Surprise Party for Sarah!

Our good friends Tammy and Clare, or Mammy and Uncle Clare as Eli calls them, invited several of their closest friends and family to a surprise 30th birthday party for their oldest daughter, Sarah. Tammy and Clare prepared some delicious food and Ms. Vera baked a beautiful cake for Sarah. We all had a great time laughing and celebrating Sarah! She was truly surprised so it was great fun! Here are some pictures from her surprise party. I had to use my iPhone camera because the battery on my digital camera was dead. I didn't realize it before I got to their house though so I was quite bummed. I'm glad I was still able to capture this fun night!

Eli and Mammy

Yummy food!

Sarah's birthday cake complete with 30 roses

made by Mrs. Vera

Sarah with her step-son Trey

Tammy and Clare

The Birthday Girl

Sarah and Eli

Happy Birthday, Sarah! Hope you had a wonderful day! Hope your 30's are some of the best ever!

Mardi Gras Parade at School

After Eli's well visit, we went to his school because it was the day of their Mardi Gras parade. Normally our schools have similar breaks, but occasionally I'll be out and he won't. This was one of those times. I'm thankful too because on these days I get to be a "Room Mom" and I love it! 

We walked in the gymnasium and Eli immediately went to find Hannah to sit by her. Those two love each other so much. I'm so thankful for their friendship and for the friendship Josh and I have with Josh and Diane (Hannah's parents). Hannah and Eli have actually been talking about getting married when they're older and it's the cutest thing to hear. Hannah asked Eli to marry her the other day and Eli told her that he had to grow up first but when he got big he would! They make me laugh! Diane and I keep telling them that they're just going to be really good friends for a long time. We'll talk about marriage in 20 years :)

Because February was one of the wettest months ever in our area, the Mardi Gras parade had to be moved inside. It was CRAZY! The older elementary students kept circling the gym until all their beads, candy, and cups were gone. The younger elementary students racked up and got so many fun treats! Diane couldn't make it to the parade so I made sure to take a picture of Hannah to send to her. 

These two had such fun at the parade!

It was a great Mardi Gras parade! My little reveler got lots of beads, but he actually couldn't wait to take them off his neck. They were driving him crazy! I'm glad I got to spend the day with my little man and have fun with him at school! Happy Mardi Gras!

4 Year Well Visit

This year for some reason I was so behind in scheduling Eli's yearly well visit. It seemed like every time I scheduled it he would get sick and I would have to call and cancel. Finally it worked out that we were able to make an appointment. It actually worked out really well because I was out of school for Mardi Gras break so I didn't even have to use a sick day. Yay! 

They weighed Eli, measured his height, checked his eyes and ears, and checked his iron and lead levels. Everything was great! Eli's weight was 35 lbs., his height was 41 inches, and his eyes were 20/40. I was a little concerned about his eyes because he did have a harder time reading the eye chart this year than last, but the doctor said that it was perfectly within the range of normal. His eyes should continue to improve as he gets older. The only negative part of this visit was when they checked his blood for iron and lead. He didn't like that at all but he had a good reason! 

The week before this appointment he had to go to the doctor because he had flu-like symptoms. Flu has been rampant at his school this year, so as soon as Eli started showing symptoms I immediately took him in to the doctor. They had to prick his finger to get enough blood to see if he had the flu and it was determined that he was showing early signs of flu. Eli cried throughout the entire blood draw and it broke my heart. I hated to see him hurting. They went ahead and prescribed Tamiflu for him and lots of rest. I took 2 days off from work and after some rest, lots of cuddles from Mommy and Daddy, movies, and some good medicine he seemed to be better. I'm so thankful! 

At his 4 year well visit, the nurse came in to prick his finger and he started to cry. He was so scared that it was going to hurt like it did last week. I held him tightly in my lap and convinced him that it wasn't going to hurt that much. He was very brave and did great! They put a bandaid on his finger and then it was time for us to wait for the doctor. While we waited we played I Spy, read books, and Eli drew on this Magna Doodle. He's getting to be such a great little artist. I love watching him draw people. He drew this little guy and I just had to take a picture of it! 

The doctor came in and gave Eli a clean bill of health. Eli was also relieved to know that he was caught up on all his vaccines and didn't have to worry about anymore shots until Kindergarten! I laughed when Eli wiped his forehead and said "Whew!" I'm so thankful for my healthy little boy. He's growing and developing just like he's supposed to. He's such a treasure to us and I love seeing how he grows and changes over the years! 

Flowers for My Hair

Eli is such a sweetheart. He's reached that stage where he knows that picking flowers for your Mommy is a pretty special thing to do, so anytime we're outside he usually picks a flower for me to wear in my hair. A few weeks ago, Eli picked one for me as soon as we got home. I took this picture and put it on Instagram and Facebook, but I wanted to include it on the blog, too. I love my little boy. He certainly knows how to melt my heart :)

(Oh, and in case you're wondering about his head let me explain. We were outside playing with Maggie one day. Eli was walking around the edge of the pool and slipped. He thought he was going to fall in and threw himself forward instead right into the edge of one of my loungers by the pool. The gash was small, but like all head wounds, bled a lot. It wasn't that deep so we just used butterfly bandages for a few days to help close the wound and put some liquid bandaid on top of it. He'll have a tiny scar but it won't be bad at all. I'm just thankful that he's okay!) 

Valentine's Day Art

To celebrate Valentine's Day this year, Eli and I did an art project I pinned on Pinterest. I had everything I needed at home so it was a great afternoon activity for us. I took two toilet paper rolls and bent them into the shape of a heart. Then I put some pink and red paint on a plate for Eli and let him start stamping. He loved making Valentine's Day art and it was a good time to reinforce color patterns with him. Next up, will be shamrock stamping in March :)

Happy 4th Birthday, Scott

Early in February we went to a birthday party for Scott, one of Eli's friends at school. Scott's mom, Reve, works with Josh at the bank and we love their family! Scott was having a monster truck themed birthday party and was so excited! Scott and Eli are in the same class at school and love playing together. Scott is such the little country boy and loves nothing more than playing in the woods, riding four wheelers, and hunting. Eli, who doesn't even have a tree in his yard (poor thing!), had a wonderful time playing with Scott in the woods at his birthday party. 

First try at getting a picture-Eli looking...Scott not.

Second try at getting a picture-Scott looking...Eli not.

I give up.

The kids played in the yard for a long time. Reve and the boys live on lots of land out in the country so there was lots of explore. We ate some yummy hot dogs and hamburgers and then it was time to cut the cake! Reve got Scott an Oreo ice cream cake from Dairy Queen and it was so yummy! Scott listened to everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to him and then we all dug in!

Even Eli, who rarely eats, ate some of the ice cream cake. He definitely knows what's good!

Before all the guests left, they got a chance to hit the piñata. Two or three kids were able to hit it with the baseball bat before he fell with a crash to the ground...with all the candy still inside! Scott's brother, Drew, remedied that and started tearing into it and throwing candy everywhere!

Eli filled up a bag full of candy and then we said our good-byes! It was time for a nap! All that exploring wore my little city boy out! Happy Birthday, Scott! We had a great time at your party!

Eli and Grant

A couple of weeks ago, Jessie and Grant were visiting Mamaw and called to let us know they were there so we could come visit, too! Jessie told me that Grant had brought his four wheeler to Mamaw's to ride and wanted to know if Eli could bring his Jeep over so he could ride with Grant. We loaded up the Jeep and made our way to Mamaw's. Those two boys had such a great time riding each other's vehicles! I wish we lived closer to each other so they could play more!

They both look so grown up here!

We can't wait for the next play date!