Thu, 21.08.2008 22:52
congrats all the way from NY!
~J
Wed, 20.08.2008 19:44
congrats!!! tres anos!!!
Mon, 04.08.2008 21:16
nice gate. you do good work
~Jannae
Mon, 14.07.2008 01:03
hey pat the mini you is
looking adorable!!
-heidi
Mon, 07.07.2008 08:53
A great amount of the
information that you may learn
of dealing with this matter
are very knowledgeable, while
many are not.
Sun, 29.06.2008 11:41
Love the pic with the cell
phone. I'm telling ya! A cell
phone with all the aunts and
uncles on speed dial - its
gonna be sweet!
~Jannae
Sun, 15.06.2008 06:21
Happy Father's Day!!
~Kat
Tue, 03.06.2008 22:07
Whether you made them do it or
they did it of their own
fruition... The props room
looks great!
~J
Sat, 10.05.2008 15:47
(for Sara tomorrow) Happy
Mother's Day!!!
~Kat
Sat, 10.05.2008 15:43
How cute!! You guys make the
most adorable family - seeing
so many smiles warms the
heart
~Kat
Sat, 10.05.2008 06:23
cleaning up the yard!? I know
how to do that, you can call
if you need help- wouldn't
want moms first present to
miss getting planted. so
excited that we might get to
see him on a normal basis as
he changes SO fast. theresa
Fri, 09.05.2008 13:45
fyi---runny noses/cold
sympyoms often go hand in hand
with teething.
he is getting SO big!!! what
a handsome lil' man!! we
gotta come see you guys
soon!
~kathy
Sun, 27.04.2008 18:52
dadys little boy is getting so
big. hope all is well and lots
of love. hope to talk to you
soon. julie
Sun, 27.04.2008 17:57
Hey man - foolishly or not,
One World Day turned out
sweet!
Sun, 17.02.2008 21:50
Eli is so cute!!!!! Pat, you
and Sara have made a beautiful
child. I'll be coming into
town for "spring break" on Feb
23. I'm home all week and I
would love to hang out with
Eli! -Imp
Mon, 11.02.2008 20:36
Hi Pat and Sara, I can't
believe you're a dad, I still
see you and Sam in your Mickey
Mouse ears when you were
three. Your baby is
adorable!!! Sarah is due any
time. Sandi Reck
Sun, 03.02.2008 21:46
thanks forthe cute pictures.
Eli is the cutiest baby. I
look at the pictures every
night and smile. thanks again
mom
Sat, 02.02.2008 20:44
hope all is well with you guys
~Charity
Mon, 28.01.2008 12:39
Get well soon!
--Fajita
Wed, 16.01.2008 22:46
Sara, your family is so
handsome. Now you are out
numbered 2 to 1. Hope you
have a prosperous year.
Deedre
Tue, 15.01.2008 14:22
hey pat, if ya didn't hear i'm
on my way to Switzerland
already, sorry i didn't get a
chance to see you before i
left it was all kind of short
notice. shoot me an email
because i don't think i have
your adress on my laptop.
Robby
Sun, 23.12.2007 20:10
sooo cute with the little pooh
hoody.
-- Fajita
Thu, 20.12.2007 21:54
Hey Pat!!! Congrats to you and
Sara both... I really want to
meet the little guy we should
set up a "play" date for the
boys... Nikki
Wed, 19.12.2007 18:59
pat! i still can't believe you
are a dad now! i owe you lunch
/ dinner. call me!
-4est
Mon, 17.12.2007 15:37
awww its a wittle pat! wow has
life moved on or what? when i
look back to the first year i
knew you i feel... old. im
glad you are getting the best
out of life and found a
wonderfull (and hot) woman to
share it with
~alyssa
Sat, 08.12.2007 17:42
We are so happy for you guys!
Eli is a beautiful baby, and
we can't wait to meet him.
All out best.
Cere & Gareth
Thu, 06.12.2007 14:59
The babies are sooo cute!
Can't to see them when I come
home for Christmas!
Congrats!
Kim
Wed, 05.12.2007 20:28
He he he... so, I think I
might have found Eli's first
coloring book:
Wed, 05.12.2007 11:58
talk about a beautiful baby.
congrats. congrats. hope all
is well. if you ever need a
night out let me know i would
love to baby sit. send my love
to all. julie
Sun, 02.12.2007 21:03
Sara, you have a gorgeous
family and I hope you
recovered well for the
holiday!! We love you folks so
much and look forward to
talking with you soon!! T, B,
and John
Fri, 30.11.2007 13:44
I am so excited for you guys
- enjoy all the minutes
because they really do go
fast.
janis
Thu, 29.11.2007 19:47
now that logan has arrived,
let the games begin. there
goes the neighborhood,lol
-theresa
Tue, 27.11.2007 22:12
What a wonderful family! I am
so glad I got to visit you
guys, I hope Eli is doing
well! Much love to you
all!!!
-David
Sat, 24.11.2007 13:37
being a parent...the BEST gift
ever granted! We will be in
Lansing on monday, hopefully
we can stop in and see you
guys! We miss and love
you!
Ben and Kat
Thu, 22.11.2007 11:22
Happy Thanksgiving to you
all...Sara, you're looking
great! Take care,
Crystal
Wed, 21.11.2007 13:00
WOW.. That's a huge baby. He
looks strong and
healthy..Congratsto the new
Mom & Dad. I hope all contiues
to go well.
Seeley family
Wed, 21.11.2007 09:08
Congrats! I cannot wait to
hold him and spoil him! :)-
Karen
Its Labor Day weekend already, which pretty much signifies the end of summer... that being said its supposed to get into the high 80's for the next several days. I have so much more I want to do, summer cant be over... school starts Tuesday.
Eli had his 9 month check up not long ago. We have a healthy boy, a bit of a head cold, but that doesn't slow him down one bit. One of the things the Dr did say is that we can give him more of the food we eat, with the known exceptions.... which is good, because Eli is very interested in what we are eating.
Eli loves pizza, mainly he got crust, but it made him happy all the same.
We have been spending lots of time on the front porch, Eli loves being outside. The gate is still serving its purpose, keeping Eli safe, he doesn't always like the confinement.
Eli's favorite game is Peek-a-boo...
Eli loves the park...
They have these spring ride on toys...
and sandboxes!!! Eli insists on us having swings and a sandbox at home. I bet we can make that happen... He really enjoyed the sand, but discovered it is not for eating.
"YOU should be playing in the sandbox with me!"
Edward Jones took us out to the ball game...
.. and Eli loved it. He really loved the loud noises, and the huge baseball field. I think we will make the Lugnuts a much more regular thing next summer.
Three years ago today we were in Gladwin Michigan, the butterflies in our stomachs, and so much to do still.... a constant threat of thunderstorms but somehow they held off just long enough for our outdoor wedding. we barely made it in the door before it rained like crazy.
It seems like so long ago, so much has happened since then. New jobs, a baby, and so much more on the way...
Eli gave us a really nice anniversary gift, the gift of sleep. Eli slept for through the night for the first time last night. He was up for the day of 5:30am today, up for the day, but he didn't wake up before then! Hopefully this will become a common thing, we miss sleep.
Eli might have said his first word yesterday... we are in fact, quite sure. Eli has been babbling now for a long time, he has said the word "Dad" along with a mass of other words, but never with any intent. When you say "Mom" he will look at Sara, but he doesn't say it. You would expect a first word to be "mommy", "daddy", something like that... not our kid...that would be predictable...
Last night we were playing on the front porch blowing bubbles for Eli (I should mention bubbles are one of his favorite things) and it happened! Clear as day he is batting at the bubbles floating by and says "bubbles". Sara and I looked at each other for a second in complete disbelief. She continued to blow bubbles, still in a bit of shock, when he said it again!
We are planning on sitting outside again tonight with the bubbles and the video camera.
Eli is in constant motion. He is crawling super fast everywhere he can go, and pulling himself up on everything like its his job... which I guess it kind of is...
He seems to have less interest in us holding his hands and walking him, I think his independence is kicking in. He would rather crawl to one piece of furniture and try to climb it. He is definitely motivated, nothing seems to high to try and climb. We recently discovered that he is able to climb the stairs. Sara was standing at the top, and Eli and I were at the bottom, she started talking to him, and up he went. I didn't think he would be so fast, there really wasn't much of a "he can I do this?" it was more like "hey, Moms up there, I want to be up there too!"
We have so much more to share, another post will follow soon!
I built a baby gate for the front porch. Eli loves to be out there, but the thought of him finding the concrete stairs is not a pleasant one. I set up shop in the back yard and bought some cedar. It took far longer then it should have, as do most of my woodworking projects, but I think it turned out pretty nice. Cedar does not come nicely sanded like pine, and it seems to be larger and more inconsistent in size... so it was more.... interesting.
It is 7' long and taller then Eli. It needed a length requirement to span the opening of the porch steps. The height came mainly from Eli, can he climb over it.... will he be able to soon.... make it tall! It ended up almost 28" tall with the pads under it. I wanted it to be able to slide easily when not it use, so I added some nylon furniture glides under each end. I also put clear square soft plastic bumpers on the uprights to keep it from rubbing on the siding.
I glued everything using Titebond III. Its the best glue I have every used, its pricey but worth it. I used a 18ga brad nailer to hold it till the glue dried. It is finished with a semi gloss poly, two coats... it probably could have used a third.. but I had already taken so long. I used a T nut on the inside of the rails to attach the bungees on. I used 5/16" bolts with fender washers to hold the bungees to the wood, all stainless hardware as this is going to live outside. I used a plastic dip on the hooks so it looked less like your typical bungee and we could avoid direct contact with the railings... I don't want to paint them again. The bungees were 34" adjustable and double ended that I cut in half and used the existing holes for the bolts.
All set up in the backyard.
Eli inspecting the finished product in place.
What it looks like from the street.
It received the Eli stamp of approval.
Over all a pretty successful project, I think the gate will far out last Eli's need for it.
and just like that the month was gone. Summer is absolutely flying by, its been good, but it seems to be faster then I remember it being. So much has happened, but it is very much a happy blur...
Eli us crawling at warp speed now, and pulling himself up on everything he can.... which is just about everything. He has an odd interest in our VCR, though he has never really seen us use it. Eli is in the process of learning about gravity, a hard lesson indeed. "If I pull myself up on this, walk around for a bit, then let go... I wonder what will happen..." So far this has resulted in a few surprise landings, our hardwood floors are a bit less forgiving then carpet.
We sometimes watch "Paz" on TLC in the mornings. It is Eli's favorite thing on TV, he totally digs the theme song. He will whip around dropping whatever he is doing and look.... he even woke from a dead sleep to look at the TV, but only for a second before he was right back out.
Eli, Paz, and Guitar Hero
Eli was sleeping with his hands tucked behind his head, I thought it was adorable.
Ben came in and helped make the back yard look good. The following are not pictures of that, The are some I took around the yard though. we will put some of the finished back yard up as soon as it is photo worthy.
I went to the movies for the first time in a long time last night. My brother Dan and a bunch of his buddies were going to see Long Way Down, a motorcycle adventure movie... so naturally they all rode to the theater. It was about two guys that ride their BMW R 1200 GS Adventure motorcycles from Scotland to Cape Town, South Africa.
It was more of a documentary then a movie. There was no script, just the guys, their bikes... and a huge support structure. They had a 3rd bike, for the camera man, and 2 support 4x4s.
It was really cool to see so much of Africa in just two hours, and what a cool adventure, its a shame it was only in theaters for one night. From what I understand it is going to be cut up into a miniseries and put on TV eventually, look for it.
Here is a video with some of the footage from the movie.
You Tube has tons on it, definitely worth the time...
Pat
It's hard to believe summer is nearly half over, it always seems to be so short. We have been doing all kinds of stuff, but a really cool highlight is we took Eli to his first concert! We saw Lyle Lovett at Common Ground in downtown Lansing. We missed most of the opener, but the show was really good. He had his Large Band with him, and they had a local church choir sing a few songs with them also. It was a really great night...
Eli got his own wrist band. The black one on the top was his, it says "I'm a Common Ground kid".
We got Eli some shooting ear muffs to protect his ears, he really didnt seem to mind. He was able to sleep through the end of the concert they worked so good.
Eli hanging out at Common Ground. You Tube is still being glitchy, if it doesn't show up hit play anyway or refresh this page
Lyle Lovett and his large band, accompanied by a local church choir.
Before we went to the concert we dropped his crib to its lowest setting. This was a preventative measure as we didn't want him to be able to pull himself up and fall out. This morning he was crawling around, like most mornings, and found a bit of determination he had not before. He was able to pull himself to standing, totally on his own, to get something off of the footstool. Sara and I were both amazed and terrified. I will put video up as soon as he will allow.... every time I get the video camera out, he sits and looks at me.
Eli and Mom on the swings!
Eli on the swings at Moores Park. You Tube is still being glitchy, if it doesn't show up hit play anyway or refresh this page
He looks so happy, how could I not post this video.
I really love 3 day weekends, I think we should have lots more of them. Eli spend the weekend with Grandma and Grandpa Frank and Sara and I had a mini vacation. Sara surprised me with a night a Bed and Breakfast. We took to motorcycle to Coldwater, MI and stayed at the Chicago Pike Inn. Its a beautiful Victorian on the main road, stained glass though out, and fantastic food. The innkeepers also ride, he seemed pretty excited that someone rode in, so much so they insisted we park in their personal garage. It was a neat experience, I look forward to saying in a B and B again sometime.
On our way back we stopped in Marshall, MI for their 4th of July car show. Both sides of main street were lined with cars that could have been in museums. Marshall was a neat town, I guess they call it historic for a reason...
We picked Eli up today in Mt Pleasant, Grandma Frank said he had been really fussy due to his constant teething. We had no idea we would come home to 4 very visible teeth.
There were only 3 when we left just a few days ago, apparently he was busy chewing on stuff... it worked.
Its summer, we needs to have more play dates with our friends...
I can't wait to get together with our friends and have the kids be able to interact more. They always seems to enjoy it, and I know the adults to...
Eli has a Tupperware bowl we keep some of his toys in. We brought that bowl out and he immediately tried to grab for it, he knows thats his toy bowl... storage no more...
At the summer regional Eli was given a hat at one of the dinners. He really dug wearing it, and his sun glasses. He is such a good sport, and he was super cute. I thought he wouldn't like sunglasses and a hat.. he worked it.
We stopped in a park on the beach in Traverse City, and they had a swing set. I had no idea Eli would love swinging so much..
(You Tube is being funny, if the video is "no longer available" refresh this page)
This morning Eli decided he wanted to be up at 6am, like always. I brought him down stairs and put him on the floor to play. He has been trying to crawl for about a month now, his efforts were exhausting to watch, for hours at a time.
This morning his efforts finally payed off...
Its so cool... and absolutely terrifying all at the same time. In the past I could sit him down and he would pretty much be in the same place, rolling around and such... but now he is going to be everywhere!
It seems like this is all happening so fast, I had no idea he would grow up so fast. Looking back through the pictures I have taken he has changed so much. Our friends kids are no exception, Logan and Bobby Kidd are so different every time we see them... which pretty much means we don't get to see them enough. We were able to have Eli and Logan spend some time together at Theresa's wedding, and Eli has had a few play dates with Bobby Kidd. I hope we can get all the kids together to play much more often. Its so much fun to see them interact, and I really look forward to them all growing up and becoming good friends like we are with their parents.
Wedding bells have chimed, and my sister is happily married! All in all there was two ceremony's, one at their house in East Lansing, and one in Fife Lake. The first was very small and is where all the papers were signed.
Eli was a ham as always, he really wanted her bouquet.
It went really well, I think he is just happy she didn't bail on him. (just kidding)
June 28th, 2008
Theresa and Dad
The wedding party.
The kiss...
Sara and Eli, Kathy and Logan playing in the grass.
Eli all dressed up!
It was a really nice day, despite the pop up thunderstorms. Jesse's parents home on Fife Lake is really nice, a nearly perfect setting.
The day was good, the wedding was beautiful... and we wish the bride and groom all the best.
Edward Jones took the family to Grand Traverse Resort for a working retreat. Pretty much this means the financial advisers have meetings in the mornings, we have the afternoon to do what we want, and they buy all the food and drinks. They had several nice dinners and such for us, it was a good time. Eli got to go swimming for the first time!
Judging by the smile, I would say he had a good time.
They gave us a really nice room, 6th floor on the hotel side, with a really nice view.
We had some time to just wander around the city, it was kind of like a car show. There are so many classic cars in TC, this Porsche 911 is a prime example...
At one of the dinners they had a texting competition for the kids. They had to text a specific thing to the regional leader. Naturally this resulted in tons of texts coming from the employees them selfs. Eli was under the age requirement to compete, but if they have it next year he is already in training....
There was only one meal they didn't pay for, so we made the most of it. We took Eli to Hooters for the first time, needless to say, he was a huge hit. We couldn't leave with out getting him a shirt signed by all of the girls and a picture.
Eli's facial expressions get progressively funnier as time goes on. He is hysterical, this is my current favorite expression.
Hope all is well with everyone.
As always, click on the pictures for lots more.
So I was super lazy about updating the blog, school let out and fell into a whole different mindset. I have taken lots of pictures...
Summer is finally here! This is looking up the street using Andy's 300mm fixed lense. Joe brought it over and I got to play with it, its totally awesome. The flowers in the yard are doing really well... an iris in our yard, same lense.
Eli is so close to crawling, its a matter of coordination not strength. He is constantly up on his hands and tippy toes at the same time, in an almost arch position. He scooches forward a bit, but is really good at going backwards. It will definitely not be long!
With school being out, we have been able to spend a lot more time with Grandma Oberst.
Storm Damage
We had some pretty bad thunderstorms several days in a row. There were tons of trees down, it seems like every street was blocked at some point. Luckily we did not lose power, only internet and tv for a week... we dont watch much tv.. but no internet.. for a week!
Eli has learned to sit up really well. He is getting to the point now that we dont worry about him falling backwards much. He can easily go from sitting up to the crawl position... just not back again.
We had a play date with Bobby Kidd the other day. The boys had a great time and Bob and I got to hang out for and afternoon. I look forward to doing more of that...
Eli is now 7 months old, its been so fast. He has changed so much, so quickly and he has learned so much. He has a jumper, and when you say "jump jump!" he jumps like crazy! If you put your hand up and say "gimme 5" he does... Sara has been working on him with that one. Just yesterday we noticed him bobbing to music. We though this was a coincidence, but the music went away, and so did his bobbing, bring it back and he starts up. Its absolutely hysterical!
We had to get new car seats, as it turns out the one we had was only rated to 22lbs. We are on the edge of that currently, and we found these with a good price. With the car seats came a new stroller, the old one accepted the car seat and didn't have and independent seat. luckily for us umbrella strollers are super cheap. kids sure are expensive...
We are headed up to Grand Traverse Resort for the weekend with Edward Jones! They have a summer regional, and invite the family along for the fun. Last year was at the Double JJ Ranch, The rodeo was a good time, but the resort should be really nice.
.. and really, who does? He had 3 shots, the standard 6 month vaccinations, and his general check up. The last time he had these shots we had a really hard week. He was really fussy and ran a fever, it was less then fun.
Today we found out that Eli is 27.5 inches long, and weighs 19lbs 11oz. He is huge! While we were waiting for the Dr. he was showing off his crawling abilities and found the paper on the bed the most fun ever to tear up. We completely trashed the paper twice, Eli loved it.
He is so close to crawling, its going to be days. We are baby proofing this weekend, he is going to get into everything... fun for him, bad for us. wish us luck...
Eli is now showing two teeth! They are front and center on the bottom... no wonder he has been fussy. They are hard to see in the pictures, if you click on them and go to the full size its easier.
I think we are headed to the East Lansing Art Fest today. We generally go every year, hopefully Eli will like it. The forecast calls for a chance or rain, hopefully it holds off till tomorrow... make that Monday.
I am taking the motorcycle into work tonight to be used in a show. I wont be out till after 1:00am, I really hope the rain holds off.
We have a tooth breaking the surface! I would post a picture of it, but we have only seen glimpses of this. When you pull down his bottom lip, he sticks his tung out... its really pretty funny. The farther you pull down his lip, the farther his tung comes out. I will have a picture up as soon as he will let me.
Eli has taken to throwing things we are not using off of his high chair. We give him a spoon to hold while he eats, it keeps him from wanting the one we are feeding him with, and now, gives him something to throw. After he finished his evening bananas, he proceeded to throw everything off of his high chair tray like it was his job. It's amusing at this point, I am sure it will not be so much later, but for now its cute.
Happy Mothers Day.. almost... Thank You to all the Moms for all you do!
Pat Sara and Eli
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