Merry Christmas, 2011!

What a good Christmas to be Eli! There's not much room under that tree for anyone else...not to mention we spent another year free of visits to the ER!




Eli was very excited to see a new kitchen waiting for him...Santa's "elf" was up until 4AM putting it together. The other elf was too exhausted/nauseous to stay up.



Other presents included books:



Costumes:

Construction Worker Eli




Firefighter Eli



And...GRRRR...tiger Eli!



And who doesn't love a train table for napping under?



Next, it was on to the Well's house for more celebrating and gifts. Dave broke the baby news to Jacob and Jillian as one of their gifts. They know their uncle so well that they cornered me alone later to ask if I was really going to have a baby. They are so good to their little cousin now and are super excited for another one!



Grampy scored big with Cars toys as presents!



We ended a very enjoyable Christmas with our traditional shot in front of the Wells Christmas tree...our last Christmas picture as a family of three! (Yes, that is a baby bump, not my traditional "I ate five helpings at Christmas dinner...what do you mean there is no leftover stuffing to take home?" bump.)



We visited MJ and Frank before calling it a night. What a busy Christmas this year, but it was fun to spend time with the people we love!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Eli!

Happy 3rd birthday, Eli! Mama couldn't go to Eli's party because I was so sick. But, it looks like everyone had fun anyway!

Zada kept Eli entertained until everyone got there.



Eli has clearly gotten over his fear of bouncy slides.



After all that running around, Eli got to take a picture with his friends and then head upstairs for his pizza and cake.



I also want to apologize to Eli's future wife. I heard there was an incident with the fireman's pole. Needless to say, Eli will not be going down anymore poles and hopefully, his ability to father children has not been damaged.

Happy Halloween 2011...2.0!

We missed going to Grampy's on Halloween night because we were out too late with Jacob and Jillian. Mama planned to make it over with Eli on the weekend, but Grampy called before we could come to guilt Mama (as a joke, but Mama is gullible)! He had gone out and bought something special that Eli could eat. So, the Saturday after Halloween, we dressed up again and went to Grampy's. Eli was so excited!



Grampy was happy to see Eli, too! Trick or treat!



Eli enjoyed his Scooby Snacks and we enjoyed coming over and spending time with Grampy! We love you, Grampy!

Happy Halloween 2011!

Our little friendly monster was so good! He was so excited to trick-or-treat with his cousins, the Candy Corn Witch and the scary Scream guy.



The snow made some of the sidewalks a bit treacherous, so Jillian held Eli's hand the whole time!



At one point, Jillian was done holding Eli's hand. He got upset, so without blinking, she just came back and took care of him the whole time! She is such a great big cousin!!!

It was another great Halloween. Mama loves her friendly monster!

From 80 to Snow in 20 Days...

On October 9, we went to the Fire Station Open House. Even in shorts and a t-shirt, poor Eli was sweating.



On October 29, we got two inches of snow, so this is what it was like out when we trick-or-treated!



I will never understand New England weather!

BOO at Suffolk!

We managed to stretch Halloween out a few days this year. We trick-or-treated at Suffolk on Friday. Eli was so entertained by everyone I work with that I think he now believes I play all day!

Spiders and bubbles from Jeff...





Playing with Heath...



But Eli's favorite is his girlfriend Ashley (pronounced Ash-a-lee)...







He's a flirty monster!

Sharks!!!!

We took Eli to the New England Aquarium and he loved it as much as we thought he would! Thanks, Lauren, for letting us use your passes!!!

We got to see harbor seals...



...and penguins...



...and the giant sea turtle...



...and sea lions...



...and, Eli's favorite, the sharks!



I have to say, even as an adult, those sharks scare me. I was peeking around Eli and had no idea it was coming next. The combination of surprise and seeing those teeth so close made me jump and scream a little. Eli turned around and said, "The sharks can't hurt us, Mom." Ah, my little voice of reason...it didn't really help, though. Of course, we had to wait and watch them a bunch of times and it never got easier for me!

One of the coolest parts was the Shark and Ray Touch Tank. I was a little scared (and by little, I mean terribly), but it was really cool. The rays were very gentle and felt soft and slick. I did get a surprise when I leaned over and there was a bamboo shark in the water near my hand. I may have jumped and not put my hands back in the water.



What a great family day!

Fun at the Fire Station!

Our local fire station had an open house and we knew Eli would LOVE it! He got to climb through the fire trucks, but had to be reminded not to push any buttons!



In the ambulance, they gave him the green light to touch everything! I hope this is the closest we get to being in an ambulance with our accident-prone little guy!



Eli held on tight to Daddy while we watched the firemen cut apart a car with the jaws of life. I had never seen it before and it was pretty amazing how fast they can get into a car. In about ten minutes, the entire top of the car was removed.



We learned that if there is a fire, you should crawl and stay low to avoid smoke, that we will meet in Gino's yard after we get out of the house, and that you NEVER run away and hide from a fireman in an emergency. Eli is also very good at stop, drop, and roll.

It was such a cool event that Eli didn't want to leave. I have never seen him that upset to leave before. Hopefully, this trend won't continue!

Apple Picking 2011

We went apple picking with the McPartlins! We had a blast at Parlee Farms in Tyngsboro!

It was such an odd weather day. I can't believe that after more than 30 years, New England weather can still surprise me! We left the house with Eli in a long-sleeved t-shirt and jeans. By the time we got to Lori and Jamie's house, it was hot and muggy. We had to stop on the way to the farm so I could buy our little man shorts and a t-shirt. He would have melted!

We started with a hayride (and some oatmeal raisin cookies).



On to the MacIntosh's...and a budding romance...



Eli jumped right into tasting what he had hand-picked. The apples were so tasty!




He got a little help from Daddy for the higher apples. He hasn't quite perfected the art of lifting and turning the apples. He just takes the tree.



Mommy and Eli spent a lot of time picking Gala apples...which we plan on turning into some yummy applesauce and pie!



We ended the trip with some fun in the pumpkin patch!





We went back to Lori and Jamie's house to watch the game. Eli refused to nap, but was in a good mood. Of course, by the time we got home, he spiked a fever of 102 degrees and threw up. Luckily, it passed and Miss Alexa did not get sick!

Much Ado about Poo - Release Date 08/19/11

It happened today - Eli pooped in the potty! He was, once again, so proud.



He actually wasn't that excited until he saw my reaction. He even forgot to ask for his prize, the much awaited Olwin from Chuggington.



Look at the adoration in his eyes as he holds his beloved train. He has been asking for her every time he has peed in the potty for weeks.



The next challenge...getting him to consistently tell us when he has to go potty!

Cape Vacation 2011

What a difference three years makes! Well, not for Reggie...he still gets cut out of the picture. And it is difficult to tell if we got Eli to smile in the first picture...

August 2008



August 2011



Eli and Momma went down to the Cape on our own for the first few days this year. And of course, each day we were there alone, it rained! We did drive down to the beach during the storm and watch the waves pound the shore. Eli asked if there were sharks in the ocean and when I said yes, he told me we shouldn't go in there. Ok - don't have to tell me twice!

On Monday morning, it was gray and foggy. Eli looked outside and told me it was a nice day for fishing. Then, on the ride to Cuffy's, he asked if I brought his fishing rod. Where does he get this stuff??

As soon as Daddy came on Monday afternoon, the sun came out. But Grampy brought the real sunshine with him on Tuesday, just in time for swimming with the boys!



Eli was a fish this year. He started out pretty wary of the pool and barely left the steps. I had no problem with that!



But he was just teasing me. By the next day, you couldn't get him out of the pool! He loved to swim and did well by himself - not that this over-protective mother was very far away at any point! But clearly, my fear of the water has not rubbed off on this boy. He LOVED the pool. He even started jumping in! We spent the whole week relaxing at the pool and doing a whole lot of nothing - it was great!

Look out, Eli - the tickle shark is behind you!



We had an international guest, too. John and Cindy came to visit for the day and they brought Gavin, their friend from England. It was so much fun.



Of course, my favorite moments were the snuggles. We got to snuggle a lot when Eli got out of the pool to warm up and when we played with some of the glow sticks that Baba got Eli.





We did have a scary moment by the pool. Eli had just gotten out of the pool and I took off his swimmies. Laurie and Jim arrived and Tom was watching Eli. Eli went to swing a pool noodle and spun right into the pool. Thankfully, Tom was right there and got him out quickly. He said Eli did a great job of keeping himself afloat! And I love having firemen as guests - it is always nice to have a first-responder around with a boy as accident-prone as Eli. Thank you, Tom!

Once again, we had a great vacation and made some great memories at the Cape house. And I learned that I could make a rocking train station out of blocks that can entertain a two-year-old for hours in the rain! Even Reggie got to relax a bit...