Eli's 1/2 Birthday!!

    My sweet boy is really about to be 6 months (as of tomorrow at 2:56 p.m) Where has the time gone??? It seems like the first 6 months have flown by. Wasn't it just yesterday that I was big and pregnant just praying for Eli to make his appearance early? Just 6 months ago today I awoke feeling like I had caught the flu, little did I know I was in early labor and would be having my sweet boy just the very next day :) I thought it would be fun to compare Eli's appearance and likes/dislikes from when he was a newborn and now.

Newborn

Weight: 6 lbs 15.2 oz
Eye color: Blue
Hair color: Reddish brown
Favorite activity: Sleeping
Favorite food: Mama's milk

6 Months

Weight: 17 lbs-ish
Eye color: Blue
Hair color: Blonde with a reddish tint
Favorite activity: Jumping and playing in his exersaucer and rolling around in his crib. Also loves the nightly walks with daddy.
Favorite food: Squash, carrots, and peaches.. also likes apples.




   It is amazing how much he has changed, grown, and developed in such a short amount of time. It saddens me to think that he is on the downward slope to turning a year old :(  He is at a stage now where he doesn't sleep through the night anymore, he doesn't just lay around and sit still, and he is always babbling away and wanting to move around. I wouldn't have it any other way, I am learning that every stage is only for a short amount of time and is over before you know it. I think that is probably the most important thing I have learned in motherhood thus far: cherish every single moment with your child, even if they are in a difficult stage. We only have our children in our house for so long.. it is our job to bring them up the best we know how and to be there for them every step of the way.

  I wanted to somehow celebrate Eli's half birthday.. after thinking and thinking of what to do, I finally thought of a great idea! Anyone who knows me really well knows that I love to bake. I decided to bake Eli 'baby friendly' cupcakes for tomorrow. Obviously he will only gnaw on them and probably shred them to pieces, but I think he will enjoy them. I am going to make carrot and apple cupcakes.. no dairy and no sugar. Completely baby friendly :) You can guarantee there will be pictures of Eli enjoying his 1/2 birthday cupcakes in a future blog post.

  Now that everyone is caught up with Eli, I can catch everyone up with what is going on with Brenton and I. Brenton leaves for a month long training session in just under two weeks so we have been trying to spend as much family time together as possible. It has been amazing to have Brenton home every day for the past 2 months. We have been able to do so many things and see so many things as a family. Life is wonderful.   With that being said, we were recently faced with a challenge that God has put in front of us. I ended up having immediate surgery to remove my ovarian cyst and while in surgery the doctor found some other problems as well. He found endometriosis and a polyp in my uterus. We went to my post-op appointment yesterday and the doctor showed us the pictures of what all he found and what my insides now looked like.. all I have to say is WOW! We are so very blessed that Eli came into our lives, we now have our answer for our difficulty in getting pregnant and being able to sustain a healthy pregnancy. Unfortunately, the doctor left us with some tough decisions to make, decisions that a young family should never have to make, but we know that God puts challenges in our lives for a reason and we just have to look to Him and ask Him for his guidance on all of this. Regardless of what happens, we know we are very blessed with the miracle that has already came into our lives.

  We hope everyone is well and until next time.. take care and God bless!