Flowers for a girl . . .

Eli picked and gave his first "flower" to a girl . . .

and as you can see, it wasn't his Mommy (sniff, sniff)

He was so proud and after giving her the "flower"

(not sure if you can call a dandilion a flower!),

he followed it up with a smooch and a hug.  BFF Ava looks pretty charmed by our handsome little man!

Guess Mommy really isn't his main squeeze anymore ;-)

Oh well, he couldn't have picked a cuter or sweeter little lady than Miss Ava!

Worn out kiddos

Eli has been doing fabulously in his big boy bed.  Night 2, he woke up twice, still in his bed but wanting a quick snuggle.  Night 3, no wake ups at all!  Naps are also going fairly well though he has to be reminded to stay in bed for the first 5 or 10 minutes ;-)  On Saturday, we took the kids to Harbor Park in Bremerton and let them splash in the various pools/fountains ~ they had a great time and apparently it completely wore them out as we had to wake both of them from naps at 5 p.m.

Of course, first we had to take some pictures of the cuties zonked in their beds . . .

Love that he sleeps the "wrong" direction ;-)

When we first checked on Alli, she was on her back with her legs hanging out of the bed, must have rolled over when I went to grab the camera but still cute with her little swimsuit still on ;-)

She insisted she was NOT tired!

Fortunately, they woke up happy and we drove out to the beach for dinner and s'mores.

It was such a treat as we found a company that makes marshmallows Alli can have ~ YEAH!!!

Fun for all and Eli even had a good time walking on the beach looking for shells.

Today we enjoyed more family time and finally decided to join the YMCA.

The kiddos had the BEST time in the pool this afternoon and that wore them out too,

they actually raced upstairs when we said it was time for bed :-)

A FABULOUS weekend!

Night 1 of the Big Boy Bed . . .

. . . was a SMASHING SUCCESS!!!

He went down at his usual time after insisting that we read stories in his new bed rather than the rocker.

He opened his door once, about 5 minutes later.

I had put the gate up and was standing there so I said back to bed and he went!

He woke up around 12:45 a.m. on the floor, must have fallen but quickly went back to sleep

and slept until 8 a.m. this morning!

Woo hoo!!!

Eli is becoming such a Big Boy!!!

This week has really made Eli seem like a Big Boy rather than my baby boy . . .

First, on Tuesday, I broke down and took him in for another hair cut.

Clearly it was not the first, or even second time we've done this but it seemed harder this time!

We let his hair grow out this summer, calling him our little surfer dude and it had gotten LONG.

Seriously, Long John cut off a good two inches . . . check out the before & after shots

BEFORE

AFTER 

He looks so grown up now!

He was adorable during the cut too.  John asked if he wanted to sit in the chair by himself to which Eli very quickly said "uh uh, Mama"  Once again, he sat on my lap ;-)  There were no tears but he sat with a little scowl on his face for much of the cut, that is until John pulled out the clippers and let Eli hold them while they vibrated ~ that got a smirk.  When John used the clippers on Eli's neck, Eli couldn't help himself and started giggling big time.  By the time we were done, he was smiling and said "bye bye" as we left!

Then, yesterday, his new "big boy" car seat arrived.

Okay, so it's not too exciting to most but it is just like Alli's new car seat and he was quite impressed!

He can even get it buckled (fortunately NOT unbuckled!) by himself ;-) 

Finally, the biggest news of the week for our "Big Boy"

Eli is no longer in a crib but now has a big boy bed!!!!

That's right, this morning we took down the crib and with Uncle Danny's help moved in the toddler bed.

This bed is AWESOME and incredibly special as it was made by Barbie Pop Pop.

Daddy stained it to match the rest of Eli's furniture and it looks like it is a set!

Eli is so excited by his new bed with "ball" bedding and spent most of the morning playing in it.

He was so excited to go down for his nap and even wanted his story read in bed ~ too cute!

Not sure how long it will take him to fall asleep but I don't hear anything yet . . . 

Eli is growing up so quickly!

I cannot believe my baby boy is 2, talking, running, in a big boy bed and soon to start preschool.

Where has the time gone?????

Up, Sit, Jesus

Last night, this sweet (somewhat grumpy at times!) little guy, did the cutest thing . . .

In the middle of the night, I heard him calling "Mommy", as soon as I went in his room,

those little arms went up and he said "up", so I picked him up,

then he demanded "sit", while pointing at his rocker, so being the dutiful Mommy, I sat. 

Then he said, in the sweetest (slightly pathetic) little voice "Jesus". 

I sang "Jesus Loves Me" (his night night song) and back to bed he went.

Too sweet and precious!!!

all Mommies like to pick up after their kids

Or at least that's what this little sweetie informed me the other day . . .

While we were in her room, which she was supposed to be picking up, Alli informed me that when she has kids, she will always pick up after them (hmmm, sounds a little like how she will never work either!)  She informed me that Mommies like to pick up after their kids.  I politely informed her that such a statement was simply NOT true and most Mommies do not like having to pick up after their kids (or hubbies for that matter).  She insisted I was wrong.  The following conversation ensued . . . 

                                      Mommy:  Why will you pick up when you're a Mommy but not now?

                                      Alli:  I just don't like to now.

                                      Mommy:  Why do you think you will when you're a Mommy?

                                      Alli:  I just will.

                                      Mommy:  When do you think you'll start liking it?

                                      Alli:  I don't want to talk about this anymore.

Cue lots of laughter from Mommy!

Such a silly (and smart!) little gal.

 

they have so much fun together . . .

Dance Party Fisher Style

What to do on a beautiful Thursday afternoon (July 14th)???

Put on some Tom Petty and dance around the living room, giggling like crazy of course!

The joy on their faces was amazing! 

(Eli got his first real "owie" requiring bandaids and he was sooooo proud of his Cars ~ wore these for a week!)

Who doesn't love being tackled by their sibling???

Giggles galore! 

Siblings make great dance partners! 

Big sisters are great at helping up little brothers! 

Going wild with their awesome dance moves . . . 

These two have quite the moves :-)

Yes, a great time was had by all and Mommy was giggling almost as much as A & E that afternoon!

Baby! Baby!

Tonight, this sweet boy did the funniest (and sweetest!) thing . . .

 The kids and I went over to cousin Ashlie's house to help celebrate her birthday.  The whole family was there, along with many of Ashlie's friends.  At one point, with everyone around, Eli points at Papa's tummy and repeatedly says "baby, baby"  Everyone (including Papa!) had a great laugh over this. 

I was shocked because I didn't realize that Eli knew there was a baby in Mommy's tummy.

 Guess he does ;-)

Of course, now we have to worry that he will point and say "baby" at any tummy that isn't flat ~ YIKES!

Pandamania! Tons of fun at VBS

Alli had a BLAST at Vaction Bible School (VBS) this year (August 1-5).

She was in a group with three of her buddies ~ Taylor, Lizzy and Amelia ~ and I hear they were quite the little clique ;-)  Eli also got to participate despite not being 4 yet since Miss Kaitlyn was one of the leaders.  Mrs. Huber was helping out this year as well so Eli and Ava had fun playing together ~ they particularly liked the snack station apparently!  The final day of the week was the performance ~ Alli's favorite.

Eli decided to stick with Mommy in the audience while we watched Alli perform all of the songs and dance moves she learned during the week.  Man does that girl love performing, she is so cute!

She did such a great job with all of the songs, though I had to chuckle as she kept looking behind her at some of the leaders to make sure she was doing the correct dance moves, which of course she was ;-) 

First Lutheran Community Church definitely puts on a great VBS!

Fun with Aunt Paula

My Aunt Paula (mom's sister) has been in town visiting for the last two weeks and it has been so great seeing her again.  I haven't seen her since my wedding 10 years ago ~ far too long!!!  Although a bit shy at first, A & E quickly warmed up to her and her delicious butter horn pastries ;-)  Alli loved coloring with her and Eli even started saying Paula and said "love you" to her!!!  The first weekend she was in town, we had her and my folks out to the beach for a fabulously sunny day.  It truly was perfect.

And because I can't resist, here a few cute pictures of A & E that day, they love the warm weather and balancing.  Eli is not quite as steady as Alli yet but he sure does try!

At one point, Eli went inside and fell asleep on the chair (we all thought he was vacuuming ~ he used that as his white noise!) so Alli took full advantage and asked Ducky Gramma to take a picture of the Fisher Family of 3.  Can't say I love this pic of me but it was too sweet not to remember.

We had a a perfect day and were so happy Aunt Paula was able to join us and spend two weeks in WA.

We loved spending time with her and can't wait to see her again!

Mommy's "staycation"

Last week, I took off Thursday and Friday (yes, I know Friday is my day off but that's a bit of a joke!)

The kiddos and I had a blast!  We were hoping to drive down to Cannon Beach to visit with the Hubers but this Mommy has trouble sitting in the car that long these days so we had fun playing around here ;-)

On Thursday morning, the kiddos had a blast playing with the couch cushions and Eli's new balls.

It was a crazy dance party.

The best part, was they decided to vacuum the couches, which really needed it! 

Alli did a GREAT job! 

Eli really wanted in on the action but settled for cushion diving instead :-) 

After we got the room back to normal, we decided to go to Jump.  The kiddos have been there numerous times with Miss Kaitlyn but it was my first time and I must say, I think I had as much fun as they did!!!

The pictures are a bit blurry as they were on the move, but still cute.

Eli did his signature, feet first on the belly slide the first couple of times but soon was going down on his bottom.  They both loved the big slide (me too!) but the favorite was the "obstacle course" ~ Eli would have done that for the whole two hours if Alli hadn't convinced him to try other things with her ;-) 

After Jump, it was on to Nordstrom for shoe shopping.  The kiddos did very well and each got a couple pairs since their little feet are growing like weeds.  Alli is now in a size 9 and Eli is in a size 7!

After lunch, Eli crashed and Alli had a blast playing in the backyard with the water table, pool, sprinkler and swingset ~ she turned it into her own little obstacle course!

Once Eli was up, he joined in the swingset fun!

He showed no desire to get wet :-)

I love that they both love to swing on their tummies these days ~ Alli tells me Elleanor taught her this.

Eli just loves to be like his big sister! 

After getting brave at Jump, he decided he was ready to go down our slide on his bottom too! 

And of course, that makes relaxing at the end even easier :-) 

Love that he is "helping" Alli up the slide ~ too funny! 

Of course, he did wind up getting a little wet, which required that he change into his swim trunks because he HATES when his clothing gets wet ~ silly boy.  Then instead of swimming, he decided to vacuum!

Best first day of a "staycation" ever!

Friday was just as great . . . we tried out the park near my parents, which just got new playground equipment and it was definitely as awesome as advertised.  A & E had a blast and referred to it as the pirate boat ;-)  Then we stopped by my folks to visit with Aunt Paula, who is visiting from WI.  We had a great time!

By the time we got home, Eli crashed hard for his nap and Alli helped me clean the house before we went outside to play in the yard.  G surprised us by getting home relatively early and we went to A&W for dinner and ice cream cones.  I took very few pictures as we were having too much fun to stop for the camera but did manage a couple shots of our little camera hungry gal . . .

She loves to pose for pictures these days and even shows that she loves us!
Another perfect staycation day!!!