Is It Spring Already?

I only wish!  I can't really complain too much though.  The weather has been unseasonably warm this winter.  Today my car said it was 66 degrees outside!  I'll take that temperature at the end of January!  Chad and I both happened to be off work today so we took full advantage of the nice weather and took Eli to the park.  He was in heaven!  I can't wait for spring so we can play outside more and make trips to the park. 

Chad even enjoyed the slides ;)  He's gonna kill me for posting this picture, by the way... 

Eli thought this picture was funny since he was so high in the air.



A little rock wall action.  With help from Dad of course :)

Although this picture is a little blurry I love it.  It really shows Eli's fun personality!

And then this is the other Eli...

He comes out when Eli is tired, hungry, etc. 

Here he is telling me "nooooo, stooooopppp mommy".  He didn't want his picture taken.

Big surprise!



Pajama Day

Sometimes you just need those days when you stay in your pajamas, or jammies as Eli calls them.  We had one of those days last week.  It was nice!

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's... a monster.  So said Eli.

I found Eli's cars parked around the kitchen table.

Enjoying a rice crispy treat on "Pajama Day".

Hooray for pajama day!

Birthday Weekend

This weekend was my birthday weekend.  I say "weekend" because I feel like we celebrated ALL weekend long!  It was fabulous!  My family came up to celebrate and we had a great time being together, as always.  We actually have 3 birthdays within 10 days in January...  me, my sister and my brother.  Saturday, my mom, sister and I spent the day shopping.  That evening the entire family went out to eat at one of our favorite places, Carrabba's.  That place is delicious!  These first pictures are some of the pictures I took Saturday evening.

We rarely get "family" pictures any more.  I'm usually the one taking the picture.

It was pretty dark in the restaurant so I had to use my flash.  Eli loves to cover his face when I use the flash.

A group shot of the entire family

Chad got me this adorable cake from our favorite cake place, Shelby Lynn's Cake Shoppe.  It was the same, chocolate cake with cream cheese icing, that we've been getting recently.  That cake is just the bomb.  It's the icing.  Best icing I've ever had.  Period.



Sunday was my actual birthday!  I wanted to go to Branson shopping at the outlet malls to use some Christmas money we received.  It turned out to be perfect shopping weather and the mall was empty!  Eli was on his best behavior and Chad pushed the stroller all day so I could shop!  We had the best time!  After shopping we ate dinner and headed home for more cake and ice cream.



Here are a few pictures of Eli in the bath tub from last night.

He was being extra silly and really smiley!

I had one of the best weekends in a long time.  I love spending time with my family!  And it was the best birthday I could have ever asked for!  Eli ended my birthday by singing me "Happy Birthday" before he went to bed.  Sweetest thing EVER!  And many thanks to Chad for making it so special!  I'm definitely a lucky girl to have these two very special boys in my life!  Don't know what I would do without them!

Laying Low

We've been laying low this week.  I worked Tuesday and was put at home on call yesterday.  I don't go back until next Tuesday!  Woo hoo!  I'm really enjoying these long stretches off but I won't like it much when I get my next paycheck!  I'm just prepping myself for some day (a long, long time from now) when I get to go part time!  Oh, I can't wait for that day...

I'm playing around with my camera more since I got my new lens for Christmas.  I think the hardest thing is getting a sharp, non-blurry picture when you have a 3 year old who won't sit still for longer than 0.1 seconds. 

Here are a few pictures I've snapped the past couple of days.  Last night in the bath tub Eli was extra giggly.

Tonight I should have won the mother of the year award.  Dinner consisted of chicken nuggets, cinnamon rolls and an ice cream cone.  Eli was in heaven!  I promise, he doesn't always eat like this.  We were gonna order pizza but decided to just eat what was in the pantry instead.  Eli asked for cinnamon rolls and an ice cream cone.  I made a deal with him and told him he could have them if he would eat chicken nuggets first.  Bribery is used often in this house.  Hey, whatever works, right?

I really liked this picture.  Love the look on his face!

There's my sweet boy!

 Torturing the sharks below.  A daily event in this house.

How to Eat a Cookie

I tried out a new recipe the other day.  Chocolate gooey butter cookies.  My mouth waters just thinking about them!  They turned out pretty scrumptious! 

You don't know how to eat a cookie you say?

The cookie monster can show you!

First, pinch off a bite.

Next, shove it in your mouth!

And then repeat.

"Just one more, Mom"

Follow it up with a nice glass (or sippy cup) of ice cold milk!

Then smile for the camera!  CHEESE!

Christmas Leftovers

I have a few pictures from post-Christmas I wanted to share.  Our Christmas was spread over 3 weekends!  It's finally all over and I'm kinda happy about it!  It wore me out!  I'm glad to have the decorations put away and my house semi back to normal.  We need to do a major clean out of toys.  It's just ridiculous the amount of toys Eli has accumulated.  Please, no more toys!  Grandparents, this means you...

Eli playing with his tool bench that Santa brought him.

Eli and his crazy tongue!  He constantly stick it out!  He must have gotten it from me.  I remember when I was in kindergarten there was a picture of me in the local newpaper.  I was coloring a picture and had my tongue sticking out!  I find myself doing it when I'm really concentrating on something.  Of all the things he could have gotten from me...

Christmas round 3...

Eli entertaining one of his new cousins.

Concentrating hard.  Where's his tongue?

Where's Eli?  I can't find him!

Playing with the stroller.  He's easily entertained!

Eli is loving his new Mack truck!

He was looking for ghosts!

Playing games on Grandma's iPad.  This boy loves his electronics!

Christmas Eve 2011

I tried posting these over a week ago but for some reason Blogger was taking forever to download them.  Better late than never though, right?  And yes, these are just pictures from Christmas Eve, not the big day.  I will try to do those pictures tomorrow but no promises!

We had a great Christmas Eve.  I was canceled at work and Chad only had to work from about 10:00 - 2:00.  We spent the rest of the day hanging out and having fun.  We opened presents that afternoon.  We had a great time!  I got a new camera lens (along with some other great goodies, thanks Chad)!  I've been wanting this camera lens for such a long time.  It's nothing special, but makes your pictures look so much better than the lens I had.  Please be aware this means I'm taking lots more pictures and will be sharing lots more!  Ha!

Note: this first picture was taken with my old lens.  Can you tell a difference from the other pictures?  See, I told you the new lens is much better!

This has got to be one of my favorite pictures of Eli during Christmas.  It's so "Eli"!

And I love this one too.  Another fav!

Santa left him a message...

Again, I will try to upload more pictures from Christmas Day tomorrow.

Remember, no promises...