Playdate with Ryan

On Sunday evening, Ryan came over to play with Eli. Ryan was born just one week after Eli. It was so fun to watch them play together. Except for a few not-so-gentle touches from Eli to Ryan, they got along very well. Hunter and I are good friends with Ryan's Mom and Dad and I hope Ryan and Eli are friends for a long time!!!

Dirk or Tony???

Ice Cream!

On Saturday evening, I let Eli finish my ice cream cone. What a mess! But it was so fun to watch!

Good Nutrition???

Saturday was not a day for the nutrition recordbook! First, Eli got into my Chips Ahoy! cookie snacks.....then.....

....a little while later he got into my drink. Thank goodness there was no caffeine in the drink! After all the sugar, that is the last thing that he needed!! : )

Chuck E. Cheese

Tonight, Hunter and I took Eli to Chuck E. Cheese's. He was a little overwhelmed at first, but once he figured some things out, he was totally amazed. It was so much fun watching him walk around and find things that he wanted to play.

Eli is enjoying his pizza...he ate an entire piece!

Eli & Barney
Eli enjoyed playing skee ball....Hunter enjoyed it too! : )
Hunter and Eli won a few tickets while playing the games. Eli was very proud of his tickets!
Eli did not know what to think of the giant mouse. He just kept petting his hand and looking back at us....I'm sure it won't be long before he's scared of things like this.

A Message From A Busy One Year Old

I found this on kellymom.com and love it...I hope it is helpful for all the moms out there...especially those that have a one-year-old. It's a little long, but worth the time to read.

-- Author Unknown

Please expect me to be busy. That is my developmental job. Please remember that I don't need to do things well, I just need to do them. I like it when you tell me what I am doing, not how well or how poorly I am doing it. If you keep telling me that I do things well, that I am smart or cute or brave or spunky, I get mixed up and I think I have to act those special ways to please you. When you tell me what I am doing, when you say, "Andrew is climbing on the sofa," I feel loved for being who I am and the age I am.

Please say two "yes's" for every "no" or two things I can do for everything I can't.

Please have lots of small objects with different textures for me to rattle and drop and bang and throw and taste and stack and nest, and a container for me to drop them in and pour them out of. This will help me avoid confusion about relationships, sizes, shapes and positions when I am grown up.

I don't need commercial toys, but I do need the objects to be too large for me to swallow.

Set a few limits for my safety and your comfort. Be consistent.

Please remember to accident proof the kitchen and the bathroom. I taste everything I can find, and cleansers and bleaches are poison in little bodies.

Please remember not to force teach me. Don't read me a story when I don't want to listen. If the book is stiff, I would usually rather play with the book and open and close the pages like doors than listen to you read.

Please find a way to block off a space sometimes so that the bigger kids can play without me crawling through their projects and so I can still have room to explore.

Please don't hurry me. I will walk or throw away my cup when I am ready. We kids have our individual time tables, you know.

Please remember that when I get stuck doing something, it is more helpful to me if you help me do it myself than if you do it for me.

Please remember that punishment for performance such as tricks and toilet training interfere with my development at this stage.

If you need to put me in a play pen for my safety, please remember not to leave me there for more than ten minutes. I can't do the kind of exploring I need to do when I am restricted.

Please expect me to check in with you. I say a few words like "up" or "milk" but I may tug at your clothes or grunt or holler instead. I may not stay long, but I need to know that you are near and are willing to give me a pat or a word or a smile.

Please remember that I am too young to understand sharing. I don't even understand owning yet, how could I understand sharing? Please remember that exploring, self-feeding (after 8 or 9 months), messiness and curiosity are healthy behaviors in kids my age.

And please love me and hold me when I want to be held. I love you.

Go Green

Over the past couple of weeks, Hunter and I have decided to change some of the things in our home in order to be more environmentally friendly. We have had fun thinking of things that we can change and teaching them to Eli. This week we started taking a reusable shopping bag to the grocery store...Eli enjoyed unpacking the groceries from our new bags.

Go Mavs!!!!

Learning to Drive

Eli has re-discovered his car and has been playing in it alot over the past few days.

If you look close, you can see Eli's two top teeth in this picture....he actually has four teeth on the top now, but the front two are starting to show in pictures. So cute! : )

Dallas Blooms

Today was another beautiful day so Eli and I decided to pack a lunch and go to the Dallas Arboretum.

Eli loved the fountains!
Unfortunately, Eli would not sit still for many pictures. I got several action shots like this one! : )
After a fun picnic and lots of playing, Eli slept in the stroller while I walked around and looked at the beautiful flowers. It was absolutely beautiful.

Fun at the Park

Eli and I have been trying to enjoy time outside each day before it gets too hot. Yesterday, we went to the Murphy City Park. It is a very nice park about a mile from our house that we just discovered. Eli played on the playground for over an hour and then we walked the trails for about an hour. I just love these pictures of Eli in the swing....

Eli enjoyed the slide, but really enjoyed playing in the mulch at the end of the slide! : )

Copy Cat!

These days, Eli copies everything we do from putting on make-up and brushing our teeth to talking on the phone. Eli LOVES to watch Hunter brush and floss his teeth every night. Well, when Eli found a piece of easter basket grass on the floor, it immediately became floss in his mind. Eli "flossed" Hunter's teeth with the easter basket grass. It was so cute....he was very deliberate about each move and even tried to wrap the grass around his fingers.

Bubble Machine

Eli got a bubble machine for Easter. On Monday night, it was a little cold to play outside, so we spread out a blanket and played with the bubble machine inside. At first, Eli was a little scared of it, but he got used to the sound and then loved it! He plays with it all the time....even when I don't have a blanked or towel on the floor. : )

Baby Jack!

More of Baby Jack...we can't wait to see him again. Eli and I saw him when he was a few weeks old, but Hunter has not seen him yet. We are looking forward to their visit!!

Cousins

Eli's cousins....Justin (17), John-John (9), Jessica (3), and Jack (4 mo). They live in Alaska where there is still snow on the ground although it has started melting. We are looking forward to their visit this summer and hope to visit them in Alaska as well.

This is one of Jessica's classic looks....she was a little upset that her Easter basket broke. I guess that's what happens when you are so good at hunting easter eggs!

Happy Easter!

Coloring Eggs

Eli colored Easter Eggs at Granny & Ga-Ga's house. Here he is walking up the sidewalk to their house with easter basket in hand.

Eli was very interested in the colored vinegar/water. We tried to get him to drop the coloring tablets in the water, but as soon as we gave the tablet to him, he tried to put it in his mouth.
With a little help, Eli was in charge of all the egg coloring. Granny showed him how to drop the eggs in the water, check on them and then take them out when they were done.