Trucking right along

We found a new use for the tonka truck since the sandbox is snowed over - hauling baby brothers! Watch out for that dumping action, Eli!

Birthdays

Happy birthday to us, Happy birthday to us, Happy birthday me and Joey, Happy birthday to us!
Joe and I just turned 26 together - whoo-hoo! His birthday was Saturday, mine was Tuesday, and both were spent relaxing at home together. With the frigid weather, I even got a cozy fire to relax in front of for mine! Joe took the day off work for my birthday - best present ever! So he entertained Patrick while Eli slept and I got to catch up on scrapbooking (he'd have to entertain Patrick for about 3 weeks straight if I were to catch up on ALL my scrapbooking!) and some *light* reading (back to trucking away on Les Miserables). Needless to say, it was wonderful. Hooray for birthdays and thoughtful husbands!

1 Month

22 months

I was pretty hit-and-miss getting Patrick's photos done at regular intervals (the same way I was hit-and-miss with doctor's appointments... oops!) so I wanted to get started on the right foot with Eli. Not wanting a full-blown photo shoot, I set up my own little corner this morning and Eli obliged with an exceptionally long awake period and his usual mellow attitude. Patrick had his own ideas, though, and wouldn't put away his book (can't be mad at that!) or look at the camera, so these were the best I got. We interchange "ladybug" for "spider" in the first song because I hate spiders, and Patrick loves ladybugs, so it works better for both of us. I'll be posting Eli's one-month photos tomorrow and definitely getting a professional sitting for Patrick's 2-year pics.

Look out, Lance Armstrong!

Okay, by the time Patrick masters a bike Lance Armstrong will be retired, but does anyone actually know any other famous bikers I could threaten with this kid's new tires? Yeah, I thought not. Once he can reach the pedals maybe Patrick will just have to take that spot :) The new Radio Flyer is compliments of yet another early Santa stop (like our garage door opener and our new trees - Thanks, Debbie and John!)

Mount up!

Or be a daredevil and join the circus.

Success! Oh, wait, those pedals are just a little too far...

Forget it, I'll just push it around!

Dressed to impress

I've had more some fun dressing up Eli, and the poor guy has a lot more torture to look forward to with Christmas and cold weather coming up!

Too-cute turkey - thanks, mom!

1st day at church, complete with a tie :)

The obligatory Thanksgiving post

I feel thankful every day for the good things I've got, but it certainly is nice to have a specific day to celebrate those things by eating copious amounts of food and visiting with family (no matter how difficult they may be to be around). Something I'm thankful for is funny stories! Here are a few from our Thanksgiving weekend:

We waited until today to cook and eat Thanksgiving dinner because Joe's parents came into town to stay with us, but didn't arrive until later in the afternoon on Thursday. The arrangement was fine since Joe had Friday off work, but we got confused at everyone celebrating while we were not! With all day to kill and beautiful weather outside we decided to do our Saturday Taco Bell date early, then go feed the ducks at the park. We got Patrick all excited to eat a cheesy roll-up, but as we pulled into the parking lot we noticed a serious lack in cars. Like, none. Taco Bell is definitely closed on Thanksgiving. Scrap the burritos, let's go get Burger King! Oh, no, they're closed, too! Chic-Fil-A? No. Wendy's? No. Pizza Hut? KFC? Panda Express? No, no, NO! These are all restaurants we pass on our way to the park, we were just hoping to hit ONE open one before we got there, but no such luck. We decided to press on anyway, go feed the ducks and then have lunch back at home, but when we turned around in our seats to get Patrick excited to see ducks instead of lunch, he was passed out. We went home with no lunch, no ducks, and a greater appreciation for how many people get the holiday off!

With Joe's parents in town we were able to take advantage of their years of parenting experience and leave the kiddos with them while we saw New Moon (FINALLY!!). I fed Eli before we left, but he got hungry (as infants often do) before we got home, so Debbie went to make him a bottle. She layed Eli on the couch and explained to Patrick, who was in the same room, that Eli was hungry so she would make him a bottle. Patrick then offered his own services to Eli and laid down next to him and lifted up his shirt so he could nurse. How sweet!

Patrick still loves his little brother to death - in fact, we're nervous he WILL love Eli to death since he continues to sprawl his whole body over Eli's to give him hugs and kisses. We've been working on getting him to lay NEXT TO Eli instead, and results are mixed:

How much harm could an arm do? One thing's for sure: I sure am thankful for the safe arrival of this guy... ...and for ALL my boys!