Grrrr

I'm not sure what made him do this, but I'm glad we got it on film.

Right Foot

Eli's been into holding his right foot while eating lately. Not sure why. Better than in his mouth!

Bigger in Wisconsin

Here's proof that they grow them big in Wisconsin - Eli was 8 months and still fit into this newborn outfit from Wisconsin.

Crib Sitting

Jen walked in and found Eli sitting up in his crib after a nap a few weeks ago.

Football Watching

Even though this is a month old, you can see the lengths Eli will go to so he can watch football.

Twenty pounds

We took Eli in to the pediatrician today and he weighs 20 pounds exactly. He is 8 mo and 1 wk.

Sitting Up Now

I lucked out to see Eli sit up for the first time today and get a few photos as he made the big push! He is crawling in fits and starts but not yet continuously. 7 months 3 weeks for those interested.

October Photos

Now in a Picasa Web Album.

First Swimming Lesson

Election Day

Eli's looking forward to being able to vote in 17.5 years!

Eli, Where Are You?

Creeping

Eli is officially creeping. He can get around in a scootch/slide/sprawl manner that propels him forward to whatever target he locks onto. Good thing we purchased and installed a gate a few days ago.

Nov. 2 Voting Made Easy

If you live near North Park University, you now have absolutely no excuse not to vote on Nov. 2. I have done the hard work of reviewing the endorsements of the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times for the contested races since I am not going to take the time to look at each race and make a decision on my own. If you can relate, read on!

To my surprise, they agreed on the majority of their endorsements. I indicated this with a thin green line on the ballot. They differed on the big ones - amendment, senator, governor, treasurer. Since the Tribune leans Republican I highlighted their endorsements in pink; the Sun-Times leans Democrat so I highlighted their endorsements in blue. There were a few smaller races where the Tribune made an endorsement and the Sun-Times had none. For those, I just highlighted pink.

This linked document is the "Specimen General Election Ballot Style 218." You can get an advance copy of the ballot you will receive here. A general list of everyone running for every position is available here (but it's not as useful).

Now you have NO excuse not to vote on Nov. 2!

Inches from Crawling

After being home with Eli today, I am going to make a guarantee that he will start crawling in November. He's up on his hands and his feet, has taken "steps" with his hands and with his knees. All he needs is a little coordination and our life as we know it with a stationary child will be history.

TwitterFeed

I just started an account with TwitterFeed that will automatically take my blog posts and push them out to Twitter and Facebook. Consider this a test of the new service.

Eli's First Night in Germany

Jen and Eli are in Germany with her mom visiting her sister and new nephew. Here's her account of the first night:

He did great on the flight and during the first day here.  Last night... solid food, bath, and to bed at like 8:30.  He slept for 2 hours, then woke up.  I fed him and he didn't go down... not even sleepy.  burped him, rocked him, fed him again.  still playful.  warned mom i was going to let him cry it out...  he screamed his head off for 1:15 and then, since that's the longest he did at home and here he's sick, in a new place and in a new time zone... i picked him up (we're sleeping in the same room).  He immediately stopped crying.  i rocked him a few min still he stopped gasping (you know, that post crying, calming down breathing) and he fell asleep in my arms.  i put him down and he didn't move.  that was that.  he slept until i woke him up at 9. 

September Photos

I've started using Picasa Web Albums instead of Flickr. I'm also transitioning from iPhoto to Picasa 3. With over 8,000 photos, I don't see this project ending anytime soon.

End of September

Difficult Day

Today's a difficult day. Eli hasn't slept for more than 45 min at a time despite waking up before 6am. We gave him carrots last night for the first time. Changing diapers after eating solid foods is no fun. So far, peas and carrots are my least favorites. Enough said. Worse than that, I bent over and kissed him on the changing table right as he spit up and onto my lips. Tasting your own throw up is bad; this is the first time I've tasted someone else's; it was worse (and yes, I did just use two semi-colons in a single sentence).

Today's highlight was going through the automatic car wash for the first time. He liked the beginning and the ending but the middle was quite noisy. I had to sing pretty loudly so he wouldn't get scared and cried. Mission accomplished.

Eli makes noise

Just for Fun

I thought you all would like a recent photo - this one's from a couple of weeks ago. He didn't seem to mind the burp cloth on his head!

6 months

We took Eli to his 6 mo checkup yesterday and learned all's well without surprise. He's 17 lbs 8 oz (50th percentile) and 27 in (75th percentile). The pediatrician was again amazed at his incredibly round head. At two months, the pediatrician told us he had a "perfectly round head, and you just don't see that anymore" with infants sleeping on their backs for the past 20 years. Of course, a few days later, Eli started developing a flat spot! So we'll see if his head continues rounding out or if it pancakes. Whatever the case, we are grateful for such a healthy and happy little boy!

Sweet Peas

The third food in as many weeks, after rice cereal and sweet potatoes.

 

Window Shade

Rotating Water Glass

Eli at Present

Here's a recent photo of this kid, at 6 months.

 

I'm going to be reducing the frequency and quantity of blog posts. For you regular readers, you know I blog in binges. Now that school started a few weeks ago, my time is becoming even more precious. We'll just choose the best photos and videos to blog from now on.

Eli Squeals

Sweet Potatoes

Water Faucet

Rice Cereal

Ellis Week 24

Ellis Week 24 - a set on Flickr

First Solids

New Highchair

First Tooth

After feeling a bump over the weekend, we felt the"tines" of Eli's first tooth coming through yesterday! It's on his lower right side. He seems to be acting normally. I wonder if his first cold/fever (last week) were related. I read that people attribute almost anything to teething. Thoughts? We have not noticed him to be in pain in the last week. He was a little fussy and clingy while he was sick. He's also been waking up earlier for his night feeding (1:30am) and then up for the day just before 6am, which is a tad earlier than we'd like.

Ellis Week 23

Ellis Week 23 - a set on Flickr

Eli on Sofa with Butterfly

Swimming

Tickles at Grandma's

Eli Kicks

From Stomach to Back...Almost

Ellis Week 22

We took our first flight to visit Grandma in Florida.

Ellis Week 22 - a set on Flickr

Jen Dips Eli

Eli's First Sit

A little wobbly - a good start.

Ellis Week 21

5 months today!!! These are a little late but still within a week.

Ellis Week 21 - a set on Flickr

9 Hours

Eli slept for 9 hours last night - 7:15p to 4:30a !!! We're reading the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth and are finding it very helpful for teaching Eli how to sleep well. Odd to say, think and write that we're teaching our son how to sleep well while that's exactly what we're doing.

Spinning in Circles

Well, that's a bit of an overstatement. During Eli's morning tummy time, after checking email for a few minutes, I looked over at him and he had done a 180* on the blanket! His head was where his feet were when I put him down there. He usually spins to the left. I wonder when he'll start crawling.

Jumping Dad

Dad jumps for Eli

Ellis Week 20

Staying caught up with the latest photos and videos this week!

Ellis Week 20 - a set on Flickr

Spit Bubble

Eli plays with his elephant until 51 sec when there's a huge spit bubble

Eli wakes up

With a small interruption...

Mommy

It's not that Eli called her that - it's that I did. I was changing Eli a couple of nights ago when I called to Jen saying, "Mommy, can you come in here?" I'm in fatherhood, all in.

Sesame Street - to watch or not to watch

What do you think - is Sesame Street an staple of U.S. childhood or is it harmful and to be avoided? I know there are lots of opinions out there, so if you have one, please leave a comment.

This article prompted this post:

15 Things You May Not Know About Sesame Street

Roll #5

This is Jen, blogging as Andrew.  We are both home this morning, and both witnessed Eli roll over.  Jen thought it was cute.  Andrew.... well, he thought it was blog worthy!!!!  So, this was it, roll #5 while he was laying on the floor for his morning tummy time.  No rolls yet from back to tummy, but he's getting close... he gets the bottom half to roll.  Now to get those pesky shoulders to turn...

:) We love our little guy, that's for sure.  Call us over-bloggers, but you know at the heat of it we are just over-excited first time parents!

Through the Night

"Is he sleeping through the night (yet)?" - this is the most often asked question about Eli and has been since he was born. Thankfully my good friend Rob forewarned me so I got to think about how I would respond. Newborns should be eating more frequently than sleeping through the night would afford for the first few months. Eli has been sleeping 6-7 hours for over a month now with regularity. (Technically, "sleeping through the night" means 6 hours.) Last night, he slept over 8 hours and awoke when Jen got up to get read to go to work! So we are celebrating this feat at 19 weeks. We have adapted pretty well to the one who's not working the next day getting up to feed Eli around 2-3 am when he wakes for his night feeding. Hopefully we won't be doing that much longer.

Butterfly vs. Thumb

Eli shows off his grasping skills with his favorite toy - the butterfly - and then opts for his right thumb instead.

Ellis Week 19

Finally, the photos are up to date! I hope you have enjoyed my 18 posts today, taking some 2.5 hours of time (if anyone's counting).

Ellis Week 19 - a set on Flickr

Liz & Eli Standing

Eli makes his first real laugh in sequence.

Liz & Eli Sitting

Liz gets Eli to laugh...a lot.

Two Fingers

Eli masters the two finger suck on his left hand

Monkeys

If we communicated like monkeys...

Left Hand Raised

Eli keeps his left hand raised throughout his bath, correctly identifying himself as the son.

Around the Table

Eli listening to conversation around the table.

Ellis Week 18 Photos

Ellis Week 18 - a set on Flickr

Name Recognition Experiment

Does Eli know his name at 4 months???

Laughs on the Couch

Tired Camper

No Butt

Eli gets a bath.

Ellis Week 17 Photos

Ellis Week 17 - a set on Flickr

Spain Scores...Eli Cries

the final minutes of the World Cup final match

Cutest Camper

Car Ride to Cuz Camping

Hand Eating

This video's from the first week of July.

Ellis Week 16 Photos

Ellis Week 16 - a set on Flickr

Playing catchup with photos...again.

Toxic Chemical Lobby: Exclusive Leaked Footage

This is great! Gives a little history in addition to the humor. Scary stuff.



You can take action here.

The Story of Cosmetics

Another great video by the Story of Stuff people. Did you know that "herbal," "natural," and "organic" have no legally defined meaning in personal care products?!?! At least "organic" has USDA standards for foods. Unfortunately that's not the case for cosmetics. It gets worse: the FDA does not assess the safety of personal care products or their ingredients. They don't even require that all ingredients be listed on the label!

The Story of Cosmetics

4 Months Today

Happy 4 month birthday baby boy! Your mommy and daddy sure do love you. Even when they don't post photos or videos of you for a long, long time!

Jen is now working part-time, meaning we hope our lives will be slower and more enjoyable. In the last 5 weeks, there were 4 days where we were both off together.

ExerSaucer

Eli's first time in the ExerSaucer. Note the left jabs.

Ellis Week 15 Photos

Ellis Week 15 - a set on Flickr

Fun on the Tummy

Look how happy he is! Tummy time turned fun about two weeks ago. Now he goes for 10 minutes of it after each nap without putting up a stink. I think he can better see what's on the mat and he can look around the room more. You also get to hear my recap of the first time he rolled himself over.

A conversation with Eli

4th of July Bath

This is Eli trying to look like a founding father during bath time since he'll be in bed for fireworks.

Video Chat

Today Eli learned how to video chat with his Aunt Mer. Isn't technology great?

This morning's photo shoot

New Neighbors - Nate & Megan

Less than one month after their wedding, Nate and Megan moved in across the street from us! We celebrated by having an indoor picnic of sorts with brats, chicken, corn on the cob, watermelon, and baked beans. Megan made a tasty dessert with lemon zest. We are excited to have such good friends literally across the street from us now.

How Much Does It Cost to Raise a Child?

anywhere from $205,960 to $475,680 for a child born in 2009

Consumer Reports Guide to Baby Products : How much does it cost to raise a child?

Thursday

The day started by Eli showing both of us that his first roll over yesterday was no fluke - shortly after he awoke this morning, he rolled to both his right and to his left! We both got to witness it this time before I headed out to work.

After work, our friends Liz and Kelsey watched Eli so Jen and I could grab nachos at our favorite neighborhood place just a few blocks away. I know it's hard to believe a place advertising both Mexican and Italian food can do both well; they do. Both the nachos and pizza are our favorites!

Parent Videos

Since becoming parents 3+ months ago, friends have shared the following videos with us:




Mommy Rhapsody from Church on the Move on Vimeo.


Dad Life from Church on the Move on Vimeo.

Ellis Week 14 Photos

There, now we're all caught up on posting photos to the blog.

Ellis Week 14 - a set on Flickr

Pink Pig

Does he realize the pig is there? Does he realize it matches his pink Bumbo? (We got it for free before we knew our baby was a boy. Boys can wear pink too!)

Ellis Week 13 Photos

Fewer photos as this was Jen's first week back to work.

Ellis Week 13 - a set on Flickr

Ellis Week 12 Photos

Ellis Week 12

Starting to see some great smiles!

Roll Over

Eli awoke from his second morning nap and after cuddling with him for a bit, I put him down for some tummy time on this "baby thing" for which I'm sure there is a better word but I don't know it. Anyways, I turn to my computer to start a podcast when I hear a THUMP. I look back and there he is, looking up at the ceiling!

I get all excited and then realize I may scare him so I start smiling and laughing with him and he starts smiling too.

So it's official, we had our first roll over this morning! I called Jen who was at work and she was happy I could be there to witness a first. Of course she also wished she could have been there too. Our life currently consists of alternating work days - one of us is at work and the other is at home with the boy.

Mandrake

When Eli gets upset, his bottom lip comes out and his face scruntches up. It reminds of the mandrakes in Harry Potter. Do you see the resemblance?

http://www.evtv1.com/player.aspx?itemnum=10380

Ellis Week 11

Ellis Week 11 - a set on Flickr

Catching up during halftime of the US Ghana match. Several sad faces this week.

3 Months and Counting

So with Jen back to work, the posting has reached a standstill. My mom is in town with us this week, so I might be able to get up some more photos. This is the last weekly weigh-in now that Eli's 3 months old (and already doubled his birth weight last week): 14 lbs, 2 oz.

Maternity Leave Ends

Jen returns to work tomorrow after 12.5 weeks off. She timed the birth right (as if she had any say in the matter) so we got an extra long weekend. It's been a wonderful 88 days of having her home and with Eli all the time. She's not dreading the return like I thought she would. Now I'm not saying she's thrilled to go back either. I think we accept our life situation pretty well at the moment. We had a great night together here preparing for tomorrow. I am looking forward to being home with our son all day tomorrow. Not that I have much planned - I have found that he's the boss and if I can get anything done, it's going to be whenever he lets me!

Double

We didn't think it would happen, but today on Eli's 12th week birthday, he has doubled his birth weight and now weighs 13 lbs 14 oz. Now you have to understand that it's normal for babies to double their weight in 6 months. Yep, he's a little chunker. Pure breast milk, that's the secret.

Early Smiles

Ellis Week 10 Photos

Ellis Week 10 - a set on Flickr

11 weeks

13 lbs 4 oz

Rather fussy tonight while playing cards with friends - decided he'd rather stay up with everybody than go to bed by himself. Still incredibly cute!

New pics coming soon.

Sexual Obesity

A simple article about sexuality in our culture today.

Evangelicals for Social Action