My 1st Embarassing MOMent

Okay I have to share really quick -- my first truly embarassing MOMent...

Oaky Eli and I were at the Christian bookstore last night and I had to use the restroom. So, we walk over to the "potty" and go inside... It is a one-person restroom, so the door just opens right out to the room. I am sitting on the "potty" and my son decides to turn the door handle, unlocking and opening the door - for all the customers to see me in all my glory - trying to get Eli's attention to "get back here!" and to close the door, without showing off my rear.... So, yeah, that was pretty interesting...

I'm gonna be a SAHM! Yay! Woot! Woot!

Okay, so first of all, SAHM means stay-at-home-mom...you should know that if you are reading a blog....but anyway... :)... We have been praying hard that the Lord would guide us in the right direction to provide an opportunity for me to be home with Eli. It was the most difficult thing coming through the door having my son run up and greet me and knowing I missed another 10 hours of his life :( every day... Especially when something would happen and I would tell Brian about it and his response was "Oh, yeah! He started that a couple days ago!" It was heartbreaking, but it was important for my family that I worked and helped provide an income.

Brian interviewed for a new job over a month ago and we kept hearing different things that made us believe he most likely would not get the job. After waiting forever and pretty much giving up on the whole possibility, Brian was offered the job on Friday!!!!!!! YAAAAAYYYY!!! So this will allow me to come home where I belong and focus solely on my family...and there is no price tag on that. He will also be working days so I will get to see him more! And on a regular basis! He will be working 2 f/t jobs this next month to just bring in a little extra $ before we go down to one income. He will be totally drained, but I told him I would get up early in the mornings to make him breakfast and we could have breakfast together before he goes off to work. I am SO happy and thankful God has answered our prayers and made this opportunity possible. We could not be more grateful for his love and protection... and with all we have been through we surely know this next 4 1/2 years will be a smoother ride than these past :)

Love,
Amanda

p.s.- I am so happy to be home for the holidays!!! Yay!!! (Brian says that means I am in charge of keeping the dog and toddler away from the Christmas tree...maybe I don't know what I am getting into after all...) :)

Trick -or-Treat!

We were so excited to go on our 1st Trick-or-treat adventure with Eli this year!!! It was so fun to watch him observe the other kids and figure out how this yearly night of candy gathering is performed :) There were tons of kids and homes passing out candy - it was much more than I remember it being when I was a kid! One lady even had Play-Doh to pass out to the toddlers! How smart!!! I have attached some pics for you to see how cute he was! Brian has assured me that next year he will not be something like a "duck" :( I know, I know... but this year I had to... :)

Happy Harvest!

~Amanda

"My First Chocolate Donut!"

So, Eli had his first chocolate donut the other day! We were at my parents house for the weekend and we got some donuts from the local bakery for Saturday morning breakfast --- Eli had one with chocolate icing and BOY did he love that!!! I put a couple pics up for you to see :)

Cincinnati Zoo & IKEA

In the tent at IKEA - he did NOT want out!

Playing in the mirror! :)

Fruithead, I mean Nana, in the tent with a funny hat on...

Some weird dish of some kind of lobster at IKEA -- gross!

On the train at the Cinci Zoo!

He was just fascinated by the ducks and birds...

Daddy & Papa at a treat station with Eli...

Eli & Nana

The slowpokes behind me getting the stroller stuck on the bridge :)

Eli & Papa

This past Saturday we took a day trip to Cincinnati to take Eli to the Zoo and to of course check out the new IKEA store :) ... We had a fun time at the zoo, especially seeing all the species of birds!!! They were everywhere! There were peacocks roaming around through the crowds and basically anywhere you walked there they were! Eli enjoyed the birds exhibit and the ducks as well. They had a large room with all different kind of bugs in it....YUCK!!! My loving husband, knowing I hate bugs and am deathly terrified of them, (I was litterally freaking out in there), tickled my neck with some stupid piece of paper! UGH! I freaked out and realized it was him and started punching his arm really hard and yelling at him :) I think the people in there must have thought I was psycho or something :) Oh well...I think he learned his lesson :)

The IKEA store was smaller than the others I had been to, but still took about 2 hours to walk around at and we didn't see everything. I think the one in Chicago is the largest I have seen so far and it took about 5 1/2 hours and we didnt see all of it either! I just love that place! Anyway, Eli was having a lot of fun walking around and checking out all the kid stuff. He got into a kid tent and didn't want to get out! He really liked one of the mirrors and kept playing hide n' seek around the corner and peeking at himself like he found the little boy who was hiding in the mirror... it was so cute to see. Another couple stopped to watch him too :) We got some things for his new "big boy room" we are redoing. I didn't realize how difficult it was to find bug themed decorations and ideas for a boys room! :( But it's coming along pretty well :)

Here Comes Fall!

I don't know about you all, but Fall is my favorite time of year! All the bugs start to disappear! :) YAY! It is also the sign of the holidays fast approaching and the start of a new year - and now the sign of one more year older our little boy will be... It is sad to see summertime leave us, but I just love the holidays and the togetherness of family that comes with them. In less than 2 months, we will be welcoming our new nephew!!! I am SO thrilled to become an Aunt! It will be so great to see the kids playing together at the family get-togethers and to see how Eli reacts to a new baby in the family. The love that surrounds a family when a new baby is born is indescribable and so beautiful. It is a gift from God to celebrate and cherish every day. There is no greater gift than becoming a mother - and I cannot wait to see my sister (in-law) experience it! I am so happy for her!

Eli has had a high fever the past 2 days and is beginning to come around. He is still puney today but at least is eating and drinking some. His fever reached 104.8 yesterday morning and I was pretty scared, but the Dr's office assured me it was fine and children his age can get extremely high fevers and be just fine. Its their body's way of fighting off whatever it is they have...which kind of surprises me that it can get that high and be fine, but whatever I am not the expert I suppose...

Well, happy Fall everyone! I hope you are all enjoying your wonderful lives!!! :)

Thankfully,
Amanda

Happy August! This month has been wonderful so far! Starting with a visit from some friends and their little guy Jaxon - he and Eli are only 10 days apart! - we are SO blessed to have them come into our life and share time with them. We have really longed for a friendship with people our age and for someone for Eli to buddy-up to... so I feel we have been given that opportunity and I am truly grateful. We took the boys to the "spray park" here in Noblesville, played at the park while the guys played their disc golf, and finished it off by letting the boys play in the creek together :) We came home and Brian grilled us out an awesome dinner and we visited for a while and gave the boys a bath and watched a movie before saying goodbye at about midnight :) It was really a great time! I included some pics of the day with the boys :)

19 months!

My little handsome guy!!! :) This photo was entered in a nationwide contest - so let's hope it gets some good reviews ;) He is quite the little ham these days... He is so much fun and doing so much more as far as his development goes. He loves to "help" mommy around the house - putting a plastic cup/plate into the dishwasher, picking up the living room (he takes a plastic bag and places lots of random things in it and brings it to mommy when full...so after he goes to bed I unload the bag and place all the objects in their real place :)... a shoe, toy, piece of paper, remote, dog toy, etc. are all the things I usually find in the bag :) ) he also likes to help put the clothes into the washer and dryer... Just recently he has been getting into trouble for "helping" pour dog food into Charlie's food dish...haha...how do you explain that while he is "helping" the doggie, he is doing something he is not supposed to be doing? (sigh) He still loves taking baths. His vocabulary has now expanded where he says multiple words at a time: "No-No, Dog-Dog" if Charlie is misbehaving, or "More bites psss" - more bites, please - he now is saying please and thank you -- more like "Psss" and "Toku" haha. He will sit and "read" his books aloud now, and and if you ask where something is he will try to help you find it... He points at pictures now and says the names of who he is pointing at... This is where we first realized he calls his Aunt Melissa MayMay :) He understands a lot more now and is getting better about using his words instead of having a fit or hitting/yelling...which is a huge improvement...There are plenty of things we are constantly working on or learning every day, but its a fun road to travel and definitely is teaching me to let things roll off my shoulders a little more often than I did before :) As always, we are feeling very blessed and thankful that God continues to send good things our way! We love you all! Thanks for stopping by! :)
~Mommy

Mr. Personality

So, I cannot decide if my son will be a comic or the guy in the office that is sarcastic but genuinely trying to be funny and everyone ends up hating him for being annoying.... phew... I am hoping the first option :)
We were sitting at the dinner table last night and talking about finances, you know how that goes... and we got a little heated about the subject - when all the sudden Eli puts his fingers in his ears and yells "Blah Blah Blah"... Oh my goodness! we were dying! Where he got that, I have no clue, but it was hilarious! Not to mention we couldn't really talk about that anymore - so it lightened our mood. Isn't God's sense of humor great?!?!?!
~Mommy

Summertime begins!

Hey all! We are so excited Summer is here! So many joyous things to keep us feeling all sunshiney inside, in spite of all this yucky rainy weather lately! We are just blessed to know we have not had any damage or loss of loved ones through these strong storms we have had pass through... It hits you harder as a parent when you hear those stories about tragedies from natural disasters. On a lighter note :) - we have a busy summer ahead of us! I think we have about 3 days each month we actually are free to hang out as a family! Which, in case you forgot, Brian & I work different shifts, so we never spend any time together except the weekends, and for some reason family get-togethers and scheduled events don't schedule themselves around us! :) Its almost like when we do have free time we don't know what to do!
We are greatly anticipating the arrival of our new little neice/nephew this coming November! Brian's sister is expecting and we are delighted to be Aunt & Uncle! Mostly because we can pass them back to mommy or daddy when they poop their pants or get fussy :) That's AWESOME! Especially when you spend your waking hours doing all that stuff! I think it's gonna be a girl, but we shall see :) I will post it when we all find out so you all can see how right I am :) haha...
We will be celebrating my grandma's 80th birthday this Friday! I cannot believe she is 80! If you knew her you may guess her to be in her early 70's, but not 80! I have SO many great memories with my Grandma-Jean, it is hard to imagine someday she will leave this earth... My dad is the youngest of 6 children (which everyone knows he is her "baby" :) ), and I am his baby (by that I mean 1st child :) haha), so there are plenty of memories of all of us and Grandma-Jean to keep around :) Especially the fact that she has a teeny-tiny house yet we all manage to squeeze into it for all the major holiday get-togethers :) No, I am saying like seriously about 50 people in about a 800 square foot area...for real... :) Now are you getting why that's a big deal? haha... Anyway, I am making her a really neat gift for her birthday and I am so proud of how its turning out!!! I am going to make her open mine last :) haha...
Have a great day & thanks for dropping in!

May Update

Hey guys! Sorry it's been a while since I've posted an update. Eli has been talking more and more everyday. He is to the point now where we can pretty much understand everything he is trying to tell us. Some more words he is saying now are: Dog, Cat, Bird, God, Go Dog, No (this is different than No-No, this means basically if you don't take me seriously you're gonna get it!) :), Two, Bwoon-Bwoon (Balloon) and many others. He is also repeating phrases or words we say and then when asked to repeat it, of course he won't. This is why I am trying to re-train Brian on his "guy-talk" he so nonchalantly uses, but he is getting much better. I no longer think my son will be the one two year old in the nursery saying the words gay, retarded, idiot, etc... That college dorm-room speak is FINALLY wearing off :) Thanks to Eli now I am closer to being able to have a civilized conversation with my husband. :)

Elijah Bradley was also dedicated on Mother's Day at our church. It was a special ceremony. The mommies and daddies holding their babies/small children gathered around each other and the church had a pastor-led prayer for all of us. We got a dedication certificate for Eli, too. The service was beautiful, all the mothers, mothers-to-be, grandmothers, and even (yes, they did actually announce this, which was so neat) women who could not be, but longed to become mothers received a single rose bouquet... Then at the end of the service they played "Somebody's Hero"... and if you are on this page and know me, you better know its a country song :) Anyway, there wasn't a dry eye in the room. It was really special.

This weekend was so beautiful! Eli and I went garage-saling/ rummaging :) this Saturday in Carmel and got lots of neat things. I got some things for my flower beds, Eli got some toys and play-clothes and I got a few clothes myself. No undies though :) haha... If you know me well you know I am a garage-sale junky, so we were out from 8:30am until 2pm... Eli did SO well! He didn't get a nap, NO poopy-diaper pit-stops either!!! And he did awesome! I took him out for icecream after we were done :)

Well, thanks for stopping in to catch up! Check down the page for some updated pics! Love you all!
~Amanda, Brian, Eli

Mommy instincs far outweigh a doctor's degree!

So, I have been trying to tell Eli's pediatrician that he has a terrible cough for over a month now. More like 6 weeks to be exact. We had taken him to the immediate care center and the ER as well as the pediactrics office. Last week he was diagnosed with his first ear infection and was given Amoxycillin. This past weekend he had a fever of 103.3 and we took him to the immediate care center to find out that the Amoxycillin was not working and his ear infection had gotten worse. So, they put him on a new antibiotic as well as Children's Advil to bring down his fever. The Children's Advil worked wonders to bring down his fever. However, his cough persisted. Each doctor that saw him about the cough would tell us it was nothing to be concerned about and that it would most likely pass in a few days, etc. As a mother, trying to tell several people something you already know when they don't take you seriously (especially a 1st time mother and of an only child - they tend to overlook your concern more frequently than if you are a mother of 5 and in your lat 30's) It is extremely frustrating. So, Wednesday (3 1/2 days after beginning the new ear infection antibiotic and the Children's Advil) he developed this horrible rash all over his body. Like Hives I guess. I mean it was everywhere and bumpy. His face, his butt, the bends of his elbows....and it started to itch him. I called the doctor when it started to get worse, and we got in yesterday for him to be seen. After 1 1/2 hrs at the doctors office he was given a steroid for the rash, which we have to give him each day for a week, we found out he is allergic to Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) as well as the ear infection meds he was taking (Cefalixir (sp?)) so he was given another new antibiotic for the ear infection and can only take Tylenol if his fever spikes (which has not successfully brought it down previously), and to top it all off - the cough - they said there was fluid in his lungs so they gave him a breathing treatment and sent home an infant nebulizer for us to do three 5-minute treatments a day with him for 2 weeks. He hates the thing so far, so I am hoping that changes soon. It kills me to have to hold him down to keep the mask over his face for a whole 5 minutes. I think I hate it more than he does... And I feel the worst that I tried to tell them for so long and finally they do something about it and he has fluid in his lungs... how frustrating!!!

*On a lighter note - he did teach himself how to blow bubbles in the bathwater last night :) That brightened our day when it got us all laughing together :) He is so good at remaining happy through anything he goes through...

First Phrase

Last night we were eating pizza, which seems to be Eli's favorite food at this time :), and he looked at the piece of pizza I was cutting up for him and said "More Bites!" It was so awesome, yet a little sad at the same time. My baby just put his first phrase together... Of course Brian braggs about how smart he seems, but I just get a little sad each time he gets through another milestone :(

First Family Vaca!

We had our first family vacation last week! We went to North Carolina to attend Luke's wedding (Brian was the best-man and he looked so great in his tux!). We arrived a few days early to squeeze in some family time before the wedding stuff began. Wednesday evening we went to the beach! The sounds were so relaxing, however Eli started crying and did NOT want to be put down. I took off his sandals and stood him on the sand, and he would not budge a centimeter! He really did not like the feel of the sand on his feet and cried until we picked him up. He was very interested in the seagull that was dancing around by us :) When he finally got comfortable to stand on the sand, he was walking a few steps with me and then the water washed up on his feet and he definitely did not like that... We went to a beautiful park on Friday afternoon - filled with flowers, trees, sunshine, a lake - it was awesome!!! We got some cool pictures there as well! Please enjoy the pics below of our first family vacation! :)

Everywhere I am...there you'll be.

It is a true saying - "Everywhere I am, there you'll be". As a new parent, the road is filled with bumps and potholes, even detours... but you always find a way to navigate the best way around them for your family. Elijah has definitely given us some wonderful detours and even taught us how to pave a new road! We never imagined what parenting had in store for us. It is hard to believe my little baby boy, no heavier than well, my purse on most days, has grown so fast and so much in this past 14 months!

Here are some updates:
WORDS: Momma, Mommy, Ba-paw (Papa), Ma-maw (Mamma), Nana, down, doh! (don't!), ssss! (shh!), Mo-Mo (Morgan), Moh! (more), B-b-b bah! (bath - this one he gets VERY excited about), Go! (this especially when the grandparents are leaving and he wants to go along), Bye-Bye

DEVELOPMENT: walking, running, taking off diaper (yippee), blowing bubbles in the water during a bath, "helping" wipe off his highchair and tray after eating, "helping" with laundry (this would be dumping everything out of the hamper and then placing each hanger individually into the hamper until the hamper is full of hangers and the clean clothes are strewn across the floor), grunting when mommy or daddy ask if he pooped his pants (hahahah), blowing kisses (this includes taking a kiss from your hand and putting it on his lips and vice-versa), laughing when other people laugh

LIKES: pizza (go figure - don't have to question his DNA), sharing ice cream with Pa-Paw, scribbling with crayons, playing give-and-take, watching Wheel of Fortune (clapping when the audience claps and yelling when the guests yell the letters :) ), being outside, bringing coats and shoes to people when either they are leaving or he wants to leave, being chased through the house and chasing the dog, peaches & cottage cheese, goldfish crackers, "reading" magazines with mommy

DISLIKES: most vegetables (again, don't have to question his DNA), wearing a coat, going to bed, getting his diaper changed, getting dressed

Most Recent: He likes to "help" mommy change his diaper - so when I am changing him, I will say "can you wipe your butt?" and he will take a wet wipe and wipe it all over himself... :) it's very funny...

I have posted some new photos as well, so scroll to the bottom of the page to see a few new ones!

...Never been kissed

I would have to say, as a parent - you have never truly been kissed until you look forward to a big wet slobbery kiss from your child. When you get hopeful that they will greet you with a cookie-crumbly, drool dripping, apple-juice flavored smooch - you have finally realized just how much emotion comes from a kiss. This tops the first kiss from your first love, your wedding day kiss, the kiss you get in the delivery room after the birth of your child - this kiss is one you could never compare to anything else... Before becoming a mother, I could never understand how parents could wipe a child's runny nose with the chance of it seeping through the tissue, how its possible to potty train when its highly probable at some point you will come in direct contact with poo in places you never thought of, and especially how you would WANT a kiss from a messy-faced little person... But, as time goes by, I experience such joy from these little moments, that I would trade more than a good pair of one-of-a-kind red stilettos for just one more! :)

With that being said, I want to share a short story about Eli and his kisses. He isn't always picky about who he gives his kisses to...
I had stepped away to use the restroom when I noticed it was a little too quiet in the living room. I peeked into the living room to see Eli sitting on the floor with my Oprah magazine - giving kisses to the lady on the back cover! It was hilarious! He had no idea I was watching and he was just sitting there putting his lips against her face!!! hahaha...

The other night his Nana and Papa were over and Nana and I were sitting on the couch and Papa was sitting across from us in the chair. Eli was walking over to each of us, going in a triangle, and sharing a kiss with one then moving to the next. He did this for several minutes and it was so much fun to see him kiss one, laugh, then kiss the next, etc. etc...

Hopefully we will continue to be granted his kisses for a long time to come (before he realizes its not 'cool' to kiss mommy anymore)

The cutest storm I have ever experienced!

I HAD TO SHARE: Okay, so we had a terrible storm come through last night. It was damaging winds, hail, snow, ice, etc... Eli and I took shelter in our guest bathroom. Which was very exciting for him, since he got to unroll the toilet paper everwhere! :) When the rain came in, it was so loud pounding against the house... Eli waddled over to me and held on tight, but more to protect me, instead of seeming scared. Then, the cutest thing happened. He pointed at the wall near the side of the house where the rain was loudest, and said "ssssssss!" (that is his way of saying "shhh") It was the cutest thing EVER! I just had to share that it was the cutest storm I have ever experienced!
~mommy

The Beginning of Our Very Own Blog

Yay - We have arrived in the blogging world
We are happy to be able to share our photos and family updates with our loved ones through the use of this blog. Thanks to all of our family and friends who made this necessary - we love you so much
-The Ewbanks