Wedding Weekend Part 1: Prenuptial
Auntie Linzy’s big day has come and gone, and what a great time we had! We went to her rehearsal dinner on Thursday night. Aunt Lisa and Kyra rode to Gatlinburg with us. Elliot made friends with the sweet flower girls Jorja and Isabell.
We got through the rehearsal and Elliot only broke his toy ring twice. Then we ate dinner at Calhoun’s, which was delicious. I dropped Logan and Elliot off at Linzy’s house for the night and I went to work. Logan reports that Linzy and her friends came in late and woke Elliot at midnight, but he got them back at 6:30AM!
Then next day, Logan and Elliot went to the Bridal luncheon at the Pancake House while mommy slept after her shift.
I arrived at the hotel that evening. Linzy and I hung out in the hotel room and played with Elliot while we waited for the parade. Linzy lamented that her friends would not hang out with her that afternoon before her wedding. Little did she know, we were about to start her SURPRISE BACHELORETTE PARTY!
Elliot watched the Gatlinburg Parade with his Gingy, Grandpa, and Uncle Tom.
The next day was the big wedding day! I went to go get my hair did and Logan went to go help set up the reception. My parents got Elliot ready!
To be continued…
I’m a blob and I’m mad about it!
This is basically Elliot’s attitude towards life so far. Uncle Art made the above comment at the Cabin, and I agree. The boy wants to move! I don’t know why. Daddy and I “and some others” carry him wherever he wants to go until we get too tired. I think this need to be mobile is the reason he is hitting his milestones so well. He’s motivated!
Anyways, it won’t be long now…
A Cowboy Needs a Horse
My parents came up this weekend and Logan and Grandpa went to Cincinnati for a Bengals game against the Jets. The Bengals won and my dad got to experience Logan’s Ohio relatives including the infamous “Pappy van”. They had a good time.
My mom stayed with Elliot on Friday while I was at work. Tom got off early and the three of them went to Walmart to shop and entertain Elliot. Elliot has been highly entertained recently by his Fisherprice Jumperoo horse.
When I got home from work we went to Naples to eat. Elliot sat in his Bumbo on the table and ate rice cereal, which was highly entertaining to the rest of the restaurant. Then he tried and tried to get Tom’s Spaghetti Carbonara.
That night, Elliot and I slept by ourselves for the first time without daddy. I put pillows all around the edges of the bed and we slept together like a momma and baby bird snuggled in a nest.
The next day we got up and went to Tom’s winery for a tour. A lady working the wine bar tried to wow me with her son’s baby stats, but he was only 8 pounds something. Elliot and I were not impressed.
After that we went shopping at the Tanger Outlet’s. Mom remembered she wanted to get Logan a birthday gift and I found more that enough stuff for him at “The Kitchen Collection” and “Le Gourmet Chef.” We also got Elliot some clothes. We wanted to find him a onesie that said “My Uncle is Attractive and Single” since Tom was carrying him around in the Bjorn, but no such luck.
Logan and Grandpa came home in time for lunch. Logan opened his various gifts, which he enjoyed.
Mommy, daddy, and baby took a family nap that after noon. My parents left that evening after dinner at Nixon’s Deli. Logan, Elliot, and I went to the mall briefly to look around and then went home and went to bed.
Today we had a visit from the Collier’s. Victoria was moving into her new apartment for school. So she, her mom and dad, and Mathew stopped by to see the house and Elliot. Elliot was asleep but he happily woke up for company. He showed off his horse and some baby tricks for them. Afterwards, Logan, Elliot, and I went out shopping again. Elliot slept most of the time but awoke by the time we got to walmart for our groceries. He hit the hay pretty early tonight too. I guess we are all pretty tired.
5 Generations!
Logan took Elliot to see his family on Friday for Linzy’s birthday while mommy was at work. Here are some videos I received.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3V-XJDP5pE
On Saturday, we got the five generation photo of Elliot, Logan, Gam Gam, Granny, and Grandma.
Will insert photo here!
Then we went on a picnic with Logan’s family.
Here’s Elliot with Cousins Alissa and Bryce.
Logan, Gam Gam, Aunt Linzy, Baby E, and I went on a walk after dinner. I carried Elliot in the Bjorn and as we crossed the top of a hill we heard a funny grunting sound. “A wild boar!” Logan exclaimed. “Good. I was afraid it was a bear.” I said, to which Gam Gam replied, “A boar is worse!” “Yeah, they are aggressive!” Logan stated as he scouted ahead. Meanwhile, Gam Gam and Auntie strategically positioned themselves between me (and Elliot) and the noise. It felt very tribal, like I was a momma with a papoose that we all had to help protect. We ended up turning back to play it safe.
Sunday, we took Elliot to the Ijam’s Nature Center.
Monday, Logan’s cousin Christian came over to visit. He is very good with Elliot, even though Elliot did scream at him when he woke up from his nap. Logan and Christian played with Logan’s War Hammer armies and Elliot and I relaxed in our comfy recliner. He fell asleep with me rocking him around 8 and by 9 I was asleep too. At 11 Logan woke me up and I put on my PJs and brushed my teeth and went back to sleep, cuddling Elliot in our bed. At 2 Elliot woke up… So that would be 6 hours right in a row of blissful sleep! YAY!
Happy 3 Month Birthday, Elliot!
Another month has gone by. This has been an interesting month in that I went back to work, changed shifts, worked a weekend, and then went back on normal hours. It was hard for baby Elliot, but we got through it. We have been co-sleeping, which seems to help squeeze a little more quality time and straight-from-the-breast feedings out of our limited time together. We usually start him out in his bed, but after his first waking he pretty much stays with us the rest of the night. Logan has been learning how to put him to sleep during the day and is becoming quite the expert at his patterns. He has discovered that he can entertain and even put baby E to sleep with some Rock Band serenading.
Thursday night we had a bad storm and the power went off. I came home and Aunt Linzy was here watching him (and FernGully). Brigitte stopped by on her way to class and we all played with him in the dim light of the bonus room until he got sleepy. Logan eventually came home from weed-eating at his office and took a shower in the dark. That night we changed a diaper by flashlight. Shortly after, the power came back on.
Friday we had a coworker of mine, Austin, and his 4 month pregnant wife, Emily, over for dinner and board games. They brought us some really cute Hippo books. Logan made Pad Thai and Elliot sat on my knee while we ate. We played Trivial Pursuit afterwards and Austin was trying to decide between “Atlanta” and “Memphis” for and answer. Elliot garbled some two syllable thing at him and so he picked “Mem-phis” and was right! Nice work Elliot except it was for the wrong team!
The next day we headed out to do a little shopping and then to Cindy and Jeff’s for a late Fourth of July Celebration! Gingy and Grandpa were there and excited to see him!
Big Kahuna!
Elliot was not sure what to think about the dog just yet…
Big plastic ball!
Note: He’s not actually naked.
We played a fun game with the large plastic ball.
http://youtu.be/J0FrLIrmmM8
He also finally rolled over for the camera!
We had to leave before the fireworks again since Elliot was sleepy, but I heard they were good!
Today is Elliot’s 3 month birthday! In celebration, here are 3 of our favorite videos!
Elliot’s first footage at home (4/12/12)
http://youtu.be/XELe7DeWSuw
Sliding on the Love Sac (5/25/12)
http://youtu.be/kj3OKplNsus
First Swim (5/27/12)
http://youtu.be/GiKkSiZSw2I
Babies Are Great Personal Trainers
On a lighter note, I am back to my pre-pregnancy weight. *budum-CHING* As it turns out, there is a survival need for that extra pregnancy weight. Babies are amazing parent calorie burners!
Elliot’s training philosophies:
1. Breastfeed – 600 calories a day! 6-0-0! That in and of itself is enough to make breastfeeding worth it, but you also get a healthier baby with diapers that don’t stink. But wait, there’s more! The only sensation I get from let down is extreme thirst. So I end up drinking plenty of water. Will the health benefits never cease?!?! I may keep pumping once Elliot out grows me just to keep the weight off. Anyone want to buy some breast milk?
2. No time to eat – Something about mommy sitting down to a hot meal makes Baby E really hungry… So even if I do get to eat, there’s usually no time for seconds. Plus, as Logan and I have found it is really hard to prepare much of a meal when you are by yourself with Elliot.
3. Have a giant baby – Just delivering Elliot knocked almost 10lbs off. Plus, there was the placenta, amniotic fluid, and reportedly a bunch of blood… Instant weight loss!
4. No sleep – I used to loose weight on rotations where I had to do a lot of overnight work. With Elliot I still have 2-4 wake-ups per night and calorie expenditure to go with it!
5. Exercise – As if walking a 15 lb. baby through and around the house over and over again and hauling a breastpump back and forth to work everyday were not enough, here are some exercises that both strengthen muscles and entertain babies.
Crunches
Curls
Bench Press
Tongue Lifts
Turn about being fair play, we’re getting Elliot to do some exercises of his own.
http://youtu.be/MdgSB8X8qo4