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...

Much Ado about Pee, Part Deux

Our pudgy pirate added another sticker to his pirate potty hat after peeing in the potty again this morning! Unfortunately, the highly anticipated sequel, Much Ado about Poo, has not yet been released.



I did ask him if he had to poop when he had his diaper on a few minutes before this happened. He looked at me and started pushing. Needless to say, I changed his diaper and he told me he had to pee. I was not too excited, because his diaper was also wet when I changed him, but he was right!

Much Ado about Pee

He did it! Eli peed in the potty! I have been trying unsuccessfully for a few weeks to get him to sit on the potty and/or tell me when he has to go the bathroom.

Today, on the way home from shoe shopping (for Eli, I swear - that kid's shoes are more expensive than mine), Eli said he had to pee. I told him if he could wait, we could sit on the potty when we got home. I also said it was okay if he peed in his diaper, but he said he didn't want to.

We got home, sat on the potty, and a few minutes later, my big boy did it! We high fived and he was so happy with himself! I know it might take a while for a repeat performance, but I am still so proud of my son! I did refrain from actually taking a picture of the full potty.



Stay tuned for the sequel, Much Ado about Poo, hopefully coming soon.

Big Boy Cups

I am desperate to say goodbye to sippy cups, or at least, to limit how much we use them. There are just so many parts, although, major props to Jeff, who told me where I could find replacement parts for our cups. I learn so much from the Binette family...it definitely pays to wait for your friends to have kids first!

Anyway, the first step towards getting rid of the sippy cups was getting BPA-free big boy cups (thank you, Amazon.com).



Eli jumped right in and did perfectly! I barely had to show him what to do. While I am more than willing to attribute this to my mad parenting skills and a child of clearly above average intelligence and coordination, I have to check with daycare. I have a sneaking suspicion they may have worked with the little man on this one already.

Cheers! Ahhhhhhh!