Eli Wesley Ross!!!!!

Well here are the first of our many pictures with Eli!!  I think they speak for themselves. :) He was 6lbs 12oz and 19in long. Perfect from head to toe! It has been a wonderful past 24hours as we have been able to snuggle, kiss, and play with our miracle. He looks A LOT like Jay (surprise, surprise!) even though we have all noticed little things that are different with them. The first thing Wes said when Eli came out screaming mad was, "Gosh, that looks just like Jay!"  The the peach fuzz, dark blue eyes, and big hands are identical and the expressions are mirror images of Jay's. I am going to have to label these pictures so I don't get them confused in a few years.

The birth went very smoothly, we checked in at 6am, started pitocin at 7am, coasted for several hours as everything progressed, and at 1259 he made his appearance!  He is healthy and content! So content, in fact, that I have spent the entire morning thinking something must be wrong with him because he has hardly cried and just wants to sleep. Most of you know that Jay came out screaming and never stopped!  I just don't know what to do with a baby that opens his eyes, looks around, lets me put him down, and goes right back to sleep all without a single complaint. I was actually trying to make him mad last night so he would eat but he was not bothered in the least. And I know that this can all change as quick as I blink my eyes but for now he is a one laid back little boy!

Jay is very excited about "his" baby brother and within the first hour of meeting him had 3 requests. One, to "pet baby brother", two, to "hold baby brother", and three, to "wrestle with baby brother."  I had to object to the last one for obvious reasons. With family here Jay is very entertained and really doesn't bother Eli too much but I am anxious to see how he will do once we are home and things are calmer. Hopefully he will stay true to his word and be my "helper."  We are going home tomorrow so I will try to keep posting updates as he changes from day to day. And thank you for your prayers and sweet congrats over the last couple of days!

The countdown begins!! Tomorrow is the day!

Wild man jumping off the couch onto his bean bag

The harder he landed, the harder he laughed

He kept moving it further from the couch, no fear in this child

"Santa Clause!!!"

Waiting in line. We took Jay to the zoo Monday night to see Santa again.

Giving me his "smarty pants" face after I told him to be still

Sooooo excited!

Jay sprinted over to Santa as fast as he could and gave us a giant smile

When Santa asked what he wanted for Christmas he said, "ummmm, a candy cane! (same as he did with the one in Helen) and a ball!" (to bad his mama nixed balls and trucks from her shopping list to make room for more educational gifts).

Attempting a family photo

This was Santa's idea....???

We always have to stop and milk the cow when we walk through the barn

Pointing at the lights!

Trying to figure out the snow machine

One more thing we have to do every trip to the zoo

They only had marshmallows this year so Wes and I decided it wasn't worth doing without the chocolate....but Jay insisted that we "make smores"

So we pulled a stick out of the trash and let him have at it

This boy loves playing with fire....Lord help us!

These are the pictures from this week....and my next post will have another addition! Tomorrow we will have Eli and I have been a nervous wreck this week. Last night I actually slept for a few hours at a time which was a nice change from a few minutes at a time!  Not to mention my car decided to fall apart so it has been in the shop since Monday....it would happen the week that I have a ton of stuff to do. And the nice men at the car shop just don't get it when I say that I REALLY need a car to do the million of things to be done before I have MY BABY Friday!!!  I had the truck all day yesterday but I told Wes just to take it to work today because I need to be home anyway getting things cleaned and ready for Eli. If my car was here I would probably just say forget it and go shopping...as the story went yesterday.

Mom is coming up this afternoon so I know she can kick me into shape and help get things done. So, as the plan goes, we will get to the hospital at 6am tomorrow and the process will begin around 8am when my doctor comes to see me. I am hoping it doesn't take all day and that we have a baby by mid afternoon but it all depends on how I respond to the Pitocin. I went pretty fast with Jay after they started the meds but I was further along so the doctor said it could go either way. And I know none of it will matter when I am holding him in my arms. It's amazing how, when I am telling the story of Jay's birth, I have to think back and ask Wes a lot of details because I have just forgotten or get things confused. But one thing I have never forgotten is the sound of his first cry after I delivered and how it felt to see his eyes, nose, mouth, fingers, toes, every part of him. I thought, "I have never seen anything more beautiful than this face." And to think that tomorrow I will have that feeling again makes all of my concerns and complaints seem nonexistent. So please think of us tomorrow and we will be sure to post a picture as soon as we can!

Thanksgiving Weekend

Riding the horse at the cabin in Helen

Decked out in his "soldier jacket and pants"

Showing me the river he and Wes found earlier that day

We "needed" to walk down the hill

Looking for fish

We didn't find any fish but Jay was content with all of the "cool rocks"

So happy that his papa was there!

He didn't let papa out of his sight all weekend

"I need my papa to tote me"

Riding on Uncle Oren...

Look at that smile, he thought he was pretty cool up there

"See the fire, mama!"

He asked Aunt Carrie to fix his hair like hers...

This is as much as his hair can be "fixed"

Reminding us that he is a boy!

"I'm a samurai!"

I asked Jay to look at the camera and smile, he promptly put his head down and ignored me. :)

Santa and Mrs Clause....Jay went right up to him this year....after saluting him, of course (he salutes soldiers, firemen, and apparently Santa Clause, on a regular basis now)

When Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas Jay said, "a candy cane!" and Santa pulled one right out of his pocket...I told Wes he was going to be disappointed next year if he asks for something bigger.

We had a great time with the Ross' in Helen for Thanksgiving. He stayed right with his papa the entire time and briefly granted the rest of us with his presence when Papa was busy. Since we've been home it seems like more and more things keep coming up for us to do before Eli arrives. Last Wednesday I saw my doctor and he said I was showing all of the signs that I was ready for labor and casually asked, "so do you want to be induced at 39 weeks?"  After I managed to catch my breath I said, "well, sure, that sounds just fine" trying to be as calm as he was. When I was sitting out in the waiting room I was having a nervous breakdown in my head as I thought about the reality that he really IS coming soon!  So, as long as everything looks good this Wed, that is the plan. Dec 9th will be his birthday! I have been going between being really nervous about having another child to unbelievably excited all week. And I am trying to spend more time with Jay than usual as I can't help but feel some sadness that our days of just the two of us are ending. Jay keeps talking about "his baby brother" and calls the hospital "Eli's hospital" ever since I told him that is where he would be born.

This week we are going to do some fun things with Jay to make the most of the last week as a family of 3. And I have a list of things to do this week while Jay is at school. I know it is just nervous energy but I have an overwhelming urge to reorganize all of my closets and clean every inch of the house. Maybe all of the work will go ahead and get labor started sooner than Friday???  :) 

One quick story about Jay and Christmas before I go....
He knows about Santa and he knows about Baby Jesus but has been getting the two confused (as I discovered when he told me that Christmas is Santa's birthday) so we have been teaching him about Christmas a lot this week. Last night we were reading a book about Mary and baby Jesus before bedtime. It talks about how Jesus will one day be king but tonight he is mary's baby. I told Jay that baby brother would be a baby when he comes out of my tummy like Jesus was a baby. At the end of the story he said, "Eli is going to be king!"  So we explained some things and read the book again. When we got done the second time Jay said, "Eli is a baby and I am a king!"  We gave up and told him to go nite-nite.