sunflowers

On our last mulch day, my hubby planted sunflowers that our awesome friends (who happen to live next door) gave to us.

Chad noticed this little bud coming out of the mulch and I was so excited! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE sunflowers! They are so beautiful and remind me of simplicity and happiness. Not to mention, I basically added the sunflower seed food group to my diet in college because I ate them constantly. Then a week later, I see this:

They are growing like crazy and now I am SUPER excited! They will grow tall and pop up right outside our kitchen window!

I am so excited and in awe of my new sunflower sprouts!

And Elijah just laughs at me. It is silly, I know, but you must understand I have no green thumb at all. It is actually just a normal flesh colored thumb, unfortunately. I cannot even care for a house plant because within days, it will surely be dead. :( And, it may even be the wrong time of year to plant sunflowers and maybe they will die soon from too much or not enough sun. Just cut me some slack if I am super pumped that something we planted ourselves has the potential to grow into something beautiful..... :)

swimming

On Monday, we went to my parents' house for a cookout. It was Eli's first time in the pool this season. My Dad heated the pool so it wasn't too oppresive upon entering the water. He also had the adjacent hot tub heated even more than the pool.

So Eli and Daddy did a little swimming in the pool. At first he wasn't sure what to make of the pool. He wanted to get in, then he wanted out, then he wanted to get in again.

Then he wanted to hang out with the boys and get in the hot tub. He liked the hot tub much better, as it was smaller and warmer. And he loves to splash, as the picture shows! He also LOVED putting his head under the water, which sounds scary, but he knew to pull up right away. What he did not seem to understand was that getting into the water is a gradual thing and needs to be performed carefully, like going down the stairs perhaps....so he would get out of the hot tub and then do a flying leap right into it again, trusting we would catch him. Oh goodness, the fearlessness of a toddler boy.

And what a nice way to top off a day of swimming? Having Mom Mom feed you cheese curls for the first time! He loved them and sucked all of the cheese off!

Swimming all day + cheese curls + dogs and kids everywhere = one tired boy!

kids at heart

On Sunday, we took Eli to the park with my sister Christine and her husband Wes. We went to Shadyside Park and it was a beautiful day. When we got there, it was clear that Christine and Chad (and Wes too) were the real kids having fun.

Christine and Chad are doing a little dance on the bridge that moves around. But their dancing skills pale in comparison to Eli's mad skills. :)

Christine and Chad are trying to figure out how these things work. They thought that you just hang on and try to propel yourself around with your body in a circle. Then a kid came over later and demonstrated how it really works.....it was embarrassing, really. :)

Wes tries to fake the funk on a nasty dunk......he didn't make it, but he was very close!

As you can see, Eli needed a bit of help to practice his dunking skills.

Enter Christine to save the day, although she too is too small!

So we gave up on the basketball, though Eli was very frustrated and did not understand that he could not shoot the basket. So we distracted him with a ride down the slide. If you look at his right shoe, you can see that it is about to catch on the slide. As soon as I snapped this picture, his shoe caught the side of the slide and he did a forward roll down the slide and I scooped him up with one hand before he fell completely off! And the worst part is, Chad had just asked if Eli was safe going down the slide himself, to which I replied 'of course, he does it all of the time!'....... :)

Isn't family the best?!!?!?!!!?!??

dancing at chuck e cheese

nathan

Friday night we took our nephew Nathan overnight. We started our night of festivities at Red Robin where we munched on some steak fries with their special seasoning.....yummy!

Then it was off to Chuck E. Cheese to wreak havoc on the games and accumulate as many tickets as possible. So the boys (Chad and Nathan, that is) played games while Eli and I attempted to play games. I use the word attempted because Eli was one frustrated little boy.

He is infatuated with sports at the moment. All I hear from the backseat of the car as we drive by different parks in the area is "basketball net", "tennis ball", "soccer ball", "golf ball". His favorite right now is basketball. So he wanted to play the basketball games in Chuck E. Cheese that were for big kids. I lifted him up to stand on the game thinking it may help, but he could not reach the basket. So he he kept saying "hoop, hoop" because he wanted the hoop to come closer so that he could make the shot. The hoop had other plans, unfortunately, and stayed put in its spot. Then the tantrums came.....yikes. So in an effort to calm him, I took him to other parts of the establishment. Possibly a game of Whack a Mole would help?

There is one place in Chuck E. Cheese that makes him happy as a clam: in front of the animatronic Chuck himself. This is his favorite spot because it is here, the music is loudest and he can do what he does best: dance. (video post on that later after this one!)

So after cashing in our tickets for some awesome cheap stuff, we went home, baked cookies and watched the movie that Nathan loves to watch at our house for sleepovers: Elf. It really is a cute movie for kids and adults alike! In the morning, we had donuts for breakfast (a must for sleepovers at the DeBolts!) and played Scrabble.

The best part is watching Nathan interact with Eli. He is so loving and fun that Eli just adores him. All Nathan has to do is look at Eli and Eli will be in giddy hysterics in a matter of nanoseconds. It is adorable to watch and we look forward to those times when we all are together!

outside

2005 BE (Before Eli)

Back then, there was always time to....

.....properly manicure fingernails and toenails
.....acquire some semblence of a tan
.....feel good about the way we look
.....sleep in....to whenever we want
.....excersize without worrying about Eli waking up
.....eat at a regular pace instead of at breakneck speed
.....see friends more often :(
.....have date nights when we actually leave the house
.....dream of the day when God would bless us with beautiful child to love with all of our hearts and we would not trade that for all of the time in the world!

mulch day

I never thought I would say this, but I wish every day was mulch day. Of course when I was in high school, I dreaded mulch day because it was hotter than hot and took all day and many wheel barrow loads of mulch. But when we have a garden with the square footage of my thumbnail, it was actually nice! We had such a great time working outside all day long as a family. And it was so cute watching the sense of accomplishment Eli had while helping his Daddy work. We also mowed the lawn and planted sunflower seeds. Daddy worked very hard and we love him for it! What a wonderful day! :)

mess

Feeding Elijah lunch can be a messy experience........this is what happens when I try to empty the dishwasher while he is eating. At least none of it got on the floor (hallelujah for that!). But we did find out that graham cracker sticks and yogurt are yummy together!

life on the farm

On Friday, Elijah and a few of his friends went to Springton Manor Farm to check out the animals. It was our frist time there and it was such a cute place!

Elijah was going to pet this donkey named Eeyore, but at the last minute, got scared and pulled his hand back. The picture looks like he was abotu to hit to donkey, but I assure you, he is against the abuse of animals.

Again, Elijah was going to pet this horse, but got scared. I have to admit, even I was scared to pet it. But it was a very nice horse and Elijah just giggled at it.

Elijah and Wesley are on their way to the next fun animal to interact with.

These were the cutest little baby pigs. I believe they were about amonth old and so adorable! We even got to see them nurse from the Mommy pig. The Mommy pig was completely huge! I actually thought it was a cow before I saw the snout.

Elijah was so excited about the animals, he just ran around like a madman. Here, he was giggling excitedly because the sheep were jumping up on the wall he was leaning on and it scared him, but in an excited, laughter enducing way.

A wonderful day at the farm had by all! :)

beats

obama

In the morning, I make Eli and I breakfast and we eat it in the family room together. I usually turn on the Today show for me to catch up with what is going on in the world. Elijah pays no mind to the television and does his normal routine of playing and coming to the coffee table for a cheerio or two and then playing some more. So on Friday morning, as I was enjoying my oatmeal and watching election coverage, Barack Obama comes on the screen and is talking. They don't even say his name, but I hear my 1 and a half year old son say 'Obama, Obama' and he is pointing to the television. I thought it was a fluke and laughed at his pride for saying the name. Then in the car later that day, there was a commercial on the radio and Obama is talking. Wouldn't you know Eli says 'Obama, Obama'......how does he know Barack Obama's VOICE??? What am I going to do with this kid.....let him vote? :)

haircut

BEFORE:

AFTER:

passing the time

Yesterday, to pass the time while Daddy is away, we went to Shadyside Park. I pushed Elijah on the swing which he loved. But I think he loved it because I pretend to let him kick me each time he swings forward. So all I heard the whole time was 'kick Mommy, kick Mommy'.

We brought a ball with us and Elijah practiced his dribbling skills.

What a cutie!

Here he is deciding what fun thing to do next.

Look at this sweet face.....don't you just want to give him kisses all over!???!?!?! I think he needs a hair cut! :)

away

Chad is away on business for a few days and it is the first time he has been away for more than a day since Elijah was born. I know some women's husbands travel for work routinely and I have much respect for those women holding down the fort for so long, so often. However, I am not used to Chad not being here, not talking on the phone or on im to me, not making me laugh multiple times a day, not playing with Elijah and doing beats with him (post on that later in the week). And, yes people, I slept with the lights on in our bedroom last night. So basically, this week will be sad for both Elijah and myself. Welcome to my pity party. Chips and dip on the table, soda in the fridge. Make yourself comfortable. :(

dreary day shenanigans

Poo poo on this rainy and cold weather! We can still have fun inside and outside, when it is not raining!