Friday, October 15, 2010

The Fun at 21- months that is!

If ever there was a child with mood swings it would be Mr. Eli.  We have stumbled right into the two’s and we aren’t even there yet!  Eli is the sweetest most loving little boy any Mother could ask for.  He is silly and full of life.  I call those his halo wearing days.  Eli is also very spicy!  He is quick to want his way, quick to throw a major fit, quick to tell you no and mean it, quick to hit you and run away, and quick to make his parents crazy!  We call those days horn wearing days.  Don’t get me wrong though there are many days where he interchanges his horns and halo within only minutes!  There is never a dull moment at my house.  Eli keeps me on my toes that is for sure.  He is every bit what a two year should be and then some.  I love him even when I don’t know what else to do with him except send him to Harrison’s house so I can get a break.  Thank you Whitney for rescuing me all the time! :)

This past month has been a lot of fun! Now that the weather is a bit cooler- in the mornings at least- we have been out and about making some memories. Here’s a glimpse into Eli’s most recent adventures both inside and outside the house… 

IMG_6866                      The new “sopper ball”- if that’s not a happy face I don’t know what is!

IMG_6869

Peek-a-boo! Eli walks around under the blanket saying “Where’s Eli?”

IMG_6873

This would be a halo day.  Mr. Smiley

IMG_6893 IMG_6889

The nightly ritual of jumping on the bed after tub time so you can’t comb his hair.

IMG_6918

Refusing to go to “school”. Now I don’t tell him where we are going until we get there!

IMG_6966 IMG_6961

Splish splashin’ in the rain!

IMG_7003

Eli insists on wearing in rain boots in the house but not outside in the rain!

IMG_7013 IMG_7039

Milan and I took Eli and Harrison to “Touch a Truck” day in Athens. They loved it!

IMG_7067

Mr. Smiley again.

IMG_7089 IMG_7105

Whitney and I took the boys to Yellow River Game Ranch.  They had so much fun feeding the animals and chasing them around.  It was a great place to let our two little animals loose for the morning!

 IMG_7082 IMG_7080

The carrots were suppose to be for the animals…

Eli loves Harrison and is always giving him hugs!

 IMG_6901

Another picture of Eli eating on the counter.  This time he is eating muffin batter and lovin’ it! Remember being a kid and licking the spoons? I do and I love seeing Eli do it! We bake and cook all the time. Which leads me to the next picture…

IMG_7142

The story of this picture goes like this…

Mama (in the other room not able to see Eli): Eli what are you doing?

Eli: Reading

Mama: What are you reading?

Eli: Recipes

Mama: Where are you?

Eli: In the dining room with your cookbooks

Mama: What are you going to cook?

Eli: Banana bread

I have a feeling we have a little chef in the making at our house!

2 months away from 2!

Well Eli is officially only 2 months away from being two years old.  I say this constantly, but seriously how does time fly by so quickly?  I took his 21 month picture in the chair last month and then forgot to post it.  Oops! So here it is.  He wasn’t in the best of moods that morning as you can very well see.

IMG_4772 IMG_5364

              12 Months                                15 Months

IMG_6246 IMG_6904

               18 Months                                     21 Months

 

He doesn’t look as drastically different every 3 months like he did last year but I promise you the kid is growing like a weed.  His clothes are always being out grown and he’s already in a size 8 shoe! Yikes!

Monday, September 20, 2010

Apple Picking

Last year was our first attempt at apple picking.  Unfortunately we waited too long into October and you could no longer pick the apples yourself.  None the less I really wanted to go so we made the 2 hour trek into the Georgia Mountains so Eli could experience apple picking for the first time.  If I were a gambling person I would have bet that any Georgia Saturday in October would be gorgeous for apple picking.  If we were heading into Michigan I would have been nervous all week about what the weather would be like.  I live in Georgia so surely the weather would be beautiful.  Here we are last year…

IMG_3862 IMG_3858

Can you say BURRRRR!  It was so cold and rainy it was exactly what I would have planned for in Michigan!  Eli couldn’t walk yet so basically he sat in his stroller freezing while we picked apples out of the bins in the store.  Not quite what I envisioned for the day but it was fun anyway. 

Fast forward to this past weekend.  Can you say HOT! It was 90 degrees by noon.  The complete opposite of last year but so much FUN!  It was a perfect day for a family outing.  I seriously live for doing this type of stuff.  I LOVE going to places like this and watching Eli think the simplest things are the most amazing things in the world. 

IMG_6758 IMG_6784

First things first… the petting zoo.  Eli wasn’t crazy about the animals but he was definitely curious after some coaxing from Tata.  These goats were silly! 

IMG_6814 IMG_6771

Riding the bull and of course hugging the calf.  Eli is all about hugs!

IMG_6768 IMG_6764

The best part of the petting zoo…. not the animals but the pretend tractor!

IMG_6834Finally! Apple picking! Finding the perfect apple to pick- I mean throw!

IMG_6836 

Look at that innocent little face.  Don’t be fooled he whipped that apple across the orchard after posing for this picture.

IMG_6858 IMG_6840

Eli finally decided to give his apple a try!   Milan picking some Honey Crisp apples.

 

This day was about as good as it gets.  Eli was an angel in the car on the long ride up there.  We couldn’t have asked for him to behave better than he did exploring the orchard and on the way home he slept like a champ.  He’s been asking and asking for a “sopper” (soccer) ball lately so we decided to get him one on our way home. 

IMG_6866I’m pretty sure this was the biggest smile I saw on his face all day.  Ahh, I can always count on a ball to make my child happy. 

Next year… we will have 2 kids at the apple orchard! I can’t wait to see what that will be like!  Life is always an adventure and I sure do love the ride! :) 

Monday, September 13, 2010

Mr. Busy Body

Eli is as busy as they come.  I am pretty sure he would give the Energizer Bunny a run for his money.  Eli’s awake hours are non-stop.  Luckily he is sleeping a straight 11 hours at night and taking a good 1.5 to 2 hour nap in the afternoon.  I have to force him to lay down and go to sleep but once he does he is out cold.  I know without a doubt that if I didn’t force him to sleep he’d stay up all night watching late night movies (usually really bad ones with Steven Seagal in them!) with Milan.  Eli just wants to go go go. 

The weather in Georgia is starting to cool off some.  By that I mean that it is no longer in the mid to high nineties with 100% humidity.  We can actually go outside in the mornings and the evenings without melting. Eli a.k.a Mr. Busy Body is much happier now that we are able to venture out more.  The park has been a frequent stop lately and the water table has been brought back out.  Believe it or not it was too hot to even play in the water table.  I may be complaining slightly but don’t be mistaken I will take this miserable heat over those miserable northern winters any day!

Here’s some of the fun we’ve been having over the past month.  I can’t wait for fall and all of the fun that comes along with it! Each new stage Eli enters is more exciting than the last.  I can’t wait to watch him run around at the apple orchard and pumpkin patch.  I can’t wait to see what he thinks of Halloween and all that candy he’ll get.  Maybe I will even give him a piece this year!  And above all, I can’t wait for him to look forward to going to “school” instead of crying about it! All in due time I suppose……

IMG_6611

No more blowing bubbles in the toilet. Ahh, thank goodness they make toilet locks. 

IMG_6622

Mommy’s little helper. “Eli do Eli do”

IMG_6695

Eli discovered soccer!

IMG_6746

“Peek-a-boo Mama!” Eli loves to play Peek-a- boo. This is his new hiding place.  He closes the door and then yells “where’s Eli?” It is just too funny.

IMG_6735 IMG_6733

The next time you think you are having a bad hair day just remember this picture. Eli wakes up with the wildest hair I’ve ever seen! Cracks me up!!

IMG_6604

I thought I was going to be such a strict Mama about things.  Quite the contrary. Eli chooses to eat his breakfast on the couch with the remote.  If you ask him what he’s watching he’ll tell you Fox News. He’s not the least bit interested in cartoons (yet that is).  He will sit and stare at the news as if he is actually understands what they’re talking about!

IMG_6602

 

IMG_6627

 

Can you say obsessed with sports?  Eli is either throwing a ball or carrying one around under his arm.  Most kids carry stuffed animals around but not mine. His best friends are Mr. Basketball, Mr. Baseball, and Mr. Football.  At least he’s finally learned he can’t throw the ball to me when I am driving. 

IMG_6631

Eli LOVES his Sesame Street house and the figurines.  You know he loves Harrison just as much since he is willing to share it with him.  This table has two chairs and each chair has an owner.  Eli only sits in “his” chair because the other one is Harrison’s.  When one of his other friends came to play and tried to sit at the table he told them “no that’s Harrison’s chair!”  These two are still the very best of buds!

This little boy is the sweetest child in the world. I love him to pieces!

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Fun Fun Fun

Grandpa came for a visit and boy did we have fun playing outside!

IMG_6644 IMG_6643

Grandpa bought Eli his first baseball tee

IMG_6701 IMG_6712

 

 

 

 

 

Playing ball at the park

IMG_6728 IMG_6718

 

 

 

 

 

Playing with the hose is soooo much fun!

IMG_6732

Silly Goose!

Thanks for visiting Grandpa! Come back soon! Love, Eli