Eli 3.5

This amazing boy lights up my life. 

He has beautiful eyes that just take my breath away.

He is a mini-Andy.  He is smart as a whip and full of joy. Total and 100% joy.

When someone leaves the house he likes to announce how many boys and how many girls will be left in the house.  (He knows that Bailee is a girl).

He doesn't like to play by himself and thrives with friends.  He is more like his dad on how social he is.

He loves to kick balls in the basement. He says "Hiiii-ya!" as if he is doing a karate move.  He tries to kick field goals if you hold the football for him and he even likes to do soccer "headers".

Eli is in to legos, trains, art projects, marbles, games, books and puzzles.  Have I mentioned the puzzles?
He can do a 100 piece puzzle in less than an hour and only needs a few reminders to match the colors. 

He challenges us with a little bit of older boy attitude. He loves to talk about ninjas and shooters (nerf guns) and would love to romp aggressively all day.  He plays bedtime games at for hours (although a little less lately) hard core. 

Eli is stubborn.  Loud. And funny.  He likes to cup his hands over his mouth and laugh when he gets in trouble. He has the phrase "I'm sorry for not listening mama" down.  He usually remembers to say "excuse me" when he interrupts but doesn't wait for you to finish what you are doing before he bosses you.  He likes to call "Hughie" from the other room and yell over and over again for him even after reminders that Hugh can't yet follow instructions. He likes to open the bathroom and bedroom door and tell Hughie to close the door so Hugh can get in trouble. 

Eli is sensitive when I'm upset. He checks on me to see if I'm ok.  But he doesn't yet understand that I'm a real person. But that's ok because I'm the perfect mom for him. I think he tries to bully me in to playing with him every moment of every day.  He is the one who forces me to surrender, push through, count to ten and start over.  And when he sees me crumble and then straighten back up, he smiles because he knows he is the reason for my happiness despite my fatigue in the moment.  He glows when he feels special.

He walks slow to the car and wants to bring a new toy every ride.  This is one of the battles I hardly ever fight with him.  When I come home from work I can always hear Eli running towards me, jumping up and down, "Mama mama, mama mama!"   He always asks "how was your day?" and always makes sure that he knows who made dinner so he can say "did you make this all by yourself? thank you".

Eli still is a very, very slow and small eater.  He will pick his vegetable and fruit up with his fingers and eat the whole serving before touching any portion of the main entree.  He loves cereal and tacos (or anything wrapped in a tortilla).  He doesn't like pickles (yeah! no sharing for me).

He adores his grandparents and cousins.  I dream of inviting each cousin over (separately) for a sleepover with him. 

Here are some non-professional shots of Eli in action.

(Sorry for this huge photo dump.  But a mom is a mom.  1 picture won't do it.  We brag. We adore. We gloat.)

Stay Tuned...

Hughie is starting to take steps.  It's more exciting than I thought it would be.  He is by no means hiking around the house.  But he will take 3-4 steps towards me so you can only imagine the cheering that goes on.

 I know there is a lot about Mr. Hugh Lou on this blog....I know I don't post about Eli's monthly progressions.  That doesn't mean he isn't around.  He is still my main man!  Stay tuned....hoping for some time to update you on Elijah soon.

A Special Outing

You know how you have that friend that you think will last a lifetime?  We all hope for someone that will last the test of time.   My dad actually has one of those friends.  He's been seen on my blog before and maybe you wondered who he was.  I'm betting most readers assumed he was an uncle.

We grew up going on our family vacation with "Glatzel" and his family.  When I was little I didn't realize who Glatzel was or how special he and his family would be to our whole family. It has become normal to hear my dad say "What is glatzel doing? Is glatzel going fishing? What is Glatzel drinking?"  Over time we have heard stories of their college roommate days and the years and years they have shared since.  

Glatzel is someone that I consider a gentle giant-tall and soft spoken.  He connects with the kids because he is hands on with little boys. (Oh but he bribed my sister and I with raisins just like the boys).  He surprises them with little toys and spends large chunks of time teaching them about nature and treasures that can be found in the water. 

Glatzel, or known to me as Mr. Glatzel, has seen me grow from an infant, to a jumping, screaming young girl, to a crabby, sarcastic teenager to a dancing bride in white, to a mom of 2 boys.  He's had nothing but smiles for me.  He even had a part in our wedding.  You can trust he'll take you on a gentle boat ride, listen intently to what you have to say, offer you a snack and bop to the music at any live concert. 

Last week my mom (aka Grandma Barb), Eli, Hugh and I went on an adventure to visit Glatzel.  We were lucky enough to see Mrs. Glatzel and their dog, Daisy, too.  Mr. Glatzel had quite the surprise for Eli. 

If I had just an ounce of his patience. This train made Eli's eyes grow big like saucers. When he saw the train under the tree he clasped his hands in front of him as if that was the only way he could control his little body from spinning out of control with excitement.  He got to touch and drive the train while bossing Mr. Glatzel around.  What a dream. 

Meanwhile this adventure was not just for Eli.  Hugh explored and shared some kisses with their adorable dog, Daisy.  He played with the big lego blocks that were pulled out while Eli showed Mr. Glatzel his tiny legos.  Hughie also left his mark (fingerprints and tongue licks) on their back window.  Sorry Glaztel. 

Eli's cheeks probably hurt from smiling so hard. We are lucky Grandpa Bob knows how to keep such cool friends so we can have special outings like this!

Twinkle Twinkle

I can't take any credit for this amazing find.  I am sharing it from the Girls Gone Child blog post from today.  I dare you to listen. I dare you to not (sorta) fall in love.  I did.  This was the first song Eli learned to sing.  Even though I sang "You are my Sunshine" to him when he was a baby, he picked up on Twinkle Twinkle first. 

This version touches my heart. 

Twenty Thirteen

Happy New Year!

2012 will be a year I'll never forget.  It started in great anticipation-boy/girl/boy/girl I wondered every night before I went to sleep. And all day. And every time I moved.
Hugh came nice and easy and was a mellow fellow.  Eli grew from a busy toddler to "a kid" right before my eyes.  Both of my boys are amazing.

  Andy and I have been steady this year, not making many changes but enjoying each day as it comes.

Favorite Song of 2012: James Morisson "I Won't Let You Go" (Runners Up: "Ho Hey" By The Lumineers, "Without You" by David Guetta and Usher, and "Yellow" by Alex Parks)
Favorite Book read in 2012: Room and Gone Girl
Favorite Gluten Free food of 2012: Mom's new potato and zucchini pancakes with warm corn salsa
Favorite Movie of 2012:  Hunger Games (1 of 3 movies I saw in the theatre this year)
Best Change of 2012: Going part time
Favorite party: Schneider/Bateman wedding

So what's up for next year.  I don't know. We don't have any major plans. We will go on 2 family trips (hopefully).  Hugh will turn 1, Eli  4 and Bailee just turned 9.  I have a  few goals which to me is not the same as a resolution but I suppose you can view it that way. 

1. Try 1 new gluten free recipe every 2 weeks.  That is 2 meals/month which is at least 24 NEW meals this year.  I have fallen into a trap of making what I know, what is easy or what is in the house instead of venturing out and trying new recipes.   (I made a gf asparagus Parmesan risotto on Jan 1st and it was a success).

2.  Resume running on the treadmill.  Goal is minimum of 3 times/week.  No mile, speed or weight goal.  Just to be active.

3. Live music-this past year we didn't go to any real big concerts.  Andy and I love live music and this year I want to see SOMEBODY.

4.   Drink more water. This one I'm serious about.  I only pee in the morning and at night before I go to bed. Sometimes I pee when I get home from work when I change out of my work clothes.  Rarely do I go at work.  That's not a good sign.  It means I'm not drinking enough. 

5. Unrelated to the goal above I want to stop buying soda. ( I say unrelated because soda is not the reason I don't drink enough water).    I am not a regular soda drinker but if it's there, I will grab one for a caffeine fix occasionally--it's my coffee I guess.  It's a total waste of money.  I won't give it up totally-because what's a play date with PW without it. Oh and it goes well with rum after a long week.  But we don't need to buy it or have it in the house. 

6. Sleep more:---this is a must. It has to happen.  Hugh-are you listening?

7. Pack lighter: I hate how I think so hard and so long before I go anywhere about what I will need.  Then I need to haul this heavy bag of stuff  around and usually only use 1 item. 

8. Garden and farmers market. Enough said.  This is my year.

9.  10 minutes of clean up: I decided that it is time to make cleaning more of a "regular" instead of just when it looks messy. I told Eli today that when Hugh goes down for his morning nap, the first thing we will do is 10 minutes of clean up. And I don't meant the toys that are laying around.  I mean clean something that needs to be tidied or cleaned.  Today we picked up all his books in his bedroom.  He was on board, especially when I set out the timer and told him we'd do Legos after. 

10. I'm leaving this one blank.  My 10th goal will be something Andy picks out for me and I'm guessing that besides the water--this one will be the most challenging. 

From our family to yours....have a happy and healthy 2013. 



H at 10 Months

This is Hugh at 10 months old.

In true blogger fashion-he is what I would say as "moving on".  His 10th month was a blur because of how fast it went and how fast he goes.  It is very difficult to take any type of picture of him unless he takes a break-he is extremely focused on getting and going. 

My dad was right when he nicknamed him "The Hunter and The Gatherer".  Everything goes in the mouth. EVERY-THING.  My mom was right as well when she nicknamed him "Clay Matthews" as yesterday I saw him rip a piece of toast out of Eli's hand at least 3 times in a matter of 30 seconds. 

Here he is in his classic onesie and leg warmer shot.  This is as good as they get (not his finest hour).

Hugh loves to be Hugh and we love that little Lou.  He is amazing. 
He is happiest free as a bird. He no longer wants to be buckled, strapped or stuck in anything.
He knows the word "No" means to smile and keep doing it.  He tests the waters now.
He watches his brother and tries to mimic him.
He tries to grab Bailee's face while "saying" lots of funny words to him.

He most often says: Ni-Ni  (followed by Da-da, mama, uh oh)
He most often eats: yogurt (followed by fruit and toast)
He most often cries: all night long and if I walk through the room after work without picking him up
He most often stands: on anything he can pull himself up on. He can stand on his own now too.

Hugh Lou truly loves the bathtub.  Anytime someone opens the bathroom door he crawls as fast as he can, stands up next to the tub and bounces.   His second favorite place to be is on the little soft rug by his dresser. He crawls over to the wall, sits down on it and turns around to look to see if his brother has followed. 

He hasn't been weighed but he continues to get bigger and heavier.  He nurses in the morning and at night but don't you dare show him a bottle without a plan to give it to him in 0.3 seconds or he will throw a big fit.

Hughie got a 4 pack of leg warmers for Christmas. They are sports themed.  If you have a boy and don't believe in leg warmers-well then just too bad for you.  Don't worry, I won't make him wear them till he is 16.  I couldn't resist a few shots in these.

All of a sudden, in a blink of an eye this boy will be playing sports, reading books, biking on 2 wheels and then driving a car.  For now, I take a deep breath-change his diaper, wipe his drool, wonder about his sleep and love him to pieces.  One day at a time is how I like life with Hugh to the Lou.

The Holiday

Our holiday season is complete.  I'm sad.  It went really fast.  Life went from Halloween to 2013 in a blink of an eye.  We experienced a little bit of everything.  We saw lights, decorated the house, had An Elf on the Shelf, listened to carols, dabbled in a little bit of baking, winter art projects, shopping and more shopping to lead up to all the fun time we were blessed to spend with family.

This year only I got sick.  And my stomach bug got me on Christmas night-it timed itself just right-between weekend travels to visit family.  This year we did not have to bring Eli to the ER for anything.  So we survived. 

We gave tons of gifts and received even more.  Eli did really well saying his thank you's and truly loved everything he got.  We are slowly playing with each new thing and learning how fun it is to get surprises.  I also got so many great gifts. But my very favorite of all (and this sounds so cheeseballish but is so true) was the gift of Eli with his cousins.  He was in his glory each weekend playing with all the kids.  It was a gift to see his cheeks red and round from his happiness and it was a gift to let him go on his own and not bug ask me to play with him all day long.  He has cousins of all ages (and mostly boys) and the time spent with them was worth more than any beautifully wrapped package.

Here are my favorite shots---as many other blogs I've been reading-it's hard to pick just a few.  So scroll slow or fast through.



I love this shot because of the pure joy I can see in Eli's face as he talks to his cousin



And so here we go....Moving on right
into 2013.  Wow.  I'm ready but I'm not ready. 
I think it's pretty obvious what will consume me this coming year-a lot of trouble ;)