Dear Family, Friends, Students & Shop Customers:

Eli is Here! Read News Update

Eli at 18 hours old with big brother Ryan, age 7 1/2.		Our baby boy came to us on Friday, April 25 at 4:32 pm. Elijah is a very little brother to Ryan, age 7 1/2. Weighing in at 7 pounds, 9 ounces and at almost 21 inches long our sunny boy is very healthy and strong. "Eli" has a super sweet and mellow disposition and is a delight to hold and love. He was finally given a name on May 3, much to the relief of his we, parents and brother, who were tiring of calling him "Baby Schmitt." Thus he will be known to the world as Elijah Zachary Mason Schmitt. The delivery was quick and thankfully there were no complications this time around. Rhiannon cannot wait to be 100% again and get into shape by running baby around town in the stroller during her break from teaching.
Ryan , Eli and Rhiannon only four days after the birth.
News Updates
		April 25, 2009 Eli celebrates his first birthday today. Many friends are coming over for a BBQ and games. Dad (Mason) is celebrating 33 years next week, so this is a party for both Schmitt guys. March 2009 Eli had his first visit to see Grandma Vickie in the USA. We took in the zoo, a kids' museum and many other fun springtime sights. February 2009 Eli started crawling the day we finished our housesitting job with the dangerous stairs! It was late coming but he really got the hang of it quickly. ‹ December 2008 Eli turns 8 months on Christmas Day. He is scooting backwards and we think he will be crawling by then. He has four teeth (two top, two bottom) and has started eating solid foods. His favourites are bread and bread. Eli is entertained by big brother Ryan, who will go to the end of the earth to make Eli laugh.
		‹ June 2008 Eli turns 2 months on June 25. Time is going by so quickly! He is a well-established member of the family already. At 6 weeks old he began smiling!

Family & Friends: Baby Gift Suggestions

Gifts are not at all necessary for Eli but we compiled a wishlist online for anyone who wishes to contribute.

College Fund Contributions:

We believe education is by far the most important gift we can give to a child. We started Ryan's fund when he was only 2 days old!

Therefore we ask that you kindly consider giving money which we will put into our child's education savings plan. This money is far more helpful to his future than anything else we can think of.

G Diapers - The World's First Flushable & Biodegradable Diaper

We are very pleased to have discovered a cloth and disposable diaper hybrid: the G Diaper. It is compostable and far healthier for baby and the planet than plastic diapers, yet far more convenient than regular cloth.

1. We are in need of many bags of flushable refills in size Medium.

2. The starter kits [see photo] with the pants, liners and refills in Large would be much appreciated for when he is bigger.

Available locally at Askews and Shuswap Health Foods (Piccadilly Mall) or online at www.gdiapers.com [there is a listing of stores which sell them or you can purchase online]

Gifts of Hope

Our family is blessed with health, wealth and support. Not all children have these things, or even families to raise them. We want to help create a brighter future for all children, not just in our family.

We'd love your support of another child or children in Elijah's honour. We support a little girl in Guatemala via Plan Canada and have also made other donations to this charity and think it is an exceptional cause to support.

For as little as $15 a child's life can be improved in ways such as health care, education, civil rights and more.

Donations for various projects can be made online at www.plancanada.ca or we can pool cash/cheques for a larger donation.

Fun for Big Brother

Ryan's a great big brother and has been so helpful as our family adjusts to a little one. We would like to reward responsibility and patience and believe the best gift for a 7-year-old is experiences.

Perhaps you would like to treat Ryan to a "big kid only" outing yourself? Or our family can take him out to enjoy his gift of tickets to a special place or event.

As for material gifts, we are working hard to limit the number of toys and "stuff" Ryan and Eli receive. But books are always a favourite. Ryan is at a Grade 3 French and Grade 4 English reading level and loves science, animals and fantasy/sci-fi. Eli likes anything with animals and cars.

Babysitting

Your support by means of babysitting for a couple hours and letting mom & dad have a date would be SO LOVELY!