Spoiler Alert: Devastatingly Cute Baby Pictures

Sorry the posting's been so random and infrequent the last few days. Eli's been VERY fussy the last week or so, and has also been getting up three and four times a night. I'm exhausted. I'm grumpy, too, because you have a certain level of TOLERANCE for this sort of nighttime behavior at six weeks old that you are sort of lacking at SIX MONTHS old. I'm trying, on the pediatrician's advice, to night wean him, but it's not so easy when he goes from "groggily awake and thinking about maybe eating" to "ravenously hungry and screaming for the walking milk machine to come get him NOW" in about five seconds. He shares a wall with Addy's bedroom, so it's not as though I can just let him "cry it out." And standing by his bed patting his back, as the doctor suggested when I told her of my dilemma, doesn't seem to do more than further enrage him. "You're RIGHT THERE!" he seems to be trying to convey to me. "Why not just whip the ole' boob out if you're going to be awake anyways?" I have to say, the logic of his argument is pretty convincing. I have managed to soothe him back to sleep without nursing exactly once so far. Ask me about night weaning in another month or so.

We had a showing of our house today, with less than twenty-four hours notice, so as soon as everyone was up and about I sent Jim and the kids to his parents' house and then cleaned like a Merry Maid on speed for about three hours. Due to Eli's frequent waking and my consequential tiredness, plus his fussiness during the day, I haven't done any kind of deep cleaning for over a week other than dishes, laundry, and picking up toys after the kids were in bed. It wouldn't have been that bad except that it has been in the thirties here all week, meaning piles of snow are melting into muddy slush everywhere you walk, plus it's rained the last few days, so there are also dirty puddles all over. So... add the dirty shoes plus the giant muddy dog and you have some very dirty floors. There was some frantic mopping going on here.
The house is getting shown again on Monday, which is good because I feel like I'm getting more bang for my buck, if you will, out of the thorough cleaning I did today. All I'll have to do is vacuum and tidy up for this next showing, hopefully, since everything got dusted and scrubbed already today.
All right, wake up there, you. I see you skimming through, wondering where those baby pictures are to redeem this ridiculously dull post. HERE:


Eli with his birthday buddy, Gabriel. Note the holding of hands taking place, completely of their own volition. Dab a sentimental tear away. Oh wait, that's MY tear. Sorry.



Cutey patooty.


The airplane game fails to amuse.



Straighten my posture and imagine away that giant zit on my chin and it's the perfect picture!