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

Ellis Week 9

Ellis Week 9 - a set on Flickr

Almost all caught up with photos!

10 Weeks

The weight gain train has finally slowed down for Eli. He only gained 2 oz this week, meaning he's now 12 lbs 13 oz. We did start cloth diapers though, so he looks like he gained a few pounds in his waist region.

Ellis Week 8

Ellis Week 8 - a set on Flickr

Only 2 weeks behind now!

Size 2

Further evidence of Eli's growth: today we said goodbye to size 1 diapers (8-14 lbs) and said hello to size 2 (12-18 lbs)! I'll post his weight again on Friday after we weigh him. I thought Jen was crazy when she came home a few weeks ago with a box of size 2 diapers. Turns out it was a genius decision. Glad I'm not in this by myself.

Ellis Week 7

Photos now uploaded:

Ellis Week 7 - a set on Flickr

Week 6 Photos

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28794320@N05/sets/72157624130538504/

9 weeks and catching up

I've fallen behind in blogging. Maybe I can blame it on the burglary a month ago. That excuse is wearing thin by now... I'm still working on one last ditch effort to recover photos from my camera's memory card. But until then, I'll be updating weekly photos. For now, here's Eli at 9 weeks, weighing in at a whopping 12 lbs 11 oz. At his appointment last week, the pediatrician said, "Wow, you are a chunker!"

First Movie Away

Last week, Jen and I went to watch Iron Man 2. I was disappointed, she was not - reminding me that it was a sequel after all. The more important point is that it was our first night away from Eli. My mom was in town to take care of him - what a help she was! We were sad to learn upon returning that he cried for over an hour after we left. I don't believe he knew we were gone - he wasn't even 2 months old! We really liked the first Iron Man movie, so we wanted to catch this one on the big screen. I also heard so many parents tell me how many months it had been since they had been out to a movie after having kids. I took this as a challenge and am proud to say we got out to our first movie so soon. We were exhausted on the drive home. All that for just sitting there in the dark.

Massage and Smiles

Jen, Ellis and I started an infant massage together last week. We learned about tummy and legs/feet the first day and then chest and arms/hands on the second. Both sessions were during the morning, when Ellis is normally asleep. He didn't really like it in the class or when we tried it at home. This afternoon after waking up from a nap, I massaged his chest and arms/hands. He resisted a little but liked certain "moves" (if there is a more technical term for this, I'm all ears). He seemed to even enjoy it a little. After the massage while we were having dinner, Ellis was the most smiley I have ever seen him. He smiled 6 times in a row while looking directly at me. I cried. I think we'll continue with the massage.

6 weeks

Ellis weighed in at 10 lbs, 15 oz today! That's a full 4 pound net gain in 6 weeks. At this rate, he would weigh 41 lbs at his first birthday and 353 lbs by his tenth birthday. Good news: we are expecting his rate of weight gain to decrease...

New Furniture

I'm not sure what to call the object Jen bought at IKEA today. It's a bookcase that's turned sideways so it's wider than it is tall. It doubles as a place to store Eli's diaper stuff, toys, and other baby paraphernalia. It matches his crib and looks nice in that corner of the room. Of course, the photo's going to be delayed with the missing MacBook. I will say that this was the easiest and fastest piece of furniture I have assembled. I hope Eli likes it. Jen will as she won't have to kneel down on the floor to change diapers; neither will I.

Baby Monitor

We are in the sixth week now. Eli is making more noise during the night, or so Jen tells me. She's the saint who gets up to feed and change him. I still wake up tired. She looks good.

So I opened the baby monitor we received at a shower and tested it out; so far so good. We just put Eli to bed in his crib with the monitor up and running. Here's to better sleeping.

Burglary

Jen and Eli went to Wisconsin on Friday. I went to dinner and out with some friends. When I came home, I thought it odd that a light was home. I then opened the front door and found it was chained shut. Through the three inch gap, I looked into our bedroom and saw drawers opened and clothes strewn about. Though I didn't hear anything, I decided to call the police.

The office entered with drawn gun; nobody was there. I had been praying that the external hard drives were still there, figuring that both laptops, the iPod, the Wii and the digital camera would all be gone. The thief must love all things Apple as only the iPod and the MacBook were missing. Everything else was sitting out in plain sight. Must have been looking for things that will sell quickly and are easy to transport as it appeared they were looking for cash, jewelry and firearms from where stuff was thrown out of drawers.

The thief came in through the front window, looked through Jen's desk, both out nightstands, the dressers, and both closets. It wasn't a very smart thief as all the cash from baby showers was in my desk! The thief left through the back door, leaving it a few feet open.

We figure someone scoped out the place and knew we weren't home. I'm feeling mostly thankful as no one was home, we have insurance, and I expected to have lost a lot more. I don't feel someone violated our space, but I do feel vulnerable in that someone can see all 8,000 of our photos that were on the Mac. My friends keep reassuring me that the drive has already been wiped and the computer's been sold. (And yes, I have been checking Craigslist just to see if it appears!)

In my ethics class this semester, we've talked a fair bit about memory and remembering rightly. I am trying to hold the perpetrator in my memory justly - neither demonizing him/her nor letting him/her off the hook. An injustice was committed against me. I would like to meet with the thief, though I realize it's unlikely. I would like to hear the story of the circumstances and offer forgiveness to him/her.

The "good neighbors" at State Farm are pretty helpful, so I should be getting a new iPod and MacBook later this week. Needless to say, Eli's photos are going to be posted late!

Kids on Human Trafficking in South Africa for World Cup

While this video is political (because it's about people and their/our life together), it's not about particular legislation, candidates or parties. Simply about the abuse and injustice that will happen in the country hosting this year's World Cup.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VxD3RmRUf0

Eli's Weight Gain

Birth: 6-15

3 days: 6-9 (lost 6 oz)

1 week: 7-1 (birth weight regained)

2 weeks: 7-11

3 weeks: 8-10 (almost a pound in a week!)

4 weeks: 9-6

1 mo checkup: 10-0

5 weeks: 10-1 (today)

That's three pounds net gain in five weeks. If this rate continues, he'll weigh just over 38 pounds at one year. I doubt that will happen though. Just a fun mathematical exercise (for me).

Bath Time Follies

Eli loves his baths. I mean this kid has not cried at all during all the baths we have given him. He tenses up when his feet or butt make first contact with the water, but that's it. I'm already looking forward to baby "swimming lessons" with him once he turns 6 mo.

Today, we put his little tub on the kitchen counter beside the sink so I wouldn't break my back bending over the tub. I don't know how many of you have ever given a baby a bath, but once the No More Tears shampoo/soap gets all over them, they are slippery! So it became painful to be balancing myself kneeling beside the tub and worrying about Eli slipping out of my hands and hitting his head or something.

Tonight's bath was going along great. It's fun that Eli can hold his head up for the most part and that his eyes are tracking us more and more. I'm more comfortable with how to give a bath, including cleaning the hard to reach folds of skin on his neck.

But I made the mistake of washing his face with a washcloth that was too full of water! He sputtered and clenched his whole body as he coughed and cried for a minute. It's amazing that his little body knows where water is not supposed to go: in the lungs. I was freaking out, realizing that I nearly drowned my son! Thankfully Jen was there to calm me down and reassure me that it was not that bad. I felt terrible.

We toweled him off in his hooded towels. I was putting a diaper on him when I noticed his face was wet. He had peed on himself. What an end to the bath time adventure. I told Jen that if he cries during the next bath, it's because I've traumatized him!

First Road Trip

We took our first road trip up to Green Bay this weekend so Eli met Grandpa Jim and his side of the family. Here they are in their first moments together.

Eli was a champ both on the road and in the hotel. Everything takes longer with a baby.

Where did we have lunch? Curly's Pub at Lambeau field. We will continue rooting Packers and secretly hoping the Lions break 500 one of these seasons...

Ellis Week 4 Photos

Today marks one month for Ellis!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28794320@N05/sets/72157623892900728/

Habituation

Here is one of the first experiments that Ellis participated in. I was following the book Touchpoints by T. Berry Brazelton. Watch how quickly he habituates to the light...

Diaper Growth

Ellis has transitioned from the "N" (newborn) to the "1" in diaper sizing. In case anyone cares, we use Pampers Swaddlers. There's a big difference - he went from filling out the N to the drowning in the 1.

First Restaurant

Last night, Jen, Kristi and I took Ellis to dinner with us at Red Robin. Ellis slept through the whole outing, despite the loud music, the kids at the table next to us, or it being in the evening. We enjoyed the hamburgers (especially the Santa Fe), unlimited fries and malts. The first restaurant outing was almost flawless until we heard the manager whistling at us after we left the restaurant. We had forgotten the diaper bag at the table. At least we had the baby with us.

A different baby

When I got home after work today and played with Ellis for about an hour, he was completely calm, just as how I remember his first week in the world. He was alert, moving, making soft sounds - very pleasant to be around! I was about at my limit last night when I posted last. I'm amazed at the change in temperament from day to day. I suppose it will serve me well to remember this when the next fussy day comes. And, before falling asleep, I realized that it was I who was fussy more than it was Ellis.

Fussy, Fussy

Ellis was fussy today. Jen said he wanted to be picked up almost all day. I was gone most of the day studying and at class. When I came home, we walked to a Thai restaurant for take out dinner and ate at home. Ellis fell asleep on the walk but woke up when we got home. After dinner, we took a long walk and put him in the stroller. Despite all the bumps on the sidewalk, Ellis was fast asleep. I fed him a bottle when we got home and he woke up (5 minutes after we arrived). And then he fussed and squirmed while watching LOST. I gave in and handed him over to Jen. I get it Ellis: I am not a patient person!

Ellis Week 3 Photos

All caught up!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28794320@N05/sets/72157623725636885/

Ellis Week 2 Photos

Only 1 week behind now...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28794320@N05/sets/72157623718589123/

Eye Contact

I came home today at 6 and found Ellis sound asleep on Jen's chest. I held him while we watched the news and then gave him a bottle. Through the whole 3.5 oz, he kept his eyes on me and I talked to him just about the whole while. It was a magical 20 min.

Ellis Week 1 Photos

I'm two weeks behind, but catching up...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28794320@N05/sets/72157623710816641/

Hiccups

This is Ellis at 9 days. Note the neck muscles. Sorry about the odd background noise. I have opened a case with Nikon (L110) to try to figure out what's going on...or I'm returning it.

Night 9

Last night was the most challenging one yet, and that's saying a lot as most of the 9 nights of our lives with Ellis have been quite pleasant. He fussed more than usual, he had the hiccups 3 times, he woke up to feed sooner than usual, and once he stayed awake the whole 2.5 hours between feedings. We kept him up as much as possible today and after the next feeding, we're off to bed.

Day 1 & 2 Photos

We've started a Flickr page for photos of Ellis. We've also made a permanent link to the photostream "Ellis Photos" under the "Links" section of this blog:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28794320@N05/sets/72157623599412053/

Hospital Photos

You can see the professional photographer's work (and order prints) here:

http://www.our365.com/NewbornPortraits/BabyDetail.aspx?birthid=bfc743c7-a17c-4ff2-aaeb-dd95858d1e43

Day 1

Jen's family was the first to arrive.

The first skin to skin, approximately one hour after birth.

The first poop.

Eli loves looking at whomever is holding him!

Bath time

This is one of our favorite pictures of Eli. He's getting his first bath at the hospital. He didn't cry too much during the bath, but we may have shed a tear laughing at how he looked during it!!

Night 5

Following a terrific 4.5 hours of sleep, Eli refused to fall back asleep between 3-6 am. Mom fed him twice in there, and Dad tried to lull him by watching Kung Fu Panda. We're feeling good at the moment, but we'll be tired this afternoon. We're going to keep the little guy more awake today.

Baby Ellis

Jen gave birth to our son, Ellis Isaac, on Friday around noon. He also goes by Eli. He wass 6 lbs 15 oz and 20.5 in long. He is a wonder to behold! It was a natural birth involving a fast 4 hours of intense labor after Jen's water broke. The pregnancy was considered term, though he came 2 weeks earlier than his due date. Baby, Mom and Dad are all healthy and doing great. We came home Saturday evening and have since figured out breastfeeding, diaper changes, and we made a few field trips to the pediatrician, Babies R Us and a neighborhood walk.

Andrew caught Ellis as he was born and gave him to Jen!

The closest I'm coming to getting a tattoo.

Proud and tired.

Long and lean!

Carseat installation

LATCH system is operational. Now to have it checked by a professional (police officer).

OnLive - the future of gaming

http://www.onlive.com/

Two minute video. Wow.

Cradle

A kind and generous coworker has loaned us this cradle that her father made for her to use with her own children. There is a metal nameplate for each child that has used this crib over the years - I think our child will be about the fifteenth - as other friends of this woman have also been blessed with it for the first months of their children's lives. It fits nicely in our bedroom along one wall, a foot's reach from the bed to give the little one a gentle rocking in the night if s/he is fussy. That means neither of us has to get out of bed!

Diapers

Here you can see our cloth diapers are washed, air dried, and ready to go.

Diapers Ready

30 weeks

Crib

We received the crib at the shower over the weekend. We set it up tonight. 48 minutes flat. Check out the clocks if you doubt it. This baby thing isn't going to be that hard, is it?!?!

Starting at 5:21p

In the middle of it

Finished

Ready and waiting...

Obama speaks with Republicans

This is a long video (slightly over an hour) but it gives us an idea of the interaction happening between the president and house Republicans.

No GM Alfalfa!

From the Organic Consumers Association:

Barack Obama, despite promising us "change we can believe in," is unfortunately turning out to be just as pro-GMO as the preceding Bush and Clinton administrations, packing the USDA and other government bureaucracies with Monsanto men and biotech cheerleaders such as former Iowa Governor, Tom Vilsack, named "Biotech Governor of the Year" in 2001, now serving as USDA Secretary. Vilsack, notorious for flying around in a Monsanto company jet during one of his previous election campaigns, is now busy trying to get the court-ordered ban on Roundup Ready alfalfa lifted by issuing a new draft environmental impact statement (EIS) that denies or downplays the obvious environmental (genetic pollution and creation of herbicide-resistant superweeds) and human health hazards of GM alfalfa.

Alfalfa is the fourth most widely grown crop in the U.S. and a key source of dairy forage and hay. The first perennial crop to be genetically engineered, GM alfalfa can regenerate itself from its root-stock. It is open-pollinated by bees, which can cross-pollinate at distances of several miles, spreading Monsanto's patented, foreign DNA to non-GMO and organic crops. Widespread GMO-contamination of organic alfalfa is inevitable if the Obama Administration successfully distorts science and ignores public opinion and allows Monsanto's GM Roundup Ready alfalfa to be planted across the U.S.

Take action!

http://capwiz.com/grassrootsnetroots/issues/alert/?alertid=14469696

Why's everyone wearing glasses?

I have thought for a long time that as our worlds become smaller and smaller, our eyesight is getting worse and worse. Now there's a little something to it. Solution: have your kids play outside for 2+ hrs/day! So we can avoid both Nature Deficit Disorder and near-sightedness.

Read the article here.

Pistons Plays of the Decade

When your team is on a 13 game losing streak, you need to remember the good times. Go Pistons!!!

Relationships and Rightness

I read this morning and thought it aptly described some of my own thinking and feeling:

The question is how to relate to these individuals when a controversial topic—abortion, say, or Afghanistan—is broached. We have a stock of options for response: retreat, limited resistance (arguing only until someone gets upset), a strategic diversion (speaking of Afghan affairs, did I tell you I’ve learned to crochet?), or full-scale engagement.

Hmm … Interestingly, these are all military metaphors. There’s something about political dialogue more than any other topic that flips us into combat mode. There’s ground we feel compelled to protect, or to gain. For the duration of the argument, the other person stops being my sister or my uncle or my friend: They are my opponent, and I can either convince them of my rightness, or lose.

But lose what? I’ve been mulling that over. Why do I feel so threatened when people I care about take a different political path—and are vocal about it? It’s not the same as reading a columnist I disagree with, or exchanging political punch lines with Facebook acquaintances, or getting into a discussion over healthcare with a colleague at work. Such cases may generate hot air, but they don’t leave me feeling as heated up and vulnerable inside. There’s no personal relationship. When we care about someone, we let them have a stake in our well-being. And part of our well-being, we believe, is staked on being right. The relationships and the rightness get all tangled up.

Read the full article.