4 Months - Happy Halloween!

 

Age: 4 Months

Weight: 14lbs

Height: 25in

Size Clothes: 3-6 months

New Trick:Grabbing and reaching

Hours Sleeping at Night:8-10

Elijah is now 4 months old! He has started "talking" all of the time and he can almost sit up on his own! He giggles when Mommy blows on his tummy and he loves watching football with Daddy. :-) His little grins and giggles are absolutely precious and they make each new day an adventure. He has started reaching for his toys and trying to get them into his mouth...anything that gets in his hands goes immediately to his mouth and he will drool ALL OVER it. His hands are, by far, his favorite thing to chew on right now. He is still teething but none have actually cut through yet. He is dealing with those awful fevers though. 

His preference for Mommy and Daddy is becoming more and more apparent, which we would rather get away from. This little guy isn't going to be allowed to freak out when he stays with other people. He is just going to have to be a people-person. haha!

I love watching his little mind work.  You can just see the wheels turning as he picks up something new and tries to figure out how in the world he is going to maneuver this thing into his mouth, or the frustration and yelling that happens when he can't figure out how to get it there! He's a silly little boy and I have no idea how I lived before we had him!

 

 

 

Examples of how everything ends up in his mouth...

 

3 Months

Age: 3 Months

Weight: 13lbs

Height: 24in

Size Clothes: 3-6 months

New Trick: Giggling, sucking on everything, "talking"

Hours Sleeping at Night:5-8

 And finally, we are UP-TO-DATE!!! Elijah is currently 3 months old and he is the sweetest little boy on earth (yes, I am bias)! He smiles and coos and I swear he'll be talking by the time he's 7 months old! He even laughs now! It's kind of an explosive, so excited he squeals laugh, but it's super-cute! He weighs 15lbs, the little chunk, and loves to "talk" to himself and his little light-up seahorse.

He is FINALLY getting over the colic, which Mommy and Daddy are so incredibly happy about. He is so sweet and happy most of the time...unless he's hot or tired...he hates being hot or tired.  He can completely hold his head up on his own now and will even stand on his own while he holds onto our fingers! He is teething now and loves to chew on his hands. He has complete control over them too and no longer just flails his arms around aimlessly...they have a purpose to their movement now and it's generally headed in the direction of his mouth.

He absolutely loves the dogs. He will be crying and catch sight of them and just start "talking" and cooing at them. He will even laugh at them while they play!

Of course, he's daddy's little man.

He is so un-impressed with my selfies.

He loves his Deedee!

Like father, like son. This kid loves him some football!

2 Months

 

Age: 2 Months

Weight: 12lbs

Height: 23in

Size Clothes: 0-3 months

New Trick: Smiling!

Hours Sleeping at Night:4-5

Around this time is when things with Eli really started to get fun! He started smiling all of the time and his colic was gradually getting better! He was almost completely out of him 0-3 month clothes at 2 months! Such a big boy! At his check-up they told us he was in the 90th percentile for weight and off the charts for height!  He was definitely focusing in on things and he LOVES the dogs! They are his favorite things to look at (besides Mommy and Daddy of course)!

His head control had gotten a million times better! The kid just amazed me with how well he was able to hold himself up! His eyes started getting lighter too, which was crazy to see! They're still darker blue, but not nearly as dark as they were when he was born. 

This is Eli in his Bumbo seat at 2 months. He definitely struggled to steady himself, but he did a pretty good job keeping himself up!

This picture is one of my favorites! He's so sweet!

And Elijah is definitely bound to have a sense of humor. Between his silly parents, grandparents, and uncles, he doesn't stand a chance.
 

Uncle Cody, making lasting impressions on his nephew

This is what we in the biz (parental biz, that is) refer to as the "Whattchu talkin' bout Willis" face.

1 Month

Age: 1 Month

Weight:10 lbs

Height:22in

Size Clothes: 0-3 months

New Trick: Following things with his eyes

Hours Sleeping at Night: 10-12

It's amazing how much our little guy grew in just a month! Since I'm writing this post so late, I am just going to transcribe what I had written in my journal about Eli when he was a little over a month old:

"It's crazy to think [how] much time has passed since his birth, yet it's crazy to think there was ever a time when he was not in our lives. He is the most beautiful little boy - with his dark blue eyes and light brown hair. He looks just like his daddy, I think, but a lot of people say he reminds them of my brother, Cody.

It is amazing how much he changes every day. He has started noticing new things and studying them. He stares at us while we feed him and talk to him. He also likes to stare at lights... It is really fun to watch his face when he sees Fender and Lakota. He just stares them down with a puzzled look on his face."

At that point he was almost completely holding his neck up on his own and he was pushing himself up on his little legs. That little boy is strong!! Unfortunately, his colic just got progressively worse. Our pediatrician put him on a new formula called Nutramigen and that did wonders for his little tummy, but he still cried all of the time.

He started smiling at us (not just in his sleep) around this time. The first intentional smile I can  remember was when his Papaw Joe was whistling the Andy Griffith theme song to him! lol It's funny because I watched that show all of the time while I was pregnant with him! He slept anywhere from 3-6 hours at a time at this point which was pretty good for a one month old!

Nanna and baby Eli

Elijah with his Great-Grandpa

Great-Grandma Rachel

Daddy's little man

Momma's little boy

Mommy and Daddy got to go on their first babyless date around this time! Joshua surprised me by taking me to Bernheim Forest to spend the afternoon outdoors. I had been stuck inside for the entire month of July because it was so hot and Eli couldn't stay out for very long. I absolutely love the summer, and hiking, and every outdoor activity imaginable, so I was pining for some fresh air. It was amazing and I love him so much! He knows me so well!

1 Week

Age: 1 Week

Weight:8lbs

Height: 20in

Size Clothes: Newborn

New Trick:Standing on his legs while Mommy and Daddy hold him.

Hours Sleeping at Night:2-3

Yes, I am about 3 months late with my blog-updateage, but this has been one heck of a first three months. Our little guy has changed so much so fast! It will be fun for me to reminisce about how teeny he was at just one week old!

The first week for Eli was pretty brutal. He was a little jaundiced at the hospital and had to sleep on a bili-lite for a night. We had him to the doctor every other day after he was born because he wasn't gaining weight. He dropped down to 8lbs and stayed there for the first 2 weeks. Finally, after we started supplementing with formula, he started gaining weight.

He was the most alert newborn I have ever seen! After we started him on formula, he had colic and cried constantly. We always had to be holding, bouncing, rocking, or walking around with him to keep him even remotely calm. It's a good thing he was cute ;-) But, we learned to deal and got used to the idea that we would never...ever sleep again (oh well).

We had plenty of visitors in the first few weeks. Elijah even got to meet his uncle and aunt Barry and Mary from Florida! We were so appreciative of everyone's help and support! We are all so blessed to have such a wonderful, caring family!

Great-Uncle Barry

Aunt Janna and Elijah