21 months (and other stuff)

Okay, just a warning, this post is a little long :) I know, I know, none of my posts are typically short, but this one is pretty packed full. So, you may want to look at the post in installments. To make this easier, I will label each "new" section. Hope this helps (hehe).

21 months!

Today Eli is 21 months. Like I said this time last year....countdown to a birthday! I have been thinking about what "theme" to choose for this fun birthday (he'll actually know what's going on this year) and have a few ideas :). Looking forward to a fun summer with my soon-to-be 2 year old!

Landscaping

When we bought our house in the fall of 2006, we saw all the beautiful landscaping and felt a little intimidated. The owners assured us it was low maintenance but because Eric & I are pretty "wet behind the ears" when it comes to landscaping, we have had a hard time keeping up. The first summer we had help from family but still only got the front done. Last summer we had Eli with us and the landscaping was sorely neglected. This summer, we feel a little more able to dedicate some time (& money!) so we've done what we will for this year and then maybe do some more next summer. We hope to eventually add more low maintenance bushes/plants so we aren't feeling so overwhelmed each year. Although I do enjoy doing some gardening, just potting some flowers is good enough for me. Here are pictures of what it looks like now:

The side of the deck:

Back of deck:

Side of house: land of peonies!:

Front yard:

Mailbox (thankfully this comes back every year with NO maintenance):


Memorial Day/Birthday Weekend:
(Check out more pics at Holly's blog!)

May is a busy month for the Bidney gang (so is June). There are 4 birthdays and 1 anniversary (ours!). This year, my Aunt Susie turned 60, so the whole gang got together here in KC to celebrate. It was really nice because my 3 cousins (Aunt Susie's kids) live in different locations in the U.S. and they surprised her by flying in to celebrate with her! It's always great to get together like we did when we were kids....it doesn't happen as often anymore! Friday night we all hung out at my house and spent most of the time in the back yard. Here is Eli & Mallory enjoying a wagon ride:

Chloe loving the swing (she really was :):

Saturday morning the "girls" went shopping at the mall while Eli was home with daddy. Then that evening was Aunt Susie's birthday dinner at Hereferd House (yummy!). Sunday we enjoyed time at home for the morning and then went over to Emily's for a cook out. Here are some pics of the weekend:

Aunt Holly & Eli going "nigh-nigh":

Fun with crazy Aunt Stephanie :):

Hugging Aunt Sarah:

Lovin' Grandpa Bidney:

Here's all the "kids" with their spouses and children (the pic with the parents did not turn out well on my camera)....great pic!:


At the cookout, Eli was in full explore/play mode and found many things to entertain himself with:




Showing Chloe how her exersaucer works:





Eli got many of these "upside down rides" from Aunt Stephanie:



Hugging Lucy the dog:


Today, while Memorial Day, was pretty low key and we just did some activities indoors and a little bit of outside time. But, the rain kept us in later in the day. Here is Eli enjoying his snack in his wagon in the garage:


Eli enjoying the sprinkles with his "gumbella"=umbrella:


Grandma Bidney bought Eli those fun capsules that turn into things in water. Eli's capsules turned into bugs. Eli found this to be a lot of fun and quite intriguing:


Random pictures from the week:

This summer will be entitled the summer of "getting to know your neighbors" thanks to Eli. While outside, Eli LOVES to run around the neighborhood and visit EVERYONE!! He asks them to hold him, talks to them, runs his fingers through their hair, and gives them hugs and kisses....and that's just on the first meeting! It's too adorable how outgoing he is and how much he enjoys being around people. Here is Eli exploring one of our neighbor, Sandy's, yard:

Eli saying "hi" to our neighbor Ed & walking backyards:

Eli sporting his adorable summer hat:

Eli continues to LOVE buckles. I buckled him in his booster seat and he decided to take a little walk:



Eli got a few "new" toys this week. By new I mean a gift of a John Deere farm set from Grandpa Bidney & Lola......:

....a jet "aipane" from a garage sale (P.S. the lady who sold us this said it was her 19 year old son's and when they brought it out of the basement- the batteries still worked 10/15 years later!)......:

.....and the best of all.....his own play vacuum for the same garage sale!!:




To end the post, here's a little video of a funny thing that happened this week. Don't worry, the bird is okay and he flew away after this video:

This week I am off of work and look forward to a lot of play time with my favorite buddy! Depending on the weather, we hope to go to the zoo tomorrow with our playdate friends. If rained out, we hope to go the next Tuesday as Tuesdays are discount days. Wednesday is the first Toddler Town on Tour at a local park, and we hope to get together with Mi Jean & Gael on one day. Saturday Eric & I will celebrate our anniversary and go to dinner. We are looking forward to it! Hope everyone enjoyed the post and has a great week!!