Nine Months

Another month has flown by and now Eli is NINE months old - Count them: one, two, three...NINE!  Here's Eli's nine month stats:

Height: 27 1/2" - 25%

Weight: 16 pounds 10 ounces - 3%

So it looks like he still a little peanut, but praise GOD he still on the charts.  Dr. Greyson said he looks good and she's not worried about his weight - YEAH!  The past month has been a little challenging with this sweet boy.   He is quite the "Mama's Boy" and if I am in the room or he hears my voice he screams for me until I scoop him up in my arms.  I love that he loves me so much, but sometimes it's a bit smothering - so I am hoping this is a phase and it will pass quickly.

 EATING:

His eating has pretty much stayed the same, which is nothing to complain about.  He is very adventurous in trying different foods and loves to eat off our plates - so unlike Matt or I!  Eli loves mashed potatoes, juice from Ashtyn's fruit cups, pinto beans, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, peaches, bananas, and he has even tried Green Chili and loved it - mild of course!  He also loves to eat Puffs now and Cheetos - between Ashtyn and Eli I think they go through a can a day!

 SLEEPING:

Again, nothing much different.  Routinely takes a 2 hour nap in the morning and then cat naps the rest of the day.  He is a great sleeper!

 PERSONALITY:

Eli's personality is what has matured and keeps changing by the moment.  He is still very happy, but now knows how to throw little fits when we say "No", take away something he shouldn't have or even worse when we take the TV remote away and give him one to play with - he knows the one we give him does not work - must be a boy thing!  He hums alot - not sure why, but when he is playing with toys or scooting around he keeps says "hmm", "hmm." - He loves music and it tends to calm him down when he is fussy.  Grandma Sandy has a DVD filled with kid's Christian music and he will sit and watch the entire DVD staring at the TV - probably not the best thing for a nine month old, but when you want a peaceful dinner it works perfectly!  He loves his Mama very much and I get the biggest smiles and kisses from him - I don't care if I baby him, he is just too precious not to!

 

 TRICKS:

Well, he finally learned to CRAWL - what an exciting moment that was! He has been trying for a couple months now and all of a sudden on Sunday night he just went for a ball and he was crawling - AMAZING!  He is definitely enjoying being able to explore, but is learning the hard way with bumps and bruises!  Now he is getting into Ashtyn's "treasures" so we have some major baby proofing to do.  He now claps his hands while screaming! My favorite is hearing him try to make a "monkey" sound.  I do a great "monkey sound which has always made him laugh and now he tries to copy me - lips and all!  He loves to be outside, where we have been spending alot of our free time with the weather being so nice.  We push him around in this little bug car and he gets so excited.  The first time we buckled him in, he put his hands on the steering wheel and then stood up - like saying "Ready to GO!"  It was adorable and made me laugh - he looked just like Matt riding his 4-wheeler!  Must be an ability a boy is born with - standing up while driving!

  

 Like I always say - Eli is growing up so fast which is heartbreaking sometimes!  But I am so thankful to have a happy, healthy baby boy that brings so much life to our family.  I think the FUN is just about to begin...

Happy 9 months Bubba - you are getting so BIG!  Mommy and Daddy love you bunches!

I Can...

 I CAN sleep...

I CAN smile...

 I CAN suck on my thumb...

I CAN rollover to my tummy...

 I CAN sit...

 I CAN play...

 I CAN drink from a cup...

 I CAN swing...

 I CAN suck on my toe...

 I CAN drive...

 I CAN eat carrots...

 I CAN laugh...

 I CAN splash...

 I CAN clap...

 drum roll please....And now I CAN...

CRAWL!

My Lil' Picaso

Ever since Ashtyn was old enough to hold a crayon, she has LOVED art.  She is constantly asking to color, or play stickers, or paint, or use scissors, or create any craft she can convince Matt or I to do.  The girl's favorite store is Hobby Lobby, so it's only natural that I finally found an art class for her to join for a couple hours on Friday at the Erie Rec Center.  I was a little hesitant about starting the art class.  For one, it's not cheap and the thought of her not wanting to go or throwing a fit when I left was a definite concern.  But I was totally wrong!  I of course had been talking it up as much as I could, so the day of she would be prepared.  Well, Friday finally arrived, and the first thing out of her mouth that morning was, "this day I go to school?"  She thinks art class is school!  I think the morning dragged on for her until it was time to go, because she kept asking, "Time go yet.  I so bored."  When we finally got there she said, "Where's my locker?"  I just looked at her and smiled and said "Aunty Emily has a locker, because she in middle school.  They don't have lockers for art class."  Oh this child cracks me up and amazes me still what comes out of her mouth!

Well she LOVED her time at art class.  She couldn't wait to show me what she did and was jumping up and down so excited at the fact she got to use paint, glue and glitter! The teacher said she is a very good artist and follows direction very well - I will take credit for this, I think she is following in my footsteps as an exceptional student!  On this day she made a moose, a finger puppet and a birthday card.  I am so happy to have found something a bit more challenging for her to do.  I love having her at home, but I think she needs this interaction.  Preschool in the fall may be a definite possibility, but for now we will enjoy our art class.

She is growing up so fast...I will admit when I dropped her off and left, I peaked through the window and she was just fine.  Interacting with others and happy - which made me tear up and cry!  I don't know why, but seeing her old enough to enjoy something like this just made me realize how fast my baby girl is growing up and soon will be off to college not needing me anymore - a bit dramatic, I know, but still.  I am thinking her first day of kindergarten is going to kill me!

Dedicated to you...

...my friend Shannon.  Eli sporting a MOHAWK!

 The best one of all...complete with drool...

love you!

Valentines Weekend

We started celebrating Valentines on Friday night with Nana and Papa.  Nana and Papa always buy the kids a Build-A-Bear for Valentines, so we headed out to Flatirons to choose the perfect bear to love and add to the collection...

 Ashtyn's favorite part is being on the "puters", She named her bear Snowflake...

After Build-A-Bear we headed to dinner with Nana and Papa, where the kids actually behaved, so we actually enjoyed our night out.  On Saturday, we celebrated Robbie's first birthday.  Can't believe he is already One - that year seemed to just fly by, but that's what I say about everything it seems like.  Happy Birthday Robbie!

After the party, we dropped the kids off at Aunt Pammy's, she has been dying to watch the kids and offered so Matt and I could have a night out.  I took her up on it, and we headed out to Efrains - my favorite - with our best friends Shannon and Kole.  It was so nice to drink margaritas and enjoy a "hot" meal with no chaos.  Thanks to Aunt Pammy - Eli was a handful as usual, but Ashtyn very much enjoyed herself!  Sunday we laid around and did nothing - mostly because both Matt and I felt horrible due to the Walking Pneumonia we both came down with.  On Valentines Day, I was still feeling awful and finally got some medicine, but didn't feel up to a whole lot.  So we let Ashtyn and Eli open their Valentines presents to round out the celebration...

Ashtyn's presents were Little Squishes, an Etch-A-Sketch and a gum ball machine, and Eli got pajamas.  Matt and I got a couple's massage for each other, which we will definitely benefit from after the couple weeks we have had being sick.  We hope everyone enjoyed their Valentines Day - I know the Trujillo's did!