Well, as of the 2nd Elliott officially turned 6 months! Can not believe it. I am sure the next 6 months will go just as fast...the next thing you know he will be a year old!!

E went to the doctor that day (obviously not by himself..daddy took him) for his 6 month well visit. He is 16 pounds and 26 inches. Basically he is a healthy baby boy! The doctor said if he was still waking up at all to eat (which he did once a night) to just let him cry. Easy for them to say because they don't have to listen to him scream. The first night was horrid...but after that it wasn't really an issue anymore. He sleeps from about 8 until 745 (on the dot).

We are slowly creeping towards the day I am dreading.....crawling. He is getting up on is knees and rocking. The other day I could have sworn he moved a knee. He's good at scooting backwards. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad he is hitting his "milestones" but you could tell from day 1 he was ready to get up and go. Who know, I may be one of those moms....I always laugh at...that leash their kids. "No that's not a dog...it's my child". Or he could be like the twins and be driving cars into the side of the house by the time he is 3 (yes, literally).

For everyone that doesn't know, Julie closed her pottery shop (where I worked when I was preggo w/E) so until she finds a new one she has been doing birthday parties, bridal showers, baby showers, etc. but going to them instead. I helped her 2 weeks ago and I did a little painting myself when I had a few minutes. It was very quickly painted...so it's not great, but it's a good Christmas present...if anyone is looking for a fun idea. I made myself (well...I guess for Elliott when he gets older) a 'cookies for Santa' plate and used his foot print and turned it into a Christmas tree.




His Plate

One day He will hate me for these type of pictures...but its just too cute

Oh sweet child of mine

Alright, it's been awhile! My trip to St. Louis was awesome. It was great to spend some time with my bestie and get 4...yes 4 whole nights of uninterrupted sleep. AMAZING. I don't think I have had that much sleep in months...probably since before i was pregnant! It's really amazing how a little sleep and time away puts a new perspective on everything.
I feel like someone pushed the fast forward button. It seems like almost on a weekly (sometimes daily) basis Elliott is changing. He is learning and doing so much.
The whole "food thing" has actually gone a lot better than I thought it would. He eats about 3 jars of baby food and about 1-2 tbs of oatmeal a day (and every 4-5 hours at that!). With that said, I would like to add that rice cereal is evil and I will never use it again. It gave Elliott the worst stomach "problems". The second he got on the single grain oatmeal, everything was running like clock work again (if you know what I mean).He eats like it's his job. Defiantly has his daddy's appetite. The best part of it was that it cut out the 1 o'clock feeding he suddenly started waking up for again. That kid was hungry!
Some new things:

He is obsessed with his feet. They are constantly in his mouth.

He is reaching out for stuff, especially the dogs. Every time they walk by, he reaches out to touch them. He laughs hysterically when they jump, play, and bark.

He definitely babbles a lot more.

He is trying to sit up in his swing...may not be able to use that too much longer.

Naps are getting so much better!!!

Still working on sitting up, he could probably sit up for a few seconds by himself because his balance is getting better, but he always takes a dive for his feet (of course). He actually pushed himself up on his hands and knees for a few seconds the other day!
I think as he gets older and more independent and more aware of EVERY tiny thing, things are starting to get more fun. I can't wait to take him to the zoo, aquarium, etc.
Halloween was a lot of fun! Elliott was a giraffe. Why a giraffe you ask? Well, I went to Babies R Us and of course they have way cute costumes but they were about $20. Ummm...no thanks. Not for something he will literally wear once for maybe an hour. So I went to a place called Kids to Kids and sure enough they had the exact same costume there for $7. Way to go mommy! He went trick or treating (I guess you could call it that) to a couple friends houses in the neighborhood, I don't think he really cared too much. He did enjoy chewing on candy wrappers and we of course enjoyed eating his candy.
The holidays are right around the corner and all I have to say is...bring it on!

We bought Elliott a jumper, here he is enjoying it Happy first Halloween Little Man!!

So we went to our 4 month appointment the 2nd. All is well! he is almost 14 pounds and around 24 inches. The doctor told us we can experiment with first foods if we want to. We have been giving him a little juice for his upset tummy which seems to help. We may try some peas, pears or prunes since those help too. But he doesn't really need that stuff other than for "that" reason.

We took him to the fair which was fun. Of course it decided to rain the whole time. Dang it! He actually did really well. He just sat in his stroller and watched everything going on. He didn't even sleep. Oprah was filming a segment for her show she was shooting with Martina McBride the next day so it was pretty cool to see her.

Now that he has perfected his roll, he rolls all over the place. This makes bed time even more difficult because he will roll himself into the side of the bed and get his arms and legs stuck in the slats. I think he is going to be a tummy sleeper. We still put him to bed on his back but he will eventually roll himself onto his stomach. This kind of worried me at first but i think he is mobile enough he can move his head around so he wont get himself stuck in a position he can't move or breathe. We took all the bumpers and everything out of his crib and he won't stay in his sleep form so really, we just have to let him do his thing.

He is finally getting to the point he will sleep till about 4 or 5. After we feed him and finally get him back down.....he will sleep till about 8, if we are lucky. Just depends on his mood i guess. He still isn't big on naps.

Thursday I am going to St. Louis for 4 days. Which will be amazing because i will actually get to sleep and basically not have any baby or hubby duties!!!!!!! Hopefully Mike won't pawn off Elliott too much so he can see that taking care of a baby 24/7 isn't as "easy" as he thinks it is. Ha ha!

It's all about YOU baby!

So here we are, almost 3 months! I know I always say it, but where did the time go?

The past couple of weeks have been quite eventful for baby E. We took our first trip to see Mike's family. So needless to say it was an interesting 2+ hour trip. He did alright until we hit Buffalo then he started crying and getting fussy...I don't blame the poor guy. I don't like sitting in the car for long periods of time either. He did alright while he was there. I'm sure he enjoyed seeing everyone but he did not sleep well. Some people say that if you change a baby's environment and/or schedule it can throw them off!

I know Mike enjoyed spending time with his family, especially his cousin Tripp! He hasn't seen him in about a year and I know he misses spending time with him (especially since they were at one point attached at the hip!!!)
At one point during the trip I was watching Elliott and I think he finally realized he has a tongue! Ha! He would sit there and stick it out and chew on it, it was funny to watch.

He has started grabbing his blanket to put it in his mouth. His hand is always in there as well. So much, that he actually gags himself sometimes. Poor thing, I can't help but laugh.

He has now fully rolled over from his back to his stomach, not just on to his side! Big accomplishment last week. He also likes to drag himself over the boppy when I prop him up on it.

We have started him on cereal. Yes, I know it is early (for all of you that didn't start your babies until 4-6 months) but, the doctor suggested giving him a little bit because we were feeding him every 1 1/2-2 hours...and this went on for a couple weeks until we started him on it. He wasn't sleeping...he was exhausted and so fussy and he's not a fussy baby unless he is tired or hungry! He has always been a huge eater. I don't even want to think about what he will be like as a teenager. I know mike eats a lot now and he's 27 years old!! I did a little research about starting your baby on cereal so early and decided to just go with my instinct. It's not worth it for him to be miserable.

We still have not mastered sleeping through the night. He wakes up around 3 to eat. Like I said, big eater! He can have 6 oz of formula and some cereal before bed and it still doesn't fill him up. But, oh well! Once he eats he will go back to sleep pretty quickly and then wake up again about 7. He eats, plays for an hour (I have to let him get all of his "kicks" and wiggles out) then he will take about a 2-3 hour nap. Which is nice because then I get to go back to sleep. I love this kid more than anything, but he can be quite exhausting!!
It's good though because on those days I think to myself that we need a little girl too (so I can play dress up with huge bows and cute dresses)...I can stop and think...snap out of it, not anytime soon!! Haha. I have heard of many people that have a 2-6 month old and find out they are pregnant again. All I can say is God bless you because I don't know if I would have the energy or patience.

Below are a couple pics Kellie took while we were there!









"Charlotte : Is it safe? Are there stairs? What about sharp edges?
Carrie : Charlotte, it's a death trap. We're just going to strap a pillow around the kid and hope for the best. "

2 months with Baby E

This was after our doctor visit...poor guy. But at least he had cute camo band-aids



I can't believe that Elliott is now 2 months and a week old. Time really fly's! I am actually surprised we made it to this point without pulling every strand of hair out.
I have mixed emotions at this point....I am relieved to be beyond the every 2 hour feeding's MAJOR lack of sleep, not knowing what to do when he is hysterically crying at 3 in the morning. Not that I am a seasoned professional, but It's getting easier to figure out whats going on!
I'm also a little bit sad. He has grown so fast...I have finally convinced myself that the 5-8 lb newborn clothes just aren't going to fit, no matter how many times I try to squeeze him into them. So, I will put those way for now.
We had our two month well visit. He is 11 pounds! The doctor was surprised to hear how much he was cooing and "talking" and how much control he had with his head and body. Everything went great until he had to get shots.Three band-aids, many sniffles, and a little pat and hug later...all was well again.
He loves standing up and sitting up right. He occasionally throws little fits when I try to lay him down on his back. He also screams hysterically when we try to attempt "tummy time"...so much for that I guess.
We have been trying to get him to put himself to sleep. Bedtime usually goes off without a hitch (knock on wood)...all he needs is a full belly, some warm pj's and a cozy blanket. As long as he is tired, he his able to fall asleep pretty quickly. That's not to say there isn't the occasional cry or fuss. Nap time is another story though....it really depends on his mood. Slowly but surely he will get the hang of it. Sometimes I cheat a little and bust out the swing. Oh well.
I'm trying to get use to staying at home with him. Once he's a little older it will be a little more entertaining. I want to take him to MDO or maybe find some kind of play group so he can learn to interact with other kids and I can interact with adults. Haha! Sometimes there is only so much one side convo you can have in a day.
I'm glad I have such great friends (and family that is willing to babysit) so at least on the weekends I can leave 'mommy' at home for a few hours with the girls ♥.

7 weeks and counting....

*Elliott Ryan White was born June 2nd 2009 and he was 7lbs 3ozs*
So I decided to jump on the whole "blogging" band wagon like everyone else. Now everyone can stay updated on the little guy...and us (if anything remotely interesting happens). I try to update on a regular basis.
So as everyone knows...i think the big event for week 6 was Aunt Rachael's wedding. Which I must say Elliott was on his best behavior for. I waited on pins and needles during the wedding for him to let out a shriek or cry. Not a peep from the little guy! Thank you Lord. I think it sucked the energy right out of him because I barely heard even the slightest whimper from him all day Sunday. He barely woke up to eat and then was back out again.
Week 7 has been fairly uneventful for us. We are starting to get a bit of a routine down at night. We put on his long comfy pj's and he eats around 10 and then sleeps until almost 3.
We are still working on the sleeping through the night thing! Hopefully one of these days soon, he will not need to get up in the middle of the night. He usually wakes up again at 6, eats again, and then sleeps for about 3 more hours.
He is such a happy baby when he wakes up in the morning! He just laughs and coo's when I take him in his room and put him on his changing table. He also has a thing with his left leg. He kicks that thing a million miles an hour. I don't know what it is, I guess that's just his favorite leg? He is starting to hold his head up better each day. He has also started to roll over on his side sometimes. He laughs when we laugh and smiles when we smile.
Aunt robin took some pictures today so I will try to post some soon. Now to see what week 8 will bring!