I'm ready for a vacation!

Jon and I have been getting ready this week to head out for a vacation in Hawaii tomorrow, so we've been a little busy this week preparing. Eli hasn't been too happy with much of my attention during the days not focused as much on him, and has been a bit of a handful this week. Here's a recap, since I'm too tired to write connecting sentences. :)

- He decided to start taking 30 minute naps every other day this week, which was stressful for Mommy (I like my little break during the day to get things done efficiently!). I hope he goes back to longer naps when I get home because I'm really not ready to have a non-napping child. :)

- Eli is talking more and more and trying more and more two word phrases (coat on, shoes on, get up, etc.). He said his first three word phrase this week as well, when I was tickling him. He started saying "don't" and I said, "You don't want me to do that? Just say, don't do that!" So he did! "Don't . . . do . . . dat!" - said very sharply and with a little pause between each word. I started laughing and so he said it again and again. Now he's only walking around saying, "do dat" and not saying the don't part. Still cute as a button.

- Eli discovered the word "no" for the first time this week. Unfortunately this was the same day he discovered the power of the word "mine" as well. EVERYTHING in the house was his, and he was quite perturbed when Mommy was touching ANYTHING. I was so sick of hearing "no" and "mine" after that day that I told Lori, my sister-in-law, that instead of just watching Eli for the week we are in Hawaii that she could have the option of keeping him. :) Thankfully he only spent one day this week saying "no" and "mine" to everything, so I've since rescinded the offer.

- Jon and I were packing feverishly Thursday night to get Elijah and ourselves ready for our trips, and Eli got a little bored watching and helping us. So he just climbed on the bed with a book and sacked out for a bit. So cute. :)

Let me know when you guys ready to play with me again.

Jon and I leave early tomorrow for our trip, and Elijah is safely at Uncle Jeff and Aunt Lori's house. When we left it was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do - though Eli didn't seem upset at all. He was engrossed in playing with a cool trainset of Noah's, and when we said good-bye, he just said, "bye-bye dada" and "choo choo train" to me. We're going to miss our little guy, but are ready for a week of fun in the sun! Hawaii here we come!

Is this a sign I drink too much coffee?

When we're at the mall and we see this logo . . .

. . . Eli starts pointing and excitedly yelling, "Mama's, Mama's!"

Then yesterday Jon was flipping through a business magazine that had a story about Starbucks in it, and Elijah got all excited and started running around yelling, "Mama's mama's!" and then running back and pointing at the logo.

If only I were so lucky to own a piece of Starbucks Eli's statement would be more comforting, but instead I've just been convicted that I drink a few too many White Chocolate Mochas. When your kid associates a business logo as being yours, that might be a sign to cut back a little! :)

Eli's first song!

I was putting Eli to bed last week and doing the usual routine - diaper, pjs, teeth, stories, pray, and sing. I love to sing to Elijah and snuggle for a few minutes before putting him in his crib for the night, and I vary between singing a lullaby or hymns, and then finish with Jesus Loves Me. When I got to Jesus Loves Me, Elijah started saying, "Je-us" and then when we got to the "me" part of the song, "sang" along, saying, "meeeeee" (with the little e going on and on.) He says it in this little high-pitched voice, and doesn't miss a single "me"! He also loves to sing all the "sooooooooos" and sometimes says "Bi ble" when you get to the "Bible tells me so, part. I was so proud of him!

I thought it might have been a fluke, but he's been doing it ever since. Last night when I gave him a bath he was playing with his Bible stories bath book (with foam figures of a sheep, the whale from the Jonah story, baby Moses in a basket, and of course Jesus). When I told him the man figure was Jesus, Eli said, "Je-us meeeeee sooooo." I guess he really does know the song! We sang through it a few times and my heart just melted. I think it is a wonderful gift to grow up knowing that Jesus loves you, and I'm glad Eli is learning that right from the start!

Spring has Sprung!

The last few days have been just beautiful here, and Elijah and I are really enjoying being outside! Yesterday it was 81 degrees here, and today it's 77! Yippee! Both today and yesterday Eli and I spent time at the kids park near our house, and had so much fun. The swings aren't up yet (which Elijah finds confusing; he keeps going to where they are and looking around saying "swing"), but Eli's still enjoying himself sliding and jumping and climbing all around.

I think his favorite thing at the park is this rubber bridge that kids can walk on and bounce up and down. He spends at least half of our time at the park just running across it. Yesterday he saw an older boy swinging on the parallel bars and saw what you could do with them (he never could quite figure it out before!). So now he likes holding on to them and hanging and swinging himself back and forth. It's neat to be able to go back to the park this year and see all the new things that Eli can do there!

Here's a web album of the good time we had!

Fun at the Park!

Condiment King Strikes Again

Looks like someone really liked their ranch dressing!