Eli's 4-Year-Old Faces

I took these pictures on our front porch after Eli's birthday party a few weeks ago in the evening when he was already in his pjs and almost ready for bed. I love his fun personality and creative spirit! This kid makes me smile every day with his funny phrases and comments about everything.

"Mom, this is SO awesome!"

"Mom, I have a special marble and the other marbles can't fly."

"Mom, this is SO impressive."

"Well, do you want to see this? Watch me."

"Look mom! Are you looking?"

"I used Eli power."

"Does Charlie get a timeout? He totally hit me."

"Can you get a spoon? I want to make something awesome. And then I'll make something cool."

"I always love light blue."

"Do you want to see how hard I can jump on the ground? It goes KABOOM! But I may need a helmet."

"No problem."

He talks and talks and talks and I am eating up this cute stage of his life. He's curious and coming up with new stories and ideas all the time.

Eli the 4-Year-Old

 Last Friday my oldest child turned four. FOUR! How can Eli be four already?? We celebrated by taking the world's longest scooter ride for a four-year-old and a two-year-old - from our house to our favorite cupcake place, 1.3 miles each way. The boys were tough and at the beginning, Eli exclaimed, "This is the BEST birthday ever!"

Then after we had been going for a while, he said in a discouraged tone, "This is the WORST day ever." :)

But he perked right up when we finally made it to the cupcake place, which has a bucket full of little animals that the boys love to play with every time we go there. Charlie was funny and refused to take his helmet and sunglasses off when we were inside. 

On the way back, we scootered past our friend's house and her son spotted us from the front window (shown in bottom left picture below). The kids were home with their dad at the time so we didn't go inside, but a few minutes later, Krista called and said she was running behind us down the sidewalk (she had been on her way home and saw us walking). She snapped this picture of me with the boys. It was a warm, humid morning, don't mind my frizzies and lovely exercise clothes.  Looking at this picture makes me think about a neighbor that I met earlier this week who thought I was the babysitter because I looked so young. Hmmm. I should probably try to dress my age? But what does that look like, anyway?

When we were nearing the end of the scooter ride, the boys spotted some tiny bugs on the sidewalk and stopped to take a closer look. I'll post more pictures soon from Eli's birthday weekend, but here are some fun things about my birthday boy:

1. He secretly is the third parent in our house. Or third adult. Tonight Eli and Charlie were upstairs, and all of the sudden Eli started crying. I called up to ask what was wrong, and he said Charlie pushed him (keep in mind they were up past their bedtime and Eli was super tired/oversensitive). I said I was sorry that he did that, and Eli responded, "It's not your fault mom. It's Charlie's," in a very serious, mature voice. 

2. Eli is constantly building towers or other creations with blocks, legos, whatever he can find. He calls the creations up in his room on his table his "Batmobile," which is ever-changing and evolving. He is very possessive of this Batmobile and does everything he can to keep Charlie away from it.

3. His favorite tv shows are Jake and the Neverland Pirates (on Disney) and Word World (PBS). 

4. He is my child who likes to be on time. I may or may not have given him a complex when we're always racing to get to swimming lessons on time... when I say we're running late and need to hurry, he'll say, "It would be better if we were on time, Mom..." Why is it so hard to get to those darn swimming lessons on time, anyway??

5. He has a vivid imagination and loves telling stories about whatever he's playing with. 

6. He's obsessed with Angry Birds on Ben's iphone and loves playing in the evening if he stayed dry all day (meaning he made it to the bathroom every time). 

7. He's a sweet big brother to Charlie and always calls him, "Little Buddy" when he's helping him with something.

I love my Eli! He is a sweet, snuggly, little guy who is obedient and bright. He is a wonderful kid and I am excited to see how he grows and changes in this next year. 

Birthday Morning

Eli woke up pretty early (6 a.m.) on his birthday. He was crying for Dada from his crib and I think he heard Ben getting ready for work. It took a while, but I cheered him up and brought him downstairs for his exciting breakfast of Cheerios :) He kept flipping the top open and closed on his straw sippy cup and splattering milk everywhere. The mess theme continued when he found the tupperware full of popcorn seeds and accidentally spilled almost an entire container all over the floor! I made cookies that morning to share with the playgroup, so the kitchen was a DISASTER. But hey, there were more fun things to think about – like Eli’s Elmo birthday balloon – that SANG to him! I think I heard Elmo sing 100+ times yesterday and it was awesome. Watch the video to hear it for yourself :)

I also included a video of his conversation with the Severson grandparents (in the beginning he does the “I’m 2” with his fingers) where they had to compete with the balloon (I’m sorry!!). I also included a video from later in the day with Charlie laughing (please ignore my silly voice).

Happy Birthday Balloon - Elmo from Sarah on Vimeo.

Happy 2nd Birthday to Eli from Grandma and Papa Severson from Sarah on Vimeo.

Charlie laughing at 4 months from Sarah on Vimeo.

Playgroup at the Park

Eli had a fun birthday morning because it was playgroup day, so we went to the park and he proudly proclaimed to everyone that he was 2! It was funny – one of my friends said she heard him talking to himself as he was climbing around on the playground (“I’m two! Happy birthday, I’m two!”). I did put sunscreen on him, but his cheeks get pretty red when he plays in the heat. It was the first real hot day of the year. And as you can see, Charlie slept through most of playgroup.

Here are some clips from Eli at the park - you can't tell from the videos, but the curb was slightly higher than the playground area, so Eli had a blast going up and down this tiny step :) He is still working on learning how to jump, as you'll see in the first video.

Eli Big Steps from Sarah on Vimeo.

Eli's Coordination :) from Sarah on Vimeo.

Birthday Afternoon

After naps we went over to the fun shops near our house and picked out cupcakes for dessert (for after dinner) and I also let him get a dog cookie that he could enjoy right then. He LOVED the cookie and it was hilarious to see him snuggle with it, talk to it, etc. (see the video clip for an example of his cookie love) He got frosting all over the side of his face from that snuggling :)

Below – in the first picture, he was pointing/announcing the letters on the sign outside the gelato shop. In the second one we were in Paper Source, where he has his favorite stuffed animals that he always gives hugs to when we’re in there (he especially loves the huge, soft panda). Funny kid! He told the employees at the Paper Source that he was 2 as soon as we walked in to the store, and pretty much anyone we passed out on the sidewalk. Lots of strangers gave him big smiles and wished him a happy birthday.

Eli Snuggles the Dog Cookie from Sarah on Vimeo.

Hilarious Video of Eli and the Sheep

This is a video from after the birthday party on Saturday night. We went back to our condo with my parents, Davey, and Gram and opened presents. Gram gave Eli this small sheepskin rug from Ikea and he went CRAZY - he was so so excited about it. It's a long video (4 minutes) but he does some pretty funny things throughout the clips. And at the very end he looks at me and says "Aarah" (Sarah) - so you can hear that it's really what he calls me :)



We think this is especially funny because he loves his stuffed animal sheep, Bob, and now has a strong affection for this very soft rug.

Party for Ben's 30th and Eli's 1st Birthdays

I decided to throw a party for both Ben and Eli since they were celebrating big birthdays this year - Ben's 30th and Eli's 1st. Well, when I put the invite list together, I didn't really think we would get a good majority of attendees since Saturdays in the springtime are so busy... but we did! Including babies, children, and adults, there were 89 people at our party at the park (not hard to do considering many families had at least one child and many with two or three).

I was a little nuts at the end trying to get everything together, but it was a success thanks to help from my Mom who made 53 (?) cupcakes and Gram who made two large Texas sheet cakes. Friends brought chips, veggies, dip, salsas, fruit, etc. for people to munch on. Some of our friends going to Kellogg b-school came from an activity and brought the leftover ribs and cornbread, which was a nice addition! I spent six hours on Friday night baking chocolate chip cookies (167 in total) for party favors for each family, and then we had small bottles of bubbles for each child.

Below: 1) On the way to the park, Eli loved having a car full of balloons. 2) Gram setting up the candles, that we later couldn't get to stay lit because of the wind. 3) The table of sweets! 4) My dad and Eli. 5 and 6) Eli with me and Ben. He was in good spirits through most of the party, which I was so thankful for. 7) Sarah C. and Kelly, who brought the ribs and cornbread - yum! 8) Eli with some of his favorite people, Sharon, Maggie, and Ivy. 9) The snack table.

Below: 1) Geoff the Cubs fan talking with Brett and James. Yeah for another Cubs win yesterday! 2) Saralyn holding Will, talking with Davey. 3) Keenan, Rebekeh, Cami, and various kids. 4) Khania and her mom, and Katrina and Macy. 5) Rachael and Nathan, Sarah and Jenn. 6) Katie and Tommy with kids at the drinking fountain. 7) Mark, Mike and Steve. 8) The Ryans. 9) Kids playing at the park.

Below: 1) Drew playing catch. 2) Tommy again at the water fountain (it was a popular spot for the kids). 3) Drew at the fountain. 4) George at the fountain. 5) Sharon helping Eli try out the fishing booth. 6) Caroline holding sparkly shoes. 7) Eli chugging water. 8) Me trying to light the candles (unsuccessfully). 9) Getting ready to sing happy birthday.

Below: 1) Still trying to light the candles, with help from Kelly and Gram. 2) The crowd. 3) More of the crowd. 4) We eventually just had Eli try to blow out a match since the candles weren't staying lit. 5-9) Feeding Eli and Ben cupcakes.

Below: 1) Eli being snuggly. 2) Gram passing out cake and cupcakes. 3) The group enjoying sweets. 4-6) Happy Eli. 7-9) Eli not as sure about this party (the last one is with my mom).

Below: 1) Gram with baby Isaiah and Alice. 2) Sarah, Davey, Carrie and baby Jacob. 3) Heather with baby Tabitha. 4) The Paxton family riding bikes back home (they rode 5 miles+ round trip to come to the party!). 5) Eli playing with Ben and my parents. 6) Caroline blowing bubbles. 7 and 8) Eli with my dad and Alex. 9) Jenn holding Isaiah.

Below: Eli had fun with my mom finding sticks and walking along the path to the playground.

Below: Opening gifts at home. Eli got such a fun variety of things, ranging from sand toys from my parents, an Ikea sheepskin rug that he LOVED and kept rolling around on (video to come soon - it's hilarious), a cute sand bucket with bubbles and fun things, a fun fishing bath toy, a darling Evanston hoodie, and three books - Noisy Jungle, Tails, and Gallop (all great books!). Ben received a purple African shirt from our friend Alice (she made the shirt, including dyeing it) who is here as a refugee from Liberia/Sierra Leone.

All in all, it was a really fun day! Thanks to everyone who came and celebrated with us.

Fun Birthday Package

Yesterday a birthday package for Eli arrived from my Aunt Babz and cousins Michael and Sarah. He was very excited to open more presents, and gifts from Aunt Babz are always extra special! There was a beautiful card and the gifts were wrapped in fun frog birthday paper.

In the package: the Beatles "1" CD and a matching Beatles "1" onesie!

I think he's a fan of the Beatles.
Here he is in the fun onesie. (We've had a hard day today, so I wasn't very successful in getting a really happy shot of Eli in this, but maybe the next time he wears it...) I thought this gift was so thoughtful and creative. Thank you so much!!
On a side note... we have had a crazy 24 hrs. It involves our piece of junk, 94 Altima, that Ben and Steve drove for 4 1/2 hours to go fishing in the North Woods of Wisconsin. More details to come, but it involves the car breaking down in the middle of nowhere and a stranger coming to their aid! (The story isn't over yet, so I don't know the ending! :)

Eli's 1st Birthday, Part 2

Eli really enjoyed his birthday!

My parents came over and he opened their gifts. He loves carrying clothes on hangers and was excited about the books and flashcards too. We went over to the park and played for a while.
He took great naps today (which was good, considering he was up at 5:30 this morning :), so he was in a really happy mood.
We had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and ended the evening with a brownie sundae. Eli has never had so much sugar in his life (let alone chocolate and whip cream!!) so he went to town. It was really cute. And the waitress kept bringing him plates of bananas throughout our dinner, which he would devour in seconds.
Happy Birthday Eli! We love you so much. Here are some of Eli's tricks at one year:

• He walks everywhere and tries to run a little
• He loves to say duck, dog, tick tock, da da, (s)arah, hi
• He still has a love of grapes, turkey, bananas, bread, and peas (and goldfish crackers and baby puffs too)
• He's very cuddly and loves to toddle over to one of us and jump in our arms
• We kiss his squishy cheeks nonstop and he doesn't seem to mind :)
• He loves stuffed animals and usually chews on the nose of whatever animal it is
• He likes to dance and he loves music
• He likes to open cupboards and explore new spaces - he's becoming more independent with exploring on his own
• He is usually pretty social in public places like church, restaurants, shopping, etc.
• He loves watching other children
• He likes to point at things or people
• He has a book (Where is Baby's Belly Button?) that has the cover picture also inside the book - when we get to that page, he flips back to the cover, showing that he sees they are the same
• He loves electronics and cords - anything related to the computer, cell phones, t.v., remotes, cameras, camcorder, etc.

Happy 1st Birthday Eli!!

The day is here! Happy 1st Birthday Eli!

Last night I decorated for the occasion.

We had a huge 3-foot balloon filled with helium (but it wasn't floating this morning, unfortunately) and also got a regular helium balloon at the store last night, so he had a great time playing with them this morning.

We think he could tell it was a special day for him!

We sang happy birthday about 20 times.

Below are some fun gifts from friends and family - an engraved journal from Ben's parents, darling Robeez red/brown monkey shoes from Neil and Jolene (he's shaking them in the picture), a toy guitar from me and Ben, and a cute package from Stephanie - I love to email cool sewing projects that I see online because she is amazing at that stuff - so for Eli's birthday, Steph sent him a "1" onesie and a diaper/wipes pouch! (and a cute book too) I was laughing when I realized they were ideas I had sent her way. :)

My parents are coming over later today and I'm sure we'll have more birthday festivities as the day goes on. I'm throwing Eli and Ben a combined birthday party next week since Ben turns 30 in a few days. It's fun to make the celebrations last as long as possible, right? :)