The Baylor Family Blog

After opening presents on Christmas Morning, we bundled up and walked down to the park with Matt’s parents and their dog, Sadie. Eli always has lots of extra energy to burn off and then provided the perfect opportunity! Plus, its fun to boast we had lots of sunshine on Christmas Day (though snow would have been just as fun, too)!

Later in the day, after enjoying some delicious steaks on the grill, we headed to our local zoo to see the animals and lights! What a treat it was! The lights were amazing and there were lots of indoor exhibits with animals to help us stay warm! My favorite exhibit was the giraffes! Matt bravely fed the giraffes some crackers and it was amazing how long their tongues are! Their smell was also quite amazing!! We enjoyed seeing monkeys, hippos, lions, penguins, reindeer, and many other animals! I look forward to returning in the daytime! Eli was quiet most of the evening just taking everything in! But I think he had a wonderful time! And we all had a wonderful Christmas together!

We celebrated Christmas morning here at our home! I don’t think Eli really understands what is going on throughout the Christmas season, but he definitely enjoys being involved in the festivities! After singing Happy Birthday to Jesus, we exchanged some gifts between the three of us!

The top picture is Eli carting around his new sled. At one point, he put a whole bunch of toys on the sled and dragged it around the house! Too cute. Unfortunately, we did not have a white Christmas and have not had any snow since, so Eli is having to patiently wait for an opportunity to go sledding!

Eli got a robotic puppy from his great Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Carlean. The puppy responds to voice-activated commands and is pretty cool. Unfortunately, Eli doesn’t always give his new puppy the love and attention it desires, so I’m thankful for the on-off switch! When he wants to, Eli loves to pet and hold the puppy and offer him a bone! Our little guy sure does like dogs, though!

Here is a portion of the stash of chocolate my husband gave me for Christmas! I once told Eli that chocolate is mommy’s medicine so I don’t share We’ll see how long he believes that!

We got Eli a car race track for Christmas. This cleverly designed toy requires no batteries, folds up compactly, and works by cranking up the car! Eli is starting to really enjoy cars and has had a blast chasing the cars around the house!

Despite being an incredibly active boy, Eli sure does enjoy books! We found a couple special books to give Eli for Christmas. One is a toddler Bible story book and the other is a toddler Promise book. I know he is young, but Matt and I look forward to teaching this little boy the truths in God’s Word!

Despite all the fun on Christmas Eve, we had a bit of a scare mid-morning. Eli had been acting pretty mellow all morning, making me wonder if he was getting sick again. After playing with lots of toys with his cousins in his bedroom, Matt stood Eli up and Eli fell over and cried. Eli would not bear any weight on his right leg. We decided to watch him for a little while, and he seemed content as long as he didn’t try to walk. He started crawling around to get where he wanted to go. As active as Eli is, we knew this was not normal behavior. We were hesitant to wait too long to get this checked out as it was the middle of the day on Christmas Eve! So after a series of phone calls, we ended up bringing him into Immediate Care. By the time we saw the doctor, Eli was starting to bear some weight on his right leg. So the conclusion was that he must have stepped on a toy and bruised his heel. Fortunately, nothing major. Though he was still limping some throughout the day, by Christmas Day, he was his normal active self.

I don’t want to be a parent who over-reacts to everything, and I’m learning it can be incredibly tricky to figure out whats going on with a baby or toddler who cannot communicate! I’m so thankful it was nothing major and that I don’t have an active toddler with a cast on his foot…that would be a nightmare at this stage in life!!

A few days before Christmas, we welcomed Matt’s parents, brother and his family into our home to celebrate Christmas with the Baylor side! After eating some spicy pork loin for dinner, we exchanged gifts. As you can tell by the pictures, opening presents usually was a group effort with the kiddos! Eli was very over-stimulated and could hardly stay focused on any task for a moment! But he could be found get into anything and everything around the room! Eli got a tub full of blocks made by his Poppy, a latching puzzle, home made beanbags that spell his name and lots of other fun suprises! Every new addition to his toy and book collection at the moment is his favorite! After the kiddos were all tucked into the bed, the adults played the Wii and shared lots of laughs!

The next morning, Christmas Eve, we woke up and opened stockings! There were lots of fun and funny gifts exchanged! A highlight of the morning was having Nathan, my nephew, sing lots of songs in his new microphone as well as playing his new purple recorder! Than, Michelle, Nathan and Katya had to travel home mid-morning, but Matt’s parents are staying until just after New Year’s Day! We had a wonderful time together! Here are some pictures from the festivities:

Today I had another ultrasound and doctor appointment. Our little girl is now weighing in at 3 pounds and 12 ounces, which is an increase of well over a pound since our last ultrasound around Thanksgiving! Though I was initially excited, the ultrasound tech mentioned she was going to check “Dopplers,” even though they weren’t initially ordered by my doctor. Most people probably wouldn’t know what that means, but after having so many ultrasounds with Eli, I knew that meant she wanted to check the blood flow in several areas of our little girl, which only would be done if there was reason for concern. But I followed my doctor’s orders of not being concerned unless he told me to be…and waited for my visit with him!

So, after the ultrasound, we headed over to see the doctor, who confirmed that our little girl is trending small, much the same as her older brother did. Though she has gained weight, she has dropped from the 27th percentile to the 14th percentile and her abdomen is measuring small. She appears to be in no distress at this point, and blood flow seems adequate to her major organs. I will start the routine of weekly ultrasounds, non-stress tests and doctor’s visits next week. I will only have to go weekly (instead of twice a week as I did with Eli) provided she stays relatively stable. And when she is appearing to show any signs of distress or her growth or blood flow drop too low, I will be induced. The longer she stays inside of me, the better, though!

Obviously, we were hoping our little girl would not have trouble growing. But at the same time, the terminology, testing, and outcomes are not as foreign this time around. We more or less know what to expect! It also helps seeing that Eli has no long-term issues even though he was born small. We still rejoice that God is good and trust He will faithfully meet our needs along this journey, as He is already has done!

So that is the scoop on our sweet baby girl who has yet to breathe her first breath in this world! Matt and his dad have painted the nursery and will hopefully finish putting it together tomorrow! I am definitely in nesting mode and ready to have everything in place, especially knowing I could have this baby anytime now! I will do my best to keep the blog updated with any significant news!

Other Updates:

• All three of us managed to get healthy just in time for our trip to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving and stay healthy for the whole trip!

• Eli actually slept well in his pack-n-play for the first time ever on a trip away from home and he did not throw up a single time (another first!).

• Eli started coughing and having a runny nose a few days after returning home. I brought him to the doctor to discover he likely has a virus that caused an ear infection. So he was started on his third antibiotic in a month. Poor kid. Ten days later, besides having a runny nose, he’s feeling much better now! Unfortunately, Matt and I also caught Eli’s cold and are still fighting it off!

• I had an ultrasound just before Thanksgiving. Our baby girl was 2 pounds, 4 ounces putting her in the 27th percentile. Though we initially were under the impression she was trending small, the doctor is very pleased with her growth and I don’t have to return for another ultrasound until the day after Christmas! We are rejoicing!

• After a little more than a month of speech therapy, we have decided to take a break. Eli is using some new sounds. He consistently says “muh” for more and “duh” for done. He also can make several animal noises, including a dog, donkey, snake, sheep, lion, bear, and cat. His favorite new word is “lights” which are everywhere this time of year. He seems more over-stimulated by all the toys to play with at the speech therapy office and doesn’t often want to attempt to communicate while there. For the time being, I think its best to work with him at home.

• I recently applied for free in-home speech therapy. I have a lady coming to the home for an informational meeting on Monday. We will see what happens! With a new baby coming, this option seems very appealing!

• At our latest doctor appointment, Eli weighed 23 1/2 pounds! He is growing like a weed! He has outgrown almost all of his 18 month clothes and is now wearing 24 months/2T!

• Matt joined the choir at church and is looking forward to performing in the Christmas special at church this weekend!

• We enjoyed a nice weekend visit with Matt’s parents, who are visiting in Colorado over the month of December. We ventured downtown to the Festival of Lights Parade and had a great time! We are looking forward to having them back at our home next week for Christmas!

• We had a house full of friends, family and neighbors on Saturday for a Christmas Brunch. We feel so blessed to have so many people in and around our lives, as well as the opportunity to open our home to them!

• A week ago, we had a not-so-fun surprise when our carbon monoxide detector went off. After calling Matt, turning off the furnace and leaving the house with Eli, a utility worker confirmed very high amounts of carbon monoxide in our home due to the wrong roof vent, which was completely shut off, being installed on our roof when it was replaced this fall. Fortunately, our carbon monoxide detector saved us. The roofing company has resolved the issue and our new and improved carbon monoxide detector is registering the perfect number of “0″.

• We’ve been working hard at putting together Eli’s new big-boy room. With the recent arrival of a foot locker for the end of his bed and a head board made my Poppy, Eli’s grandfather and a curtain, made by our good friend, Lisa, his room is now complete! I’ll hopefully post pictures soon!

• As Matt already posted, Eli slept in his new room in a twin bed last night for the first time without any fight! And he is currently taking his first nap in his new bed! Now I can start preparing the nursery for our little girl!

Okay, well those are all of the things I can think of at the moment! Like I said, a lot has happened since I blogged last…and this information is as much for me as it is for anyone else!

We missed the first big snow here in Colorado while we were in Wisconsin, but a few days after we returned home, we received a few more inches of fresh snow and the perfect opportunity to try out Eli’s new snow bibs and winter coat! I must admit the dressing process was a little tense, but once outside, Eli had a blast! This kid LOVES being outside and LOVES the snow! We got some of the best smiles on this outdoor adventure!

Eli thought it was hysterical when Matt hit the snow with the shovel sending snow flying all around him!

Eli enjoyed having his own shovel while we cleared the driveway. On the few moments he had the shovel in the correct direction, he actually helped quite a bit!

Matt was anxious to share his love of snow with Eli. These two are quite a pair together!

Who says slides are just for summertime?? Between the snow and slippery snow pants, Eli was flying down the slide at his fastest speeds to date and enjoying every minute of it!

We got a few more inches of snow yesterday and I brought Eli back outside to play and help me clear off the driveway. This time around, getting him dressed was much easier…he was soooo excited to put all his gear on because he knew what was coming! What a fun kid!

The three of us packed way too many suitcases and boarded an airplane to Chicago to be picked up by my my brother, Kevin, and his wife, Jennifer, to drive to my parents home in Wisconsin. After an amazing packing job of all of our things into the car by Kevin and Matt, we were on our way! Soon after arriving and unpacking our masses of things, my other brother, Brad, and his family arrived. This began the long weekend packed full of both Thanksgiving and Christmas together! Since we all live in different states, we do not get to see each other as often as we’d like. But its always fun to cram in a few days together whenever we can!

Many of the days were filled with playing the Wii, a gift from my parents to their kids, or watching and laughing at people playing the Wii. Eli hit the jackpot in the toys department and has had a blast playing with lots of them since coming home. He especially loves his new tools he got for Christmas and loves trying to find his own tools to match the ones Matt is using on home repairs!

We had a long, snowy trip back to the airport in Chicago. Though running a little later due to weather, we managed to arrive at the gate just in time to board the plane! Like usual, I did not take nearly as many pictures as I should have (most being of my own child!)…but here are some shots of our time together!

My dad, trying to guess what on earth could possibly be in his Christmas present, wrapped so carefully by my brother, Brad.

Eli loves to play with my mom’s gadgets! He quickly remembered where her “beep-beep” button was and pushed it whenever he could! He also loved riding the chairlift up and down the stairs. And while playing ping pong in the basement, Matt caught Eli climbing into my mom’s powered wheelchair, hitting the power button, and driving it (not fast or far, of course!).

Eli mastered the sit-n-spin on this trip!

Eli’s hoarding habit continued on this trip. He was dragging a shopping cart and a high chair around at this moment!

Eli having a face off with his cousin, Tycen. Tycen may be a year younger, but he is already moving around very well and not that much smaller than Eli! I think these two will have a blast together as they get older!

The best shot we could manage of the three cousins (Callie, Tycen, and Eli)! Callie and Eli are showing off their giant stuffed animals they received from Grandpa and Grandma. Eli’s dog now sleeps on his bed!

Eli sitting in the remains of a wonderful Christmas celebration!

Wow, it has been a while since I’ve sat down to update the blog! Thankfully, Matt has added a few posts in my absence! A LOT has happened, and I will do my best to fill in the gaps over the past month or so!

A little before Thanksgiving, Eli started into a stage of life that involved hoarding. He need a lot of everything with him at all times. I’d see him trying to carry around multiple blankets, sippy cups, stuffed animals, other toys or whatever else he could find. This often involved multiple trips up and down the stairs to cart around his stash of things. I guess all we can do is laugh! He is definitely increasing the number of places he hides things. Sometimes I feel like my days are filled with finding his “necessities!” The picture at the top is a picture of Eli trying to carry a stash of things around…but wanted to be held with his entire stash. Pretty cute and pretty funny.

Also a little before Thanksgiving, I introduced Eli to popcorn. And boy, oh boy, does this kid take after his mother and LOVES popcorn! He loves it so much that I can sit him in a regular chair at the table with a pile of popcorn and he will sit there for however long it takes to eat all of it. Normally, he prefers to grab food and wander around the house.

Matt’s brother and his family came down for a day in November. Its always fun to catch up with them and let the cousins play together! Eli’s cousin, Nathan, has graciously passed down many clothes and toys to Eli. On the latest trip, there was a pair of dress shoes that Eli insisted having on with his pajamas. It was quite the sight to see him running around playing with these shiny shoes on!