We Have A Tooth!

With all the drool we've been seeing over the past two months, we would have thought this day was coming a long time ago. But Eli is a free spirit. Super laid back and he just doesn't see the need to rush for anyone.

As we got closer and closer to the big TOOTH ARRIVAL ... no household item was safe! Anything Eli could get his hands on ... went straight into his mouth!Paint brushes ...Tasty plastic whiffle balls ... A yummy pair of reading glasses ... And finally ....
Open wide ... I promise it's there ... on the right ... HIS FIRST TOOTH! And not to leave out the older brother ... J How wanted to show off his pearly whites too!

Playing Trains with King Kong Has Its Challenges ...

As you know ... Joshua loves to watch trains.  Well, turns out Joshua and Eli have something in common.  Eli loves to watch trains too!  He waits until they get really close and ....

SMACK!

Joshua ... "Oh E-Why?  What happened train?  It broken?  It fall?  E-Why!"

Joshua ... spotting the photographer, stops picking on Eli ... "CHEESE!"

Eli attempting to use his chunkiness to fend off his matching counterpart! 

This picture really doesn't need an explanation does it?  I'm sensing J How has had enough!  And yet Eli ... looks like he could keep playing this game for hours!

Trains, Planes and Automobiles ...

J Howard loves anything that moves and makes noise but his current OBSESSION is trains!  The first thing he wants to do when he wakes up is play with his train set or "find Da Da" and watch train videos.

He doesn't want to miss a thing so he pulls a pillow off the couch and gets a front row seat.

All Aboard!

It's not the fastest train in town ... but he loves it just the same!

The conductor is contemplating his next move ... 

Yes ... this train would be perfect for hauling lots and lots of blue balls! 

When the day is coming to a close ... there is nothing quite like getting UP CLOSE to say goodnight to your favorite train engine!

Mr. Creative ...

Ever since I dreamed of having kids ... I didn't dream about changing diapers and getting spit up on.  I didn't dream of babbling and teething rings ... I dreamed of CRAFTS!  Oh ... the glorious days of leaving behind the world of baby and trekking into the realm of toddler!  (I realize ... I have another one to get into toddler world ... but I'm happy to at least have one crafter in my home!)  I have been stocking up on craft items for Joshua since we knew he was coming.  This week ... we busted out the glue, feathers, sequins and FINGER PAINTS ... or as J How likes to call them, "finger pants" ... anyone want a work of art for their fridge??  It takes a few for him to finish a painting because he insists on having a cloth to clean his hands before he switches to a new color.  Seriously ... what?  I keep telling him that finger paints are about getting messy and he says, "Mom, clawf please."  Anyone want to join us next week?  I ordered a book of toddler art projects.  The more the merrier!!!

No Teeth ... But He's Finally Sitting Up!

Eli and I have been working hard on developing his core :) so it's nice to see that all of our hard work is paying off! Although it doesn't really appear that he's sitting solo in the top photo ... I promise there is air between his cute self and the pillow!
Silly ... he's just playing around in this one! He's a ham! Seriously ... he can sit all by himself!
Ahh ... there it is! And he's even looking just the slightest bit proud of himself in this shot!
Showing off some finer moves ... balancing on one arm. (Truth be told ... Ben and Joshua were watching videos of trains on the computer - Joshua's latest obsession - and Eli is really getting annoyed that I have the camera in his face. He's trying to lean out of the way so he can watch what the other boys are watching!!)
Okay ... enough already ... I think we've proven to the world that I can sit ... ALL BY MYSELF!

And speaking of developing your core ... I just attempted sit-ups for the first time since JOSHUA was born and that might just have to be it for the year!!! Those muscles didn't know what hit them!

Take Me Out To The Ballgame ...

We met up with friends of ours for a night out on Friday. Tim told us we had great seats ... row 6. Apparently they count the dugout as the first five rows because we were about as close as you could get to the action!
Ben was texting people throughout the game and Baxter got a little tired of him not focusing on the action! He came over and had a few words with Ben about his Blackberry addiction!
Well ... not the best game. You'd think your first place team would win when they're playing a last place team ... but I guess not. Oh well! We still had a great time and got to see some fun fireworks after the game!

Thanks for taking us ... Tim and Robin!

You Can Take The Boy Out of Pittsburgh But ...

When I married him, Ben loved golf! I could live with that ... I went to the golf course, watched him play. Watched endless golf tournaments on television! Golf ... a sport for all people! But over the past two years ... Ben has expanded his sports watching to include the finer things in life ... NASCAR! And just so he can be "one" with his beer drinking, car racing people ... here he is ... on the front porch, with the door open, sitting on a rocking chair, drinking a Corona ... WATCHING NASCAR!!!
I've consulted some professionals and they said there is still hope for him ... but I should get really concerned when he changes his shirt to a tank top ... or just decides to not wear one at all!