The Little Indian

Eli's new motorcycle ... "The Little Indian" is mostly chrome with orange detail. It goes 2 mph and makes real motorcycle noises! He's a big fan.

"Christmas" was here

The spirit of Christmas was special this year. First we visited Mimi and Grandfather for a Christmas lunch in Greenville. We then drove to see Annie and Pawpaw where there was lots of fresh snow on the ground! We also visited Great Granny Joyce who shared some yummy fudge with Eli! We ate lots of Christmas cookies and sang "jingle bells" over and over again. Christmas eve TomDaddy and Meremere came over and helped us listed for Santa's sleigh bells. Last year Eli spoke of Santa as "Cau caus" but this year he spoke of him as "Christmas". He would say "Christmas" is coming. Or, I'm going to see "Christmas" soon. It was the cutest thing ... and it did no good to try to explain that his name was "Santa". Fifi, our elf, did an excellent job relaying to Santa what Eli wished for. Under the tree Christmas morning was a shiny new motorcycle for Eli and a pink play gym for Libby. Both tested out their new santa gifts right away and have continued to enjoy them this past week.







Libby's new play gym








Eli's new soccer gear!

Christmas

Eli has been such a good little boy this year! We started the elf on the shelf tradition December 1st. He promptly named his Elf Fifi and Fifi has been watching him from the mantle and reports to Santa Claus every day. He has told Fifi several gift that are on his wish list! Eli has hit a major milestone in his life ... he's using the big boy potty and wearing lots of new big boy underwear! He had no accidents at school the other day and loves to keep "thomas and gabba" dry! Elizabeth continues to smile ear to ear at her brother. She loves to be read to and make herself bounce in her bouncy chair. She's starting to laugh and it's the cutest thing to hear her giggle. Both little ones have a winter cold right now and have been needing their mommy and daddy in the middle of the night the past few nights! Hopefully both will be breathing easier in the next couple of days. A good nights sleep for all in the house is mommy's Christmas wish this year!

Fall Fun

It's officially fall and the weather has been perfect for outside outings. We visited the state fair this past weekend and Eli had the time of his life. He got on a real pony and loved every minute of it. He also enjoyed the merry-go-round and the choo-choo train ride. We ate funnel cakes and played games. There was only one meltdown and that was over Eli's decision to trade in the bouncy ball that he won for a huge plastic spongebob baseball bat instead. Elizabeth slept most of the day only waking to smile a few times at the pretty design of her stroller canopy. That same weekend we picked out the family pumpkin at the pumpkin patch. Eli picked out his favorite then held Elizabeth for a few quick pictures on a huge haystack set up near the field. Again, she slept through it all :)

Elizabeth - 1.5 months old

It's hard to believe you are 6 weeks old. You are such a gentle child, and as sweet as a cupcake! You are giving smiles to your mommy, daddy, and big brother Eli. You are sleeping well -only waking once, sometimes twice during the night for a quick snack. You like your swing and especially your bouncy seat. You have suffered a few scrapes (one on your forehead and one on your shin), thanks to Eli. Whenever you cry he rushes to your side. He'll say "what wrong ibby" and tries to comfort you. He also loves to give you night night kisses before bedtime. He cannot wait until you can talk to him!

Big Brother Eli

Eli is officially a big brother. Baby sister, Elizabeth, was born August 30th at 1106am weighing in at a whopping 8 lbs 15 oz. Eli loves to "tickle" her feet and hold her hands. He likes to hold her frequently but briefly because he says she is "too big". We assume that means she's pretty heavy! He always says goodbye to her when he leaves the house and checks in on her throughout the day by saying "where ibby mommy?". Welcome to the family Elizabeth. We love you!

Happy 2nd Birthday Eli!

Oh my, how the second year went by!!! We had so much fun with family and friends this past weekend at Wrightsville Beach Park to celebrate your birthday. You love firetrucks so we thought it would be appropriate to have a big red engine theme. You are so curious and so smart. You can run your little heart out and talk your little heart out too. We might not always know exactly what your saying at first, but you tend to repeat yourself until we figure it out! You can count to ten and say your ABC's. You have started to sleep a little later in the mornings, waking somewhere between 6 and 7. You nap once a day for 2-3 hours and absolutely love being outside. At school they say you are the best picker-upper and you even got a special matchbox car from the director for all your help in the classroom. We were so proud of you! You will soon share Mommy and Daddy's attention with a new little sister, but we have no doubt in our mind you will love her as we will. She will be so lucky to have you as an older brother! We love you Eli!! Happy Birthday

Favorites:
TV: Yo Gabba Gabba (still) although Thomas the Tank Engine is now a close 2nd
Books: Firetruck book and Animal book
Songs: (you have a few and can sing them too) Wagon Wheel (in the car), Baa Baa Black Sheep (during naptime and bedtime), and ABC (randomly throughout the day)

More Favorites:
Bath time
Your big boy bed
Matchbox cars
Trucks of any kinds, especially firetrucks and ambulances
Bubbles
French Fries

Vitals:
28.5 lbs
35.75 in (almost 3 feet!)

Duck Days

Eli spent some much needed vacation days at Duck, NC. He never wanted to leave the water and even went under for the first time all by himself!

Eli's Favorite Nursery Rhyme

Eli asks us to "sing baa baa keep" over and over and over. Can you figure out which nursery rhyme is his favorite?

Smile!

Weekend with Friends

Eli had so much fun last weekend with his friends Kemper and Locco. They played hard, then slept hard. They built castles and dug holes and even got a few rides in the red wagon.

First Haircut

Eli got his first haircut on April 2nd! He's 20 months old and desperately needed one. He did amazing. He sat in the chair with a truck (that the stylist gave him) in his mouth the whole time. He never moved a muscle. I think he was a little nervous of the shiny sharp scissors.

BEFORE (sporting the mullet)


DURING




AFTER (So handsome!)