What's that Mommy and Daddy?
We're getting a new car?
A minivan?!
A red one? That's ok, I guess.
A minivan?!A red one? That's ok, I guess.
What? I can't drive?! You have GOT to be kidding me.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Mommy and Daddy Rock.
Dave is doing an outstanding job of taking care of Elliott, me and our household. He does not hesitate to get up in the morning with me, make me coffee, take me to work if he needs the car, have lunch ready when I come home to feed Elliott, do our laundry, keep the house picked up, etc. And I know how much Elliott loves his Daddy and playing with him all day long. The two of them are so bonded, it is amazing to watch and be a part of.
I remember my only pregnancy dream was of following Dave and a little boy down the sidewalk in front of our house and seeing Dave take the little boy's hand and call him his little buddy. It looks like dreams do come true.
I don't think I tell Dave often enough how much I appreciate him, but I really do.
This thought was brought on because I had my annual evaluation at work today. It made me realize that stay at home parents don't get "evaluations," but they also don't get consistent feedback and praise either. In my opinion, Dave would pass his Daddy evaluation with flying colors.
My evaluation went extraordinarily well. The plant peeps are excited to get me full time, the animal peeps are sad to lose me, and they both think I did a great job this year. No complaints. Really no negative feedback or even constructive criticism, just enthusiasm for seeing more of my work in action this year.
The head of the plant side of things made the comment that if you didn't know I was gone for three months this year, you could never tell from the amount of work I completed and my performance throughout the year. That meant a lot to me.
And while it is nice to feel like a rockstar, I can't help but think of a few important things:
--Being a non-traditional family is a good thing. It works for us and that's what's important.
--I would not be where I am today without the love and support of my soulmate, David.
--I would not be where I am today without the love and support of my family.
--I would not be looking at the raise and promotion coming down the pike without the help of my sister Meredith and my Dad, the ever-cheerleader.
--It is increasingly important that I bust ass at work so I can leave on time and go home to my baby and my husband. Elliott won't be a baby for long, but I will always work.
My Grandma Ebig is in the hospital. Please pray for her. I am anxiously waiting for news on her latest procedure, a defibrilator placement. I can't talk about it more because it makes me too emotional. She is 80 years old this year and about to be a great grandma again. My cousin Jason and his lovely wife Lindsay are expecting the first official EBIG grandbaby (meaning he/she will have the last name of Ebig).
Today, Dave was kind enough to bring Elliott to me for his lunch and go and get lunch for the two of us. What a guy! Anyway, the funny part of that story is that Elliott selected the 45 minutes he was at my office to FINALLY poop after about 3 days of poop-free diapers (Lots of farts, no poops). Thankfully he did not blow out of his diaper (and they were even the cheaper, baby store brand), but we did have to change him on my desk before Dave left. Three days worth was pretty overwhelming. And Elliott drooled all over my clothes. Like he knew I had my evaluation today and didn't need baby drool marks on my shoulders!
We've been kicking around whether or not to buy a new (to us) car now or later. It's looking more and more like now. My car continues to run, but is more and more quirky. And frankly, I love the early spring days of rolling down the car windows and breathing in the fresh, dewy air. We've been without a functioning driver side window for a LONG time now. I've about had it.
Ok, I'm done for now. Here are some Elliott videos. He is growing up so fast.
Getting the Bears in His Pack and Play
I remember my only pregnancy dream was of following Dave and a little boy down the sidewalk in front of our house and seeing Dave take the little boy's hand and call him his little buddy. It looks like dreams do come true.
I don't think I tell Dave often enough how much I appreciate him, but I really do.
This thought was brought on because I had my annual evaluation at work today. It made me realize that stay at home parents don't get "evaluations," but they also don't get consistent feedback and praise either. In my opinion, Dave would pass his Daddy evaluation with flying colors.
My evaluation went extraordinarily well. The plant peeps are excited to get me full time, the animal peeps are sad to lose me, and they both think I did a great job this year. No complaints. Really no negative feedback or even constructive criticism, just enthusiasm for seeing more of my work in action this year.
The head of the plant side of things made the comment that if you didn't know I was gone for three months this year, you could never tell from the amount of work I completed and my performance throughout the year. That meant a lot to me.
And while it is nice to feel like a rockstar, I can't help but think of a few important things:
--Being a non-traditional family is a good thing. It works for us and that's what's important.
--I would not be where I am today without the love and support of my soulmate, David.
--I would not be where I am today without the love and support of my family.
--I would not be looking at the raise and promotion coming down the pike without the help of my sister Meredith and my Dad, the ever-cheerleader.
--It is increasingly important that I bust ass at work so I can leave on time and go home to my baby and my husband. Elliott won't be a baby for long, but I will always work.
--I crave new challenges and like to take on big projects. I need to work hard to embrace the challenges once they are thrown my way and follow through on projects.
--It is very important that I keep up my momentum and continue to blaze new trails here. A few weeks ago I would have said I needed to do less of that, but my evaluation proved that the people that matter appreciate my frank honesty and ability to shake things up.My Grandma Ebig is in the hospital. Please pray for her. I am anxiously waiting for news on her latest procedure, a defibrilator placement. I can't talk about it more because it makes me too emotional. She is 80 years old this year and about to be a great grandma again. My cousin Jason and his lovely wife Lindsay are expecting the first official EBIG grandbaby (meaning he/she will have the last name of Ebig).
Today, Dave was kind enough to bring Elliott to me for his lunch and go and get lunch for the two of us. What a guy! Anyway, the funny part of that story is that Elliott selected the 45 minutes he was at my office to FINALLY poop after about 3 days of poop-free diapers (Lots of farts, no poops). Thankfully he did not blow out of his diaper (and they were even the cheaper, baby store brand), but we did have to change him on my desk before Dave left. Three days worth was pretty overwhelming. And Elliott drooled all over my clothes. Like he knew I had my evaluation today and didn't need baby drool marks on my shoulders!
We've been kicking around whether or not to buy a new (to us) car now or later. It's looking more and more like now. My car continues to run, but is more and more quirky. And frankly, I love the early spring days of rolling down the car windows and breathing in the fresh, dewy air. We've been without a functioning driver side window for a LONG time now. I've about had it.
Ok, I'm done for now. Here are some Elliott videos. He is growing up so fast.
Getting the Bears in His Pack and Play
A Crowd Favorite... Jumperoo Time!
In the Swing of Things
My Favorite Things... Toys and Dropping Them
My Favorite Things Part Deuce
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Milestone.
Today is the first day I haven't been able to concentrate on anything at work other than Elliott. It's not a "good" milestone per se, but I felt like it was important enough to note for the future.
Perhaps it is the sheer enormity of work sitting before me, but I am counting down the minutes until I get to see and hold and feed and cuddle my little guy again. I can barely stand being away from him today.
Monday, February 11, 2008
What Happens at Grandma's, Stays at Grandma's
Elliott did great this weekend. Dave and I missed him terribly, but it was refreshing and fun to be "just the two of us" again for a short time. I always say the best part about leaving Elliott is seeing his face light up when we return. He did not disappoint us! Even while he was sleeping on the way home, he would break into a smile just hearing our voices (I know this because I sat next to him in the backseat of the car because I needed to get my fill of looking at his face and holding his hand.)Wine tasting was delicious and fun. We ate wonderful food and bought several bottles of Michigan wine and enjoyed uninterrupted quality time together. I got sick on Sunday morning around 5am and wanted to curl up into a little ball of misery until about 9am, when I felt amazingly better. Go figure. I have a cold and sore throat now, but I'm not puking anymore, a huge plus.
Dave and I spent a good portion of the drive home talking about how lucky we are and how content and satisfied we are with life in general.
Carolyn and Dave were kind enough to take lots of photos of Elliott while we were gone so we didn't miss anything. We were definitely ready to see Elliott again, but I think Dave and Carolyn would have liked to keep him for another day or more!
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Overachiever.
Elliott had his four-month checkup yesterday. He is 16 pounds, 6 ounces and 26.5 inches long. That's the 92nd percentile for height and weight and his head circumfrence is in the 75th percentile.
We are extraordinarily lucky. Elliott hasn't been sick at all to date other than a couple of boogery noses that passed in a day or two. Maybe I should worry more about germs and the flu bug going around, but I just don't.
We can start him on cereal whenever we want to, but I'm not in any hurry. When I asked Dr. Hoop if there are any benefits to starting solids sooner rather than later, his reply was that they help babies sleep through the night. Well, our little man is consisently doing that (Wow, huh?), so it's really just a matter of teaching him how to eat from a spoon and starting him on the road to eating something other than Mommy Milk. I think we'll know when the time is right, and honestly, I love feeding Elliott. I'm not ready, but I know we will be soon.
Elliott's disposition continues to be a lot like mine... when he's happy, he's thrilled about life. When he's uncomfortable, annoyed, frustrated or the like, he doesn't hesitate to complain up a storm. I was nursing Elliott to sleep last night and daydreaming about his future little brother or sister. Will they be more laid back like Dave? We're definitely not in a rush for #2, but it was one of the first times I thought about starting this adventure all over again and thought I would mention it.
A new phenomenon that I wanted to mention/document is what I call "mamaclinging." There have been times lately where Elliott will just cry until I am there. At first I thought it was just because I am the milk lady, but there have been several instances where he doesn't want to eat, just wants me. It's flattering, really, but also slightly disconcerting.
We will be putting mamaclinging to the test this weekend. For my birthday, Dave bought me tickets to a wine tasting on the Leelanau Peninsula. So we are heading to Frankenmuth tonight, I have a conference there tomorrow and then we are heading to Grandma Carolyn and Grandpa Dave's house. Saturday morning after Elliott's mid-morning meal we are leaving and not planning to return until Sunday afternoon.... We have reservations to stay the night in Traverse City. It's very difficult for both Dave and me. We don't truly WANT to leave Elliott overnight, but we are becoming more and more aware that some time away for the two of us will be good for our marriage. And having a happy marriage will benefit Elliott in the longrun, so we're going to try it. Plus, we know Elliott will be spending many-a-night in Central Lake with Grandma and Grandpa, so it's a matter of when, not if he will have sleepovers there. It was also GrandmaCarolyn's birthday this week, so having Elliott all to herself for the better part of 36 hours is like a birthday gift in and of itself.
No pics today, sorry! Back to work for me!
We are extraordinarily lucky. Elliott hasn't been sick at all to date other than a couple of boogery noses that passed in a day or two. Maybe I should worry more about germs and the flu bug going around, but I just don't.
We can start him on cereal whenever we want to, but I'm not in any hurry. When I asked Dr. Hoop if there are any benefits to starting solids sooner rather than later, his reply was that they help babies sleep through the night. Well, our little man is consisently doing that (Wow, huh?), so it's really just a matter of teaching him how to eat from a spoon and starting him on the road to eating something other than Mommy Milk. I think we'll know when the time is right, and honestly, I love feeding Elliott. I'm not ready, but I know we will be soon.
Elliott's disposition continues to be a lot like mine... when he's happy, he's thrilled about life. When he's uncomfortable, annoyed, frustrated or the like, he doesn't hesitate to complain up a storm. I was nursing Elliott to sleep last night and daydreaming about his future little brother or sister. Will they be more laid back like Dave? We're definitely not in a rush for #2, but it was one of the first times I thought about starting this adventure all over again and thought I would mention it.
A new phenomenon that I wanted to mention/document is what I call "mamaclinging." There have been times lately where Elliott will just cry until I am there. At first I thought it was just because I am the milk lady, but there have been several instances where he doesn't want to eat, just wants me. It's flattering, really, but also slightly disconcerting.
We will be putting mamaclinging to the test this weekend. For my birthday, Dave bought me tickets to a wine tasting on the Leelanau Peninsula. So we are heading to Frankenmuth tonight, I have a conference there tomorrow and then we are heading to Grandma Carolyn and Grandpa Dave's house. Saturday morning after Elliott's mid-morning meal we are leaving and not planning to return until Sunday afternoon.... We have reservations to stay the night in Traverse City. It's very difficult for both Dave and me. We don't truly WANT to leave Elliott overnight, but we are becoming more and more aware that some time away for the two of us will be good for our marriage. And having a happy marriage will benefit Elliott in the longrun, so we're going to try it. Plus, we know Elliott will be spending many-a-night in Central Lake with Grandma and Grandpa, so it's a matter of when, not if he will have sleepovers there. It was also GrandmaCarolyn's birthday this week, so having Elliott all to herself for the better part of 36 hours is like a birthday gift in and of itself.
No pics today, sorry! Back to work for me!
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