Post for Reid/Gimps

This post is a little different. It's a way to get some feedback on thoughts of what kind of tile would look good in our bathroom downstairs. Since I (Ethan) come from a family in the tile business, I thought this would be a good way to get some thoughts, specifically from my uncle and grandfather.



Many thanks.

Missing Daddy

Narrating Elijah's thoughts...


Above: "I love hanging out with my daddy. He bounces me and plays with me and just makes me feel so happy and safe when he's around."


Above: "Wait a second...where is Daddy?"


Above: "Hey Mom, do you know where Daddy is?"


Above: "What? He's at work!"


Above: "And he'll be there all day?!"


Above: "This is terrible news!"


Above: "He'll be back home tonight! Great, I can't wait to see him again soon!"

Waking Up

I love the fun that comes with waking our son up from his naps. First of all, this can be quite the difficult task. When that kid wants to sleep, he is OUT. But once he does start to wake up, I love the stretches, wiggles, smiles, and silly squeaks that are all a part of the process. Who knew kids could be so much fun! :)



Above: We bought this blanket online. It is called the Miracle Blanket...often times refererred to as the "Amazing Miracle Blanket" in our home, or the "Baby Straight Jacket." I cannot believe that Ethan and I spent so much time piddling around with regular blankets in our attemptes to keep that kid swaddled (a near impossible task!). While the amazing miracle blanket wraps up their arms superbly, the feet are another story. We are not sure if Elijah is already showing signs of superhuman strength in his ability to kick his feet out of the foot pouch, or if there is sometime that we are just missing. Most times when we wake him up, he has his left leg completely out of the pouch. In this picture he just has his knee out. Guess he is like his mom who likes to kick one leg outside of the covers at night...:)



Above: Eli is now free from his baby straight jacket. "Time to wake up little man!"



Above: No response yet from Eli...this could take a while.



Above: Starting to see some progress...arms up are a good sign.



Above: A very good sign! Although those eyes are still closed...



Above: And a BIG stretch! Ethan and I love this stretch with his legs pulled up in his froggie pose. What a cute little guy!

Eli Meets His Great Grandparents!

Elijah had a very special weekend. His great grandparents Nonie and Gimpa (aka, Helen and Joseph Cislaghi) drove in from Shreveport to meet our little guy. Eli gets his middle name from his great grandfather (Elijah Joseph), as well as his last name. :) We had a great visit and went to church together on Saturday afternoon. Then Ethan grilled out and we were able to introduce Nonie and Gimpa to fajitas for the first time. As a San Antonio girl, fajitas may have been my first solid food so it is crazy to think this was their first ever fajita, and they at least claimed to have liked them. :) Overall, we just had such a great visit and are so thankful that they made the trip in. Sure enough, we just so happened to have a camera handy to capture some of those first moments together.

Daddy's Caddy

Above: Ethan with Eli in his "Daddy's Caddy in Training" outfit...staring at those lights as usual.


Above: Eli was SO tired we practically could not keep him awake if we tried.


Above: Daddy impersonating Elijah...being very silly!


Above: Eli with a big stretch as he is waking up. Sometimes I forget how tiny he really is!


Above: My two favorite boys!

Silly Faces

One of my favorite games is to sit and capture all of Elijah's silly faces on "film" (I know we don't really have film anymore in our digital camera, but so goes the expression). Here are a few of his cute expressions from the other day.

I will also use this post to say that Elijah slept through the night for the first time this past weekend! It was such a surprise for me to wake up and look at my watch at 5 am and realize that I had not heard Eli wake up yet. Of course I went in to check on him and found him still sleeping peacefully. I resisted the urge to wake him up and went back to bed. Even though he slept until about 7:30 am, I woke up for good around 6:45 am. What happened to the good old days when I used to be able to sleep until 9 am? :) I was quite impressed with the little slugger. This has not been a regular thing, but he has been doing great at sleeping and will usually have about a 6-8 hour stretch, which for his age is fantastic. I am so happy we have such a good little sleeper on our hands!

Now for those silly little faces...


Above: "I'm so happy to be awake, fed, and clean. I am also so happy to have the best mommy and daddy in the whole world."


Above: "Now lets see, what am I going to do today. Oh, wait, what is that flashing light?"


Above: "Aw, geez, Mom...do you really have the camera out again?"


Above: "Well, I guess I might as well pose. Cheese!"


Above: "Okay, this is getting old. Let's go have some fun."

Born to Explore

Love this little outfit. :)


Above: He looks like such a little boy here!


Above: I like the little pockets.


Above: Eli's silly little smirk.



Above: Dreaming of all the adventures that await...



Above: "I spit up all over my cute new outfit, so now I am going all natural."

Sweet Six Weeks

Elijah made it to the big 6 weeks mark on Wednesday. He is growing and changing so fast. Ethan and I notice that his awake and alert time is increasing more each day. He is really tracking you with his eyes and will look directly at us a lot more, where as he used to just be looking off somewhere into space. I notice a lot that when Ethan gets home from work, Elijah definitely knows that his daddy is home. He gets really smiley and will watch Ethan as we walks in and moves around the room. He seems to be getting more responsive in his smiles instead of just smiling when he is sleeping, has gas, or experimenting with his face. In the mornings and waking up from naps he will usually give me a big grin and will seem to smile back at me when I am playing with him more (especially in the morning or when his daddy gets home). This is such a sweet time and I just thank God for each day, because it truly is a gift from Him. Each day just gets sweeter than the next. Elijah has been such an answer to prayer each and every step of the way and I thank God for the amazing plans I know He has for this child. Here are a few pictures of our little 6 week old angel. :)


Above: Eli wearing his new outfit to show just how much he loves his daddy.


Above: A sweet smile for our sweet little boy.


Above: Elijah sitting in his bumbo chair for the first time. Not quite sure what to think...


Above: ...pensively considering this new chair...


Above: ...I think I like it! :)

Sunday Outing

This past Sunday at 5 1/2 weeks old Elijah had his first trip to church. He did great. We stayed in the main sanctuary during praise and worship and then he decided he was hungry during the message, so Eli and I went to the nursing mom's room. Gateway has a special room with about 5 gliders in it and other nursing essentials where new moms can go if they need to. It also has a tv in it so I was still able to watch the sermon. This worked out great. Afterwards Eli was doing so well that Ethan and I went out for brunch at the Central Market cafe. It was quite the fun family outing and we are thankful to have such a good baby that we can take places!

Riding in My Snugli

Elijah loves riding around in his little Snugli (baby carrier). He loves the bouncing around and being so close and snuggled up to Mommy. Today we went for a walk around the block in it and he snoozed the whole way. It was a really good walk, but it reminded me of being pregnant. It was nice to be able to unstrap him and lay him down when we got back. :) Here are a few cute pictures in which you will see him sporting his super cute A&M hat from his great aunt Martha Jo!

Our "Mane Man"

Here are some pictures of Eli in one of his adorable new outfits. He really is our "Mane Man." :)





These next two pictures are of Elijah on our trip to Babies R Us this morning. He has already grown out of his little Swaddler blanket so I went and bought the larger size...he is growing so quickly!

Reflections by Boomerang

A Post by Boomerang:

Well, since that lady (Jennifer) is spending all of her time now taking care of that new creature (Elijah), it was very easy for me (Boomerang the dog) to find time to jump on the computer myself and give you a first hand account of how I am adjusting to all the recent changes around here. Many people have been asking how I am adjusting to this new creature. All in all, I would say that life has not been too terrible in the last month. The lady seems to be hanging around the house a lot more, which is kinda cool I guess. Because of this I don't have the time that I used to to just stand outside and bark at nothing, which just so happened to be one of my favorite past times. Instead I have been very busy following the lady from room to room and sleeping at her feet. She seems to sit in the big reclining chair a lot with the creature and I will sometimes play with her feet or snuggle up with the big blanket that is sitting in the room. I don't really know what the new creature is, but I can tell you that it is definitley the new alpha around here. For whatever reason, I am not allowed to touch it, especially when the dude (Ethan) is around! Every time I get close, just to smell the wonderful odors that come from that thing, the dude yells, "Get back Boomerang!" I mean, I even get to dominate the dude by sitting on top of him, which he mistakes as affection, and the lady has always been the omega, but this new creature is different. He gets carried around all the time and when we go for walks he even has his own chariot! I guess the little creature is not half bad. He makes terrible noises, but like I said he makes wonderful smells. Plus he sleeps most of the day, something I also enjoy. In the end, I would say that life is pretty good and I am getting used to this new creature after all.

Official Mail

Elijah received this "personal and confidential" document in the mail the other day, to be opened by the addressee only. We hope it is nothing urgent...


Above: "Hey Elijah, will you come open up this envelope you got in the mail?"


Above: "Me?? I don't even know how to use my fingers! I'm still working on holding up my head!"

Rangers Game

Tonight Elijah will watch his first ever sports game, surely not to be the last. Well, truthfully I don't know how much "watching" he will actually do, but he will be in attendance even if he is napping. Jeff and Candace are going to bring over dinner and then we are going to hang out and watch the Rangers Game. As you can see, Eli is bathed and dressed for the big game. Hopefully they play well for the little Slugger's first baseball experience! :)


Above: Elijah's outfit is perfect for the occasion :)


Above: I just love the little brown pants! Completely impractical for a baby, but so super cute. I know that the real reason that they make baby clothes is not for the baby at all but for all of the moms, aunts, and grandmas out there.


Above: "Well, better go rest up...this baseball business is tiring stuff."