Looking Like Brothers!

I thought it would be fun to compare what my boys look like at the same age, respectively. For sure they both have their own unique look, but I can't help but think that they do have a lot of similarities! Here they are, both at 1 month of age, give or take a day or two...

Eli Robert, 1 month old

Johnathan Aaron, 1 month old

I am pretty sure that Eli is going to have the same long eye lashes like Johnathan, although his eyes are very different. Johnathan's eyes were (and still are) like deep dark inkwells, and Eli's are much lighter...I think that he'll either end up with light brown eyes, or maybe even hazel! Both boys for sure have a very similar hairline...from daddy without a doubt! Johnathan has a cute dimple on his right cheek, and Eli has a cute one on his left cheek! They both have the crooked pinkies...that's a mama gene coming thru...and their facial structure seems to be pretty much the same as well...although Johnathan's nose is a bit wider at the bridge. Only time will tell if our boys keep up their similar looks, but they for sure look like brothers...they look like they belong together...they look like they belong to us...and the best part is, they do!

*Grace*

P.S. Don't forget to check out my earlier blog post from today with pics of Eli on his 5 week b-day...scroll down or click here!

{5} Weeks with our ~Baby Love~

Here are some photos that I took of Eli on his 5 week "birthday!" Enjoy!

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June 27th, 2010
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He will only take his soothie pacifier...if any at all...he doesn't like the paci nearly as much as Johnathan did.

Starting to get some more baby fat around his lil' neck!

I love this one!

Aren't baby feet one of the most precious things on this earth?!!

Sweet little sleeping baby.

Happy 5 Week Birthday, Sweet Boy!

Precious boy!

Lovin' the double chin action!

I love you, my sweet Eli!

Baby Love!

Chunky lil' monkey!

Sweet cheeks!

Chubby-bubby!

Precious feet!

*Grace*

Due Date Day!

Well folks, today is due date day...June 27th, 2010...the day that meant our little guy was ready to come into this world, 40 weeks of gestation/9 months of growth inside of mama. Well, as we all know, little mister Eli wanted to meet the world early, and now at 40 weeks of age he has spent 5 of them outside of the womb. It has been an interesting five weeks, that's for sure, and we are all settling into our new routine...i.e. mommy and daddy are learning to cope with a lot less sleep! Haha!

From the way that Eli is developing you'd never know that he was a preemie...his appetite is {huge}, and he can barely stand to go 2 and a half hours between feedings...1.5 - 2 hours is more his style! Believe me, the milk factory is working overtime, but that just means that I am losing the baby weight faster, so it's all good! He is able to pick up and turn his head when he's on his tummy and has pretty good head control. All in all he is tracking along like a typical newborn, and being born a month plus early hasn't slowed him down.

Here is our sweet boy at 5 weeks old:

Having fun baby-wearing...he slept like an angel and I got lots accomplished while snuggling with my sweet boy at the same time!

Enjoying father/son time!

Crazy eyes!

This cozy bunting was made by Tia, Eli's great-aunt.

Have a great Sunday, y'all!

*Grace*

Getting Creative

As most of you know, we've been under "house arrest" or quarantine per Eli's doctor that will last until he's 2 months old. We've had a very limited amount of visitors, and the visitors that we have had have been put through the gauntlet...no sickies allowed! And, even though our visitors have been well, we've made them take extra precautions for added protection for baby Eli...scrubbing up before getting close to Eli, wearing freshly bleached t-shirts over their clothes, putting on medical grade surgical masks to prevent any germ transfer, etc. It may seem a bit overkill, but to help protect our son who doesn't have much in the way of immunity, we'll do whatever we have to do to keep him safe!

Being stuck in the house for two months does present its challenges...and to keep Johnathan (and myself) from becoming totally stir-crazy, I have come up with several creative ways to keep my sweet & extremely energetic 2 yr. old busy.

Here is my latest creative play idea...

... Indoor "swimming!" Oh the things you can do with a 50 gallon storage bin!!!

Johnathan had a blast in his personal indoor pool, and I got to clean up the kitchen while he had fun playing au naturel!

Sweet Cheekies!

The kitchen got thoroughly splashed, and so long as Johnathan was having a good time I didn't mind all of the water droplets. All was well 'til I heard Johnathan scream "poo-poo!" Seems as if a few floaters had joined the indoor swimming party...and that is when the party ended with a swift trip to the bathtub to clean up Johnathan and then the tub went outside to get a good washing with the hose. It was fun while it lasted!

*Grace*

Another Red Rose

If you have been reading my blog for a while you may remember this post that I wrote shortly after Johnathan was born. What a moment it was when my father presented me with that very significant red rose. And what precious moment when he presented me, again, with another red rose, celebrating the life and birth of sweet Eli, when he came to meet his newest little grandson. The same emotions were felt as when he first gave me the flower after Johnathan's birth...and now that I have two red rose occasions I feel extremely blessed.

Having a child is a momentous occasion no matter what your circumstances are, but having a child after loss makes everything even more miraculous, or at least it seems so to me. There were times in our past when I thought having a baby was a dream of mine that would never be realized. It really seemed hopeless after losing our first two boys and then the two miscarriages, or "angel babies" as we call them. Life seemed so unfair, and at times I was for sure that God's ears were deaf to my cries for a child. And then we had Johnathan, and now we have Eli.

Before Johnathan was born, and before we knew he was going to be a boy, I really wanted a girl. I had told myself that having a girl would be easier, emotionally, because since losing Gideon and Daniel I had a special place in my heart for little boys. Having another boy seemed to be more than my heart could handle, so I thought for sure that Johnathan would be a girl. Well, he wasn't, obviously, and God knew exactly what my heart needed. A precious little boy to hold, to watch grow and to love with all of my mother's heart. And now I have another precious son.

Although we have two sweet sons on this earth, they are by no means replacements for our precious boys in Heaven. As times goes by, I am really seeing the special place that each of my children have in my heart. They are all so unique, and I love each of them equally, but differently. Not a day goes by that I don't think of and love my Heaven children. They are very much a part of our lives even though they aren't physically here with us. And some day our children here on earth will know of and love their older siblings in Heaven too. I can't wait for that day!

~~~~~~~~Here are some photos that my dad took when he visited a few weeks ago~~~~~~~~



My second red rose with my first "red rose baby!"

Gorgeous boy!

Who couldn't fall in love with this face?!!

The face of an angel!

Me with my sweetest little blessings!

*Grace*

Getting Back to the Basics

These days it's all I can do to just get the basics done. I am really enjoying our more simple life-style...although I do get a bit stir-crazy being in the house 24/7, but that is okay...it's too hot outside anyways!

Our days consist of early mornings where Johnathan will pitter-patter into our room around 6 (sometimes earlier!), and then after feeding and changing Eli, Johnathan and I will spend some time in the living room. Johnathan will eat his breakfast while watching a few shows on TV and mommy gets to blog and start on some chores for the day.

Once Johnathan is done eating we usually head to the bathroom, and while Johnathan plays in the tub I will either fold laundry, work on my grocery list, clean the bathroom, read my magazines or do whatever else I am able to do in the bathroom. Eli will sit in the hallway in his little bouncy chair, and that way I am able to keep an eye on him while I'm in the bathroom keeping my other eye on Johnathan! Multi-tasking has been taken to a whole new level! You can't even begin to imagine what can be accomplished while your son sits in the tub...but it does take a bit of planning! I have to gather up all that I want to work on before heading to the loo, that way I can keep busy while Johnathan is getting clean and having fun playing in the water at the same time! ;)

After bath time Eli usually has to be fed again, and after that Johnathan and I will play in the living room until lunch. After lunch is my favorite time of the day---NAP TIME!!! Haha! Most days Johnathan will go down and Eli will either go down again too or will already be sleeping, so I get to rest as well. It is nice!!! On days when that doesn't happen I just call upon my friend, Dr. Pepper, so it's all good!

After nap time I try to spend a lot of one-on-one time with just Johnathan, goofing off in the living room, and I have certainly found my silly-side! Yesterday we sat on the couch just laughing our heads off while making funny faces and hiding under a blanket, only to pop out and say "boo!"...it was so much fun, and it felt good to laugh like a kid again!

Once Aaron gets home in the evenings I will work on dinner while he hangs out the boys. Then it's dinner, bath (again) for Monkey and then once he is in bed for the night...a somewhat difficult challenge at the moment...Aaron and I get to spend some quality time with each other and with Eli. All in all it's a great little schedule, and even though most days are like the previous day, I am finding a lot of joy in the simplicity of our current life.

Here are some pics from Sunday (when we got to have our dear Whitehursts over for a bit) and from yesterday when I got to watch my sweet boys having fun together.

Adoring our precious Eli.

As you can see, make-up doesn't fit into my new simple life-style...haha! Getting ready in the mornings is super-duper quick now! ;)

It's sweet to see other people loving my baby!

My little froggy baby!

Look at those lashes!!!

So snuggly!

Big brother/Little brother time. Too sweet!!!

Johnathan sat and rocked in the swing for about 5 minutes with Eli, just enjoying holding his little brother.

Johnathan is such a great big brother!

What sweet boys...and they're mine!!! Praise God!

*Grace*

Another Little Monkey

Just like Johnathan, we have another little monkey on our hands...Eli came out covered in soft, downy, baby hair on his sweet little body. It really is quite precious, and he has even more than Johnathan, I think, probably since he was born a bit earlier, and all of that lanugo wasn't ready to come off quite yet. Here is our little Eli, with his sweet little baby fur!



*Grace*

Brotherly {LoVe}

I suppose that one of the sweetest blessings as a parent is to see your children loving each other. Even though Johnathan is still getting used to having his new little brother around, he is already showing just how much he loves him. He wants to see him first thing in the morning, loves to hold him whenever he gets a chance to, will go and get his pacifier for him if he is crying and loves to dole out hugs and kisses with abandon...oh, and one of the most precious things is when he tells Eli "I yuh (love) you!" It is soooooo sweet! Here are some pictures of my sweet boys together.






















*Grace*