Precious family time.

As I've said before, I'm probably one of the few people in the world that wish away my Saturdays.  BUT, I have good reason.  Saturday night when Kevin gets home, that starts our weekend and our family time together. SO...I love Sundays and Mondays.  When I'm working, it's not as fun because we only get one true family day where we are all here together, but during the summer we are all loving it and trying to take advantage of every moment we get.

Yesterday Kevin needed to do some yard work (mowing the grass, trimming the bushes,etc.) since we were gone last weekend and Eli will take any excuse at all for going outside.  The boy loves it.  I have to admit though, it's my favorite word he says.  He looks at you all innocently with those big brown eyes, points to any door in the house that leads to the outdoors and says, "out-thide?"  Then smiles...hoping his cuteness will get you to say yes. 

See what I mean?  How could you say no to that sweetness? I'm loving this stage of Eli's because he is SUCH a tender-hearted, loving and caring little boy.  He walks by me and gives me kisses for no reason.  He sits beside Muffin and says "hi" and then leans over and gives her a kiss too..as he says, "Mah" If I'm sitting in the floor, you can bet when he sees me, he will stop, smile and then run as fast as he can diving into my arms and sitting in ma-ma's lap.

He loves his ma-ma, BUT, he wants to be just like daddy. He follows him around the house and if Kevin drinks water, Eli's thirsty.  If Kevin is sweeping, Eli needs a broom.  If Kevin is moving a box, Eli is going "uhhhh" with his teeth clenched trying to pick up the next one even though it is like twice his weight.

Sweeping...

...getting the hang of it...

"eww" mom he says to the bugs on the front porch. haha.

Back to sweeping because daddy didn't take a break.

Looking like a pro here!

"Got it" he tells me.

Looking tired of sweeping here, lol.

Mini - Kevin.  But isn't this sweet?

Inside mom?  It's hot.

Changed my mind.

Checking out the lawn mower for daddy.

Papa showed me how to fix it once.  "All done" he says.

Big boy, our ray of sunshine.

Another favorite word, "Wook!" as he points to show us something.

"See you" he said.  Perfect for peek-a-boo.

And last but not least, this has nothing to do with yardwork...

just look at those PRECIOUS curls Eli gets at the back of his head when his hair gets the least bit damp.  I love it and will be one sad ma-ma when it comes time to cut those things off.

This post may be boring to some, but to me it was another wonderful family day to make sure I had stored as a "precious memory" to me.



While the Cat's Away, the Mice will play...

The previous post was about Kevin and me taking off for the weekend to hang out with friends and have some "us" time before our family of three turns to a family of four.  We got really lucky because not only did we have babysitters for Eli, but they came all the way from North Carolina and they weren't random people.  Instead they were Grandma & Granddaddy!

This past weekend was my very FIRST weekend away from Eli (overnight) in the 20 months he's been here. We have had date nights and someone else may have put him to bed, but I've always been here when he wakes up in the morning. Eli is so independent and I knew he would be ok since it wasn't random babysitters but his Grandma & Granddaddy, BUT when you are off somewhere you are still on "kid time." You are constantly looking at the clock thinking, Hmm, it's 11:00...I wonder if Eli is getting ready to take a nap. I wonder what time he woke up and if he slept all night. It's about 7:30 and he's probably getting a bath and making a huge mess with water, but I love it. See... "kid time."  You can't help it once you are a parent because it's what you do!

Grandma & Granddaddy were excited to have Eli to themselves for the weekend being that they don't see him too often and when we aren't around he warms up to everyone a lot faster.  They were great about texting me and telling me how his day went, if he napped, what they had been doing and sending pictures to go along with it. He might have had some off moments since we are starting to experience the terrible two tantrums, but it sure did make me feel better that he was smiling in all of the pictures.

Granddaddy had Eli trained. He would ask him, "You going with me?" and Eli would jump out of the car seat into his arms.

Eli riding in style.

Ball? he says.  They played LOTS of this.

Granddaddy was nice enough to share his soda.

Eli must have made a basket.  "YAY" he says and claps.

Sunshine on his face and he brings his own too.

Full of energy.  Not afraid of anything!

Granddaddy & Eli at SeaWorld.

That's love right there.  Grandma even shared her toothbrush.

I love this picture.  Such a sweet and innocent expression. He was all about eating some scrambled eggs this weekend.

Where's Eli?  There he is! His outfit for church almost matched the curtains in his room.

Bath time fun!

Watching a little Max & Ruby before bed.

Playing the piano like mommy.  Music to our ears.

Eli giving Grandma kisses on their last night here.

Eating some sour candy in Granddaddy's lap.

Building towers of blocks taller than he is.  Then of course, you know he HAD to knock them down.  What fun would it have been if they were left standing?

 

Although these pictures are great, they don't do the fun Eli had & the spoiling Eli got justice.  Kevin & I are so greatful for our parents and all that they do for us.  Our children are so blessed to have them.  THANK YOU Grandma & Granddaddy!

Mommy & Daddy Weekend in Atlanta

This weekend, Kevin and I went to meet a group of friends in Atlanta.  We hadn't seen most of them since our wedding over 3 years ago and although they are "our friends," Kevin went to college with them and all so he was SUPER stoked to be reuniting with them.  We left Friday morning and drove to Atlanta (in which out of habit I looked in the back seat a couple times to check on Eli) and made it there around 4:30. We would have been there sooner but we got stuck in traffic for over 1 1/2 hours! 

Friday consisted of getting to our hotel, Stoneybrook Inn Suites, and waiting as everyone arrived at different times.

I was looking rough but it seemed like a LONG ride.

Stoneybrook Inn Suites was very cute and cozy on the outside and the room was cute and cozy too!

A "living area."

The bathroom.

Upgrade to a King bed...perks of being pregnant.

Kitchen area...wasn't touched! :)

 

Once we all arrived and got settled, we changed clothes and decided to go to a nice dinner.

 

Fancy!

My dinner...Lobster Mac N Cheese.  WOW!

In the elevator on the way down to the restaurant.

 

The two buds and their pregnant wives.



 

At dinner, the waiter brought me and Jes a piece of dessert to share, with 2 candles in it (one pink/one blue because he wasn't sure if we were having boys or girls...we are actually both having girls) and told the boys they weren't allowed to touch it. :)

 

Then we headed out on the town.  We went to Fado (however you spell it) to hang out after dinner.

The two pregnant ladies hanging out with their boys. You can tell by my eyes it was starting to get late and this old gal was getting sleepy!

 

On Saturday, the highlight was going to the Braves game!  Some of our group had never been and Kevin & I are always excited to go...especially when we get to see other people go for the first time too.

Taking the MARTA to Underground Atlanta.  Some people weren't a fan of this. :)

A group photo while waiting for the gates to open.

 

 

 

 

Me & my hubby at one of our favorite places. (Yes, my mouth is blue from an icee.)

 

Waiting on the curb for the cab. Sitting down, tired feet!

 

The game was great, weather wasn't too hot or too cold, the rain held off and the Braves won!

The Steve Miller Band was playing afterwards so we stayed for a few minutes before we headed out to our next stop.

This place had a good atmosphere and live music.  When we first got there, everyone sat down outside, but Kevin and I had to go BACK to the hotel because I didn't have my ID with me.  I was like seriously?  I'm 5 1/2 months pregnant...do I look like I'm going to be drinking it up to you?  Not to mention that I'm 28 years old and STILL can't get in. So we went back, got my ID, then turned right around and came back to meet our friends.  Needless to say after all of that I was already tired and it had been a long day.

 

Our group hanging out the last night.  Luckily, they were all very understanding so after we ate, we went back to the hotel to finish hanging out in the room.  Jesica's poor feet were swollen (being that she is 32 weeks pregnant...I think) and my feet for whatever reason had also experieced their first swelling with Evy.  I went to bed before the rest and they all stayed up and chatted about old times.

 

Kevin and I actually stayed Sunday and were lucky enough to stay and watch another game.  It was fun and we enjoyed it, but MAN was it hot!  I got sunburn and didn't even realize it until it was too late because the clouds kept going in and out. 

 

The Braves lost...Boo.  We stayed after the game and go to the parking lot where the players are (since they had the next 4 days off due to the All-Star Game we figured we might get some autographs), and we got a few!  Kevin & I have always had luck in that department and it's fun to do.  Then we got home about 12:30 in the morning and went to bed.  It was a wonderful weekend, but I have never been so happy to wake up at 6:45 AM after a few hours of sleep...because it meant I got to snuggle with my baby boy.