fingers crossed

MAJOR mission accomplished!!

Oh, how long I have waited to write this very exciting post! Since Eli's birth, he has been swaddled tightly for every nap and for every night's rest. I am a strong, strong advocate of swaddling, as I believe, in combination with other factors, helped Eli to begin sleeping through the night at 7 weeks old. However, in recent weeks, our soon-to-be 4 month old has been fighting his beloved swaddle, thus leading to multiple day and night "jail breaks" of his hands, resulting in a very awake and not always happy baby. Needless to say, after one day of pretty good swaddle-less naps, our little guy was put in his crib for the night without his swaddle, mind you...a very big deal in this home! To our delight, Eli slept peacefully the entire night for 10 hours! We are so happy to retire this piece of baby goodness, but are so thankful for the security that it offered to Eli (and to us) for almost 4 months! We are so proud of our little guy for learning to sleep with his wild arms and hands!

...Our very happy morning baby...
"Look at me! Look at me! I slept only in my sleep sack without my swaddle!"

While we are so glad to say "adios" to the swaddle, we highly, highly recommend the HALO SleepSack Swaddle! With it's zippers, velcro wrap, and extra velcro fasteners, we so lovingly referred to this as the ultimate baby straight jacket, thus giving Eli (and us) many, many hours of wonderful sleep!

country roads lead to indianapolis

What excitement there was in our Louisville home on Saturday night! Our beloved Mountaineer basketball team played in the Elite 8 NCAA tournament game against the Kentucky Wildcats! After a roller coaster game, our Mounties were victorious, thus winning them a spot in the ever illustrious Final Four. We are so very excited for this coming Saturday as WVU will meet Coach K and the Duke Blue Devils. Win or lose, we are so, so proud of our Mountaineers and can't wait to cheer for them again! We are always so proud to wear our BLUE & GOLD in a city of Wildcats and Cardinals! Let's Goooooooooo Mountaineers!

While Mr. Eli was tucked in cozily to his crib during the actual basketball game, he enjoyed wearing his own lucky blue and gold all day!

...Click on these fun links below for great Mountaineer Basketball goodies...

Nice article: Mountaineers Nearing the Summit

WVU Football Coach, Bill Stewart, celebrating the Mountaineer victory at Myrtle Beach's Broadway At the Beach...so many WVU fans in the crowd!

Morgantown Mayhem
A High Street Celebration following the basketball game in downtown Morgantown, West Virginia

A fun, fun Sprint Commercial...could there be a couch on fire?

a visit from nana & papaw

Eli was certainly happy to welcome his Nana and Papaw Freeman to Louisville with lots and lots of his sweet smiles. Andy and I were so thankful for their helpful visit and only wish our visits could be more often. We had lots of fun playing with Eli, shopping at the Mall, and of course watching Mountaineer Basketball! Thanks for visiting Nana and Papaw! We can't wait to see you again soon!

Does this boy love to smile or what?!?

looking up to dad

look, mom! no sling

Eli has officially graduated from the newborn sling to simply sitting up in his tub! His little, chunka-chunka legs and feet just love to kick at the water. From splashing the water to lotion time, bath time is such a joy in our house!

growing & learning

Oh how quickly things can change in just a short amount of time. For Andy and I, it feels like just a few weeks ago, rather than months, that we brought Eli home from the hospital. Since then, we have watched him turn from a sleepy, sleepy baby into a unique "little person" that is so observant, happy, and curious. We love watching him learn and discover something new almost every day. Recently, Eli has loved trying to reach for things that are just within his reach, namely his beloved penguin on this favorite play mat. What fun it is to see his little hand, reach with control to grab this link. We just have to smile at how much he is growing and learning!

sweet, sweet, carmen

Our little Carmen showers us with unconditional love each day. Tonight, as Andy continued to study for his upcoming boards, Carmen's wish was not to be played with, not to be petted, but just to be close. Nestled under Andy's Radiobiology textbook, she was as close as she could manage. What a blessing we have found in our little Carms. There simply is not another "fur-baby" like her!

fun at the fowlers

On Thursday night Andy and I had our very first outing without our little Eli. Because the director of Radiation Oncology is stepping down, The University of Louisville hosted a dinner in his honor and Andy was invited to speak during this special event. While Andy and I enjoyed some time together, Eli enjoyed some fun time with our friends Creed, Whitney, and Caleb! Whitney, a super mother who I call on often, took lots of pictures while we were away so that Andy and I could see the fun that they had. Andy and I were so thankful to spend a few hours together at a special event and couldn't have been more comfortable with our sweet babysitters! Thanks Fowler Family! We love you all!

Whitney, Creed, & Caleb had lots of fun goodies, like this colorful bouncer seat, ready for Eli to enjoy!

We can't believe sweet Caleb is almost 2 years old! We remember visiting him in the hospital! Check out his cute UK shirt and The Fowler Family blog for a video of Caleb doing the "John Wall Dance". Thanks, Caleb for sharing your baby goodies with Eli!

Funny Caleb...What a pose! Whitney & Creed say that this is what we have to look forward to! We hope that Eli is as happy as Mr. Caleb!

"Hey, Caleb! Those bath crayons look so fun! I can't wait to be able to sit up in the big tub just like you!"

Thanks again, Fowler family for my fun night!

our new friend - THE OUTSIDE

We certainly have been loving Louisville's warmer temperatures! Eli and I have been able to enjoy some time outside in his stroller on some walks around our development. What a relief it is to welcome the sunshine back, feel the warm breeze, and to know that Summer is on its way! Because the sun was so very bright, Eli had to give one of his beach hats a test drive. This sweet hat definitely helped to keep the beautiful sun off of his face, while also making him look super cute while cruising in his stroller!

wild, but oh-so-cute

If you have ever met our little boy or have seen his pictures, chances are you have noticed his wild, wild, hair. No matter what we try to do during bath time, Eli's rooster hair in the back always seems to stand straight up on end and even at times will have a slight bend. While Andy and I are hopeful that one day it will begin to lay down, possibly with some hair gel, we are simply not ready to gel that precious baby hair. So, for now, no matter the occasion, church or play, Eli's hair will simply continue to stand straight up and we will continue to love his very special look.

dear neighbors, I promise we're not crazy

Eli's nursery is the cheeriest room in our home! With it's bright stripes, polka-dot accents, and playful elephants, it's simply a great room to spend some time in...and that we do. Adding to the cheer of his room is none other than the daytime sunshine. Make no mistake. We love, love the sunshine and are so happy to see its return as Spring and Summer are on their way. However, when this beautiful sunshine interferes with Eli's naps, we can do without it for that particular time. Regardless of drawn blinds and Pottery Barn black-out curtains that hang closed on the nursery window, the sun still seems to still peek through and illuminate those bright stripes, polka-dot accents, and playful elephants. After Eli had a very short morning nap, I decided to take arts and crafts in our home to a new level...window treatments. Years ago, I remember watching a segment on the Today Show about babies and napping. The experts suggested to cover your windows with black garbage bags. I know, I know...so tacky, right?!? Nonetheless, if it's going to allow Eli to possibly nap better and longer, we can deal with garbage bag windows that are hidden (we can't actually see the garbage bags) with those drawn blinds and closed Pottery Barn black-out curtains. And the result...complete darkness during nap time in an otherwise cheery nursery. So, it is with reason that I promise our neighbors that we are definitely not crazy!

our baby einstein

On Sunday afternoon, we tried something very, very new...Baby Einstein! Andy and I have noticed Eli's very long contentment, easy-going demeanor, and attention span with many of his awake time activities and decided to open one of his DVDs, bought by my sweet friend Dena, for a 3 month old baby. Needless to say, the pictures speak for themselves. Eli was completely enamored with his baby Mozart DVD, often smiling and squealing at the changing pictures on the television screen. I can only hope his attention span will be this good in Kindergarten!

my favorite beymers

Eli just loves smiling and cooing at his Nana and Papaw Beymer! We are all certainly looking forward to warmer summer weather as it will allow safer and easier trips to West Virginia to see Nana and Papaw. I know Eli and Carmen will enjoy summer evenings in their front and backyard!