Pretend Play

I'm vaguely remembering what it is like to be a kid again as I watch Eli with his pretend play. Though it was ages ago, I still remember dressing up and pretending to be somebody I wasn't or somebody I hoped to be. Now I watch as Eli does the same thing. His favorites lately are pretending to be an astronaut or pretending to be a gardener blowing leaves.

Pretending to be a gardener with a leaf blower
Accessories: Vacuum attachments

Pretending to be an astronaut
Accessories: Bike helmet, aviator-type jacket, and a cardboard box with frills

Pretending to be a diver
Accessories: Snorkeling equipment

Thanks for Visiting, Harmonica!

On Tuesday we had to say good-bye to my sister Monica who was visiting us for a couple of weeks. We really enjoyed her visit, and Eli began including her as part of the family. He made up this silly chant that included Daddy, Mommy, Eli, and Harmonica (as he calls her). He still tries to include her in his conversation even though she's no longer with us. In fact, when I came home from dropping her off at the airport, he excitedly opened the door for me and asked where Harmonica was. When I explained that she was on an airplane going home, he asked if he could go outside so he could look up and find her plane. Needless to say, he was a little sad that she left.

We had a lot of fun while she was here though. Below are pictured some of the fun things that we did. We went to Space Center Houston (Eli has wanted to be an astronaut ever since) and Brazos Bend State Park, where we love to see the wild alligators. Josh was able to come with us for those. He couldn't go with us when we visited Galveston, but Monica really enjoyed collecting the numerous seashells on the beach and seeing the many jellyfish that had washed ashore, and Eli loved digging in the sand. We went to Hermann Park as well as some smaller parks near where we live. I didn't get any pictures of those, but I know that Monica sure did. :-) And of course we went to Zoo Boo and the church trunk or treat as was mentioned and pictured in the previous post.

It was great to visit with her and give us reason to visit some of those places again. We sure do miss seeing our families often.

Happy Halloween!

For Halloween this year Eli was a cowboy/sheriff. He went to Zoo Boo on Friday with his Aunt Monica and me, and then he went to the annual trunk or treat at the church on Saturday. Daddy came with us for that and dressed up too. Can you tell who he went as?

Eli, of course, loved all the candy and wanted it for breakfast the next morning. He was also too cute for the trunk or treat when he saw a jar of fake spiders that someone had brought for decoration. He burst out into song and sang The Itsy Bitsy Spider, actions and all. There's proof that he actually listens in nursery. :-)

Kids Say the Darndest Things

There is no shortage of laughter around here with Eli's amusing comments. In fact, sometimes I can't help laughing when I know I shouldn't. Eli is one of those kids who loves attention and making people laugh, so I have to be careful not to encourage inappropriate comments. Honestly though, some things are just so darn funny I can't stifle my laughter. He's bound to embarrass me in public...well, he already has, but I know it's going to get worse.

Here are a couple of things he's said that probably aren't as amusing written as when he said it, but they're worth mentioning for remembrance sake.

1. First, Eli and I have a sort of game where I ask, "Are you my baby?" He answers, "Mommy, no! Not a baby, a big boy." So, the other day when I did it, Josh was around.

I asked Eli if Daddy was a baby, and he answered, "No, a big boy!"

Josh corrected him, "No, I'm a man, not a boy."

The next day Eli came to me and said, "Mommy, I a big man." I thought it was so cute, especially when he later called me a "big woman."

2. There's a book about a garbage truck called I Stink in which the garbage truck talks in first person and tells all about what it does. Of course, Eli loves this book, and he has quite the little memory, so he likes to quote things. He'll be playing and then all of the sudden he'll say, quoting the book, "Whoooeeee, I stink!" It cracks me up every time.

3. For Christmas, Eli's Grandpa Grant gave him an Aggie game face stick. It's one of those black chapstick-looking things that you can use to paint your face for games. I've kept it out of his reach because I'm a little hesitant to let him use things like that because of the mess he makes. I don't even let him use crayons that much (yes, even the washable ones) because of the mess. I need to just let go and let him use those things more because it's good for him to learn. Anyway, a couple of days ago he found the stick, and I decided to let him go at it. He painted his face black, and then he came to me and said, "Mommy, I crazy!" I laughed and then thought, Yes, those Aggie fans are crazy. ;-)

Related to the crazy comment above, we were playing outside the other day when an older man came near us and started staring. It was actually kind of creepy to me, so I was about to leave. I noticed that Eli was staring back at the man, so I asked him what he was looking at. He responded, "Man is crazy!" I know I shouldn't have laughed at that one, but he sort of put a voice to my thoughts. Fortunately, the man wasn't near enough to hear it.

4. A couple of days ago Eli and I were walking out to the car when Eli stopped and said, "Mommy, come here." I turned around, and he proceeded to wipe his hand on mine. He pretends a lot, so I thought he was just pretending to give me something. I asked, "What did you give me?" He responded, "A booger, Mommy!"