Eli...spoiled? No...

The title of this blog says it all!  Recently, Nana & Papa visited for a few days and even though they had just been here a month ago, it felt like it had been forever.  Eli welcomed them right away in the car by saying "YAY" and "Hiiii-eeee" as we picked them up from the airport.  Once they got here it was game on until the moment they left.  Eli is a very busy boy (yes a typical toddler boy, but non-stop). 

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.

 

 

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!