slide on down

This weekend, we hung out with our amazing friends the Weldon's and their cute-as-a-button kiddos Foster and Rowan. And of course we had to burn off some energy with the kids at Moonbounce! The Daddies had fun with the kids on the equipment and the Mommies had time to chat and catch up. Please forgive the massive red eye shots.....the red eye reduction setting on my camera obviously does not work very well. :)

It was a great time with friends, kids and fun. I think once you have children, the fun you have with your friends increases. Not only do you laugh at each other (i.e. underdone brownies that give new meaning to the word gooey!) but you also laugh at your kids and the shenanigans that they create (i.e. Foster the toy stalker!).

I got to hold Rowan who is 2 months old and it brought back memories of holding Elijah when he was that small. Such a cuddly little teddy bear. But my oh my how things have changed. Each stage of development has been such a wonderful time of learning, for Elijah and for Chad and I. Children just give new meaning to the word 'joy'. Before Elijah, I had felt joy: on my wedding day, times with friends, work accomplishments, when I found out I was pregnant with Elijah, etc. But little did I know the God would take such an exponentially overflowing joy and package it in such a small package as my son. He brings my husband and I to new levels as well as stretches us, both as husband and wife and as parents. We have grown almost as much and as fast as Elijah.

God has truly blessed me with joy after joy in my life and He is who I thank for those blessings every day. Sometimes I think to myself that I have no idea what I did to deserve this happiness and all of the blessings He showers upon me. But then I remember that I don't deserve it. God gives abundantly to those to ask and seek Him. So that is what I strive to do every day in order to give back to Him the joy He has given to me: seek His face. :)

mess

This is what I walked into after I let Elijah into the normally forbidden cabinet of pots and pans.

When I said "Look at this.....", he finished my sentence by saying "....messsssssss". Too cute for words!

bubbles, bubbles

Thanks to Nana and Poppy, Elijah now has had the experience of a bubble maker. Mommy and Daddy's blowing the bubbles the old fashioned way was just too slow for Elijah. He prefers getting drowned by them.

It started out innocently enough with Chad pouring the solution into the maker and then it began to blow bubbles.....

And then more bubbles.......

And then even more bubbles....

Whoa, too many bubbles!!!!!

T

Last night, our son had a french fry for the first time. He is such a picky eater that we offer him ANYTHING we can in order to get extra calories into him. So he actually did like the french fry and so I tore it up into pieces for him. As he was eating, he started saying, "T, T, T". Chad and I were looking at each other like, 'what is he talking about?'........then I look at Elijah and he is pointing on his tray at the last piece of french fry and I see what he means. Scroll down to see too.

He can say and recognize many of the letters of the alphabet, but to see letters in his food....that is an accomplishment. Just another of the many reasons why we love this kid so much.

easter

So this weekend, I battled an illness that attacked my stomach. Thankfully as of today, I have conquered it! But before I was feeling sick, on Friday Elijah and I went on a hayride with my friend Donna and her son Trey. It was at Highland Orchards and was a good time! The hayride took us around the orchards to a bunny that gave out plastic eggs. Inside the eggs were coupons for some free goodies inside their store! We chose a cider doughnut and chocolate homemade fudge. Yummy!

The best part is when I went to the car and rifled through my purse to realize that I am missing my keys. I had given them to Elijah during the hayride to satiate him when the hayride wasn't moving. So lucky for us, the driver of the hayride who was an elderly man, happened to be walking by to go home for the day. He was so nice and drove us to where the hayride was parked and I was able to find the keys and go home. :)

Easter Sunday, because I was ill, Elijah and I did not make it to church. It was sad to not be able to go, but Chad went and prayed for us. It must have worked, because I was feeling better in the afternoon after a long nap. So we got Elijah ready in his Easter best on a casual tip. As you can see, he has a bruise from the iced tea pitcher in between his eyes. Always before holidays, kids get hurt somewhere on their face.....is seems to be inevitable.

Every year since my siblings and I have been too old for the Easter bunny, they have had these Easter egg hunts with plastic eggs that hold money in them. So this year, Elijah was old enough to get in on the fun.

We also had fun playing with cousin Nathan and Daddy outside. It was chilly, but the sun made it feel great. We saw our neighbors, dogs and just had a great time.

Lastly, I can count on one hand how many family pictures we have of the three of us....a whole whopping 2. So every holiday I try to get a family picture. When it comes to Elijah, he can never seem to sit still to take a picture because, well, he is a kid. When it comes to Chad, he seems to be the Chandler Bing of picture taking (A 'Friends' reference for anyone who watches it). And for me, I always seem like the sun is burning holes into my retinas. We made a few attempts yesterday to get a picture of all of us and the below was the best we could do. Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! Jesus rose again and conquered death for our sins! Hallelujah!

Stomach Virus....Part Deux

Oh my goodness. That is all I can say. I never want to have a stomach virus again.....then again, who does? :) I have grown to know the porcelain throne way more than I could ever imagine. Chad has been awesome taking care of me. Elijah is his easy going self, playing with pots and pans and pressing buttons on his new cell phone. But I feel like death. :(

bounce me???? no, bounceU!

We made a trip with some friends with some old work friends and their kids to BounceU in Exton. Let me just say, as soon as we entered the building, Elijah wanted down and bolted away from me to explore all over the place before I even was able to sign us in.

This was the first time we were there and though it was a bit pricey (I am used to getting into Moonbounce Adventures for free, so I am spoiled!), it was a great time! Elijah danced to the music that was playing and kept wanting to go in the room for the 6 year olds and over....wanting to grow bigger while I want him to stay small! All in all, it was a wonderful time!

So today was interesting. Elijah likes to play with containers (as I am sure most toddlers do): cups, bowls, pots, pitchers, etc. So today he asked for a pitcher and his asking consists of saying "peas" (his version of "please") over and over again. So I gave him the pitcher and proceeded to put the groceries away from our shopping trip. From the open fridge, he pulls out an apple. So as I finish my ever long rearranging of things in the fridge and finally shut the door, I see this:

Now obviously this is not how apple juice is made.....but I did not tell my child that for fear it would thwart his creativity. I give him points for trying. And then as he was bending over with the pitcher, thinking that would make the apple come to his mouth, he tripped and the pitcher hit his forehead. And a bruise is coming, I can tell. Oh, the life of a toddler.

BTW, please don't forget to read the post below this one about places to take our kids! :)

kids = fun!

Everyone who has children likes to take them to fun places that don't break their budget, right? I have compiled a list of a few places I like to take Elijah. It is on the right hand side of this blog. Through this list I would like to do a little information sharing. I am asking you, and anyone else who reads this blog, where YOU take YOUR kids to have a fun time at a reasonable cost. If you can post it in comments section of this post or email me: dsp78@hotmail.com, I can then add them to my list. The goal of this is to inform other Moms of places they and their kids may not have known about and then we all win! I know I love to find new places to go with Elijah that will stimulate his mind as well as exercise his body.....and so he sleeps well for his mommy and daddy! wink, wink! So please let me know and I will keep adding to the list. Thanks so much!

out of the woods

Isn't the mild weather great? Is it still winter or is it spring already? I have no idea. But playing with my son outside is the most fun thing we can do these days. I love getting Elijah outside of our stuffy hot house and into the brisk cool wind of nature.....I think he loves it too.

Since the sickness bug has now left the building, we had some egg coloring fun this past weekend. A little messier than I remember, but fun nonetheless. Elijah will know in due time the true meaning of Easter: God's gift of His son Jesus dying for our sins, rising again, triumphant from death, giving us eternal life. But for now, to a child who cannot grasp that concept just yet, coloring eggs is fun.

Sickness, sickness, go away,

Come again no other day.

Outside and with friends

we want to play.... :)

green stuff

This week, Elijah is sick.....I know, I know, we just cannot seem to get out of this phase of constant sickness. He has all of the energy in the world, but he just has to have his nose wiped constantly. Poor kid. I cannot even keep up with it, it is running so fast! So again, we have been cooped up this week just trying to get better. We have danced like crazy, which is Elijah's favorite thing to do. We have done all of our puzzles and are learning our letters and colors. We miss our friends, so hopefully we will all be healthy soon.

congrats and a rock

So we just found out yesterday that 2 couples that are friends of ours are pregnant! Congrats to Jamie and Bryan Busza who are due in September! Can't wait to see you pregnant Jamie!

And a special congrats to our wonderful and dear friends the Beans! They are expecting their first in September too! Here's hoping that he/she is a little red headed darling!!! We love you guys!!!

So some kids have a 'lovey', which is something they love and take with them wherever they go. Eli never had one of these.....until now. And what does our precious son choose to be his 'lovey'? A rock. Go figure.

One more

And the best is saved for last.......forgot this one! I think someone just told him about the crazy people he has for parents! :)

Just call me Funny Face

To make up for the lack of pictures due to illness, here are some pics of the funny faces of Elijah.

"Ever have a tickle in your throat?"

"See my tongue, gee your dumb."

"If Daddy had his way, I would have a mohawk all of the time!"

"Call me Einstein!"

"Mommy, I am being very good!"

"Is it a bucket or a hat...its a mystery."

"Playing in the bath is more fun for Mommy and Daddy, as you can see!"

"You want me to do what??!?!?!!"

"Oooo, Elmo. He is my favorite!"