Keep the good times comin'!

Life is good in the Nelson household!  We're mostly healthy and always happy.  Mike continues serving in the Bishopric as the 2nd counselor.  He's feeling more comfortable with his responsibilities and other bishopric members.  I'm still in the Young Women's program as 2nd counselor.  All but one of the girls I started with have moved on because they've turned 14, and the one who's left will leave in July.  I'll be working with a whole new set of girls.  It's sad and exciting all at the same time.

Eli adds a lot of fun to our church experience.  He has only made it all the way through sacrament (without being taken out by mom, I mean) once.  Since we started going at 9, it's not usually because he's exhausted.  It's usually because he's wide awake and yelling up a storm.  It is slightly embarrassing, but much much much more entertaining!  When he really gets going, I'll look up at Mike to see him chuckling at his son's antics.  Sunday School is pretty much devoted to keeping Eli's tiredness at bay and then attempting to get him to sleep.  He usually gives in to the sleepiness after 15-20 minutes of chewing me out on the stage next to the Sunday School room.  Because he's usually sleeping when Young Women starts, I have a relatively easy 15-30 minutes.  Then it's all about the entertaining again.  I used to spend all my time on Sundays watching all the other little kids in the ward because they are SOOOO entertaining.  Now I rarely take my eyes off my own!  I LOVE IT!!

Eli constantly amazes us with how much and how quickly he learns.  It seems he's picking up something new every day.  He started rolling from his tummy to his back about 2 weeks ago.  We've been wondering when in the world he'd ever get from his back to his tummy.  Well, last Friday, on his 7 month birthday, while no one was looking, he decides to make his debut.  I had walked over to talk to a friend.  Mike was at the table by his blanket talking to someone else.  When I returned, Eli was on his tummy.  Thanks for waiting for that one moment when no one was paying attention to reach that milestone, Buddy!  Luckily, he did it again later that night and both of us witnessed it.  He's only done it again once since then....

He's so into everything he can get his hands on, now, that I don't scatter a few toys around him anymore; I just sit him down next to the toy basket and let him go at it :)  He can play for a good hour (when he's fed and not tired) without even looking around for me.  He's babbling up a storm, eating solids like nobody's business, and clapping (not on demand, though).

Well, that's us in a nutshell.  Oh, I forgot Fisher--that happens a lot since Eli joined our family.  His best chance for attention is snuggling up to Eli.  He's getting pretty good at it!