Santa

Last year, Eli was oblivious to sitting on Santa's lap.

This year, he is still not quite ready yet to make friends with Santa.

Maybe next year...

Ronald McDonald

Today, the McDonald's in Maquoketa celebrated its grand re-opening, which even included a visit from Ronald McDonald.  We thought this might be good practice for when Eli sees Santa next weekend.  We got there early to eat lunch first, which was a good thing since it filled up with people fast.  Then, at 11:30 on the dot (Ronald is quite a punctual clown), he showed up by announcing, "Hello everybodeeeee!"  He was quite obnoxious but also clever with his jokes.  

He made his way from one table to the next to greet all the kids and pass out an autographed picture.  Eli didn't seem to mind him coming close and talking to him.  

Watching from a distance

Passing out an autographed picture

Apparently, he had enough of Ronald.

As a side note, I still remember the very first time I met Ian and I had asked him what his last name was; his friend who was with us then mentioned that Ian's dad's name was Ron.  It took a minute for it to sink in, but that was the first time I realized that my father-in-law also shares the same name, Ronald McDonald:)

Another Play Date

On Saturday, two of my friends from college, Beth and Randi, came with their families over to our house for supper.  It was fun to get all 4 of the kids together.  Eli was a little outnumbered with the 3 other girls, but they seemed to all have fun nonetheless.  

Lauren was all smiles all night long:)

Eli became very interested in what was in her diaper bag.

Eli showed the girls his new discovery, a hiding spot.  He actually fits his entire body inside, closes the door, and then will usually wait for you to ask where he is before popping back out.

Holli and Lilli enjoyed the activity table.

They also enjoyed throwing the ball into the tub, with Eli cheering them on by clapping.

Lilli's underwater work of art

Play Date

Today, we went to Cedar Rapids to meet up with my friend Jesse and her son Carter for lunch and a play date.  After lunch, the boys enjoyed the play center that was in the mall.  The carousel captured our attention first, so Eli took a ride on that.  He was a little unsure when it started moving, but then he really liked the ride (so much so Ian thought he needed 2 more rides on it by the end of the day...lol).  

If there was a certain capacity for this play area, I'm pretty sure it exceeded the limit.  Maybe it was just super busy and full of kids since it was Sunday afternoon.  Around the perimeter of the play area sat parents who looked exhausted while all the kids ran around with endless energy.  

Both Carter and Eli enjoyed themselves, and there were lots of activities for different ages.  Eli especially liked the super fast slide and the hands-on activities that were built right into the walls.  

It was nice to catch up with Jesse, and she is also expecting a baby girl in about 2 weeks!

Of course, a trip to Cedar Rapids wouldn't be complete without a stop to visit auntie.  Megan was out of town, but we did swing by Jamie's house for a quick surprise visit before we left to go back home. 

Happy Halloween...

...from our little cheeseburger!

 

 We did a little trick-or-treating this afternoon, 

starting at Grammary's and Papa Ron's.  

 

We made a couple of other stops in town 

including Eli's daycare provider, Barb.

Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Patch

The weather was perfect today for a trip to the pumpkin patch with Grandma Mary.  Eli had a great time checking out all the pumpkins (but insisted he walk through the vines himself...).   

 

The tractor quickly captured his attention, especially with all the tractor rides and combine rides he has been on lately with Dad.  We also enjoyed a hayride while we were there today.  

There was even a petting zoo with quite the variety of animals.  

Thanks, Gramary, for a fun day:)

The Big 3-0!

Happy 30th Birthday, Ian!!

Lately...

Lately, Eli has been busy...

...taking every single book off the shelves.

...playing peek-a-boo.

...enjoying a cupcake with chocolate frosting...

...and making a big mess.

...listening and dancing to AJ's new songs.

(He really liked his own personal concert.)

...discovering his shadow.  (Can you see the resemblance to Ian in his profile?!)

...going for wagon rides in the yard.

...and doing lots and lots of walking.  I think crawling is now a thing of the past.

 

 A couple of weeks ago when I picked Eli up from daycare, the lady that watches him mentioned that he had said "night night" after they were done singing to him before he laid down for his nap.  I thought maybe he had just said the "na-na" sound, but when we got home later that day, he said "night night" quite clearly.  Aside from mama and dada, this was his first real word, although I am a little sad it happened at daycare:(  Now, he only seems to say it when he is really ready for bed.  

He is able to stack the rings on one of his toys, and instead of throwing the blocks out of his shape sorter, he will put them back in the bucket without the lid.  He is able to put the circles in with the lid on top, but we are still working on the other shapes.  

Eli can identify his ears and nose (the book must have worked, Jamie).  Looking at books is still among his favorite things to do, especially books with flaps, which he has worn out on most of them.  If the book he picks up is backwards or upside down, he will turn it around so it is the right side up before opening it.  He loves to look at family pictures, too.  

On the other hand, he has started to throw little tantrums when he does not get his way or is mad about something.  He makes it very clear when he is frustrated or angry.  Diverting his attention or just ignoring him until he calms down seems to help, at least for now.

Eli keeps growing and changing every day.  He is transitioning between babyhood and becoming a toddler quite quickly.