Happy New Year!

All the fam is headed here today to re-do our family Christmas that was missing Bec and Joel last week because of weather. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone and know that Eli will be thrilled. We worked on some projects this week (Brandon only had to work on Tuesday). The furloughs have come to an end and probably will not be back next year. Thus, he will save all of his vacation until Cora is born. We put together Eli's big boy bed (twin bed) and picked up a side rail to keep him from falling out onto the hard wood floor. As soon as Eli and I are over our colds (doctor said he really just does have a 3rd virus) we'll start him sleeping in it and move the crib to our room. It should be interesting! He loves the bed and we've been reading books on it etc. getting him used to it. My brother helped us set up our fish tank that he got us for Christmas. Tomorrow we can get some fish to go in it. I think we're going to get pink and green glowfish for Eli's sake. I think he'll love them! Yesterday, we got over an inch of snow that had pretty much melted by the afternoon, but we still saw kids going down the hill by our house so we took Eli out to try. Even though it was half grass everyone was still going really fast. Eli loved it! Brandon has been dying to take him sledding, so it was perfect. Eli kept yelling "MORE!" at the bottom of the hill. It's so wonderful to get to experience the joy of these new things through Eli's eyes!

Christmas Video!

Christmas festivities!

Although, Bec and Joel were unable to make it up here because of TERRIBLE weather both here and there we had a wonderful Christmas. We had a big winter storm with blizzard conditions, but we were still able to go to Christmas Eve service at our church and celebrate! We're all headed up to the farm next week for about 4 days to make up for it and open our presents to each other. Eli had the time of his life. He put a cookie out for Santa and ran out in the morning to see if Santa had come. Santa, in fact had brought him a kitchen, a full stocking of goodies, and left him a candy cane in place of the cookie :-) My parents got him the kitchen and we got him food to play with. He's been having a blast playing with it! I think he's fed us all tons of food and especially cups of "coffee". He also got: bathtub markers, paints, and a little goal and balls, big brother books, a puzzle, clothes, doctor's kit, and foam swords (which Brandon enjoyed just as much as Eli ;-)). My brother got him a "big boy" basketball and train set. Eli literally jumped up and down so excited for the "real" basketball! I'll post the video later! We enjoyed a wonderful Christmas feast yesterday and last night headed over to my cousin's house for a Christmas snack party! It was great to be with all the family. My cousin Megan was there with Luke, so we were able to take a picture with both of us pregos! She's about 2 weeks ahead of me, so it will be great fun having the cousins the same age. One of Eli's new hiding places is behind the couch pillows. He thinks it's great fun! What a cutie! We're so thankful for the birth of our Savior and for all the blessings he's bestowed upon us! We're very thankful for our wonderful family and life!

Merry Christmas!

I am thrilled to have survived the sick month of December and am happy to announce we all are well for Christmas! Poor Brandon has survived some serious hormonal/sick melt downs this past month. I am all the more grateful to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas! Eli said "Jesus!" two times yesterday. So sweet! The other night we were amazed because we were out and about and decided at the last second to run him over to the mall to see Santa and ride the train. Last year he was scared to death of Santa, so we figured it would be the same this year but wanted to give him the chance. We were sure to point out while waiting in line that Santa was giving the kids candy canes. When he saw this he started jumping up and down so excited to get his turn. He told us he was going to ask Santa for a "Ball!" He went right up and sat on his lap, took a picture, and listened contently while Santa talked to him for a while. He even kissed Santa as we left! What a shock! It was really fun. If you ask him what Santa is going to bring him he says "BALL!!" Here's some quick pictures of Eli and Brandon overlooking the runways at the airport (with some Cessnas in the background). When we go and eat lunch with Brandon Eli loves getting to watch the planes while we eat! Looking forward to my parents arrival today ahead of the big storm we're supposed to have! Merry Christmas to all!

Everyone is one the mend around here! I'm at least encouraged that by Christmas we should all be well, finally. We may have a white Christmas as there is a snow storm coming in this week. It missed us last time, though, so I'm not convinced. I hope it doesn't affect all my family coming! I got Eli out a bottle for him to pretend feed his stuffed animals. He went around making sure this morning that all of them were fed...then he moved on to my stomach sticking the bottle against it making sure Cora was fed ;-) It was so cute! The one picture of him spreading his arms and leg is him doing "yoga". If you ask him to do yoga he gets in that position. It's hilarious. We've also been working a lot on putting words together this weekend. If he wants something he'll say "Mama please!" or "Dada please!". He's so proud of himself he'll jump up and down smiling for remembering to use his manners. About five times yesterday I got him to say "Mama, ball please!" One step closer to using full sentences!

I take back my previous title...

I laughed when I came on here today to blog a little. Eli was healthy for a week...I was healthy for 3 days...and now...we're all SICK AGAIN! It's quite comical actually. This time even Brandon gets to join in on the fun. We went to church Sunday and Eli caught a different cold virus...thus spreading it to the rest of us. Luckily he's on the mend, and Brandon and I are just getting started in the worst of it. The one thing I'm grateful for is that we finished all our projects we wanted to get done before the second bout of sickness began. I even got Eli's twin bed ordered (it's white with drawers for storage on the bottom) and his airplane bedding set ordered (which happened to be on sale). Everything will match his future blue and white room upstairs but for now will be downstairs in his black and white themed nursery until he's able to go upstairs on his own. Brandon and I had a fun evening the other night after Eli went to bed. We watched 4 Christmas' and put together the adorable kitchen that my parents got Eli for Christmas. We definitely felt like Santa. I'm seriously ready to play with that thing...it's so cute! We've got it hidden in the basement for a Christmas surprise. Since we're hosting Christmas here this year I decided to do my big grocery shopping and have everything ready so it's stress free. For our Christmas dinner we're having steaks, hash brown casserole, green bean casserole, wheat rolls, cream corn, cheese dip for Joel ha ha, strawberry pretzel salad, pumpkin pie cake, and cherry cobbler. Should be yummy! Yesterday my best friend Courtney and her boyfriend Matt came over to hang out and make Christmas goodies. We made Reindeer poop (aka oreo bon bons), spiced pretzels, and peppermint bark. It was a lot of fun! So grateful we all have time to get better before Christmas! Praying for a healthy Christmas :-)

Recovered!

I am on cloud nine finally feeling well and enjoying furlough life :-) Saturday, I was able to sort through all of Eli's clothes and pull out gender neutral stuff for Cora. It was bittersweet going through those adorable clothes not knowing whether we'll have another boy someday to wear them. I then was able to officially put all of Eli's clothes in storage containers and put them away for good. I have his future room completely cleared out (except for Cora's stuff, which I won't bring down until the last minute). It's a great feeling to be getting so much done! Saturday night we went to a Christmas party at the Glennen's house. Eli had a lot of fun with the kids and snacking on goodies. Glennen's twin girls were dragging Eli around making him play with their kitchen/play food. It was hilarious. He loved it! They also put on the kid's favorite Christmas song and all of them danced around. Eli was jumping up and down and yelling "MORE!" Christina (who was my nurse and Eli's nurse at his birth) was holding Eli and he wouldn't come back to me! He loved her and kept wanting her to hold him and pay attention to him. Brandon and I were cracking up. We've never seen him act this way towards anyone. Maybe someone has a crush? I thoroughly enjoyed finally seeing my friends again and getting to go to church! Eli and I haven't been in over a month because of traveling and sickness. Today, I was showing Eli a nativity ornament off of the tree and he pointed at the baby and said, "Jesus! Jesus!" It was so cute! I hope he'll keep saying it. Perfect time of year!

Cora Eleanor Judson!!!

I had to write that at the top so maybe it will sink in a little more! I've been so focused on being sick and not sleeping this week (because of terrible night coughing) that I haven't really got to sit down and appreciate the fact that we're having a GIRL!!! Oh my GOD! I still had a terrible night last night coughing nonstop (even with a vaporizer, cough syrup, and cough drops), but am feeling a million times better during the days so I'm getting optimistic! My parents got over a foot of snow on Tuesday (we only had black ice and less than an inch of ice pellets and snow) so my mom got stuck here after the sonogram. It was a God thing! I needed her help SO much. It just happened that Brandon had to cover a shift at work where he wasn't getting home until Eli's bedtime, so she was my savior. I couldn't have dealt with the sickness and no help in the evenings without her. I guess it's true that you always need your mother!! Will came over every evening while my mom was here, played with Eli, and taught him how to do T-ball. Eli loved it and is really good at hitting the ball pretty far.

I'm looking forward to starting on baby projects now that I know I have a little girl kicking and wiggling inside of me! I'm celebrating Friday by having Brandon pick up my favorite food, Chicken Fajita Roll-Ups from Applebees (the truth is I have no groceries from being too sick to leave the house). This weekend also starts another week of furlough, which I'm calling BABY furlough. AKA: I get to work on baby projects while Brandon wrangles Eli ;-)

I had to put a picture of Eli taking part in the "family hug". If he sees Brandon and I hugging or kissing he has to join in! It's so cute! I did manage to do one thing during this sick week....and that was to go use my $10 JcPenney coupon to buy the pinkest, frilliest, girliest outift I could find for Cora. Eli helped me pick it out and kept saying "PINK!" Get used to it son!

It's a GIRL!!!!

We're proud to announce that we had a wonderful sonogram today and got to watch our healthy baby girl wiggle and kick around! Needless to say, we were all SHOCKED when she said it was a girl. We all had been squinting trying to find the penis :-) and kept exclaiming so (we were seeing the umbilical cord). Finally the sonogram techinician was like, "I don't know how in the world you can be seeing a penis when it's a GIRL!" Both our moms started crying and I just kept saying "I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!!" She was very nice and let us check several times until we were all convinced. We can't wait to meet Cora Eleanor Judson in May! She was so active during the sonogram. I've been telling everyone for weeks that she is a mover and a shaker. I literally feel moving and kicking all the time. Pretty much every time I stop moving she's moving. With Eli's sonograms we never got to see very much movement, so it was a treat. What a blessing. It was wonderful having both our moms here to share in this special moment. Eli even enjoyed watching his sister on the tv screen! I had the worst headache (trying to get over this nasty cold) and am losing my voice and was suffering all day, so our moms saved the day and helped me with Eli so I could rest. I never would have survived without them! Praise God for a healthy baby! Everyone is already out shopping for girly clothes!

Tis the season to be Jolly!

I haven't been on here in a couple days because...no surprise...I got Eli's cold! Once we got home, it was obvious he just has a cold with runny nose etc. Then, a couple days ago I came down with it (luckily I didn't get the fever though). Eli and I have been holed up in the house these past freezing days just drinking fluids and resting. Brandon has been sent out on many an errand! We finished up Brandon's furlough working on a lot of projects. We bought Eli a new nicer book shelf which took Brandon all day to put together. We also moved the changing pad top over onto our dresser. I also got my Christmas present. A 64 gig flash drive! I am so pumped about it. I have thousands and thousands of photos and videos that take me forever to back up by CD (because you can only fit like 2 videos on a cd), so we finally broke down and got something I can do in a matter of seconds. All of our entire My Pictures folder was only 27 gig, so I should have plenty of space to keep backing up files for a few years to come with it. What a great feeling! It was on my "to do" list before the baby was born! Cross it off! Last night we treated my brother to Pei Wei and I took him to a movie in thanks for babysitting and taking care of Rica. As kids the only movie we owned (because it was a gift given to us) was Muppet's Christmas Carol. Thus, I took Will to see the new Christmas Carol with Jim Carey. We both loved it and had fun watching it in 3D! We have a chance of snow this evening and Tuesday a 70% chance of Wintry mix all day, so my mom and Donna are going to travel here tomorrow to make sure they get here safely for my sonogram! We are thrilled! Eli isn't going to know what to do with himself having BOTH grandmas here!

Photo dump!

We are home recovering from a wonderful week in Texas! Eli did come down with something the last couple of days and had a fever, but we'd already done all our fun so we rested and all was well. Funny story...my mother-in-law and I were driving to look at the proofs of Eli's portrait she had done (which turned out awesome I might add) and I started feeling extremely sick. She had to pull over and there I was puking my brains out during rush hour on the busiest street in Plano. Those people had an interesting sight on their way to work! Brandon's mom babysat the last night we were there so we could go see the 2nd series in the Twilight Saga (the books I'm in love with). We had a great date, wonderful movie, and Brandon was able to feel the baby kicking like crazy for the first time. What a wonderful feeling. I feel so much more connected once the movement begins. I can't wait for Eli to be able to feel it! Eli was fabulous for our drive home and now we're just resting and recovering! This morning we bought and put up our Christmas tree. Eli was a joy putting up ornaments! I gave him all the unbreakable ones to put at the bottom.

Oh, the yellow rose of Texas!

We are having a fabulous time in Texas with Brandon's family. We had the trip from Hell driving down (and it had nothing to do with Eli). It involved 7 traffic jams the worst being 45 min completely stopped and 1 1/2 hours going less than 10 mph. I almost went insane, but Eli was an angel. What a relief! Just picture pregnant me about to pee my pants and throw up from motion sickness from the starting and stopping of the traffic jams. It was not a pretty picture. Luckily, the suffering was well worth it! Eli is loving being with all the family. Every morning when he's woken up he's wanted to see "Mimi" (Brandon's grandma) and "Emma" (the dog). So cute! It has been such a blessing watching him and my nephew Gavin (4 years old) play together. They have had a BLAST playing together for the past few days. They are sharing really well and taking turns well. What little characters. We got family pictures done yesterday and a special fancy portrait taken of Eli today (Brandon's mom had one of Gavin done that is beautiful). Eli did really well considering he hates sitting still. We got some great family pictures and a really precious picture of Eli. We'll see the proofs of the portrait Tuesday morning before we head home. I can't wait! I was really wanting to get one last family picture before we are a family of four! Very bittersweet. We've done a lot of fun things with the boys. We took them to the park (of course the weather is incredible here), the mall play place, and today to Wiggletown indoor play area (with blow up slides etc.). They've had so much fun it makes me sad we don't live closer because it's obvious they could be best buds. It does make me even more excited for child #2 because I can see how much fun they'll have when this baby is a little older. Gavin keeps copying every sound and word Eli says. Eli thinks it's hilarious. He also is bossing Eli around and trying to get him to play all these different games. So adorable. Gavin has said so many funny things to Eli it's just been cracking me up. Tonight Gavin said, "Eli's pooping! Come on Eli....1...2..3..,PUSH!" That's just the tip of the iceberg. I took so many photos and videos my camera is full already. A highlight so far was Brandon's brother Paul bringing over his giant pot bellied pig Dudley. I just can't get enough of that pig. He's just hilarious. Looking forward to posting hundreds of pictures when we get back of all the fun we've had!

Let the little sunshine in!

This is a song we've HATED our whole lives because my mom would sing it EVERY morning when she woke us up in that cheery voice over hers. I think my sister has actually thrown things in a groggy state at the sound of this tune. Eli of course loves it. He likes to sing the annoying part at the end. What did I start?

I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! Finally it is about time to head to Texas. Banana bread is made, bags are packed, and my attempt to keep Eli entertained for 6 hours toy/snack bag is ready :-). Eli can't really make it 2 hours in the car without stopping and running around, which actually works out nicely for me since I'm pregnant. I'm supposed to stretch my legs no longer than ever 2 hours, so hopefully we'll make it happen! It could be rough people. I'm afraid traffic might also be terrible, but we'll make the best of it. No use in worrying about nothing! I'm looking forward to Texas weather! It looks like we are going to have some nice days to play outside while we are there (yes, the chalk is packed). It also appears we may come home to snow! Ug! Actually, double UG UG!

I put up some of the Christmas decorations so when we come home in December it will be partially done and not as overwhelming. Eli LOVES the little Christmas tree I put in the basement as decoration. Brandon taught him to turn the tree lights on and then turn the lights off in the room so it's dark and beautiful. Then, we've been singing Christmas carols by the little tree. So cute! He's going to be SO excited when we buy our real tree. I can't wait! I'm looking forward to making some Christmas crafts, decorations, ornaments etc. So many art opportunities for this holiday! We've been talking a lot about Jesus, and he loves to read his books about Christmas.

Eli loves to play upstairs in the guest bedroom and his "big boy room" as we call it. I have all the baby stuff organized up in his future room, so he likes looking at everything. He now will point to the car seat, bath tub, and swing and say "BREE!". He also has been practicing gently rocking the car seat so he can be my big helper (his life goal). He helps me out all the time anything from carrying toilet paper to put under the sinks, putting things in the trash, attempting to sweep and mop, cleaning up spills, and his favorite helping me stir things I'm cooking or making. He especially likes to help me do the hand mixer. He helped me pour and mix all the ingredients today for the banana bread. So precious. He always gets a lot of praise for helping and a "fist pound" or "knuckles" as we refer to it. What a joy! I have so much to be thankful for. I look around and everything I've ever wanted has come true. It's incredible. Sometimes I feel I'm just waiting for something bad to happen because it's all so good!

Will be reporting back with hopefully wonderful tales of a great Thanksgiving with family!

Maroon 5

Last night Brandon and I went on our much anticipated date to the Maroon 5 concert! We needed a night out that didn't involve US performing. My brother babysat (he's always a life saver). I always ask Eli the next morning what they did and he always says "Ball ball!" He loves to play basketball with Will. We had a wonderful time at the concert. The openers Fitz and the Tantrums were very good and we had amazing seats. Maroon 5 blew our minds! They are one of Brandon and I's favorite bands, so it was a dream to see them live. Everything about the concert was fabulous. We danced and sang along all night! You can't sit still to the grooves of Adam Levine! The concert was our Christmas present to each other, so Merry Christmas! I am pretty much packed and ready to head to Plano, TX on Wednesday. I'm really disappointed we won't be able to leave until lunch time, but hoping that Eli will take his nap in the car. If he doesn't it may be the trip from Hell! :-) Praying for safe travels and a blast with family! We haven't been to Texas in a long time!

My pride and joy!

Wild baby!

Lately I've been feeling the baby move/kick a lot! It's a wonderful feeling to experience again! With Eli I didn't recognize the feeling until after my mid way sonogram. With this baby I was feeling flutters right into my second trimester. It's pretty awesome! I was just trying to lay down for a rest during Eli's nap and couldn't fall asleep because the little babe was moving like crazy! Wild one! I actually had an interesting morning because I threw up. I have no idea why (probably a food thing?). I feel fine but am taking it easy. Eli was super easy this morning playing like crazy on his own, so I was able to lay on the couch and play instead of chasing, which was great. He's still on a language kick this week. He was saying some letters yesterday, "B", "Z", "G", and "D". This is so much fun!!!

Mother's Day surprise!

We had a whirlwind weekend with my sister and mom here. We took advantage of the time we had and had a girl's lunch at the Tea Room (our favorite girly place). We love their sandwiches, tea, and the best bread pudding around! We also snuck out and did some shopping during Eli's nap. Eli adored having them here. He demanded their attention every second! I'm sure they slept for days after they left :-) ha ha. My mom babysat Saturday night while we all went to see a movie. We saw 2012, which was entertaining and suspenseful. It did feel good to get out! Sunday night we went to our big Thanksgiving dinner feast at our church. Eli's favorite part was the praise and worship. I purposely sat in the front row so he could enjoy all the instruments. He had a BLAST! It was such a blessing to watch him dancing, clapping, yelling "MORE!" and "GUITAR!", running, and jumping to the music. He was so excited to praise Jesus! We tried keeping him in church with us for worship this past Sunday and he loved it. I think we might start trying that and taking him to the nursery after worship or if he gets restless during worship. Eli is really trying to talk more and more. He is doing much better at trying words with some prompting. This weekend he said "Belt", "Net", "Will", "Pop", etc. Really such a language burst recently! Brandon took him to the mall yesterday for an outing and let Eli pick me out a 2010 calendar. Guess what he got me....wolves. He was SO proud of it and SO excited to show me what he had gotten me. What I always wanted...ha ha :-) It was so precious. Looking ahead at the calendar I realized that my due date (May 9th) is Mother's Day. How did this slip past me until now??? Of course, I will be having a c-section at least a week before that so it won't end up being the baby's birthday, but it's still neat!

We are having a really cold, rainy, snowy week so far! I've been thinking of all sorts of creative ideas to keep Eli entertained today. We even ventured out to the grocery store so I could get supplies for meals this week before it gets too nasty. I've got chili and corn bread cooking for tonight! Perfect meal on this grungy day! This is the first week in a long time we have NOTHING, I mean NOTHING on the calendar. It will give me plenty of time to work on some projects here and there and pack for our Texas Thanksgiving trip!

talking talking talking!

Eli is in a language development spurt. Brandon and I were just mentioning that he's only added a few new words to his vocab in the past couple months and were hoping he'd have some growth in that area soon. Well we got our answer! This week he has broken out a lot of new words and is trying to say things he's never said before. This week alone he's started saying "I LOVE ya", "Dave", "Boo boo", "Cheetah", "Cheese", and more that I can't remember at the moment. He's also babbling sentences in his own made up words, especially when he's playing on his own. It's really fun to listen to him talking to himself while he jumps in leaves or scribbles in chalk on the sidewalk. One word he's been saying in his sentences is "abrilla" in a sort of Italian/Spanish way. Who knows what it means to him, but it's so cute.

Eli had his first official huge toddler melt down yesterday. It was so amazing I called Brandon so he could hear it in the background. It was all over the fact he wanted to go do chalk while I was making lunch, but I told him he had to wait until after we ate. Oh, was he mad. He was screaming chalk over and over again and cried and cried. I think I might have gotten a quick glimpse of the terrible twos. When switching activities Eli has been doing really well on not getting mad (like leaving the park, coming inside, etc.) as long as we give him a 5, 3, and 1 minute warning. Then, I praise him like crazy for listening and not getting upset. He's definitely doing better than I would expect (still has his moments though).

I am getting into the Christmas spirit around here. No, I haven't broken out the decorations or music (although I want to), I do have Eli's Christmas shopping DONE! Done, I tell ya! We just got him a few things (since he's not going to care at this age anyway and will be smothered with presents from relatives). It's nice to have it done though. Especially since I'll have the baby to shop for after December 8 when we find out boy or girl. I really would like to have presents under the tree when we get one after coming home from Plano, so now I'm ready! By the way...I'm feeling little baby kicks! Here's a video of Eli doing "cart wheels". He tries so hard!

I LOVE ya!

I'm stealing a quick second while Brandon takes Eli to the playground. I needed the break! We celebrated the end of Brandon's furlough with a trip to the zoo. We have a great zoo here in Wichita. I really enjoy having an excuse to go :-) Eli, like all children, loves animals so he was excited to see everything. We told him ahead of time that he would get to see some wolves (his favorite animal since our trip to Great Wolf Lodge). From the second we got there he kept howling. Finally, we're like sheesh let's just take him to the wolves already! He stood and watched those wolves forever. I think he would have stayed all day! It's the one section in the zoo I normally always skip. I don't feel the need to see the North American animals when I can see them out my back door, but I can see it's going to be the most frequented now. He also loved the otters. It was a nice outing after a fun morning at church (where Eli is adored in Sunday school and doing wonderfully).
This afternoon Brandon met Eli and I at my doctor's appointment. Eli was impressing all of the receptionists/nurses with his mad ball skills. Such a show off! Everything is going great with this baby so far. We got to hear the little heart beat, which was fun. Eli kept saying "Bree!" (which is his name for the baby). Less than a month and I get to have my big sonogram! Please baby don't have your legs crossed! We were so excited this past weekend when Eli started trying to say "I LOVE ya!" It's so precious. He said it on the phone to my parents and they were thrilled! No one would know what he's saying but us, but it's so cute!

Furlough!

We've been taking full advantage of Brandon's furlough! We've crammed as much fun and work into this week as possible. Yesterday, we got bagels at Panera, hit up a friend's garage sale and bought some puzzles and a car track, went to Target, got vaccinations, got a milk shake to celebrate the bravery, hit up the park etc. Today, we've spent a lot of time outside in the beauty and went swimming at Cessna. Eli had a blast, and I was able to get some exercise in the pool. We are working on "baby" projects whenever we have the chance. We rearranged our room today to make room for baby #2 to be in our room with us for awhile until we think Eli is ready to move upstairs. It looks great and we measured everything to double check that the crib, rocker, etc. will fit. So glad we have such a big house now! We need it! Brandon installed a heat pump upstairs. It's a window unit that has both a heater and an air conditioner. It should solve our problems with not getting enough air flow upstairs. You can just set a temperature you want it to stay at and it takes over! I'm praying it's our solution! I also took advantage of some alone time to sort through newborn toys and get to cleaning and storing. It feels good to cross things off our list. Eli's new word of the week is "cheetah". Brandon was just reading him a book and he said it. Now he thinks it's hilarious to say it when we ask him to. It's funny because it's never been an animal that he even cares about. What a kid! The two's are coming my friends. Eli definitely reacts more to things than before. We're lucky in that he obeys very well and will always do what we say, but might not be too happy about it.

Farm living!

Eli was overjoyed at being at the farm with his grandparents. He played non-stop with them and had fun! We took him to our park in Minneapolis to play both days. He had a great time on all the old and new equipment. It was fun to see my child playing on equipment that we spent hours playing on as kids. We took Eli to the State Lake for a bonfire. He spent hours throwing rocks in the lake. We roasted hot dogs and Eli saw his first water snake. It was a great evening. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset on the lake. My mom created all sorts of fun games, art projects, etc. for him while we were there. He enjoyed throwing rocks in my parent's pond, swinging on my dad's swing set he built for us as kids, holding a cat, and playing hide and seek with Nana and "Bum".