HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ELI!

One year ago today ... I was starving. Because of the fires in California, PGA Tour Qualifying School had been postponed and moved to Scottsdale for the following week. Um ... only a small problem. With that "minor" change, I was scheduled to deliver Eli during the middle of Ben's third round. With some quick scheduling changes, my doctor found a spot to "squeeze" us in ... on October 30th at 5pm. Three days earlier than originally planned ... but WAY later in the afternoon which meant no food, no water and a VERY CRANKY, lip gloss wearing ME all day long! (For all of you lip gloss haters out there ... I now wear a mauve-y, less glittery version ... I just wish I had my leg warmers and hoop earnings to match my old gloss. If you're going to make a statement ... you might as well go all the way!)
We dropped J How off at my mom's (it took him MONTHS to recover when he found out E-Why was really not going anywhere and that our home ... was his home!)And ... a little while later ... Eli Bennett was born ... just as perfect as could be!
And ... twelve months later ... we love him even more!

Twelve month facts:
He is less bald than Joshua at this age with 2 small curls in the back
8 teeth and counting ...
18.15 pounds ... (8th percentile) ...
and one heaping GREAT personality!

And if you think of it ... pray for E to gain some weight. As of today, we are supplementing his diet with high calorie items because he has lost weight since his last appointment. He has three weeks to show some measure of weight gain or he'll have to undergo a variety of tests. My theory ... he's stubborn and active but regardless .. he needs to bust out of the 8th percentile!!

Fashion Like This Takes Serious Talent ...

I admit. I'm not the best at matching his outfits. And I'm really not proficient at matching pajamas. Funny ... because I seem to be able to spend ENDLESS hours in front of the same clothes every morning ... working hard to create a new t-shirt and capri combination (I'm a serious fashion pusher!)

I buy the pajamas with a shirt and short combo but somehow ... they just don't make it on his body that way. Call it creativity ... or allowing him to embrace his inner fashion dude. Please, don't buy into the lie that the top drawer of his dresser isn't as neat as one might imagine and finding a matching pair of pjs is a like finding a needle in a haystack. That's definitely not it.

This morning ... Joshua went outside to ride bikes because of course ... fashion like this needs to be viewed by the entire neighborhood. Let's not let anyone believe that we are anything other than the "normal" we are at 7am! Right?
And if the Thomas the Train shirt and dino boxers weren't enough of a statement, Joshua requested his socks and his hat. In the words of How, "Brr, Mom. It's colder." (For those of you lucky enough to live in a climate that is actually experiencing FALL ... it's not cold here. It might have been 75 !)Oh .. you thought the socks were for his feet? That would be silly. They're for his hands, of course!
Switching things up with the BIG WHEELS! (He still doesn't use the pedals ... )


And you thought he was just good looking? Nope. This kid has dancing skills!Immediately after we witnessed that dose of dancing talent ... I spun around to see Eli with this look on his face. That pretty much sums it up ... doesn't it??

It's True ...

Sure ... my favorite J How can't be in his room for more than twenty seconds without dumping all of "his friends" on the floor and sure ... I spend at least thirty minutes of everyday ... picking up after his whirlwinds ... and sure ... I've been going to the chiropractor - three times a week for almost a year ... maybe in part because I'm trying to keep our home from looking like the next big storm just landed in our living room ... but at the end of the day ... (or maybe at nap time when the house is quiet and I've had time to recharge my batteries) ...

I SURE DO LOVE THEM!

A Little Fun Under the Stars ...

Tonight, we packed up the crew in their red wagon and trekked off to the community center. Our tummies were hungry and we were ready for the First Annual Chili Cook Off.But first ... as J How would say ... a stop to get a "punkin" on our hand!
And then ... we found our old neighbors from when we lived on the West Side of the neighborhood. We LOVED living on that side of "town." People were WAY into living in a Mayberry-type community and we made some great friendships. I made a simple request to have a family picture taken and this is what I got ... a self-portrait of our former neighbor ... A shot of me telling Ben to put his chili down and pick up Joshua (or as Fran called it ... the shot before the shot) ...
And this ... a family shot ... with my hair looking flat and a metal rod coming out of my brain, E looking a bit squished, J being quite concerned that the orange candy the clown gave him has been left in the wagon and Ben ... secretly wishing I hadn't made this request and wanting his bowl of chili back. Ahh ... the memories!
Can you get more fun than chili on the putting green? Well, it was smooth sailing until I dropped the bowl. Yes, I did it. My children were not within six feet of me. I so wanted to blame one of them but it was TOTALLY me. Stop by sometime ... you'll see a nice chili stain ... my gift to the community :)
And golf ... I LOVE those pants!
Then ... Ben took the little guy home and Joshua and I hit the town (or the soccer field). We grabbed popcorn and candy ... blankets and watched Ice Age on a 40 foot screen. Joshua had the BEST time! His commentary was priceless. (That big dark abyss that I'm trying to capture is the screen).
And finally ... the kids were asleep and I finished my project. I went to a fun boutique sale with my friend of this and this fame. I was inspired! So many cute ideas ... so little time! Not sure where this is going ... but I thought it was a fun idea ...

And now ... with goo all over my hands ... it's time to close my eyes! What a fun day!!!

Knock, Knock ...

That's our How How ... my FAVORITE grandpa and a GREAT great-grandpa to our boys ... Standing outside in the HOT October air because ...
Well ....
His favorite granddaughter (okay ... I'm his only granddaughter) was a bit too busy capturing the moment!

It's a Full Moon ...

So we took J How outside for a little howling practice ... 

Um.  Not really.  While moon howling might be a far more "normal" explanation for my son wearing swim goggles, a football jersey and spinning in the grass ... 

Our day really went more like this:

Ben built Bike A.  After a long period of anticipation, Joshua got to ride Bike A.  And that is when it all started to go downhill.  Not the bike ... the bike experience.  Bike A is made for "little people" but our J is not quite big enough for the little people bike.  I realize this should not have come as a shocker ... the boy is almost 3 and is still in 18 month pants ... J How can't reach the pedals!  His feet aren't even close.  So I did what any good mom would do ... I took Joshua out to the sidewalk and said (in my kindest voice without a bit of "spunk") ... "Reach.  Put your feet on the pedals."  "I not pedal.  I not put feet.  I just push."  (On a sidenote ... Ben is convinced he'll need to go to bike therapy!)  After several more attempts of "Joshua REACH!!!" ... I let it go and we decided to hunt for a bike that Joshua could ride before he turned 6 ... 
Along came Bike B.  A BIG WHEELS!  WHOO-HOO!  Or as Joshua says "One big wheel and two little wheels!"  This one was sure to be a success ... 
Not wanting to be left out of the biker madness ... E gives his scooter a whirl ... 
Okay.  Who can I send a letter of complaint to?  Is my kid really supposed to have legs like a basketball player at 2 1/2?  We even busted out the duct tape and tacked on some stylish pieces of cardboard to make it work ... and he's still at least 2 inches from reaching the pedal with the tippy tip of his toes!!  So much for that plan!So now the explanation of the groovy outfit ... he got bored.  He got bored with his BIG WHEELS and bored with the idea that he'd have to wait 3 years to reach the pedals ... so he "borrowed" the goggles from our neighbors and wore his "Waffles and Burgers" jersey (only  my in-laws will probably get that one!!) and opted for a photo shoot with his bike!

On a positive note ... the bike is a huge hit with the kids in the "hood."  They cruise the sidewalks while J sits back and waves the flag ... "Start your engines!"  It's like an unintended lesson in SHARING!  Buy something your kid can't use and make him watch as others enjoy it!

THE CHAMPION!!!

"Mom. I be like a turtle. I sleeping!" I walked into J How's room to find him pretending to be a turtle??

He wanted me to help him put his "covers" on ...
Meanwhile, Eli was so focused on getting that plastic toy into his chompers ... (or chewing on my camera strap) ... he hadn't realized that anything ALIVE was under there!
Um ... he was a little surprised!
Once the shock wore off ... he displayed his all out determined spirit to get the bucket off of Joshua. Once E gets an idea in his head ... don't get in his way!Our little multi-tasker (notice he didn't actually put the toy down ... it's in his mouth) pushed ... and pushed ...
And pushed some more ...
And decided it was time to throw a few wrestling moves into the mix ...
A nice body slam to the forehead ...
Followed by a knee to the ear ...
And finally ... VICTORY!!! Wonder where he learned all those really cool moves???