That's my boy

All geared up for Monday Night Football

Hail to the Redskins!

Bring it on!

Huddler Cuddler

Resting up before the big game.

Mom's night out

On Tuesday night I was able to have a night "out" (down the street to be exact, but still out of my house ;-)).  The Mountain House Mothers' Club had their annual cookie exchange and thanks to my amazing husband staying home with the little munchkin, I was able to go.  It was so nice to be able to spend a few hours with friends laughing and talking and just enjoying eachother's company.  It's so nice to be surrounded by so many great women who know exactly what you're going through.  There were almost 20 people there so I came home with a lot of cookies and some great recipes.  Can't wait for next year!

                                                          I made Rolo Cookies (yum!)

After bath time - sweet and clean and slightly traumatized :-)

Literally amazing.  Is there anything sweeter on Earth?  I think not.

Milestone

As many of you know the past few weeks have been a struggle as far as trying to get our little man above his birth weight.  They say that by two weeks babies should be back up to their birth weight, but with his extra time in the hospital our schedule has been thrown off a little.  He has hovered up and down right underneath but couldn't quite break that barrier.  On Friday we took him to the lactation center to get an update on the weight, hoping that he might be up to 7lbs7oz (his birth weight was 7lbs8oz) and to our shock the little peanut was up to 7lbs 13oz!!  We were so excited and even the lactation consultant was clapping and exclaiming and we were all hugging!  It was a great moment and such a relief!  Things are looking bright :-)

Visit from Auntie Sarah

Elijah's Auntie Sarah (and my bestie) came to visit us on Thursday.  As always, it was a joy to spend time with her and although Eli was only awake for 5 minutes of the visit I know he loved having her :-)  Can't wait until he gets a little bigger and he and Zoe can have play time!

Auntie Sarah and Elijah

 

Mommy and her boy

So sweet

Little Prince

Three weeks

Our little man is three weeks old today!  I can't believe that he's been with us this long, but at the same time it feels like he's been mine forever.  The changes in him already are unbelievable.  He's much more alert now and can actually follow us with his eyes when we move around him.  Yesterday he rolled over!  I had laid him down for tummy time and when I turned back around a minute later he was on his back!  Such a strong boy :-)  We are so enjoying having this little man in our lives.  Sleep is over-rated ;-)

The two loves of my life.

So popular

The little man had lots of visitors during his stay in the hospital

Uncle Adam meet Elijah

 

Meme meets her new grandson

Uncle BJ and Dad are very excited about the new addition.

 

Sarah and Ben with the little man.

Jason and Kristen are stoked :-)

Saito was already making plans for golf foursomes.

A very excited new grandfather.

Introducing....

Elijah Robert Smith has entered the world!  On Tuesday November 17 at 11:52 pm (after 16 hours of labor) our little man was born at 7 lbs 8 oz and 20 1/4 inches.  The experience was beyond words.  Seeing him and holding him for the first time was absolutely life changing.  He is so beautiful and Mommy and Daddy are absolutely in love with him!

Although it was a long day, it was the most amazing day we've ever experienced.  My water broke at 7:30 that morning and after saying goodbye to the puppies we headed off to the hospital. 

Once they confirmed that my water had broken the nurses hooked me up to a Pitosin pump in order to get my contractions started.  Let me tell you, it worked :-)

                                                                  That was a big one!

After several hours of working through them, I got a visit from Dr. Fuji (who was quite a character himself) and he hooked me up to the Epidural pump.  Thank you Dr. Fuji!  For all those ladies out there who haven't gone through labor yet and are questioning whether to get the epidural or not, let me just say - get the epidural!  It made me able to relax and enjoy the experience.

Soon to be Grandpa and Grandma also kept us company during the day.

We thought that the little man was going to hold out until his due date (11/18), but he arrived at 11:52 - 8 minutes early I suppose - which mean that he does not take after his mother in that respect. :-)

He is the most beautiful thing we have ever set our eyes on.

Unfortunately things do not always go as planned and our little man had to spend several days in the NICU.  We were so blessed to be in such a wonderful hospital with such amazing nurses who took such good care of our baby boy.

                                                                 Eli in his NICU crib.


Luckily everything turned out well and we were able to bring Eli home to meet his brother and sister and finally start our lives as a family!