how could I forget

Every year(well...minus the years that I have been pregnant and miserable) we like to go and cut down our Christmas tree. We were already in Manor for a birthday party so we decided to just head over to Elgin to the tree farm. Eli was pretty pouty and grumpy because he hadn't had a nap but overall was in the spirit. He cut down his own little tree this year for the playroom. This will probably be an annual tradition now. Then, we cheated and just bought one of their pre-cut frasier furs for our family room. I know, I know, this seems like a cop-out to be at a christmas tree farm and buy a pre-cut tree but, in all honesty, I really love the frazier furs. I love the idea of cutting down a big tree but I hate the thought of those pine needles scattered throughout my house. And, yes, we have made that mistake before. So, this was the best of both worlds. Eli and Teagen get the experience of cutting down a tree and I get my frasier fur.

They also had a teather ball pole there and Eli had so much fun with it. I had forgotten that we had one of these out our house growing up and we always had so much fun with it. I am thinking we might be adding one to our backyard in the spring!

yuckiness

Well, my sister was graduating with her MBA and so we decided we were going to go. Eli comes down with a mild fever 2 days before we were set to leave. I take him to the Dr. just to make sure it wasn't anything. Nope, just a URI and not much you can do but the typical humidifier and nasal spray. Not a problem, I just wanted to make sure. Well, that night I went into his room and he felt a bit warm. Okay, he felt hot. I brought him out and just let him lay with me while I rocked him. I kind of freak everytime he gets a fever because of his febrile seizure. So, I took his temp...104. Poor guy. Off to the Dr. the next day and now he had an ear infection and pink eye. Ughh. Antibiotics here we come. And, the recommendation of the pedi(not our normal one, she knows better) was to keep Eli away from Teagen. Ha...anyways.

I should have known then that it was probably better not to go. But, we went anyways. And, what transpired next can only be described as the longest 2 days of my entire life. Literally. No sleep. No, really, no sleep. I found myself walking the lobby of the Omni from 12-4(that would be in the AM) with Teagen who wouldn't sleep. There was much, much, much crying and whining and I couldn't help but feel bad for them. Then, I felt bad for my sister who had planned all of this stuff. But, we'll make that up...one day, like when they are teenagers :)

Needless to say, after the first night, I told Adam to go and tell them we were leaving early. I just couldn't take it. So, we came home and then Teagen got sick. But, I will save that for her blog. We still managed to squeeze in Christmas while we were there. Eli got an awesome dump truck, excavator and some cool train stuff(his favorite train item being Cranky the Crane).

The pictures are few and far between but here are a couple...

And, I haven't edited it exactly how I want it but I am pretty sure that this will become a large gallery wrap for our house...I am thinking maybe the hallway upstairs outside of their rooms. What do you think???

snowy days and more!

So, it snowed the other day. Snow is an understatement but there was enough for Eli to get the point. That is what really matters. When I realized that it was snowing out...I ran and snapped some pics of T and then we loaded up and went and got Eli early. They had to 'wake' him from his 'nap' and so he was a little dazed at first. But, he quickly got the point and had a great time. I didn't really get any pictures because we were too busy enjoying the moment. But, I grabbed this one of him and Teagen and I love it so much!

Eli had his first ever Christmas performance at preschool the other day and if I hadn't been so busy taking pictures then I probably would have lost it. It was just too cute. Even though he hardly sang a word, he was still the cutest little man alive.

friday night fun

We are in the full Christmas swing around here. It is at the forefront of every.single.conversation. Shhh...secretly, I am loving every minute of it. The only thing we haven't done is put lights up outside the house...maybe sometime soon. We took out the Rudolph nose the other day and Eli has thouroughly enjoyed it. And, I like to guilt adam into wearing it all the time! He is such a good spirit!

It has been so much fun to see Eli really get into the christmas spirit. The things he has loved thus far...

1. breakfast with santa at our church...poor little man didn't get why santa couldn't come home with him

2. his advent calendar. I finally finished it and santa's elves have been leaving him something every night.

3. wondering if he can hear santa's sleigh bell ringing. we read the polar express every night.

4. constantly asking "where is santa now?"

5. He told me today, " I like presents from Santa".

My favorite thing about all this:

Santa doesn't like it when big boys suck their thumbs so, if you want Santa to visit, take your thumb out. In all honesty, he hardly sucks it anymore but when he does, I pull out the santa card!

Eli and I had a date night the other night. I took him to the Ringing of the Bells concert at our church. He liked it but we got there too early. He had already sat still for 45 minutes before the music started. He was doing awesome until the 'creepy' voice came on the loud speaker between each 'concert' to tell the story of Christmas. This did him in and he proceeded to cry for his daddy. Nice. But, I got 2 good pictures out of it so it was all worth it

it's just awesomee

My parents came through quickly with this one! Check out the little man! What an AWESOME picture! Such a neat experience! Thanks DG and Papa, you guys rock!

I think they might just have topped themselves from this experience!

thanksgiving and then some

Eli went to bryan early this year with his DG and Papa Bob. They were having a special presentation with elephants and their trainers and the little man got to go! By the pictures, it looks as if the elephant was up close and personal with him the whole time! I will get those pictures and post them! It was too cute.

Then, we met him there with Teagen for Thanksgiving. It worked out so well for us because Adam and I stayed in a hotel with Teagen and Eli stayed at my parents house. My parents definitely lost sleep on that end of the deal. However, Adam and I actually slept more in those 3 nights then we have in months. I guess that's what happens when you have to sit in a dark, quiet room to keep your baby asleep. Other than that, we sat in the hallway and drank wine. Not too bad! :)

Eli had a lot of fun galavanting around at the green...

We went and looked at the mighty machines and searched for petrified wood and rocks we took our annual wagon picture but T was asleep(miracle) in the Ergo so she missed out!

His Papa spoiled him too much and I am pretty sure his feet didn't touch the ground! Not to mention that he gave him chocolate milk. Say what??? I am pretty sure that I never had that ONE time growing up~he had a ton of fun with his uncle andy and aunt megan

some people were trying to convert him from his daddys roots

Luckily his uncle andy and daddy helped him out
and he got the hang of it

But the decision was just too difficult to make this early in life

Not to mention the fact that my little man learned this method was way easier than 'walking'

We had a great time! We are really hoping that when the time rolls around again in 2 years that we will have our RV and can really enjoy the whole experience of the tailgating, etc... Not to mention how nice it would be to have our 'house' with us! Can't wait

*for some reason DG and Adam didn't make a single picture...note to self for next time. Sorry guys!

and in Eli news

Little man is so full of personality these days. He likes me to teach him magic tricks and he also like to do exercises. Adam and I have a pull up bar and resistance band in our bedroom(our new P90X workout) and Eli loves to do exercises. Seriously, a good 30 minutes of entertainment.

He is such a good little boy. He is so well behaved when we go out to eat or anywhere in public. He loves to draw and cut. Actually, he likes us to draw for him and then he likes to cut it into little bitty pieces.

He loves, loves, loves to run. This is a step up for me because now I can convince him to run instead of me carrying him everywhere. Don't get me wrong, I still love to carry him but toting 2 around can be tiring.

He remembers everything. My mom says it's because they started off with nothing so therefore, they remember everything. It amazes me because I can't even remember what I was doing 5 minutes ago.

It is so much fun to see him making friends at preschool. What I think is even more interesting is that the parents that adam and i enjoy talking to are the parents of the kiddos that eli plays with. Interesting how that works. He had no idea that we liked their parents. Just interesting.

Still a great big brother. For the first time ever the other day Eli walked up to T while she was sitting in the yard and proceeded to push her over. Intentionally. Let me tell you, I can assure you that this will not be happening again. He has never laid a mean hand on her and I was a bit shocked. Whatever the reason, he now understands that that is not acceptable behaivor. I am sure that things like this are bound to happen but I always like to make it clear to him that this will not be tolerated. Immediately after I put him in timeout, he knew exactly what he did. Brain fart, I guess. Either way, still an awesome big brother. He is so good at sharing with her and making sure that if other kiddos are around that they don't take her toys away from her. I am glad we started early on teaching him that what's his is hers and what's hers is his otherwise, I think we would have some serious problems on our hands now. I just hope this relationship remains strong for their whole lives.

He still hates pictures. Hates them. So, I really don't have any to post. But, he loves to make videos so...here you go!

Here he is reading a bedtime story to Teagen!

Eli started doing this with his foot the other day and I thought it was the cutest thing that I have ever seen. The kid really loves music!

No, really, you would think that we had a marching band in our house!!

Halloween...and everything else!

I know, I know. Broken record here. I promise, after the holiday photography rush, I will be back on track.

So, on to Halloween.

I had to be creative(or not really creative) in Eli's costume this year. The kid hates dress up. He likes his own clothes and even those he can sometimes be picky about. I needed something that wasn't a costume but was a costume. Confused? Welcome to Handy Eli. Taken after Handy Manny on the Disney Channel(which he hasn't watched in about a year but still remembers). We got him a tool belt and stuffed it with tools...some new and some that he already had. It was a hit. He loved it and looked very cute!

I was out photographing a birth on Halloween but I made it back in time for the tail end and to see both my babes dressed up.

Needless to say, my rockstar hubby got the costumes put together and everyone dressed and out the door. I was very proud of him! And, he even took a picture to document it all..

And the other happenings...

Have I mentioned what a good big brother Eli is??

Eli made this all by himself...pretty impressive, huh? He was so proud he even told his daddy he wanted his picture taken with it!

Here he made a track for his trains all by himself

leaving with his DG to go stay the weekend at Camp

Playing legos...a favorite(and i'm talking the little itty bitty legos)

Here he got one pillow for lizzy, one pillow for chica and one pillow for himself and made sure the dogs obediently complied to his demand to have them sit on the couch with him

Sometimes I find Eli just hanging out in the Bob. Since we have a double Bob now, I think he considers the single to be 'his' so he often seeks refuge there!

Loves to feed his sister

and, just because these next ones melt my heart!

jj