Easter Weekend

This past week Eli had a blast finding eggs.  He had two different playgroup Easter egg hunts--one on Wednesday and one on Thursday--and then of course he had the one we did here at home on Saturday.  I forgot to take the camera to both playgroups, so there are only pictures of the one we did here at home.

On Saturday morning we also got to spend some time with our friends Mike and Marci and their three children.  We went to George Bush Park for a hike and picnic.  It was fun, but unfortunately, Josh (he planned the hike) didn't take into account the fact that there would be four small children, so I think it was a little long for them.  Poor Ella (Mike and Marci's oldest) will probably never want to do anything with us again.  At least on the way back we got to see a baby armadillo, or as Preston (Mike and Marci's youngest) said, "An elephant." :-)

On Sunday Josh and I spoke in Sacrament meeting because Josh was released from his calling in the bishopric.  We have both learned a lot from his calling in the past 3 1/2 years.  Tears were shed, but change is inevitable and necessary. 

Change will definitely play a big part in our lives in the next few weeks.  We only have nine days before we move to Albuquerque, and we still have so much to do!  Josh takes his board exams on Saturday, we leave on Wednesday, and we still don't have our car back from the shop.  It's been nearly six weeks since our car has been out of commission.  That's a whole other post that I'll probably never get to, but needless to say, it's been challenging.  I probably shouldn't even be writing this post, but I knew if I didn't get to it now, the pictures would never be posted.  So here they are:

Mike brought his fishing pole, so Eli was excited to catch and release some fish.  I told Eli he'll need to go fishing with his Grandpa Grant one day, and he was quite eager.

I can see why a toddler would call this "an elephant."  Can't you?  They're certainly interesting creatures.

Eli threw the first egg into the dye, so I had to explain that the idea was not to crack them.

Eli Orson Pratt, Big Boy, Now 3-Years-Old

The title is in reference to what Eli tells people when they ask what his name is or how old he is.  He always says, "I'm Eli Orson Pratt, big boy, only two, almost three."  After his birthday yesterday, I told him he's going to have to take out the "only two" part.  He's working on it. :-)

He asked for a strawberry Peter Pan cake, so I did the best I could considering that Peter Pan is one of Disney's vaulted movies and there isn't a lot of easily available (and affordable) stuff out there.  There's a lot of Tinkerbell, but Eli is more interested in Peter Pan, Wendy, and Captain Hook.  Fortunately, he doesn't care about professionalism, and he loved it!

Eli kept begging to open his presents all day, and considering his age, I'd say he did a pretty good job at being patient.  However, we did turn around as we were preparing to light the candles on the cake to see him unexpectedly ripping the paper off one of his gifts.  There's only so long a three-year-old can wait. 

Just as he tells everyone, he is definitely becoming a big boy.  He now uses the big potty by himself.  He identifies letters and sounds, and he can count at least ten objects.  His memory is very good (or maybe I just think that because mine is getting worse).  He remembers the minutest details of both movies and books, and he consistently reminds me of things that I tell him.  He figures out most anything that's supposed to be childproof (yes, I know, he's a walking accident waiting to happen).  If he really concentrates, he can dress himself.  He knows how to answer a telephone, and he will sustain a pretty good conversation with you if he's in the mood.  He knows how to get what he wants without crying, and he's very good with his manners.  He's doing much better at sharing and playing nicely with others.  Though he is still messy when he eats, he is doing much better.  He does a pretty good job throwing a ball overhand.  He can ride his tricycle all by himself.  And, of course, there is so much more that I'm not including.  He is my big boy, and I love him so much.  How grateful I am that the Lord let him become part of our family!