Caleb's Graduation

Sunday morning we all played hooky from church so we wouldn't be late for Caleb's graduation. It started at 2:00, which is usually the time Eli is just waking up from his nap. This meant that Eli technically needed to start his nap at 11:00 so that he'd wake up at 1:00 and we could leave for graduation. My parents live WAY FAR from town, so it takes about 30-40 minutes to get anywhere in town. We needed to leave at 1:00 so we would have a seat. Talk about putting pressure on a Momma to make sure her little boy gets a nap. Geez!

Luckily though when Eli is at Grammy and Pop's house the only time he is still is when he's asleep or eating, so I knew he'd tire himself out pretty quick. Kailey helped with this, too! She and Caleb made a special cake for Caleb the night before but she saved putting the icing and sprinkles on for Eli. Eli was super excited about getting to help.

Eventually, he decided that the cake had enough sprinkles and he needed the rest. I knew this was going to happen :)

And here are Kailey and Eli with their finished cake. Ta da! Isn't is great?

By the time the cake was finished, my cousin, Emily, walked down from my grandmother's house. David and Stephanie, my uncle and aunt, and Emily had driven over from Texas for Caleb's graduation. The more the merrier! Eli loves Emily and Emily loves Eli. They sat down to read a story together. This picture really is a lie though, because just as soon as I snapped this picture, Eli hopped up and went to do something more fun than read. Oh dear! Did I just type those words? More fun than read? He definitely doesn't get that trait from me.

Caleb got all spiffy and he and Kailey left for his graduation. He couldn't be late for his own graduation! Luckily by this time, Eli had decided on his own that he was tired and needed a nap. I actually found him in the bed trying to go to sleep. I went and tucked him in, kissed him goodnight, and within minutes he was sound asleep at 11:30 a.m. Yes! Success!

Eli woke up right around the time we needed to leave. Hooray for a full nap!! We got him dressed and we all loaded up and left for Caleb's graduation. Eli and Pop stuck pretty close to one another. They're best buds, you know :)

We got inside and I started to wonder how I was going to entertain a 2 year old for two hours. Funny that I didn't think about that beforehand. I made sure to sit on the end so that I could get up and leave with Eli just in case he reached a breaking point...thankfully, that never happened though!

While we were waiting for the ceremonies to commence, Uncle Josh and Eli had fun making "mean" faces at each other.

Then the music changed and we saw the graduates start walking in. We spotted Caleb and started to cheer for him. Eli kept saying, "Hoo-way Cay-lub!" (Caleb's in the red sash thing)

All the 2011 graduates. WOW!

Eli did so great at the ceremony. He did exactly what he was supposed to do. He prayed with Pop. Isn't this just the sweetest picture? I had to sneak a peek and capture it.

He sang the National Anthem and put his hand on his heart.

And he whooped and hollered for Uncle Caleb when it was time to cheer. He was especially impressed with Stephanie's ability to whistle with her fingers. From that point on, his fingers were in his mouth and he kept saying, "Woooo, Woooo, Woooo"! (That's him attempting to whistle)

After the ceremony we waited for Caleb to walk out and Eli and Uncle Josh decided it was time to do some exercise. Eli was Josh's dead weight for his arm lifts. Eli LOVED this!

We found Caleb and "Family Picture Time" began!

Caleb, Emily, Stephanie, and David

Eli and Uncle Josh

Stephanie, Eli, and Emily.

Notice the fingers in their mouths? That's how Eli thought Stephanie whistled.

Stephanie, Eli, and Emily

MawMaw, Caleb, and PawPaw.

So glad they were able to come all the way from NC!

Caleb and Grandma

Dad, Caleb and Mom

Me, Caleb, and Josh

We're all college graduates!

Andrea, Caleb, and Josh

Caleb and Kailey

Eli and Caleb

Too cool for school

We left and went out to eat to celebrate. Of course, being the self-designated family event photographer, I had to make sure I captured everyone at the restaurant.

Josh and Andrea

Caleb and Kailey

Grandma and Caleb

Mom and Dad

(She's proudly holding up 3 fingers to show that all 3 kids graduated college.)

Love these two!

PawPaw and MawMaw

Me and my little man :)

Pop, Eli and Grammy

Their "mean" face

While we waited for our food to arrive, Caleb opened his presents. Josh and Andrea gave him one whole dollar! Not really, but they did have Caleb going for a second.

I can't give a serious card, so I found my favorite Hallmark characters, Hoops and Yo-Yo, to say what I couldn't. As you can tell, Caleb thought it was kind of funny.

Mom and Dad also gave Caleb a pretty funny card. You open the card and music starts playing and you hear the words, "Get out of the house and get a job!" Caleb's been living at home while he went to college and now it's time for him to get out in the real world :) Well, maybe in a little while...I don't think he's ready to give up free room and board just yet.

He opened his gift from Mom and Dad. They gave him a ring like they did for Josh and me when we graduated college.

Hopefully, he won't wear it like this though...

Every kiss begins with Kay...isn't it a handsome ring? We all liked it.

Then Mom and Dad gave him a new Bible. Before they gave it to him, Mom had everyone in the family write a scripture verse that was meaningful to them in the front cover. I thought it was a neat idea. He'll always have those encouraging words right at his fingertips and it'll be a great way to remember this special day.

After our dinner, we convinced Pop that there is nothing better for dessert than a little Marble Slab. Eli selected the ice cream he wanted and dove in!

As you can tell from the pictures below, he THOROUGHLY enjoyed his ice cream on the way back to Grammy and Pop's house.

Caleb, Kailey, and Eli ended the night playing with Photo Booth on Kailey's computer. Eli had a blast! Okay, I'll admit it...we ALL had a blast with it! I'll leave you with our crazy photos :)