Impressionable

We were in the car on the way home from the store this afternoon when Jess sneezed. Without missing a beat, from the backseat we heard Eli say "Bless you, Daddy." It was the sweetest thing!

It goes to show you just how much kids pick up from our daily actions.

What a such a sweet boy.

A Party and Snow

Be forewarned: There are a lot of pictures

Eli's birthday party was on Saturday, and of course being the proud Momma that I am, I took lots of pictures. Some of them however, are from today. We got Nana's package in the mail and got some cute pictures of our two-year-old!

Borrowing toys is a great idea!

He looks so old in this picture. What a handsome little boy too!

Things have gotten very white around here. It all started about a week ago when the snow started coming down. Since then we've gotten a lot, to say the least. A LOT!! in the past 24 hours I think we've accumulated at least a foot. That doesn't count what has melted or what we had trampled on a previous day playing in the snow. Our backyard is hidden under this thick blanket. Eli's sandbox is almost completely covered as well - and it stands pretty high. Here are a few pictures from our last venture out in the snow (a couple days ago even, we haven't gone out yet today)



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His best attempt at running

Rosy cheeks after playing outside

The aforementioned backyard

Some pretty trees from our yard

How is it possible?

Today is Elijah's second birthday!
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday dear Eli,
Happy Birthday to you!

Two years ago today this is what we saw (shortly after 3:33 pm)

Last year, we had a one-year-old:

Our silly two-year-old (I haven't gotten pictures of him yet today, however, this is from last night):


A huge congratulations to our good friends, who welcomed their second child, Brayton, this morning!
Congrats B, KC, and Mac!!! We love all four of you and can't wait to see pictures!!!

Santa Pics

We went and visited Santa last weekend. It was pretty novel until it was time to leave Mom and have a seat with Santa. The tears were flowing freely so we switched to Scaredy-Bear. We waved bye-bye to Santa and sat down next to the bear. Once he was settled down a bit, Santa snuck back in behind us. Eli still wasn't in the mood to sit by himself, however we were able to get a picture of him alone. If you look closely, you can see a tear on his right cheek.

Because he really wasn't all that excited about the whole ordeal, I sat with him for one. The photographer ended up giving us the picture of me and Eli. He wasn't in a very chipper mood until we were safely out of the building and moving on with our day.


And yes, the Seahawks jersey is a little odd. I didn't even think about changing his clothes before we left. I had a million things on my mind at the time and clothes were the least of my worries. I am a little bummed about it now, but what can ya do? Oh well. Life goes on!

It's Snow Time

With the freshly fallen snow, we ventured outside and weathered (note the pun) the chill in the air to let Eli play in his first "real" snow. I couldn't believe how cold it was, it was 28 degrees this afternoon! Brrrr Yes, I am aware of the negative wind chill in Eastern WA, thank goodness we aren't there, but with the humidity in the air, it was downright cold over here! I am not sure what the "feel like" temperature was, but lets just say my nose and cheeks were awfully cold when we came in.

We had a great time playing in the snow.

I know this is a funny angle. I was actually on one side of the rhodie, Eli on the other. I poked my head around the edge to see him, since he was smiling, I clicked!

Over there Mom!
Contemplating the next move
"Why do you feel it necessary to always aim that thing at me?"

After spending time outside, Uncle Gordon, Aunt Dusti, and Liam came over for some warm play time and a hot bowl of homemade Turkey Noodle Soup.

Eli enjoys putting his hands in his pockets now like a big boy.

A funny little close up of my nearly two-year-old. Don't mind the crumbs.


Eli and Liam were playing on the bikes.
Liam did a really good job considering he's never ridden one before.
A few shots of Eli's Go-Bro Liam - 14 months old already!

Take Two

Since my post this morning didn't quite seem to work, I will give it another go. :)

Yesterday, Eli got his first birthday present of the season. It was from his good friend Mac who lives so very far away in Delaware. Eli was very excited to open his present and to have Daddy work to actually get it out of the box. Do toy makers honesty think some kid is going to steal this? It's enormous. I can just picture someone walking through Toy.s r Us with this under his shirt. Upon questioning, "no, sir, there's nothing up my shirt. I'm just lumpy." Seriously.

At any rate, Eli loves it! Thanks again to our dear friends!
(And Brian, he called you Rynom, like he does Uncle Ryan, so cute! He's a little distracted, but it's still cute)

It Can't Be True...How Many Days?!?!

I am really enjoying every part of being in a different building with a new set of students, teachers, curriculum, and everything that encompasses. The only problem is that I have come to realize that I am often overzealous when it comes to things that I take on. The other teachers at my grade level have had a few years to "work into" the balancing act of juggling everything that we have at our grasp. Then there's me. Each day is another "first day." (I don't have any background on specific lessons - new content).

Right now, part of me is ready for the 19th. After all, my brother will be in town, Eli will have just turned two, his birthday party the following day, and Winter Break will be upon us. That means I only have 6 1/2 days of school. SIX AND A HALF!!!! Technically, that should read 6 days because this Friday is an early release. What's the problem you ask? Holy cow!!! I have too much to do! Yikes! When it is all going to play out?

As fourth graders, we study Washington State History/Geography/Cultures/Forests. The culminating project of the geography portion is creating releif maps. They are a lot of fun, but they are way more work than I thought they'd be! Today we finished painting the regions of the state, tomorrow we must add the Pacific Ocean and Idaho (paint). I won't get in too much detail, however I'll leave it at this: there's a lot remaining.

In addition to our relief maps, we're going to be making gingerbread houses. We're putting them together on Friday, THIS Friday, then decorating them on Monday. The nice thing is that here, parents are eager to help and have sent in heaps of candy for decorating and are making the royal icing (dries extremely hard, almost cement-like) and are sending bags of it in. The only problem, I've had more parents volunteer to send in candy than icing. What does that mean? I will have to make icing tomorrow night to take in. I don't mind making it at all, however 1 batch takes about 20 minutes of mixing time for it to set properly. Bummer.

Today it dawned on me that I hadn't even thought about parent gifts this year! (Yeah, how can that be?!?! OOPS!) Thankfully, I work with fabulous people and have an idea of what to do. I would give more details, however one of my student's parents reads my blog (hi Angela!) occasionally so I don't want to give away the juicy details. It's good though. It's also very different when the materials to use for gifts isn't just construction paper and tempera paint. Crazy thought!

Anyway, it is past my bedtime and I need to go hunt for clothes for tomorrow. Tomorrow afternoon we are going to Jess's boss's funeral and I am not prepared at all. I better get my hiney moving or I'll really be in trouble!

Thanksgiving Weekend

On Thanksgiving day, my parents came over and we had a grand ol time. We started off having our typical early dinner, which really threw Eli for a loop. He wasn't quite sure what was going on or why we were having such an early dinner. Of course, explaining things to an almost two year old doesn't have much effect. After we ate, there was a lot of lounging, playing and just hanging out. Eli had fun with Grandpa (who he's started calling Papa - so cute!) and Grandma (Gamma), and of course their two beagles Marco and Maya.

Marco was a good sport and was even up for a round of "Beagle Riding."

I am usually gung-ho about setting up our holiday decorations and tree the weekend after Thanksgiving, however, this year, it was all I could do to wait until the day after. We set up our tree on Friday, decorated it and the house on Saturday, and tried to take some pictures today. Getting pictures with Eli is sometimes hit and miss. Because we were setting up the timer and watching Mommy run back and forth, he was game for a few pictures, but not many. We got a few by bribing him with a matchbox car but that too didn't last long. I included one of our last shots, Jess and I smiling, E grumpily examining his new car.


I was able to get a great shot of father and son. They are so much alike it's uncanny.
Clearly, the genes are there!
We're down to Eli's last 18 days as a one-year-old. How crazy is that? Our little boy is going to be TWO before we know it. Then he'll be 18 in a blink of an eye.....oi.....

Speaking of, this is my favorite ornament of the year

Snugglywink Blankets

I do have an Etsy site where I sell my blankets. I will warn you right now, if you go to my site, there are only two blankets posted. I just haven't had the time to get more done to post, everything has been special orders which don't get posted. If you want to take a look at some that I have completed, take a look at the sold orders - there are a few in there.

http://snugglywink.etsy.com/

I don't only do baby blankets. I've done some adult blankets (both lap and full size). One of the neatest adult blankets was one that I made for Jess's dad - it had the Corvette emblem embroidered on it, it was very pretty. I have pictures somewhere...just not sure where!

I've also started making lunch bags, they're really fun but I haven't posted any online yet. I need more practice before I start selling them as well. :)

Finally

...the cougs had another win! We were able to pull out a W in the Apple Cup. Nice. Ahhhhh victory!

**Sorry, the carseat is in the living room because I was going to take it apart and clean it, however I can not get the cover off. Instead of throwing it in the washer, I had to scrub it by hand. Thankfully, this fabric is conducive of scrubbage. :) LOL I meant to say that in my original post, but forgot (of course). Sorry Claire!





















I finally got another blanket done today. Of course it was an order so yet again, nothing was added to my etsy site. Someday I will have the time, and energy, to make some blank blankets to post. Possibly during Winter Break I'll be able to whip out a few to post. Sheesh, I feel like a slacker.

So sweet

Today was my first day of conferences so I didn't get home until late. When I walked through the door, Eli came running out to me with open arms, a huge smile, and quickly embraced me in a huge hug. He pulled back, looked at me and said "missed you momma." As if the run, smile, and hug weren't enough, talk about melting your heart. (Thank you Daddy)

And a funny incident this evening, too...
While he and I were playing with his cars on the floor, I picked a few of them up and put them in the box that we use to hold them in. When I did this, he reached in and said "be cawfo, mah cars, be cawfo!" (In case you can't speak toddler, that would be: Be careful! My cars! Be careful!)

Sorry, no pictures this time around. The camera battery is dead and needs to be charged. :(
Tomorrow is my long conference day. I go from 2:00-7:30 straight, no breaks. I will be drained then, that's for sure. By day two of conferences, I will be over half done! That's the good news.

Just Because

Eli and I got to stay home and play today. Thank you Veterans for all of your sacrifices. Before the battery to our camera died, I managed to get a picture of Eli. He is getting so big! This picture really shows how he is growing up.

Can you believe he'll be two in 5 weeks?!?!

This picture was taken a few weeks ago, but look at how focused he is. Before he could color with the chalk (what creativity, he made a multi medium piece) he had to line up the paint. You can see it but the faces on the paint things had to face him. It was pretty stinkin' cute.

In case the thought has crossed your mind...
No, he does not have a black eye. He got the paint on his hands before rubbing his eye.

See Spot. See Spot Run.

I am actually referring to Eli here. Poor thing has his wonderful rash that, up until last night, we've been told it was the Rosioli virus, so we assumed it was the same thing again. Unfortunately, for him to return to day care we have to have a note from a doctor - not really that big of a deal. Anyway, our pediatrician didn't have any openings last night, not a shock as we called an hour and a half prior to them closing. So, we had to go to Urgent Care (which is a really nice facility in Covington). We left with a prescription for Amoxicillin for strep!

Once Eli went to bed last night I made a trip back to school to get sub plans ready for today and drop of snacks as it's my week for the staff room. Anyway, I get to spend the day at home with Eli today (who is still sleeping by the way). Really, it's not a bad way to spend the Friday prior to my birthday! I can deal.

As I'm sitting here waiting for him to wake up, I'm curious how bright those spots are going to be today. The last 2 times he's had the rash, he ends up with bright red spots from head to toe. It will be interesting to see how they are today, after one dose of antibiotics.

The Countdown Has Begun.

Sad.

So very sad.

5 days and counting.




Ok, so it's not that bad...why does everyone make a big deal about it?

My Latest Creation

Last night I finally sat down and worked on my lunch bag creation. I gathered everything I needed for my neighbors "free sample" and got to got to work. I made hers taller than mine because I was having a difficult time keeping my water bottle in without falling out. I also added a button/elastic closure, and it is personalized with her name. I used a font I hadn't tried yet on my embroidering machine, and it ended up being much smaller than I had anticipated, but I think it still looks ok and has a little bit of elegance to it. (The button and the lining really look horrible together in this picture, but it honestly doesn't look bad in person. The pinks are the same, and you don't see much of the inside)

Tricks or Treats?

Tonight we took Eli out for his second Halloween. At first he was very shy and didn't want to say anything to anyone. Not even Isabelle, his little friend from across the loop. It didn't take long, however, until they were both having fun going to the doors, knocking, and asking for candy. We couldn't get Eli to say "trick or treat" but every time he did say please and of course either "bye bye" with a wave or "see ya!" I have to say, the cutest part was when people would hold the bowl of candy down to Isabelle and Eli for them to take their own. Eli would get one for him, put it in his bag, then go for another one. The other one was ALWAYS for Isabelle. He was quite concerned that she was getting her share. Apparently we've been doing something right! :) Dusti and Liam joined us for a little while too. So much fun!

Before going out:

Trick-or-Treating 2008