A is for...

Apartment Search

This weekend we set out to find an apartment in Fargo. We drove up to Fargo Friday night and started to take in the sights. We were out for dinner and then checked out the mall Down the road.
After a night on the town we went back to settle in at our hotel. The next morning we were set to look at 8 different apartments. But that wasn't necessarily in the cards.

Appendectomy

When we got back to the hotel Ty was having severe pain and we had to find an emergency room. After many different tests, the doctor finally decided to take out Ty's appendix. At 4 am the doctor removed his appendix. That meant I was going to be searching for apartments while Ty recovered. The search was over after looking at just 2 apartments. I chose the first one I had looked at and I was able to go back to the hospital to be with Ty. After being awake 36 hours straight we were on the road heading home, short an appendix but with a new place to live. Ty is doing well. He is still in pain, but he is taking it easy. Hopefully, Ty will be ready to help with moving in 2 weeks. It's coming so fast! So much to do, so little time.

Eli playing with Mia while staying with Grandma Leslie

How Far(will we)go?

As many of you know, we have been really trying to get back to the Chippewa area. It's been hard to do that. Ty has been on the job hunt and finally had a major breakthrough. We affectionately call it a "big boy job." Sadly, we have had to debate throughout this process how Far(we will)go for a job. Well, if you haven't guessed by now, we will be moving to Fargo, North Dakota. Ty was hired on at Xcel Energy as a Gas and Electric designer. This has all been a whirlwind and we are saddened and excited by this news. We are looking forward to starting out in a new city and trying to make it our home. We are sad to be leaving so many friends and family behind, but we know we are doing what is best for our family in the present and for the future. If anyone is looking to spend some time in a windy subzero climate, you are more than welcome to come for a visit! We would love to have you!

In other news, Eli as been growing like a little weed recently. He is 7 months old now! Where does the time go? He starting to crawl and is a smiley little guy in the midst of teething. Eli loves eating avocado and enjoys playing with cousin Judah whenever he gets the chance. Mommy loves taking his picture and playing with her smiley guy on the floor. Since we will be moving, I will try to be more timely with my posts.

Playing Catch Up

With Christmas almost here, we have been very busy. Mainly, Eli has been keeping me busy, not so much the Christmas shopping and decorating. Eli has been growing and changing SO much. At 4 months Eli needed his first hair cut, and at 5 months we experienced his first cold. It is amazing how little the cold effected Eli, but how it just wiped me out. Maybe that is because the cold made it difficult for Eli to sleep making it near impossible for me to get any sleep :)

Since getting over his cold, Eli has begun eating solid foods. His Doctor recommended we start with Avocado and Egg Yolks. The egg yolks were not a hit at all. The avocado, on the other hand, he has loved eating. We even tried some sweet potatoes and carrots. He is a really good eater and so far not picky AT ALL! Now we are looking forward to his first Christmas and spending time with family. We already had Christmas with Great Grandpa and Grandma McDaniel and have many more to go. We can't wait. 

Here are some pictures, I have been TERRIBLE about posting. 

Sleep? What's that?

Many mothers can relate, sleep  is not something that you get much of when you have children. I can remember people telling me when I was pregnant, "You had better enjoy all of the sleep because soon you won't be getting any."

Its funny to me, when I talk to my friends who don't have kids, they always ask, "How are things going?" I tell them, "Really well, Eli slept for 4 hours at a time last night." They laugh and then ask, "Is that a lot?" I just smile and say, "It sure is better than waking up every 2 hours." I am getting used to the schedule that Eli has me on lately. The problem comes when he switches things up...

Elias normally goes to sleep anywhere from 8-10pm and will wake up every 4 hours until 8:30am! That's right he usually sleeps in, it is SO nice. But the other night, he decided to wake up for his 4am feeding and and it became a 4am wake up call. The only thing that put him to sleep was the swing. So, two hours after Ty had left for work, he FINALLY went back to sleep. It really makes me appreciate the mornings that he sleeps in, because I rarely have to say, "Sleep? What's that?"

Rolling with the Changes

Over the last year, we have had some significant changes in our family. We have lost a great man, who we were finally able to bury this weekend, but where we lost my grandpa we gained Judah and Elias. Of course there were the weddings, two in less than seven months. My parents are officially empty nesters and grandparents. Who would have thought that a year would bring so much change?

People always say, "Children grow up so fast. Enjoy every minute." I never really believed them. I can remember my mom saying, "It seems like yesterday you were a baby. What happened?" Now, I can see why they say that. Just two months ago Eli weighed 5lbs 11oz. At his last check up he was 11lbs 7oz and had grown two and a half inches. His feet have started to hang off my lap when I hold him. He is so interactive and alert. He is soaking up every little thing including food. He now smiles and laughs and plays with us while we hold him. Although I miss the days when it was easy to get him to nap, I am enjoying every moment I have with him awake. Today, he rolled over for the first time. I couldn't believe it! He is growing up so fast I feel like if I blink I will miss it.

On The Move

Ever since Elias was born, we have been on the go. Only 9 days after Elias was born, my sister and her husband had their beautiful baby boy Judah Harrison Cohoon. We were so thrilled that we had to drive all the way to Milwaukee. Eli is a trooper in the car. He didn't fuss once and loved meeting his new cousin. We call them cousin twins because they are so close in age. We have been home on the weekends trying to introduce Elias to everyone. He met his new friend Malachi and Great Grandparents. Cousins took turns holding him and friends from church were excited to see him. This weekend, we are just going to be staying in River Falls.

cousin twins

Elias and mom are ready to relax, so this week, we are just staying around the house. We are slowly getting into a routine, but when all he wants to do is sleep all day, it is hard to see when one nap ends and the next begins. We are just trying to get caught up doing all of the things I meant to do before Elias came.

The Best Day of our Lives

On Saturday, Ty and I headed for what we thought was a nice relaxing trip to visit my grandparents in Waseca, MN. The morning started out with what I thought were just some braxton hicks contractions. We drove the two hours thinking, "We are 36 weeks pregnant there is no way that the baby is coming today." While we were eating dinner and chatting with my family, I started to notice that the contractions were getting stronger and closer together. On the way home, we started timing the contractions. When we got to the car in Hudson, we thought we would just stop over to the hospital and ask a few questions. We were admitted and after two hours they decided to keep us.

Daddy holding Elias

Proud Papa and Nana Mac holding their first grandson

Grandma Leslie holding Elias at the hospital

I couldn't believe it! I kept telling Ty, I am not ready. It can't be happening now, because I am not ready. They broke my water and about three hours later at 4:48am. He weighed 6lbs 8oz and was 19.25in long. I guess even when you aren't ready the baby comes and some how you get ready. We couldn't be happier. Welcome to the world Elias Tyler Perrenoud, Mommy and Daddy are so happy you are here!