Princesses

We have enjoyed a whirlwind of family time this past week! Saturday we went out to breakfast at our favorite Riverside joing, Copper Oven, then hit up the St. Pats parade by our house. We've never laughed so hard in all of our lives. There were the weirdest most interesting people in it. Eli had a blast! He got some candy, stickers, and beads. My mom surprised my sister and I with a girl's night out at a fancy restaurant Bel Ami and then staying the night at the Castle Inn (which is located at the end of our street). It's this beautiful castle they've turned into a bed and breakfast. I've never seen the inside, so it was a blast. We had hor dourves, desserts and coffee, and a great breakfast. We also enjoyed triple solitaire until bed! So much fun and a much needed get away. My sister had an interview in Wichita yesterday, so I'm praying she's offered the job and enough money to move here! It would be so much fun to have both my siblings here. We tilled the garden last night after our walk. I need to get my potatoes and broccoli planted this week!

Night crawler anyone?

We found the biggest night crawler ever while playing outside after the rain. It was the size of a small snake. Eli loved playing with it. Poor worm. I think it might have gone to worm heaven after about the 10th time he dropped it. We finally said "Bye bye" to the worm and put it in the garden so it could go down in the dirt to its worm hole home :-). Brandon's mom is here (they are at the Bon Jovi concert right now), so Eli has been soaking up the attention. He calls her "Donna" because he can't say Grams. It's hilariously cute. We went up to Cessna for lunch so Brandon could show his mom his office etc. Eli enjoyed the planes as usual and the chocolate from his coworkers. One more rainy day and we should be back to our Spring outside routine. Wish me luck as we have to adjust to a time change this weekend!

Welcome beautiful weather!

I have spent the past week in heaven...well actually just outside in the glorious weather. I realized this week that it's difficult to get all the housework done when Eli and I are outside 7 hours a day ;-) I spend the first couple hours of the morning (while it's still dark and cool) cramming in as much housework as possible. I'm also trying to figure out how to get supper made, since the second he wakes ups from his nap he's asking for his shoes to go back outside! I just figure we'll be eating a little later on these nice days. Yesterday it rained all day, so this morning we went out and played in the mud, puddles, and grime. It was a blast. We even found a couple of worms. Eli was a brave soul and held the wiggling worms. He was apprehensive at first, but loved it! I love showing him new things and teaching him about them!

My parents dropped by Sunday on their way home from Florida and my brother joined us for dinner. Brandon grilled us some delicious chicken and steaks. He loves grilling and had been dying to start up again! I love it because I just make some veggies/sides/dessert and he does the hard part! Eli, as usual, treasured every second of attention from his grandparents. They both got in bed with him and snuggled him when he woke up in the morning, and then he wanted me in there too...so I crammed in! Eli showed off his singing skills with his new song he likes to sing that my mom taught him...let's just say it goes, "Oompa, loompa, oompa, loompa". So cute!

We are getting closer and closer to this little baby being born. I'm praising God that I still feel so good. Of course I have my moments, but for the most part I feel great! A little bit of back pain here and there etc. but nothing major. It's been wonderful to get back into our walking every day. I think it's really helping me! Speaking of walking, our double stroller came in the mail. Eli loves it! He's been wanting me to wheel him around the house in it. So far I love it. I even put Cora's car seat on it with Eli just to make sure it would work and pushed it around. So far so good! It's going to be a great workout pushing both of them for walks.

Brandon finished up several outside projects over the past week. I came home on Saturday to find him and Eli building a fence to seal in our privacy fence (eliminating the small gate to make it safer). Eli was putting the screws in the holes and helping Brandon drill them in. He loved it and will show off to anyone who asks the exact piece on the fence he helped with!

Spring is coming!

Eli and I are in heaven....we actually are having beautiful sunny weather for once! I have crocus blooming in the front yard, which is always a great sign. Eli went around smelling them yesterday. It cracks me up. Today we've already started in on the chalk, basketball in the garage (where his old goal is), sandbox, etc. He didn't even throw a huge fit (which I was expecting), when he had to come back in to take a nap. Probably the promise that we would head back outside the second he wakes up helped! Eli had a canker sore yesterday and was miserable and spent most of the day whining etc. Brandon took him on a "man date" last night just to give me a break. I asked Eli when they got back what they did and this was his response, "Guitar, drums, and HOT!" I translated this to mean they went to the music store and played the instruments and went to the Keeper of the Planes monument by our house to see the big fire pits going. So cute!

Eli had his 2 year appointment on Tuesday morning. He absolutely loves our doctor now. She always gives him a baggy of homemade cookies (seriously) or treats after his appointments and takes the time to play catch with him when we go. She also gives him a new book when he goes. It's wonderful that he's old enough to understand that a shot just hurts for a second etc. He had to get his LAST "baby" vaccination and didn't even cry. We also had to go to the lab and have his finger pricked to test for anemia etc. He didn't even cry then either! What a brave little guy. I was so proud of him. He was charming the socks off of everyone in the waiting room....waving at everyone and showing off with his ball. Every where I go people just rave about how cute he is. Of course! Eli weighs 26 lbs now (which is the 25th percentile) and is 33 inches tall (11th percentile). He is moving up in the world!

Brandon and I had a date to see Rain the other night, which is a Beatle's tribute. It was great to have a date night and we really enjoyed the wonderful music of the Beatles, as well as the news/tv footage from the 60's.

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday to check on Cora. Everything is still going great. I am back to having a lot of fatigue again like the first trimester, but it's here and there so it's easier to deal with. Cora's heartbeat was 138 again and he thinks she's positioned at an angle (sort of transverse) but possibly head down instead of head up like Eli was. For some reason my babies don't ever want to enter into the birth canal...probably from the shape of my uterus/pelvis. I'll be having a sonogram on the 17th (yay for St. Pat's Day), so I'm super excited for that! Can't wait to see my baby girl!

P.S.-they are repairing our roof finally this week! What a mess that has been, but I'm looking forward and appreciating having a GREAT company helping us this time. I'm super excited to have this done before Cora's born and have time to repaint/fix the damaged interior!

Balls, balls and more balls!

Eli had a great birthday this week! I took him to lunch at Cessna and a TON of airplanes were landing and taking off, so he was in heaven. When Brandon got home we headed to Chuck'E'Cheese for pizza and games. He rode a couple of the cars but mainly wanted to do the Pop a shot! At one point, he had attracted a crowd watching him swish baskets over and over again. That's my boy....always a basketball in his hands. He loved it. I taught him to hold up his two fingers (for him that's his thumb and pointer finger) when asked how old he is. He's such a cutie. Thursday night we had an accident. Eli ran and his finger when directly in Brandon's eye. I could immediately tell it was scratched (having scratched mine twice before) and Brandon was suffering, so he headed to the eye doctor and found out he had a nike swish scratch that covered his entire eye. It's already better, but was uncomfortable for a while. The doctor joked that Brandon got beat up by a toddler! Last night we had a family night out to Pei Wei and Marble Slab for ice scream. Eli was a joy! I've been enjoying his new words of the week: Tick Tock and Doggy. I just ordered our double stroller online. Big sigh of relief!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELI!

Today is Eli's 2nd birthday! My, how the time has flown by. I'll never forget that wonderful day! I love this photo because it is the first time I saw him. I heard him cry and my doctor held him up over the curtain so I could see his face. What a little surprise he was. I expected him to look just like Brandon, but he didn't resemble Brandon's baby pictures at all. It has been a remarkable journey being his parent, and I look forward to the many years and learning experiences to come!

Exploration

Ah, I love weekends! I had a panic attack that I didn't have any newborn diapers, so yesterday morning we headed to Target and let Eli play around while I picked up some Organic Cotton diapers for Cora. We were walking through Target and heard Eli yell, "BRA!" and he went over and started touching all the bras. Oh boy. He is ALL boy! Afterward, we headed to Exploration Place (hands on science museum). I've been really wanting to take Eli to the new music exhibit that has tons of hands-on instruments, drums, etc. He loved it! He played in the music room forever trying out different drums and sound effects. They also had a Mr. Potato Head exhibit traveling through. He loved playing with all the games and activities. This little girl was playing in one of the exhibits with him and she kept talking to Brandon. Her mom came over and said, "She loves men. When you have two mommies....men are exotic!" It cracked me up. Eli liked the airplane exhibit too. He sat and did the Cessna flight simulator with Brandon for a long time. Brandon was teaching him how to land and take off :-). We headed to Seth Horst's 3rd birthday party last night. Eli had a great time playing with the kids and did pretty well with sharing. We all ate bierocks and Eli got some cake and ice cream...so he was in heaven. I took off and went to a movie with my friend while Brandon put Eli to bed, then when I got home Brandon went out with his friends to see a scary movie. It's been a great weekend! Brandon's going out of town for work tomorrow for two days. He's going to miss us! My brother is spending the night here so we're safe :-) I'll enjoy the help!