Tracks in the Snow

Snow

Our outdoors man. He simply loves this.

Growing Up

I was looking through pictures and realized how tall Eli has grown. The first picture is from April. The second one is from last week. I was reading the warning stickers on his car seat this weekend and realized he's at the maximum height for it. Should have paid attention when the nurse at his last check up said he was in the 98th percentile for height. His new one is coming tomorrow. It's a convertible car seat so he should be in this one for awhile.

Time with Daddy

Eli loves his time with daddy. He crawls after Ben when Ben leaves the room. When he hears the front door lock turn he looks around smiling to find Ben. The two of them carved a pumpkin this year. Eli's sleeves were orange when they finished. He got right in there with Ben. Loving the time just to sit on daddy's lap.

Changing Weather

We're starting to bundle up around here. So far it's fun. Hope I can still say that in the dead of winter. Eli loves going outside no mater the weather. Ben took him out in the rain under an umbrella and all Eli wanted was to get wet.

Under the Sink

One of Eli's favorite places to explore.

Fall

We are enjoying all the colors.

My Little Pumpkin

We had so much fun taking these pictures. Hope you enjoy them, too.



We were playing peek-a-boo during these:







(love the hair)

Nine Months

Here's a short clip of Eli.




He loves playing peek-a-boo. He loves crawling around the house and being chased. He's now 20 pounds and 30 inches. He's constantly pulling up and letting go. He's pretty consistent on standing for 3 seconds now.

Six Months

Eli and I went to his six month appointment today. He is now 27.5 inches and 17 pounds. He's scooting on the floor using his left arm and right leg. He's across the room in seconds. He hasn't discovered leaving the room for another room yet. He also enjoys teething on electric cords. Time to baby proof the house. He's just starting to rake his fingers for small objects but can't pick them up yet. We've been putting him in the nursery at church for the past few weeks during Sunday School. He adjusted to it the first week. Still not taking solids yet. His tongue thrust pushes everything out. We just give him tastes of the food. So far he's been game for banana, cereal, peach, applesauce, peas, and potatoes.



Video was taken yesterday (July 12th).

The Fourth

It's legal to set off your own fireworks here.

Star Wars

I was so excited to put this shirt on Eli and have it finally fit. He needed the light sabers for "training wheels" as he still needs help when sitting up. He looked a bit like a weeble wobble, although he still fell down a few times.

He couldn't decide if he wanted to be Mace Windu or Obi Wan Kenobi today.

Happy Father's Day

Kitchen

The kitchen is finally unpacked. It's not yet completely organized but I know where everything is now. We have our dining area set up with some area rugs under the table. Ben and I are messy enough. I can't imagine what the floor will look like with Eli eating at the table now.

Toy Basket

Just thought this was a fun picture. He's completely propped up by the basket and enthralled by seeing every toy at once.



I love that this basket came back with me from Ecuador 11 years ago and still going strong. We'll see what happens after a growing baby uses it for toy storage.

Bench

Ben made this bench last weekend. He's been wanting one for some time now to relax and enjoy the outdoors. Eli loves these little times outdoors with daddy.

Toys

Eli is getting very good at rolling. He'll roll to both sides now. He loves feeling the couch so this is one of his favorite places. He also loves just about any toy he's given. He loves his hammer and waves it around . Eventually he hits something with it.

Food

We started Eli on solids, beginning with avocados. We tried them for a few days but he didn't really take to them.



Tried bananas next. He seems to likes them better. He sounds like he's singing when he eats them. And by eating I really mean tasting. Over the course of three days he's consumed less than half a banana. And half of that ends up on the bib. I think the real reason he likes to eat is that he gets to wear the bib. It's in his mouth more often than the food is.

Eli's Room

Right now the house is full of boxes in every room, except for Eli's. First priority was to get his crib set up so his was the first room ready. His room was also the easiest as there were so few boxes to unpack. The rest of the house will take much longer. I'm going through each box as I unpack to sort through what we really need. We didn't get a chance to go through everything in the house before packing. There's still a lot of stuff we just don't need.



He's getting stronger while sitting up but still not able to do so on his own. I'm sure the day will come soon.

Our View

When we first drove up to the house we realized we were right next to a park. It has a very small skateboarding park, a picnic area, playground, basket ball net and lots of grass. Eli and I took a walk around the park to help him go to sleep on one of our first days here. Ben heads straight through the park to get to work.

This shot is straight from our front step right outside our door.



Later on the first day we were here, we were out driving, exploring a bit. On our way home we decided to stop by the closest grocery store to get some food for the next day. We pulled in to the parking lot and realized our house was just down the street so we went home and walked to the store. Couldn't believe we missed how close we were. You can't see the store from our house but you can see the parking lot. It's probably two minutes to get to the store from our house. I only pick up a few things at a time as it's a good excuse to get out of the house to go to the store every few days.

The Lake

We've been trying to walk as many places as possible. So far I haven't attempted to walk in the rain with Eli. Ben walks to work. It's about 10 minutes from our door to his office. I've walked to do errands. It's about 15 minutes to walk to the main downtown area, although some businesses are even closer. We've walked to dinner a few times. We've also walked to the lake, which is about 20 minutes away. There's a playground, tennis courts, a basket ball court, swimming and boating. Rather a spectacular view, isn't it?

First Weekend

The first weekend in our new place there was an annual car show in town. There was a parade on Saturday that was a few blocks from our house. We found an empty patch of grass to stand on just as the parade began. There were all kinds of cars: some brand new, some from the '20s, some refurbished and some that needed work. This was my favorite car.

Day 3

Day 3 of traveling was Tuesday. We passed the half way point between the equator and the north pole. We took the senic route and enjoyed ourselves. These are some of my favorite pictures from the day.





We're still working on getting internet so I don't have any pictures after these for now. More to come and hopefully soon.

We Made It

We made it safely. We're waiting for the internet to get set up. Until then I just have my phone and haven't figured how to post pictures from it yet. More to come.

Days 1 & 2

We set out Sunday afternoon. Headed west and caught the coastline for a bit. Ended up at a cozy little hotel. Good room. Good price. Good customer service.



We were in the car all day Monday and this is what Eli looked like most of the trip.

Rocks and Legos

Love spending time with family. So thankful we got to see them before leaving for Idaho.





Rocks and Legos kept everyone happy.





(The white light in the photo means there's no more blue & green sheets held up by binder clips in the windows. Don't understand why we can't sell the house that way. They worked for two years.)

Fixing Up the House

We bought a house in 2009 that needed a bit of work done on it. My husband did the hardest job with some help from his friends: the tile. It's my favorite part of the house.



Now we're moving out of state and need the house fixed up. There are a bunch of little projects that need to be done but we don't have time to do them ourselves before the move. We have some wonderful guys helping out. In the last week we now have baseboards, vent covers, mirrors, lights in the upstairs bathrooms, just to name a few things.



The house is looking amazing.