Christmas

We narrowly escaped the Great Snowpocalypse of 2009 and enjoyed a relaxing and rejuvenating week with family and friends. All in all, our annual holiday pilgrimage to the ancestral homeland was a mighty success.

Eli was very, very excited to see Santa, as you can see from the picture below. Unfortunately when it came time to actually sit on his lap he freaked out and cried, and then when we tried to take him home he cried even more. All he wanted was to stare at Santa from about five feet away while crying, which was kind of freaking everyone out.



He felt a lot better about Santa after seeing all the loot under the tree on Christmas morning. His initial reaction was to raise his hands triumphantly over his head and scream, "Yay, presents!" After that he was reduced to starting with his tongue hanging out.



He got a lot of great stuff from Santa, but here he is rocking out to some of his favorite Yo Gabba Gabba tunes with his new headphones, courtesy of Daddy.

My proudest moment as a father so far

Eli, rocking out to Galaxie 500

"Halloweens"

When you ask Eli what he's going to be for Halloween his response is "I dress up Halloweens". Daycare had their Halloween parade on Wednesday. Eli took a little convincing to put his costume but once it was on he was ready to go.











Eli's daycare is in a large office building and every year all of the staff come out to watch the kids parade in their costumes. It's sort of strange but the kids seem to love the attention.

When we got back to the classroom Eli started to cry because he didn't want the parade to end. He was so excited that he stayed in his costume all day.

"I 2!"

We've made it another year. Eli enjoyed his birthday very much - especially the cake. Surprisingly enough he didn't want us to sing "Happy Birthday". When we started singing he tucked his little chin down in to his chest and said "No, I don't like that". He did like blowing out the candles, eating the cake, and opening his presents.
Yes, that is a Jack O'Lantern cake (there are better pix of the cake up on our flikr page). I made two chocolate cakes in bundt cake pans, trimmed off the tops, and then put one on top of the other. Then I frosted the whole thing with orange swiss butter cream frosting and used the left over cake to make the face. It was delicious.

We've become the parents who take pictures of every present being opened. I'm not sure how that happened - I think Eli's enthusaism is infectious.


Thanks to everyone for sending such awesome gifts. Thanks to Uncle Jake and our friends Jaime & Helena for coming over and helping us celebrate.

Hanging on the Couch

"I reading ma book!"Eli's been enjoying the booklet that Gramma Michelle sent along with his birthday presents. He likes to sit and name all of the animals on each page.

My Box!

Eli's new favorite toy...especially if Daddy's inside it!

Funny things Eli says

Here's a quick list of the funny things Eli says:

• "I can't reach it" - as in 'Hey Mom there's a pumpkin up on that balcony and we're driving in a car and I can't reach it'
• "I so big" - in response to just about anything
• "Guess What?" - followed by silence and then another guess what
• "Ticka Ticka" - as in tickle tickle to the Red Panda sleeping up in a tree at the Zoo (picture Eli's hands trying to get past the fence in full tickle mode)
• "I no like that" - in response to anyone doing something he doesn't like or making him do something he doesn't want to

Cow Make A Noise...

Three weeks ago we went to the Zoo - a place we go pretty regularly. While visiting the farm area one of the cows mooed very loudly and Eli started to cry. Every single day since that visit Eli has said "Cow make a noise. Scared Eli. Daddy walk away." This was cute at first (and still is on some days) but I'm beginning to think that the boy might be afraid of cows forever if we don't go back to the zoo soon. Hopefully the weather will be nice this weekend so we can make a quick trip.

Saturday Morning Baking

This past Saturday Eli asked to help me bake. I gave him a bowl, some flour, & a few utensils and he went to town. He actually kept himself entertained the entire time I was putting together the ingredients for ginger scones (which Daddy doesn't like at all but I've been craving & Eli loves).

Great Pictures of Eli

Eli's personality is really starting to show. Here are a few pictures of our little boy...

Fun with Cousin Riley

While on vacation in Michigan we also got to spend some time in Lansing playing with Eli's cousin Riley. They had so much fun playing in the backyard. They spent a long time trying to get the dog to join them in Riley's playhouse.

Eli had a blast having Riley push him in the swing. They ran around and played forever. Needless to say they both took great naps every day they spent time together.

Vacation Recap

We've been back from our week in South Haven for a while now, here's the recap of a great vacation. We had a great time visiting family, playing at the beach, and eating ice cream. Eli discovered his favorite thing about the house we stayed at on our first night...the sprinklers!

Eli spent a large part of our vacation running around the yard naked.

He also got to enjoy spending time with cousin Riley, Aunt Caitlin, and all of his Grammas and Grampas. We all got to spend lots of time at the beach playing in the sand and swimming in the pool. We've returned home tan and well rested. I actually finished an entire book!

Thanks to everyone who took a turn either entertaining Eli during the day or babysitting at night. Special thanks to Jon's parents for renting the house and inviting us along on their vacation.

You can see all of our vacation pix on our Flikr page.

Some Quick Eli Portraits

The rest are here.

No Diaper!

I know Eli is never going to forgive me for putting this out for everyone to see but I can't help myself.

Go Crazy!

Eli's a little obsessed with Yo Gabba Gabba...

More Water Play

We came home yesterday to find our neighbor Mirabelle playing in her pool. Eli couldn't help himself, he had to get in and I was barely able to get his clothes off in time. We made several attempts to put on a swim diaper but boy that kid is strong.

Then Hazel came out to join the fun (she also couldn't be bothered with a swim diaper).

As usual, Mirabelle was much more timid than Eli & Hazel. All of the kids had a blast!

Bubbles!

Eli's favorite thing right now is water. He has water play at daycare every Wednesday and he loves it. He's the only kid who plays the whole time and the only one who will slide down the slide with the water running on it. Every day as we ride past the Capital Eli screams bubbles at all of the various fountains. What can I say, the kid loves water.

Tonight while I was cleaning up in the kitchen Eli walked over to the front door and started shouting "Whata". Our next door neighbor was out watering her plants and Eli decided that he wanted to join her. Since it was almost bath time I stripped him down and let him have at it. Here are a few pix of the happy boy...

Camp Jamie

We were invited to help Jamie celebrate his birthday by reliving his childhood camp memories. Eli was pretty excited about the large quantity of sticks, wood chips, and dirt available to play with. We were pumped to find a great camping/hiking/biking destination only 30 miles from DC.

Eli and Aunt Caitlin at the Zoo

Block Party

Block Party was a few weeks ago but Eli had such a good time I felt that I had to post some pix. The street we live on has the longest consecutive running block party in the city - this year was the 40th anniversary. Our neighbors go all out with a BBQ lunch, pony rides, kid games, a pig roast and a DJ.

Here's Eli on his first pony ride...













And dancing with the "big" kids

Trip to MI

Last weekend we took a trip back to MI for Jon's sister's high school graduation. It was the first time that Eli and I have flown without Daddy. Eli did really great - we read books, colored, looked out the window, ate snacks, and talked to the lady next to us.
Aunt Caitlin's party was a ton of fun. Eli spent about 3 hours in the moon bounce with his cousin Riley.
here are some pix of Eli in the moon bounce and with Aunt Caitlin...

Renee's Birthday

We celebrated the continued slide into old age last night by having some friends over for dinner. We had grilled flatiron steak with chimichurri sauce, potatoes cooked on the grill with sweet onions, garlic and fresh rosemary, salad greens with pear and walnut tossed in a vinaigrette made with balsamic, olive oil, honey and green onions, grilled asparagus, and strawberry shortcake for desert.

How We Roll

Since we're posting old pictures, I thought I should throw this one up of Eli and I at the White House Easter Egg Roll. I think this picture is representative of how much he enjoyed it.

Fun at the Park

These pictures are a little old (notice the jackets) but they show how much Eli loves going to the park. We have two parks close by 1) with swings and 2) with slides. I like the slide park because it has a squishy ground which limits injuries and I find the swings boring. Recently Eli figured out how to open the gates at the park so now you really have to watch him to make sure he doesn't escape. As you can see, Eli really loves playing catch or just carrying around a ball. Actually mostly he just likes to scream "Ball" as loud and as often as he can.

Water!

Eli's new favorite indoor activity is playing in the water at the sink. He'll push over a chair from the other room, climb up and say "Whatta?" This tends to get a little wet so it's best done without clothes.

18th Month Well Baby visit

In the right corner weighing 27 lbs 4 oz and standing 31 inches tall is .... Eli "the Destructor". Once again, 50% percentile across the board. Eli took his 2 shots like a champ with minimal crying. This was followed by a trip to Dunkin Donuts and the park.

Delayed Cuteness

Cruising

The rain this past weekend caused us to cancel our plans to go and check out the kite festival. The silver lining was that Eli did get to go for a ride on his bike. Now we're looking forward to visits from both Grandma Kathy and Grandma Michelle.

Grandpa, Grandma & the stomach flu

2 good things about this weekend, and 1 not so good thing. The good - Grandpa Reed & Grandma Roz came to visit. The bad - Eli came down with the stomach flu (or something else that caused large amounts of vomit and gross poops). Eli was still in pretty good spirits through most of it. We went to the park, played puzzles, read books, and sang songs. Things sort of took a turn for the worse after breakfast. Eli was super chipper and ate a whole bagel at Donkin Donuts. We then when to pick up some supplies at the market. During this time, some guy walked past Jon and said "hey your kid is throwing up all over himself". Low and behold the entire bagel resurfaced while Eli was riding in his stroller. The rest of the day consisted of Eli quietly sitting on my lap and/or sleeping.

It's amazing to me #1 how much vomit can come out of such a little person and #2 that it really doesn't faze me. It really wasn't even that gross just messy. I guess I really have become a mom since large quantities of vomit and poop aren't that big of a deal anymore.

Oh well, it was nice to see my dad and step mom and we did get to eat some yummy Indian food. Hopefully Grandpa Reed will send me a few of the pix he took of their visit so I can post them.

A Cow Says Moooo

Here's a video of Eli's new mastering of animal sounds and body parts...



You may be wondering why Eli's sitting around in his diaper making animal sounds - he had a little run in with some pasta sauce that required a full strip down.

Baby Gorilla

Back in January a baby gorilla was born at the National Zoo. We decided to take Eli to go and see her on Sunday morning after breakfast. Eli's been to the zoo a couple of times before but this was the first time that he actually seemed excited to see the animals. We didn't have the camera but here's a picture of the baby....pretty cute huh?


















Eli also had fun roaring at the lions and tigers. Now that we know he enjoys seeing the animals we'll have to start going to the zoo more often.

60 Degrees & Sunny

This weekend we had some fantastic weather - sunny and warm on Saturday & Sunday! We decided to take advantage of the nice day and take a walk on the Mall.

Here's Eli checking out the ice skaters at the Sculpture Garden...












hanging with Dad...























and finally playing in the gravel...

Hugs & Woof Woof

Eli discovered 2 new things today...hugs and dogs. This morning while out to coffee & bagels Eli decided that the little girl at the next table was so cute that he had to hug her. He walked over, bent down a little to get his face in her face, looked back at me with a huge smile, and hugged her around the belly. I've never seen him do this before and it was cuter than you can imagine. I think he learned it from a little girl at the park last weekend. She kept coming over and hugging him and he really seemed to enjoy it.

This afternoon we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and go for a walk to the park. I let Eli walk, which takes considerably more time but I don't mind as long as it's not too cold. Along the way we came across the hound that lives up the street. He's an old dog and let Eli pet him and gave his hands a few licks. Eli looked up at me and said Woof Woof. As we continued our walk we came across about a million more dogs (people in DC love their dogs) and each time Eli stopped to say Woof Woof. If that wasn't enough doggie love...while at the park Eli spent a considerable amount of time hanging on the fence closest to the dog park yelling Woof Woof.

All in all a pretty fun day.

15 Month Well Baby Visit

Here are Eli's stats....

Weight = 25 lbs. 11 oz
Height = 32 inches.

Eli's now in the 75th percentile for height and 60th percentile for weight. Eli went with Daddy to the doc's office and took the shots like a champ. He came home slept for 4 hours and woke up ready to play.

Eli's New Favorite Pass Time

We've been trying to do more structured activities with Eli instead of just letting him run around the house causing trouble. He really loves to color and it keeps him away from the CDs and the electrical outlets.

Inaguration Weekend

I know that most of the country has moved on and all of the tourists are gone but...I thought some of you might be interested the Smith Family Inaguraul experience. First, let me just say that I have never seen so many people in DC. There were crowds everywhere. We walked up to the market and there were crowds. We walked to the park and there were crowds. It was crazy.

Given the tight security restrictions (no strollers, no bags, etc), we decided to stay home for most of the festivities. We only live about 2 blocks from the Capitol so we were actually closer while sitting on our couch then a lot of the people watching on the Mall. It wasn't as festive inside our house but it was a lot warmer.

We also went to the Michigan Dinner Dance held at the Smithsonian Museum of American History. I hadn't been to the Museum in years since it's been closed for renovation. It was really neat to be able to walk around and look at the exhibits. The evening included "Michigan" food (cherries and fish not coney dogs), a Motown band, and free booze. All in all a good time. Thanks to the MoGo for hanging out on the couch so we could go.

and it was called yellow...

According to Eli's teachers, the other day he held up a block and said yellow and the block was actually yellow. They are focusing on the color yellow this week in his room and it must be sinking in. He's a genius! Of course he will not name anything by color on demand so I haven't witnessed this color-naming genius for myself as of yet.

This can now be added to the list of things that Eli says. This list includes:
"Sit down" - which he yells while standing in his high chair when we forget to clip him in and when standing in the tub
"Mah Peas" - which means more please, he's a very polite little boy
"All Done" - followed by either eating more food or holding up his hands in the air
"Hi" - usually "Hi ADah"
"Ba-Bye" - with a wave and usually a hug
"ADaH" - which means Dad
"Mmmmammmma" - which means Mom or feed me or hold me or I'm not happy

New Photos

Sorry we've been MIA for a little while. Here are some photos of Eli...