At PaBob's

"I'm takin' over PaBob's chair, and there ain't nothin' you can do 'bout it!"

Let's shake on it.

Who me? I am innocent.

Ok...now that tickles!

OK. This isn't PaBob's house, but Mac put this helmet on Eli and said..."You look like PaBob."

Presenting...SUPERMAC

Costume courtesy of my friend Kate.

Kate's visit a few months ago...

Kate is Mac's friend from his pre-school in Indiana. They have a unique friendship and bond. They still do to this day, even though they live hundreds of miles apart. I am so grateful that Mac has such a special friend so early in life.

Playing one last game before Kate has to go.

...and this is my friend Kate. I love her...

...a lot!

Opening Mac's birthday gift.


A final kiss goodbye. BooHoo!!!

Eli's-a-growin'.......

Eli and Grandma Headley

Today I noticed how much more pronounced Eli's personality has become. He is really reacting to things more strongly and be proactive in "creating mischief." For example, tonight, I took Eli upstairs to check on Mac while he was in the playroom. The next thing I know, Eli is trying to "steal" Mac's Teefball NightNight. ...and doing it with a distinctly sly smile. It just seems like he is trying to communicate more with people. It is especially noticeable in his eyes.

...like right now, I swear he just looked at me and tried to blow me a kiss. Now he is doing "rasberries" to get my attention because I looked away to type. (Nathan is supposed to be feeding him before bedtime, but Eli gets distracted so easily. Nate just said, "let's go Eli. We're going to your room to finish this." Smart guy.)

He is also cruising around coffee tables and couches more quickly. I am also noticing that he trying to stand alone. It is very early in this "process", but Nathan and both said tonight that once he reaches that milestone, he is "outtahere". :)

Halloween '08

The "FireGator".

Mac and Evi

Where's the Fire?

Mmmmm...good 'nana.

I was pleasantly surprised that it was at least "chilly" for Halloween this year. I was afraid my kids would actually be hot in their costumes this year. But...there was a nice chill in the air. There were scads of kids all up and down our street! So fun. I took Mac with his friends Evi and Max, while the Dads and Uncle Brett stayed back and got the grill going. Mac went to about 5 houses and then started walking home. I asked him if he wanted to go to the next house, and he ignored me and kept walking home. Guess he was finished. So, the silver lining is we don't have TONS of candy in his bucket!!! I did, however, make the mistake of taking him into a haunted house that my neighbor made in her garage. She assured me that other little ones had gone through and been fine. Well, as soon as we got in there, amidst the fog made by the fog machine, we approached Dracula's coffin, and he SAT UP!!! Mac looked at me like, "Get me the hell out of here!!!!" So I did. As we were standing outside the garage, Dracula came walking out, b/c we were the only ones going through. Mac freaked again. "Let's go Mommy, let's go!!!"

Smooth move Mommy! Again...the silver lining...They gave out FULL sized candy bars!

BTW, I am now on Facebook as many of may already know. But if not, check it out.

Revelation

I have known this for sometime now, but it was just confirmed to me...just how different my 2 sons' sleeping patterns are. I just put some clothes away in Mac's room, sneaking in like a stealth bomber as he slept. I, ever so gracefully, tripped over a golf set (Thanks PaBob) and made the loudest commotion. He didn't even change his breathing rhythm. Out like a light. Now, Eli, on the other hand...if I even so much as touch his door knob, he sits up in bed. In fact, he is probably standing up right now because he heard me in Mac's room.
That's all I have time for tonight. I am just now eating dinner (at 9:24pm). A mother's work is never done...
:)
PS, ...and how fortunate am I to have such a demanding job! I love it even when I am asleep standing up!

I'm Baaaaaaaaack!

Ok, now I know it has been a while, but 2 months, no way! Where did the time go? So much has happened in that time period. Eli got his first tooth on Sept 29th, he is cruising a little bit. He tries to "walk" around the coffee table. His personality is getting more "pronounced." He definitely loves his Mama. I went for a run tonight with my neighbor Pam. I was pushing Eli in our jogger, and Mac ran after us screaming "I wanna go!!!" twice. So we went to the neighbors, borrowed their double jogger and off we went. Well, Eli had not napped all day (I'll explain later) and he started to wail!!! I told Pam "Oh, don't worry. He'll stop once we get going." Uh...NO! He cried for 10 minutes. We just ran on back home! Oh well. As soon as I picked him up, Silence! A bit of coo'ing and then a giggle! Oy!
So he didn't get a nap because we went to the breakfast at 9am so we could make 11am church (Great sermon, BTW), then Nathan told Mac we would go to the Air show at the Naval Air Station. The Blue Angels were in town. Mac didn't really know what that meant, but Dad was excited and had asked him to go, so you could see in Mac's face that "OK, I need to be excited about this too." So Eli missed his morning nap due to breakfast/church. He slept in the car a bit, but it just isn't the same! Then we got to the NAS, after sitting on the Buckman bridge for an HOUR!!! Kid you not. The traffic was killer, but we could see the airshow over the river, so it wasn't all that bad. When we finally got there, I put Eli in the Baby Bjorn, a baby carrier worn like a backpack, but on your front. And Mac got to ride in the stroller. By the time we got to the airfield from our parking spot, Mac was out! Totally asleep. We couldn't believe it. We thought surely the noise of the jets would wake him, but NO. Funny sidebar---I got to breastfeed Eli sitting up against a building in an alley with the male smokers sitting around me. mmm, privacy. Gotta love it!. I was there first, but they didn't seem to mind, and anyone who knows me knows I don't care, but ComeOn! Give a Mama some space. ---So now it is time for the Blue Angels...Eli is awake this entire time BTW. All five jets are flying around over our heads and Mac is sawin' logs. ZZZZZZZZZZZZ. Nathan suggested we bag it and head back to the car to beat the crowd. So after we walked for miles back our spot, with the BA's still zoomin' over our heads, Mac finally wakes up...as we are getting ready to put him in his carseat. Luckily, he didn't seem too disappointed that he had missed the whole thing. And I can say that I have now seen the Blue Angels. I must admit...I enjoyed it. I was a bit skeptical at first that I would. But I did.
Being on the base also gave me a jolt of patriotism. Thoughts of our military flooded my mind as we were there. I even had a "vision" of our boys 20-22 years from now, possibly in a flight suit. You never know.
Now...I promise to write more about what has happened in the last 2 months. I have tons of great pix and videos of Kate's visit and more bathroom concerts and being home. I just have to get them loaded onto the computer.
Off to bed.
PS, it's good to be back.