Friday, October 31, 2008

Crazy Lion

I think we've gotten good use out of Eli's costume this year. He wore it on four different occasions in the last week. There was our church Halloween party last weekend, a friend's birthday party this week, and then trick-or-treating in the morning and afternoon today. Here are some of my favorite shots of the crazy lion :)



Here we are this morning at our playgroup get together - trick-or-treating in the Glencoe shops.
These are some of the kids that were there - others joined up with us later.

Eli's face when I asked him what a lion says - "ROAR!"

This is from this afternoon - we did some trick or treating in our neighborhood first... it was exhausting for the little guy!
We ended up carrying him the majority of the time.
And at one point, he put this lollipop in his mouth - wrapper still in tact. And refused to take it out (we finally got him to let us take the wrapper off when we got home, so he wouldn't just eat soggy paper)
Later we stopped by the Klearmans' neighborhood to see the kids in their costumes. Here's Caroline as a mermaid and Drew as Darth Vader.
And here's a lovely picture of all three of us :)
When we were home for the night, we took Eli's costume off - it was so warm today (close to 70 degrees - highly unusual for Chicago) that Eli didn't need to be bundled up under his costume. He thought it was hilarious to be "naky" even though he still had plenty on.
I love his chubby little legs! Hope you had a nice Halloween :)

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Sugar High

I was catching up tonight, reading blogs on my Google Reader, when I saw a post on Zen Habits that made me laugh out loud: "Beat the Sugar Habit: 3 Steps to Cut Sweets (Mostly) Out of Your Life." I could only wish!!

The article first talks about what sugar does to your body - it increases fat storing, disrupts normal brain function, and decreases your overall health and makes you age quicker.

Great.

It then talks about how to make healthier choices. It's actually really helpful and a good reminder, on this Hallow's Eve, to not totally gorge on sweets just because it's Halloween. I don't usually keep too much chocolate around in my house on a regular basis since I have little self control. But this week, after I bought some bags of candy for the trick or treaters... I have been munching and munching... all the while increasing my fat storage, disrupting my brain function, and aging faster.

Darn! Maybe I'll turn over a new leaf next week. That mini Baby Ruth is calling my name...

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Bad Smells

Over the last week, I've gotten nauseous because of some bad odors. Last Thursday, one of our neighbors was burning leaves or some other kind of yard waste and it smelled so, so bad. And as my luck would have it, the wind was blowing the smoke/smell from the fire right over to our house. I can't tell you how sick it made me feel. I had to lay down during Eli's nap, climb under the covers and try not to breathe through my nose. It was horrible.

Today, Eli has rummaged through one of the kitchen drawers and found some measuring spoons. He started carrying one around in his mouth (I know, I should have stopped him...), and he proceeded to trip and fall forward, hitting the teaspoon in the back of his throat. It was not pleasant. After he fell, the teaspoon had fallen out, but he was gagging and pretty unhappy - can you guess what came next? A few quick rounds of throwing up. All over me, the family room carpet, his clothes, and then the hardwood floor next to the carpet as I tried to quickly move him over.

It was all I could do not to throw up from the smell. Thankfully we've now cleaned the clothes and carpet, mopped the floor, and I don't think the smell has lingered. And I'm glad we have the carpets scheduled to be cleaned next week, and not last week! Eli is fine and even tried putting another measuring spoon in his mouth later tonight - I didn't realize the spoons would be such a hazard!

Monday, October 27, 2008

Brushing Teeth in New Jammies

My parents and Gram came over tonight on their way to meet a friend in the city. They brought some fun gifts after being out of town for a few weeks... one of the gifts was this set of frog pj's/matching hat (I love things w/ frogs!). The size is 12-18 months, and we realized tonight that the next baby may get more wear out of them than Eli... I love these pictures - the jammies and hat barely fit :)






These pictures just make me laugh! I haven't checked yet to see if the hat is still on his head (now that he's been sleeping/moving around in his sleep for a few hours).

I'll post on the other things that my parents brought later - one was a DARLING, knit sweater that my mom made, and the cutest knit hat that looks like a dog, complete w/ cute strings on the side that hang down w/ pom poms.

Unfortunately, Eli already pulled one of the strings/pom poms off, so my mom took it home to hopefully secure the strings a little better. They also brought another pair of jammies w/ dogs on them. Eli loves animals, so he thought they were great!

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Carving Pumpkins

Today we carved one of our pumpkins - Eli enjoyed standing on the stool and trying to help.




Ben used a template and carved this cat pattern - Eli LOVES it and kept saying, "kitty! kitty!" after we put the candle in and turned off the lights. We put it out on the porch and Eli kept running over to the door, looking out the window, and saying, "Hi! Hi! Hi Kitty!"


Later Eli entertained himself playing with his kitty stuffed animal and frog snuggly, talking to them, shoving them into his Elmo bucket and then pulling them out again. Whatever makes him happy :)

And last night we went to our ward's Halloween party. Eli LOVED wearing his crazy lion costume and carrying the Elmo bucket around. I'm sure I'll have more lion pictures to post next week...

Friday, October 24, 2008

Eli, Boppy, and Daddy

Here's more "Boppy" footage (Eli really wanted to play with the camera that I was holding) and some of Eli and Ben chasing each other around the house. It will be a while before we furnish our living room, but in the meantime it's so nice to have a big empty space! Perfect for chasing games.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Love those Pumpkins

Yesterday we were out in the front playing near the pumpkins. Eli was making all kinds of silly faces...

Some happy...

Some crazy...
I asked him if he wanted to walk down to see the trains passing by - he said, "YEAH!!" and clapped his hands (just as I mentioned in an earlier post).
We can hear the train when we're outside, so as soon as we heard the bell ringing we ran over to watch the el train.
We watched a few more trains go by (they run pretty often in the late afternoon) and then headed back for more pumpkin time.

I love the Fall weather!! It's crisp, but not TOO chilly to be outside without a coat (at least for a little while).
Love this boy.
We still need to carve our pumpkins!

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Understanding a Toddler

I was just reading last night about toddler's development in the latest Parents magazine, which said at 18 months old, kids tend to get frustrated easily because they want something but aren't always easily understood, which makes them pretty moody. Eli is a month away from the official time line, but I've noticed this week especially that he is either VERY happy when I understand what he wants or VERY upset when I don't.

When I do figure out what he's asking for, my favorite thing is that his face lights up, he claps his hands, and he says, "YEAH!!" with a big smile. It makes the frustration all worth it :)

Monday, October 20, 2008

Eli is 17 Months

Eli is 17 months old today. He is a fun-loving, sweet little boy who amazes us each day with the things he is learning and understanding.

A few of his latest words include: haircut, Sydney (name of Amber's little girl), and others that aren't coming to mind right now, but I'll add later as I remember them today. His first two-word phrase - "I see" because I seem to say that a lot when someone is telling me something. He loves copying it and says, "I see, I see" over and over...

He's working on his independence - trying to put his shoes on (which often leads to frustration), taking his bib off when he's done eating, insisting on using a spoon or fork when he eats, and usually having an opinion about which direction he wants to go (not caring if it's where we need to be going...). Eli loves to imitate what we say and do - and loves sweeping, playing with the measuring cups/spoons in the kitchen, pulling a stool up to the counter so he can help when I'm cooking.

Eli is really curious about how things work. He loves pretending to work on Ben's exercise bike with a set of keys (he'll put them in the screws). He likes fitting things inside of each other.

He loves playing outside and climbing up slides, but usually needs our help with that. He loves bubbles, balls, and balloons.
He loves playing peek-a-boo and hiding games.

He's not the wildest boy that I've ever seen, but definitely has a lot of energy and determination and can be very busy. I'm thankful that he usually behaves okay in restaurants or public places, though he definitely gets tired and restless after three hours of church each Sunday. He is not afraid to voice when he's frustrated, tired, or wanting something out of his reach. We love this little guy so much!

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Trip to Atlanta

Eli and I spent the last five days in Atlanta, visiting my old roommate Amber, her husband Stephen, and their cute baby Sydney. Below are the highlights of our trip:

Eli enjoying the crazy lights in the O'Hare United terminal:

Eli LOVING walking to the park in Amber's neighborhood - in shorts and a t-shirt in the middle of October! It was so warm.

Sydney enjoying the swing for the first time
Attempting to get them to slide down at the same time (didn't happen)
Sweet boy
This has to be the funniest picture I have ever taken of a baby before - I LOVE her expression:
Playing in the downtown square in Marietta:


It's so cute when little ones snuggle

Georgia Aquarium - the world's largest aquarium
Eli and Sydney LOVED seeing so many fish - and Eli enjoyed pointing them out to Sydney
Spider crabs - a little gross!
Checking out the beluga whales - Eli kept singing his version of Raffi's "Baby Beluga" song; it was cute.
Taking a snack break at the aquarium


Eli thought this fish was hilarious and kept waving to it after we walked away. Amber and I thought the aquarium had a slight Disney feel to it, including stuff like this walking fish :)
Next jellyfish exhibit
Making a fish face
Pointing the fish out to Sydney
Going through the ocean exhibit that had a moving walkway under the aquarium
Cute baby food face:
I took Eli to get his haircut at a place called Pigtails and Crewcuts. He is always miserable for haircuts, but this time I let him go without the cape (which he hates), and having a lollipop was the magic trick! He was still whimpering and borderline unhappy, but the sugar, combined with being strapped into a fire truck, made a huge difference. I think my friend Lindsay should invest in a fire truck like this for when she cuts kids hair! (just kidding...)
On my last day there, we took a tour at the CNN headquarters, which was fun to see! A little tiring though - we couldn't take strollers on the tour, and it takes you down eight flights of stairs. I was carrying Eli for most of the hour-long tour, but was impressed at how well behaved he was.

I would say overall, the trip was a success. This was my last hurrah before having the second baby (having two young kids will definitely restrict my ease of travel without Ben). Both flights were completely full, and on the way to Atlanta, the guy in front of me leaned way back in his seat, which was pretty uncomfortable for me, being pregnant and holding Eli in my lap. But we made it - and two-hour flights are a cakewalk compared to the three or four-hour flights I've gone on in the past alone with Eli.

I'd say the hardest thing about the trip was getting Eli to nap - he does fine in his crib at home, but on the first day, I put him in the pack and play in Amber's office, and he cried so hard that he threw up. Gross. Such a nice way for Amber to get to know my child in the first hour of us being there :) She was very understanding though! Thankfully, Eli napped some every afternoon at least (often with lots of fuss), and nighttime was always fine.

I had never been to Atlanta before, and love how green it is there. And that it was so warm outside in October. I had so much fun catching up with Amber and Stephen and meeting their cute baby Sydney. Thanks for a really fun visit!

When we got home from the airport tonight, Eli was so funny - he was so excited to see his toys again and kept jumping on his Spiderman couch and kicking back on it. It's always nice to be back home.

On a side note - I think these pictures don't accurately portray how huge I am now - (I didn't put any on here that actually show a side view b/c those aren't very cute)