Grammie and Aunt Fran Visit!

We had a wonderful time with Matt's mom and aunt the first week of November. They came to meet Elijah and then we all traveled to Rome and Florence!

Someone loves their Grammie!

In front of the Trevi Fountain.

Roma! 

Sleepy baby at the Colosseum

The Colosseum!

Monkey Baby!

My favorite room in the Vatican.

At the Arno River in Florence. 

In front of the Duomo in Florence.

Aunt Fran in Florence!

At the Vatican!

Our House is Becoming a House!

When we started looking at houses in Phoenix, we never thought that building would even be an option. After we realized that houses for sale were more expensive and had less of the options we wanted, we contacted a few builders that had floor plans in the area we were interested in. After initially contacting them, we were signing a contract less than 2 weeks later! God just opened a door and we practically ran through it! :) We had friends who are also moving to Phoenix take pictures of our house last weekend. It's crazy how fast it moves in just a month and a half!

View of the front.

View of the back! 

Our White Tank mountain view....until they build a house behind us at least...

This is the living room and kitchen.

Halloween

For Halloween we decided to do our first family outfit. :) Elijah went as Superman (mostly because that was the only outfit I found at the BX for a baby and was $7.50). Matt had already planned on shaving his head for no-hair November, so he decided to go as Lex Luther. A lot of people thought that I was Lois Lane...but I thought it would be weird to be Superman's love interest since I'm him mom...so I was Lex Luther's girlfriend/accomplice. We had a lot of fun that night, and EJ could have cared less, but he was so good for us! I think he was highly entertained by everyone's costumes.

Lex, Kitty and Superman.

Our little Super-Baby!

2 Month Checkup

We went for his two month checkup, and oh my goodness he has grown so much! He already weighs 13 lbs and is in the 77% for weight, and was 24.3" long in the 91%! Matt and I can't believe that we have such a big baby! I guess he has some of my 'Melton' genes in him after all! The doctor looked him over and said that everything looked great. Then we went for his shots, and luckily Matt was able to be there. He had to get three different shots. It was so hard for me to help hold him down for them! I just felt so bad and then he started screaming- oh my. It was just so sad! He was so grumpy that night. He didn't even want to eat, but was much better the next day.

What did you do to me?!

Bath Time

Our little guy loves bath time! At first he didn't really care either way, but now he kicks and kicks and does his best to get his mommy and daddy completely soaked! We also do our best to really get his face wet because we're hoping he won't mind the water once we get him in a pool.

Elijah Has a Girlfriend!

Everyone meet Charlie- EJ's first girlfriend. He decided to go for an older lady that is (at the time) twice his age. He is two months, and Charlie is four months. They were so adorable hanging out next to each other, and then he grabbed her arm and there was just too much precious all in one place! But at least he is starting out with good manners.

Holding her arm and escorting her to lunch!

Elijah's super cute outfit.

Our First Family Vacation!

We took our first road trip with Elijah over Columbus Day Weekend to Tuscany! We stayed at a wonderful Bed and Breakfast between Siena and Montalcino. We were served breakfast each morning in our own sitting room/library that had books from the 1700s! We visited several wineries and toured the cities around. Siena has so much neat history. Matt and I would love to go back for the horse race they have each summer- the different neighborhoods compete for a spot in the race, and the horses run around the square! Such a unique tradition. Elijah was such a trooper, and did so great in the car. We realized though, that vacations will never be the same again. We definitely moved a lot slower, and I realized there are not great places to feed a baby in a really old Italian city. :) We had a wonderful time, and I cannot wait to have so many more adventures with our little family!

The cellar in one of the wineries we visited. 

The square in Siena. The horses run around it where the ground is grey! 

Each of the 17 neighborhoods (or contrade as they are called) have their own name. This neighborhood was the dragon. There was also a she-wolf, a caterpillar, and even a wave :)

My two very handsome lunch dates!

Matty and I enjoying the beautiful Tuscan landscape....

...and Elijah slept through it all. 

Ott Family in Siena

Tuscan Landscape

View of Montepulciano

MeMe is here!

I volunteered for the Bella Befana Bazaar this fall, so my mom came out to help me with Elijah when I was at the hanger. We had such an awesome time with MeMe!! It was great having extra help around the house too. It takes a village to raise a baby :)

He was LOVING having his picture taken...

Finally got a smile out of him!

Matty with EJ at the Bazaar

Goo's and Gah's

EJ has really started to talk to us! We absolutely LOVE hearing his goo's and gah's and hearing him coo. Matt and I sound pretty ridiculous trying to get him to talk to us, but it is so much fun! I cannot wait to hear his first 'Momma' or 'Dada'. 

Smiles

Today was one of my favorite days so far. I was holding Elijah, and he looked up at me, looked into my eyes, and smiled. There is pretty much nothing better than knowing that this little tiny baby loves you, and is showing you the only way he can. I would do anything for just one of his precious smiles!!

Amy grabbed the camera to try and capture the moment! It's blurry, but he's my smiley buddy!

2 Weeks and So Big!

Elijah had his 2 week check today, and he is such a growing boy!
He has gained a pound already (8.8 lbs, 50th%) and grown a whole inch (21.1", 65%)! I cannot believe how fast he is changing. I feel like I have to soak in every minute!

Auntie Amy Comes to Visit!

I am so very grateful that my wonderful sister was willing to leave her babies behind for 10 days to come and meet Elijah. The timing was perfect- she got here on a Saturday, and Matt had to go back to work the following Monday. I was having a slow time healing, so it was so great to have her here to help. We were able to go out and do some, but mostly we stayed home, stared at the baby, and watched a lot of TV. She also did all of our laundry. And put it away. And even folded Matt's socks which is something I have refused to do since about 3 months into our marriage (let's just say a million pairs that are all slightly different makes for a very grumpy Corrie...not worth it!). Matt and I have really missed our Mary Poppins. I think about 5 times a day Amy and I said to each other, 'I can't wait until I'm back in the states!!' It's only a couple more months, and I will be a 2 hour flight away! Love you so much Aim!

EJ meeting his Auntie for the first time!

Lunch date in the Conigliano Castle!

We went grape picking and decided Elijah needed to try one :)

At Grape picking!

Lunch in Venice.

We went to Venice for lunch the day before she left!

Amy and I's favorite picture...happy milk coma baby.

Shrunken Clothes...or Tiny Baby Laundry?

It is true what everyone says, you have so much more laundry! The first week we were home, Matt was folding it and said, "My underwear shrunk! Oh, it's Elijah's pants!" Haha. We were so not used to having such tiny things in the laundry pile. What I really didn't anticipate was the amount of extra clothes I would go through...being spit up on, pooped on, and peed on multiple times a day. Guess this is real mommy-hood :)

Bookshelf turned into a closet

Tiny baby clothes!

Our Little Bird

From Day 1, Elijah has made the cutest little noises that sounds just like a little bird, squeaking for food.  Most of the time he makes them when we pick him up after he has been sleeping. We just love his little bird noises so I can't help but call him my little bird :) He also makes the funniest noise after he sneezes! In the video you can hear both his bird noise, and his post-sneeze 'gaah' noise.

Babies and Baskets and Due Dates - Oh My!

Matt and I love Italy for many reasons, but one of them is for all the random festivals they have. In Polcenigo they have a basket festival each year, so we decided to take Elijah as his first non-BX/commissary outing, which also happened to be on my actual due date! Seeing how he was already 7.5 lbs, I am really glad he decided to not stay put for another week.
Elijah was not a fan of being in the stroller, so Matt held him most of the time and the Italians LOVED him. They swarmed around Matt and one older gentleman tried to hold him, but luckily Matt was quick and averted that awkward situation. Ironically, there were not many baskets for sale.

Italians DO love babies!

Home With a Baby...Now What?

Everyone says that when you get home, you have no idea what to do. They couldn't be more right. He is so cute and tiny and seems so breakable! But he is an amazing sleeper. The first night we were home, I fed him around 1am, and then we all passed out and woke up when the sun was shining. Amazing.

We are also so blessed to have an awesome Buzzard family out here. We had a ton of visitors in the hospital, and so many people offering to bring us anything we needed. Tom and Liz Dowd kept Matt fed those couple of days were in the hospital, and she brought us PB&Js that we ate after I had Elijah...We swear they were the best PB&Js we had ever had. :) Matt had asked some people in the squadron to decorate the house so that I would feel like I was at home, and our sweet friend Cayla decked it out, Buzzard baby style. We are beyond grateful that God has placed so many wonderful people in our life.

Leaving the hospital

Matt's, 'Prince William' pose.  

We are home! Our house in purple and blue.