Messy Boy! Does anyone else's child look like this after eating spaghetti? As you can tell, I strip him so that I don't have to deal with the laundry mess.
Biker Boy! He barely uses his own, but he sure does love his daddy's bike!
Friday, July 9, 2010
"The Boy"
I've been amused recently by the way Eli refers to himself. He calls himself "the boy". I don't know if children his age say their own names or not, but he seems to struggle just a bit. Maybe we gave him a name that is too hard to put together and pronounce. I'm not sure because he says other people's names just fine. When he does say his name, he basically leaves off the first part and calls himself "I". More frequently, however, he says things like, "no touch the boy" (don't touch me); "No kiss the boy" (don't kiss me); "The boy sleep" (I'm going to sleep); "Mommy the boy dress" (Mommy, get me dressed). When I ask, "who is the boy?" he points to himself and says "I". Funny! Oh, how I love "the boy"!
Messy Boy! Does anyone else's child look like this after eating spaghetti? As you can tell, I strip him so that I don't have to deal with the laundry mess.
Biker Boy! He barely uses his own, but he sure does love his daddy's bike!
Messy Boy! Does anyone else's child look like this after eating spaghetti? As you can tell, I strip him so that I don't have to deal with the laundry mess.
Biker Boy! He barely uses his own, but he sure does love his daddy's bike!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Break in the Weather and Routine
Lately we've had really rainy weather (the pouring down in buckets kind), so we've been cooped up inside. Fortunately, we did see a break in the rain over the 4th of July weekend, and since Josh had a couple of days off, we decided to spend it outdoors.
We always enjoy going blueberry picking when we visit Josh's family in Washington. Unfortunately, because of Josh's schedule and increased airline prices, we won't get that opportunity this year. Therefore, we found a place where we could pick blueberries a little closer to home. The place we went was about an hour north of Houston, and we were not disappointed. They had tons of yummy blueberries, and I'm pretty sure Eli put more in his mouth than in the bucket. We had a good time, and we finished just as it started pouring. We were drenched by the time we got back to the car, but we picked over six pounds of blueberries. The fresh picked blueberries are always so much better than the store bought ones. We've had plenty to eat over the past few days. Of course, we also froze some and gave others away.
We also drove down to Surfside and Lake Jackson. Surfside is on the beach, and Eli loves dirt and sand. He's also growing more and more fond of water. He didn't like swimming so much last year, but this year he occasionally asks to go to the big water (aka swimming pool). I was stupid and realized just as we were almost there that I had forgotten my swim suit, so Eli went swimming with his daddy. He loved it! He started coming down with a cold that day, so he looks a little tuckered out, but he had a good time.
In Lake Jackson, which is just 5 miles from Surfside Beach, we went to the Sea Center. It's an aquarium and fish hatchery, and we knew Eli would love the fish. He enjoys watching the movie Finding Nemo, so when we saw a blue tang fish and two clownfish in the same tank, he excitedly referred to them as Dory, Daddy, and Nemo.
It was nice to spend some time with Josh and spend it outdoors, especially since it's raining heavily again.
We always enjoy going blueberry picking when we visit Josh's family in Washington. Unfortunately, because of Josh's schedule and increased airline prices, we won't get that opportunity this year. Therefore, we found a place where we could pick blueberries a little closer to home. The place we went was about an hour north of Houston, and we were not disappointed. They had tons of yummy blueberries, and I'm pretty sure Eli put more in his mouth than in the bucket. We had a good time, and we finished just as it started pouring. We were drenched by the time we got back to the car, but we picked over six pounds of blueberries. The fresh picked blueberries are always so much better than the store bought ones. We've had plenty to eat over the past few days. Of course, we also froze some and gave others away.
We also drove down to Surfside and Lake Jackson. Surfside is on the beach, and Eli loves dirt and sand. He's also growing more and more fond of water. He didn't like swimming so much last year, but this year he occasionally asks to go to the big water (aka swimming pool). I was stupid and realized just as we were almost there that I had forgotten my swim suit, so Eli went swimming with his daddy. He loved it! He started coming down with a cold that day, so he looks a little tuckered out, but he had a good time.
In Lake Jackson, which is just 5 miles from Surfside Beach, we went to the Sea Center. It's an aquarium and fish hatchery, and we knew Eli would love the fish. He enjoys watching the movie Finding Nemo, so when we saw a blue tang fish and two clownfish in the same tank, he excitedly referred to them as Dory, Daddy, and Nemo.
It was nice to spend some time with Josh and spend it outdoors, especially since it's raining heavily again.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Fun in the Kitchen
Lately Eli has been asking if he can "cook." He's intrigued with the microwave, dishwasher, stove, oven, faucet, sink, pots, pans, utensils, you name it. On a chair in the kitchen is where he wants to be. Of course, I have to figure out what I'll allow him to cook with since he's not content to pretend. He wants the real sugar, flour, baking soda, salt, etc. Good thing I have some spices I never use and salt is plentiful and cheap. Usually there's a big mess to clean up after, but he sure does have fun doing it. Here are some pictures of him "cooking."
Monday, May 3, 2010
5th Year Anniversary Trip
This Friday (May 7th) Josh and I will have been married for five years. We decided a while ago that we wanted to do an anniversary trip every five years, so last week we went to Destin, FL. Josh's mom kindly agreed to babysit Eli, so she flew here to Houston last Saturday, and Josh and I started the drive to Destin on Monday morning.
Since it is about a 9-10 hour drive to Destin, we spent all day Monday traveling. Of course, the road was familiar enough since we drove it in November to Orlando--through East Texas, Southern Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and into Florida. Destin is about an hour south of Pensacola. It has absolutely beautiful beaches. The clear, green water along the coast is the reason they call it the Emerald Coast. Hopefully, the oil spill won't ruin that beauty.
On Monday and Tuesday nights, we camped at Topsail Hill Preserve State Park. It was a very nice camping facility with a short walk to the beach. They are known for their coastal dune lakes, which are a pretty rare occurrence. We had a nice time walking on the beach and hiking to one of the lakes. We even had a campfire and did tin foil dinners, which I haven't done forever.
On Wednesday and Thursday we stayed in a hotel near Choctawhatchee Bay in Destin. Because Josh loves kayaking, I very hesitantly agreed to go with him. I will admit that I was quite scared the entire time we were out. Hanging out in deep water is not my favorite thing to do, and then put ocean creatures with that, and I was pretty terrified. Had we tipped over, I don't know what I would have done. Fortunately, that didn't happen. Instead, we ended up seeing a pod of dolphins. They were amazing, but I have to admit that I was freaked out because I thought they might accidentally tip us over. There were literally a dozen or more dolphins, and we were close enough to see some of their scars. However, they were fast, and our camera is slow, so we didn't get any good pictures of them. Josh wanted to snorkel off one of the jetties (another thing he loves that I don't), but when we got close enough, we discovered that there were quite a number of jellyfish. Josh is daring but not stupid, so we scratched that (thankfully).
It was a great trip, and it was nice to be alone together. Of course, we did miss Eli, and I'm sure he would have loved being there with us. Maybe we'll go again next year with him. He really loved being here with his grandma, though. He's getting old enough now to recognize his grandparents, and I'm sure he misses not having them near. Fortunately, he missed us enough to be really excited when he saw us on Friday. He had a hard time going to sleep that night.
Today Josh starts another Florida adventure as he flies to Ft. Lauderdale for an optometry conference where he is presenting some of his research. He'll be gone most of the week and be home just long enough to say hi to me on our anniversary before he goes on a father/son camping trip with Eli next weekend. Then he'll be back to start his externship and another semester. Life is busy! But thanks to Mom Pratt, Josh and I were able to have a moment of relaxation alone together. We won't forget it!
Since it is about a 9-10 hour drive to Destin, we spent all day Monday traveling. Of course, the road was familiar enough since we drove it in November to Orlando--through East Texas, Southern Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and into Florida. Destin is about an hour south of Pensacola. It has absolutely beautiful beaches. The clear, green water along the coast is the reason they call it the Emerald Coast. Hopefully, the oil spill won't ruin that beauty.
On Monday and Tuesday nights, we camped at Topsail Hill Preserve State Park. It was a very nice camping facility with a short walk to the beach. They are known for their coastal dune lakes, which are a pretty rare occurrence. We had a nice time walking on the beach and hiking to one of the lakes. We even had a campfire and did tin foil dinners, which I haven't done forever.
On Wednesday and Thursday we stayed in a hotel near Choctawhatchee Bay in Destin. Because Josh loves kayaking, I very hesitantly agreed to go with him. I will admit that I was quite scared the entire time we were out. Hanging out in deep water is not my favorite thing to do, and then put ocean creatures with that, and I was pretty terrified. Had we tipped over, I don't know what I would have done. Fortunately, that didn't happen. Instead, we ended up seeing a pod of dolphins. They were amazing, but I have to admit that I was freaked out because I thought they might accidentally tip us over. There were literally a dozen or more dolphins, and we were close enough to see some of their scars. However, they were fast, and our camera is slow, so we didn't get any good pictures of them. Josh wanted to snorkel off one of the jetties (another thing he loves that I don't), but when we got close enough, we discovered that there were quite a number of jellyfish. Josh is daring but not stupid, so we scratched that (thankfully).
It was a great trip, and it was nice to be alone together. Of course, we did miss Eli, and I'm sure he would have loved being there with us. Maybe we'll go again next year with him. He really loved being here with his grandma, though. He's getting old enough now to recognize his grandparents, and I'm sure he misses not having them near. Fortunately, he missed us enough to be really excited when he saw us on Friday. He had a hard time going to sleep that night.
Today Josh starts another Florida adventure as he flies to Ft. Lauderdale for an optometry conference where he is presenting some of his research. He'll be gone most of the week and be home just long enough to say hi to me on our anniversary before he goes on a father/son camping trip with Eli next weekend. Then he'll be back to start his externship and another semester. Life is busy! But thanks to Mom Pratt, Josh and I were able to have a moment of relaxation alone together. We won't forget it!
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