Must have's...

Three things Eli must have...

1. Access to brush his teeth. He LOVES getting on the stool and brushing his teeth. More accurately, he LOVES to play in running water and suck it off his tooth brush.

2. Flip flops... notice the flip flops in this picture. I tried to take them off and he pitched a fit.

3. His hat. I put it on thinking he would take it right off... turns out he had to wear it all day and the next day and a little of the next day.

One day we will paint the kitchen and you will not see those patched up looking walls!

A good day can go bad fast

My dad came over today to finish up some major wall work. Eli loves watching grandpa work and is in his tools the minute we are not watching. Grandpa let Eli help today. Looks like Eli might be more handy then Mike and I.

Soon after this lovely photo opportunity Eli thought it would be funny to walk around with a clear plate in front of his face. It was creative and cute watching him be a silly j boy. Then... as he was taking the plate back to the kitchen he tripped over his own feet. This happens about 50 times a day, but this time he face planted into the fireplace hearth and nailed his nose on the brick. It scared us all to death, being as it looked like he hit his eye right on the corner. When I picked him up his nose was already swollen and turning black and blue. This picture was taken when it started to look a little better. He was putting on his tough guy face for the camera here.

At first we thought about the ER (when the swelling and bruising appeared it was going to be really bad and I read that could be signs of a something bad) but after a nap it looked better so we were glad we did not go. It happened under my watch therefore I think Mike is still thinking about leaving me and taking Eli to a "safe" place.

NOTE: While Mike and I evaluated the damage to Eli's face, grandpa took down the enemy by sanding the corner that assaulted Eli off the fireplace.

Look what we're cookin up

I heard Eli in the kitchen making a ton of noise a few weeks ago... here is what I came in to find.

Eli loves OUTSIDE

I think someone could (or should) write a book on how to handle tantrums kids throw when they have to come inside. Eli goes on for at least 20 minutes with big tears each time he is brought inside for the night. Last weekend he had at least 4 hours ourside each day and still pitched a fit (thats being nice about it). Here he is in his raincoat playing outside even when the weather is not ideal.

Our backyard has a lot of ivy and brush lining our back property line with a small stream at the edge (kind of)... Here is a video of Mr. Fearless heading for the water.

Missing Nadia

Eli only has a few more weeks until he is back to seeing Nadia two days a week. But to make sure he does not forget her we have visited a few times lately. In this picture they both look beat. I have copied Tatum's entry on their Blog concerning that day... it explains why Nadia has no pants on and why they look tired.
Per Tatum...
"Well, a few days ago, Kari and I decided that Nadia and Eli needed a play date. Everything was going well until Nadia fell off a kitchen chair just as we were ready to have lunch. Nadia cried for about 30 minutes straight (Nadia tends to vomit when she cries too much so of course she got sick) and I was worried that she was hurting somewhere and couldn't tell us. Well, of course you can't have one crying child. Sonia then started crying because it was feeding time so the next thing I know I'm sitting on the couch, feeding Sonia while Nadia was laying on my lap crying (what a sight!). By the time we left our play date, Kari and Nadia were covered in vomit and I had milk all down my shirt. I think Eli was the only one who kept cool and managed to stay clean."
Pray for her as he gets ready to have all three of them together by herself!!!

Still loves popcorn

Papa has had to work from home A LOT recently. So Eli and I have had to find way to entertain ourselves without papa in the evenings. This particular evening we watch The Tigger Movie and ate popcorn. As you can see, he takes after Mike in that he shoves as much as he can in his mouth when I am not watching.

It is actually a pretty good movie... we both look very interested. It is amazing how big he is getting. If you told me this time last year we would share a bag of popcorn and watch a movie to kill time I would not have believed you!

Jon makes the Blog...

I believe it is possible that Mike's friend Jon (Hi Jon- your my friend too) is our most frequent blog visitor. Therefore, it was very important when Jon visited last weekend, for the Basketball games of coarse, that we took pictures of Jon to post. Fortunately Eli took to Jon making good pics easy to get. However, I have to say it was very odd. Eli normally does not take to people this quickly and Jon did not even have to try... Eli just randomly decided Jon was his new best friend and would often ask Jon to pick him up. That means Eli would approach him with his arms out and grunt. I guess the cool hip single guy with the carefree lifestyle and hip clothes is already more fun to spend time with then mom and dad.

No comment...

My poor husband checks daily and is so sad where there are no comments to our posts. I think the grandparents might get in big trouble soon!

Fun with mama

As I have said before... Eli FAVORS his Papa big time. This is not changing as he grows. He still cries everyday when Mike goes to work (even though I am home with him and holding him). Sometimes after papa leaves I go outside to take out trash or whatever, and Eli stands at the door and waves bye-bye... keep in mind that would leave him home alone. But, it's only mama leaving-the one who feeds him, makes sure he has clothes, does all the reading so we have some clue what we should be doing with a toddler... no hard feelings here.
Apparently, if I am good for nothing else, I make a good chair seeing as how if I am on the floor it seems Eli feels he must sit on me.

I also make a good bubble machine! He has yet to figure out how to catch one, but loves to watch them pop.