Bath time!--Sept. 25, 2011

I have so many pictures of Oliver in the bathtub when he was little.  I was feeling guilty that I don't have very many of Eli, so I decided to take a few tonight!  As a birthday gift from Oliver, Eli got some new bath toys that he tried out tonight and they were a hit!

 Pouring water over himself has become one of Eli's favorite bath time activities!

 Eli trying out his new measuring cups!

Happy boy!

Happy Birthday!!!--Sept. 24, 2011

Eli is 2 years old!!  Last night we had a little get-together with family to celebrate!  Since Oliver's birthday is next weekend, we ended up celebrating both of their birthdays.  (Oliver gets his "friends" party next Saturday...which he absolutely CANNOT wait for!)  Here are a few photos from the evening...

Most of the kids enjoyed supper out on the deck...which allowed us adults to enjoy our supper inside!

(Eli, Caroline, Addie, Ty, Brett, and Oliver) 

 This year, instead of doing a regular hit-with-a-stick pinata, we tried a pull-string one that I would HIGHLY recommend!  (The pinata has 20+ ribbons hanging from the bottom, but only one of them opens the trapdoor which lets out all of the candy.)  All of the kids had a turn, and on the second time around, Eli pulled the special ribbon and...

 ...out came the candy and toys!

Eli enjoying the fruits of his labor! 

Oliver's turn to open presents

 Now it's Eli's turn

 Eli's new bike and helmet!  We decided to get a pedal-less bikes for him to try.  (One of my cousins bought one for his little boy who now balances going up and down hills at the age of 2 1/2.)  We'll see how Eli does with his!

 Oliver's "small" birthday cake...he'll get his "big" one next weekend at his other party!

 Eli's monkey cake

 Daddy helping Eli with the candles

YUMMY!

Eli's face vs. the street--Sept. 22, 2011

Here's basically what happened...

Eli and I went outside to take out the trash.  Eli kicked his ball into the street.  I walked into the street to get it.  Eli followed me, somehow tripped, and went face-first onto the street.  OUCH!!

I took this picture before bed, so Eli's looking very tired (and a little like he's posing for a mugshot.)  I'm posting it because it shows a little of the scrapes and bump on his nose and head.  It doesn't look too bad in this photo, but once it scabbed over, it became much more noticeable!  

Weather change!!--Sept. 16, 2011

We have had such a HOT summer, so it has been more special than usual to have cooler days!  Oliver didn't have school for part of last week (due to parent/teacher conferences) so he and his friends spent most of the days playing outside.  Eli joined them, and for some reason, I thought they looked so cute in their cooler-weather clothes...probably because neither one of them have worn long pants or long sleeves for months!

 Oliver and his friend having a snack wearing sweatshirts and covered with a blanket.  Those are actually gloves on Oliver's lap...he tends to overdue things a bit!

My almost 2-year-old baby!

The best thing to play in is...DIRT!--Sept. 13, 2011

To put it simply, I think we need a sandbox.  When Oliver was Eli's age, we were living in our duplex and we had a nice little area of dirt for Oliver to dig in, play in, etc.  We really don't have anywhere like that now, so Eli has started to dig in one of my empty flower boxes.  Oliver even joined him at one point!

Pajamas pants go where?--Sept. 7, 2011

Eli was digging in the laundry and found a pair of pajama pants.  Of course, he wanted to put them on "BY MYSELF" and found a interesting way to wear them!

Exploration Place--Sept. 1, 2011

Eli and I made a couple of trips to Exploration Place recently.  The first time we went by ourselves, and the second time some friends joined us.

 Eli playing in the water

 Aubrey and Eli

Otto, Aubrey, Eli and Huey