Votes .. Boats .. Stickers and Floats!

I went to get Joshua this morning and he was sitting up in his bed.
"Who that talking, Mom?"
I had already looked out the window of our bedroom to see the craziness. We vote about 100 yards from our house ... at the private school. A stream of our neighbors, probably 100 deep, standing in line to vote. The pre-work voting crowd. YIKES! I hope it calms down by nap-time when I expect to be in line with many other moms with a similar plan.
Back to Joshua ...
Me: "Oh. You probably heard people talking. Today is a very important day. Today we get to vote."
Joshua: "Yeah. I go to California. I get on a boat. I get VERY VERY soaked!"
ME: "No. That would be silly. You thought I said BB-Boat with a B and mom said VV-Vote with a V. Remember when we went to school and voted and got a sticker?"
Joshua: "I take that sticker to California. I get on my boat and I float but I not get really soaked because that would be silly."

And there you have it ... I'll make sure somebody takes that kid to California with a boat (and a sticker) just so he won't be disappointed ... no matter what the outcome tonight!

J How and Me after voting in the Sept. Primary

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CAKE!

We LOVE you, Cake!

Three Hundred Twenty Eight ...

Old MacDonald Had a Farm ....

And to celebrate his first birthday ... Farmer Eli invited us over for a BBQ

My dear friend Michelle was our birthday photographer (she took 328 pictures!!!) and I think we might have a Christmas card winner? I'd love to tell you that we'd get a picture of Eli smiling but this is really more of his look. Not happy, not sad ... just taking it all in.

The birthday banner. I found a banner like this here. For $17.99, I briefly considered purchasing it but in true Carrie form ... I figured I could make it for less. It took me WAY longer than I anticipated so Eli is having a barnyard birthday party until he's five!

Lots of fun happening on the front porch ... I think I might just leave the fabric streamers up?

Jason (Michelle's husband) and his favorite sidekick. Eli LOVES him!

Our How ... showing off his kicking skills.

And his banjo playing skills ... (How decided to "borrow" this from Eli ... the favorite gift from my brother and his wife at our family party on Thursday) ...

It's CRAFT TIME! Paint, paint and more paint!!!

I love a good mess!

Pigs in the Mud! A farm like version of musical chairs ... with a lot more chaos and barnyard music!

Everybody won ... so everybody ate cupcakes!

Thanks for making the cupcakes, Bella!

Does this one really need a caption?

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY, ELI!

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!!!