Time with Grandma (and a bike ride!)

This weekend my mom came up to see Eli. She came up last night after work and was able to get here in time to help with bath time. After bath, she gave Eli his bottle and got some good Grandma snuggles in. It was very nice having her here as Tim & I were able to go out to eat after he went to bed. This morning was busy around our house. Grandma & Eli played while Tim & I tried to get a few things done that had been falling behind. This afternoon, we went on a mountain bike ride together. Tim informed me during the ride that I am now officially an MBM - Mountain Bike Mom. For those of you who didn't know me before pregnancy, I used to race mountain bikes and do lots of crazy other races. Tim & I even met on mountain bikes and dated through riding so being able to do my "return" ride with him was great. We went to Umstead, rode over to Crabtree, did a loop of the singletrack and then back to the truck. I think we probably did about 15 miles. I felt great doing it but know I will be paying for it tomorrow. I rode pretty well and can only imagine how fast I'll be when I get these 20 baby pounds off! We're looking forward to the spring when we can tow Eli in a bike trailer (when I say "we", I really mean Tim. Got to handicap him somehow!).

Mom also helped me make country style steak, teaching me my Grandma's recipe for doing it. Mom made this for us while she was here during Eli's first week and it is soooo yummy. Perfect for cooler weather!

We really appreciate my Mom making the trip up to visit us, or rather Eli. =) She even brought him his first Life is Good shirt! We'll be heading down there Thanksgiving day to see my family and eat lots of good food. It's days like this that we miss having all of the Grandparents closer, however it makes the visits we do get mean a whole lot more.

Love my Grandma

Happy Birthday Grandpa

Today is Grandpa Rodney's birthday. We hope that he has a great day!

Picture time

Nothing super exciting going on; Eli is discovering new things every day and changing before our eyes. It's so hard to explain what I do with him all day but each day is filled and never boring. Of course, I take lots and lots of pictures - gotta love digital! Time to share a few.

He now sees the mobile on his swing

Sporting robe and slippers after bath time

Little Bumbo boy - been working on his head control

A new outlook

This week has brought about a totally new outlook for me on my time with Eli. As of yesterday, I only have four weeks until I go back to work. While I thought I would be excited to go back to work (and in a way I am), I am kind of sad that I won't get to spend my days with Eli. Yes, I get frustrated at times when he's being super fussy or cranky and I can't make him feel better immediately but this is an amazing time for me and him. Over the past few weeks, I have found myself trying to do entirely too much and getting stressed out and in turn, Eli has been off. Well, this week I decided to quit overcommitting us and relax more and just hang out with him. There are just some times where being at a location at a specified time just isn't worth the hassle for whatever we were going to do. I'm learning big life lessons in priorities. Right now, the most important thing is my family and the time I have left with Eli. So, hopefully those of you who I see a lot won't get annoyed if we're a few minutes late or if we decline invitations to do things. I am just realizing you can't do it all and still be happy....no matter how hard you try!

On a good note, I talked to our daycare yesterday and Eli does have a slot secured starting December 3rd. We hope that Eli will make lots of new friends and continue his development as a happy little boy. Tim & I are both a little bummed that it's about time but unless we win the lottery or something real soon, it's what has to happen. Fortunately we think we have selected a good daycare and hope they will take wonderful care of him. I just found out yesterday that Ryan, son of one of our new mom friends Carol, is going to be at the same daycare so Eli already has one friend there!!

Yesterday, we hosted a playgroup at our house. Right now, mainly the moms chat it up and "play" but the babies will soon. Five moms and babies came over and it was pure baby-land for a few hours. I am thankful for all the new moms I've met and friendships that have developed. I hope they continue and our children grow up together.

Today we hope to meet some friends for lunch at the mall. I need to run a few errands there and also start looking for something for Eli to wear for his 3 month picutres and our Christmas pictures. I hate shopping for me but for him it's pure joy! Our plans are very loose for the rest of this week and for this I am thankful. My mom will be coming to see us, I mean Eli, this weekend and we look forward to that. She is going to be amazed how much he has changed since we were down there. She even mentioned that Tim & I could go on a bike ride while she watched little man. That will be way fun!! Looking forward to her visit.

GO PACK

Wanted to post this yesterday but didn't get a chance. Here's a picture of Eli celebrating NC State's 19-16 overtime win against Miami. He watched the game all decked out in his Pack gear.

Go Wolfpack!

Vaccinations Round 2

Today our little trooper had his second round of vaccinations. Eli had to get his HIB and Prevnar - one in each leg. He did amazing. A little scream with each one but Mommy love made it all better. He has big boy band-aids on his legs to show Daddy how tough he is. Now we don't have to worry about any more until he's 4 months old. Yippeee!

On a fun note, Eli discovered his car seat toy today. I was so excited. I had to go to Chapel Hill this morning and drop something off. On the way back, I noticed that he had his jingly elephant in his hand. He had grabbed it and then started hitting it with his hand to make noise - so cute. Amazing how much he changes every day.

That's my toy!

So cute

WOW

That's all I can say....Wow.

Eli slept 10 hours straight last night. It may not happen again for a long time but it was a well deserved night for Mom & Dad.