Grooming-Not for the queasy stomach

I am what my friend calls a mother gorilla. I like to groom my children. If it's gross, it has to go. I find joy in picking goop out of ears, boogers out of noses, and-if I could-pealing sunburned skin. For the last couple of days, Eli has had major boogerage in his right nostril. Oooooh. I have wanted to get it but didn't risk it because I knew I couldn't get up there without hurting him. Then yesterday, I noticed....(insert trumpets here) a little bit poking out his nose. Using great skill and dexterity, I maneuvered the offensive substance from his nasal passages. Ahhhhh! Release! And now he can breath again.

Liam is doing very well recovering from his tonsillectomy. He didn't have any weird reactions to the anesthetic and has enjoyed watching "Little Einsteins" over and over while eating his fill of popsicles. He heard the Dr. tell me to "give him whatever he wanted" which meant to not limit his diet to liquids. He has told everyone the doctor SAID he could have whatever he wants! And believe me, he's had it all. With Grandma around, he has had all that his highness could ever want. I wished I had my camera to take a picture of him in the little hospital gown and net cap over his hair. Ah well. It was cute, and it really hasn't been too bad.

Ramblings, One month, and Catch up

I'm sitting next to Natalie who has managed to get blueberry muffin in her hair, eyes, ears, and pretty much anything else you can think of. She has grown up so much since Elijah came. She is finally starting to talk. She says: yeah yeah!, banana, nom (that means she's hungry), dada, and if we're really lucky, mama. She can climb anything and is fearless when doing it. I'm in a constant state of panic trying to keep her out of things, off of things, and off of the baby. She eats out of a bowl and uses a spoon, sort of. My favorite new trick is that she kneels and folds her chubby dimpled arms for family prayer.

The big new news is that Jason got a job this week. He will be working for a local company called Prosper doing sales. It's commission based so we're a little nervous but grateful for the opportunity to work and get back into a normal schedule. Other big news is that we put our condo up for sale. I thought it would be fun to add having to have a continually spotless house to my list of stuff to worry about. ;) We hope it sells quickly and we are looking forward to finding something with more space.

Elijah, shockingly has no quirky nickname. This is unprecedented in our family of Benny Penny, Bill, Barlaney, Joe John, and Monster. He was Kermit for a few days but it didn't stick. My dad calls him "Lige". We'll see. It's been our task this month to get Eli as fat as possible. I think we've succeeded. He's "very healthy". He is generally a very content little guy who rarely cries "for reals". He loves to cuddle and he loves to be warm. He's most happy when he can bask in some sunlight or take a warm bath. He HATES to be swaddled and keeps stretching until he gets out of it. My favorite thing about having more than one child is watching them interact. Ben and Liam spend hours playing with cars and airplanes. Natalie has been crawling in bed with Lizzy. The other day I caught the twins standing on the kitchen counter "making a concert". They were singing Jingle Bells over and over, each chorus got jazzier and jazzier.

Ben made us all proud by earning his Bobcat. He has had a lot of fun with scouting and likes to get his book out and request to learn something in it. He's such a good example!!





This last picture shows the reason that I have been able to practice the piano more in the last month than in the previous 12 months.




P.S. This is my threatening note to Amy: You know what will happen if you don't post. 4 weeks? For SHAME!

Chrysalis

Ooooh. So those are what my feet look like. Huh. I had forgotten. This week I feel like I'm slowly emerging from my pregnant body to my "normal" one. Just like a caterpillar. Emerging from "fuzzy and cuteness" to what SHOULD be beautiful elegance. One can only hope. Once I can get over the awkward transition phase- you know, where nothing fits. And I feel like I could climb a mountain, until I stand up and discover that my legs are still wobbly. (Don't worry, I haven't fallen down yet.) Plus there's the whole breast feeding body transition. I keep looking down and experiencing SHOCK. What are these THINGS? I've never had those before. Where do I put them? How're you supposed to sleep with them in the way? Advice?

I'd like to write a witty little paragraph here on how I feel about being a mommy of 6. Well. I'm still in the chrysalis phase here as well. Good thing I've got my mom and husband so close or I think I might possibly be dead. The older kids are gems. They love having Eli around. They like to sit and look at him several times a day. (So do I, by the way.) Natalie NEEDS to hold him. She wants to pat his head and face. a lot. (So do I, but I do it gently.)

I'm grateful for everyone's support and offers of help. I've had lots of snuggle time with the baby and I think I might actually survive this new adventure with some enjoyment. There's nothing like kids to keep one humble, happy, and centered.

P.S. If this post was difficult to understand or is disjointed, I claim exhausted mommy rambling syndrome. As Lizzy says, "thas ol."

Elijah came home...

I think that I should take this opportunity to tell everyone that when we decided we liked the name Elijah, I wanted to name him "Elijah Rock." Anyone even remotely familiar with Spirituals knows how cool that song is, but I was overruled.

We got the whole family back together today, and everyone got their chance to hold their new baby brother. If only I record all the "ohs" and "ahs" that are sure to spontaneously proceed forth from the mouths of everyone looking at these pictures I could save them and play the recording for Eli's first date.

I hope you enjoy the photos. And as always, we LOVE to read COMMENTS!

Elijah David Findlay

Elijah was born at 11:13 AM on January 20, 2010. He weighed 6 lbs 15 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long. Both mother and baby are doing well.