Eli's World Tour

After arriving in Madison on Tuesday, Shelby and I realized that we are leaving for Brazil in less than 10 weeks - and we don't have a passport for Eli yet! Yesterday we learned that Kinkos doesn't take passport photos of babies, so we had to schedule a portrait sitting at a photo studio. Fortunately, Eli was wearing reasonable nice clothes and was in a smiling mood. 

The notion of having baby pictures in a passport seems silly. By the time Eli is even 1 year old, he won't resemble his passport picture. Yet, rules are rules. So we picked up the portraits this morning and submitted them, along with a mountain of other paperwork, to the State Department for passport processing.

We also stopped by the pediatrician yesterday. Eli is now tipping the scales at 11 Lb, 14 Oz. He is still very small for his age, approximately the 5th percentile.

Eli Posturing

The warm weather in St. Louis continued today. Yesterday we took full advantage. Shelby and I walked Triscuit around her parents' neighborhood in the morning. In spite of Triscuit's ongoing foot issues, he was excited to sniff the trees and explore a new area. 

Eli also had a series of new adventures. First we met with our friends Lauren and Jeff (along with their 1 year-old Elizabeth). It was our first time meeting Elizabeth and a pleasant reminder of what we can expect in about a year. We then visited Grandma and Grandpa's store where Eli was the center of attention for more than an hour. 

After we returned home, Shelby, Grandma, and I walked Triscuit and Eli down to the nearest playground. At first we had to help another family retrieve a remote controlled airplane from a tree, but then we were able to spend time on the swing, the slide, and the tall tornado slide. Gail and Shelby were a little concerned when I brought Eli all the way up the tornado slide, but that just heightened their relief when we made it down safely. Perhaps most importantly, Eli seemed to enjoy himself, provided I didn't swing too high.

Today was spent at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Shelby's friend Julie visited with Eli over lunch. Later, her friends Gena (along with husband John and 1 year old Leah) and Mandy (along with her husband Mike and their 3 year old Max and 1 year old Evie) turned the house into toddler central. Four babies and toddlers in the house at once was a little chaotic - particularly since all the toddlers were very wary of Triscuit. For his part, Triscuit was mild mannered and inquisitive. It was a good day to spend inside, as the warm weather gave way to torrential rain and gale force winds. 

Tomorrow we expect to spend the day with Grandma and Grandpa. We might go shopping, or we might simply hang around the house.

Eli's Christmas Roll

This has been an exciting and confusing week. It started innocently enough - Shelby and I went to the gym on Monday morning for a swim. I flew to New York for a business meeting and expected to return on Tuesday night. Unfortunately, a snowstorm paralyzed the midwest on Tuesday. For a while, my flight looked like one of the only ones that would make it to Chicago. I boarded the plane and thought I had beaten the odds. After about ten minutes, we were pulled off the plane and told the flight was cancelled. Due to the number of other cancelled flights and busy travel period, seats on other flights were scarce. Eventually I managed to catch a flight to Dallas, leaving at about 9PM. I arrived in Dallas at 1 in the morning and slept for a few hours in the Hyatt attached to the airport. Before I left the airport for the hotel, I arranged a seat on the direct flight from Dallas to Madison on Wednesday morning. I woke up and took the shuttle to the airport. On my way to the terminal, Shelby called and told me that the flight to Madison had just been cancelled. I then arranged to fly to Chicago, expecting to arrive around 12. The only flight with seats on it from Chicago to Madison was scheduled to leave at 11. I asked American Airlines to give me a seat on that flight, in spite of the scheduling. I arrived in Chicago around 12 and discovered, after running through the airport, that the Madison flight had not left yet. I was able to jump on that flight and make it home by mid-afternoon, tired but intact. I spent the rest of Christmas Eve with Shelby and Eli, watching several episodes of Newsradio and basically trying to rest. 

Yesterday we got up early and loaded the car for a drive to St. Louis. It took us nearly two hours to get everything packed and loaded. We drove to St. Louis to visit Grandma Gail and Grandpa Allan. The drive was challenging. No restaurants were open, so places to change Eli were few and far between. We stopped at a gas station near Oglesby and a rest stop near Springfield. Neither was ideal for changing Eli. All told, it took us about seven hours to arrive in St. Louis. 

After arriving, Eli responded to his seven hour confinement by having an unusual amount of energy. So much so, in fact, that he rolled over from his stomach to his back for the first time! He did it several times!! 

After his playtime, we all retired to bed by about 9. We are trying hard to get Eli into a pattern of sleeping from 9-7. Since our trips a few weeks ago, Eli's sleeping has become more irregular. He now wakes at least twice a night, and I don't think any of us are particularly happy about that. Perhaps by lengthening the 'night' window he will become more regular. If nothing else, it should allow us to get more rest! One side effect to new parent-dom is that it is almost impossible to shake a cold. I've had a sore throat since Thanksgiving that I just can't shake - though I'm pretty sure it is exacerbated by lack of sleep. After getting a solid rest last night, even just for one night, it began to feel better. 

Eli's first hanukah

As you can see, Eli is enjoying his first hanukah gift -- a stuffed curious george!  Thanks to Grandpa Allan and Grandma Gail for sending it along.  We will wait until Dave returns before opening the others.  And, as you can see Triscuit also enjoyed his gift :)

Well, I know I haven't posted much in awhile.  But, I thought I would share an image of the snow in Madison for all those folks who live somewhere warmer.  Yes, there is a lot of snow here and we are supposed to get another 8 to 14 inches between now and Wednesday night.  Needles to say, I think we are on pace for  a record December snowfall (35 inches was the past record).  You can also see how Eli gets all suited up for the cold weather.  Fortunately, he has a bigger warm suit (thanks G.G. Roz!) for January when he starts getting even bigger!  On top of his suit, he gets a blanket and a cover for his car seat.  I think he actually gets quite hot in there, once we come inside.

I'll write more later with new pics from Hanukah.....so you'll have to sit tight and wait for those!

Pictures

Here are some pictures from the last two weeks.

Eli and the Chancellor

This week was eventful. As soon as we returned from San Juan, we turned our attention to an important presentation on Friday. Once a year, the UW-Madison Chancellor, along with the Medical School, Graduate School, and Vet School deans, visit our department. This year, I was asked to give a spotlight presentation on our research. Because of my commitments in San Juan, I volunteered Shelby and one of my graduate students to give the presentation. About two weeks ago, I learned that I too had to give a (different) presentation. So both Shelby and I spent much of our time this week preparing our talks. Fortunately, the talks went very well. 

Except that the major winter storm that traversed the northern half of the country played havoc with our best laid plans. Eli's day care was cancelled, requiring us to bring him with us to the meeting. We weren't sure who would watch him, but we didn't have many other choices. Lucky for us, one of our colleagues offered to keep an eye on him. He behaved himself and even got to see monkeys up close and personal (through a protective glass wall). 

Several feet of snow now blanket Madison. At least two accidents have occurred right in front of our house, including one hit and run that required me to call 911. Two cars were hit by an out of control car coming down the hill. One of the cars that got hit had its door smashed in, so the passengers couldn't get out. Like last year, we will need to have our neighbors get our mail because we can't get to the mailbox!

Eli is coping well with snow. He seems to like going out and seeing new places. This morning he got to spend time at the health club while Shelby swam and I ran. After that, he went to the coffee shop, the grocery store, and the book store. So much excitement! He behaved well all morning and has actually been on good behavior all day. 

The upcoming week should be busy. I have to go to New York Monday/Tuesday for a meeting, so Shelby and Eli will have the house to themselves. Later in the week, we'll take our longest ever driving trip with Eli, as we visit grandparents Gail and Allan in St. Louis. Six hours in the car with Eli promises to be...interesting. 

The Lil' Traveller

It has been an incredibly busy week since the last blog entry. Eli explored San Juan with his grandparents, while Shelby and I organized and participated in a scientific conference. We all stayed at the Ritz-Carlton, a very fancy hotel distinguished by its terrific pool/beach and its unbelievably expensive drinks. Eli got to dip his feet in the pool and play a little bit in the sand. Shelby and I also had a few opportunities to escape from the meeting and play in the ocean. The night of Eli and Shelby's arrival, we went out for a business dinner that never quite materialized (the wait at the restaurant was too long and the restaurant too trendy). The next night we went out for a quiet dinner with Eli and my friends George and Katie (and Katie's sister). It was nice to escape from the pressure of the conference and spend time with personal friends. Eli behaved himself for the most part in the restaurant, though he is once again fussing quite a lot at night. Thursday night (note that I am only talking about the nights, because Eli spent the days with grandma and grandpa mostly) we went out to dinner as a family. Eli got fussy during dinner, so I ended up walking him around old San Juan for thirty minutes while he tried to put himself to sleep. The Christmas lights captivated him, and he simply didn't want to sleep, lest he miss some of the excitement. Eventually he went to sleep and I got to finish dinner.

Our meeting ended on Friday afternoon and I planned a kayak tour with my coworkers and colleagues to celebrate. Grandma and Grandpa agreed to watch him so we could tour the bioluminescent bay closest to San Juan. We were gone from about 4:30-10, and it sounds like Eli fussed - loudly - the entire time. So our first Adventure in Babysitting was not terribly successful.

We woke up early the next morning and began the long journey home. We left the hotel at 5 AM and didn't arrive in Madison until 7PM San Juan time. We flew through Miami, had a quick pit stop and Grandma and Grandpa's house, and then drove back to Madison. Eli was definitely more interested in his surroundings on the plane this trip, but he was still very well behaved. While we are happy this trip went smoothly, we are still trepidation about taking him to Brazil in March!

Back in Madison, it is very cold and snowy. The ground is icy and the temperatures hovered around zero for the last two days. These are the unfortunate days of the year when daylight is short and it is simply uncomfortable (and a bit dangerous) to spend time outside. Hopefully these days will pass quickly and it will be spring before we know it. One slightly interesting consequence of Eli's first few months is that we are watching much less TV than before - so much so that we cancelled our cable service this week. Unfortunately we still need to pay the cable company to receive the broadcast networks and their HD signals (living in a valley next to a forest prevents simple antennas from working well), but we will see if we miss not having hundreds of channels (with nothing on).

Puerto Rico

The family is now in Puerto Rico. From all accounts, Eli was a superstar on the plane. Very little fussing at all. Now everyone is relaxing and settling into the hotel. Dave gave his talks at his business meeting already and is now transitioning into his role as meeting co-chair. This should be easier than what he's done the last few days - if all goes well, it's all downhill from here. 

Oh, and there is a lot of snow in Madison. If you're reading this from there, suffice it to say the weather is nicer here!

dave

The sound of silence

The colds that Shelby and I have given back and forth to one another have now given way to laryngitis -- for us! Eli taunts us with his healthy, working, yelling vocal chords. This hasn't stopped us from taking pictures, though!

The last few days have been hectic as we prepare to go to Puerto Rico next week. Shelby prepared a poster describing her recent research, while I dealt with last-minute planning for the meeting and making my own talk for a satellite meeting that precedes the meeting that I'm hosting. We leave on Saturday for Chicago and I fly to San Juan the next day. Shelby, Grandma Linda, and Grandpa Mike fly to San Juan on Tuesday. Tomorrow we will gather the supplies and start loading the car. 

In other travel news, the ever lengthening trips with Eli just keep coming. It looks like we are going to spend two weeks with Eli in Brazil in March. Let him see how the Southern hemisphere looks during our winter. If he were old enough to understand, he would be confused. All readers who think that we are nuts for taking him to Brazil in March can register their (roundly ignored) comments in the appropriately named 'comments' section. I, for one, think it will be a great adventure. 

Eli's first parent -teacher conference

We had our first parent-teacher conference today.  Eli is doing well.  The biggest thing is that he is very alert and seems interested in all that is going on around him.  I would agree with that!

I think Dave filled you in on most of the happenings.  We did have a nice thanksgiving.  I posted a picture of that above.  The other pics are some random cute ones we have.  Eli is also spending more time on his tummy.  You can see he likes his tummy time mat and we have another tummy time spinny thing that I'll have to post a picture of later.

He is also practicing sitting up.  But, I can only have him up in  a corner or on my lap.  Otherwise he falls over, which is no good.