this for the last few weeks, so this wasn't new, but what was new was that he was tipping over a little!  And then it happened, he rolled over from his tummy to his back!!!  Ben and I were both there to witness this milestone and sure enough we were so excited when he did this that we scared him!  It didn't matter, we were so proud of our little guy!

Plagroups = New Friends

This last week has been very fun filled.  It started off with us visiting the daycare Elijah is currently signed up for, and me crying the entire time I was there.  We went back the second day to be reunited with a parent of one of the girls I used to coach (I coached cheerleading at Canton High School for several years) and gained a more comfortable feeling, however, I still sobbed.  All the babies were laying so calmly in their bouncy seats....Elijah HATES his bouncy seat, and his swing, and anything else that is a person rocking him.  This leads to much fear for what the daycare will do for my high maintenance baby.....more on that later.  By Wednesday, I decided to not think about daycare anymore because all it does is makes me hurt inside.  We were invited by a friend in the neighborhood out for a walk and ended up meeting some other friends with their babies and it turned into a little playgroup....how fun!!  Friends for Elijah and friends for me to help take my mind of my upcoming return to work!  Thursday, our friend Lynn Potter came and visited and we did more walking and talking and keeping my mind off of the dreaded daycare.  Friday came and once again we met up with other mothers and their babies for a playgroup and we met another Elijah!  The Elijah we met was also three months old, but much smaller than our Elijah.  I was impressed with how well my little man behaved...just laying on a blanket watching the ceiling fan (still no takers on the installation of one?  Eli really LOVES them!).

Ellie, Elijah, Grant and Elijah (my little Eli)

Lunches Outside, Tiger Games and Family Fun!

What a great, relaxing weekend we had!  Ben and I love to eat lunch outside in downtown Plymouth and after a Target trip (it's possible Elijah's first word will be Target!), we went to the Penn restaurant and sat outside.  Elijah was content sitting on his daddy's lap!  We had such a great time!  Saturday night, we went to meet some friends for dinner and watch the Tigers game and again, Elijah was so great!  We had so much fun!

This might be Elijah's favorite book....maybe because Mom and Dad break out into song in the middle!  Yep, we sing Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

Doing the airplane!

We've started decorating the house with family pictures and loaded his photo book with pictures of family.  Sunday, he looked at all the pictures and smiled at everyone, but it was Nana who got the most smiles!  She happened to be wearing a black and white pattern shirt in the photo and right now, he's drawn to those colors!  I'll try to figure out why the video won't load, but hopefully it will, it's so cute:)

Playdates, Long Sleeps & Nana & Grandpa D

Wednesday was a big day for Eli, he had a play date with the neighbor babies!  There were babies ranging from 4 months to 17 months, and Eli was the youngest at 10 and a half weeks!  He laid on the floor watching the ceiling fan spin around and around and let out loud coos as his legs kicked with delight!  I think we might need to install one of these (this is not a plug in for someone to help us install a ceiling fan in our bedroom!! Wink Wink!)  We had a wonderful time at the Wiacek's and I know that Eli and their son Grant are going to be the best of buddies!  They are only about 4 months apart and with them living in the same sub, it's only a matter of time before we take "the boys" to Tiger games!

Wednesday night, I got to go to our neighbor's house for a ThirtyOne bag party and left Eli with Ben.  This was the first time Ben has put Eli to bed without me, but whatever he did, it was awesome!  He put Elijah to sleep at 9:15pm and he didn't wake up until 7:15am.  We woke up thinking, did it really happen? Did we just sleep through the night?  Will this ever happen again?  Well, it did really happen, we did sleep through the night, however we did not have a repeat performance!  I know, I jinxed it!  It's just the way it is!  Either way, he slept through the night for the first time and we couldn't be happier!

Thursday, Eli got to spend quality time with his Nana and Grandpa D.  After Eli slept through the night, he woke up and we very, I mean VERY, attentive.  He was so mesmerized by some red flowers on the fire place, you may have thought he was on something.  It was incredible.  See the culprit of this behavior below:

After he looked at the flowers, he sat with Grandpa D on the front porch and stared at his orange Detroit Tigers shirt.  I'm pretty sure he could spell Detroit Tigers after the time he spent staring at it!  Nana even taught Eli about the three T's in Detroit Tigers!  Elijah had a wonderful day with his Nana and Grandpa D and I know he can't wait for their next visit!

On a different note: Eli is going to roll over for the first time any day now!

Tummy Time

I think he's mad I have him in this outfit!

His bib says Baby Shower...it's a warning to those who hold him! 

(FYI, the bib is courtesy of our good friends the Lustigs!

Almost his first Tiger game....

We'd planned for a while to take Eli to his first Tigers game this past Sunday, but as the day grew near I started to not feel so good about the idea.  When we heard the weather report, we knew it would be tough even if Nana took him into the air conditioned Tiger Den with temperatures over 90.  All night Saturday night, I tossed and turned thinking: how will we change his diaper, how will we heat his bottle, how will he sleep...and so on.  Of course as I'm typing this, I realize that it would be the first time we'd need to change him in public....and this is where we want to try this first?  At Comerica Park with 40,000 fans surrounding us?  Yeah, it's a no, Elijah's first Tiger game will have to wait.  But, Nana was nice enough to watch Eli at our house so Ben, Dave and I could enjoy the game.  This was the first time I'd left Eli for more than just 2 or so hours in the last 10 weeks, and it was tough, I missed that little guy so much!  We came home and he was perfectly happy with his Nana and in fact I'm sure he missed her when she left because he was very fussy!

It's a little sideways, but it's still cute:)

This is for Aunt Andi!  He didn't want to cooperate, but you get the point!



Today, Monday, Elijah did a lot of exercising on his tummy.  He used to hate it and now he's so close to rolling over!  He also got to use his Bumbo Baby Sitter for the first time!

His first time in it...he didn't really know what to do!