Taking A Nap With Baby Elijah

Here's a neat picture of Elijah taking a nap on my chest as I'm also napping and sitting in the Rocking Chair. I think I published a photo similar to this one recently but since this is one of my favorites I thought it would be ok to publish another one. My chest probably isn't as comfortable as the boppy pillow but he seems to be sleeping pretty soundly here none the less...!

Connor and Elijah

Elijah is enjoying some quality time with his big brother in this photo... It looks like the feeling is mutual...!

Tucked into the Boppy

Here's another Boppy Photo. He definitely likes the Boppy, but He's starting to enjoy sleeping in the baby swing, too. I'll post more swing photos again, soon...!

Gained Over Two Pounds

Momma's milk must be good because Elijah has gained two pounds and one ounce since we took him home from the hospital...! That doesn't seem like a lot to me but the Doctor was very happy about it. That's why I'm a tennis pro and he's a Doctor (I guess).

Elijah weighed in at 9 lbs 5 ounces yesterday at the Doctor's office. He also got a clean bill of health for his stomach. Dr Kaven reported that we have a very happy, healthy baby...! But... He still didn't sleep well last night, so neither did we...! This photo doesn't show Elijah's hair very much but that's coming in very well, too!

Here's another photo of Monica's baby sling.

It's very comfortable for both Mom and Baby...!

Baby Einstein...! And Number 17...!

This Baby Einstein play set was a gift from Joe and Dolfina Nagle of West Columbia. Elijah Loves his Play Set...!

And in other news... I changed diaper number 17 today...! I have had a break from diaper changing because my sister Becky wanted to change all the diapers. Imagine that... Oh well. I didn't argue with her.

Elijah is two days shy of being one month old...! He's going to the doctor today because he's been having a little bit of an upset stomach. Previously we've given him a combination of breast milk and formula but we've taken him completely off the formula now. We'll see what Dr Kaven says...!

Hmmm.... There seems to be a problem with the blogger software. On my tool pad it shows another paragraph above this one but when it's published the paragraph is hidden. Oh well... That's happened a couple of times before in other posts.

The other hidden paragraph described the diaper number 17 statistic. Since my sis has been visiting I haven't had to change any diapers in about a week...! Hey, I'm not arguing...!

Close Up Photo

Monica took this photo while Eijah was laying in her lap.

He's starting to stay awake more now...!

Starting to Smile

Here's a photo of Baby Elijah in his car seat. He is 22 days old in this photo.

First trip to The Thai Restaurant...!

This is Elijah's first trip to Kanomwan, my favorite Thai restaurant. He behaved himself fairly well. In this photo Monica and Becky are checking on him after he had just awakened. I've been going to this restaurant since 1989 and have become good friends with the owner. Before we left the restaurant that afternoon the owner congratulated us and thanked Monica and I for bringing in his newest and youngest customer. This photo was taken when Elijah was just one day shy of three weeks old.

Mommas' Boy

I posted a photo similar to this one where Monica was kissing the baby, but here she's just giving him some good motherly advice!

Four Photo Day

I missed posting any photos yesterday. So here's a double dose of Baby Elijah's Life today...!

Below: Another baby boppy photo...!


I thought I'd put in a photo of Peepers because she really loves baby Elijah...! In this photo Monica and the baby are sleeping on the couch and Peeps is sleeping at Monica's feet!

No Baby Photo Blog would be complete without baby furniture photos. Here a photo of Elijah's diaper changing station. Siting on top of it is the Moses Crib. (I'm not sure if it floats or not...)

This rocking chair comes in very handy...! It was a present from Grandpa Arno and Grandma Judy...!

More Boppy Photos

He really Likes that Boppy...! I wish I had a Boppy...!

Wow...! A four Diaper Night...!

The Diaper Count is up to 16....! I had baby duty last night so Monica could sleep. It was a successful night....! Elijah got up several times and I fed him from a bottle. He did Good...! It's kinda cute how he crosses his leg and rests his head on his hand,

Three Neat photos

Here is a nice family photo of Connor reading to Elijah.

Here's Mom, Baby, and Peepers.

And last but not least, another exciting action packed baby on the boppy photo.

Here Elijah is nesteled and tucked into his hand made quilt.

Diapers 6 and 7 Successfully Installed..!

Commentary:
I changed two more diapers by myself yesterday! That brings my cummlative year to date total up to 7. That's also my life-time diaper change total, too...!

Monica had Elijah Duty last night. I slept from 9:30 PM pretty much until 6 AM... Boy, was I tired. Tonight I'll get up with Elijah throughout the night and Monica can rest. I don't see how a single parent would be able to keep up with all this. I feel greatly blessed that Monica and I are such a good team...!

Cute Little Baby Nose

Here's another angle from the now famous 'Baby on the Boppy' Photo Series.

Elijah's Bedspread

Monica and Her Father are inspecting Elijah's Bedspread.

He hasen't used the bed much so far but will start soon.

Here's the Baby Bed all Made Up...!

Remembering Back 12 Days Ago

Here's a photo of Elijah when he was about 2 hours old....!

Here's a photo of Elijah at about 14 hours old taken the morning of July 29th.

I'm blogging late tonight staying up with the baby so Monica can get some much needed rest. Tomorrow will be a relatively easy day for me... Therefore, I won't need a lot of sleep, right?

Diaper Number 5

I changed another poopy diaper this morning at about 8:20 AM.

That brings my total diaper change count total to 5...!

By the way, Baby Elijah is yawning in this photo, not crying.

Test Drive

Baby Elijah likes the swing.
Connor did a good job...!


Elijah slept pretty good last night. I slept a little longer than I thought I would, too. We were all awakened at 6 AM by Connor's alarm clock. He was practicing getting up early for school.

Now, we are all watching the space shuttle landing this morning.

The Baby Swing

Here's a Photo of Connor assembling the baby's new swing. He worked very hard on it and it didn't take him too long to put it together...!

Mission Accomplished. Connor is standing behind his handi-work.

(literally and figuratively)

Baby on The Boppy

The 'Boppy' is a pillow that wraps around the waist when you're sitting down and allows the baby to rest in a comfortable position. Monica took this photo of the baby sleeping in the boppy!




This is a photo of the first time I ever held Elijah. We were still at the hospital. I was nervous that I would hold him too strongly and maybe hurt him. I feel much more comfortable holding him now...!

3 Diapers in 3 Hours

Here's an early photo of Elijah. He was 4 days old in this picture. Monica had swaddled him but he managed to get one arm free and I think he was waving to the camera...!



This morning I got up at 6:30 AM and had Elijah Duty so mom could sleep in...! I started out with a wet diaper so I got to change the second diaper of my life at approximately 6:35 AM... I gave him a bottle of formula and then had to make another one... Between 7:30 and 8:30 AM he had two more poopy diapers. That brings my total life -time diaper changing count to 4...!

And, I changed his clothes, too...! Mom got up about 9:15 AM to take command of the situation. So my morning adventure has come to an end. Mom is more rested now and Elijah has been a very good baby...! He didn't complain at all this morning, even though he was working with an obvious diaper changing novice.

Baby and the Blue Elephant

Here's a photo of Elijah sleeping with his trusty blue elephant. We haven't given the elephant a name yet... But I'm sure we'll come up with something soon...!

NEWS FLASH:
At 8:07 AM I changed my first diaper all by myself today...! And Elijah didn't even cry so I must have done a good job...! Of Course, Monica has been an excellent coach...! So there it is... Now I'm a real dad. I had speculated that I wouldn't be a real dad until I had changed my first diaper. This is a rite of passage for me...!

Now I can start doing a diaper change count statistic...! I'm into statistics you know... :)

Elijah Getting a Kiss From Mom...!

What a Lucky Baby...!

Sweet Little Baby

Here's Elijah taking a nap, sleeping like a baby. He really is a very sweet little baby. He hasn't really cried that much. -Mainly when he needs his diaper changed... By the way, I still haven't successfully changed a diaper on my own... I've assisted with a dozen or so...! I still don't have my confidence up in the diaper changing department...!

The Best Photo

This is my favorite photo so far of all our photos. I think my sweet bride looks especially beautiful here holding our precious little baby. And look how peaceful and content baby Elijah looks cradled in his mommy's arms...!

Elijah was 5 days old when this photo was taken. He just turned one week old at 5:04 this afternoon...! It's hard to believe it's been an entire week...!

Grandma Judy and Elijah

Here's a family photo of Grandma, Baby Elijah, Peepers, and Connor. Grandma Judy is holding baby Elijah while Peepers sleeps in Judy's lap. Connor is in the background playing a game boy. It's funny that I hardly noticed Connor at first glance of this picture. He's kinda soaking into the cushions in the background. His position in the background reminds me of a Forest Gump scene. Remember how Forest always turned up in the background during important moments in US history...? No...? Oh well... It's late and maybe my mind is playing tricks on me.


It's interesting that Peepers is very protective of Baby Elijah. The other cats are curious and maybe a little jealous, but Peepers acts differently. Whenever Baby Elijah cries she seems genuinely concerned. She seems to 'stand guard' when he's in the same room with her... And if she thinks you are threatening the baby she'll come after you....!

Grandpa Arno and Elijah

Here's a nice photo of Grandpa Arno holding a very sleepy Elijah. This baby definitely gets held a lot...! Incidentally, Elijah's middle name is Arno... He was named after his Grandpa... So this is really the photo of the two Arnos....!

Grandma Judy and Grandpa Arno are heading back to California in the morning.

The Brothers Taking a Nap

Here's a precious photo of Connor and Elijah taking a nap in the living room. Connor is starting to get a good feel for handling a baby now...! But the past few days we've had to keep Connor and the baby separated because Connor has come down with a bad case of Bronchitis. Hopefully he'll be feeling better soon. We took Connor to the doctor a few days ago and he has some medication now and is recovering nicely.

Connor says that he wasn't sleeping. He said Mom just snapped the picture when he had his eyes closed... Oh well... So much for sentimentality...!

Father And Son

Baby Elijah likes sleeping on daddy's chest and shoulder. In this photo we were watching the sci-fi channel... I think Battle Star Galactica was on... Elijah didn't find the show as interesting as I did. That's ok... I don't want him to watch too much television, any way...!

Connor's First Time to Hold a Baby...!

Connor looked a little nervous holding Elijah for the first time..! I'm not sure that he's ever held a baby before... One thing's for sure: I know he's never changed a diaper before...! But that day is coming... (For both of us) Actually, I've never changed a diaper before, either... But so far, I've assisted with at least 4 or 5 dirty diapers....

I know that one day I'll be called to do my fatherly duty and change a dirty poopy diaper all by myself... But Thank God that day is not today...!

Grandpa Pitching In...!

Arno assembled the baby's bassinette. That's a good thing because there's no way I could have done it quickly or correctly... Assembling stuff is definitely Arno's department. He's also pretty good at cooking German food...! Me...? Well I can hit a good one handed topspin backhand... Doesn't that count for anything...?

Trying to Figure It Out

Car Seats can be very tricky...! I remember a couple of months ago Monica and I came across a couple with a baby in a parking lot and they were struggling in 100 degree heat trying to figure out the car seat. (It was actually a set of grand parents who were baby-sitting for their daughter.) They could not get the baby seat to release from it's base in the car. We tried to help them but couldn't figure it out either. Monica and I had a conversation afterwards and concluded that scenario would not be repeated in our lives...! Here's a photo of Monica reading the baby seat instructions. It's a big manual but the instructions are in 5 or 6 different languages. Lucky for us we're only fluent in English so we just had to read the first few pages.

Working on the Stroller

Monica and I spent some time making sure that we knew how to operate the 'baby buggy' as I call it. It took a few minutes to figure out all the lock mechanisms and releases on it. I was hampered by my thumb injury. But in the end we were able to figure it all out.

The Day Before....

Here's Monica on Wednesday, July 28. She's just 'hanging out'. (literally)

Connor is shown in the background displaying his flexibilty. Elijah is minus 1 day old in this photo...!