Friday, October 31, 2008
Crazy Lion
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Sugar High
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
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
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
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
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Understanding a Toddler
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 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 enjoying the crazy lights in the O'Hare United terminal:
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)