Big, Giant, Amazing Trucks!

It's been an exciting week so far for Eli. There are many changes coming to our neighborhood, both good and not so good. For one, we have strarted work on an addition, which is very exciting! We're adding a playroom and extending our bedroom. So far they've only jack-hammered up the patio where the playroom will be and dug up the dirt for the addition. This means that there is a huge pile of dirt for Eli to play in. He's been entertained for hours out there "working hard" with his backhoe. We might have to have a pile of dirt for him to play in all the time. Maybe have a dirt box instead of a sand box. Anyway, if that wasn't exciting enough, the contracter had a big dumpster put in our driveway! Eli was excited to watch the flatbed truck raise up high to slide the dumpster onto our driveway. He's very proud that there is a big red dumpster in his driveway, and he reminds me of that many times a day. : ) There are many more exciting things coming in Eli's future as the construction of the addition progresses! One being the cement mixer coming next week. There will be a post about that one for sure!
Here are some before pics of the back of the house.
















The not so good change that I was talking about is that our friend and neighbor, Mo, is moving to New Jersey for at least a year. Her last day here is tomorrow. (sniff sniff) She's had some trucks at her house packing and loading her things the past few days. One was a yellow cube truck, pretty cool. But the coolest truck by far was the giant tractor trailer truck! Eli was amazed at the sight of it...big round eyes, silent, and trying hard not to smile or show his excitement. Mo knew Eli would love seeing the truck and even asked the driver if he could get in the cab. Eli loved it for sure!




Can you find Eli in this picture?

3rd Annual Kite Festival Day

Well, it was the Perkins 3rd annual, but the 81st annual Zilker Kite Fest. This year it was nice and sunny and windy, but very chilly! Eli picked out his own kite this year...a pirate kite (it's the one in the picture)! John spent most of the time trying to successfully fly the kite way up high while Jed and I stayed huddled up in our chair people watching and Eli watching. We also saw a puppet show and got to see some friends, too. Another perk of the day was riding the school bus to and from the festival. They didn't allow parking at the fest this year, so we had to take the shuttle, which was a school bus. It was Eli's first time to ride a school bus! Fun times!

They had some old cars parked in the field, so Eli of course thought they were cool and wanted to check it out. He said this one with the orange wheels was his favorite because it was just like Stanley from Cars (the movie).

What a difference a day makes!

Jed literally woke up yesterday morning babbling! I heard some m-sounds and b-sounds and others, too. It's like he just discovered that he could make different noises with his mouth. He's been making rasberry sounds with his mouth for awhile, but now he's experimenting with actual consonants. I love it!
He also got the hang of rolling yesterday. I put him down on his little play mat and then a few seconds later looked over and he was over on the tile a few feet away! He just rolled and kept on rolling. I have yet to get this on video. I don't remember Eli rolling like that, definitely not at 5 months old! I am sort of panicking about baby-proofing, especially with all of Eli's little toys and things around the house!

Fun Times!

Jed's Happenings

Mr. Jed has been up to a lot lately! He's been more active and playful, to say the least. Jed likes playing with his toys and putting everything in his mouth as all babies do, and he's been spending time on the floor pushing up and practicing his rolling skills.

Rhymes and more rhymes

Eli has been reciting some nursery rhymes to us recently. He surprises me everyday with what he's learned and memorized. I'm surprised everyday, several times a day!

Here's Hey Diddle Diddle.


Eli's also been trying to figure out rhyming words. Sometimes he'll tell us words that actually rhyme, but mostly, he's asking, "what rhymes with...". It's a work in progress, but I love that he's trying to figure it out!
In the video, John asks Eli to name 3 people he loves, which is a daily question. It changes all the time, so I'm sure he's mentioned your name before!

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

I mentioned in the previous post that Jed is rolling. This week, I've noticed that he's never in the same spot I originally put him in on the floor! He rolls from belly to back really well and back to belly with help. Eli likes to "help" Jed roll as you'll see in the second video. Jed also somehow scoots around in a circle like the hand of a clock. He's workin' hard to be mobile! Nooooooo!


You like the pirate music in the background? :)

Where has the time gone?

Well Mr. Jed is now 4 months old! I can't believe it! He had his 4 mo. appt. and here are his stats: 15 lbs. 13 oz, 50-75th percentile; 26 inches long, 75th-90th percentile; 43cm head, 50-75th percentile. Eli was always off the charts on everything. Jed is still on the big side, but smaller than Eli. Just right as far as I'm concerned. He's doing so much now. His main interest right now are his hands. He's discovered that he can grab for things and actually touch them and hold them. Eli likes putting things in front of Jed and getting excited and cheering for Jed when he actually grabs them. At 4 months old, Jed can't help but smile at everyone. I love it! He's also laughing, too. Eli is the best at making him laugh. I love watching Eli and Jed interact more and more. Jed's also rolling over. I think it's back to belly, but honestly I can't remember. And the drool is in full swing, so bibs are a must! Hopefully we have a couple more months before we see any teething. We are still working on trying to get Jed to take a bottle. He doesn't like the pacifier either. I don't mind if he doesn't like the paci, but I would really like him to take a bottle. All in all we are enjoying our little Jed!

Superman

Here's Eli wearing his Superman cape and showing his Superman muscles. His cape is my nursing cover called the Hooter Hider. I guess it has more than one purpose!

Fun with Cousins

Grayson and Garrett came to visit a couple weeks ago, along with Aunt Brynn and Mammy. Eli absolutely loves Grayson and Garrett and wants to do everything they do. They were only here for one full day, so we packed it full of activities. We went to The Austin Nature and Science Center in the morning and dug up dinosaur bones and looked at the animals. Then we headed across the street to the Zilker park playscape and played and had a picnic lunch. After naptime, we decided to go to Goin' Bananas, which is a warehouse filled with jump houses. And finally ended the day with dinner at our favorite pizza place, Craig O's...they have gluten free pizza! We were all worn out, but it was worth it. I wish we lived closer so we could have more time together and more days like that one!
Checking out a snake and digging for dino bones:


Going down the big slide at Goin' Bananas

Big Little Boy

When did Eli become such a big boy capable doing so many things? He is definitely discovering his independence and wants to do mostly everything himself. The thing is that he really can do many things by himself. It still surprises me because he is just growing up so fast. He can get dressed by himself with only undies or pants on backwards occasionally. I finally moved all his clothes where he can reach them, and he's loving it! He goes to the bathroom on the toilet with no little potty seat, just regular toilet and a stool to get himself up there. We don't have to remind him or ask him or help with pulling up pants, he just goes in there and does his thing all by himself. Eli's been doing several chores lately, too. He likes to help, for sure. He puts away his dishes in the sink, feeds Boone, puts away his clean laundry, helps put away clean dishes, washes his hands, brushes his teeth, gets food for breakfast before we get out of bed in the mornings, and more. Eli can even ride a bike! It's a special bike called a "Skuut". It has no pedals, but two wheels like a bike. Apparently it's supposed to help with balance and when he gets a big bike with pedals, he probably won't need training wheels. Eli loves this bike and rides it like a champ! I have a hard time keeping up! I know this growing up thing is bound to happen, but I think some of it is due to the fact that I really do need him to help me do things while I'm caring for Jed. I'm just glad Eli's willing to help most of the time! Either that or he's forced to do things for himself when I'm busy with Jed. He surprises me with what he manages to do by himself nonetheless! John and I have to remind ourselves that Eli is just 2.75 years old since he acts and looks a lot older than he really is.

Imagination!

Eli's imagination has really taken off recently and continues to grow! We usually tell him stories before nap and bed time, which usually include the usual ones like, 3 Bears or Jack and the Bean Stalk. But lately, Eli's been requesting his own stories that we have to make up. For example, the other day he wanted me to tell him a story of "Shooma" the giraffe. Sometimes we imagine before bedtime, too, like imagine he's a construction worker, or a bee, or a penguin. It's very fun to see his little creative mind in action! One not so fun thing about this growing imagination is that Eli's been having bad dreams. He has told us a couple times that Yoda came to see him in his room, and then he hid under the covers. Eli hasn't seen Star Wars, but he does have some shoes with Yoda on them. Yoda is pretty scary looking if you think about it, but we're trying to tell him that Yoda's a good guy. It's kinda cute, but I know it's scary for him. I'm also seeing the creative mind at work when Eli plays. There is definitely more pretend play going on. Yesterday, Eli was a pirate who has a broom for a sword, a fireman hat for a pirate hat, and an empty rice container on his foot for his peg leg. It's fun to play along. I can't wait to see what he comes up with next!

Bros

Lefty?

Eli's drawing of construction vehicles

Home for Christmas

It was nice and relaxing to stay home for Christmas. I liked doing things with all my boys and starting our own traditions. We roasted marshmallows in the fireplace and had smores on Christmas Eve, opened gifts and stockings Christmas morning, and had coffee cake and egg casserole after gifts. We also had a fancy dinner of rack of lamb, cabbage, and risotto made my my wonderful husband on Christmas night! Here are some pictures and video to give you a little glimpse into our Christmas.



















Checking out what Santa brought


Here's Eli looking in the stockings