Arts and Crafts

It is increasingly difficult to keep Ms. Edie happy at home these days.  It's too hot and way too mosquito-y to play in the backyard at most hours.  And with Eli needing so many naps, it's hard on him (and me) to be on the go too much. So, how to keep a two year old from bursting into flames during our generally homebound afternoons?  Crafts!!

Edie has been dabbling with markers, painting, gluing, play dough, and even cutting with her brand new safety scissors.  Bubba Eli is usually asleep when she wakes up from her nap, so we get some quality time together doing a project then.  Which means dinner doesn't get started, and the house work stays undone.  But in the grand scheme of things, I guess I'm making the right call.

 Here she is, working on gluing together a paper chain.

 Some gluing and coloring with kleenex and paper.

A fun project with Dad, involving homemade play dough and sticking in little bits of this and that into the dough.  Good and messy. 

Happy boy

We went out to lunch this weekend at Fido's after playing at the Dragon Park near Vanderbilt. In the past, Eli has slept through eating out while in the baby carrier.  But he surprised us and popped his big blue eyes open.  So I laid him down net to me where he proceeded to coo, kick and smile throughout our meal. 

Eli is Two Months Old: Photo Round-up

Eli is two months old now, or I suppose tomorrow to be precise.  He is changing so fast!  This time, instead of looking for milestones, they seem to be just coming at me.  Here's a bit of what's happening lately with our sweet and sun shine-y little boy:

 One day old! During dad's short paternity leave on account of grant writing season and an overall demanding job.  But these guys still find time together every day.

 One day old with his long, long feet.

6 weeks old.  This was on a Saturday morning when he fell asleep so sweetly after I nursed him.  I was having such a good time hanging out with Edie and Will in our living room after breakfast, and it felt so good to cuddle up with him, that I just stayed still and enjoyed being Eli's naptime pillow.

 Eli got so much more alert during the second month! Although he's always looked amazingly engaged whenever he was awake from the moment he was born, he was not awake for more than a few minutes at a time those first weeks.  He's been cooing since around four weeks old, and since at least six weeks, he will respond to us oohing and ahhing at him.

 Our friends lent us an absolutely fantastic gliding rocking chair that Eli and I use for hours a day.  It is soooo comfortable.  We have a glider that I love, but it's in Edie's room and I am very grateful not to have to move it.  It is our storytime chair with big sis, and it would've been another blow to her very altered world to move it out.

Smiley boy! He smiled at me for the first time at about four weeks and smiles more each day.  I think he's close to laughing!  He also smiles in his sleep a lot still which I adore.  He's happiest right after a big old poop, which means he's awfully chipper at 3 am most nights!

He takes pretty long naps most times and looks like and angel while doing it.

 He's really tall! Here's Eli at 8 weeks in size 3 month pants. Hmmm...

Playtime is *just* beginning.  He still isn't up playing for long.  Mostly if he's up, he's being changed, fed, or rocked to sleep.  Today he hung out in his baby gym for about 10 minutes while Edie read nearby. 

Tomato Art Fest

The Tomato Art Fest is a yearly festival in our neighborhood.  We attended last year with Edie and we lasted about ten minutes.  It was 100+ degrees and basically intolerable.  This year, however, it was only quite warm out - a real miracle in August in Tennessee.  We lasted almost an hour this time around!

Chatty Baby

I guess Eli heard enough talking in utero that he figured he'd better get started fast if he wanted to get a word in...

Say cheese!

Eli getting more smiley and alert by the day!  There are some downsides, in the form of getting a lot trickier to get to sleep, but let's focus on the good and cute side for now.  Here are some pictures taken from 6 to 7 weeks old.

SMILE!!

Changing table love

One of Edie's favorite activities these days is rushing to get her stool whenever I change Eli so she can see him up close, coo at him and give him a tickle.  It is awfully sweet!