Party Day

December 8th was the big birthday party day.  We received 7 inches of snow on top of some ice just a few days before his scheduled birthday party.  I was afraid the party would not be able to go on but we decided not to cancel and just hope a few kids would show.  Eli was so excited about his birthday party since it was at his most favorite place in Springdale... Fun City!

Fun City is like ChuckE Cheese without the scary characters!

Each birthday child gets one spin on the big wheel.  I think this is what Eli looked forward to the most!  It's all he talked about before the party!  He ended up winning 800 tickets!!!

 

Eli with Alexi... these two have been best buds since Eli was 6 months old!

I always love Eli's face when everyone sings Happy Birthday to him.  It's such a sweet moment and makes me smile!

The party turned out perfect even with the snow/ice.  It was low key and easy.

Just perfect for my big 5 year old!

Eli Turns 5

Eli turned 5 on December 2nd.  How on earth did THAT happen?  I just came to the realization not long ago that he will be starting kindergarten in August.  That means I only have about 8 months to enjoy our free days together.  How depressing!  I'm really going to miss our fun days together when I'm off work and he's out of school.

 

 

I've noticed a big difference the past year in how Eli is maturing.  He's practicing writing his letters and even working on reading sight words!  He's come such a long way since starting preschool in September!

 

Eli likes to do things on his own, or at least try to do them without help.  He loves to help me cook and bake.  It takes much longer to get things done in the kitchen but I try to be patient and let him help me.  He's even tried new foods just because he helps me cook it!  One new food he's loving is scrambled eggs!  That child wouldn't touch an egg (no matter how it was cooked) since he was born.  One day he just decided he wanted to eat scrambled eggs.  He has mastered cracking the eggs, beating them and even stirring them in the skillet while they are cooking.

If you ask Eli what he wants to do when he grows up he will tell you he wants to "change jobs" a lot.  HA!!  He wants to start with building buildings, working on a golf course, then farming.  He wants to end his career by delivering packages like Daddy.  He loves to construct things and learn how they work (his favorite TV show is How It's Made).  We think he will be an engineer.  Or farmer.  The boy LOVES tractors!

Eli can be shy when he's around new people but it doesn't take long for him to warm up and start acting silly.  He's a total goofball and I love it!  We are trying to learn about "self control" and when we need to control our sillies.

Eli had school on his birthday.  I took doughnuts for their snack time and he said they sang happy birthday to him.  After school we went for a special treat at Rick's Bakery in Fayetteville.  He got to pick out any of the treats in the case and then we watched the cake decorators (one of his favorite things to do).  And he got to pick out a balloon.

After Chad got off work we went bowling at Fast Lanes.  Every time we drive by Fast Lanes he tells me he wants to go there, so he was thrilled when we went on his birthday.

After we got home from bowling we sang Happy Birthday again and let him blow out a candle on a petit for that he had picked out earlier at Rick's Bakery. 

I still can't believe our baby is a big five year old!

These have been the best 5 years of our lives.

Happy Birthday, Eli!

Snow Day

It's almost been 2 months since I blogged last. I'm ashamed! But what can I say... We've been busy with life.

We've been enjoying our last few days at home due to the snow. Actually, I only enjoyed the first day stuck at home. Then I got terrible cabin fever and HAD to get out! So we went to Walmart for snow boots for myself. Which they were sold out of... hard to believe I know. Anyway, these picture are a little insight to what we have been doing during the snow.

 

 

We got a total of 6-7 inches on top of some sleet and ice! I think it's a perfect amount of winter precip. I was just thankful we didn't get more ice like they forecasted. No power in the bitter cold sucks!

 

 

Our snow outting lasted only about 30 minutes until I started to get cold. Eli would have stayed out all day I think. The snow outting called for hot cocoa!

For some reason I have been putting off decorating for Christmas. Our tree has been up but with only lights, no decorations. I decided I should probably take advantage of my time at home and get the house decorated. I mean it is only 2 1/2 weeks until Christmas! Mine and Chad's 10 year anniversary was yesterday! Happy anniversary to us! I called around to see if any restaurants were open so we could get out of the house and celebrate. Everything was closed! So we had homemade chili and French fries and watched an episode of Homeland.

Like I said earlier, I have been fighting the Christmas decorations for a few weeks now. So the tree didn't get the full decorations this year. And I have to say, I kinda like it! I think next year I'm going to buy some shatterproof ornaments and let Eli decorate the entire thing.

Time for more snow playing today!

We finally found a hill for sledding. Our neighborhood is completely flat so we had to drive around and find one. This one turned out perfect! We all had a great time and laughed the entire time!

 

I'm ready for the snow to melt now. I can only take so much. It's just too cold. Plus Eli's birthday party is tomorrow!

Have a good night and stay warm!

 

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Pumpkin Patch

Eli has been so excited about going to the pumpkin patch.  We finally made the time to go last weekend.  It had rained earlier that morning so I was afraid it would be a muddy mess but it wasn't too bad.  We only had one mud incident!

We returned to McGarrah Farms Pumpkin Patch this year.  We loved it last year so I wanted to go back!

(I can't figure out how to put these pictures side by side so whatever).

I love comparing the pictures and seeing how much Eli has grown!  He's almost a head taller and his face is maturing.  Makes me really sad!  I do believe he's wearing the same jeans though... Ha!

I love white pumpkins!  We found a perfect one!

This little cart is actually quite heavy!

Eli thought he was in charge of the clippers.  I think he would have cut every pumpkin out there if we let him!

I thought Eli would be too afraid to climb up this hay mountain but he went right up without hesitating!

They have a hayride that we skipped last year.  Eli wanted to do it this year so we did.  He thought it was great!

I love everything about this time of year, especially pumpkin patches!

Catching Up

Wow!  I have a lot of catching up to do!  I have so much to tell you!  I don't even know where to start.  We have been busy... as always.  Fall is definitely here too.  The weather is cooler, apples are everywhere and leaves are finally beginning to change colors.

Is he not a trip?  He keeps me laughing all the time.  This last picture is one of my favorites ever!  I love that little smile of his!

We went to Destin back in September.  I will have to do a post (or a few posts) on that trip.  Of course I have lots of pictures!  The weather wasn't perfect but we were able to make it to the beach and pool every day.  A great time was had by all!

Football is in full swing.  Our team, the Razorbacks aren't doing so great.  What's new?  Give us a break.  We have a new coach this year.  It's a growing year.  Whatever.  We still love our Hogs and force Eli to wear his jersey every Saturday!

I'm off work for the next few days.

Expect lots more posts soon!