Surprise! More pics of Eli! ;)

Decided to take a few pics of Eli in between changing his outfit cause he was being such a happy baby! :) Didn't get a full smile, but he was definitely happy. Hope you enjoy!

More fun photos...

First Recorded Smiles!! :)

Well, folks, today, July 27, 2007, Elijah Luke has decided to start smiling for real! :) He smiled at Mom and I at my Doctor appointment this morning and then this afternoon after his lunch I had him on my knees while I snapped a few photos and I just thought I'd try to get him to smile and he actually did! :) He then proceeded to smile for Grandpa and Haylee while I was in the potty! :( That's okay, I'm sure there will be many more smiles to come! I took about a million pics today, but I only have time to post the smile ones. Hopefully tonight will bring more time to post the others. :)

Hope you enjoy...

Looks like he's trying to hold the laughter in! :)

Mommy is just so funny!

Fun for my friends...

Had about five minutes to myself tonight when Eli went to bed, so I thought I would try something else with Photoshop. :) I know it is pretty similar to the last thing, but I will branch out next time, I promise! ;) These are a few pics I took at Sam and Heather's wedding, and I thought this would look nice.

Haircut fun

Just a few photos of my new haircut! :) I go to a fabulous hair salon, Eden Hair Salon in Shelby! She is really nice and always makes me feel comfortable and makes sure I actually LIKE my haircut and style. :) I also got my color touched up as I am trying to get my hair back to my "natural" color. I got my eyebrows waxed as well cause they have been crazy overgrown since I got really lazy during and after the pregnancy!

Anyways, It is really hard to take pics of yourself, so here are a few that I think don't look too horrible. Let me know what you think!

Some Park Pics with the Fam...

Just a little fun with Photoshop...

Just had a little fun with Photoshop, so hope you enjoy. :)

The love of Cousins...

I'm not talking about creepy "Kissin' Cousins", but rather, Eli's cousin's, Haylee and Jared constantly loving on him. :) He doesn't really comprehend their many kisses and hugs at this point, but they sure do love to give them! It's good practice too for them considering both are soon to be Big Sisters and Brothers. They aren't always as gentle and easy as we'd like, but they mean well and seem to love Eli to death.

I unfortunately didn't have a close relationship with my many cousins when we were young, but I really hope that Eli has a lot more contact and dare I say friendship with his cousins. :)

Here are a few pictures of Haylee and Jared "holding" Eli. :)

Here's Haylee holding Eli a few minutes after he was born...

Haylee holding Eli at about 2 weeks... (Look at all that hair!) :(

Jared holding Eli at 5 weeks 5 days old... (We still love our balding baby!) :)

I really need more sleep!

Well, this morning was the beginning of Triple Coupons at Lowes Foods, and if you are familiar with my Mom, you know this means panic, planning, and pleading me to go with her! :) Her original idea was to leave at 5:30 AM to get there as the doors opened at 6:00 AM!! Yes, I said 6:00 AM!! My Mother is crazy! Well, in agreement to leave at that awful hour, I said she was on Eli duty for the night! After like 45 minutes, she came down with him and said that Dad will have to take her tomorrow cause he was really fussy and she needed to sleep! He ended up being fine after I snuggled with him and calmed him down. He only woke up once last night and then at 15 minutes to 5, he woke up to eat and I took him up to Mom to see what the plan was about Lowes. She said she changed her mind and she wanted to leave after the list came out on the Grocery Game at around 8:00 AM. I said, fine, he is all yours until then, I'm gonna go back and rest. I then checked my email and Ryan had written, so I wrote him a quick note and climbed back in bed. It couldn't have been about 20 minutes and Mom came back down and said that Dad needed her to go with him to drop the car off and so she was giving me Eli back! :) I think she just likes to trick me into thinking I am going to get extra sleep and then likes to wake me up just as I have begun to fall asleep! :) He ended up being fine and slept next to me in his sleep positioner. Well, she got back early and the list was up, so she woke Eli and I up at around 7:30 AM eager to go shop! Eli and I were NOT happy about being woken up, but I threw on a shirt and capris, brushed my hair and teeth and we headed to Lowes. Mom and I shopped off the list and ended up with 2 full orders and had paid for them and while she took the groceries to the car, I went to the bathroom to fix Eli's bottle. It was as I was getting the water hot, that I looked up in horror to realize that I had walked around shopping for nearly an hour with my shirt completely inside out!!! It was ridiculously obvious and it was a collared shirt, so there really was no hiding it! I could NOT believe that Mom had ridden with me to the store, walked around talking to me, and had not noticed it! I guess that is what happens when you are in Triple Coupon mode! I quickly switched my shirt around and ran out to give Mom some grief that she is so unbelievably NOT observant! :) We laughed uncontrollably for a couple minutes at my expense!

Thankfully, I have lost all pride since joining the Army and becoming a Mom, so it really wasn't too big of a deal! If I was still a teenager, I probably would have just died and never shopped there again!

Anyways, Mom saved a ridiculous amount of money, I think $203.00 worth of groceries for $15.00, so I guess it was worth it!

I think the moral of the story is I need to get a little more sleep if I can't even figure out how to put my shirt on correctly! Good grief I am losing it!

Pics of Mommy and Eli

Here are the pictures you've been asking for...

Well, a bunch of y'all have been asking for copies of the pictures, so I just decided that I was gonna post the pictures on Shutterfly, so y'all can view them and print them yourselves if you want. :) You can have them sent to your house or you can have them sent to Target and you can pick them up there. I was going to do it through walmart.com, but Shutterfly lets you store your pictures for free and doesn't ever delete them.

Anyways, there is a web address specifically for his pictures, so check it out...

http://www.thestrouds.shutterfly.com/

I'll be adding more pics as I take them. :)

love y'all,
bette anne

4th of July fun...

Well, Last night Mom, Eli, and I went to Emmanuel's annual Patriotic Service at the Kings Mountain gazebo. We were unsure of how he would react to all the festivities combined with the heat, but he really did extraordinarily well. They said they were having a 21 gun salute, but if I remember correctly they each only fired 3 times (There were 4 guys) and I thought that that was only done at funerals, but whatever. It was still ridiculously loud as I nearly smothered Eli trying to protect his little ears! :) I hate those parade rifles cause they are A LOT louder than any rifle I fired in the Army. Anyways, we had a good time showing Eli off to people that hadn't gotten a chance to meet him, and only had one or two shady people ask to hold him.

Here are a few pictures of him in his "My First 4th of July" outfit that his Gramma Leigh-Leigh got for him, so I hope you enjoy them! :)

"Look at the cute doggy"

"Doggy doesn't do much, does he?""Yo, what up, homie?"

"Seriously dog, what's your problem"

"Forget it, let's just take a nap!"

Saying goodbye is never easy...

Well, I have been dreading having to write this blog entry, but it needs to be done, so here goes nothing...

Monday was D-day for Ryan to be back on a plane and heading back over to Iraq. :( His whole time here, we had done our best to focus our attention on everything BUT Iraq, so Monday kind of snuck up on us, well, at least on me. We did our best to have a positive attitude about everything and try not to focus on the bad stuff. Ryan, Eli, and I spent the majority of the day enjoying one another's company and just focusing on our little family. It finally came time to tie up loose ends and head for the airport and as Ryan and I were sitting there, a song came on that said, "So kiss me goodbye, cause Honey I'm gonna make it out alive". I was doing sooo good until that, and I just lost it! The funny thing is the song is kind of silly and those are the only lyrics that apply at all, but it still made me lose it! Well, after my little melt-down, we headed to Renee's house to drop off Eli, and say goodbye to the fam and then Ryan and I would head to the airport. We hung out for a little while with Renee, Haylee, Sam, and Heather, and then Mom and Dad got there. We talked for a little while and realized we really needed to head out. Ryan went around the room saying goodbye to everyone and then it was time to say goodbye to Eli. I was already getting emotional before this, so I just had to turn around and look the other way when he said goodbye to our son. I don't know if I'll ever be able to comprehend the emotions that he was having at that very moment. I mean, I have left my family for long periods of time because of the Army, but being forced to say goodbye to your brand new baby is more pain than I can imagine. Ryan handled it better than anyone could have dreamed, but it was obvious the pain that he was going through. We finally headed out to more hugs and the tears were shared by all. Ryan and I then loaded up and headed for the airport. We did our best to make the trip as pleasant as possible, but knowing that you are saying goodbye not only to your wife, but to your brand new son, does not make it easy. When we finally arrived at the airport and checked the ticker to see what gate his flight left out of, we were not happy to see that his flight had been cancelled! My poor husband has the WORST luck with airlines, so it really should have come as no surprise. We then lugged all his gear over to the ticket counter to see what they could do for him. I was dreading the thought of my poor husband having to wait anymore than he was already going to. Well, turns out that because he was military and there were multiple connections he was going to miss, they just re booked him for the exact flight schedule leaving the following day! We were excited and overwhelmed all at the same time. The thought of him having to say goodbye one more time was daunting to say the least, but we were thrilled to spend one more day together. So, back we headed to Nay's house to plan our evening and the following day. We decided to go out to eat and celebrate, so we took the fam and Sam and Heather out to Red Lobster! :) It was of course, scrumptious, and we had a really good time enjoying everyone's company. After dinner we all went our separate ways and Ryan, Eli, and I had one more relaxing evening at home.

We decided to just enjoy our time as much as possible on Tuesday, so we relaxed in the morning and then Ryan and I left Eli with Grandma and headed to the Mall to get my birthday present. :) Seeing as I still can't fit into regular clothes and my hands are still slightly swollen, so I can't get any rings or anything, I really was at a loss to tell him what I wanted. After walking around the entire mall, I decided I would just go shopping later for shoes in his honor, cause we both were starving and would rather be eating than shopping anyways! We had a great lunch at Five Guys restaurant and then headed on to the Pediatrician which I already blogged about. :)

Well, after all that we headed back to Nay's and lets just say the goodbyes were ALOT better this time. I think it helped that we got some of our emotions out, so it was a little easier. We then headed back to the Airport and this time the flight was not canceled. :( Well, we went to the counter to check him in, and the lady was very pleasant and helpful as he explained his situation and asked for a flight itinerary. She then noticed that he was military and asked if I had an ID, because if I did, she would give me a pass to go back to the gate with him! How cool is that! We were so excited and it was nice to have a little more time to relax and enjoy each other's company. We were able to get a little dinner as we waited for his flight, and I did my best to distract him from the sad stuff. :) We had fun talking about what we were gonna do when he gets back for good. (I think we're gonna take a cruise, YAY!) Anyways, his flight kept getting delayed, and it was finally time for me to go and feed Eli, so we said goodbye and actually managed to maintain composure and be strong for one another. I love this man so very much, and I know how painful it is for him to say goodbye, so I tried as hard as I could to keep smiling and not make him feel bad that he had to leave. We are gonna be a better family because of this and that is what we have to keep in mind.

We kept saying that "We've done this before, and we know we can do it!" This is the last time we are gonna have to say goodbye for a long time, and that is a great consolation in and of itself! Next time I see him, we will FINALLY be able to be a family!

Well, that is our little sad, crazy story! He was in Balad last I heard, waiting on a flight to his base, so hopefully he should be "home" in the next day or so. Please keep him in your prayers as he is going through a lot right now with the separation.

Only a couple more months and we will be a complete family!

Thanks for praying, love ya!

Pediatrician Relief...

Well, Tuesday was our 2nd Pediatrician appointment, and this time we tried a different one considering our woeful trip last time! Ryan wasn't supposed to be able to go, but because of his flight being canceled, he was able to go! (More to follow on his flights etc...)

The appointment wasn't until 2:30 PM, so we had a little time beforehand, so Ryan and I headed to the Cleveland Mall to find a Birthday present for me. :) We ended up just walking around and eating at Five Guys Burgers and Fries joint. :) Anyways, after that we headed home to feed little man and head on to the appointment. Ryan got a nice little tour of the country as the Doc office is in Boiling Springs. :)

Well, when we got there we were pleasantly surprised to find it was a nice new building with colorful signs and it looked like a Pediatrician's office. When we walked in we were again pleased to find a decent size waiting room with toys and games and kids furniture. The receptionist was very friendly and after we filled out a few forms, the nurse came and got us to go back to see the Doc. She weighed Eli and good news is he is still growing and has gained 7 oz in a week, so he is now up to 9 lbs 7 oz. :) She was extremely friendly and the office was very clean and colorful and pleasant. She asked us multiple times if we had any questions or concerns and was very gentle with Eli. She went out to get the Doc and a few minutes later he came in and lets just say he was interesting. :) The first thing he said when he came in was, "I hate Bush, Bush should have to go to Iraq himself!" (We had told the nurse that Ryan was heading to Iraq in a couple hours) He was nice and knowledgeable, but as Ryan and I put it, he seemed to be kind of like a hippie. :) He was unusually calm and when we would ask him a question he would say something like, "Well, whatever you choose really, this really is a user based thing here..." We were very relieved however to find that he was a little more traditional and old fashioned in regards to feeding schedules and such. I guess I am just not used to such an easy-going Doctor. :) Not serious here, but Ryan and I joked that we wondered where he was hiding the pot, cause no one is that calm and relaxed without drugs. :)

So, it was definitely a better experience, and now I need to call and make another appointment for his month checkup. I'm still not looking forward to his 2 month checkup, cause that is when the poor guy gets his shots. :(

So that is the update and it is definitely a relief!

Birthday fun... :)

Well, Ryan's birthday is the 11th of July and since I knew I wouldn't be able to be there for it, I decided to make him a cake and sing to him! :) So, Monday morning on the day he was supposed to head back to Iraq, I snuck upstairs to bake him a cake. Mom helped, but I just knew he was going to get suspicious as I kept on going back and forth to get it finished. So, when it was finished, I called down and told him to get dressed and bring Eli up. I then started lighting the candles and because I underestimated how long it would take to light 24 candles, he got upstairs before I finished! :) We sang him Happy Birthday and Mom told him that he better blow them all out at one time, cause I had blown all my candles out the first time one day after giving birth. :) Of course, everything is a competition in the Swaringen household, so blowing out candles is no exception!

Poor Ryan had no idea what he was in for! He gathered a big breath and attempted to blow out all 24 of his candles. Unfortunately for him, just when he thought he was done, half of the candles reignited! :) I had mixed in 12 Trick Candles and all of them slowly were lighted again. :) Mom and I could not stop laughing as Ryan tried unsuccesfully for about 2 minutes to blow them out! He was such a good sport about it, and could not believe that I had put Trick Candles on it! I have never used Trick Candles, but I was amazed at how time after time they would ignite even after several seconds of no flame! Finally we had to use tongs to get them off the cake and extinguish them in water, but it was such fun on a Monday morning. Ryan seemed to enjoy his morning birthday cake, and we all had a good time at my poor husband's expense!


Of course I didn't think to take pictures, but I thought I would include a picture of the birthday cake I made for him in Germany LAST YEAR on his actual birthday. :) I didn't have anything to decorate with, so I had to use Lucky Charms! :) It actually tasted very good!



I love you babe, and I hope you enjoy turning 24 this year! Soon you'll be old like me!