Just as promised!

Thanks for checking back for this week's (I guess last week's) update!

Here are a few tidbits from the week:

1) Eli goes through phases of favorites when it comes to his books. He will like certain books for a week or so and want to hear them several times a day. Right now he loves Little Golden Books in particular "Bow Wow Meow", "Color Kittens", and a book called "Dancing Duck".
2) Eli says "ok", "come on" and "hold on" ALL THE TIME. When you have a toddler, you start to realize what phrases/words you use a lot because they mimic them back to you!
3) Eli is doing better with cleaning up his toys....especially in the bath tub. He also seems to have taken after me with his organization. He will take everything out from under neath our bathroom sink and then put it all back in different places in his own way. Too cute.
4) Eli is really into playing/exploring everyday things around the house. He will play with a mat, sack, chair, for quite awhile and actually seems to be ignoring a lot of his toys lately!
5) All balls are footballs to Eli no matter how many times we try to correct him.....maybe he'll play football when he's older!
6) Eli knows his primary colors really well! Here are 2 videos of him identifying colors (ignore him playing with himself.....boys!):





7) Eli definitely loves the outdoors and always asks "otside?" while holding the door knob to one of the doors.
8) He also enjoys running errands (for the most part) and pretty much anytime we tell him we need to put on his shoes. He then says "shoes?" and goes to sit down to wait for them to be put on and I then inform him what we are doing (going to Target, Hy-Vee, etc. or outside), how we will get there (I say we are driving in the car and he says "drive?" "car?"), what we will do when we get there, and how he WILL stay in the cart and eat snacks to help mommy/daddy shop. This pre-teaching really helps him and I know he understands what we say to him. Even though he can't SAY everything he wants to, he certainly understands and I think he likes feeling included and informed about what is going on. After all, he is part of the family, too! I also notice a difference for the times I forget to pre-teach or am in a hurry as he seems more grouchy and defient.
9) Much to my dismay, Eli has picked up on and enjoys saying "no, no, no!" over and over again to almost everything. He even says it when he doesn't mean it. For example, I'll say "Eli, do you want milk?" Eli says, "No.....okay?", and then he asks for milk. Right now it's not really a defience thing as he seems to just like saying it. Don't get me wrong, he does say it when he doesn't want to do something, but since he also says it when he doesn't mean it, I know it's not really defience. Plus he is still easily distractable and can be re-directed for the most part. BUT, he is ALSO starting to do things such as hitting and throwing things and laughing. Once again, he isn't hitting/throwing things out of anger most of the time (although he will if he starts to have a tantrum, which don't happen often), he thinks it is funny and gets excited to the point where he will hit over and over or throw things at us or the cats and our response of a stern voice saying "Eli, hitting/throwing ____ hurts us/cats and gives us ouchies.....no hitting!" and then trying to re-direct. But there are times (more as of recent) where you cannot easily re-direct him and he just gets a little crazy! Pretty much all you can do is NOT LAUGH as much as you want to but continue to say not to hit/throw things with a stern voice and get away from him and re-direct. He also does this with things such us standing on the couch and chair. We are still trying to do positive/gentle discipline but some times it is trying! I just remember that spanking/swatting may stop the behavior at the moment, but it also is TEACHING that hitting is okay which is often what we are trying to get him to stop doing. AND the goal of discipline is to TEACH appropriate behavior so teaching them what to do instead of what not to do is better overall. So, on we go through this toddler journey!! Oh, and Dr. Sears has some great tips for parenting toddlers. Here are a few:
8 Tools for Toddler Discipline
9 Developmental Reasons Why Toddlers Can Be Difficult to Discipline
13 Ways to Encourage Toddler Good Behavior

10) These last few weeks I can really tell that Eli understands what we say to him. We can ask him to do a variety of things and he will do them such as throwing things in the trash, picking something up, going to a certain room, preparing to leave the house, brushing his teeth, drinking his water, etc.

Now for fun pictures:

Remember that I said Eli likes to play under our sink? He found my tampons and thought they were very fun to throw around:

We had another park playdate last week and I got a few fun snapshots from the occasion:

Eli & Lily:

Callie & Brody swinging:

The boys hanging out sharing the balls with each other:

Here we are, at the park, and for some reason the push toy was one of the most played with toys! Go figure!:

We brought our bubbles that has 3 wands and DOESN'T SPILL so that was also a hit with the kiddos. Here's Jack & Kennison:

Sidewalk chalk.....always a favorite!:

Eli also loves this toy. Any place we go that has this musical push toy, he immediatley wants to play with it:

Climbing UP the slide!:

Eli only took one ride in the swing and it lasted about 2 minutes. Too many other things to do!:

Jack practicing to be a big brother (his brother is due on MY birthday!):

Here is Eli sitting on the rocking chair I brought back from Iowa. He likes it but thinks it's fun to stand on so it often has to be put away :(

Eli continues to improve with his eating skills with a spoon/fork. Here he is enjoying his snack of apples and yogurt:

Eli enjoys sitting on the ottoman part of the rocker in his room. He pulls it to the middle of the room and reads books to himself:

Eli decided one day to try on my shoes. Thankfully they were flats and he did really well walking around in them. Daddy's shoes are too big and heavy for him to successfully walk in them right now. I think we need to make a trip to the thrift store to buy some grown up clothes for dress up!:

And an Eli post wouldn't be complete without a dance video:

Mother's Day 2009

Today was a great day....made that way by my wonderful hubby & son! Daddy & Eli started the day with buying me Starbucks and donuts (yummy!) and I got to open my fun cards & gift. Eli's card said "Mom, one thing I've learned from you is that 'When the going gets tough...the tough call Mom! Thanks for always being there!" and it played NKOTB "Hangin' Tough" play as you open it. This was kinda a joke as I was obsessed with NKOTB in high school. My gift was along the same "joke" lines as I got this:

No, not a costume from "Star Wars", a "Slanket" (close cousin of the "Snugglie")!! Ever since I saw this lovely invention, I have been hinting around that I wanted one. I have ALWAYS hated not being able to sit on the couch and be on the computer or read a book without having my arms cold. Eric has heard me say numerous times "This would be the perfect time to have a Snugglie!" so he thought this would be a great Mother's Day gift. He said he looked online and found that the "Slanket" is actually better made and larger so he ordered mine from QVC. Yay! My wish has been granted!

Later today we had my mom, aunt & uncle, Eric's parents, and Eric's brother Blake over for a cook out. It was a good time with yummy food and endless entertainment from Eli. He loved getting "chip" from Uncle Blake, "juice" from Great-Aunt Char, and laughing like a crazy kid with Grandma Clarkson. He really is starting to be quite the ham when a lot of people are around and TOTALLY knows when he is the center of attention. It's too funny. Here's a pic of the "moms" (& Eli):

What else can I say about Mother's Day? Last Mother's Day I posted a poem about being a mother that I re-read today and it is still such a great description of what what it means to be a mother. Here it is again for those who missed it last year:

Before I was a Mom
I never tripped over toys or memorized the words to a lullaby
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.
Before I was a Mom - I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.
Before I was a Mom I never held down a screaming child so doctors could give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a child sleep.
Before I was a Mom I never held a sleeping child just because I didn't want to put him down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.
Before I was a Mom - I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry child.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.
Before I was a Mom - I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom.

I am so blessed to have a son like Eli who everyday warms my heart with his smiles, laughter, kisses, hugs and overall tenderness. All my stress from "grown up" matters at work melt away when I am greeted at the top of the stairs with a huge smile and a "MAMA!!" followed by an immediate hug, kiss and run to the couch with a "milk?" for our re-connecting time. So many things have changed since last Mother's Day (I'm working, he's mobile, he's talking, etc.), but my love for our little guy continues to grow & grow each day (how is that possible??!) and each stage is more fun (& challenging in it's own way!) than the last. I'm excited to see the next Mother's Day and where we are as a family then (maybe #2 on the way???). How did I get so lucky!! I love you Eli for being my son and I love you, Eric, for making me a mommy!

Mother's Day 2009

P.S. Come back later this week for our regular weekly post!

Family Fun in Iowa!

This weekend we took a trip up to Iowa to visit my side of the family and had a wonderful time!! Eli had a number of firsts while in Iowa along with eating some yummy unhealthy food and staying up past his bedtime :) Eli enjoyed himself thoroughly (except for all the driving we did-he isn't used to getting in and out of the car multiple times a day!) and so did his mommy & daddy!

We drove up Friday afternoon and debated about having him nap in the car or be freshly napped before the trip. Sometimes he does well and naps in the car but other times he seems to fight it and just be crabby and cry. So, we decided to give it a try and he did really well! He napped over half the way there and on the way home today. Road trips are so much easier with a napping toddler! When we arrived, we ordered in pizza (unhealthy food number #1 :) and after dinner played with sidewalk chalk and bubbles. Here is Aunt Stephanie coloring with Eli:

Eli also enjoyed running up and down the sloped driveways over and over and OVER again (Aunt Stephanie is quite the trooper :):

One of Eli's firsts was seeing real live ducks!! We read about ducks and see them on t.v., but he had never seen them in person. He was so excited to see them but unfortunately, the ducks didn't share his social skills:

Aunt Sarah and Aunt Stephanie helped Eli walk a little faster:

That evening Eli enjoyed his first bath in Aunt Holly & Uncle Chris' bath tub in their newly remodeled master bath:

The next morning, we went to the house on "Plum Drive" where my family lived my middle school years onward. My dad is selling the house to Aunt Sarah & Aunt Stephanie but the house needs a lot of cleaning out of "stuff". There are many, many, MANY years of "stuff" that has to be gone through but once done, it will be a wonderful home for Sarah & Stephanie and their future family! We brought back to KC a rocking chair for Eli and we found our old tricycle that all of us used to ride when we were not much older than Eli. It was a little dusty and squeaky with some loose screws, but here he is taking it out for a spin with Aunt Sarah:

After lunch and a nap, Aunt Holly & Aunt Sarah went with us to the local park:

There Eli enjoyed his first tire swing ride with both of his aunts:

And he tried to climb the equipment like a big boy:

When living in the "Plum Drive" house, my sisters and I used to love to take bike rides to the pond and ride through a tunnel that goes under a busy road. It was so fun to reminisce about this and have Eli walk through the same tunnel (his first time in a tunnel). He really enjoyed the echo!!:

And the first time walking over a bridge:

After the park and walk, we headed back to Aunt "Hawee's" house and hung out there while daddy, Uncle Chris, and Grandpa Bidney went golfing. Later we met up with everyone at the golf country club bar & grill for dinner. Here Eli continued his unhealthy eating and had grilled cheese and fries which he LOVED. He also took multiple walks out on the deck with mommy and daddy. He did really well as we were there for about 2 hours and didn't melt down once! He did enjoy walking around and saying "hi" to everyone which helped keep him entertained. Here he is giving "papa" a big hug:

And clowning around with Aunt Stephanie (what's funny about this is that he started doing this face this week randomly by himself....not sure where he learned it!!):

This morning, we headed over to Grandpa & Lola's house that is in process of being remodeled. It's a beautiful house out in the country that has been in Lola's family for a very long time. The remodeling is going great and once finished, the house will be amazingly beautiful. Here are some pictures of the house:

View of the soon to be updated swimming pool and beautiful view of the Iowa countryside:


Side/back view:


The entire upstairs is a beautiful master suite with large windows:

Eli enjoyed exploring the master suite walk in shower:


As a wedding gift, we bought my dad & Roberta a life ring with the name of their boat that is currently in Belize. Here is Eli expressing his love for sailing:

Grandpa Bidney & Lola have 3 dogs. They are 3 very different dogs in almost every way except they are all very loving. Don't ask me to tell you the breeds (except for Gus, who was our dog growing up who is a Golden Retriever) but Turbo is probably the largest do EVER!! He is MUCH taller than Eli (just on all 4's) and slobbers like crazy. Here he is being held back by Lola:

And Eli watching Turbo run around:

This tire was part of a sand box that Roberta's son, Alex, used to play in a lot. While playing today Eric found an old match car that used to be Alex's:

Gus, Turbo & Eli:

Lily is a breed that naturally has the instinct to herd. She spent most of her time "herding" Eli which resulted in a lot of licking and head nudges. Eli liked it most of the time but would start to fuss if she became too domineering:

After visiting the house, we took Eli out to Grandpa & Lola's boat for Eli's first sail!!

Children are required to wear life jackets so Grandpa bought one for Eli and at first, he wasn't too excited about it. It's a little big but overall fits well:

Eli is so accustomed to being able to "roam free" that being confined on a boat was a little unnerving for him at first, but once we got out in the water, he did better. But, he had to be attached to his mama to feel completely safe. It was too cute as he just stood next to me with his arm around me and played with my hair:

After a little puttering around the lake (his first time we didn't actually sail) we headed back to Aunt Holly & Uncle Chris'. Eli feel asleep on the way there and so we quickly packed and left so he could continue his nap in the car. On the way home, we stopped to get gas and decided to have some Dairy Queen where Eli had his first ice cream all by himself. He loved spooning the ice cream by himself and said "hmmm!!" after every bite. I didn't get pictures as I left the camera in the car, but he really did enjoy himself :)

Now we are back home and are happy to be back. Thanks to Aunt Holly & Uncle Chris for the hospitality! It was great to see everyone and we'll see you all Memorial Day weekend!! Hope everyone has a great week!