The Ladies

After a trip to the pool this afternoon, we headed over to Shawn and Amanda's house for dinner. Our friends Brad and Julia and their kids Brianna (2 1/2) and Leah (3 mos) were there too. Amanda is pregnant with their second child and due August 24. We're so excited to meet little Evan Michael! Their daughter Sydney (3 in Nov) shared all of her toys with Eli. He had a great time playing with the ladies. He gave them slobbery kisses and loved the attention they gave him. It was great getting together with them. Summers in Urbana are awesome. It's so much fun to just hop in the car or walk to our friends' houses and grill out and spend time together.

Sydney, Eli, Amanda, Julia, and Leah

Eli, did you scare Sydney?

Brianna and Sydney- best friends

Reading a story with Mommy

I guess Sydney was the only one paying attention!

(Ooh, this is a good shot of the rat tail.. almost long enough to braid. :)

Eli loves Grandma & Grandpa

Grandma and Grandpa came over to our house to visit Eli on Saturday afternoon. They stayed over at our house a few weeks ago and watched Eli for a few days. Eli missed them. He loves playing with them. He was busy showing them the new tricks he learned since he last saw them- climbing steps and clapping his hands.

Eli the Carnie

The Urbana Carnival came to town! Eli had the perfect look- camouflage overalls and his signature rat tail. He even had the correct number of teeth to fit right in with the crowd.

He was only able to ride 2 rides- the merry-go-round and the train- but he had a good time. I mean, who wouldn't enjoy a "similar to the Flintstones but not really the Flintstones" themed train. Eli was too busy steering the locomotive to pose for the camera.

Kisses for Paige

A more manly hug for Conner

Family Picnic

On Friday, we all drove to my brother's house in Delaware for the weekend. My Aunt Darlene and Uncle Chuck were hosting a family picnic at their house in West Chester on Saturday. We always get together for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but it was so nice being all together in warm weather. We played croquet and washers and enjoyed a perfect day.

Uncle Nathan, I've got your nose!

Check out my piggies

Relaxing in the hammock

Check out that form


Ryan must be replacing electrolytes

Derek and Dad- but not in that order

Eli hanging out with Mim & the great aunts (sounds like a band!)

We also celebrated my mom's retirement. Aunt Darlene is reading a poem she wrote called "Goodbye Tension, Hello Pension!"

King Eli just needs someone to fan him and feed him grapes

Come on in everyone!

Can someone grab me a phone book or two?

Nevermind. I don't need one back here!

Hop in Pop. I'll take you for a spin around the block.

Water Baby

We got back today from a weekend visit at my brother's house in Delaware. I have much to blog about, but I'm going to have to do it in installments. It's getting close to my bedtime already. Kevin had off all last week, and I had off Monday, Thursday, and Friday. I had high hopes for getting a lot done, but most of our time was spent playing with Eli. That's the most fun anyway.

On Thursday, we took Eli to our community pool. With hair spiked and clad in board shorts and a surfer shirt, Eli didn't even hesitate to enter the 3 ft pool with me. He loved it! He loved being held, dunked his head in a few times, and kicked his feet in his goldfish floatie. We weren't there for more than 45 minutes before a rumble of thunder was heard, but it was just the right amount of time. Eli and I usually go for a walk to the swings each night when I get home from work. We're going to have to put pool time in the rotation.

Weekend in Pictures

Eli had a busy weekend being cute. Here are some pictures of his adventures.

He loves the air vent near the window. He crawls over to it and slaps it. That window is his favorite place to pull himself up. That reminds me... I saw some slimy fingerprints on the window that I need to take care of.

He has learned how to honk the horn on his Mickey Mouse rider. I'm sure it won't be long before he's cruising around the kitchen on that thing.

"Look Mom, no hands!"

Mim and Pop took Eli to the playground. He loved the tunnel!

Trying to climb up the tunnel to get Pop

Getting ready for the dismount off the high bar

Pop, look at the camera. Mim is taking our picture.

Mad Baby

Eli's Dinner Rules
1. Give Eli an appetizer (puffs) while Mommy prepares dinner.

2. Watch as Eli picks up 3-4 puffs at a time and jams as many into his mouth as possible.

3. Remove puffs that are slobbered on and stuck to his face, his arm, the high chair, the floor, or to the cat (if she walked by and gets hit with a stray puff).

4. The most important rule of all: Don't let him run out of puffs!

Below: Eli's just snacking on puffs. Everything is going according to the rules... until I violate rule #4.

Do you think my child needs anger management counseling?

Where's Eli? Peek A Boo!

Eli was so entertaining this weekend. He's getting so much more coordinated and is figuring out things- and he is moving FAST. We have a blanket lined with toys in the living room/dining room. The toys used to serve as a barricade, but Eli can plow right through them now. The little escape artist is all over the place, has started climbing stairs (only one or two), and is pulling himself up with ease. He wears us out by the end of the day!

We all practiced clapping with him and saying "yea" all weekend. It didn't take him long to pick up on it. He "claps" and tries to mimic us. It's so cute. I have to try to capture it on video.


Speaking of video, Mim played a new game with him. Check out this "peek a boo" game below. (Eli sometimes gets confused between his exersaucer and jumperoo. He's about to launch himself out of this thing!)

Clone Babies' Babies

Two of my dear friends, Renee and Pamela, were in town over the weekend visiting their families and we planned to get together for a luncheon. Renee lives in Germantown, about 15 minutes away from me, so we get to see each other on occasion. But I hadn’t seen her pregnant belly! Pamela lives in Kentucky- the real Kentucky- not Pennsyltucky, so seeing her was a special treat. The three of us really resembled each other during our junior high days, most notably in a photo of us at a sleepover in matching pajamas. Cover our faces and even our mamas would have a tough time distinguishing their offspring. So we called ourselves clone babies.

My mom prepared a lovely luncheon for us on Sunday afternoon. The grandmothers were also there (Eli’s Mim, Callan’s Nana, and Emerson’s G-Ma). Tawnee, Renee’s sister, made an appearance with her two kids, Avery and Caitlin. I see these kids all the time on blogs, so it was like miniature celebrity sightings all over the kitchen. After lunch, we moseyed over to the playground across the street at the church. Eli’s toys didn’t seem quite interesting enough for 20 month old Emerson after awhile.

Some observations:
-My child is a moose. He weighs one pound less than Callan, who is 6.5 months his senior.
-Callan’s teeth are spectacular. I’ve never seen anything like it. Renee should consider auditioning him for Colgate commercials.
-Emerson is almost exactly a year older than Eli. I was making mental notes of what to expect next July. I can see the energy level certainly won’t be decreasing. And I think I may need to start an endurance workout in preparation.
-It’s so nice to visit with friends that I haven’t seen in awhile and find that we haven’t missed a beat. Thanks girls for a wonderful visit!

Callan- 15 months

Renee and Callan

Emerson- 20 months

No luck getting all three (or any of the 3!) to look AT the camera

Emerson, Pamela, and Mrs. Clemens