He loved being able to wave his little hand (which is his way of saying follow me...come here) and have them follow him all over the house, yard, patio...you name it and he took them there. Here's the hand in action...
I don't know if you can see at the bottom of the picture above, but Eli is going barefoot in the grass. This is HUGE for him. He is all boy, except when it comes to grass! He does not like to touch it in any way. One day he got so mad at me for putting his sandals on him and the grass touching his feet that he hasn't even worn his sandals since! He actually throws a fit when I try to put his sandals on him! So evidently it just took some Papa & Nana "magic" to get Eli to go in the yard without any shoes at all. See all of the fun?
Yay because Eli ran down the hill.
Mr. Independent going back up the hill.
...and back down.
Papa cleaning off Eli's feet. He got used to the grass, but didn't like the dirt. Look at his expression....cracks me up! It's like "yeah, that's right...he'll do anything I ask."
Look at those curls at the back of his head! Love them!
Starting to get sweaty from playing so hard!
This picture is a true display of Papa when he is here...Eli's shadow. He often sits and just watches him do everything. Where Eli goes, Papa goes. Papa even thinks Eli's poop smells like roses.
Nana definitely does her part in the spoiling too! He made her follow him around the yard and he even watched her feet to make sure she was close behind!
Eli pouring water (wah as he says) on his feet b/c they just showed him how.
One of his favorite words...TA-DA... as he feels accomplished by standing on Papa's knee.
Eli's newest toy...a cookie monster kitchen. Thanks to Nana & Papa of course. :)
Nana ordering through the window.
Eli showing us all that he can order too!
Love this one. Those sweet cheeks through the window!
Bath-time with Nana & Papa. Kevin and I joked about this picture because thanks to Eli's artwork (washable crayons) it looks like a scene from a murder movie.
More kitchen and cooking time after the bath.
Checking out the top.
There's no telling what he did, if anything. Everything deserves a YAY and clap. :)
Papa helping Eli figure out and play with a new toy that Aunt Karen sent him. We have such thoughtful and sweet family members!
Papa taking a raisin break with Eli.
And who could forget the huge PONY in our living room?!?
He lit up when they brought it in and liked riding it side-saddle.
I always try to include all of the pictures that I can to portray how special these family visits are, and although they are wonderful, they can't even begin to accurately show every moment. This last picture sums it all up though. I had to buy Eli a nap mat for his new daycare and while Nana & Papa were here he was so afraid he was going to miss a moment of play time that naps and night time sleep were a little different than normal. Their last night here, he was finally so exhausted that he went to sleep in the middle of the living room floor (kind of on his mat) and took his whole nap there while we did everything around him like normal.
Eli might be spoiled, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Kids deserve the best that we can give them and seeing their face light up or them say "YAY" when they get to go outside and run around are moments I wouldn't trade for the world. I love being in Florida and Kevin & I have a good life here, but I also know to not take any moments for granted spent with family,because when you don't get to see them everyday you learn to really appreciate all of the small moments you do get.
