Eli's first Christmas tree ...

We had a lot of running around to do to make it happen, but, as you can see, the Green family has it's first Christmas tree. We got one in a pot that can live outdoors the rest of the year and come inside to visit for a couple of weeks each December. Jason likes to remind me of my past cynical Christmas views and how they don't quite jibe with all of a sudden wanting a tree and all ... part of having a family, I guess. We also started Eli on solid food this past Sunday. Solid, as I've come to learn, is a misnomer at first, as it's just a little ground rice in with the milk. He seems to like it and is ready for it, and has adjusted well. This weekend he'll eat his first vegetable -- dad's choice -- sweet potato. He's been very talkative, and trying out new body movements and tricks. He smiles big at both his parents and lets out big laughs at some of our simple little games. He's got presents from all the grandparents under his tree and I'm sure we'll have a fun Christmas day. It's hard to believe it's next week, it really snuck up on us this year. J and I have both been sick with the latest round from the germ factory -- every week it seems to be a slight variation on a familiar theme ... hope everyone is well and poised for a fun and relaxing holiday. Much love, ~V

Eli gets ready for christmas ...

December is upon us quick, and there's a lot we want to do to enjoy the season! Unfortunately, I have only mastered the art of working a little bit each day on a lot of projects ~ not exactly finishing any of them. Last weekend Eli and I went to get his first tree (a small blue spruce in a pot, which we'll put up this week and can live outdoors the rest of the year). This is the first year J and I have really done Christmas, and it's weird figuring out how our family will go about starting a tradition. Jason concluded elk hunting season on Saturday and helped clean the house on Sunday, while I went to a little soup and sauna gathering with some friends. Unfortunately, Eli couldn't join in, because he woke up on saturday with PINK EYE! Luckily, perhaps because I got him into the doctor right away and got some eye drops, he doesn't seem too bothered. He is just a little more mobile and self-assured in his movements, watchful and talkative every day. He is quite the charmer! We plan to start him on solid food in two weeks and I'm reading up on how best to accomplish this. To start with, we've given him some spoons to play with while we eat, and we practice feeding motions.

#1 ~ Ready for Christmas, wearing the hat Grandma Song made
#2 ~ Master of the excersaucer. You can really see how much more he's in control of those legs and arms these days.
#3 ~ As Jason says, crying round and round. Grammy Linda says I take too many pictures of Eli while he's crying, but I have to say I do like them ... I think because they're a true part of our day every day. This is a good one because it's showing off the new ability to grab and hold onto feet ...
#4 ~ Sad Eli with pink eye ...

More pictures after we get the tree up. This will be a busy week, I have to take a day flight to southern oregon on wednesday and there's lots to do to get ready for the holidays ...

Eli at play, Eli at rest

Hi everyone, J has been elk hunting and grouse hunting this weekend, and Eli and I have been catching up with friends and chores. This week Eli and I started "Itsy Bitsy Yoga", which we thought would be 50/50 yoga for each of us. It turns out that it's much more focused on yoga for baby ~ this struck me as funny, as it amounted to manipulating his limbs around while singing little songs -- I thought this was stuff we were up to anyway ... until we got home and he crashed right to sleep two hours early. The yogini had a busy day. He has turned over a couple more times and is very interested in his legs and feet. The drooling continues ... (Brack says this stage never really stops)... true?

1) Eli and Poo bear catching some rest. In Colorado, we saw a cartoon of some big grizzly bears talking to Winnie, asking him -- "Your name is Winnie the what??"
2) Kristen hanging out and making cookies with Eli and I. We bought him those flaming legwarmers earlier in the day and he's showing them off here. They're perfect for him, as he is pretty good at kicking off socks and likes toe freedom. And he looks kickass. Kristen, by the way, is three months pregnant with twins! We're all rooting for her.
3) Eli showing off his latest acrobatic trick with me and Phoebe. Who needs Yoga class?
4) Eli helping me fold the laundry :)
5) Itsy Bitsy Yoga champions

Part 6 -- Thanksgiving

On Saturday we had a party at my Mom's house, and a lot of our Colorado friends made time to come. We were really glad to see all of you, and hope you all had a good time and enjoyed seeing/meeting one another as well! I was just delighted. Only some of our pictures came out well, and I've included some of them here.

#1 ~ Sharon and Shad brought their son Blake. Even though Blake is twice as old as Eli, they look like twins! (Blake has some skills on Eli though and was zooming all over the house)
#2 ~ Eli with Dee and Tony and Hattie. Hattie was just a baby when we saw her last, and it was a blast to see her with Eli, reminding her parents that she really wants a baby sister ... :)
#3 ~ Super glad to have Shannon come -- and to have a chance to meet her daughter Saffron and her husband Scott. Saffron, by the way, came dressed as a one-hump camel -- as if you couldn't tell.
#4 ~ Tonya and her stepdaughter Devon. I was really glad to get a chance to meet Devon and hear stories about Tonya's family and job
#5 ~ Lynne and Eli. Eli has almost doubled since she saw him last.

Okay everyone, that's the breakdown of our trip. We left early early Monday morning and Eli again behaved like a gentleman. Even though it was good to see everyone, we were also glad to be home and back in Oregon. It's another busy work-a-day week. Jason is getting ready for the elk hunt and my job has been more interesting every day. Eli is starting to teeth, we think, signified by copious drooling and trying to shove his whole fist in his mouth. We will be spending time with Oregon friends and getting ready for our first little Christmas.

Much love to everyone out there, we hope you are doing well! We learned over the trip just how many of you check our blog and we are glad that you are thinking of us, just as we are thinking of you.

~V

Part 5 -- Thanksgiving

On Friday we got to see some of Jason's friends. We spent some time hanging out on Pearl Street in Boulder -- first in a brewpub, then checking out some shops, and finally in the famous Russian Tea House. It was great to get to spend some time with all of them! Oregon has turned us into wimps though -- it was way too cold out for us! Everything was decked out for Christmas though -- and while I normally find this cheesy and commercial, I actually thought it was sweet this time. I especially like the skaters on the rink off Pearl Street.

#1 ~ Jen and Eli wearing the hat Jen made for him
#2 ~ V and Eli nursing before attempting the beer sampler. Classy.
#3 ~ Rafa and Chelsea. Rafa was visiting from El Paso and we were glad our trips coincided since we're not headed to Texas anytime soon. :)
#4 ~ Jen and Steve who came down from Eagle to hang with us
#5 ~ The inside of the Russian Tea House. It is such a beautiful space, every corner covered in intricate paintings, carvings, and sculptures.

Part 4 -- Thanksgiving

Some more good pics.

#1 ~ Eli and cousin Rosemary, with Gram in the background
#2 ~ Eli looking good with cousin Ailena (who we wish lived close enough to babysit!)
#3 ~ Eli showing off tummy time skills on Saturday
#4 ~ Eli hanging with Grammy Linda

Part 3 -- Thanksgiving

These are all pictures of Thanksgiving with the Jensen's at my cousin Rosemary's house! When my family gets together we are a lot of people. We came a little late and Eli definitely became a central attraction. Almost everyone got a chance to hold and hug him and we got a lot of good pictures. We realized only afterwards that part of why it was so exciting is that it's been awhile since there's been a baby -- since Ailena and Rollie. Who's next? :)

By the way, we all joke about needing turkey eating pants on Thanksgiving, but you know it's a good party if there's a poop-through clothing change ...

#1 ~ Great picture of Luann, who we got to see for about five seconds before she jetted off to San Francisco.
#2 ~ Uncle Lawrence and Eli. (btw, I don't think Eli got the signature Uncle Lawrence ceiling walk. Looks like Rose's ceilings were too tall ...)
#3 ~ Eli and Gram looking good together.
#4 ~ Eli telling jokes with Aunt Judy
#5 ~ Eli and Aunt Joan checking out the outside world

Part 2 -- Thanksgiving

So we were nervous about being the "crying baby" family of plane trip horror stories. To set ourselves up for success on the busiest travel weekend, we decided to take a very early flight. This meant getting up in the middle of the night, but it also meant that Eli slept all the way through the car ride, the check-in process, most of the flight, the check-out process and most of the car ride to my mom's house. Nicely done Eli! When he was awake, he behaved like a gentleman. The first day we just hung out with Grammy Linda and Uncle Declan. This was Declan's first chance to meet Eli and we were glad to spend so much time with him, especially since he is going to Iraq for a year with the Army in a few weeks. We split Thanksgiving with Grandpa Steve/Nana Smitty and with the Jensen clan.

#1 ~ snoozing over the Rocky Mountains ...
#2 ~ Eli, Grammy Linda and Declan. I was glad to finally see these two boys together, as Eli often makes faces that remind me of my brother
#3 ~ Eli with Smitty's grandkids Sarah and Daniel. This will be a good one for nostalgia when they're all much bigger.
#4 ~ Eli meets his Grandpa Steve
#5 ~ Eli with the Dillman side: Smitty, Steve, V and Declan

Post-Thanksgiving catch-up ... part 1

Hi everyone, with our Thanksgiving trip come and gone, we finally have a little time to reflect. We had an exhaustingly wonderful time, and I feel like our boy grew in leaps and bounds while we travelled. He is so interactive and curious, with a happy disposition and a lot of love to give. We got to see almost everyone we wanted to (except the Lee family and Natasha Tiff) and we're grateful for our Colorado family and friends. To start with are just some hanging around pictures from before and after our trip.

#1 ~ as Eli grows stronger in the back and neck, he gets to partake in home acrobatics with Dad.
#2 ~ Eli and his feet helping me wash bottles at night
#3 ~ Eli in the puff chair
#4 ~ I just like this picture because it looks like Eli's head on Jason's body :)
#5 ~ First driving lesson

More pictures from zoo day

#1 ~ Greens take a break
#2 ~ Eli watches fish, I watch Eli, Jason watches me
#3 & 4 ~ The excersaucer! Eli is finally tall enough for this toy. This one was given to us, and I have to say that I had mixed feelings about it -- a little too busy and surreal, I thought. He LOVES it, and as soon as he got into it, something changed in that he now seems to actively seek out stimulation and toys. Way to go Eli! Hurrah for busy and surreal.
#5 ~ He likes stuffed animals now too and is slowly meeting his new friends, which have been patiently waiting for him like the Velveteen Rabbit ...

The Greens go to the Zoo ...

It's been a busy week at the Greens. After daylight savings time changed last weekend, the change into fall became very clear. On one hand, the days have a crisp feel with lots of color, on the other hand, it gets dark at 4:30. A few of the days have been grey and rainy, which was supposed to be all weekend. Our happy surprise then, when Saturday turned out to be beautiful ~ we took advantage by going to the zoo.

In the past few days, Eli has done some major growing. He is very talkative, turns on his sides, and seems to really notice people and the world around him. He has learned to sleep through the night! He stays awake for longer periods, and seemed to really enjoy seeing different animals at the zoo. We had a great day.