Saturday Photo Fun

What a lovely Saturday, preceded by a somewhat less lovely Friday night/Saturday early morning. Thing is, Eli's forgotten how to sleep. So nobody's sleeping much around here. At least not at night. During his morning nap this morning, I slept, and now Eric's snoozing through his afternoon nap. So, I blog. We've been lazing in between all the napping and once my boys wake up we're going to have a lovely dinner at Sweet Tomatoes (the best salad joint ever) , followed by a trip to the bookstore to read books on baby sleep, and an evening jaunt to the park. Sounds nice, no?

So, we've had much fun lately. Here's photographic evidence:

First...meet Farmer Eli! We had the grand idea to head over to our friends' the Vineyards' farm yesterday. They needed their lawnmower back and we needed a fun outing. So, I loaded up their mower and headed over to the farm. I wasn't sure how Eli would react to critters bigger than our cats. Well, he LOVED it! He cackled with laughter and jumped right in head and hands first. We met a farm dog, three sheep, 6 pigs (including the biggest one I've ever seen, Sapphire), and four horses. We even went in the corral with the four very friendly horses, and proceeded to be surrounded. Eli wasn't phased (I was a bit). Unfortunately the camera battery died about three minutes into our visit. The photos I got came from the phone, so they're not great. And I so wish I could have gotten a video of Eli's guffawing. We'll definitely make a return trip and make sure our camera is fully charged.




And now, another selection of hat photos. I cannot resist a hat photo op.
Ello Govneh.
Yee Haw.
Ole!

And, some random fun:
Sweet new curls.
Yay! Spoons!
Whoa. Spoons.
My sweet happy fellas.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Posted by Mama

Porch Morning and Play Date

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous the past few days, especially in the morning. On Wednesday morning, Eli took a blanket, toys, books and breakfast out onto the deck. Here are some highlights:



Today we enjoyed a fabulous play date at a friend's house. Here Eli watches eagerly as all the kids are playing:
Grace and Christopher had lots of fun in the blue sand.
Eli's chair came in handy, as always. Thanks Auntie Alli!
Both the most fun of the day...crawling in and out of the doggy door:
We don't have a doggy, but we may need a doggy door.

And in other news, there have been lots of firsts this week. Here are Eli's latest tricks:
~Growing THREE new teeth. That makes five total.
~Clapping. He now knows that saying "YAY" and clapping go together, so anytime we "YAY," he claps.
~He can now get himself from his belly to his booty, which is a very complex maneuver. Quite impressive.
~Pulling up to standing on the couch, coffee table, mama, his crib, etc. Trouble!

Hope all are well!
Posted by Mama

Eight Lovely Years

Eight years ago today, at dusk, on a steamy hot summer's night in Hickory, North Carolina, we were married. It was an incredible day, full of love and celebration. And they've been eight wonderful years, each better than the last. This one has been the best though, because little Eli has multiplied our joy. Here's how:
Eating his new dinosaur and looking peaceful.
Finding ways to be entertained, even when being forced to shop for many hours with Mama and Auntie Selena.
Peeping in on Auntie Selena.
The sweetest baby face.
The sweetest baby roar laugh.
Here's to the next eight! Much love!

Selena's Here! YAY!

We're having lunch and waiting until we can go get Selena...And here she is!!!! Welcome Selena!
Selena and I hung out at the studio while Mama packed pots for shipping.And she was so snuggly that I fell asleep, zzzz.
And then she fed me! She is now my favorite person!
Then last night we went to my first Rockies Game. It was super fun. Here we are at the game!






Look Dad, lights!

I love my family.
Posted by Eli.

Peaches, Boxes, and Bowling

Some of the latest goings-on:


We woke up to about 5 inches of snow yesterday. The day before it had been 80 degrees. Today it's supposed to be in the 60s. Colorado weather is indeed disorienting.

Eli got a new big-boy car seat yesterday! (The Cates family can expect theirs back soon!) While mom was installing it, Eli had fun in the box. We have hundreds of dollars worth of toys, but it never fails that Eli's favorite things are not toys at all: boxes, cell phones, shoes, pens, etc.
Here's a new thing: you put solid food in this meshy thing, and Eli can gnaw on it all day without risk of choking. Here, he gnaws some peaches into a mushy pulp.
Sitting on the sofa.
Last night's adventure: bowling! Here are dad and Eli at the bowling alley. We kind of matched.
Eli having his bowling alley dinner.

Gnawing on some pizza crust. He really liked it. In other news, Eli is apparently not allergic to wheat. This is how Eli and his mama bowled all night. Jessa did really well this way--she finished second out of 9 people! The one frame where she bowled without Eli, she rolled a gutterball. So apparently Eli is a crucial part of her technique.

Mother's Day and Other Fun!

Today has been the loveliest of days. We celebrated my first Mother's Day with yummy food and a gorgeous day in the park with my fellas. It could not have been sweeter. Well, that's not true. It could have been sweeter if I had not been up making pots until...wait for it...FIVE A.M. So, Eli and I snoozed through church, and then met Eric for a yummy lunch at the Spaghetti Factory, and then off to Washington Park for napping, playing, crawling, rolling, nursing, snuggling and laughing.

It was an amazingly gorgeous day and the park was packed with people celebrating Moms. I can't believe I am in that category and have been for nearly 7 1/2 months. It is incredible, every day, to be the happy mommy of our fabulous Eli. I am so lucky to have him as my son. Besides being undeniably adorable, Eli has a humor and joie de vivre that are contagious. We absolutely cherish his presence in our lives. Here are a few shots from our day: Then we finished off the day with dinner at Macaroni Grill. You'd think we were preparing for a marathon with all the pasta we've eaten today, but no. Eli held court with the ladies while we were waiting for a table. The little one on the left was somewhat more interested in the sweet potato puffs than Eli.

Thank you to all who called/emailed/sent cards and goodies wishing me a happy first Mother's Day. It feels incredibly special.

Sunny - hilarious gift. I LOVE it! I thought the title on the shipping form was literal and was prepared for something completely different. But all in our house have enjoyed it.

And now for some other fun! Here are just some cute shots from the week. This week we've seen lots of messy faces, psuedo crawling, and smiling. Enjoy!
Messy and perplexed.
Messy enough to require a wardrobe change. Outfits on the head are an easy laugh around here.
The new wardrobe and a classic Eli face.
Super messy face.
A clean jammied man looking out the window before bed. He loves sitting here and seeing the woods and his reflection, and banging on the glass.

And for more fun...BUBBLES!
Happy Mothers' Day to all you lovely Mamas out there!