Nursery

Thought I'd post a few photos of Eli's nursery, since my hubby lost a few years off his life painting it. I had the fab idea of painting polka dots on the walls and honestly planned on doing it myself. Little did I know that when pregnant, paint fumes are a no-no. So Terry ended up painting virtually everything. I helped here and there, with a fashionable mask attached to my face. The darker dots took 5 or 6 coats of paint! We also painted them on the ceiling, to better stimulate the vision of our little prince. He just discovered the ceiling dots this week and seems to love them. Even though it was a back-breaker, I'm glad we did it. It's too cute.

Momentary Angel

We have only this moment,

sparkling like a star in our hand...

and melting like a snowflake.

Let us use it before it is too late.

-Marie Benyon Ray

(taken from "Hugs for New Moms" by Stephanie Howard)

This only took a handful of seconds to capture, believe it or not. Eli has a habit of grinning frequently just before falling off into blissful newborn unconsciousness. It is, hands down, my favorite part of the day and in one instant, can take away all the bad memories of the previous sleepless night.

So, I'll be busy storing up todays grins in preparation for another long night.

Got milk?

Eli and I were bonding together over a very early breakfast at 3am, when it occurred to me: God has an interesting sense of humor. Eli was busy feasting on his fit-and-trim milk diet, while I was eating a chocolate donut. I thought to myself, Eli should be the one with the chocolate donut, while I work on getting back to fit-and-trim. Life doesn't work this way, unfortunately and therein lies the humor: while my monster struggles to gain weight, making a weekly pilgrimage to the doctor for weight checks, I'm busy eating chocolate donuts and the like. And not getting too fit-and-trim in the process.

I think Eli deserves the donut.

In case you are interested, Eli's last weight check put him at 5 pounds 6 ounces, which means he has surpassed his birth weight finally. We go back to the doctor this week for yet another round of naked scale dancing. We'll be slamming the donuts between now and then. ;)

Bliss.

When I'm beyond exhausted, grouchy and bleary-eyed, there's piles of laundry and days of dishes in the sink, when I'm dreaming of sleep and quiet.... I gather up my newborn son (so crazy to say that!), he gazes upward and I realize that none of that matters at all. He's here. I pinch myself, nuzzle his soft cheek and thank God.

I'm a Momma.

.

Smiles and Sneezes

Here's Eli and Daddy hanging out, catching some TV. Of course, Mom thought this was a great time for more pictures. Eli was so peaceful, at first....

But then:

Aaahhhhh....

Chooooooooo!!!!
We were crackin' up.

The First Week

Love this photo! Elijah's exactly one week old, almost to the minute. Hard to believe a week has gone by already. Don't let him fool you, though... he's almost never this peaceful. He's putting on a good show for the camera- it's all an act, trust me! He's extremely good at screaming, especially at 3am! Thankfully, Grandma and Grandpa are coming to stay for a while to let us get a little sleep. Yahoo!

So tiny...

Finally home! If you are wondering how big (or small!) a five pound babe is, here's Dad's hand next to Eli. Just six days old, he's trying his best to pack on the ounces. He's hungry all the time- our little piglet!

Day two...

Still in the hospital... Eli's more than ready to head home, but Mom's lagging behind. His delivery was pretty quick, so we need a bit more time to recover. We'll be heading home soon. Here's Eli on the scale....

My two loves... look at Eli's smile! Dad's arms are the best place to be. :)

Meet Elijah!

The big day finally arrived and our Bean is a BOY!!! Elijah James made his big entrance at 1:48PM on January 24, 2009. Yep, he came 3 weeks early, just like we thought he might. Weighing in at 5 pounds 4.8 ounces and measuring 18.5 inches long, he is quite the little peanut! And we absolutely adore him.

Just a few minutes old and so laid back!

Too adorable in his kung-foo hospital outfit, don't you think?!

Grandma and Grandpa's first look...

No Alexander grandson can be without his New York Giants duds!

Last shot of the day with Daddy, rocking to sleep. See you tomorrow!

Waiting, wishing, hoping...

Here's the Bean, snug in the belly on January 17th. Terry took some fun photos of my bump and just in time- my contractions were starting to pick up a bit. It was beyond strange to be on the other side of the camera, but I'm so glad we were able to capture photos of this incredible time in our lives. Can't wait to meet our Bean!