That Time of Year Again!

It's March, and that means the rodeo has come to town once again. If you ever want to visit us (hmmm...that's a good idea :-)), March might be a good time to do it because the Houston Rodeo is quite an event. Plus, it's usually pretty nice weather. This past week was Josh's spring break, so we went to the rodeo on Thursday, and Eli loved it. Here's some of what we did:

Of course, we had to stop by the tractors. Eli loved them, as he loves all big trucks!

The pig races were a must see, so we didn't want to be left out!

They had a kids' farm where they could pretend to gather eggs, plant crops, milk cows, and sell their produce at a farmers' market. Eli caught on pretty well and seemed to enjoy it!

Of course, we had to go to the petting zoo. Eli always loves that! And no, he's not strangling the goat, though it sort of looks like it in the one picture. He's usually very gentle.

I'm not sure where they got the wallabies from, but they were a fun addition to the petting zoo.

These are some of the animals we saw in the livestock show.

Though we saw many other cows, this particular one is the famous "Elsie". She is the Borden milk cow.

We didn't ride any rides, but we did weave our way through them, and we enjoyed a tasty lemon ice from one of the MANY concession stands. Like last year, we again passed on the fried oreos, snickers bars, nutter butters, twinkies, and other fried treats. Maybe one of these years we'll try one and see just how much sugar and fat our bodies can take. :-)

We didn't forget to take our picture with the rodeo mascot. Eli wasn't sure what to make of him.

Vocabulary Building

The past few weeks Eli has been using a lot of new words, and some of the ones he's been saying for a while are much more clear. This "vocabulary explosion" has been fun for me, especially since sometimes it's just so darn cute and funny. He still whines for what he wants, but if he thinks he's not going to get something, he'll say the word. For instance, last week he wanted a cookie. He was whining for one, and I told him he couldn't have it. He went into the living room, threw himself belly first on the floor and started crying (what his typical tantrum consists of). When he could tell that I was ignoring him, he went into the kitchen. Through sniffles, he turned to me with the cutest little face and said, "cookie, please...please." I must admit, I couldn't stay strong. I gave him the cookie.

He has been saying please for a while. In fact, it was his first word, but now he knows how to use it better. Before, he would use it instead of the word yes. Now he says both. Of course, he can now say no too. Josh and I find ourselves laughing when he uses that one because he uses it with such clarity. It's as if he relishes the "o" sound. Some of his other well-used words are: digger, garbage, leaf blower, Bob the Builder, helicopter, car, dog, bye, dad, basketball, done, and binky. He uses other words too, but these are some of his favorites. You can tell what interests him, huh? And no, I'm not kidding, he really does say Bob the Builder. We have one DVD of it, and he asks to watch it everyday. One day he was whining to watch it, and I told him if he could say it, he could watch it. I didn't really think he would say it, but out came Bob the Builder. It wasn't crystal clear, but it was obvious what he was saying. Now he says it all the time.

Anyway, I'm enjoying the words a lot more than the whining. For some reason his tantrums seem to be more manageable when I know what he's throwing a tantrum about.

Toying With My Emotions

Yesterday Josh took his oral qualifier--yet another hurdle on his path to obtaining his PhD. Of course, I was anxious for him all day. When he called me after he was finished, first he asked me if I had received the message he had left on the phone. I was out and hadn't checked the messages, so I said no. Then he told me that he hadn't passed. My heart sunk. What could I say? What could I do? He told me he had one more chance to pass, or else he would be out of the program. I felt really bad.

When we hung up, I checked his message on the phone. He said he had passed, so I called him right back and told him not to play with my emotions. He laughed and said that that was what the professors had done to him. They came out and said, "We don't think you passed." (Pause for half a minute.) Then they smiled (maybe laughed) and said, "We think you passed with distinction." I'm sure that Josh was quite stunned for a half a minute, though apparently the only thing he could muster out was "okay."

Anyway, I know he probably doesn't want me to brag about him, but I don't do it very often, so I don't feel too bad. He got a note from the department that said, "Congratulations on your achievement today. It is a rare honor to pass the Oral Qualifying Examination with distinction. In fact, only twelve students before you have done so." Good job, Josh! He definitely deserves it. Yes, he's smart, but he's put in a lot of hard work. Now on to the dissertation. He says he should be done in December of 2011. We'll see. :-)

Christmas Happenings and New Year's Resolutions

This is a little late, but I'm probably justified. We didn't get back until New Year's Eve, and Eli has been sick again. Yes, he caught a cold right before he came home. That, plus the jet lag, and you can imagine what it's been like around here lately. At least Eli wasn't sick on Christmas, though we did manage to get everyone else in Josh's family sick. Or at least we're assuming it was us because everyone except for us ended up with the flu. That's a little suspicious, don't you think?

Despite the spreading of germs, however, we did end up having a great time as you can tell from the pictures below. It's a good thing because we probably won't be headed up to Seattle for a little while. I think we'll be staying home more during 2010. Eli desperately needs the routine that traveling has disrupted. One of my goals this year is to get him to sleep on his own through the night. He's almost two. Is that too much to ask? I mean, he can take off all the child safety locks on our cabinets, take off the safety covers from the outlets, climb out of his crib, and so much more, but he still can't sleep on his own for the night. I'm sure traveling has played a big part in that, so it's not completely his fault. That's why I need to make staying home a resolution. I think it will be better for all of us.

Point Defiance Zoo

Christmas Lights at the Botanical Gardens

Eli playing with his cousins and his Lego digger

Eli playing his grandpa's harmonica
He loved it so much that he didn't pay attention to his stocking

Eli eating his Christmas breakfast

Josh snowshoeing on Mt. Rainier

Here he is with his dad and his friend, Heber

Josh and I got a night away while his mom and sister babysat Eli. Here we are at the Seattle Temple.