Oh, Eli

Eli doesn't seem to enjoy playing outside as much as Colin does. Maybe this has something to do with lack of napping yesterday... I'm sure he'll come around soon enough.

Spring is in the Air

This weekend was beautiful! In addition to getting our first Mr. Freeze of the season, Colin got the chance to play outside. He had a blast using the "fireman" hose and his trusty old lawnmower. It was awesome to get out of the house for a bit - we've been couped up for too long! If I hadn't grown up in the Midwest, I might not know that this is probably only a fleeting glimpse of warmer weather. It might not last long, but we will enjoy it while we can.

Bag Lady...Who, Me?

Um, yeah. Maybe my Spring cleaning should start with this closet...

Snow Fun!

When we got back in town this weekend, I decided I had put off playing outside in the snow with Colin for long enough. The poor kid was bouncing off the walls from our long car ride and I didn't have Eli as an excuse because Chris was home and could occupy him. I was surprised by how warm it felt outside. Later I discovered that the temperature was only about 10 degrees colder than our coldest day in Florida. I don't know if I should feel excited that the temps are warming up in Ohio, meaning Spring is on its way, or sad that it was so chilly on vacation - let's go with the first one! :) While we played, Colin really wanted to build a sand castle, so we built a snow castle instead. He still insisted on calling it a sand castle, it was just made of snow. Ha! We also built a snowman family of four to represent all of us. The snow was perfect for packing and playing. Winter isn't always all bad.

Eli is 10 Months Old

I'm a little late in posting this since we were out of town last week, but better late than never. :) At 10 months, Eli is a loving, flirty, active, fun little guy. He loves to give hugs and kisses, explore, play with kids (especially his big brother), stand and cruise around the house, listen to and dance to music, experiment with cause and effect, and eat. In fact, he loves to eat so much, that at least once a day, he stuffs his face so quickly that he starts to gag. Thankfully he's never actually choked, but he has been known (on occasion) to throw up and continue shoveling it in. The funny thing, is that although he loves to eat, he is a very picky eater. His two favorite foods are cheese and Cheerios and he will often scream if he's not offered one or the other at every meal and snack. As Chris says, though, we refuse to negotiate with terrorists and of course insist that he eat other things. Thankfully he has discovered blueberries so I think those will soon be at the top of his fav foods list. With all this eating his weight is (unofficially) up to 21 pounds and his length is 28 3/4 inches. He's a good sleeper, except for his early wake-up time of 5:30 AM. Also, this last week, he has started shaking his head "no" (usually in response to food choices) and waving. On our drive back from Florida, we found that he flirted and waved to everybody who walked by us at all of our stops. He's such a funny little man. 

Celebrating Colin's and Kara's Birthdays in Florida

While we were in Florida, we celebrated Colin's and Kara's birthdays since Nana and Papa will be traveling until April. It was a Mickey themed party complete with an adorable Mickey Mouse Clubhouse cake and a fun balloon. In addition to the immediate family, we also got to celebrate with Aunt Debbie and Great Grandma Donor - what a treat! Colin got some fun outdoor toys, summer clothes, and some spending money. Thank you to everyone and come on warm weather!

Magic Kingdom - Day 2

When we went to the Magic Kingdom on Thursday, it was a little warmer, but still a bit chilly. Some of the highlights of that day included the Jungle Cruise, the Magic Carpet ride, Thunder Mountain, getting free cotton candy and being named official taste-testers, goofing around with the cousins, Goofy's Barnstormers (Colin's first roller coaster, which he loved!), the Winnie the Pooh ride, a parade, a marching band, and the Bear Jamboree (one of Eli's favorites - he danced and clapped through the whole show). Another memorable moment was when we were eating dinner and a bird totally dive-bombed us and stole Colin's fries, but I wouldn't call that a highlight. I thought it was really cute that Colin was so interested in Cinderella's castle and wanted to see Cinderella. He had never heard of Cinderella before this trip, but that castle sure made an impression! He got his chance to check her out during one of the shows the characters do in front of the castle and also during the parade. He was mesmorized - so sweet!

Jungle Cruise

Magic Carpet Ride

Waiting for the Kid Swap at Thunder Mountain

Official Cotton Candy Taste-Testers of Disney World

Goofing around with the cousins

Goofy's Barnstormers

Cinderella's Castle

Winnie the Pooh