Poor, poor, sweet boy

This little guy had shots today. Not a happy moment for either of us. I have rarely heard him cry like that. Actually, the only other time I've heard that weak, heart-wrenching cry/whimper was when I was cutting his nails and accidentally pinched the skin pretty hard. I felt absolutely horrible. I make James do it now.
So anyway, he's been pretty fussy today, poor thing. The nurse said that the shots can make his legs hurt and even cause a fever. James and I were going to go out on a date today because its our two year anniversary {of being together, not of being married} but after hearing his pitiful cries and knowing he'll probably be in some pain, we picked up some baby tylenol and decided to stay home with him and take care of the little guy. And I'm so glad we did! He would cry whenever we put him down and has slept so much better in our arms. I love him.

Yesterday, I sat by a very tender-hearted woman in church. I was holding a happy Eli in my lap, his head swiveling from side to side {he's still working on those neck muscles and such}. He stops when he sees her face looking at him, and starts grinning from ear to ear. You need to understand something--Eli's smiles are the BEST. They are the gift that keeps giving. He's just this little heavenly being that has so much love in him. Anyway, when he smiles, he rEaLLy smiles. He makes eye contact and his eyes light up and make the best smile crinkles and he has a huge open-mouth grin that spreads from ear to ear. From there, he'll either stick his tongue in and out, raise his eyebrows up and down, or crinkle his nose. It's the big Shabamm when he does these all at once. Anyway, this kind lady got his very best grin, for like 2 minutes straight! Some tears started rolling down her face as she smiled back at him and she said something that really touched me. "They do so much more for us than we do for them." Simple, but so true. Sure, I devote all my time and energy taking care of him, nurturing him, feeding him, cleaning up after him, playing with him, holding him and so much more, but I don't feel any bothersome-ness about doing it. And that's because.. it's him. It's my sweet little boy. My little being that is still so close to heaven. His smiles fuel my energy. It's so easy to love that little face and to kiss those smiling cheeks and to snuggle that squishy little body. I'll hold him until my arms hurt and my back aches. Which I have. I've never been this exhausted and this happy.

Wow, I think that's enough for today.
I always have to give a shout out to my awesome husband. He's always right next to me, enjoying and experiencing these same things. He spoils me so much with his love and willingness to help.

Baby love!

I'm in babylove.
I have a baby and he's aaaaaaall mine.
Metaphorically speaking of course..
James also calls dibs.

I've heard a lot of people say "just wait until he can actually respond to you." Or "It gets soo much better after 4 or 5 months." Or even "Newborns are boring, but it gets better."

People these days. Haven't you ever heard of finding joy in the journey?
Well, the thing is, I don't even have to find it. It freakin finds me, I'm so joyful.

I love watching him get taller.
I love seeing his belly acquire more chubs.
I love noticing his leg rolls get juicier.
I love watching him blink. I really do.
I love the shapes his mouth makes.
I love it when his nostrils flare.
I love it when he stretches I can pick him up and he keeps the stretching position midair, with his legs curled under him, his lil' booty sticking out, and his arms stretched out like Superman.
I love his Grandpa face.
I love having staring contests with him.
I love his toothy {toothless} grin.
I love that he farts like a man.
I love his laugh. (Which has only been in his sleep and sounds like rapid, loud intakes of breath, with a open-mouth smile of course.
I love it when he places his tiny hand on my chest or arm.
I love that he LOVES hot showers.
I love his buttcrack. I really do.
I love his coos.
I love watching him stretch out his feet and toes. Yes, he stretches out his toes.
I love that the only dominant feature of mine he has... Are my eyebrows.

Now... Does ANY of that sound boring to you? I think.....definitely not.
Get a load of this character:

Just an update.

So I don't really have any new pictures.. They can ALL be found on Facebook and Instagram AND photo stream. Check it ouuuut.

An update: I'm a little sad.
     I don't have any pictures of me, James, and Eli together.
     We didn't have enough extra money to have Eli's newborn pics taken.
     He's getting bigger and bigger every day! Whaaaa
     I'm dreading his circumcision cause I don't want him to be in pain.

Sad, sad, sad.

On a happier note,
     Eli's progressing great! He's gaining weight, he's eating pretty good, and he's slowly but surely getting on a good sleep schedule. Plus, he's freaking adorable! He still LOVes his baths and makes the funniest facial expressions. I'd like to think he recognizes me. He calms down at my voice [not always, but usually] and stares at me like he KNoWs me ;)

I've accepted that if Eli doesn't want to be awake, he WILL NOT be aroused. Cold water, loud noises [James yelling in his face], tickling, pulling up his eyelids, sitting him up, NOTHinG works. So, during the day when he needs to be more awake, I do what I can. I open all the blinds, turn on the tv, and don't alter them when he falls asleep. That way he'll associate those things with the daytime. Then at night, around 8:30, 9, I dim the lights, turn the tv low or off, and give him a warm bath, cuddle him, feed him, swaddle him, and then sure enough, he's out for a good 4 hours. Last night he woke up only every three hours so that was awesome. There's been minimal crying at night as well so that makes it all a little easier!

I must give a huge shout out to James. He's such a wonderful husband. He's extremely helpful and supportive. I would have gone crazy by now if it weren't for him. I'm serious.. Plus, him and Eli look so good together.