Life Lately

I feel like I have said this every post lately, but mom life is exactly what I have dreamed about for years. I feel like I am right where I am supposed to be, and I love every minute of the day. When he is grumpy I am glad I am the one to soothe him, when he is sleeping I am glad to be the one cleaning the house and doing other household duties, when he is cooing I am glad I am the one taking and sending pictures to friends and family instead of being on the receiving end of pictures from a babysitter. I absolutely love being a mom with every ounce of my being and I can't imagine life any differently. 

On Saturday Paul had a work class down in Olympia from 9-11 so we packed up and left by 7:55 and Eli slept the whole car trip.  I met a friend for coffee and Eli slept in her arms the entire time. We then packed up and drove to Tulalip (an hour and 45 min away) where Paul had a class for turkey hunting which he will be doing in April.  Paul went to Cabellas for his class and Eli and I drove a mile down the road to the outlets. I fed and changed Eli in the car (he slept the whole way to Tulalip) and then put him in the Ergo and we went about our trip.  I was at the outlets for a little over an hour and a half and he slept in the carrier like a champ.  Then we went to pick up Paul at Cabellas and Eli got his first experience in that crazy store! 

Oh and at the outlets I got Eli a Columbia polar fleece super nice jacket originally $40 for $10, I am pretty excited. :) 

Eli and his buddy Isaac.  Isaac was Eli's due date buddy, born 11 days later and he weighs 14lbs and is 23 inches long now, holy moly! Eli was 12lb 5oz with clothes on at the midwife appt just a few days before that, baby is growing quick and makes Eli look small!  

I stopped drinking coffee in the mornings quite a while ago but Paul got me an Aeropress for Valentines day, I think I mentioned it before, but I LOVE it.  I make myself a decaff latte every morning. 

I dressed Eli in a super goofy outfit for our walk the other day. It was 40 degrees out and he was going to be laying in the stroller for an hour so I had to make sure he was warm enough! 

Eli hates his afternoon naps, in fact he is way happier when we are out and about and can catch a bunch of 30-45 minute naps instead. Maybe that is what he needs, but seems like a crazy schedule. Anyway, if he doesnt get an afternoon nap by 4:30 in the evening we are in for a loooong evening till 8pm bedtime. Look how peaceful I got him to sleep, even if I did have to use a pacifier for a minute....yeah that lasted 10 minutes. I am just thankful he is usually super happy and sleeps quite well at night. 

Speaking of night sleeping little man slept for 7 hours straight last night!!! Our first long stretch (before he had gone 5 hours). I never knew I could be so proud of a baby for sleeping. :)  Then he slept another 3ish till his morning wake up.  One wake up during the night is amazingly better than two, I love it! 

I had blocks my dad made me when I was growing up and they were a much loved toy.  They weren't made out of the best wood and you could get splinters from them, but I loved them.  I have fond memories of building towers with my dad.  He made new blocks for Eli and I can't wait to spend time building awesome stuff with Eli as my dad did with me.  Though my dad is an engineer and Eli and I probably need some lessons in how to build this amazing of towers.  I got this picture in a text last night. :) 

Eli has rolled over 7 times now, someday I will forget the count when he does it daily. ;)  He loves doing tummy time while laying on Paul and me as well.  Also he LOVES lights, look at that fist bump action as he sees the lights in the mirror! 

Yesterday was awesome.  Gabe came over at 11:30 and we were out of the house by 11:40. Eli had napped all morning (with a few wake ups for mommy snuggles) and so I was hoping he would be good, but he far exceeded my expectations.  We went to Costco to grab a few things and eat lunch then headed to the mall to get our hair cut. I fed Eli in the car and then I got my hair cut at 1pm and Gabe at 1:45 so we could pass Eli to each other. We then shopped at the mall, and went to get a mani/pedi together at 4pm.  I fed Eli in the car before the mani/pedi (I seriously love breastfeeding, its automatic warm milk carried everywhere with me!) and then Eli chilled in my lap happily while Gabe and I got our toes and nails done for an hour and a half. I am still in awe of how easy of a baby I have. 

Eli this morning when he woke up, he just woke up because he was awake not for any other reason. We bathed (Eleanor always keeps a close eye on him) and then we wiggled in the bathtub with the fire on in my room and Paul got to hang out with us while he got ready for work, then we nursed and he went down for a nap by 7:15am and he is still sleeping and it is 10:30, love it. 

Now I am working on emailing my manager about per diem position and the details of making that happen and doing some online learning for work. Hopefully she can put it in and I get paid for it. We can do up to 3 hours of modules at home a pay period if needed. I have no idea how people would spend that long on them as I can do like 5 in an hour and they only come out every week or two. I usually do them at work but that wont be happening anymore! I am actually excited to return to work a day here or there and have Paul watch Eli. :) I still can't fathom leaving him with anyone else tho. 

Love you girls, hope all is well! Candice I am still smiling and super happy about the fact that you are pregnant, I can't wait to follow along in this journey with you!