Gone Fishin'

Last Sunday we skipped church and took the boys fishing. The first ten minutes were fun, and then Eli started eating the "bait". It was a loaf of bread, so we weren't expecting much out of it anyway. After about thirty minutes, Kris decided that the next trip would be sans Eli, for sure. And sans Mama because I was getting hot and starting to complain. In my defense, it was ninety-five degrees.

Sweet Luke

My boys

Eli eating the bait.
Eli was always happier when he had control of the rod.

This took me back to childhood memories of going fishing with my grandaddy in the ponds behind our house. Those trips never lasted very long either for the very same reason ours was so short, but it was something special that we did together. I'm excited about all the fun memories my boys will make in the years coming.

Eli's Birthday Weekend/Beach Weekend

Okay, I'm finally getting around to our time at the beach a week and a half ago. We spent the day Saturday and that night and most of Sunday at Kris' parents' beach house. It's been so fun to get to use the beach house this year. We get close on our way there and Eli starts squealing, "Beach house!!"

We celebrated Eli's birthday with a (sort of) Curious George theme. My attempt at monkey cupcakes.

Kris trying to get the boys to let us sing before they blew out the candles.

Eli's cupcake #3. Birthday boys get to do that. Notice #2 with one bite taken out tossed to the side. Thinking about #4.

"Mama, hurry up and open it already!"

The scoop that has been the bane of my existence. Checking out all the toys.

"Don't get too comfortable with that, Bro."
Mrs. Bonnie's birthday is the day after Eli's, so we celebrated her with a cake of her own.

Possession is Nine-Tenths of the Law

Eli had another birthday party this weekend. We spent Saturday and Sunday at the beach with Kris' family (more on that later), and Saturday night we opened gifts and had cupcakes for Eli and Mrs. Bonnie's birthdays.

The past couple of days have been a lesson in sharing. A painful lesson. We're not quite there yet.

Eli is Two!

I have a two year old again. Sweet Eli, you are the cuddliest, funniest, cutest, sweetest little two year old I know. Your kisses and hugs melt the weight of the day right off my shoulders. Thank you for every one that you've ever given me and for all the ones that I know are to come, since you are a cuddler.

Eli, every time I hold you in my arms and "wock" and "sing song" before putting you in the bed, I am amazed at how much my heart loves you. You truly own me. You are the joy and delight of my day. And boy, do you make me laugh, you little turkey! You are always coming up with some way to stir up trouble if nobody is doing anything interesting. You love to have fun!

Your daddy and I can't wait to see who you will become. We know you will be strong and mighty in the Lord. He has spoken that to our hearts from before you were born. You will stand up for right in such a way that people around you will be hungry to follow you in the path of righteousness. You have always been and will always be your own person, leading the way with a sense of humor, joy and passion for life. You are our treasure!

My Little Mathematician

I knew Eli could count to ten, but when he went all the way to fourteen, my mouth dropped open. I said, "Did you just count to fourteen?!"

Then, of course, I had to go through the, "I'm so proud of you!" "Luke, did you teach Eli how to count to fourteen?" (Luke claimed it, even though he doesn't usually get it quite right when he goes past twelve. Letters he knows and loves, numbers have not yet caught his interest.)

Then Eli looked at me and said, "Fiveteen." And this morning, still a little shocked and wondering if I had imagined it all, I said, "Eli, twenty-one..." To which he immediately replied, "Chenty-twoooooo."

If you've ever tried to teach counting, you know that this not quite two year old totally gets the concept of numbers and counting. I'm still in shock and so proud of my little mathematician!

It Is Finished

All four fish are dead. Luke has not woken up from his nap yet, but I am dreading the unavoidable confrontation...

Our New Pets

On Monday, Mrs. Bonnie called to say that Kris' sister, Erica, had given her a fish tank to see if we wanted some new pets. Erica and her family hadn't had very good luck with goldfish and did we want to try for a little while? Mrs. Bonnie and Mr. Eric went to Wal-Mart to buy us some fish and came over to get us set up. Needless to say, the boys are loving it.

Luke feeding his new charges

Keeping Eli off the counter has been a little bit of a challenge.
Sadly, after less than 48 hours, two of the fish went to be with Jesus. I flushed them while the boys were napping, hoping that Luke wouldn't notice. Who was I kidding? He wanted to know where the other two were, and because I was dumb enough to think that he wouldn't ask, I wasn't prepared with an answer. So, I told him the truth, that they had died and I flushed them. You can imagine how well that went over. He poked his lip out, and in a quivering voice said, "You can't put them in the potty!" He didn't even care that the fish were dead, just that I had flushed them.

After some story that I'm sure I stole from Finding Nemo about the fish riding the water back into the ocean to be with their families, he was much better.

I'll keep you posted about how long the other two last.