Sweet Moments

Sometimes I wonder if other people can possibly love their kids this much? I don't say that in an attempt to diminish other parent's love for their kids...but it truly just amazes me how much I love this precious little boy (and his daddy). His smiles cause my heart to smile, his giggles bring me joy beyond words. Listening to him and Ethan play together are some of my favorite times in this life to date. I am keenly aware of what a precious gift children are, indeed a rich and abundant blessing from the Lord. Ethan and I are rich in this life, not because of the money in our bank accounts, but because of the Lord's extravagant blessings that He has so lavishly bestowed upon us. Here is a peek into our treasured and precious times together.

Oh how Eli LOVES the guitar ("goo-tar")!  In the evenings before bed we have a time where we worship together as a family.  We have 3 songs that we consistently play per Eli' requests...the song about the cross (aka Lord I lift Your Name on High), Ha-la-la (Hallelujah), and song about the deer (As the deer panteth for the water..).

Helping Daddy with some chords

My boys playing their goo-tars for God

Love this.  No explanation needed. :)

Eli's first chocolate pudding.

This first time that we ate pudding we went and sat outside on a little mat on the back patio.  Eli had a chocolate pudding and I had a vanilla one.  Ever since that day, if anyone anywhere attempts to eat a pudding Eli thinks it MUST be eaten on the back patio on our little pink mat.  Also, Mommy is only entitled to eat vanilla pudding and Eli chocolate from that day forth...

Eli wearing his stylish pj shirt, diaper, and rainboots.  I was talking on the phone to my mom and he stood here for a few minutes with his head just resting on the first step and booty high in the air.  I ran to grab the camera and barely caught him coming out of his yoga pose. :)  What a silly goose!

Eli put his too large boots on himself.  If you look closely you may notice a little something suspicious about them (they are on the wrong feet).

Ready for the rain on a beautiful sunny day

Such a big boy with his back pack on for the last day of MOPS for this school year

Very interested in posing for pictures as you can see.  This is the face I got when telling him to smile and say cheese.

This is the face I got when asking him to "high five" the tree.  Much better! :)

My and my little love after last MOPS

Eli playing by the big "waterfall"

There were a few high school boys playing their guitars on a bench nearby.  As you can imagine our guitar obsessed 2 year old loved this!  Here he is playing his air guitar along with the boys. :)

Making a friend at the fountain

Snagged by mommy for a shot

These pictures are from yesterday.  We were playing with stickers and Eli decided that he actually wanted to "play" with them.  What is fun about just sticking it on the page when you could actually use the sticker to play baseball, tennis, and football?  Here Eli is putting on the helmet and attempting to actually throw the football sticker. :)

Got on his football gear and has football in hand...he is ready to play!

Stickers and sports gear.  Does he really need shorts if he's wearing a helmet?

Attempting to throw the football.  You can imagine how this did not go as smoothly as anticipated.

Eli helping me garden and waving "hi" to the camera

Pool time and popsicles...what could be better?

Love these.  Daddy and Eli "fixing stuff" together.

My boys

Eli really getting into it.  What a sweet little helper...although not always the most efficient. :)

Eli's new tent!  We ordered this online to be his new travel bed since he can easily crawl out of the pack and playand is not willing to stay in a big boy bed yet.  I am very excited about this, as is Eli (if you look closely you can see him grinning inside the tent).

Eli's tent innovations.  He did this himself. :)

Today at the park.  Eli demontrating his climbing skills in his adorable A&M basketball uniform.

Up he goes.

Easy breezy!

Time for a snack after all that climbing!

Birthday Grand Finale

While I absolutely loved everything about Eli's second birthday and all of the "partying" that we did, it is time to wrap up all things birthday in one last finale sized post! I have gotten so bogged down in making sure that I did not skip a single detail, that I am missing posting about all of the sweet things that are going on now! So, without further ado, here are all of the rest of the pictures and sweet memories of Eli's second birthday.

We love you, precious Eli. On one hand we cannot believe that you are already 2, and on the other hand it is hard to imagine what our life was even like before you were here and a part of our family. You are truly our joy and our delight and the most beautiful gift that the Father has given to us. You make us smile, you make us laugh, you make our hearts melt and feel as if they will burst with joy at the same time. We love you more than words can ever say with a love that grows deeper with each passing moment. Happy Birthday, little man, we look forward to celebrating many many more birthdays with you!

Mama, Eli, and Nana ready for the big party 

Our birthday party theme was "Wheels on the Bus," since this is something that Eli had pretty consistently loves for his whole second year.  In honor of the school bus theme, we had a "box lunch" style meal with a sandwhich bar and other shool lunch finger foods.

School bus cake and cupcakes, delish!

Party decor complete with yellow and back streamers around the house.  Eli was so excited when he woke up and found streamers everywhere, which alone made it worth the effort!

Greeting our first guests with party hats on!

Mr. Dick and Buddy from across the street wishing Eli a happy bday

The Grandpas

Presents!

Believe it or not, when my parents went with Eli to get balloons for the party, Kroger (and apparantly all of our area) was out of helium!  This was the only balloon with helium in the whole store and my parents round it up just for the special birthday boy.  It was an awesome balloon that talked to you when you hit it.  Eli enjoyed playing with this long after the party.

Eli and his friend Jovie

Outdoor fun

Neighbor Lily

The men :)

Father son game of basketball

Callie and Paula

Let me just sneak one little taste while no one is looking...

Eli making his move

Singing happy birthday and blowing out the candle!

Eli enjoying a wonderful cupcake

Kisses from Mom and Dad

Time to open presents

Eli's favorite new basketball!

Daddy hanging up the rope/extension cord for the pinata

Eli's first time hitting a pinata.  With how much this kid loves baseball and hitting things in general, he thought pinatas were awesome!

Eli's cousin Abram

Way to get after it Asher!

Emory steps up and takes this puppy out!!  Girl power! :)

While Eli loved hitting the pinata, he was not to fun of it breaking it open!  He didn't even notice all of the candy because he was too devastated by the destruction of his awesome new toy.

Emory showing some muscle

Her serious face.  Don't mess with this girl, she is tough!!

Daddy trying to show Eli the pinata was "okay"

After thinking twice about giving his son a stick and telling him to hit the object in his hand, Ethan decided it was better to just let him hit it on the ground. :)

Celebrating in Shreveport!

A few weeks after Eli's birthday, we traveled to Shreveport to celebrate 2 with Elijah's great grandparents.  We had a wonderful time!  We enjoyed a birthday lunch, yummy cake, presents, and most of all time with our beloved family.

Eli got a bowling set and a watch from the great grands!  Knowing how much this kid loves sports, he'll be proficient in no time. ;)

Gloria demonstating the proper bowling form

Nonie teaching Eli to bowl

Only 1 pin left standing, not too bad for your first shot kiddo!

Setting them back up.
Truth be told, while it looks like he took to bowling pretty well in these pictures, he kept calling the bowling balls baseball bats. :)  To a baseball obsessed little 2 year old (thanks to his daddy), a bag full of 10 little mini baseball bats was pretty much the most awesome gift imaginable.  When we tried to tell him that was not what it was, he played along for a while, and then went back to using them as baseball bats.  While the object of the game might not really be taken to heart at this point, fun is certainly being had.  Thanks for the sweet presents everyone!

Eli getting loved on by his Mamie and Pops!