Eli's first sleep-over

Eli had his first sleep-over Monday night. Mrs. Linda called and asked if he could stay the night with her and her family. He had a blast. He loves being with all the Daughtery's. While he was playing, Dad and Mom had their first night of dinner and a movie since his birth. What a treat. We are so blessed to have this beautiful family as a part of ours.

YUCK!

Eli is learning a new law of nature: what goes in may also come out. He has developed preferences with his food and will simply stick his tongue out and pull the food off. He has never minded eating anything we have put in front of him. Not even bell peppers! He has always eaten his vegetables, fruits, carbs, and proteins very well. Until we introduced hot-dogs (turkey-dogs). He loves them! He never leaves any crumbs and he can't get enough. We've learned to feed him the hot-dog last, after he has eaten his vegetables. But there are times that he will simply spit out whatever he has in his mouth, if it is not hot-dog.

Eli's third tooth made its debut today. His top, right front tooth came in! Woo-Hoo. He is a much happier baby (until the next one comes). Pictures to follow soon....

There's No Place Like Home

We love our home. Not the building, though we like that too, but the place. Our home is a place of peace and rest for us to simply enjoy living. It is also a place where we do our thought-processing. While we go and go all day long, we're able to come home and place our thoughts in order through discussion or further study.

We're not sure what God's plans are. We always say: we'd love to stay, but we're willing to go. For right now, it's a perfect fit.

Teething-yuck!

It has been a while since Eli has shown the symptoms of teething, but they are now back in full force. I think I even forgot how yucky it is when a baby's body is sprouting those pearly whites. All I can say is, "Yuck, this too shall pass."

On a side note: I was playing with Eli the other day. Well actually, I was there for moral support. He was climbing all over me, slapping me, biting me, drooling on me (teething-yuck), and pulling my hair. As I lay there wishing I could catch up on some reading, I had a fleeting thought that this will not last forever. In a few short months, he may not even want to play with me. He'll be on to his next mission. That helped me savor this time in life, when I don't feel like I get much "accomplished" while raising a baby. I remember that I am building bridges and laying a foundation that he will rely on his entire life.

P. S. I am currently reading this, this, and this.

Eli's Latest

A growing boy hardly stops! Eli has been learning new tricks left and right. First, his language development is growing out of the raspberry communication phase. For about a month, the only way he would communicate to us, whether it be joy or saddness, was through spitting his tongue out of his mouth and showering us with love! Unfortunately, I never captured this on video camera. Next, he is crawling like a madman. When we visited with family in Gulf Shores, they nick-named him "flash" because he was gone in a flash when he was going. He has even learned, that when he is holding something and he wants to travel with it, he sticks it in his mouth while he crawls at lightning speed. Lastly, some of his favorite toys right now are balls and tubes. Any size ball he loves! He practices throwing it, too. He'll watch Elliott or Suzi toss the ball in the air and catch it, then follow suit by throwing it with all his might straight down. He'll practice this for a solid ten mintues at times.He also loves tubes. Any kind of tube: medicine, mascara, etc. Anything small enough for him to grasp well, he holds on for dear life and brings his buddies everywhere. Seriously, he chews on his Baby Orajel tube while he's teething more than he takes the orajel on his gums!

He says "mama-mama" and is playing more now with his voice and sounds. He is also using his tongue differently to make noises and experiment. He pulls up on things, falls down, stands unassissted for a few seconds, the normal baby stuff.

He is fast approaching one year old, and it is hard to believe that he has been a part of our lives for an entire year. Of all our years of marriage to date, this one has gone by quickest.