eli's "new ride".

This weekend, Eli received an extra large special delivery from Britax -- his new, big boy car seat! After a few weeks of research, consumer report reviews, and thinking about what we wanted in his car seat, we decided to purchase Britax's Boulevard 70 (in "cowmooflage") car seat for our little man. We have procrastinated in buying Eli's new car seat simply because he seemed to still be comfortable and enjoy his infant seat, complete with his pull-down monkey toy (oh, how he loves this monkey). However, he is fast approaching the weight limit for his infant seat, so sadly it had to make its final departure from our SUV.

Eli seems ultra comfy in his new seat! We can hardly wait to turn him around to actually face forward. We hope that he loves it as much as we do! Now...for the next important thing...we must, must find a way to attach "monkey" to the seat in front of him!

always on the move.

To say that Mr. Eli is always on the move is quite definitely an understatement. I simply look at him and think "Who is this little boy that is standing? Who could this be that is showing more and more independence by the day? Is this the Eli that used to lay and play on his playmat for any length of time? Who is this little boy that is so curious about everything in our home? Who can this be that crawls faster and faster when he realizes that mama is on his heels?"


He certainly gives me a run for my money each and every day as I can't take my eyes off of him for even a second. We just love his curiosity and laugh at his excitement towards things that seem so mundane! While his colorful toys keep him busy, some of his favorite "other toys" include the plant in our entry way, coffee table decoration, Carmen's well-loved dog toys (yuck!), wooden blinds, any speck of anything that is on the tile entryway floor, a sash that hangs from one of my shirts in our walk-in closet, our antique sewing machine table, and his elephant night-light.

Who needs a gym membership when you can chase, carry, and play with a 20 pound ball of energy all day, each day?!?

special times.

What a special weekend we had! My mother traveled to town for an extended visit and we couldn't have been happier to welcome her! We just love, love the time spent with our family and while we are quite aware that we could in fact be further away from those that we love, we always embrace these special visits with excitement! Filled with shopping, lots and lots of play time with the little munchkin, relaxing, and of course indulging in some favorite as well as a few new treats, the past four days flew by with a blink of an eye!

What a treat! Andy and I enjoyed a rare date night on Friday evening as mom enjoyed some "bubba time". How nice it was to sneak away for a few hours with my husband and enjoy a delicious, relaxing, and did I mention delicious dinner at Mojitos, a scrumptious tappas restuarant. What fun it is to order a few tappas and then order a few more...and then even a few more! After our fun dinner, we even enjoyed a bit of dessert at our favorite Homemade Ice Cream and Pie Kitchen - delish, delish, delish!

To top off my mother's visit, we hopped in the SUV and headed across the Ohio River to the Horseshoe Casino not to gamble, but rather to eat at Paula Deen's new restaurant, located within the casino! After a wait (we even arrived before five), we were swallowed up in some of Paula's finest dishes! Some of my highlights included her seafood salad, mashed potatoes, hoecakes, fried chicken, and the desserts - oh the desserts!

What fun my mother will have in mid-November as she travels with friends to sight-see in Savannah, Georgia! There, she will eat at the real Lady & Sons - how neat!

The oh-so-cute gift store was a replica of Paula Deen's kitchen on her Food Network show!

Thanks, mom for such a fun, fun weekend! Eli and I can't wait until our October visit! We love you!

let's goooo mountaineers.

is eli home?

I just love the weekends and this particular weekend was no exception! We have been looking for and searching for 10-month-old-appropriate toys that we think that Eli would enjoy. While he loves the toys that he currently has, a lot of his toys, with the exception of a few, were better suited for him when he was a bit younger. Needless to say, this revelation led us to Toys 'R' Us for a little family fun! After browsing the store, we decided on a few fun things and a few necessities. My favorite purchase, and I believe Eli's as well, is the fun, fun, and musical Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Learning Home.

Our little "home-owner" just loves the ding-dong doorbell, working porch light, opening and closing his front door, opening and closing the window, checking his mailbox, and crawling "inside" and "outside" his home again, again, and again!

We love playing peek-a-boo through the window in the door and when I knock and say, "is Eli home?" our sweet boy loves opening the door just for you. What a sweetie! We just can't get enough of him.

Welcome home!

mess.

While feeding Eli his lunch one day earlier in the week, I had to quickly step out of the room. Unaware that I had placed his baby food on his tray, rather than on our dining room table, I thought to myself from our neighboring kitchen, "Wow! He sure is being very quiet and content in his high chair given that I stopped feeding him so suddenly (our boy loves his food)!". With just a little peek around the corner I quickly saw why our little Mr. was so content and so quiet in that highchair of his...

...exhibit A...

...exhibit B...

...exhibit C...

...exhibit D...

A complete mess, Eli was in all of his glory while eating "on his own". Ecstatic that he managed to keep his lunch on his tray rather than on our new carpet (whew!) and content in his licking and "finger painting" in his strawberry applesauce, what more could I do than simply grab my camera and laugh. After this mess, I fear that Eli will have no problem with his birthday smash cake in November!

foot phenomenon...or just karma?

For years, Andy and I have teased my brother Kent about his toes...simply put...they are a bit (ahem) fat and two of them overlap and cross. Kent has even received toe separators used for pedicures and painting toenails (as a joke of course) in his Christmas stocking to give those crossing toes a well separated break. He even insists that a product like yoga toes just might be what he needs. What a good sport Uncle Kent is with all of our teasing!

When Eli was first born, it was quite remarkable how much he looked like his Uncle Kent. To me, this was a tremendous compliment because of just how cute and adorable Kent was as a baby and a toddler. We just loved hearing, "Wow! He looks so much like Kent!" I simply couldn't hear it enough.

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A few weeks ago, Andy and I were knee deep in toys, playing on the carpet with our little guy. While Eli goes barefoot much of the time these days, his toes are always in good view. Andy laughed and remarked, "I think Eli may have Kent's toes. Just look at those two fat big toes!" We had to laugh out loud. Then, with a second glance at those chunky piggies, we noticed something else we had yet to discover about Eli that resembles Uncle Kent...

...oh...my...gracious...
...do you see this...
Eli's toes also cross and overlap!

We could hardly believe our eyes! His toes haven't always been this way. Could this be a genetic foot phenomenon or simply karma from years of teasing?!? Uncle Kent couldn't be more excited about the resemblance, laughing and joking, "That's my boy!" While we must admit a bit strange, we only hope that Eli receives more of Kent's qualities, such as his sense of humor, his likability by everyone he encounters, his love for the outdoors, his love for his family, his positive attitude, and his dedication to the Lord. We love you, Uncle Kent and can't wait to see you soon!

P.S. - I am still waiting on your crossed toe picture!

a picnic for 3.

We just love when Andy has a rare day off from work (when we are actually in Louisville) and always try to do something special as a family to celebrate the day. In this case, we celebrated the long weekend! What a super Labor Day weekend we had. After a few dinners out at two of our most favorite Louisville "go-to" restaurants, a fun trip to the zoo, a neighborhood walk, time spent hanging pictures, baking cookies, and lots of play time with Eli, we decided to have a spontaneous lunch picnic on Monday afternoon. And, what picnic is complete without a little Kentucky Fried Chicken...after all...we do live in Kentucky!

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Following our fun picnic, with our pre-packed bread in hand, we wandered down to the water in search of ducks! Eli loved watching the ducks during our weekend zoo visit, so we just couldn't wait to feed the ducks at the park. What a great family weekend! We just can't get enough of them!

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lions...and tigers...and trees...oh, my!

Taking advantage of the beautiful, but slightly cooler weather on Saturday morning, we decided to take our little Eli to the Louisville Zoo for the first time! Andy and I have been looking forward to Eli's first zoo visit for quite some time and felt that perhaps, at 9 months, he may show some interest in the larger animals...maybe...just maybe.

Our first stop...the rhinoceros exhibit!
While there were several, several full-grown rhinos in the area where Andy expertly positioned he and Eli, our little guy was more intrigued by the large tree that shaded the exhibit! Eli seemed to say "Let's forget about the 5,000 + pound rhinoceros close by and take a closer look at this interesting tree!" We just love his intense curiosity!

While waiting for the adult giraffes to enter their indoor exhibit, we spotted a curious peacock strutting close by. While the large rhino did not get much of a glance from our little zoo keeper, Eli did watch the peacock intently
...until...

...he heard the ducks quack-quack...

We loved watching the baby giraffes run back and forth through their exhibit as well as the happy ducks swimming and quacking nearby...and if we are very honest...we also enjoyed watching and listening to the fresh water being pumped into the giraffe pool.

Andy and Eli enjoyed observing the large Elephants eat their lunch...munch...munch...munch!

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We enjoyed getting up close and personal with small animals, such as goats and donkeys, in the petting zoo area.

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While we know that Eli will enjoy the zoo more and more each year, we couldn't let the summer pass us by without one zoo visit. Perhaps we will take advantage of our beautiful zoo this fall, and again near Christmas to enjoy the glorious underground light exhibits. While we know that the zoo holds more fun for our family in the future, this weekend we were thankful for Eli's countless smiles as he felt the cool breeze on his face while walking through the park, his grins at the other small children, his little laugh as a sea lion emerged from the water, and his happy contentment to just enjoy his stroller. Nonetheless, perhaps during our next visit...we just might spot a rhino!

9 months and growing.

Dear Eli,

Time is passing entirely way too fast! Your daddy and I can hardly believe that you are 9 months old. It seems surreal that you are the same number of months that our sweet pregnancy lasted together. You amaze me each day with something new that you discover. You are one busy little bee. You are constantly on the go and have now flipped your crawling speed switch from moderate to oh-so-fast! You love crawling from toy to toy, from room to room, and anything and everything that you really shouldn't be crawling towards. You've recently begun to pull-up to your knees and will certainly find your feet soon enough. While this terrifies me, we cheer out loud for your accomplishments and you relish in all of the attention with your big, sweet smile!


We love watching you move, but also adore watching you take in your surroundings, study Carmen, and sit quietly listening to book after book after book. You have quite a personality with a sneaky, precious, and full-faced smile. You love to giggle and squeal, and make the cutest "oval lips" when something really interests you. You have four teeth and are certainly working on more each day. You live by the motto early to bed, early to rise...you still go to bed between 7 and 7:30, wake for a feeding around 4:30, and return to sleep usually until 7:00 am. You love all baby food with the exception of those rotten bananas and have recently added puffs (finally, you like these) and yogurt bites to your list of snacks. You babble the day away, but will consistently say da-da. While I am still patiently waiting for you to say ma-ma and we practice each day (every teacher knows the /m/ consonant sound is much, much harder to voice than the /d/ consonant sound - hehe) you have yet to make my heart jump by saying it. We will keep practicing and I will keep waiting! You will contently go to anyone, but are always wanting and willing to come back to "mama" with outstretched arms. I must admit, I do love this. While it still feels a bit strange to not be in my classroom, I am utterly enjoying my "new job" and take such pride in caring for you. Eli B, you have added such light to our lives and to that of our family. We cannot even dream of our lives 10 months ago! You are our pride and joy and we love you more each day, you rotten boy. Now, please, please slow down! 12 months is just around the corner, and if you don't mind, we want to savor the "now" with you - our baby.

xoxo,
mama and da-da

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...just a note about the above picture...

While putting away something, I placed Eli inside his crib - the only truly safe haven now that he is into any and everything. When I returned to Eli's nursery, he was on his knees, holding onto the bumper with one hand, and pulling the elephant mobile sideways, while smiling at his accomplishment! When I said "Eli, what are you doing?" this was the reaction that I received. Giggle after giggle after giggle, he just couldn't stop laughing! I do believe that is "this" is called...rotten!

it's "sprinkle"-ing.

While Eli and I were in West Virginia for an extended visit, I was super excited to host a "sprinkle" for my wonderful friend, Denise, at my mother's home. Already mama to sweet, blonde-boy, Nathan, Denise and her husband, Josh, will welcome their beautiful, yet-to-be-named little girl in mid-October! With an immense amount of sunshine and surrounded by good friends, Denise received so many preciously pink things! One can never be too ready to accommodate the closet of a girl!

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My very special Uncle Rusty and Aunt Kay own Thornhill's Florist in our small town and I painted these "welcome baby" storks for them when I was in middle school! Who knew one would be the perfect addition to our front yard to welcome friends to Denise's baby sprinkle?!?
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Wow! Nathan is definitely one busy little boy! What a cutie-patootie!
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up, up, and away.

Two Wednesdays ago, I put on my "brave mama pants" as Eli and I flew by ourselves to West Virginia for a fun, 10-day visit! To say that I was anxious for Eli's first flight is a bit of an understatement! Armed with a carry-on bag full of toys, books, baby food, snacks, stroller (so thankful I took this even though our connection was oh-so-short) and my secret weapon, two episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and one episode of Secret Agent Oso on my iPhone, Andy checked us in, walked us to security, and sent us on our way into the friendly skies! Needless to say, after all of my worry, both of our flights were smooth and Eli was certainly a trooper, receiving compliments from fellow passengers, despite how impossibly sleepy he was on our final flight. While I was so very proud of our big-little guy, I was extra happy to have our feet safely on the ground and begin our fun visit with our friends and family! Whew...check that one off the list of firsts...