Is it bad?

Is it bad that a small...maybe even medium size... part of me wanted Eli to reject the cereal again? I've actually put it off for about 3 days now of trying it again. My little booklets say that if they reject it the first time to try back the next week. It's been exactly one week and it truly did make a huge difference!

We gave him a bath, fixed his bottle, and mixed a little bowl of cereal. We sat him in his little chair, bibbed him up, and fed him some from the bottle so he wouldn't be starving. Then comes the cereal. He looked at it, grabbed for it, and opened his mouth... all the signs that say this is probably going to be a go, and it was! Yay/tears! haha... oh the ridiculousness that is my emotions! Yes, of course I know growing and moving to different stages is healthy and good! But it doesn't stop my heart from being so proud and happy for him but also being a little sad that he's growing so fast!

On a separate note, this week is TAKS week, which basically means a week full of stress, confusion, a lot of flexibility and terribly unhealthy snacks. So far, that's exactly what it's been! I was in the math review classes today, which I actually preferred to giving a test. You could talk to the kids, move around, sit down if you wanted... very flexible and not stressful. So that's good at least! Tomorrow is science review which I'm excited about too!

Also, Eddie James from The Skit Guys called me tonight. We have previously done a commercial together for Southwest Airlines. It was actually a contest that they entered and WON! Yay! Anyways... for their 3rd volume of a DVD they are making, they are kind of doing a part 2 of the commercial. It's going to be about "Grant" and the fact that he's dealing with some perception vs. reality issues. I know it will be hilarious, because pretty much everything they do is! So, he asked me to send him some pictures of Wes and I so "Grant" can put his face over Wes'. Too funny! I'll let you know how it turns out!

Come Worship Texas

On Saturday we spent almost the whole day in Alvarado, TX at an event called Come Worship Texas. A guy named Denny Nooner basically had a vision of this event and pulled it all together and I think paid for almost all of it!

He had Pillar, Skillet, Jeff Johnson, Jeremy Camp, and Mercy Me play, and the speaker was Francis Chan.

Meredith went with me and we left around 6:30, but we left way before it was over, so it was pretty much an all day event! I think about 4,000 people ended up being there by the end of the night, which is just really awesome for that many people to pay to come out that day! And the volunteers were SO nice to all of us! Traveling to different places with Wes in whatever band he happened to be in at the time, you start to get a feel of different groups and how they treat the artists and their families. I think sometimes venues forget that traveling from place to place is literally their job and they do it a lot. Some places just aren't thoughtful but that was not the case here. This event was just so very sweet to us. Not only did they check on us all the time to see if we needed anything, which is very sweet because they did not have to do that, but their disposition and demeanor with all of us was just so gracious! So, thanks volunteers! You guys are awesome!

The guys love playing events like this! They hope these are the kinds of things that they will get to play at a lot in their coming future. Jeff's song Ruin Me has hit the radio nationwide (ummm...except KLTY, our Dallas station...where Jeff lives...) and people all over have been moved by that song, and hopefully his whole album. We are all praying that this band will be booked for more gigs. Not only does that mean more money for our families, but also that more people will get to hear God's love through music. Please be in prayer with us as this new season of life the band is entering into will be a season of good change and progression.

Here are some more pics of the day!Jen and Coby- I'm so sorry we didn't get to hang out while you were here! I know that was a fast trip for you guys, but I hope you had a good time! We are still SO excited for you guys! Love you!

European Vacation

Our passports are here! The tickets have been purchased! And our itinerary is in the works! Hopefully, our trip will not turn out like the Griswold family European vacation, but you can't be too sure with my family!

My brother started his job in London a little bit before Christmas 2007 and he will be there for one year, with the possibility of staying longer! So we thought this would be a perfect time to go to Europe and we all miss him and want to see him! Right now we're planning on going to London, Paris, and Ireland, but we're flexible and that might change!

So far the traveling team is my parents, my sister Amy, my friend Meredith, me, and Eli. Yep. Eli is going. Now this is probably going to turn out to be one of those things that he is super mad about in the future. My parents went several places when Josh and I were younger that we don't remember and haven't been back to since. (Wes works every week in the summer and won't be able to go with us...which is SO sad! He's been to Europe twice but it will definitely not be the same without him!) But can we all focus on the fact that we're taking Eli!

Our travel dates are July 12-July 23. Eli will be turning 7 months old during this time and Wes and I will be celebrating our 4 year anniversary apart :( I've tried to ask as many people who have been in this similar situation with a baby in Europe their advice. So far, the consensus has been that taking a baby is much easier than taking like a 5 year old. I really have no concept of what this is going to be like! I mean, I can't even imagine Eli being 7 months old and how different he will be by then! I think I'm most nervous about the plane ride. We're going to try to get to the airport early and get in line so hopefully we can get the seats that don't have people in front of them to give us some extra room.

Has anyone ever done this? Or known of anyone who has done this??

Either way, I am beyond excited! I still can't believe we're actually getting to do this! I think about it every single day! I laugh though at Eli's passport picture. hahaha... I had to hold him up in front of this white screen at Walgreens! haha... so cute!

Oh, and I have the best news! My sweet best friend from high school, Kelli, is pregnant! YAY! She's about 12 weeks along now and is due November 8! They aren't going to find out with it is... which is going to drive all of us insane (smile) but it's going to be such a fun day when he or she arrives! Congratulations Kel! Love ya kid!
Oh, and START A BLOG! :)

how can spit up be so cute?

well, let me tell you... it can! I was DYING last night when we were feeding Eli his first bites of rice cereal! Poor baby... haha... it was precious! We followed our little instructions: 1. give him some milk before hand so he's not starving and not becoming frustrated, 2. give him just a little bit on the spoon, 3. stand back and watch him spit it out! haha... I mean, it actually said he would probably spit it out! how funny :) Anyways, I loved every minute of it, even though I was on the verge of tears!

I haven't been able to find fenugreek or the thistle in Wylie so we're going to look at different places tonight. I want to do whatever I can and like so many people have said, be proud and happy with whatever happens. Thanks friends!

4 month check up

Today Wes took Eli to his precious doctor to have his 4 month check up. I still remember looking at his 2 month check up page and seeing the words, "next visit: 4 months" and thinking, that is forever away! Not so!

I was really anxious to hear what she had to say since he and tummy time are arch enemies, but he actually did really well! When he was on his tummy he lifted his head but he lifts with is stomach and back and not his arms. So, that's our new homework assignment. She said that his head shape is still perfect so she doesn't think we'll have to have a helmet or anything like that.

He was his precious self with her, said Wes. He smiled and grinned and when she tested his hips he laughed, which doesn't surprise me because he loves it when people play with his legs! He's now 17 pounds and 26 inches! Both of those are in the 90% and then his head is 17 1/8, which is the 75%. All of which are pretty darn great! Those are huge jumps from last time because he wasn't even near those percentiles before.

And of course, he had to get those dang shots! :( As I'm typing this, this picture is what Eli is doing.

Another thing we can start doing is introducing solid food... like rice cereal. I can't even picture Eli eating anything from a spoon! It makes me laugh to think of that! But... I'll guess we'll try it pretty soon!

Thank you Christine and Sarah for the ideas! I am getting those from the store tonight and checking out that website! I'm super excited! Thank you my sweet girlies!

Poop, Spider Webs, Bird poo, and 2 pounds

Yep, that pretty much sums up our weekend.

I'm guessing because we've had to supplement Eli's eating with formula, his diapers have changed significantly. And to be totally honest, it's more like now we're supplementing his eating with breast milk. They are drying up. It's really sad for me, and sometimes I become overly emotional to it, but it's a fact of life I'm having to face. I'm doing everything I'm supposed to be doing. Pumping at work, letting him eat from me whenever he wants, all of it. It's just not working. I'm proud that he had almost a good 4 months of almost total breast milk. I haven't given up yet though! Anyways! Since the introduction of a lot of formula, his poopy diapers are horrible. I mean, the most disgusting thing I have ever seen/smelled in my life. Wes was like, "Thank goodness for skin! it's blocking that sick smell that he has inside him!" The good news is that now he only poops like once a day...usually... Unfortunately, that was not the case yesterday! He pooped twice! Some of you are probably thinking, big deal... but I'm telling you, this smell like fills up our entire house and we immediately clean him up and give him a bath because it's so terrible.

After that, Wes and I decided to go on a walk. It was really beautiful yesterday, I always feel like I neglect Ebony now, and I wanted to get some sort of exercise, so we geared up, and headed outside. We walked from our house, past this big field, until it was a dead end at the end of this street. I always walk on the sidewalk with Eli because I have this fear of some car racing around a corner and smashing into us, and I can't stop thinking about it until I'm on the sidewalk. The sidewalks in our neighborhood are generally terrible because they have a lot of big cracks, debris, and most of them don't match up so you hit this mini speed bumps frequently... but nonetheless, I feel so much better! I was pushing the stroller and I started feeling this sticking stringy thing all over me...I could tell it was a spider web so I pulled it off and kept going, then I ran into another one, and then I ran into another one! UGGHH!!! I was getting so annoyed! I was covered in 3 different spider webs, just hoping there wasn't a little spider attached to any of them! THEN Wes helped me pick up the stroller to put it on this other set of sidewalks and a bird pooped on my hand and the stroller! I made Wes wipe it off with his shirt...haha...which I felt kind of bad about, but it was on my hand! Can you see the little white spot on the handle?? sick. After that, we went home. Our walk lasted about...6 minutes.

And some good news is that I lost 2 pounds this week! Sunday morning is my weigh in day and I'm down 2 pounds! Whoo hoo! I'm still not quite sure how I'm walking around because I have NO muscle at all... but I keep reminding myself, I was pregnant for almost 10 months, I had major surgery, and it was dang cold outside for a long time! haha... so yay for me! I'm hoping to lose some more weight but at least tone up before we go visit my brother in England this summer! Yay! :)

4 months old

wow. I can't believe it has been 4 months! Yesterday Eli became officially 4 months old and Wes and I went and saw a movie to celebrate! haha... We got to spend some good time with Eli too of course. Anyways, we went to see Juno and thought it was a very sweet movie overall. And we both felt that we appreciated that movie even more now that we have Eli. I have never been able to imagine the overwhelming selflessness my biological mother had to give me up for adoption, and now having a baby of my own, I can't even fathom it.

Happy 4 months Eli!

Can I get a witness?

As of a last Sunday night emotional breakdown, I have turned over a new leaf. I was reminded of how my identity is found in Christ alone and that everything about me was created perfect by God. I don't want my kids struggling with my junk because they see me struggling with it. So, I've decided to "but have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the lift to come." 1 Timothy 4:7-8 And thank you Meredith for the encouragement.

God has not completely answered my prayer in asking for a part time job next year. We have decided that staying home part time is the best thing for our family right now and I've applied several places for part time positions, so now I'm waiting to hear back from them, and looking into several other options. One good thing about being educated is that is opens up so many doors, so I have a lot of places to look.

Please pray for Wes' hand. There is something wrong with it, and if I haven't mentioned it before clearly, he plays guitar. He has to have his hand. The doctor said he probably hyper extended it and put his hand in a brace type thing for a week. He starts taking his medicine today.

Eli is just doing so great, except for tummy time obviously. He is just such a joy to come home to. He has found his loud voice now and usually will only talk in that voice! hahaha... his coos and goos and squeals and little babbles are very loud and it is adorable! I'll have to video it for you because it cracks us up! Gosh... We love him so much.

Here are some bath time pics from Saturday morning. :)

Eli and the "tummy time" progession

I honestly like my job a lot...most of the time. But coming home to Wes and Eli is the best part of my day! Eli is still hating tummy time (as you will soon see). But he is just loving everything else! He loves to talk, swing, dance, sing, grab at everything, and watch TV... terrible... I know... But here is what I came home to yesterday...it is awesome...

oh, and Jennifer, I am SO happy for you guys! Happy probably isn't even the right word... my heart overflows with joy for you! Many more prayers will be said for this amazing time! Love you both!

Tummy Time

Here is Eli right when he gets on his tummy. Not too bad. He's feeling kind of ok. He hasn't started kicking his legs like crazy and breathing hard yet.

Now he's starting to realize exactly what's going on. Legs are kicking, arms are not moving, and he's slowly starting to slide off the pillow.

Eli has almost had it. He gives me one last look of desperation and I don't pick him up. Such a pitiful face...

And now he's mad...

So after a short bit of flailing (and me hoping he'll get mad and start pushing or something...which never happens...) I pick him up and we're both sad that he's sad.

And just to make sure he knows that I know tummy time is terrible...he gives out one more little cry...and I knew it was coming...

So after that he's much better and moving on with his life. Ebony is running around so he's watching her, and Wes joins us. :)