I can't believe that my second-to-most-recent post was about Eli's second tooth. Now he's on his 13th and 14th. I received some razz from facebook about knowing exactly how many teeth he has, but I am a woman of facts, and people always ask me! I know that he HAD 12, and now he is getting the molars right next to the "fang" teeth. The incisors. At the exact same time. I also know that he needs to have 20 by the time he's 3. Or at least that's what I've heard!

The other day, Ian had to drop Eli off at my work because the sitter had an appointment and needed Eli to be picked up early. Of course the first thing Eli did was start to explore. He found a picture frame with his picture in it that looked like it had bubbles in it. He studied it very hard, and I said, "Eli, that's you when you were a baby!" A few seconds later he said "baby." I thought it was so awesome that he recognized the picture as a baby but didn't know he was the baby :)

knock knock.

anyone home?

Have been meaning to start this blog up again a LONG time ago, just now getting to it. Ian's away shooting a wedding in Ft. Myers, I'm on the couch watching 48 hours. I know I won't be able to sleep until Ian is home safely!

Of course, if I could sum up the past days of missed blogging, I would. But I can't. So I will just start from here!

Eli is such a joy. He makes me laugh all the time. He is so darn cute. He has a temper like no other, but for now it doesn't bother me too bad.

Another favorite thing about Eli right now involves his eating habits. Ian and I are not the best eaters, that's obvious, but Eli makes all the right choices! He will pick vegetables over sweets, fruit over carbs. No wonder he's so skinny! It sucks that I can't get him to eat regular foods but when he gets excited about eating tomatoes....what can I do?

Eli says Thank You like its his job. He says it whenever I hand him any kind of food or drink. I'm torn between thinking that he says it out of pure habit, or says it because he actually knows what's going on. Either way, I love it, and it's so sweet when he says these words.

That's all I have for now, hopefully i'll be able to update more often, so that future Eli will get a kick out of reading my adventures as a new mama!

2nd tooth!

Eli's second tooth cut through today! He was very distraught, hopefully he will feel better tomorrow. But of course he's still the best baby ever even if he's in pain.

On Wednesday, Eli’s babysitter Cheryl called me at work to tell me that she was breaking out in spots. Her daughter Tessa, whose daughter she also watches, said that they were chickenpox. AHH Chickenpox! It took all I had, but I didn’t leave work to go pick him up. Apparently chickenpox can lay dormant for 2 weeks before the spots appear, so Eli has definitely already been exposed to it! So for now it’s just a waiting game. I suppose it wouldn’t be the most awful thing in the world for him to get it this young, at least he can’t scratch! I just don’t want to see my poor little monster uncomfortable!

A week ago, I ran my first (hopefully of many) 5K on Saturday with Andrea, Dara, and Melissa. I ran it in 30 minutes. It felt really good to finish, even if I didn’t get a great time. I haven’t run in a very long time!! I had so much fun.

Busy busy busy!

We have been super busy lately, hardly a spare moment to update this blog! But I did want to keep everyone updated on Eli!!

He got his FIRST TOOTH today!! I just knew it was coming, I could see it at the surface, then while he was at the babysitters today, POOF it came out!! I'm very excited. Although tonight was a tough night, I think there's another tooth soon to follow.

In the past week he's also done really good with holding his own bottle. This may not sound super exciting, but it is to me!! He also is doing pretty good with his baby food; he's been practicing eating without pushing it all out of his mouth!!

Eli is sleeping through the night like a champ!! We put him in his crib at about 8:30, and he lays there until he falls asleep! Then he sleeps until 7:00 or so!!

I heart yard sales

FINALLY Ian and I were able to make it to some yard sales this morning. It is NOT Ian's favorite thing to do on a Saturday morning, but he is a good sport about it! I don't like going alone, it makes me nervous walking up to strangers homes!

Anyway, we did pretty good today. We basically just go to look for baby things now. We weren't very successful until we went to a sale that was being put on by Edge Cheer Center. There were BINS of little boy baby clothes for .50 a piece. Jackpot! I bought 14 shirts/pants/shorts. I also bought 6 books for Eli for $1. Then there was a cool toy there--a friend we ran into at the sale said that she had the same toy and it was $30 at Walmart, and we got it for $5!! He loves it.

Fish face!!

Eli's newest "trick"--

Eli eats from a spoon again!

After a 2 week break, Eli took food from a spoon tonight!! YAYYYY! I actually mixed some apple sauce with it, he seemed to like that a bit better. Check out this silly boy!!

Click here to view this video

raspberries

I'm terribly sorry that I have neglected my avid readers! I have hardly sat down in the past couple of days! I was just joking about the whole "single mom" thing, but now I'm serious!! Although we sleep in the same bed every night, we haven't had a real conversation in quite awhile. I'll head out to the race tomorrow, a friend is going to watch Eli for the day.

Things are going great with the new sitter, Cheryl. She is sooooo sweet and nice. She loves Eli a lot, too. Every day when I pick him up she tells me what a good baby she is and how lucky she is to watch him. She accidentally started calling herself "grandma" to him but I told her I didn't mind! Hope his real grandmas don't mind either. He's always in a very good mood when I pick him up, too, which definitely says something!

Today Eli and I took a walk around the neighborhood. I wanted to use the stroller in the normal way where he faces forward, not by connecting the car seat to the stroller like usual-Just so he could look at what was in front of him. It worked great! The only problem was the sun. I was afraid he would get burnt, and he definitely does not like the sun in his eyes! Here are some pictures that I took, after the walk. Don't worry I strapped him in when we were actually walking!! Sorry I overdid it, I couldn't pick just one!! The expressions are priceless.

You'll notice that Eli's chin appears to be shiny in every picture--he is drooling excessively from the teething. He's having such a rough time!! I was in tears the other night because he was just in so much pain...hopefully those teeth come through soon!

Eli's new favorite "trick" is blowing raspberries. For awhile now I have been doing it to him, because it makes him laugh so much. Now he does it too!!

Jaycees

Hey, so Laura asked me to write a short post about what the Jaycees are, and why this week she is a "single Mom!"

If you don't know already, Sebring is known for the 12-Hours of Sebring which is a 12-hour endurance grand prix race. Each year since I have been here, I have been, and of course carted Laura down once she came to live here. Once we started to get to know people we found a neat little way to pay for our somewhat expensive 4-day ticket--volunteer 4-hours of our time! Yay!! So that began our time working with the Avon Park Jaycees.

Anyway, last year I actually became the 2009, and now 2010 club president, and also signed up to run the event that makes about 95% of our budget. We give money to all sorts of projects in the county, the largest being the city fireworks--actually we run them.

This week I am off school for Tuesday-Friday, and I practically live out of the Commander, and work about 100 hours... In fact, today I worked at the track for 6, and probably an additional 6 here at the house.

For a little snapshot of what I have to do... Coordinate and round up 230 volunteers; train them all how to market, sell & serve a premium-brand liquor (Patron); secure insurance & temporary liquor licence; work with vendors like the liquor distributor & Sysco for the other products amongst 500 other things!

So wish me luck, and that we make lots of money for the club so we can make the biggest impact in the community for 2010!

Ian

Open mouth, insert foot!

I'm sitting here laughing to myself right now as Eli is sitting next to me with his toes in his mouth! It's his new thing and it's cute as ever! Is it weird that all these new things throw me into a world of excitement? Hey, anything that entertains him while I'm changing his diaper is great--if he's not entertained he tries to roll over, and let me tell you that makes it quite difficult to change him!!

Eli STILL won't eat his rice cereal with a spoon. I prepare it and try it every night, though, just in case he changes his mind. He sleeps through the night now. I give him his cereal in a bottle. Somewhere I heard that's not the right way to do it, but, you know what? I'm pretty sure it's not going to affect him in the long run!!

We start with our new sitter tomorrow! Erica was wonderful with Eli, but certain circumstances made it so she had to get a full time job. On Monday, I was talking to the head nurse, Tessa, for some of the schools in the district who had a baby girl 2 months before I had Eli. She was telling me that her mom watches her daughter at Tessa's house....and that she was looking for another baby to watch. The next day Erica told me she got a job. It made me think about that line from Sound of Music--Where God closes a door he always opens a window--that's not a direct quote but you get the picture :) I went and met Cheryl on Friday afternoon and I'm really excited about her! She's really sweet, and I can tell she likes Eli already!

This week is the 12-hours of Sebring race. We've been going to it every year since I've moved here and it's really fun. Ian and I are a member of the Avon Park Junior Chamber of Commerce, (Actually Ian is the president.) I'm passing it over to him to explain:

Food battles!

So in the last couple of days, Eli has decided that he doesn't want to eat rice cereal, afterall. Last night he screamed bloody murder after the first bite I put in his mouth. Tonight he did a little better, but decided that he was going to squirt the food out of his mouth, then rub it all over his face and arms, then proceed to try to suck it off. I promise, I know how to feed a baby, I just need to tie his hands behind his back!!

In other news, Eli has found his feet!! It's so cute that he JUST NOW realized that he can grab his toes and play with them :) Sorry about the bad-quality pictures!! Don't forget to watch

the video!!

little man!

The quality is poor, but I just think he looked like a little man on this day!

Saturday with GGs

Today we had a relaxing morning at the house and then took Grandpa and Grandma to Henscratch. It's strawberry season so we picked a few to bring home, and also tasted some wine. We had to make a trip to Walmart afterwards, and of course when I opened the trunk to put the groceries in I forgot that there were 2 wine bottles back there and one came rolling out and broke in the parking lot. The one that G & G bought for their friends in Cape Canaveral! So clumsy! After Henscratch we took them on a short tour of Sebring, including the racetrack and downtown.

4 month check-up

Today I took Eli for his 4 month checkup. He is now 15.4 lbs, (only 50th percentile) and 26 inches long. (90th percentile!) Everything looks good! Except he has thrush. But then again I had just fed him a bottle in the waiting room so hopefully that wasn't the white the dr. was seeing! It's always something new!

I started Eli on rice cereal a couple of days ago. I just had a gut feeling that he was ready for it, so we bought it at Walmart. I was going to wait until the dr. gave us the okay, but I was too impatient! Anyway he does REALLY good with it, but I didn't expect any different. He always adapts to new things so well! He even started whining tonight when I didn't get the food to his mouth fast enough! The dr. said to up the rice cereal by 1 tablespoon a day until 4 tablespoons, so tonight I did 2 tablespoons! Then Grandpa fed him a bit of a bottle to fill him up the rest of the way, walked around with him, and burped him for a long time after! I can't believe how good he is with Eli! It also gives me a very appreciated break.

I had mentioned something to mom last week about how we still didn't have a highchair for Eli. She called me the next day and said that she talked it over with "dad" and they were going to buy one for us. We decided to get a beautiful wooden highchair, but it's still Graco brand! (Very highly rated.) She did the whole "ship-to-store" thing through walmart, and the estimated delivery date was sometime in the middle of march, but today I got a surprise email saying it was ready to be picked up! So after Eli's appointment I ventured to Walmart with a super-tired-just-got-his-shots-baby, and picked it up, once again illustrating how truly impatient I have become. Of course, who greater to put together a wooden highchair then a man who was a carpenter his whole life!! Grandpa did a great job, and as you can see, Eli loves his new chair.

Relaunch

I decided one of the most important things I could do was restart the ever-so-often postings on our family blog--I deeply regret that I did not continue the regular posting, but here is my new beginning!! So, a little catch up, I was overdue with Eli, then had the most perfect labor and delivery anyone could ever have, and now we have the most perfect baby anyone could ever have. I don't know what I did to deserve this wonderful baby--but I don't waste my time questioning it!!

Eli is currently teething, and we know this because his gums have turned white and hard, he is constantly chewing on his hands and teething rings, and he is downright grumpy sometimes, which is very un-Eli-like. This is a fun process that is relieved by baby oragel, some natural teething tablets that lots of friends have told us about, and the ever-popular baby tylenol. He also likes teething rings and frozen wet-washcloths.

I am currently reading the book called Baby Wise and I have tried to start some of it's practices. I have started Eli on a PDF schedule--Parent Directed Feeding. I have never seen him so happy and relaxed! He eats ever 3 hours, about 6 oz, with play time and sleep time in between. Let me tell you, it's the first time he's ever slept through the night! He sleeps in his crib, too, which is wonderful :)

Grandpa and Grandma Jongsma are here this weekend. (MY Grandpa and Grandma) My grandma had a great idea to call themselves GG, and I love it! They are so good with Eli, he seems to respond to them soooo well. They have also been a great help to me, because they love to hold him, feed him, and walk around with him. We are thinking about taking Eli to the zoo on Saturday and I'm so excited about that!

My final story to launch the blog back into regularity!! On Friday night, I put Eli down on the floor in the living room while I ran around putting a load of laundry in. I came back no more than 2 minutes later and Eli was nowhere to be found. My first thought was that I was so tired that I forgot that I picked him up from the ground and put him somewhere else, like his swing or under one of his hanging toys, but I looked around in all the usual places and realized that I wasn't THAT tired. Then I thought someone came in the house and kidnapped him in that short period of time I was gone switching out the laundry, but realized that wasn't likely. Finally I got on the ground and looked under the coffee table and THERE HE WAS! Way far under the coffee table, just laying there being his normal cheerful self! I could not believe he rolled over that many times that quickly and quietly. I can't wait to tell him that story when he gets old enough to understand.

34 weeks

So tomorrow marks the start of my 34th week!! WOOHOOO!!!

I had my most recent Doctors appointment on Thursday! Everything looks good, my belly measured 32 cm, and the baby boy heartbeat was upper 120's lower 130's! I have gained 1 lb in the past 2 weeks, not bad!!

I've been craving a couple of things lately, chomping ice cubes, and wendys frostys with m&ms. Or any ice cream with m&ms in it!! mmm yummy I want one right now! Physically I'm still feeling pretty good. Get a sore back if I sit too long, but that's okay!!

Last Ultrasound

OK So no picture compared to fruit today! I'm not impressed, the next one says he's the weight of 4 oranges. FASCINATING!

Last week I had an ultrasound to make sure that baby Belanger is growing like he is supposed to. So we went to a local place instead of Orlando, well basically because it was cheaper and we knew we didn't anything fancy. Anyway the Ultrasound tech said everything looked good so we were on our way. Then Monday I got a call from one of my OB's, and they NEVER call me so I got nervous. She said that while the rest of his body measurements were in the 50th percentile, his abdomen was measuring in the 10th and that can't be good. Something called Asymmetric Growth Restriction. So she called us into the office so we could ask her all our questions, etc. Then she sent us into the hospital to get a non-stress test. Basically I had to lay in a bed with straps around me for an hour to see if he was under any stress. It was kinda cool to hear him moving around, and see his heartrate. I was even having little contractions, but not enough to worry about! We also scheduled an ultrasound in Orlando the following day.

I took the afternoon off from school and drove to Orlando. The first thing the tech did was take my blood pressure, and it was way too high, she said it was probably because I was so nervous :) the next thing she did was measure the abdomen, and it measured exactly as it should!! While she did the rest of her measurements I was asking her about 3D ultrasounds and she said she was just trained on the 4D and she needed someone to practice on!! How lucky am I?! Anyway, when the Dr himself came in, he said something like "I don't know what abdomen the tech in Sebring was measuring but your baby is measuring just fine." What a relief!! He's 3lbs 7 oz too!! Here are the treats--

So I just want to thank everyone who was thinking about us, and who prayed for us in the past couple of days. I could feel your prayers, seriously!! I remained calm most of the day.

SQUASH!

Baby Belanger is now about the weight of a butternut squash...and about 14 inches according to websites i've been reading!! Amazing!!

I had a checkup last week. I have gained 3 lbs since last month, and I forgot to ask the doctor how many cm large my belly is! The heartbeat was 140's again, very good! My glucose test came back just fine so that's good, I won't have to take the longer one! WHEWW.

I've still been feeling really, really well. I had a little bit of pain last week when I was standing up but thank goodness it went away! Dr said it was normal. The baby is kicking more than ever, I love it so much! When I was at my appt they gave me a sheet to help me start counting kicks. They said I need to find a time every day to lay and feel for 10 kicks and see how long it takes.

Today I signed up for Childbirth classes....they will start in less than a month. I can't wait for Ian to learn more about all this stuff :) He is going to faint.

We also bought the crib this week, thanks to Auntie Dooey and ChiChi for helping with that. Mom just bought AWESOME fabrics for the quilt and then we will start painting. It's all approaching very fast!! No name yet, though, it's okay to wait til the last minute for that, isn't it???

Quick note from Laura!

Hey, Laura here!! Just had another monthly appointment on Friday! Everything is still looking good. I have gained 11 lbs so far!! That's about 4 more than my last appointment, whooops!! I've noticed some of my maternity pants are getting tighter, and it's getting a bit harder to stand up :) But I just keep reminding myself how much bigger I will get!! My belly measured 23 cm. Heartbeat was 140. Tomorrow I'm going to go in for my routine glucose-screening test.

Ian and I sat down and looked at our list of names.....surprise, Ian's favorite and my favorites were totally different!! We will find one, we will.

I can't believe how much chocolate and sweets i've been craving.......REALLLLLLY craving. If it's chocolate, cookies, pudding, cake, ice cream, I have to have it!!

Kicking up a storm!

Sorry I haven't written in a long time, but I guess no news is good news :) I have been feeling SPECTACULAR! Probably a combination of being out of the morning sickness but still not too big to maneuver myself around. And sleeping a lot. Most of the time I don't even feel like i'm pregnant!! But then baby Belanger kicks me and I remember again. Particularly when he kicks me in the bladder. That is a very interesting feeling!! Basically I feel like I have to pee really bad whenever he does it :)

I had the most wonderful time in Michigan! I got to see a lot of family and friends. I am very homesick...eventually we'll be back...I hope!! Thanks to my mom and dad and sisters for putting up with me for 10 days, haha!!

Below is a video I found on one of my baby websites that I thought was pretty awesome! I wanted to share it with everyone. Just for reference, i'm about 23-24 weeks.