Eli is Cute: Photo Evidence

Sometimes Eli sleeps in until 9:15 in the morning. And then he takes a four and a half hour nap. And then we put him to bed at his normal bedtime (7:30) and he chats to himself in his room for two hours. I've appreciated the early Christmas present of extra free time today. I even explored the world of Pinterest that I swore I'd never become a part of.

Anyway, back to the boy. He's so cute. Whenever Jeff and I talk about Eli, we can't help but smile and giggle at all of his cuteness. Even though sometimes he climbs in the sink while I'm trying to get ready in the morning just to slobber all over my toothbrush. But it still ends up being too cute to be mad about.

So I let him have Jeff's toothbrush too as I hope he doesn't figure out how to turn the water on while he's brushing.

Eli also has a fascination with makeup. Which he calls "pretty." Maybe I gave him his own makeup sponge so he would stop stealing mine.

If you ask me, he's just as beautiful without makeup.

Every night we read three books as a part of our bedtime routine. Last Friday Eli wouldn't let me put his pajamas on him because he was too eager to jump on his chair and read. He looked too adorable in his long-sleeved onesie, flipping through books, to not make a mini-photo-shoot out of it. It wasn't until an hour after Eli's bedtime that Jeff came wandering in wondering what kind of mischief we were getting into.

I loved the book resting on his legs with just his little feet poking out.

He has to point and name everything he knows. His favorite finds are bugs, bubbles, mouse, cat and whatever else his unrecognizable jabber means.

For some reason I'm a sucker for babies on their tiptoes? Especially when they have chubby little thighs to hoist up.

This was when Jeff came in. Eli always has to show off for Jeff. So he bravely sat on the armrest for his Dad's approval.

And then he did this?

Which prompted Jeff to tickle attack Eli. And then send him straight to bed.

We love our Eli and all of his cuteness makes me even more excited for another cute boy to join our family.

Popcorn Practicing

After seeing my child was the only one in nursery who didn't know the motions to "The Popcorn Song," I knew I was failing as a mother. We've spent the last week singing about popcorn. Eli finally has the motions down...just not quite in the right order. (My favorite part of the video is him wiggling his finger for the line "it isn't really so, but it seems to be." Second favorite -- his attempt to form his fingers into binoculars at the very beginning.)

It was perfect for Eli to see Grandpa Thomas perform the song, complete with motions, as he popped popcorn for the kiddos last night.

I'm proud to say Eli joined the rest of the kids in singing "The Popcorn Song" today at nursery. I should know. I was there singing along, too.

Some Days Are Productive

Wow guys. Some days I really can do it all. Perhaps nesting has kicked in already? There has to be some outside force that has motivated me today.

Because I normally don't wake up and make pancakes for the family. And then start laundry. And then clean the car. And then vacuum the whole house -- including under the couch cushions. And then read Eli a few extra books before his nap. And then organize the pantry after six months of telling myself I'd do it. And then finish laundry. And then cook a cheesecake with the extra minutes in between. And then finish wrapping Christmas presents. And then finish up the ornament wreath I started yesterday. And then sit down to blog about it all?!?

Nesting I tell ya. Only nothing I did today has prepared me for #2. Other than I plan to fatten him up with cheesecake this evening.

Eli's clearly been cooperative today. He likes to help me with my cooking and cleaning so that helps. Crock pot dinners and Christmas music help too.

Here are pictures of the things worth documenting:

(Eli taking after his mother plus our clean pantry in the back. And yeah, that's clean in comparison to its previous state.)

 Wreath hung with a blue hanger that you should ignore. I can't figure out how to mask it yet.

In my ambitious state, I thought I could get Eli to sit perfectly still and smile at the camera for a picture with the presents. Turns out I really can't do it all.

Also note: we're glad Eli doesn't fully understand Christmas yet so we don't have to go through the trouble of trying to wrap that road rug.

After a first trimester of daily naps and barely being able to peel myself off the couch, I'm hoping this "nesting" keeps up for the next 5 months.

Journeys In Motherhood

Being pregnant has me reminiscent of Eli's younger life. I try to tell myself I'll be able to deal with a newborn again because I've successfully raised one newborn into a toddler. Despite the reassurances to myself, I am still a bit nervous to have such a tiny, fragile, neck muscleless baby in our house again.

I've been remembering a few of my embarrassing motherhood moments, hoping I've learned not to make those same mistakes twice. Like for instance:

The time I was at Eli's 2-day old check-up. Eli had lived his whole born life naked inside a billibed up to this point. So when the nurse came in and told me to undress Eli, I hopelessly looked at my Mom and told her I didn't know how to take Eli's shirt off. I could feel her worry for Eli's upbringing as she showed me the proper way to squeeze a baby's ginormous head out of a tiny neck hole.

Or maybe the time it was Eli's first night home and I spent the entire night staring at him while googling every imaginable problem I convinced myself he was suffering from.

And how it took me a week to realize I didn't have to be completely shirtless to nurse a baby.

What would really bother me is when I'd do something that seemed normal to me and then someone would say, "You must be a first-time mom." I'd be annoyed the world could so clearly see I was one of the stereotypical, overprotective, confused, helpless, paranoid postpartum.

One way or another Eli and I managed to figure each other out. Days of being a first-time mom became buried in experience and understanding of the inner workings of a child. I soon became so confident in my child rearing that I found myself giving advice to fresher batches of new moms.

Just at the height of my confidence, my baby turned 18 months old and I was once again reminded that I'm still a first-time mom as I watched in confusion while Eli cried uncontrollably at the sight of toys, laughing children, marshmallows and friendly teachers.

Yes. Eli hates nursery.

I could see through the smiles of my fellow ward members as they watched me bang my head on the wall outside the nursery door waiting for Eli's screaming to stop. They were labeling me a first-time mom and feeling sorry for my cluelessness. I'm sure of it. Then I banged my head even harder at my mothering relapse.

Heaven help me if we're still in relapse when #2 makes his debut.

Felt Like A Tree

After discovering the Excell home was going to be treeless this December, my friend Leslie became outraged. Apparently Christmas can't exist without a Christmas tree. Just ask the Grinch.

I wasn't too worried about not having a tree this year. We'll be spending most of the Christmas season elsewhere and I can't bring myself to pay full price for one of those suckers.

My feelings changed today after I wrapped all of Eli's presents and wandered around the house trying to find a place for them. It was then that I decided we probably needed some type of Christmas greenery in our home.

To my delight, I got a text from Leslie with a website address that had a fun tree idea. I got to work chopping our Christmas tree.

And Eli had fun decorating. And redecorating. (I didn't notice his pants were falling off at the time. So sorry if I've left you, too, with the urge to pull up his oversized pants in all these pictures.)

This idea is brilliant. Completely. Brilliant. First, Eli can't knock over the tree. Second, he can't break the ornaments. Third, after we get a real tree, we can still put this bad boy up as a play toy to maybe help the kiddos keep their hands off the real tree...or maybe it will backfire and teach them that Christmas trees are toys? I'll let the Grandmas deal with Eli's confusion this year.

Eli giggled and screamed and jumped and did a lap around the house every time he successfully placed an ornament on the tree. Adorable.

It's hard to take a decent picture of him these days. Pretend he was smiling and looking at the camera here.

There you have it. A real Christmas in the Excell home.