Meeting Grandpa Dave

As I've noted before, Dave's cemetery in Rensselaer is so beautiful. Woodsy and comfortable, it's so peaceful and calm.

This was our first family photo with the dogs. They were happy to visit Grandpa Dave because they get to run around off-leash.

It was so nice to finally have Eli there. I love that Eli is right next to Dave's name in the picture, since after all, his middle name is after his Grandpa Dave.

We didn't have much time to spend there because we had to turn around and rush back to be in Zionsville by 7 pm for our first session of "Growing Kids God's Way" parenting class. I couldn't believe we drove all those places in such a short time, with a baby and dogs no less!

My first picnic

After we left the Heritage Lake house, we headed North on 65 to Rensselaer. We had a lot of stops to make that day and not a lot of time to do it. Poor Eli didn't get any full feedings, just a lot of little ones because we just didn't have time. Mike was surprised at how often and how long they would take since he never had to wait on us before. Back then, a full feeding would take us over an hour!

We took a break at Chick-fil-A in Lafayette for a picnic. It was so fun to lay Eli out on a blanket in the grass. They had the best grass, it was so green, thick and plush. He enjoyed his first picnic immensely, he ate and then napped in the sun. Couldn't get any better than that for a little guy!

We got a milk shake for dessert. Somehow, while trying to juggle Eli and the dogs, we weren't paying attention and Bear was able to discover how tasty whip cream on a milk shake is. Geez, you would think we don't feed him!

Remembering Dave

On September 23, 2009, we took time to remember Mike's dad, Dave. Eli was just a little over 2 weeks old and this was our first day trip with him. Our first stop was to their house at Heritage Lake.

We sat outside for a little while. It was over cast but the sun was breaking through the trees just a bit, right where we were sitting. "Jesus Rays", as I call them, were peaking between the tree branches. You know Jesus Rays, they are the beams of light that break through the clouds. They are always apparent in religious paintings so that's why I dubbed them "Jesus Rays. The lighting was amazing, we know Dave was with us. It was so beautiful in the woods.

Bath Time

Eli really did not enjoy baths at first. It retrospect, even though we tried to use warm water, we were in the middle of the kitchen, so it was probably breezy. You know how much you hate it when you are in the shower and the doors open a little, I guess this was like having a garage door open!

I was so afraid of holding him in this little tub, he was so little and slippery. Mike was not afraid of bath time at all. I would hold him and he would 'detail' Eli :)

The Paparazzi - my first photo shoot

I'm sure by now you've figured out that I like pictures... a lot! I think when Eli was born he thought he moved in with the paparazzi! I remember I took lots of him in the hospital and he hated it. He would cry and stick his bottom lip out.

It was so hard to take his picture because he was so sleeping. We rarely got to see him with his eyes open! Every time it would happen I would say "We have a baby... with eyes!" because I was so excited to see them.

So these are my first stabs at a newborn photo shoot. It was incredibly hard! I've included quotes from Eli or my thoughts too.

"What am I doing outside? It's bright and breezy."


"Mommy, can you stop talking about my elephant knees?"
I thought his little wrinkly knees looked just like elephant knees and it was my favorite thing because I love elephants!






"Wow, my mommy must LOVE taking pictures. She is wearing me out!"


"I guess I may as well give her what she wants, a little smile every now and then."

Mouth wide open

Just have to love this picture of Peanut sleeping with his mouth wide open!


And what's not to love about a screaming baby? Bear's trying to figure out what's wrong. He looks so tiny is his clothes!

Eli's a handsome feller'

Jill, Mike's mom, came over to visit and brought a baby picture of Mike's dad (you can click the photo to make it bigger and you can see the photo in the background). There is some resemblance there to his Grandpa Dave!

Who need a Boppy when you have Bear?

Bear makes a great Boppy! He is so careful with Eli. He was very attentive to the fact that he had a little Peanut using him as a pillow. Bella on the other hand was not into being a Boppy at all. But she had her moments too...




They both look so comfy!

The first sniff

Bear and Bella spent 5 days at the luxurious, all-inclusive outdoor adventure vacation destination, George's Jungle, (a.k.a. my sister's house). They loved it there because they got to play with their dog, Ranger, and run around on their property. They just loved being able to run free in the outdoors and trample through the fields. They didn't come home until the second day we were home, which was nice so we could get Eli settled at home.

Needless to say, they were exhausted when they arrived. This was great because they sniffed, then snoozed :) When went to a class to learn how to prepare dogs for a baby and it really helped. When we first came in the door, Bella came right over to me. She could tell I was different. Then they went to check Eli out. Bella was very interested and Bear acted like it was no big deal. Bella went and fetched his Pooh and brought it to us. She was eating a lot of his furry friends, so I'm not sure if that was her plan or if she was just being helpful. It was cute either way.

After a minute or two of vigorous sniffing, they went and slept on the floor. It was great for them to be so tired!


We bought them new bones since they were a big brother and sister now. I love this picture of Bella! She's camera shy and it's hard to photograph her since she is black. They loved their big sibling presents!

Taco burrito baby

This is what Eli looked like the first few weeks of his life, all bundled up (and no where to go)! These sleep sacks were the best, they are the safest way to wrap up your little one.

I called him "Taco Burrito Baby". He was so cute! I had just started eating Mexican food when I was pregnant so it was fitting to have a taco burrito baby.

Eli is sleeping in a very special cradle. My Uncle Gary made it for me when I was born. It is a beautiful dark wooden cradle that fit perfectly next to our bed. It was so special that he slept in the same cradle that I did 28 years ago! When I got older I would put all my stuffed animals in it.

Original date: September 2009

Little Peanut

Eli was such a little peanut! He was so tiny I was afraid I would hurt him just trying to hold him or move him around. Burping him really made me nervous. But luckily Mike wasn't afraid of him :) I was even afraid to change his diaper and didn't the whole time we were in the hospital! Don't worry, Mike and the nurses took care of the diaper duties.

I had read that you didn't need to buy any new born clothes because the babies can only wear them a week or two. Well, that's if you don't have a Lil' Peanut! Poor guy was swimming in new born size clothes (as you can see from his skinny leg holes above)! Needless to say, we had to go and buy some more because all of our smallest clothes were way too big.

Original date: September 8, 2009

Friendly Fun

My best friend Angela came to visit us in the hospital the day after I had Eli. She came bearing Cheez-it's, Twizzlers and pineapple juice! I had been craving pineapple juice for 8 months (I didn't read that it was pasteurized, so it's considered unsafe during pregnancy) and I gulped it down once I got home! It was the best assortment of odd goodies ever!

Angela brought Isaac, who was about 6 months old at the time. It was so cute because he put his hand right on Eli's head!


Isaac showed Eli how to sit up while Eli used the boppy (Ang was so nice to lend it to us)!

It was so fun to have them come visit :)

Original date: September 8, 2009

Sound asleep

My labor and delivery was so enjoyable and went so well that hours after we had him, I announced to Mike, "that was great, I'm ready to do it again right now!" to which he responded, "I'm exhausted. I know I didn't do anything close to as hard as you did, but I'm exhausted and have to rest now." It was so cute because he went and curled up on the couch!

I can totally see how he would be tired, it's got to be hard to be the coach. He was so great and getting me anything I needed, supporting me and helping me. I can't imagine how hard it would be to see someone in pain and trying to be strong and keep it together for them. Sometimes mental exhaustion is draining too!

(note: a few days later once the pain meds wore off, I retracted my statement of "let's do this again right now!" and changed it to "okay, we can wait a while")


Eli was sleeping like a baby... It was hard to ever even see his blue eyes because he was sleeping all the time.

Original date: September 7

Meet your family!

Mike's side of the family (from Eli's perspective): Aunt Angi, Cousin Lex and Grandma Jill





_______________________________


My side of the family: Grandma Pam, Grandpa Tom


Aunt Sissy (Yes, although I'm nearing 30 years old, I still call my sister "sissy" so I couldn't imagine Eli calling her anything else. But Eli's going to be confused because Mike call's her Aunt Wendy :)

Original date: September 7

Grandpa Dave

Elijah David is named after his Grandpa Dave. We lost him back in September 08, so we knew it was special when Eli was to be born in September as well. Mike's middle name is David too, so all there generations are tied together in a very special way.

You can't see it in any of these pictures yet because Eli always has a hat on, but he totally has Dave's hairline! Mike says all the time how much Eli's profile and hair looks like his Grandpa Dave's.

Original date: September 7

Proud Momma and Pappa

I just couldn't believe I finally got to shake his hand! He was so cute and little and perfect in every way.


We read about the importance of skin to skin bonding and how it was a great thing for the dad's to do as well. This has to be my all time favorite picture, it's so cute! Kisses from Daddy!


What a proud Papa!

Original date: September 7

Welcome Eli!

The moment was finally here, Elijah David was born! He weighed 6 lbs, 4 oz and was 18 3/4 inches long. He didn't cry very much when he was first born, which concerned them for a little while, but other than that, he was a healthy boy!


At first we thought he had my full lips and we couldn't believe it (which you can see in this picture). But after about an hour or so, they went away. I guess he was just swollen from being born :)

Original Date: September 7

Laboring Laura

I sat in this chair most of my labor. I was having contractions for a long time but couldn't feel them, which meant they weren't intense enough. They had to give me pitosin to speed the process up and I was worried that we would not have a baby that day. We really wanted it to be on the 7th because that was Mike's football number and his favorite number, so it was a very special date!

5:30 p.m.
The pitosin did not work very fast for me at all. At this point, I was dilated to 4 cm.

Mike was so awesome and we had so much fun during labor! I thought we would be bored and would want to read books, play cards or watch TV, but we just enjoyed the time together. I was so thankful that we had taken a natural childbirth class because it had a lot of tips for labor. We had calming music playing, dim lighting and some fabulous lavender bath salts for some relaxing aroma. The instructor also made a rice pack that Mike could heat in the microwave for me.

My Man

It was a lot of work taking care of me so Mike was excited to get a boxed lunch during the process. I, on the other hand, got to drink chicken broth, yum! (Actually, at that point, it really hit the spot.)

7:00 p.m.
I wanted to deliver naturally but I was open to an epidural. By this time, I was dilated to 5 cm and was having strong contractions. Mike was such great support and I could not have gotten through it without him! It was starting to really hurt, but I could handle it. But I knew that it would get worse so I wanted to get the epidural before it was too late.

7:45 p.m.
The anesthesiologist arrives. I really wanted Mike to be in the with me. He had several of them for his back, but he said he couldn't stand the thought of it so he left. It was good he did because it really, really hurt! It didn't seem to be working right so they had me lay differently with no luck. Then I started shaking and it hurt so bad! I closed my eyes, curled up in pain and could hear the nurses talking about what to do with me. I thought I was dying and I was in so much pain I didn't care!

8:40 p.m.
By this time, I was dilated to 8 cm and the epidural was only working about 60%. It was pretty painful and I thought I was just going to have to get through the delivery like that. They said they could try to give me another dose, and boy am I glad they did! The pain was making me very nauseous. Luckily I had a peppermint sachet from the childbirth class and that helped some. I held onto that thing for dear life, it was like my blanky, I loved it and had to have it in my hand during every contraction. I did end up getting sick and then a nurse said something about a head. More nurses came in and they were all getting ready. I asked if they could see his head but they said no. They didn't want to freak me out because my doctor wasn't there yet! They didn't move me at all for fear that baby Peanut would come before they were ready.

9:20 p.m.
My epidural was finally working thank goodness! After my doctor arrived, I was able to start pushing. It's hard to hold your breath and push like that. Apparently, I held my breath in my cheeks which you aren't supposed to do because when you release it, you can't help but spit! Mike and the nurses were laughing at me, but I had no idea why at the time. I guess I was spitting on everyone!

I would highly recommend an epidural. I was able to enjoy the delivery process! In between pushes, I would say things like "wow, this is great, wow!" and "I love the epidural, this is easy, I feel great!". I felt like I was tipsy because I was so relaxed. It allowed me to hang out and chat with the nurses and doctor between pushes. As strange as it sounds, it was a blast!

The room smelled of lavender, the lights were dimmed and my relaxing music was playing. Mike and I have no other words to explain the experience other than magical. One of my favorite memories from my childhood is waking up on Christmas morning really early and going into the living room, which was lit only by the Christmas tree lights, and seeing the beautiful tree and the present Santa brought me. This moment compared to that, it was just perfect and I couldn't have asked for any more beautiful.

9:50 p.m.
After only 30 minutes of pushing, we had our baby boy! The labor and delivery was so much fun. It was such a special time for Mike and me to enjoy by ourselves. It was truly perfect. Thank you God for such a great experience to remember for a lifetime!

Original Date: September 7

37 week belly

37 week belly

Of course, I had to have the nurse take our picture, the big day was finally here! It was so weird because I had planned on laboring at home for as long as I could and I thought they would let me go home for at least a few hours, but they didn't. Luckily my doctor had told me at my last appointment that he could come early and I should have my bags packed. I had just done it the week prior. There were still lots of things that needed to be gathered up, but I had a list going so Mike was able to have some help. He had to leave to go home to get it all.

Did we mention that our house was a WRECK, we were painting the nursery (so we had furniture everywhere and painting stuff all over the kitchen and dining room, you couldn't even walk through the living room either), plus we were behind on dishes and cleaning? It was probably the messiest our house had ever been! I couldn't believe how tore up it was and that we wouldn't get to clean it up before we had the baby.

Original Date: September 7

I think my water broke!

On the morning of Labor Day, September 7, 2009, we went to the lake house to go through Dave's stuff (Mike's dad). We ended up beating everyone there and had about 20 minutes to ourselves. It was so nice because we talked about Peanut and played with him in my belly. It was the last time we got to do that and it was pretty special that we enjoyed it there since Peanut is so connected with Dave. I was 37 weeks to the day. I wish we would have known that was the last time we would get to enjoy my preggo belly, I loved being pregnant!

11:15 a.m.
I think my water broke! I knew that a gush was uncommon, so I wasn't certain that it had. I mentioned it to my sister-in-law, Angi, and told her I wasn't sure, so I didn't want to say anything yet. A few minutes later I decided I was pretty sure it had, so I went to tell Mike. I said "I think my water broke." and his response was "Oh, okay." It was like I told him dinner was ready or something! I said we should probably call the doctor and get going, but I could tell it still didn't sink in. I had to explain again that it was time for baby Peanut to come!

I didn't get good cell phone coverage at the lake, so I had to wait until we left to call my doctor. I told her I was pretty sure my water broke and she said to stop at the hospital so they could check. I could tell she probably thought I was probably wrong since I was new at this.

12:30 p.m.
We arrived at the hospital where I work and went up to the Childbirth Center. They took us into one of the rooms and starting gathering stuff for the test. But at that point, it was pretty obvious that my water had broken. I was so glad that we weren't 5 minutes later than we were, we got there just in time! And I was already dilated to 3 cm!

Original Date: September 7