Nature's Beauty

This morning we woke up to a few inches of snow and some very beautiful trees. It's a snow day for Eli so we'll see what kind of slushy adventures we can get ourselves into today.

Rainy day fun - painting Eli's new room

This is probably the most surprising blog post ever. For it to have rained ALL day, it has been one of our best days. The two main objectives of the day were 1) do our regular grocery shopping and 2) let Eli & Ryan have some fun painting the walls in his new big boy room. So let's go to the picture play by play.

Eli was up at 6am even though we were hoping for a more favorable Sunday wakup time of 7am but oh well. It was at least a night of straight sleeping! Muffins and applesauce for breakfast, along with reading the newspaper. Eli particularly enjoyed the comics. After that we headed to the grocery store where Eli was an absolute angel for me. He was charming ever single person in the store saying "hey" in his sweet little way and waving. Not one person turned him down and each one spoke to him. He even waved and said "bye" to a few of them as we walked away. Our grocery experience was quite lengthy because we had not been in a while and, can I repeat, he was an angel! It was great.

Reading the comics after breakfast

After groceries, it was time to do some painting. Carol brought Ryan over and we dressed the boys in oversized long sleeve t-shirts and got some small rollers for them. Tim thought I was crazy with the idea to let them play in blue paint but how often do you get the chance to paint a room where you're replacing the carpet in a week? I figured it was an almost one time chance to do this and Carol was on board with my crazy idea. So we loaded up the tray with "Soar" - a light blue paint that will be on the top part of his walls - and let them go to town. We also painted their hands and put little handprints on the wall; they even tried to paint the carpet. Eli & Ryan seemed to really enjoy themselves and they felt like such big boys. We had quite a few laughs with them and Carol & I both had so much fun watching. Tim was a little skeptical of my idea but he let me run with it and saw that the "damage" wasn't as bad as he thought it'd be.

Painting my new big boy room

Two crazy boys with paint rollers - watch out!

More Mommy More - need more paint

Ryan taste tested the paint and didn't like it very much

Sweet handprints on the wall

So after paint fun time, it was bath tub fun time. This was the first bath that the boys have taken together and it was hysterical watching them. They were splashing around and laughing a lot. I got a few videos of them that I'll try to get posted. We washed all the paint off their hands, ears, feet, toes, mouths - you get the idea - and then let them play more. It's going to be so much fun in a few years when Eli can take a bath with his brother.

Peek-a-boo

Catching the waterfall

After bath, it was lunch time and then naps. Carol & Ryan went home and we put Eli down for a nap. It didn't take him long to go to sleep and, although he only slept 2 hours today (instead of yesterday's 3), he woke up in a great mood. A little snack and it was time for more playing.

Eli's new yarn pet - I gave him a ball of yarn to experiment with

Yarn ball being unravelled

Tackling and wrestling Daddy

Playing airplane with Mommy

We did manage to squeeze a quick family walk around the neighborhood in before it got dark after the rain stopped and now Eli is asleep after this very busy day. I know it sounds crazy but I really enjoyed our rainy day and we've just had the best weekend. I think a lot of it is because I let loose of a lot of things and just flowed with Eli's mood and had fun being in the moment. This is something I'm really working on. Looking at him today, I realize how fast he's growing up.

2.0 Update - 20 weeks

A little update on the new baby, affectionately known as 2.0.
Had my 20 week doctor's appointment today. Everything was good, my weight gain was good and so far the doctor is happy with progress on the weight front (very stressful if you're a woman!). Heard his sweet little heartbeat and that was it for today. Go back in 4 weeks for the 1 hour glucose test and another checkup and in 6 weeks for a follow up ultrasound. That one should be the 3d/4d one so that will be very cool. At these appointments, no excitement means all is normal but it is always good to hear the heartbeat. I'm starting to feel flutters now, starting to feel him move. If I sat down long enough, I'd probably feel him more but, with a crazy 18 month old, that doesn't happen too often!!

We have lights. a ceiling fan and trimwork....but no doors

Very exciting in house-land. We now have lights and a ceiling fan in our new room!! The HVAC was running last weekend and now we have lights working in there too. The electrician finished his devices today and the carpenters worked on trimming out the windows and door openings. The only bad news - and really big pain - is that the doors came in hinged wrong so we won't have the correct doors until Tuesday next week. We were hoping to have everything past us this week. We should still get a final inspection while our contractor deals with the door issues. Then we have lots to do to get ready for carpet the following week. We're getting soooo close. My nesting instincts are starting to kick in and I'm ready to get the house put back together.

Closet door casings - no doors just yet
Front windows trimmed out

18 month check up

Eli had his 18 month check today at the doctor's office. Overall he's in great health and developmentally doing great. A few issues came up: 1) eczema - ugh. I had been worried about the patches on his skin and we now have prescription creams to help beat the flare up. 2) Ear infection - another one, double ugh. Last time it was his left ear, this time his right. Back on antibiotics to hopefully get past it. I'll be so happy when spring gets here and everyone gets over being sick.

Today's stats:
Weight - 29 pounds - 75-90th percentile
Length - 34-1/4" - 90-95th percentile
Head - 49 cm - 75-90th percentile

He's still on his own growth curve and is going to be our big boy. We're glad everything else went well and next check up at 2 years.

Cute pictures

I couldn't resist posting come cute pictures of Eli from today. Isn't that what this blog is all about - at least for a few more months until he has to share it, and everything else, with his brother. =)

Hanging in the soon to be playroom

Mr. Bedhead - after his 3-1/2 hour nap!!

Loving Miss Belle tonight. He loves to crawl in her bed and this time he gave her a "hug".

House update.....almost done

Whew, it's been a busy week in house-land. This week was all about drywall - hanging, finishing and painting. They were hoping to have it finished by end of day Wednesday so the carpenters could start the trim work but the drywall mud had issues drying so it took longer. They finished the sanding Friday afternoon so that allowed Tim to prime paint the walls and ceiling and then actually paint color on the walls this weekend (thanks honey!!). It was good to get that done before they start trimming out the windows, installing base and doors tomorrow. We expect the carpentry work to take two days and the electrician will also come put the switches, outlets, cover plates and lights in. So hopefully, if all goes well, the room will be finished with a final inspection by the end of this week. That will then give us a week or so to get some things done and cleaned up before carpet is installed. The outside of the house is complete except for painting. We have to wait for warmer weather to finish the painting. Hopefully that will come soon - not just for painting but so we can all start enjoying outside more!

Eli trying to mix drywall mud
Drywall installed

Eli checking out Daddy's paint job

New paint job is Mommy + Eli approved - Daddy did a great job

Marbles Madness

Today Carol & I took the boys to Marbles Kids Museum. We thought it would be fun to take them for a little exploring - I prefer to call is madness at Marbles! There were kids everywhere and the boys had so much fun. The first thing they found was the little amphitheather where they just started climbing. From there, we saw the marble wall and then went into the family playground. Oh my, it won't be long before the boys really enjoy that area. They both had fun pretending to drive different vehicles but there was so much available for dress up. They're not quite old enough for that but one day we'll have a little fire fighter driving the pretend fire truck - I did try to get Eli to wear a fireman's hat but no way was that happening. When we finally wrestled them away from that area, we went upstairs to check out more of the museum. There was a neat health fitness related area where they tried playing sock hockey, riding exercise bikes and jumping on a trampoline (we've been trying to teach Eli how to jump for a while now). Then over to the around the world exhibit where we saw an igloo with snow dogs, a carnival festival with drums and dancers, and a trade market. Of course, we had to stop several times for snack. These two boys love their snacks and won't let anyone let them go hungry!

After Marbles, we attempted to go to Moe's for lunch. I say attempted because the boys were overstimulated and tired, Eli was pretty fussy. Carol & I ate lunch in record time. Eli started it off by smashing chips on the table and then pushing them off the table on the floor. He did eat some black beans but that was about it. He was done with being out and wanted to take a nap. Ryan ate pretty well but he was ready to go home too. Back in the car, it didn't take long for the boys to zonk right out. They're so cute together and after the crazy morning we had, they were especially cute sleeping!!

Little ambulance driver
Learning about hockey from Ryan and his mom - a great thing about having Canadian friends!

Little hockey boy - so what if the puck is supposed to be on the "ice"?

Jump, jump, jump

Snack time - just sit down and start snacking, doesn't matter where!

Mommy & Eli in the igloo

Whoa, these boys look just like us

Zonked out after a fun morning

Happy 18 months Eli!

Hard to believe that Eli is 18 months old today. He is learning so much and talking up a storm. We're having a lot of fun with him and are looking forward to more discoveries in the near future. Nothing exciting today (it has been a busy work week), just dinner out at Boston Market. Here's a picture of him from my cell phone cheesing for the camera. He was so cute telling everyone hello in the restaurant.

Thank Heaven for ........ Grandma

Do you remember when you were growing up and your Grandparents were the most wonderful people in the world? I sure do and I still love my Grandparents dearly to this day. But now I'm also learning the value of your parents being Grandparents. Of course, everyone knows we had a rough week this week with Eli being sick again and being out of school all week. My Mom came up last night to spend the night with us and give us a little break today. It was such a wonderful treat!! I think I needed her more this weekend than ever. She & Eli had so much fun playing and hanging out while Tim & I did stuff for the house. It was a productive day - we hung the last two roman shades for the living room, went to Sherwin Williams and got some paint samples for several rooms, signed our contract for new carpet and made a quick pit stop in Target. All of this alone!!! It was so nice to get out and take care of some errands and things knowing that Grandma was loving her time with Eli and that Eli was getting lots of love and attention. There are never enough ways to say thank you to your parents for all they did for you growing up but also for what they do as Grandparents. Some pictures from the day:

Art time with Grandma - making a Valentine

Swinging outside

Climbing on the jungle cube

Grandma teaching Eli how to play tee-ball