Pioneer Day

On Saturday, our ward joined up with the other ward that meets in our building for a kids’ Pioneer Day activity (From Wikipedia - "Pioneer Day commemorates the entry of Brigham Young and the first group of Mormon pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847, where the Latter-day Saints settled after being forced from Nauvoo, Illinois and other locations in the eastern United States."

My understanding is the other ward has done this activity for a few years now, but this was the first time we’d had anything for Pioneer Day in the years that we’ve lived here. Which as a side note – we’re starting our NINTH year in living here in Chicago. That’s a long time!! (and a lot of cold winters!)

On to the pictures -

The kids started at one part of the building and loaded up a cart with supplies and things they would need for their trek. Then they took turns pulling it around the building, all while decked out in pioneer outfits.

Charlie wasn’t interested in wearing anything remotely pioneer (he was going for the opposite look – more like the future with his robot shirt :). But he had picked up this crayon at the very beginning when we were in the craft room and didn’t put it down until the very end when we were back in the craft room. It’s amazing how little kids will grip on to objects like these and not let go. For a long time.

One of the funniest parts was that the kids had to stop along the way to hunt for food. They shot rubber bands at this stuffed squirrel as part of the activity.

We have an old church building – it’s the stake center and was built in the 1960s. It reflects the style of the homes in the neighborhood and has a pretty unique look compared to newer LDS churches being built today.

Later, we went inside for storytime and songs -

Stephen did a great job and was very enthusiastic with his stories -

Eli’s mood had turned a little sour by this point. I’m not sure why… this just happens sometimes.

And lastly, this is from the end of the activity when the kids had picnic lunches in the gym – with pulled beef sandwiches, carrots, chips and ice cream for dessert. I think there were about 70 kids at the event (this was taken before the rest of the kids came in) and I was really impressed with the organization. It went really smoothly for having this many young kids moving from one activity to the next in groups.

Eli the Fish

Eli is in his second session of swim lessons and seems more comfortable in the water each time. Last weekend we swam at a friend’s pool – I think Eli was in the water for three hours. Not joking. He got out once to eat a little food, then got right back in. Toward the end, he was the only one floating in there by himself while we watched.

Charlie wanted nothing to do with our little float, so he was always in one of our arms -

At one point, Ben caught a frog that had landed in the pool! Eli was pretty excited to see it.

Here’s Eli, just hanging out, happy as a clam to just float around in the water -

We didn’t really let Charlie jump off the diving board, but Eli loved it. He called this the jumping board, rather than the diving board.

Comparing Sizes and Fun at the Pool

I think it's fun to look back and compare how big Eli and Charlie were at various points. Here's an updated comparison of the two boys. (I fully realize this may only be interesting to relatives... or maybe just to me, so feel free to skim) And these pictures are recent ones turned into black/white – not really great comparison pics, but it’s still fun to look at the similarities in the boys.

BIRTH
Eli - 7 lbs 7 oz, 20 inches long
Charlie - 8 lbs 2 oz, 21 inches long

ONE MONTH
Eli - 9 lbs 12 oz (50%), 21 inches long (25%)
Charlie - 10 lbs 1 oz, 21 3/4 inches long (the doc forgot to write down the %)
(their head circumference was the same)

TWO MONTHS
Eli - 12 oz (50%), 22 3/4 inches long (25-50%)
Charlie - 12 lbs 8 oz (75%), 22 3/4 inches long (50%)

FOUR MONTHS
Eli - 15 lbs 2 oz (50%), 25 inches long (50%)
Charlie - 15 lbs 8 oz (50-75%), 25 inches long (50%)

SIX MONTHS
Eli - 15 lbs 11 oz (25-50%), 26 1/2 inches long (50%)
Charlie - 17 lbs 7 oz (50%), 27 1/4 inches long (75%)

NINE MONTHS
Eli - 18 lbs 8 oz (25%), 27 inches long (10-25%)
Charlie - 18 lbs 9 oz (25%), 28 inches long (50%)

12 MONTHS
Eli - 19 lbs 7 oz (5%), 29 3/4 inches long (50%)
Charlie - 19 lbs 9 oz (10%), 29 1/2 inches long (50%)

15 MONTHS
Eli - 20 lbs 14 oz , 32 1/4 inches long (50%)
Charlie - 21 lbs 6 oz (10%), 30 1/2 inches long (25-50%)

18 MONTHS
Eli - 22 lbs 2 oz (5-10%), 32 1/4 inches long (50%)
Charlie - 21 lbs 10 oz (5%), 31 3/4 inches long (25-50%)

At two years old, Eli weighed 25 lbs, 4 oz (10%). I'll be curious to see if Charlie gains that much in the next six months. So up until this age, Charlie had been a tiny bit heavier than Eli. Now he’s more the lightweight, but not by much.

Our pediatrician is a little concerned that Charlie only gained four ounces in the last three months, so we will go back in three months for a weight check. It's funny to me that Charlie is in the fifth percentile because he doesn't look like he's wasting away! He is a big time mover and I think he just burns off all of the calories he's consuming. It also doesn’t help that this child just doesn’t eat very much! I’d say he has one or two decent meals each day. The rest of the time he snacks and grazes his food.

At the same time, I'm secretly happy he's not TOO heavy, because Charlie is my snuggler and still loves to be held. We've spent the last two days at the pool, and both days he's been in my arms for long periods of times. He just curls up in my arms, resting on my right hip, giving that arm a good workout. He loves playing in the water too, but sometimes it's too much for him and he is happiest up high with me. I love squeezing that sweet boy and holding him close. Here are some pictures from yesterday when we met Rebekeh and Jesica and their kids at the pool. These are after we were done swimming and it was starting to feel chilly outside with the sun going down.

Eli was freezing. And not shy about letting me know. Charlie wasn’t sure how to handle the situation :)

Snacks are pretty essential after playing so much in the water -

Gavyn -

Ava -

Marlee -