Some Videos to Brighten Your Day

Eli's Cabinet

Eli has gotten very curious lately and has learned how to open all of the cabinets in our house. We bought cabinet locks awhile back, but just haven't installed them yet. As you can tell from the last post, it's definitely time that we do. However, I wanted to give him one cabinet that he could play in without hearing "No!" all the time. I found a cabinet that would work and filled it with all sorts of plastic bowls, cups, and spoons, and now when I'm in the kitchen cooking, he can play to his heart's desire. His favorite thing to do in the kitchen is get bowls and cups in each hand and slide across the floor with them. This usually provides several minutes worth of his undivided attention and it's pretty cute to see, too! I've attached two videos of him having fun in the kitchen. As you can tell, he loves being able to play like this!

"Singing" into the cup

Do You Think We Need Cabinet Locks?

I was cooking supper the other night and Eli was in the kitchen playing with his plastic bowls, cups, and dishes. All of a sudden, Eli climbed into one of the cabinets and shut the door from the inside! I got Josh's attention and he came over to snap a picture of our little man in action. I guess it's definitely time to install those locks now.

Happy Birthday, Hayden!

Today we went to Hayden's first birthday party. He had a wonderful party and really enjoyed his cake! Guy and Kally, his parents and our friends, did a great job decorating and planning. It made me realize that I have exactly six weeks from today before Eli's party is here. WOW! I better get planning! I don't even know where I'm going to have it yet! Guess I better get busy :)

Eli was very subdued today at the party. It was about an hour before his nap time and he was well on his way to dreamland. He may have been tired, but he still had fun pushing scooters around, sitting with Ms. Ashley, eating Cheetos, and watching everything going on around him. We had a great time! Happy Birthday, Hayden!!

Watching Hayden eat his birthday cake

The birthday boy!

Lovin' the cake!

All the kids that were at the party. Guy offered to hold Eli for the picture.

Eli and Ms. Ashley
Eli's thinking, "Why are you here on a Saturday?"

Just a little smirk ;)

Cute birthday cake by Edna

Presents!
(That's Hayden's sister, Jada, cooling off in the wagon on the right)

Jada and Eli
She is such a great big sister to Hayden and loves Eli as well!

Eli loved pushing this scooter around.
A girl stopped him to check out his ride ;)

My handsome little man

What's a party without Cheetos?

Drinking Buddies

Eli and Hayden have both been practicing drinking from a sippy cup with Ms. Ashley. I'm so glad that he's actually starting to drink out of one. I started putting the sippy cup on his highchair tray when he was 6 months old to build his interest in it and now, four months later, he's drinking out of it! We've mostly put juice and water in his sippy cup, but on some occasions we'll put his formula in there as well. My plan is to put his whole milk in there in a couple months (without warming it up!) and do sippy cup boot camp with him. I'm already praying that it goes well!

Aloha Baby

A few days ago, Eli received a special package in the mail from his Aunt Lisa in California. We opened it up to find two cute little shirts from Baby Gap and a Curious George counting book. Josh has one (a Hawaiian shirt) EXACTLY like Eli's. Do I hear buddy picture or what?




This past Thursday we went over to Zue-Zue's house to eat with Mammy, Uncle Clare, and Uncle Tommy. Eli wore his new Hawaiian shirt and it fit him perfectly! I'm so glad it's still warm so he'll be able to wear it again and actually get some wear out of it. I tried desperately to get a good picture of him in his little outfit, but as Josh's grandfather says Eli is "like a worm in hot ashes" and in the end I settled for these precious open-mouthed pictures. Thanks again, Aunt Lisa! We can't wait to finally see you!

Happy Birthday, Grammy!

Grammy,

I wanted to be the first to wish you a very Happy Birthday! Mommy told me how young you are today and how you always get mistaken for her older sister. I kind of agree, especially since Mommy has grown quite a few more gray hairs these days since I've been around. I guess all those falls I've been taking while practicing my new walking skills is starting to affect her. I hope you have a wonderful birthday. I wish I was there to give you a big hug and kiss, but I know I will see you soon! I love you, Grammy!!

Love,

Eli

Happy Birthday, Grammy!
We love you!

Eli and Hayden

Ms. Ashley caught some cute pictures of Eli and his buddy, Hayden, again :) I love seeing pictures like this! I love knowing that Eli is having fun with Ms. Ashley and Hayden. It makes leaving him a little bit easier...

Mommy and Eli

The Fun Has Just Begun!

Eli has been taking steps for about two weeks now, but today he decided he could go long distances! Life is going to be really fun now :) I guess we can say we have a walker on our hands now! (Please excuse my voice in the video. I sound like a frog. You can thank 19 germy kids for my wonderful froggy voice.)

Lunch Buddies

I left my camera with Ms. Ashley and was going through the pictures and found this one of Eli and Hayden. How cute are they?!

Froggy Kisses

The Irish vs. The Scottish

So apparently there is a HUGE debate on my mom's side of the family concerning their ancestry. Most of the family believes they are Irish and a select few believe they are Scottish. This debate has been going on since my cousin's wedding which was complete with a cake of the Scottish flag and even people playing the bagpipes. Well, Mom is one of the ones that believes she's Irish through and through. She and my cousin Crandell (another fellow Irishman) have been kidding around with other family members teasing them about being Irish or Scottish. It's actually gotten quite heated. Well, the battle of Irish vs. Scottish came to a conclusion this past weekend at the family reunion at Mom and Dad's house.

Sunday night all my mom's side of the family came out to the house. It was so good for the whole family to be together once again. We hadn't gotten together like this since my great-grandmother died over 10 years ago. In fact, the last time I saw some of my aunts and cousins was a year ago when I was pregnant and they gave me a baby shower. This was the first time that they had gotten to meet Eli in person. Most of them follow us on the blog, but they'd been wanting to get their hands on him for a long time. I'm so glad he finally got to meet more of his family!

Dad grilled burgers and hot dogs, the kids and dogs swam, people mulled over old family photos, others chatted and caught up on each other's lives, and everyone had a wonderful time reminiscing about days gone by. Before too long, we all had to go in where the battle of Irish vs. Scottish took place. Mom had arranged three events-BINGO, Family Trivia, and bowling on the Wii- to decide which clan would be the ultimate victor. My grandmother, leader of the Scottish clan, and my cousin, Crandell, leader of the Irish clan, were the ones chosen to battle it out on the Wii. My grandmother may be 68 years old, but she kicked some Irish tail on the Wii! She won every frame against Crandell and left no doubt who was the true winner. The kids ended up taking over and by the end of the night, the victors were the Scottish. I don't think everyone ever agreed on their ancestry, but it was so much fun getting together with everyone again. I hope we can do it again soon!

Looking at old family photos

My cat, Sunnye. No, he's not dead...just enjoying some really good sleep!

Joshua and Andrea

The kids

Grandma and Crandell battling it out on the Wii

The Scottish won and Grandma got to claim her prize...a box of Lucky Charms!

Showing off their prizes