6 Months

On January 25th Eli turned 6 months old. It was crazy to look at our little guy and think that much time had already passed. I swear he grows right in front of my eyes. Sometimes I put him in his crib and the next morning he comes out bigger!!! Since Eli is now 6 months that means it is time for yet another well visit to the doctors office. I look forward to these appointment because I get to hear about how Eli is growing and what to expect next, but I also hate them because it means that it is time for those dreaded shots!!

This visit went very well. I didn't really have to wait in the waiting room at all. Eli was in such a good mood during this visit which is nice not to have a tired and grouchy little guy. He let the doctor check him all out and all cried when the doctor rolled him over. Eli didn't like that because he was having fun playing with something and the doctor made him stop.

Things about the visit to remember....

• The first thing the doctor said when he entered the room is. That is a big boy. He has grown a lot since our last visit. I of course loved and hated hearing this at the same time. Nothing makes me happier then to have a healthy strong big boy, but of course I want him to stay our baby FOREVER.
  
• The doctor was asking me some routine questions about Eli, and he was shocked to hear that for the past two weeks Eli has propped himself up on his knees and has been rocking back and forth. I guess this isn't supposed to happen for another month or so. We are very excited for Eli to start crawling even though I am sure I will be a lot busier. I am positive Eli will be happier with the new freedom he will have.


• When the nurse came to give Eli his shots he was just talking and playing with his Binky. I think he loved that he was naked (for some reason all little boys seem to love this freedom). She started to hold down his legs and he didn't cry, but he was not going to let her do that. It was cute to see him try to be the boss. Then things turned sad really fast and she put the first 3 shots in his tiny legs. (which the nurse said shouldn't hurt him too bad because they were nice and chunky) He cried for only a second and then she got his other leg with two more. At that point Eli had it and was very upset and let me know it. I quickly scooped him up and he stopped crying, but gave the nurse a look like I am going to remember who you are!

Eli's current stats are:

Height: 27.5 in - 80th%

Weight: 20 lbs 10 oz - 90th%

Head circumference: 16.5 in - 10th%

The pictures on here I took a few weeks ago. Eli was taking a nap and I started to hear a little voice coming from his room. When I went in this is what I saw. It was so cute seeing his little eyes looking up at me while he was sucking on his ducks foot. I have caught him doing this one other time and it was funny because he was obviously using the foot at a Binky. I guess he couldn't find his Binky so the foot would have to do.

Meet Edward

This is Edward....

Here is the story of Edward.

When Eli was around 4 weeks old my mom was convinced that if I just bought him a toy that he could look at that he would start reaching and trying to touch it. I wasn't sure if she was right, but I figured that time would come soon enough so I should buy one now. I figured the earlier the better. Jacob and I ran to Target and we spent a good amount of time looking at the toys they had for children his age. We finally saw this blue elephant that seemed perfect. We thought he was colorful, he was long so Eli wouldn't have to reach so far. Also if you pulled on him he would wiggle back up. I loved that Edward also had colorful feet and knots for knees. We also purchased a rattle with a frog and lady bug on it. Even though Eli got two toys Edward was his favorite.

We put Edward on his seat and Eli would just stare at it. I think he liked the colors. Jacob thinks he liked his ears, and my mom was convinced that Eli liked the smile on his face. Either way Edward was a hit. A few weeks passed and Edward only received play time with Jacob and I pulling him to make him wiggle. Eli still only stared at him. I have a very vivid memory of when Eli first reached up and started to touch him. Eli was in his car seat on the ground and I was talking to someone. I looked over and I saw this little hand reach up nice and wide and touch Edwards feet. Eli continued to move his feet back a forth for a few minutes. I was so excited I told Jacob all about it and I was so proud of my little boy. (of course every mother thinks her child is brilliant).

Life with Edward was great whenever Eli really didn't want to be in his seat a nice tug on Edward would cheer him right up. Also sometimes I would pull Edward to the side and let him lay in the seat with Eli. Eli would hold Edward's feet when he would take his naps. Like I said life with Edward was fun. About two weeks ago Eli made the next progressive step with Edward. I was getting ready to leave our house and all the sudden I heard Edward pull down and rattle back up. Knowing Eli and I were the only ones home I knew Eli had pulled Edward. Now when we have him in his seat most the time all we hear is Edward moving up and down.

I know to most, this story is boring and wondering why I want to remember it, but to me, I treasure it. I often think back to when Edward was new and Eli would just stare, what progress he has made. I am now only starting to realize all the fun I am going to have watching our baby boy grow into a man. I still feel he is growing to fast, but I treasure and try to soak up every second of it.

Everyday is an adventure to Eli

Aunt Katie was in town and whenever she comes to town she takes fun pictures of Eli. Here are some of her latest.

Eli just being cute little Eli.

A few weeks a go Eli found his tongue. I am sure he always knew it was there, but now it has become a little toy of his. He sticks it out, makes funny faces with it, and even sucks on it sometimes. It is really cute.

Oh look at those cheeks I just love them!

Best of 2008

Jacob and I thought it would be fun to sum up the end of every year. So here are some things about 2008....

Music Jacob and I liked...
Katy Perry - Hot N Cold
Lady Gaga - Just Dance
Ingrid Michaelson- The way I am
Jason Maraz - I'm Yours
Mirah- The Garden
Beyonce- Single Ladies
Natasha Bedingfeild - Pocketful of Sunshine
Rhiana- Disturbia
T.I. - Whatever You Like
Taylor Swift- Love Story
Yael Naim- New Soul

Movies we liked in 2008 -
Cloverfeild
10,000 B.C
Iron Man
Incredible Hulk
Get Smart
Valkyrie
The Dark Knight
James Bond- Quantum Solice
Australia

Major Events...
Eli's Birth
Jacob Malanr's Birth
Obama elected president
Michael Phelps gets 8 gold medals

Jacob and I also made two polls this year on our blog

The first was a picture of Eli and we asked which on of us everyone thought he looked like.

1 Person voted neither (I don't think this person even knew us)

6 People voted for me

15 People voted for Jacob

The Second poll was about the color of the school bus' one day on the way to the trainer Jacob and I got in this big debate over what color they were. I said they used to be yellow, but now they are more of an orange color. Jacob said they are still yellow and that I did not know my colors. The results sided with Jacob, but I still say they are orange!!

4 People said Orange

13 People said Yellow

Monday Night Football

My dad called me up and told me that the attorney of the Cardinals had called him up he was given two tickets to watch the Monday night Cardinals game against the San Fransisco 49er's from the owners box. The attorney had invited all of the new legislatures to different games but they had been waiting for a Monday night football game because several of the legislatures are LDS. My dad's first question to the attorney was is this legal and the attorney's reply was, it is until you are sworn in, and then we can't do this anymore. Lucky for me my mom is not a football fan so my dad invited me instead. So Monday about 4:30 my dad, and two other legislaters including the speaker of the house headed out to Glendale to see the game, which was actually my very first Cardinals game and my first time to go in the new Glendale arena. We arrived about 35 minutes before the game parked in the VIP parking and then went through a side entrance into where the box seats are. As the six of us walked by the boxes, we saw lots of people inside and lots of food, until we came to our box that was not numbered and was completely closed off and there standing in front of the entrance to the double doors was a huge body guard.

We asked him if this was the owers box and he said it was, and greeted us by name and didn't even ask to see our tickets which surprised me. We went inside to see a room full of Bidwell family members Michael, Nicole and Bill Bidwell (Michael and Nicole are the son and daughter of Bill) also attorneys and heads of security for the Cardinals and some retired hall of fame NFL players one being Aeneas Williams. We were introduced to everybody and everyone was very nice until they realized that I was just the son and no one was too interested in speaking with me. One of the Cardinals lawyers, I believe, came up to me and started speaking with me and introduced himself and then I introduced myself as the son of Cecil Ash and he said well enjoy the game and then went off to speak with my father, I guess I wasn't important enough for him to stay and talk to.

Anyway, the game was great and the seats were great, we were right next to the anouncers box and we could see them infront of the cameras commenting on the game. There was every kind of food imaginable from steak and garlic mashed potatoes to pizza, hamburgers, shrimp, chocolate covered strawberries that were in the shape of footballs, chips and dip and tons more, they even had a chocolate fountain. During the game the Cardinals Mascott and cheerleaders came up to say hi to everyone and totally against my will I was forced to take a picture with them, but I was thinking about Stacy the entire time.

It was a great experience and a great game, one that I will never forget. The Cardinals ended up winning 29-24 and it came down to the last play with the 49ers on the 1 1/2 yard line and the Cardinals had to hold them on 4th down to win the game and they did! Everyone in the owners box was jumping up and down and giving high fives and hugging one another. It was a great experience, one I will never forget! Here is a good picture if anyone wants to blackmail my dad down the road. J/k don't really do that.