The Park

Eli adores going to the park to play on the slide so we purchased a new swing set for him for his birthday. It took forever to put together, but it was worth it. He calls it the "park" and we gather he is enjoying it immensely from the number of times he has said "swing, fun." Now if he would only just pick one of the swings to swing on instead of switching between the two every two minutes....

The Case of the Missing Choo-Choo

So here is a funny little tale that should teach us all how to think like a two-year old. Eli received a Thomas the Tank Engine dvd for his birthday. He watched it on Sunday, then on Monday morning he wanted to see it again - "choo-choo, choo-choo" he told me. I looked high and low, but no dvd. I called Chris, I alerted the babysitter that afternoon and all three of us looked the house from top to bottom at various times over the next two days. No choo-choo.

Finally, yesterday morning I was putting another dvd in the player and it dawned on me that maybe I left the Thomas video laying on the player early Monday morning. Now if I were two and I saw the dvd laying there, what would I do? Well, what Eli had done was turn on the tv and come tell me "choo-choo." But was that all he'd done? He knows the machine plays the dvds, but he can't get the drawer to open in the player. Yet, conveniently located just under the dvd player is the VCR with a handy, easy-open door flap. I took a peep. Yes! There was not only the Thomas dvd, but also a music cd still in its cardboard package!

Understand the mind of the culprit and you'll understand the crime......

Eli is 2 !!

Eli turned 2 on Friday. It is truly amazing how quickly he has grown and changed. His new word for the week was "self" and he really can do a lot of things by himself, or at least give it a good try.

Here's a quick look back in time....

And here he is today (I think I won't be able to hold him by next year)....

And, finally, here are the highlights from Eli's party. He had a fabulous time (party is one of the words we now have to spell in his presence to keep him from going ballistic). He had a great time helping Daddy and Grandpa put together his table and chairs. He absolutely LOVED to be serenaded with "Happy Birthday" by everyone. We have to work on blowing out candles for next year, but he has the present-opening thing pretty well down pat. Oh, and let's not forget the cake. Eli's reaction to that is pretty self explanatory.
We'd like to say a big "thank you" for everyone who came, they helped make his day really terrific.

Busy Being Eli

It seems so hard to find a minute to post some photos and let you know what is new with Eli. I think that is because there has been a lot new lately. Eli's vocabulary is growing really well. A few of the favorite new words are "yeah" (not yes...our little hick, we're so proud); "Bo-bo" (Elmo); "pool"; "party" (he tried to join a random party at the park today); "work" (used most often in the sentence "Daddy car work" or Daddy drove the car to work); and "eat food mouth" (as in feed me I'm hungry).

So here are a few shots from the past week or so. Eli has had lots of activity, which is generally a good thing since boredom is our worst enemy. We have seen a huge up tick in the crying, "no's," and mini-tantrums as we approach his second birthday next week. Oh, good. Does anybody know if the terrible two's last all year long? On the positive side, however, Eli is becoming increasingly independent and loves to "help" wash dishes, sweep the floor, vacuum, get the mail, and anything else we can manage simple directions for. He even helped me make and can marinara sauce. He's great at putting the tomatoes in the food processor and pushing the on button.

We went for what was advertised as a lovely walk in the woods recently. Our happiness was curtailed by a very muddy and rough trail and a little boy with an improper nap. Can you tell that Chris just carried him half a mile back down the trail before I took this? I don't think anyone looks at all disgruntled.
Busy Playing - the phone is awesome, but we have to be more careful. He accidentally called 911 on our land line the other day.
Eli is taking a swimming class at the new town aquatic center. Here are he and Chris playing in the kid's pool afterwards.
Today we risked another family outdoor outing, but played it safe by going to a nearby park with playground. The park is on the river (one of the best things about where we live) and Eli just had to do some wading even though the water was really cold.

Stay tuned for birthday updates next week!