alli & eli's fun in the sun

A perfect Friday . . . afternoon that is (I was working all morning)

After naps, we went outside to enjoy the sunshine and play with water

Both kiddos had a blast!

Alli couldn't get enough of jumping into and out of the pool

Eli (a.k.a. the 'lil lobstah) loved the water table

and was so excited when his big sis played with him!

Some neighborhood friends stopped by for a bit and while the big kids were on the swingset, the little ones got to enjoy the squirt pool in peace ;-)

After our friends left and before dinner, we decided to enjoy some popscicles in the fish chairs

Alli & Eli both LOVE their otter pops :)

Such a perfect afternoon!

I love being a Mommy :)

so happy to be headed home

Right this very moment I am attempting to type with some major turbulence at 27,000 feet!  Definitely a new, and slightly difficult experience ;-)  Apparently we are going through some thunderstorms although all I see out the window is beautiful blue skies above fluffy white clouds.

I was supposed to be in Boston until tomorrow evening but fortunately life worked out in such a way that I am on my way home now and when I switched my flight, I was immediately upgraded to first class ~ guess it was meant to be!  I cannot wait to get home to see G and the kiddos.  It's amazing how much I miss all of them, even more than usual.  Probably because we just came off of a perfect week's "staycation" that could not have been better.

I called home to let Miss Kaitlyn know that I was headed home today and she said Alli would be thrilled because she kept asking when she would get to see me.  Made me feel so good and so awful at the same time.  I hate leaving my family.  I feel so torn right now and am praying more than ever for guidance on what I am meant to be doing at this stage of my life . . .

Fortunately, I will be home in about 4 short hours ~ WOO HOO!!!!

eli is getting so big!

He looks so grown up to me in this picture . . .  

Where did my baby boy go???

At his 1 year appointment, Eli was

20 lbs, 7 oz

30 inches

For those of you keeping track, Alli wasn't that that size until she was 16.5 months.

In fact, our little peanut now is only 29 lbs.

Any bets on when Eli will out weigh Alli ;-)

At a year, Eli is such a happy little guy but also getting to be a little demanding.

It is cute to see him start having opinions and letting us know them :)

That said, I could do without the whining!

His biggest news is that he has been standing on his own for about a month now

but just last weekend, stood up without pulling up first!

Playing at his squirt pool & pushing himself up . . .

Look Mommy, I did it all by myself!

After standing for a few moments, he did a little squat before deciding to go back in the pool!

Such a big boy!

Probably won't be long before we have to chase him everywhere :)

Fun with the Johnsons ~ Part 2

Sadly, our "staycation" with the Johnsons has come to an end :(  We had an amazing time with them and were sad to see the fun end but it was a FABULOUS visit and one we look forward to repeating very soon!

We were so lucky to have such beautiful weather while they were here and enjoyed every moment of it by relaxing more at the beach :-)  Alli needed a break from swimming and spent time looking for the perfect shells.

Alli loved having friends to play with ~ swinging with Aubrey. 

Garrett looked pretty cute wearing the girls' goggles ;-) 

With such beautiful weather, even I decided to swim!!! 

When it was time for a break from the sun, the girls enjoyed playing Candyland 

Eli really wanted to get in on the Candyland action ;-) 

On Sunday, Garrett and Alli went with the Johnsons to a Mariners game, where they met up with the Cortese family (other friends from our Hanscom AFB days).  Alli loved the ferry ride and I hear she spent most of the game snuggling with Aunt Tiff :-)  Since I had to fly back to Boston last night, Eli and I decided to stay home from the game.  We enjoyed a relaxing day going to church and playing in the neighborhood.  Alli and G came home before the Johnsons to make sure G was back in time to take me to the airport.  Luckily, the Johnsons made it back before we left so I was able to say goodbye ~ I hated that the visit was coming to a close :(  They happily watched the kiddos (who were asleep) while G drove me to the airport.  He took them to the airport this morning on his way to work.  What an amazing visit.  We loved spending the week with our Johnsons and hope to do it again very soon!

our perfect height :)

I always tell G that I think we look so silly because our height difference ~ he's 6'3" and I'm 5'2" ~ and that we would be perfect if we looked like this . . .

Ahhhhh, if only we could spend all our time near stairs

Of course, notice that I'm a full step above him and still manage to look short ;-)

fun with the Johnsons ~ part 1

Our wonderful Johnsons are here for a visit and we could not be having a better time!

Tiff and the girls arrived on Sunday and the three little girls had so much fun playing together nonstop :)  Seriously, from the moment they arrived, Alli took them up to the playroom and the three of them were having the BEST time playing babies, swinging and playing with moon sand. 

On Monday, Alli (who slept in our room so the Johnson girls could sleep in her room) woke up bright and early wanting to find her friends :)  In the afternoon, we invited Mrs. L and the girls over to join in the fun and enjoy pizza with us.  That was a huge hit!  E, Taylor and Aubrey really hit it off :) 

As you can see, the seven little girls and Eli were having a blast . . .

Big J and G arrived home just in time to enjoy some of the yummy pizza. 

All of the kiddos were very happy to see the two daddys and the four adults had a fabulous time visiting!

We had fabulous weather on Tuesday and Wednesday so of course it was off to the beach house on Treasure Island . . .  

Sadly, Alli woke up sick on Tuesday so she didn't really enjoy the beach (sore throat and high fever).  Fortunately, it was not strep and lots of liquids and rest seemed to do the trick.

On Wednesday morning, the three girls went to Princess Camp at Alli's dance studio . . .  

How cute are these princesses???

They had a great time!

Once camp was over, it was back to the beach where Alli got to join in the fun.

We all had a great time swimming and playing on the beach . . .

I even dove into the water, which I HATE to do ~ it's COLD!

G learned the way to get me in the water, make it look like my baby boy is going to fall off the float!

Eli was totally safe but it was too much for Mommy to handle :)

Today was cooler so we stayed around the house.  Tiff and I went to the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale while the Daddys stayed home with the kiddos.  In the afternoon, we invaded the L's home for a fun playdate :)  After dinner, we learned that Eli is ready for his own iPhone . . .  

So far, it's been a great "staycation"!

For lots more pictures, be sure to check out our family photo album. 

Eli's 1st Birthday Party

Here's the birthday boy with Mommy & Daddy the morning of his party . . .

We were a little nervous because it was so overcast but fortunately, it wound up being a
HOT, SUNNY, BEAUTIFUL day

Alli even let him try out her bike before the guests arrived . . .

He thought that was pretty fun!

We had fun decorating the beach with lots of 1s :)

For party favors (which I typically detest!) we decided to fill beach pails with water balloons

we figured it would be be great for the kids to play with on the beach

they were a hit!

It was still a little overcast when everyone arrived but the kids loved the beach

and before we knew it, the sun was out!!!

The kids all had a blast playing on the beach, swimming, eating, and running around

Alli "helped" Eli open his presents and even tried modeling some of them for him :)

You can see that Eli was just so excited ;-)

We gave him his second star cake after dinner and while he had fun smashing, I don't think he was that into it

All in all, the Eli's 1st birthday party was a huge success!

The birthday boy seemed to have fun playing and Alli decided to come out of her shell at the party ~ WOW!

Eli turns O N E!!!

Happy 1st Birthday Eli Zachary

Here's the birthday boy first thing in the morning :)

That hat lasted about 2 seconds . . .

He was so proud to take it off and found it much more fun to play with and chew on than wear!

After reading some birthday stories, it was time for breakfast in his decorated chair

He thought it was very fun to pull on and play with the decorations ;-)

We spent the day playing inside and outside.

All was going well until the afternoon . . .

I was helping Alli change and thought Eli was being a little too quiet as he played in his room

I was right

I walked in to find him eating poop (his own) out of a diaper!!!

Eeeewwwwwwwwww!

I promptly started to clean out his mouth, which smelled AWFUL.

This is when G got home.

Alli ran down to tell him I needed him right away.

He found me and Eli in the bathroom

Eli screaming and me completely grossed out!

G took over cleaning Eli while I called some neighbors who are docs

I managed to reach our neighborhood OB who said to wash Eli's hand and give him a breath mint ;-)

I went to tell G who was brushing Eli's teeth ~ Eli thought that was GREAT!

Guess he figured he needed to make his first birthday extra memorable :)

After dinner, we gave Eli his star cake

I think he had more fun playing with it than eating it but did seem to think it was good

Then it was off to the beach where we were spending the weekend.

Eli had a blast taking a bath in the sink as usual and got really into the splashing

After his bath, G read him Happy Birthday to You,

a tradition we started with Alli and read on each birthday

Happy birthday sweet boy!

We cannot believe a year has passed since you joined our family and showed us what we had been missing.

We love you more than we ever thought possible.