Grandpa and Gradma Visit!

Grandpa and Grandma Decker are here visiting from Plymouth, Michigan! We're having so much fun. Eli's having a big time climbing all over them and having pretend cell phone conversations with Grandma. Today we all went on one of our favorite Colorado outings: to Lyons for lunch at Cilantro Mary's and for a walk around Lily Lake. It was so yummy and beautiful. It was actually chilly there (and windy!), which was a nice change from the ninety degrees we're used to.
The fam at the lake.
Handsome boy. His hair was inexplicably wild today. I loved it.
Quietly contemplating the mohawk.
Funny face!
Grandma and Grandpa brought Eli a most excellent hat from Frankenmuth, a German village near where they live.
Just another funny face.
Sweet jammie boy. We had so much fun with Grandparents! Much love!

N.C. Wrap Up

Hi friends! We're back from a lovely two weeks in North Carolina. We loved seeing friends and family, and are sad that there were a few of you that we didn't get to catch up with. Next time.

Here are a few photos from the tail end of our trip:We got to visit with our Rutherfordton Deckers. We joined them for a Mexican feast in honor of cousin Rob's 23rd birthday, and then for a swim. Happy Birthday Rob!
We also caught up with Ashley, yay! Eli loves her!
And she loves him.
We caught up with our old friend and professor, Dr. Meacham, at the Montreat Barn Dance. We used to see her there 8-9 years ago when we would go to the barn dance on Friday nights off from camp. She snuggled with Eli for a while so Eric and I could have a dance without him in the sling (sadly, we jumped in on the "30 and older" dance. Alas).
Eli was fascinated by the dancing. So was McCool, seen boogeying down in the far right of this photo.
Here are a few shots from the thirtieth birthday festivities hosted by the lovely Selena. The Top Gun shades were a big hit.
Just call her Maverick
That's my girl!
Back on a plane. Eli does remarkably well on planes. He doesn't usually fuss at all (unlike the unhappy child near us), but he does wiggle the ENTIRE time, which makes for very tired parents. It was nice that we were both there and could swap him from time to time.
Getting comfy.
Sweet fellas. We're back and settled. It's hot. Dry but hot. We're off to church camp for a week starting Sunday. Hope all are well.

Mountian Water Adventures

Ok, this is epic. I'm going to keep the comments to a minimum because, who are we kidding, we know you're just here for the photos of Eli.

Gram lives at Christmount, a Disciples of Christ camp. It is the best grandparent's house imaginable because there is a park, a forest, and a pool. What could be better?
Strollin' home in the Bob after swimming.
A little discontent...
Boys watching machines. They were doing street maintenance while we were waiting for our table at Doc Chey's. The boys were mesmerized.
Eric showed Eli all about trees. He now says "tree", which brings his word count to four.
Straw drinking. New skill.
Meet Eli's girlfriend Maggie. Eli met Maggie while waiting for our table outside looking at trees. They flirted. Maggie taught Eli to wave. He never waved before he met Maggie, despite our attempts at teaching him to. Once we got seated they spent the whole meal waving and talking to each other. Here she is blowing him kisses. Ahhhh, young love. (Now he waves at everyone).
Today's adventure: hiking at Graveyard Fields, my favorite spot on the parkway (maybe in the world). I had him in the sling to start with and for the hike to the Upper Falls. The rest of these photos chronicle the days events in order.
Dangling the toes in the chilly water.
Close up of the toes.
Climbing trying to get further into the water (note the mohawk. His mohawk was the best it's ever been today.).
Walking further in.
Parents conceded. Eli wins. Clothes come off. Swimming commences.
Wheeee! He loved it. It was freeeezing but he didn't care.
Mama's beautiful boy (again, the mohawk. Delicious).
Hanging with DaDa at the Upper Falls. Note the wardrobe change.
Come on Dad! Let's GO!!!
Gram let me dangle my toes some more. Thanks Gram!
She loves me...
Eric and Eli climbing way up to the tippy top of Upper Falls.
The somewhat wimpy falls due to the drought conditions here lately.
This is my hands down favorite picture of Eric and Eli ever.
Our fam.
Time to hike back down. Dad carried him this time in the sling - his first try at slinging. Eli loved it.
He got really snuggly.
One last dip at the bottom of the trail. Eric just had to wash off his feet before getting in the car. Seconds after this photo was snapped I saw Eric and Eli crash onto the rocks. Eric went down back first and Eli's little head came over his shoulder and grazed the rocks. I did not crop the other hiker out of this photo because he was the paramedic who came to our aid. He and his paramedic wife happened to be hiking there with their kids (who I apologized to numerous times for the choice words that escaped my mouth as I ran to extract my husband and child from the river).
No more mohawk. Here is Eli all dirty and busted up. Both fellas are fine. Eli has four little bumps on his noggin and Eric's hiney took the brunt of the fall. Eli was back to his silly laughing self in no time. My heart took a little longer to stop pounding. The paramedics said to ice it and watch him but that he was probably fine. What a day.
Posted by Mama

NC, part 1

We've been in NC for a little over a week now, visiting with folks and showing Eli off.

Here are some things Eli's been doing lately:

--Eating almost everything, including pizza crust, Indian food, veggie dogs, olives, pieces of chips, lots of fruit, and lots and lots of puffs.
--Standing with ease, and "cruising"--walking around things while holding on. He's tried standing without holding on to stuff recently, with mixed results.
--Eli now has a vocabulary of about 3 words, plus one in sign language. He can say "cat," "da-da," "up," and sign "fan." We think this is a good sign that he will someday win a Pulitzer.

Here are some photos from our trip so far. Blogger gets weird when you upload lots of photos at once, so these aren't necessarily in exact chronological order.

Crashed at SATCO in Nashville after our flight. Sunny was an obliging bed.


Hanging with Emily at SATCO.

This one was taken under an umbrella at a family gathering. It POURED rain for a good 45 minutes. Before the rain.
Eli with the Dendy clan.

Eli's gram has a cool fountain in the back yard, and he loves to play in it. We have a good video of this that we'll post later.
The mulch is also fascinating.

Notice the mulch around his mouth....
And on his feet.
He is a VERY cute child. We are not going to deny that.
Mulch is funny.
Eli is exploring everything now.
Having lunch at the iconic My Father's Pizza in Black Mountain with McCool and his mom, who was a Divinity School classmate/running buddy of Eric. McCool ate more than anyone else at the table.

Eli and McCool playing in the sand.
McCool has magnificent curls.
Boy = dirt.
At the Vassy family gathering in Gastonia, Eli spread his supply of puffs over the whole living room.
It looks like Eli's great-grandpa might have been having difficulty, but he was really just trying to entertain the baby. Or maybe he wanted some puffs.
Eli meets his cousin Hunter (we're still not sure what kind of cousin...second? third?). Cousin Andrew is holding Hunter.
Eli got an ear infection on Friday, so he's on Motrin and amoxicillin. He LOVES the dropper. Here, he chews on it, which is his #1 sign of affection.
We went to have lunch with Great-Grandfather, and Eli drew a crowd from old church friends.
His hair doesn't do this as much anymore, since there's more of it, but when it does...it's awesome.

This was at mom's birthday party. He got hot and had to strip down, but that didn't seem to bother him.
Wish we hadn't cut his head off in this one. Happy Birthday Mama!

Hanging out with Austin and Natalie at the party. Eli got so dirty crawling around at the party that he left a huge dirt ring in the tub after this bath.

We'll be in NC another 5 or 6 days, so we'll try to do another entry while we're here. Gram needs upgraded internet access!