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On the road again

What a whirlwind week! We left for vacation Friday after work and arrived around noon on Saturday. After a few hours of rest we kept busy. We spent several days perusing Silver Dollar City, riding rides and eating delicious food. Then we went on to White Water, saw Jonah at Sight & Sound, had some family pictures with all 23 of us (goodness), went shopping and then headed back on home. I had so much fun seeing my family and Eli seemed to enjoy it as well. He had a bit of a rough time napping in the car seat and stroller, but he loved his cousins and he kept busy busy. He is going to be a little social butterfly I think.

After Branson we stopped in Memphis and went to the zoo. Of course he is too small to really care, but he enjoyed getting out of the car and walking around. He got a few souvenirs which he did seem to enjoy. I can’t wait to go back when he’s aware. You can even pay to hand-feed the giraffes. Won’t that be adorable?

What we bought: Cute little summer outfits, more jammies, an octopus toy he seems to enjoy, a texture giraffe book, and a little stuffed lion from the zoo
Invaluable purchases: our monitor, noisemaker app, and door slammer were all very helpful in getting Eli to sleep in a house full of 12 other children. Also- my nursing scarf saved me. Eli wanted to eat frequently and in public. Thankful for cute covers and tinted windows. My in-laws loaned us a pack-n-play that Eli slept well in. Oh! And- the organic sunscreen and bug spray actually worked great. Eli didn’t have any sort of reaction which is amazing with his sensitive skin. He also didn’t get any bug bites or sunburns! Yay!
Useless purchases: His water-float was way too big for him. Useless for now, but this time next year I bet it will be perfect.
Best moment: Taking Eli to his first waterpark. He was fearless and loved the splash park. He didn’t even mind that it was freezing. It was also nice having some help. I got to sleep in one day (yay!) and Josh and I got to go on some water rides and roller coasters. I also really loved seeing Jonah. The stage design was amazing.
How my life has changed: Well Eli’s very into tugging my hair lately so hair ties are my friends. I generally don’t like my hair back, but it’s better than getting it ripped out. We’ll never pack the same way again. I thought my little car would comfortably fit us and all of our stuff. I was wrong. Thank goodness we have the jeep. I also find myself having trouble being away from Eli for more than 2 hours. He’s my precious little son I just want to be with him.4

Eli: Week 21
IMG_8142IMG_8157IMG_8234IMG_8241IMG_8275IMG_8281IMG_8301IMG_8364photo 5 (2)-2
This week I went on my first road-trip. We drove thru Tennessee, Arkansas, and Missouri in order to make it to Branson. I did pretty good in the car, but I let mom and dad know I was NOT going to spend more than 5 hours traveling in one day. I finally got to meet my entire extended family. My cousins loved me and I got to spend lots of time being snuggled by my grandparents, aunts, and uncles. I went to the water park and fell asleep after getting rocked in the wave pool. I attended my first musical, but immediately began crying with the first note. It was way too loud for me! I started rolling from my back to my belly and I like to use my feet to kick myself sideways in my crib. Mom is terrified I’m going to get my feet stuck in the slats. I also like to practice sitting up. I went to the zoo for the first time. I liked walking around and getting souvenirs, but I slept for the most part although I did wake up for the bears.I constantly am chewing on something, but I really love eating blankets. I know my name and I love to smile.

Now back to the grind. Have a great week!
-Shantel




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