Another week of fun activities!

We started out last week by attending a wonderful children's education center with some of our buddies. On Mondays moms get in free so it was the best day to go. We quickly discovered, though, that everyone thought the same especially with school starting later that week, as it got really busy. It was still fun, though, and we hope to return soon!

The first activity is the ball pit....always a favorite:

In this room, there were a variety of toyhouses, blocks, figurines, and trains...Eli's favorite!:

Then there was this awesome area where the kids had a wall full of mirrors with stools and countertop and face paint! Eli loved figuring this all out and was very thorough and interested in his face painting that resulted in quite the masterpiece:

Next up, a large water table! We don't own a water table so this was new to Eli and he, like most everything there, loved splashing and playing in the water with his friend Jack:

The outside area was a little wet from the rain we got overnight but it doesn't stop our kiddos! Eli had wet shorts after playing on all the equipment:

I wish that all restrooms had Eli size sinks and air dryers! He LOVED washing his hands and drying them over and over again. I had to practicially pull him away!:

They also had a "village" that had a bank, house, pizzeria, and grocery store. By this time the center had become pretty crowded so we didn't get to play with everything. Here is Eli enjoying a rock in the cradle wearing a dress up vest:

"Mmmmm.....pizza!" We don't own a play kitchen at home so I think it took Eli a minute to realize all the plastic food wasn't real:

This room had a flat screen t.v. on the wall and the kids were dancing to some video or something:

This room was padded and had everything "soft" for ages 2 and under. Unfortunately, Eli found the only hard object in the room (a plastic bucket) and threw it at a 10 month old little boy. Thankfully the boy didn't cry and his mom said he has older siblings so he's used to it. We talk to Eli a lot about how throwing things can hurt and give ouchies and make people cry. He kept saying "ouchie? hurt? cry?" while pointing to the boy. Then at home he told his daddy about what happened in a very concerned tone of voice. Eli thought this was a slide no matter how many times I tried to show him how to put the balls in the tubes:

Later that day, our friend Sue returned Eli's push toy that Kalani was borrowing. You would have thought we just bought the toy for him as he is STILL pushing it around the house many times a day:

We also bowled in our hallway. Here's how the pins are set up nicely:

And here is how Eli likes to bowl:

Giving Mocha gentle and nice pets:

Eli will probably enjoy photography when he's older as he loves using our old digital camera:

Yay for the Aquadoodle!:

And the Aquadoodle pens are also great on walls, windows & doors!:

Random facts/activities from the week:

1) Eli pooped while reading the "Everyone Poops" book....it made me laugh (not on the potty, though :(
2) Eli likes to put things back where they belong when he is done with them or doesn't want them anymore. He will take it back and say "back?"
3) Eli continues to be a little OCD about things as doesn't like messes or boo-boos and gets very concerned about them. He'll point to a mess and say "Mess? Clean it?" He shows us his boo-boos everyday and I reassure him they are healing and almost gone. This makes him smile and he says "All better!"
4) While at Music with Mar, his teacher noticed how much he likes to drum things and said he has great rhythm. He can march to the beat and bang on a drum and can use sticks to do the beat of songs we sing. Eli has started to do this on his own at home, to, and loves using sticks to beat the ABC's. He can say the ABC's pretty well to about the letter "l".
5) As I've said the last couple of months, Eli continues to talk in broken sentences and really can communicate his needs well. Of course there are still many times that we can't understand, but he tries very hard to show/tell us what he is saying and we eventually figure it out.
6) Eli really enjoys eating a lot of what we are eating and we have started having him eat at the table again (he went back to his highchair for awhile due to pushing himself away from the table with his feet and one time falling off his chair). Being part of what we are doing and being able to do or at least mimic us is very important to him.

This week we will be busily preparing for Eli's 2nd birthday party on Saturday. Many family & friends will help Eli celebrate by attending his transportation (cars, trains, airplanes, trucks, etc.) themed birthday. Should be a fun time so look forward to many pictures of the big day!!

Have a great week!