Rewind

Where does the time go? Oh, I forgot, we had a lot going on the last week of May. First of all, we had a birthday celebration with my family and then dessert and a family baby shower for Eli afterwards at my parents' house. The birthday celebration was largely for my mother turning 60 in March and my dad who will be turning 60 in September. We had a ton of fun that night! We received some really cute dressy outfits, bibs, toys and a carseat and handmade baby quilt (made by Mam-maw) for Eli.
We then had a joint graduation party/birthday party for Jeremy and Mam-maw the next day. It was a great turnout with a ton of family and friends attending. The weather was perfect so we all got to chill and eat outside. The following Monday Jeremy and his brother Russ moved Mam-maw to Uncle Russ' new house to make room at our house for baby Eli, who decided to come a lot earlier than his momma expected as he arrived that Wednesday (hence the late posting of this blog!). We definitely like to pack a full calendar! With Eli's arrival, Jeremy and I missed the other big events that were scheduled- namely his review course, hooding ceremony and graduation ceremony. We still have yet to receive his diploma, but we are looking forward to its arrival to make his finishing school seem real.

We managed to meet up with some good friends from Memphis. Kat and I used to work together at St. Francis and she and her husband have the most adorable son Griffin who is 9 months old. It was so fun to be out with both boys and play catch up!Caleb and I recently made some allergen-free blueberry muffins using a mix from The Cravings Place- they were so good! Caleb wanted to eat the batter and then later must have had at least 10 mini muffins. I had a good number myself, but I figure he rarely gets a treat like that (that actually tastes really good) and I'm breastfeeding, so a splurge is okay!

My trickster!

This is not the most pleasant thing to see, but I had to post because I know my brother Seth will be interested. Eli's finger finally came off this past Tuesday or Wednesday (I can't remember which day exactly). The doctor tied it off at his first checkup and said it would probably take 4-5 days to fall off- uh, that would be a NO. It took like 8 or 9 days. It was looking pretty nasty the few days prior to it falling off and was oozing some yellow crusty stuff around the base. I think it was bothering him too, because anytime you rubbed against it he would grimace or cry. So, we are very thankful it finally came off and is now just a small scabbed area. Caleb was quite interested in his brother's finger, as were numerous other family members. The first few days after it had been tied off it began turning gray with the small nail part turning black. Caleb affectionately said while looking at his brother one day, "What's that pea doing?" He couldn't have described it more perfectly as Eli's finger did look like a black-eyed pea!No extra finger in this picture!

Eli also had his first bath, which he did not seem to enjoy! Hopefully next bath will be more enjoyable!We had the great privelege of celebrating my sister's 36th birthday with her and her kids! And how wonderful that Eli was in on the celebration as it was his first time to meet his KY family.Sister, you don't look a day over 18, if that!And last but not least, my handsome doozer who is 2 1/2!

Family Visits

Aunt Karina

Cousin Radnor

Having a good stretch!

Uncle Seth

Uncle Russ

Mam-maw

Gotta love it!

Hard to believe my last blog was just a week ago- the day before Eli arrived! I'll post more about that later but for now just wanted to share these pictures and videos. You have to wait until the very end of the 2nd video for Eli's precious smile! Caleb is doing wonderfully well with baby brother and this morning I had one of the sweetest times of my life! For about the last month Caleb has been getting up around 6am and coming into my and Jeremy's room and crawling up in between us into what he called his "hole." He'd snuggle in between us and fall back asleep for another 30 minutes or so or start talking about what he wanted for supper (he still doesn't have his meals straight!). I treasured these times because I knew in a short while with Eli's arrival things would change- I didn't know exactly how things would change, just that things would be different with a newborn. Since bringing Eli home things have definitely changed, but Caleb has continued to wake up around 6 and run into our room. Since Eli has been sleeping with us at night, I wasn't sure how Caleb would handle it but he has been so sweet! He usually asks, "Where's baby brother?" Then he gives Eli a kiss and this morning for the first time he snuggled in beside of Eli and we all went back to sleep- so, so sweet and so wonderful to have those precious moments together.

Favorite Things

Caleb loves to play with blocks and games. This particular day he used the Jenga blocks to build a railroad track. He is a huge fan of Thomas the Train, but not of real trains in particular. When we were visiting my sister in Glendale, KY and ate at the famous "Whittle Top" (Whistle Stop actually), we timed it perfectly to arrive and park right when the train came down the track. Caleb was fascinated at first, but then became completely frightened. We were close enough to the train to feel the vibrations, so it was somewhat understandable. He later played on a somewhat real looking model train that did not move. By the way, the food at the Whistle Stop is great if you are ever out that way and make a stop off on your way to Louisville. I strongly suggest the Blackberry Cobbler.

Another things Caleb loves to do is work outside with his daddy, especially if it involves the water hose. He completely soaked himself this particular day when they washed my car.

Funny Videos

These are a couple of recent videos of Caleb that I thought were pretty cute. I love that he really smiles for himself when taking his picture in the first one. And the second one is just so funny- the boy ate his dumplins like he hadn't eaten anything in days! He is such a country boy- which is very understandable considering how his momma sounds on the video! I hate my voice- I am such a hick! Not that I want to sound like I'm from New York or anything like that, but I am just so country! I'm blaming it on the fact that I was born in NC, raised in TN, lived in NC after getting married for a few years, moved to Memphis, TN and lived there for a couple years before finally returning to my hometown in TN. I should have spent sometime in Europe- maybe then I wouldn't speak sooo verrry verrry sllllooowwww.