22 Weeks Old.....I think?

I find it funny that when people ask me how old my adorable little boy is, I always say it in weeks.  Well, maybe it's mom-brain, but as of yesterday morning I have been bugged by the fact that I couldn't recall how many weeks old Eli is.  So what does any sane person do in this situation?  Of course, Google a calculator to help me determine how many weeks old Eli is.  The answer is of course 22 weeks!  I knew this all along, but for some odd reason I couldn't recall this important piece of information for the last 24 hours and have been bothered by it.  It's like that song that gets stuck in your head and won't go away until you listen to it!  I do wonder, however, why we say babies ages in weeks...if someone were to say to me (and has said to me) "my baby is 22 weeks old" I would have to continue the conversation while pretending to know how old that is and when the conversation had concluded, divided it out to find that the baby is just over 5 months old.  Maybe I just need to focus on the months so that I don't worry so much!

What's new with our little 22 week old Eli?  Well here are just a few of his amazing abilities now:

• Smiles when he sees mom and dad (as well as anyone who smiles at him)
• Laughs out loud, especially when you tickle him under his arms
• Continues to love books
• Hugs you (this is my favorite since he loves to do this when he wakes up)
• Rolls/wiggles all over the floor
• Pulls his legs up under his tummy in preparation for crawling
• Talks all the time and loves to make fun noises
• Drooling like a waterfall (but still no sign of teeth)
• Puts everything in his mouth (he hasn't quite figured out he can't fit my forehead in his mouth, but still tries)
• Loves to watch us eat and drink (guess what this means?)
• Starting to like to play more and more in his jump-a-roo
• Has now been given one arm out of his swaddle (the other is still nestled inside his swaddle)
• Laughs and giggles at his own reflection
• Has warmed up to the idea of Skyping (Skype is basically video chatting)

I'll continue to update you on Eli's progress as we have some big things in store for the next 4 weeks, like introducing solid foods!  But no worries, he will not be participating in our Thanksgiving feast, that will have to wait for next year!

We had some family photo's taken by our wonderful cousin/nanny Aubrey Couture a week back...here are just some of the amazing photo's!

 Eli and Colin Avondet (Our friends Nick and Bethany's son)

Tailgating for Lions Football

A few months back, I joined the Cherry Hill Village social committee.  It's basically a bunch of women from  my neighborhood who get together, drink wine and plan fun activities for the community.  This past Sunday, we had a tailgate/chili cook off and it was a beautiful day spent with incredible neighbors.  Ben made a chili for the content, we watched some football, enjoyed delicious treats and made friends with our awesome neighbors.  We had a wonderful time and Eli was completely stimulated by all of the activities going on.  What made this tailgate the best is that you could literally look right out our front door at the party, take 25 steps and be a part of the party!  Here are some photo's from the day.

 That's our house in the background....the yellow house with the brick. 



Plymouth Orchards

We had a beautiful day today at the Plymouth Orchard Cider Mill.  Elijah was having so much fun looking at the animals, dancing to the music, and people watching.  Ben and I finally got our much desired cinnamon sugar donuts and cider!  Here are some shots from the day!

What Exaclty is a Bass Cake?

So auto-correct can sometimes do some funny things.....see what happens to Ben and Dustin in the texting conversation below:

Ben: We have a bass cake leftover from my work at our house.  Come get it so the cultures can have it tonight.
Dustin: Okay, I will be over a little later
Ben: Big ass not bass
Ben: I like how you agree to pick up a bass cake
Ben: I can't stop laughing
Dustin: I thought to myself....must be a Michigan thing

You might ask, if bass cake really existed what would it look like.....well, let me show you what Ben and I were surprised with for our birthday!

Wondering what Eli has been up to?  Well, he is growing like a weed every single day.  He's starting to love laying on his side, looking up at himself in a mirror, reading (or looking at) books and getting everything in his mouth he possibly can fit!  Here are some cute shots of him!

#TigersPostSeason

It may not be about Elijah, but Ben and I were lucky enough to get to some post season Tiger games!  Well, I got to one, and Ben got to a few!  Last Thursday afternoon, I took time off so Ben and I went downtown to see the Tigers beat the Texas Rangers in game 4 of the ALDS.  It was an awesome game to attend.  In the 6th inning, the Tigers hit for the natural cycle and during a Delmon Young foul ball, Dave (Grandpa D) got hit in the hand with a ball, the ball ricocheted off the girl sitting behind us and ended up smack in the middle of a beer cup on the ground....HOLE IN ONE!!  Poor Dave's hand had to pay the price, but it was crazy!  Here are some fun photo's of the game!

I can't believe I haven't posted anything since October 1st!  Time is flying by so fast, that I'll have to give you the cliff notes version of what's been happening and supply you with the always desirable photo's and video's!

Eli is now starting to make motor boat noises on his own.  It's so cute because he sticks his little tongue out and spits everywhere to make the noise, not to mention gather a mouth full of saliva! See video below!

Eli has started to scoot. I don't have this on video, but I'll do my best to get it caught on tape!  When he lays on his tummy, you can see him pick his little bum up and pull his legs underneath himself and then kicks out!  He doesn't get anywhere other than a little bit backward, but it's the start of his developing a crawling ability!  Guess we should think about child-proofing our house sooner than we thought!

Eli is exploring many, and I mean MANY, voices.  Just this morning, he was screaming like a girl as well as making noises in a very deep voice.  This is the point for him to start doing this, so he's right on target!

Below, you will see some "spooky legs", so don't be too scared:)  In preparation for Halloween, Auntie M (aka Aunt Monica) has exposed us to baby legs!  These are the best kept secret, that's not really a secret.  I'm not sure why he hadn't got these before, but they are amazing for nighttime diaper changes.  Somehow Eli always wakes up without pants.....because Ben always seems to not be able to find them during middle of the night diaper changes.  We have a team effort when it comes to the night time care, I warm the bottle, Ben lays in bed for an extra minute and he changes Eli's diaper....so now he doesn't have to worry about trying to find his pants!  Long story short, Eli is adorable in his spooky legs and we can't thank Auntie M enough for getting these for him!

What else has Eli been up to?  Well, we think he has a crush on his friend Ellie!  Sorry Lea, Grant has been replaced because you've been traveling the world for the last month!  Aubrey has been awesome at getting Eli around other children and our friend Sally's daughter is just a month or so older than Eli.  So, Aubrey and Sally take Ellie and Eli out for strolls and just the other day took them on the swings!  I believe they may have even been caught holding hands!!  I'll remind him of this when he's 16!

Last Saturday, October 8th, we went to our friends Steve and Stacey Dalton's house for a BBQ.  You couldn't have asked for better weather!  Eli was one of three babies born within the same week....yep, same week.  One baby was born on the 18th, Eli on the 22nd and the other on the 24th!  We had a great time and can't thank the Dalton's enough for having us over!

4 Month Check-In

Eli's 4 month check-up was today, but it wasn't exactly 4 months, it's more like 18 weeks 5 days.  The good news is that Eli is growing at an average pace!  He's now weighing in at 14 pounds 1 ounce (22%), 25 inches long (38%).  He was such a trooper at the doctor's office, I was proud of him.  It wasn't until he received two of his vaccines that he cried and of course I cried with him.  It's so hard to see him cry, it just breaks my heart.  He stopped as soon as I cuddled with him and then he fell asleep on the way home. 

He had such an awesome day, though.  I took today off to spend time with my little E and we kicked the day off with a play date at Jungle Java.  It's an awesome place to take children and toddlers.  Obviously Eli isn't running around and playing just yet, but I feel it's good for him to at least be around other children of all ages.  It's funny to observe toddlers and babies.  They are very facinated with the little beings and wanted to do nothing but touch Elijah.  Of course this made me freak out, but I contained myself and was able to control the situation!  I think he had a wonderful time since he took such a long nap when we left!

Then, we went to Target....yup, Target.  It's not a day with mommy unless we go to our favorite store!  This time, though, we needed a few things like medication, so we HAD to go....I swear:) 

We then finished our day with the doctor's office.  Eli found the fish tank in the office facinating.  He usually spends his time in the waiting room challenging me on the many ways of calming him down and today I scored big!  I rolled him up in his stoller right to the fish tank and voila!  He would laugh and smile at the fish and I was able to catch just a bit on video! 

It's hard to say what the rest of the weekend will bring (hopefully 2 Tiger wins against the Yankee's), but I'm so lucky to have today and Monday off from work to spend much needed quality time with my little E man!