Catching Up

Pull up a comfy chair and get ready for a nice big, overdue update. It has been a whirlwind here since we got back home from the funeral and we really appreciate all the heartfelt expressions of sympathy from family and friends. It has been a difficult Christmas in many ways because we all miss Great Grandma so much, but in other ways life does go on and there were many moments of happiness. We know she'll always be with us in spirit.

First things first, here are some of the many wonderful photos that we had made on December 8th. We were so glad that we had a photographer come here to the house where we were all comfortable. We haven't posted them before because they were part of some Christmas presents so here you go!


Eli had a really wonderful first Christmas. He was pretty happy with all his new toys, but I think he was even more enamored with all the shiny paper that made great crunchy noises. Here are some photos from Christmas day - thanks for the great Christmas tree hat Doris!






































We are really blown away by the quick developmental leaps Eli is making right now. In the last week or so he's mastered grasping things and putting them in his mouth - look out! He's also grown a bunch and is now solidly in 6-month clothing (yes, we know he isn't even 4 months yet). He still isn't sleeping through the night. In fact, he is having pretty regular "growth spurts" where he eats constantly (or feels like it anyway). He was up about every 2 hours just the other night, but then went back to his once-a-night routine. He's mastered what the baby books call his "social smile" and gave all the relatives and friends he met during the funeral a real show. He smiles for us pretty regularly too- here he is enjoying a good "Daddy burp."

Hope you all have a very Happy New Year!

Sad News

We are very sad that Eli's great grandma Evelyn died on Saturday. She was very fond of Eli. He thought she was very interesting too, as you can see in this photo that was taken at Thanksgiving.

She was a great person and will be missed. I am glad Eli got to meet her.

Three Months Today

Eli is celebrating his 3 month birthday today. I can't believe how quickly the time has gone by!

We're heading out later this afternoon to go visit Great Grandma who is unfortunately battling pneumonia as well as trying to heal from her recent surgery.

Here are a few photos from today to show you how big our 'little man' is getting.

Doing Well

I'm really pleased to report that Great Grandma is recovering well from her surgery last week and we hope she'll be released from the hospital in the next couple of days. This trauma certainly hasn't affected her mental sharpness - she's still out remembering the rest of us!

Thinking of You

Eli's Great Grandma Truitt suffered a broken hip on Wednesday and will undergo surgery today. We're thinking of her and wishing her a speedy recovery. She's very special to all of us.

Let's travel back in time and enjoy this photo of Grandma, Great Grandma and Baby Eli when he was only a few hours old.

Over the Hills and Through the Woods

to Aunt Melissa's and Grandma's houses we went. Eli had a really good time visiting all the kinfolk and friends over Thanksgiving. All total he met seven cousins and two close family friends for the first time plus seeing all the grandparents and his aunt and uncle and first cousins. Whew! He didn't know a baby could get so much sugar! So now that Eli is properly spoiled rotten (and worn out) we're back home hoping he won't get too bored with just mama, daddy, and the kitties.

Hi, Edith and Mallie!



















Eli thought Christmas tree pickin' was a really good thing to do and he was cozy warm thanks to the new afghan Great-Grandma made him.

Happy Baby!

Well, Eli's happy today anyway. He was very UNhappy last Thursday when he went in for his checkup and got his first round of shots - ouch! I tell people when they ask that he's growing like a weed and the doctor confirmed this is so. Actually, he's growing like kudzu and busting the doctor's growth charts. He weighed in at 13 pounds and 12 ounces and measured 24.75 inches, both earning him 90-95 percentile in comparison with other babies his age. His head is only 75th percentile somewhat relieving Chris' suspicion that the poor child has a big head.

Just A-Swingin'

Eli celebrated his two-month birthday today with some of his favorite activities: sleeping, playing with his new jungle-gym, practicing putting his fist into his mouth, and of course, swinging. In a late-day miracle on Friday the swing magically fixed itself and all is once more right with the world.

Playtime

Eli really loves his new jungle-gym play mat. It's a good thing he had some fun this morning because disaster struck just a few minutes after this play session....his swing went on the fritz! Oh, unhappy baby - Daddy can't get home quick enough tonight for poor Eli.

Road Trip!

Eli had his first road trip yesterday. He was pretty happy visiting the Old North State and was really happy about all the attention he received there. Nothing really could be finer than to be in Carolina when you're going to Grandma and Grandpa's house and Papaw's too!

We were so proud of Eli, he made the two-hour trip really well overall and did great with all the visiting. Unfortunately, he did have a melt-down about 20 minutes from home in the midst of awful traffic. I think they should sell a special flashing light to put on top of the car that alerts other motorists: "Outta' our way, fussy baby on board!"

Here's some of yesterday's highlights.....

Aunt Melissa and Jada are really entertaining!










And Papaw and Eli had a lot to talk about.

Growing Up So Fast!

Eli is 7 weeks old today - wow! He's celebrating by outgrowing the last of his newborn size outfits. A sleeper that fit him about a week ago is now so short his knees and elbows almost show. The good news here is that he's big enough to wear his cool new orange seahorse onesie (thanks Sarah, Eric, & Jed). It's size 3-6 months! And yes, that wet spot on his shirt is where he christened the new outfit with a little spit up, what's the fashionable baby to do?

Welcome to the World, Baby Girl!

Congratulations to James and Delana at pea patch post upon the arrival of their daughter Ellie on Wednesday.

In other news from Wednesday, Eli celebrated six weeks on the outside. He still isn't always sure about life in the big world, but now that he's got his first flannel shirt he's a little more comfortable - he really is his father's son.

Eli's First Picnic

Eli enjoyed his first picnic last Sunday at Bissett Park in Radford. He seems to love to be outdoors and was thrilled to learn that it was also possible to EAT outdoors -- two of his favorite things combined, how could life get any better?

Let's Do the Stroll

Eli celebrated his 4-week birthday by going for his first trip in his new stroller (thank you, Grandma and Grandpa). The stroller is nearly as much fun as the baby carrier, but Eli would like to note that the sidewalks in this town are very bumpy. Good thing he likes to be jiggled. I'd like to note that there are a lot of hills in this town, whew!

Three Weeks Old

Eli was three weeks old on Wednesday and he seems to be growing every day. Chris worries his head is growing faster than the rest of him, but our friend Delana says that is just the high level of intelligence showing up. Eli and I think Delana is pretty smart!

Here's some new photos. Check out the cute overalls, Farmer Brown, and don't miss the nifty sneakers (thanks Cynthia & Steve).






















And for those of you who know our 'problem kitty,' Seamus, you'll be really pleased to see this.... Apparently, Seamus' need for attention has finally overridden his skepticism about Eli.

Eli on his way to sleepy town.


No dad, template parameters in C++ have to be compile-time constants, jeesh!


Thomas thinks Eli makes a good addition to the cuddle-huddle.

Two Weeks Old and Home Alone

Eli was two weeks old on Wednesday - my how the time has flown. We "celebrated" with a checkup at the doctor's office. Eli pretty much thought this was a bad way to celebrate and let us all know about it by peeing on the doctor's scales. But despite being rather unhappy, he did get a good report and had gained weight (9lbs 10oz).

Chris went back to work yesterday, which we were all sad about. Eli and I managed by ourselves, but neither of us was very happy about it. We also learned an important lesson, don't try and take the baby out of his swing no matter how sound asleep he seems!

Grandpa and Grandma and Great-Grandma came for another visit last weekend. Somehow they seem to think Eli is better than sliced bread and who are we to argue with such sage opinions.



Can't you spice things up Grandpa? No offense, but I'm a little bored.












Grandma had a lot to say to me, I agreed with all of it - particularly the part where she said I was pretty cute.

Eli goes downtown

Yesterday Sherry and I put Eli in the carrier and walked downtown to do some errands. I had tried it out the day before doing a once around the block. The carrier works well and he really likes it; he fell asleep quickly both times. A healthy alternative to putting him in the car (which has a similar effect). Another interesting thing is that, when you are carrying a baby, everyone smiles at you. Actually they are smiling at Eli, but all he can see a big blurry blobs at 12 inches, so I doubt he can tell.

I will say carrying him just a few blocks has given me even more respect for Sherry toting him around for 9 months, especially toward the end. No wonder she was always so tired.

The Pea Patch Post

Following in the footsteps of news from the crib and our little blog is the pea patch post. We all eagerly await the arrival of James and Delana's sweet pea.

Another Photo

Here is another photo. I feel bad that Eli is sleeping in all the photos thus far, but to be honest, he mostly does exactly that, when not eating or burping or getting changed. He is starting to have some alert time, so at least his eyes are open in this one.

On another note I got my first handful of heavily processed green-yellow cottage cheese while changing Eli's diaper. Sherry laughed so hard she cried. Fun times.

One Week Old

Eli is one week old today! The time has really flown by.

His juandice is better and he is back up and over his birth weight.

The cats are adjusting. In particular Thomas is the most comfortable with Eli, which astounded us. Last night he supervised the burping. Some times when Eli is fussy/crying he goes and sits in front of whomever is holding him and purrs of all things. Annie is pretty much ignoring Eli as expected and Seamus is getting more comfortable but hates it when he cries (he runs).

The first pediatrician visit

Eli had his first trip to see the pediatrician today. The car trip went well, he likes to ride evidently, but he did not care for the doctors office much nor the fact that he had to be stripped naked. He protested vigorously.

The good news is that he has gained back an ounce from the seven he lost and is doing well. He is still jaundiced and it has gotten a little worse, but we hope it has peaked today.

I finally got a chance to take a decent close up for everyone to see our little man.

Eli has more visitors

My sister Melissa and her husband Randy and her 3J's (Jordon, Jared, and Jada) came to see Eli yesterday. Missy picked up Eli when she first got here and we about had to pry him out of her hands when they left. It is a good thing I have our car seat so strapped in our truck or she might have tried to take him home!

Eli is home

We made it home today. I have to say that first car seat baby insertion was tough, which is embarrassing given I am an engineer. Driving has taken on a different feel too as I drove home like a old man.

Eli is still doing really well and is such a good baby. He is starting to be more alert now, looking around. He is eagerly awaiting a visit from his Aunt Melissa, Uncle Randy, and cousins tomorrow.

Eli Gets some Early Visitors

Eli had some visitors soon after his arrival, Grandma and Grandpa Joines and Great-Grandma Truitt. They said he was cute, but they are a bit biased.

Eli is doing well. He is nursing better today and is a pretty happy baby. Sherry and I are very lucky.

We appreciate all the congratulations and hope to get in touch with everyone after we get more on the job training over the next week.

Sherry sends a big hello.

Eli Arrives!

Sherry and I are elated to announce the arrival of Eli Christopher Wyatt at 10:50 AM on Wednesday September 10th. He weighed in at a whopping 9 lbs 6 oz and a length of 21.5 inches, a surprise to everyone.

Sherry is very tired, as you can imagine but is recovering well. Eli is doing very good. I am beside myself.

The Day Before

Well, it looks like tomorrow is the day. Sherry and I are both ready (Sherry especially). I could not pass up one last chance to get another photo. Keep refreshing your browser, hopefully the next post will have a picture of a baby in it!

We're all a-twitter with anticipation....

Can't you tell how excited Annie, Seamus and Thomas are about the upcoming arrival?

The woes of pregnancy

Yeah, Daddy thinks he's a real funny man, but he wouldn't be laughing if HE was the one that felt like a weeble-wobble.

An early Photo

I really hope our little one does not look like Boss Hog from the Dukes of Hazard.