My newest hobby has it's own blog / etsy site

http://kutebykari.blogspot.com/

He is on the move!

I don't want to forget this

Eli just came inside from playing, grabbed Isaac's hands, looked him in the eyes and said "I missed you".

Halloween pics late, real late!

Trick or Treating with the neighbors!   Sammy (the dinosaur) and Eli will be in the same class all through school and they live right across the street!!!

Superman saves the bumble-bee

They were both over it by this point!

More Fall Fun

 Future IU Student at Homecoming Tailgate!  We are starting him early just like we did Eli!

 Mike's grandmother (Mamaw) playing cornhole... she just about beat me!  She is NOT your average 82 year old!

 Aunt Beth and Isaac

Little Cousin love!

The kids and I went to the zoo last week.  Eli LOVED all the Halloween decorations.  And, all the animals were out and moving.  Eli was very excited to see the new Lion and we were even more excited to see that the new Lion loves to sit where you can see him.

We also went trick or treating at an Assisted Living Home last week.  Eli did a great job telling all the residents his name and visiting with them.  He even asked one lady if she would like to go trick or treating with us on Halloween.  I had explained to him that this visit was not just about getting candy but making the people there happy because they love to visit with little kids.  He seemed to understand what I said because he made sure to visit with each resident we saw.  It was fun to do a little service project with him.

 We went with my friend Leah and her kids.  Eli was so excited that Bridget was also dressed like a super hero.  Leah and I have been friends since middle school and it is so neat to watch our kids play together.  If you had told us when we were 12 we would be doing this 20 years latter I don't think we would have believed you.  God is good!

A few first for Issac and Eli and most important IT'S FALL!!!

In the last month or so we have had a lot of firsts.   Eli started to cook with Mama, sang in his first preschool performance, started drinking "coffee" (hot milk with creamer), and experienced Isaac getting into his toys.  Isaac got his first tooth, started to sit up on his own, experienced getting into this brothers toys, and got his first haircut!

Eli making soup with Mama, he is so proud and so excited for Mike to get home and have "his" dinner.  He has also been setting the table!

Making Halloween Cookies, he had been looking forward to this for a few months!

They turned out pretty cute.

Making a gingerbread Halloween house and Beth gave us.  Not as easy as I wanted it to be, but Eli had a great time licking it!

He is not interested in the baby toys!

Eli is handling it much better then expected, here he is sharing with Isaac!

He LOVES sitting up!

Eli loves loves loves Halloween.  He is going to be Superman and in his excitement he wanted to make a Super-Eli.  We traced his body and then he told me what to draw.  Super-Eli's super power is that he saves kids from trees (notice the little girl in the tree).  How he does that is he burns down the tree with the candle in his hand (notice the flames on the tree).  We realize we have some work to do with him on fire safety.   Super-Eli  also has two horns coming from his belly that shot lightening... he could not articulate what these were for. 

 

That white thing is a tooth.  Since then he has got one more on the bottom and working on a top tooth too!

Eli with his morning "coffee"

My happy baby.  Eli says this is his bear costume. 

Here is the classic picture of the performance nose pick.  The good news is he never actually stuck his finger up his nose or pulled anything out!

To demonstate how out of control Isaac's hair was getting, Mike gave him a Mohawk one night while I was still at work.

The next day I cut it

We just love this picture, it is old but don't think I ever posted it.

Bath time!

First Day of School, and after school celebration lunch with Papa

Telling Papa about what he learned, he loved it!

Bugs!

 "I'm bringing home a baby bumble-bee"

What Mike makes for Lunch when I take naps...

 Yes - he ate one, but it seems they were hard to chew.  He ended up spitting it out and asking for ants instead.

All this bug eating at home got Eli ready for Bug Fest with his cousins.

 At Bug Fest they flavor their crickets with cheddar and bacon

 Not sure Aunt Ginny thought they tasted like anything bug a cricket!

birthing

I just finished reading a friends blog about her home birth experience last week.  It was amazing.  She finishes with saying, in what I imagine is a victorious voice, "He came out!  I got him out.  It was amazing".  I was reading it thinking how awesome it must have been and how I will never get to do this.  Not that I am brave enough for a home birth, but I would be happy with any kind of birth that does not have the word surgery associated with it.  I then began to think about how I felt some victory tonight that ended with me thinking "I got it out, that was amazing".  It has nothing to do with birthing a baby, but it did make me feel better and laugh through my sadness of never giving "birth".  

Today when we were outside Eli held a stick under his nose.  "Look Mama, I am Pepaw" he said as he put it up to his nose like a mustache.  He was on the trampoline when he said this, the trampoline I had just cleaned off.  He never moved off the trampoline, but the stick was gone, no sight of it.  Eli then says "I smell something, a stick".  "Eli, did you put that stick up your nose?"  "No Mommy, it is out."   "But Eli did you put it up your nose?"  Eli gives me the blank toddler stare.  Many variation of this question came from Mommy and no straight answer ever came from Eli. 

Enter Mike

"Mike, I think Eli put a stick up his nose"  "Is that why you have the flash light out"  "Yes, but I don't see it, either it is not up there or he has pushed it up so far I can't see it".  Mike asks Eli the same questions about putting the stick up his nose and also gets no where.  

We eat dinner.

After dinner we notice Eli's nose is running and he keeps playing with it.  Again we ask him if he put it up his nose, this time he actually tells us he did not... really???

I get online to see what the harm is of having a stick up your nose, stuck up your nose that is.  Stuck to the point your parents have no idea if you have a stick up your nose.   I think about calling my girlfriend whose husband is a ENT doctor (ear-nose-and throat) thinking he has certainly dealt with this, maybe I can take Eli to Angie's.  BUT, before I call I read instructions online to do the following...
1.  Cover the unaffected nostril
2.  Put your mouth over you child’s like you are giving CPR
3.  BLOW

The air is supposed to come out the affected nostril pushing the object out.  I tell Mike and we both laugh but he thinks we should try it and tells Eli was are going to do something real funny... yeah funny for who?  I guess "funny" for me because Mike nominates Mommy because I know CPR... like I have ever given mouth to mouth (we DO NOT do that in a hospital setting).  

I lay Eli down, cover the nostril and blow in his mouth... snot hits my face from the "effected nostril"... I should not have blown that hard - or maybe I should have.  We all laugh at how ridiculous this is considering Eli is saying there was not stick!

BUT THEN... the stick comes out of his nose!

And I thought "I got it out, that was amazing" 

Closing thoughts from Mike "it's in the kitchen, I saved it in case we want to put it in his baby book"

(Erin's story is in her blog link to the right "Erin Dunlevy")

new day and happy pictures

Today is a new day. I got 4.5 hours of consecutive sleep and I feel like a new women (for today). Eli had eggs for breakfast. We make animal sugar cookies together and while they were baking he learned to write the number one - which he was so excited about he called and left Mike a message. I have meat defrosting to make Mike his favorite meal - taco "salad". My mother-in-law is coming over tomorrow so I can go to the BMV and do with my car what I should have done 50 days ago, I might even dust while she is here. The baby pooped 3 times today after a week of horrid constipation. I showered myself, gave the baby a bath, and gave Eli a haircut - the cookies were his reward for sitting through it.

It is almost 5pm and I am cleaning the kitchen while Eli plays with the dog in the backyard and Isaac watches me.

It is now 7:50 and Mike had to leave for a meeting, but Isaac is already asleep and Eli is almost ready for bed. Dinner is cleaned up - yes, I fed them dinner tonight.

Today was a better day, it normally is after a big breakdown. God says he will not give us more then we can handle, and I am confident he knew that yesterday I was just about there.

Now to make it even better here are some pictures from the last few weeks.

*NOTE* - Eli has his underwear on inside out and still is not dressed (he was dressed at one point but he rarely comes out of the bathroom with them still on) - I said it was a new day not a perfect one.