Described perfectly....

I just got done cutting broccoli out of our garden for lunch! Sweet! We had a wonderful time with our friends the other night and enjoyed seeing Brandon's old roomate William again. He moved in with Brandon when he was a senior in high school and lived with him until we got married. It's great to see him doing so well! This week of furlough has been wonderful. We've just been spending a lot of family time together doing fun activities with Eli. Walking, swimming, park, playground, shopping etc. It's been great! I was reading in this book I have called Stree Free Potty Training. It gives you tips based on your child's personality. I think I mentioned before that I think Eli would fit under the Impulsive category. The categories are: Goal-directed child, Sensory-Oriented child, the Internalizer, Impulsive child, and Strong Willed child. Here is one of the descriptions of an impulsive child that literally fits Eli so perfectly it's scary. This is just the first page of the desciption and I literally was saying AMEN after every sentence. This is my child people:

Impulsive children are relatively easy to spot. They are the ones who are into everything, jump from one ambitious activity to another, find ways to turn anything into a toy or a game, and never seem to tire. You may just as easily spot the parents of an Impulsive Child-they're usually sweaty from nonstop running, unable to hold a conversation with another adult for too long because they can't take their eyes off their kid, and their homes are baby-proofed to the hilt.

Impulsive children are energetic and active. They constantly seek out new ways to stimulate themselves, which is why they are frequently described as easily distractible. They seldom or NEVER sit still. Part of this is attributable to a certain dexterity-often early walkers, these kids are agile, nimble, and always looking for the next fun, exciting activity. They master physical skills quickly, don't like to be bored, and relentlessly challenge themselves. Bodily risk-takers, they're the ones who climb all over the furniture. These are the kids for whom safetly latches were invented.

They always want to do things bigger and better than before. Impulsive Children place great importance on, and take great pride in being the FASTEST and the first. Naturally, they tend to get caught up in activities. They also enjoy rough and tumble play, and frequently are the children who take this too far and without intending to end up hurting a playmate.

They are easily excitable and anticipate everything as a great adventure. They may have QUICK negative reactions that lead into tantrum behavior. But being typically happy children, they recover quickly from being upset and are usually adaptable. They easily interact with familiar and unfamiliar people or situations. For the Impulsive Child, every day is a new day and he lives for the moment.

Elmo chair!

We had a fun dinner at my aunt Cate's house welcoming my cousin/friend Ellen back to Wichita. She worked at a camp for inner city kids outside of Denver the past couple of months. Eli was precious with his cousin Luke. He touched his hair and laid down on his stomach in front of Luke and kept trying to share toys with him. I had to keep him from rolling on him/stepping on him etc. It was fun to hang with family. I'm amazed at the strength of my cousin Megan (who had brain surgery a year 1/2 ago). I can't even begin to comprehend parenting with only the use of one arm. Yet, she has it figured out and manages Luke well! I'm excited for her because her surgeon in Arizona is paying for her to go to a special week retreat for young adults her age living with life threatening conditions (she still has 2 tumors in her brain). Although I'm sure it will be hard to leave Luke, I'm praying for an amazing time for her. She deserves it! Eli was all over the place as usual trying to steal fruit off people's plates. You'd think the kid was starving! Before my mom and I went for a walk, Eli was checking out her odometer...I thought it was so cute. Mom thought I should seriously have him wear one to see how many steps he takes in a day considering he NEVER slows down. My mom bought Eli an Elmo chair. He LOVES it! The first night we had it he had to go kiss it goodnight and the next morning he went straight out of his crib and ran to go find it. Brandon and I have been doing trip prep all day. We cleaned the car out and he checked everything to make sure we're good to go Monday. Tonight we're having friends over for dinner, so it should be fun! Last night we made avocado mushroom burgers. Brandon garnished his with one of his ridiculously spicy peppers. I should have bought more avocados because Eli ate an ENTIRE one while I was cooking. He loves his veggies!

Dancing!

I'm wondering if watching Eli's new dancing will ever get old? I'm going to mourn the second he moves on to a new style! We don't have TV, but once in a while we'll pull up an Elmo music video for Eli to watch and dance to. For a kid who never has seen Elmo on TV he's always LOVED him. In the stores, he would always be drawn to Elmo. It's funny how a weird little monster with an annoying voice could be so appealing. It is SO hot around here. Our walks in the morning at 6:30/7 a.m. are already sticky. I will totally regret even complaining this Winter when there's snow and ice on the ground and we're REALLY stuck inside. We went to the farmer's market downtown yesterday. It was definitely a lot different from the West side (less produce/Mennonites...more hippy). They did have something that I've wanted for a year now...rain barrels. I made Brandon go sneakily examine them, so he can make me one for my birthday. I really would like one to use to water the veggie garden next summer, but we'll see! We use a sprinkler system for the grass and flowers, thank God! We put Eli's little pool out last night so he could have some fun outdoor time in the heat. Brandon and I enjoyed cooling our feet off while he played. I was laughing because Eli wanted a tomato for a snack (is this normal people?). He literally ate an entire tomato like an apple saying "MMMM" "MMMM" the whole time. I think he may have eaten the little sticker on it...crap. One second I was trying to peel it off, the next it was gone. Eli eats tomatos like a savage beast, so I can't be blamed ha ha. Brandon was almost gagging as the juice ran down Eli's chin because Brandon doesn't like tomatoes. I'm not a big fan myself unless cooked in stuff. I'm so proud of my boy! Tonight we're playing a show at Rock Island Live with two other bands at 5. We have the month of August off as a band because two of our guys are getting married. A few of us are doing a radio interview, but that's about it. I'm excited for a little break before things get crazy again in September.

Nutrition!

Eli had already eaten all they chunky vegetables out of his soup and he was trying to figure out how to eat the liquid....here's what followed....



I've always been a stickler when it comes to Eli and nutrition. It's the one area I can truly let my control freakiness go crazy. I never gave him formula or non-organic baby food etc. I probably will be more relaxed with the next kid because I definitely am more relaxed now with Eli. Before I wouldn't have let anyone even give him a bite of anything with sugar or other bad for you crap (cake, ice cream, etc.) Now, I ate least will allow Brandon to feed him ONE bite of his dessert or other little goodies on a very special occasion. Luckily, Eli has embraced healthy eating from the get go. He is a fruit and veggie hound. For breakfast he usually eats: whole wheat oatmeal (no sugar or other sweetner, crazy I know), or a non-sugar cereal such as cornflakes or cheerios in whole milk, or whole wheat pancakes with peanut butter, or a bran muffin, or eggs. With that he will have some type of fresh fruit and whole milk to drink. For a snack he'll usually have some type of fresh fruit again, whole wheat crackers, string cheese, or a fruit and grain bar, yogurt....etc. Lunch usually consists of leftovers from the night before, soup, or a turkey and cheese sandwich, etc. With that he always has at least one type of vegetable or two types and a bread of some sort. Supper is our biggest meal with a homemade something or other and more veggies. He eats a LOT at every meal/snack, but it is usually healthy to the best of my ability. I try to avoid fried or lots of sugar. I'm always baffled when people tell me all their kids will eat is Cocoa puffs, macaroni, chicken nuggets etc. The question I'm always asking on the inside is...WHO THE HECK GAVE THEM THOSE TO BEGIN WITH? I'm sure once Eli goes to other people's houses he'll end up eating the "tasty" stuff and probably will want that, but you never know. I'm all about the occasional treat but trying to live as healthy as possible! I know I might not have much time left before he could turn into a majorly picky eater like I was. Let's hope not!

Eli discovered my cousin's husband Lazelle's shaved head and thought it was hilarious to run and feel it and then run off embarrassed. We were cracking up! This is Eli's new form of dancing. It sort of looks like a hula dancer! Eli was SO affectionate this past weekend with all of my family. He kept giving hugs, snuggles, and kisses. It was so cute to see him with his aunt Becca and Uncle Joel loving on them. He really misses family when we go and wanted to call aunt Becca today. Eli's in his crib going to bed as I type this and I can hear him saying "Bama (Obama) Mama". He has always loved saying "Bama", I guess just from hearing us say that name so much this election year. When walking he always gets excited and points and yells "BAMA!" to an Obama sign that someone still has up on our street (I myself was baffled by this because I never once had told him that's what it said but later Brandon told me he ONE time said that it said Obama). On our drive to Minneapolis Eli said "Bama" and Brandon said "Obama Mama" and he thought it was SO funny. Now Eli says it and laughs. My little cousin Grace is turning 3 next month and is sweet as can be, but once in a while the toddler would come out and she would say something hilarious. Once my aunt said "No mam!" and Grace said, "You don't tell me no mam...I'm going to tell dad to give you a spanking". We were dying biting our lips. She left the room and we heard the whole living room of men explode in laughter. She really had gone to him and told him to give my aunt a spanking. I really look forward to these moments with Eli! Eli and I went to Cessna to lunch with Brandon. He just has a few more days then two weeks of furlough. Every person we went by Eli just said "Bye bye"; he was ready for a nap. Luckily Cessna sits on the airport runways, so as we ate lunch Eli got to watch all the airplanes land and take off. He loved it and kept saying "MORE!".

Dishes are dangerous! So are tornadoes :-)

There's a reason I haven't posted in a week....I had to get stitches in my index finger on Thursday. Becca and Joel spent the night on Wednesday thank God so Becca was there to watch Eli while Joel took me to the emergency room. I was getting a glass out of the dishwasher and I somehow smashed it on the counter and the glass cut me pretty bad. Of course it was bleeding like crazy. I got three stitches and a splint to make sure my finger stays straight. It's finally healed enough to be able to type easier. We had an amazing weekend up with all the Corman clan. We love all spending the fourth together. My uncle Dave even drove up from Texas! My cousin Grace is getting so big and it was fun to have her there to play with Eli and Jadyn. It's somewhat strange to have my first cousin playing with my child! We had abnormally cool weather all weekend, so Eli played outside with the cats/kittens, basketball goal, etc. all the time. He just runs around the farm in pure joyful bliss! We took him to the baby pool in Minneapolis. My parents enjoyed all the memories it brought back for them. We had a family party in Salina on Friday and on my way home with Eli and my mom we encountered a tornado. I freaked out because it was a quarter of a mile in front of us where we literally would have driven right into it as it crossed the highway. I turned around and headed back to Salina where we waited it out. A little scary! We had a huge party at my parent's farm on the 4th. I think there were around 40 family members and friends. Eli actually really liked the fireworks. He just saw some of the little ones before bedtime and he kept saying "MORE!" even to the loud fire crackers.

Mirror Mirror on the wall....

Whenever we put something on Eli, he always runs to see what it looks like in the mirror. I was secretly hiding with the camera because he would run and want to wear Brandon's hat and then come and check himself out in the mirror. He's so funny! We're having a much better day today than yesterday. Eli was SO cranky because of teething. I peeked in his mouth today and wow...it sure looks painful! Today he still showed me that his teeth are hurting, but is much less whiny and having a lot more fun. He has been up at 5:30 every morning b/c he wakes up hurting and can't go back to sleep. These are his first molars and the first teeth that he doesn't want pressure on as they are coming through. Usually he starts gnawing on everything when he's teething, but this time he even cries if I put my finger in to feel. I introduced Eli to chalk yesterday morning. He loved it. We decorated the sidewalk by the back door. He was covered in chalk from head to toe. Messy but fun! My dryer is finally fixed...woo hoo! I'm pretty pumped about that. Becca and Joel are coming tomorrow to spend the night with us before all of us head to the farm Thursday. Eli is going to be SO excited when they get here. I'll be getting him pumped all day tomorrow ;-)