NaBloPoMo

I officially failed this challenge.

Once I missed one day, I continued on the downhill spiral to not posting.  However, posting 24 out of 30 days has motivated me to start blogging more regularly again.  Hopefully I will at least post once a week :)  I need to document Eli's life somewhere!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Sure, there's some leftover food on his face from lunch...but he made a video!  I can't be too picky :)

Eli loves his Grandma and is ready to see her again soon!

Thankful, thankful, thankful

I'm thankful for a lot of things today (and most days).  But, I'm especially thankful today for my family.  My family is spread out and my sister and her family and parents both live in other countries.  Today we were all together.  In one place.  For the first time in about five years.  I am especially thankful.

The Hair. Eli's Turn.

I didn't think I was going to have anything to blog about today.  I have been racking my brain all day for ideas.  All day.  I couldn't come up with anything.

Then it came to me.

I had to go somewhere for a couple of hours tonight.  On my way out the door, I asked Ben if he could cut Eli's hair.  "How short?" he asked.  "Just like last time" I responded.

This is what it looked like last time:

It was really short, but you could still see his cute little curls.

This is what I came home to tonight:

B-A-L-D.

Eli actually had on a little beanie when I walked in the door.  He pulled it off and yelled "Surprise!"

I was surprised.

I burst out laughing.  I couldn't believe it.  I really can't believe that we had such a major hair change three days before family pictures with my side of the family.  My family is getting together for the first time in almost five years.  Oh well.  Lesson learned.  He's still the cutest.

F is for

Fail.  

I failed!  I really thought I was going to be able to post every day.  I made it almost a full three weeks.  Dang.  Sadly, the first time I thought about it was last night when I was on a date with Ben.  I suddenly blurted out that I had forgotten to post for the day.  That, coupled with seeing Little House on the Prairie starring Melissa G*lbert as "Ma" kind of ruined my evening.  Ok, maybe not ruined it, but I couldn't stop thinking about my great failure (and I couldn't stop trying to figure out why Melissa's had a sort of Scottish grandmother accent.  What was that about?)  Ok, I'm over the judging.  She is much braver than I.  I wouldn't dream of standing up on a stage and singing in front of all those people.  Kudos to her.  

I don't really have anything exciting to post about.    

So, I'm making up... 

"Snapshot Sunday"

My dad took this picture of Eli when he was over the other day.  It's amazing how much Eli has changed in the short almost 11 months we've been with him.  He has grown from a little boy into a full of energy, non-stop talking toddler.  I can't get over how cute his teeth are either!  I think they are precious.  As is the rest of him.    

Thank you, Mr. Elephant

Eli was gifted with Mr. Elephant (we're creative in naming our stuffed animals around here) before he ever came to America. My former boss gave him to Eli. The minute I saw him, I had a feeling he'd be Eli's favorite. He is super soft. Easy to snuggle with.

Eli started sleeping with Mr. Elephant shortly after he came home. I wouldn't say he was super attached to him, but he liked to snuggle with him periodically.

February 2009

Now that Eli has officially moved to his own room, Mr. Elephant has become a very important part of the bedtime routine. Eli has probably slept in his bed 3 full nights since the big move. However, on the other nights he's slept in there for most of the night. We aren't pushing it. If he wakes up and needs to be comforted - we comfort him. He's making huge steps to sleeping in his own room. The past two nights, he's slept in his bed the entire night, without waking up at all. I attribute that to Mr. Elephant. We talk about Eli sleeping in his big boy bed and how Mr. Elephant needs a buddy to sleep with and Eli needs to take care of him. Eli gets pretty excited about this. Hey, whatever works :)

November 2009

cute

No more sleeping pictures for the rest of this month of posting. Promise :)

Cuddlebug

We have a serious cuddlebug among us. I love it!

Cuddling with the pup for an impromptu nap

Snuggled up in his new big boy bed

A little cuddle time with Ben in the morning.

For some reason, Eli has been laying face down a lot lately. Interesting.

A Sunday nap.

Tallulah even snuggled her way in to the mix.