August 28

Eli is 7 months old today!

It also happened to be my older sister's day off school, so she came over to hang out with us this morning. While Emily and I were talking, our baby sister, Jenny, called and asked if she could come over. Having one sister over to play is rare; having two is a really special treat. We had so much fun!

I had a tiny bottle of champagne left over from my first-day-of school celebration, so we all had mimosas. Then we texted this picture to our mom, who was equally happy to see her babies all together, and jealous that we got together while she was out of town. I guess we'll just have to do it again when she's in town!

We had mimosas, baked muffins, made cards for our aunt, and then it was time for Eli's nap. When I returned from putting him down, I saw this: 

And this: 

I briefly contemplated tiptoeing back out of the room and crawling into my bed for a nap, but I decided that wouldn't be a kind choice.  I love seeing how happy my girls are to be with their aunties!

Much later, while Lily napped, we attempted Eli's 7-month pictures. They did not go well; he had just woken much too early from a too-short nap, and there were bugs everywhere. He didn't want to sit, he didn't want to smile... I just did what I could.

So. This is Eli at seven months old. I would guess he weighs just over 16.5 pounds. 

He sits, but not well, and tips at least 75% of the time. But he can do it.

He has learned how to bounce in his bouncer, which is hilarious.

He chews on everything.

He is starting to recover from his naptime sleep regression, but nighttime sleep is still a challenge.

I usually try to put him to bed in his crib around 7:30 each night, and he refuses to sleep there. Chris wears him until our bedtime at 10, when we bring him into bed with us. Then I nurse him all night long. There are no 3-hour or 6-hour gaps; I'm lucky to go a 2-hour stretch without him waking to eat.

I am exhausted.

Still, during the day he is a really good baby. He is happy, and he loves his siblings.

Daisy has figured out that he can see her perfectly from his rear-facing seat in the van, and she loves to make silly faces and noises to make him laugh. He thinks she is hilarious.

We just started giving Eli occasional foods, but his diet is 99% mommy milk. He is enjoying the sensory experience of food, though! So far we've tried cucumber and sweet potato.

Sweet naked baby. 

Hi there, handsome!

The last two pictures were taken during our Friday night  celebration, in which we ate (gluten free) grilled cheese sandwiches (a BLT for me) on the couch while watching Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.

Then Chris set up our tent in the back yard, and he and the older three "camped".

I helped them get situated, then put Eli to bed. When I emerged from Eli's room, I noticed Caleb and Daisy's light was on, and their door was closed. I peeked in to find Daisy, curled up in a ball, asleep on the hardwood floor. Apparently Caleb scared her by talking about wolves, so she came inside, but she didn't want to go to bed yet... I tucked her into her bed and snuggled her for a bit. Sweet girl.

Then I stopped outside to see how my other loveys were doing. Caleb passed me, heading for the bathroom, so I snapped a picture of Chris and Lily, snuggling in the tent. I'm pretty sure this was a dream fulfilled for her: Daddy finally snuggled her all. night. long.

And then I went in to wash diapers and do dishes and edit photos in an attempt to blog before Eli realized he was sleeping in his crib and woke up.

I snapped this selfie so you could see my fancy new necklace. I'm super excited about it because it is "Mama Metal" - specially made to be safe for babies to play with . It's all fine and sterling silver, with no solder, and is made to be strong enough to withstand a baby's tugging and playing.  I had a local artisan make this one just for me: four circles for my four duckies, and in the back there are two linked hearts for Chris and me. I love, love, love it. I've been feeling so frumpy and dumpy lately, and it's nice to finally have a beautiful piece of jewelry to wear all the time.

I also love that it should give Eli something to play with when he's on my back, instead of pulling my hair. Hooray!