Other Eli happenings

His two bunny teeth keep growing...

and standing is his favorite pastime.

On a roll

Eli is edging closer and closer to crawling, but isn't there quite yet. So rolling is still his preferred means of transportation...

Hercules

Hercules from debra lauer on Vimeo.

Happy birthday to me!

Remember this post?

I loved your suggestions and finally decided to go with "grace & peace" on the back of the necklace.

I LOVE the way it turned out...

Thanks Lisa Leonard Designs and Mom!

Fun at the pool

We love our church in Tuscaloosa. Capstone ministered to us in amazing ways during our trials with Noah and continues to do so during this new stage in our life. We don't get to church as often as we would like because of Josh's crazy schedule... but it worked out that we were able to go to the annual pool party last night.

I didn't get a chance to take too many pictures but it doesn't take many to see how much Eli LOVES the water. What a fun night!

(PS This is also my first attempt using Photoshop to create a photo collage! Whoo-hoo!)

Random Tuesday Thoughts

Last night was pizza night.

Yum.

I made my famous chicken-pesto-roasted red pepper

combo on a whole wheat crust...

Josh made a traditional half pepperoni-half cheese concoction.

It was delicious.

Josh loves ESPN's Pardon the Interruption.

Imagine our surprise when he appeared on the 'Rundown' the other day!

These are the ONLY shoes that I can fit on my juicy baby's chubby little feet.

And even these threaten to cut off his circulation from time to time.

But they sure are cute!

I did see these ridiculously cute Converse tennies

at Target the other day and fell in love.

I squished Eli's feet in them and they fit!

But I haven't been able to bring myself to actually buy

them yet because I know how FAST he will outgrow them!

Bits of my weekend - volume 10

The Lauer fam hit the road to North Carolina this weekend!

The Alabama volleyball staff ran a camp for several high schools in the Waynesville area (Coach G's hometown) ... Eli & I decided to tag along to try to escape the heat in Tuscaloosa.

The trip took about 6 hours. Mr. E did a great job in the car,

with only a little bit of fussing.

We took a few pics while we were hanging out in the backseat. Cheeks!

We stayed in an awesome house in the mountains and surrounded by trees. This was the best shot I could get of it as it was literally perched on the side of a rather steep incline! Eli did NOT enjoy sleeping in his pack and play... after the first night, he managed to weasel his way into bed with us around 2 am each night. Stinker!

Judy's dad scored us an invitation to a barn party on Friday night... my understanding was that it was some sort North Carolina State football yearly reunion bash that runs three nights in a row! Judy and Josh proudly sported their Bama gear and we weren't about to turn down free food! It was a little rainy, but we had a great time!

There was an amazing bluegrass band playing in the barn.

Pavlina and Eli danced a jig together.

While the coaches did their thing at camp Saturday morning, I took the little man on a walk around Lake Junaluska. The lake and flowers were beautiful.

We took a few breaks from the stroller to sit on a bench and practice standing by fence. Is it just me or does Eli keep getting cuter??

We ate lunch every day at Judy's parents' house... delicious food and even better company. We would sit out on the patio and relax before the staff had to head back to the afternoon session of camp. Judy took a little time out on Saturday at lunch to snuggle with the E-man.

I loved the drive from town back to the rental house. I pulled over a few times on Saturday afternoon while Eli snoozed in the back seat so I could snap a few shots of my favorite spots.

We headed back to the lowlands (and the heat) on Sunday.

We had a great weekend but it was good to be home!

For the original "Bits" and links to others, click HERE!

Dancing in the Minefields

Andrew Peterson is one of my all time favorite musicians.

His new album comes out in August. You should run - not walk - to get it.

Seriously. And then you should buy the rest of his albums. Because I said so.

Here is a taste... isn't it beautiful?

A life more ordinary

I know.

The expression is supposed to be, "A life less ordinary."

But you know what? I've been there. Losing a child to a brain disorder caused by a mutation that had only been seen once before in the world is about as far from ordinary as you can get.

So now I crave regular life. The typical. The expected. And I have come to fear the extraordinary. The atypical. The unexpected.

I want Eli to be in the 50th percentile in weight and height.

I want to open a guide to a baby's first year and check off every developmental milestone as they happen RIGHT ON SCHEDULE.

I don't want him to be advanced or behind.

As Goldilocks was fond of saying... I want him "just right."

Or as Josh likes to say, I want a Stepford baby.

Fat. Chance.

And I know this.

But it doesn't stop me from being borderline neurotic about Eli crawling. Or saying "mamamamama" over and over again with the hopes that he will stop looking at me like I am crazy and decide to imitate me. Or wishing that he would stop spitting up.

So my goal for the remainder of Eli's first year of life is to relax. To sit back and enjoy what he IS doing as opposed to worrying about what he ISN'T doing. To laugh when he blows a zerbert on MY skin as I so often do to his. To relish the fact that he has started reaching for me when I put my arms out for him. To remain impressed when he rolls and rolls and rolls across the living room floor so he can scratch at the speakers underneath the TV. To be impressed with his attention span when he watches an entire episode of Super Why without getting distracted. To savor the moments he chooses to snuggle with me before taking a nap or going to be in the evenings... and to let myself cry at little when I look at his sleeping face and think for just a minute that I am holding his older brother.

It is not New Year's Day. But I am making a resolution nonetheless. Pray that I am able to keep it.

"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline." 2 Timothy 1:7

Standing tall

Fortunately for us, Eli is not yet pulling himself into this position...

but he is quite proud of himself when we stand him up and he can hold on to the side of his crib like a big boy. I have a feeling that it is only a matter of time...

7

Seven years ago tonight, I was dancing the

night away with the man of my dreams.

Happy Anniversary, Josh! I love you!

Watch me grow... seven months