I am so tired.

I have made two trips to Salem since I last blogged. The first trip was because my grandfather wasn't doing well and I wanted to see for myself how bad he was actually doing, and if it looked as it sounded get hospice set up for him.  Well he did look bad, and we ended up getting hospice set up the day we arrived with the help of an awesome nurse and his dr. (after a facility nurse had told my aunt we needed to take him to the ER on the weekend to get orders for hospice, don't even get me started on how ridiculous that is!)

My mom came over to Auburn and we drove down to Salem together. Wow are long car rides way more work with a little munchkin.  We had to pull over once because somebody was screaming, and then again because the other two somebodies had to go to the bathroom. But we made it in one piece!  My grandpa didn't even recognize us the first day we were there, but the next two days he at least opened his eyes and even remembered Eli, which was so special seeing as he has had pretty bad dementia and short term memory loss since long before Eli was born. 

The man patting Eli's head is Sam, Sam loves babies and wanted to hold Eli every time he saw him, melt my heart. 

Right before we went down to Salem my college friend I hadn't seen since my wedding, Michele, said she was driving super close to my house on her way from Portland to Canada where she is now living.  She is doing her internship as a large animal vet, and was going to move to Australia in a few days to finish it there.  She came over less than an hour after she texted and we got to catch up for a few hours, it was so fun, so random, and one of the huge blessings of being SAHM right now is being available!

Paul and I finally got down to his grandparents house so they could visit Eli, it had been more months than I can remember since they had seen him, it was so precious to see Nana leaving over and smothering Eli with kisses. 

Eli loves the fridge, and by loves I mean any time he hears it open he drops whatever he is doing to crawl as fast as he can and stand inside it. He cracks me up.  I had to move the soy and hoisin sauces because he likes to suck on them like a bottle!

This last month has really brought out the mischeviousness in Eli. Climbing in the dishwasher, taking food out of the fridge, climbing all the stairs, knocking over plants, tearing leaves from succulents, it pretty much never ends!  He also walks super well now behind a walker and he is so proud of himself for it!  I wish you ladies had instagram because I post a lot of photos and videos of him over there :) 

Eli and I tagged along to the Harvest festival in Seattle a few weekends ago.  Eli loved the band that was there (hence the huge smile) and loved seeing all the animal they had.  Both babies, Eli and his buddy Meli, slept the whole way too and from Seattle, it was a miracle! 

Eli practices brushing his teeth with me, he is getting so active and observant and he just keeps getting more and more fun!  He is also eating like a teenager lately, he still nurses the same but the amount of actual food he consumes is incredible!  I have started having his bottle with water in it all the time for him.  I just ordered some cups with straws and we are going to try that for him when he is sitting in his booster. 

We went out to breakfast at one of our favorite places, Sunrise Cafe, a few weeks ago.  We took along Eli's booster and bib and it was the best thing we ever did!  He enjoyed some of the amazing and HUGE omlet with us and he couldn't escape!  I don't know who designed the high chairs for restaurants but who made them so deep and wide, Eli can escape the seatbelt no problem.  McDonalds on the other hand has awesome high chairs, which I am embarassed to admit I know that.  I don't actually know the last time I ate anything besides a dipped cone there though, so thats a plus. :) 

Paul and I having a relaxing moment while Eli slept. Seems these are few and far between because Paul is always working or has something going on.  I can't wait for a more predictable schedule and normal life when he becomes a manager.  He has a manager interview in a few weeks and I am praying Gods will be done.  I have full confidence he will pass, but only if it's the Lords will.  I have peace God has a plan for us, and I will just ride the waves of whatever happens.  

Eli looks at Paul with such awe and wonder these days and I was so happy to have captured it while he was sitting on the bed.  I sure do love these two boys in my life, they definitely have me wrapped around their finger. :) 

I have still been loving bountiful basket, and Amber has been getting them lately as well!  I just order hers along with mine and drop it by, which means I get to see her almost weekly! :)  Amber can't have peppers though so I ended up with a TON of bell and chili peppers this last time.  I roasted them all in the toaster (convection) oven and froze them in half cup packs.  I am excited to have them available for lots of cooking this winter! 

I did Jamberry nails for the first time.  I have had them on for 1.5 weeks now and they are holding up so well!  They are more work to put on than the advertisements let on, but so cute and work so well.  I also could probably do my nails 3x from a package instead of the 1x I thought. 

My walking, climbing, crazy dare devil of a boy!  He has so much energy these days.  He just went through a growth spurt, which I am so glad is over.  He sleeps awful on vacation anyway, so combine being away from home for a week with a growth spurt and just getting over his second bout of croup, it meant I was up 3-4 times a night.  Paul went hunting and was gone for 5 nights so all the wake ups were on me.  Oh I was so tired! We are sleep training again this week and it is already getting better. Phew! 

Swinging at my parents house in the same swing my mom swung my brother to sleep in as a baby.  My brother is now 21!

While in Salem this last weekend for my grandpas memorial (he passed just a day after we left town, he knew we said our goodbyes) we went and visited my other grandparents.  Grandma Shirley loves being on the floor and playing with Eli even at 80 years old!  The only two times grandpa Bob has smiled in the last 6 months is when Eli has visited him. The power of a baby is incredible!   The guy on the right in the football picture is my grandpa that just passed away, he was such a stud!

Paul had the day off yesterday and we went to Flaming Geyser State park.  It is just about 15 minutes from our house, and we only stayed for about a half hour, but it was a fun family adventure, and Paul even agreed to a few family pictures! 

Eli made the rough transition from 3 to 2 naps this week so I am having to get  creative with fun things to keep him up between naps.  He used to only stay up 2 hours at a time, but started refusing his last nap of the day meaning he was up for nearly six hours before bed, um that was torture and he was super grumpy!  So I switched to keeping him awake for 3 hours at a time between naps and not only has he not refused a single nap, he also naps way better than he was.  It is also helping him sleep longer at night, still with wake ups that we have to pat him back down, but hopefully those will go away soon.  He now sleeps in till about 6:15 or 7am which is so so so much better than the 4 am that we did for a month! 

Hope all is well with you ladies!