South Padre, Post 1

This past week, Elijah and I went down to the beach with my parents.  We had a great time hanging out with Nana and Papa, and for an added bonus Uncle Daniel and Aunt Jenny met us there for the end of the week!  I am so thankful for a fun, relaxing week at the beach.


Elijah had a good time playing in the sand.  There were a bunch of families there and Eli always seemed to find the kids playing nearby to go hang out with.  Even more, he seemed to find their toys. :)  All of the other "moms" were really nice to let him join in the fun.  My parents bought him a bunch of fun beach toys that he did play with a lot...but there is just nothing like playing with someone else's toys I guess.  He would watch and try to imitate the things the older kids were doing.  I am glad that he had the chance to walk around and explore this fun surrounding, although we did keep a close eye on his to make sure he didn't fall in any holes, as the boys next to use were "digging to China", or go near the water without us.  He got into the ocean more this trip than the last time (since he was only 4 months on his first beach trip), but still preferred the shore to the water (as do I).   

I am noticing that Eli has been learning and understanding so much more lately.  I can now say things to him that he actually understands and (usually) obeys, like "can you get the ball and hand it to Mommy?"  Also, he would point at Nana and Papa when asked where they were, and make noises when he drove around his cars or boat.  He is developing cognitively so much, it always impresses me when I realize that he knows something I didn't think he would.


I don't have many pictures, but my parents do that they are going to share with me. Consider this public peer pressure, Mom, to share your pics. :)   Here is a first glimpse of our trip from some of the pictures I did take on my camera.

On the plane, heading to SPI.  Elijah did SO well flying down and back.  We took a 6:20 am flight down, which meant we woke Eli up super early.  He was happy and such a good kiddo on the way down and back, which I am most thankful for!

Playing with his books and eating his graham crackers and milk...the secrets to a successful flight. :)

Our reward...the beach (not to mention Nana and Papa)!

Ready for the beach...suited up in his Cars swim garb from Nana

Sunglasses stayed on for about 2 seconds, but long enough to get one pic (albeit a tad blurry)

Me and my little man, all washed up for dinner

Mr. Handsome with Nana and Papa

New Spidey PJs from Nana

Nana teaching Eli new tricks

"Is this how you do it, Nana?"

Calling Daddy to say he misses him!

Heading home and sending Daddy a text to let him know we're on the way.  Where could he have learned this trick? :)

This Week

Another day has passed, another week snuck by,
Sometimes I am overwhelmed at how quickly time can fly.

But like a gorgeous sunset, life changes all the while
It can't be paused, it can't be held,
But lived, and lived in style.

Each moment as it's passing, brings new colors into view
Reds and oranges, brilliant and breathtaking,
reaching to the very heart of you.

So gloriously wasteful, this common dipping of the sun,
but how often do we miss it because we live life on the run.

We must remember to remember, to see the beauty in each day,
In every breath, in every moment, in each and every way.

Our glorious Creator has given us a gift,
The gift of life, precious and full, to Him my voice I lift...

My songs of praise and thanks, for the blessings He has poured out
But most of all for Jesus Christ, the One there is no life without.

A little glimpse of the life I am so thankful for this week:

On June 4th, Ethan and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary!  I would not choose another person on the whole earth to share the rest of my days with.  I love you, Ethan.  You are my best friend, the man of my dreams, and the most wonderful father to our children.  I look forward to all the joys that lie ahead and all the life we have yet to live together.

Elijah has such a spirit of curiosity and is ever learning.  This particular day his fascination was the kitchen sink.

Our little curly cue, figuring out the drain.

"Fixed it Mommy!"

Soaking up the summer sun with my little boy!  We love our little pool.  I tried to get a picture of Eli in his star bathing suit (from Callie) and his white bucket hat (from Paula), but he only kept it on for about half a second.

Taking a little break in the shade

Always pointing. :)

A moment I will always remember.  I love you Eli and cherish each day and hour with you!

More fun in the pool

Germ-a-phobes, please skip this picture.

Elijah just finished dinner in this picture, but it looks more like he just came out of a war zone.  He is upset because I wouldn't let him touch the camera.  Any guesses why?

Notice the hair.  His new thing is to have his hands coated in food and then to put them on the top of his head and drag them down slowly over his face.  What a dirty boy...such a mess but so darn cute!  After dinner, while I wiped him down as best as I could, I kissed him on the head and actually tasted ketchup.  Gross. :)

Perfectly content with a messy face.

My little angel.  Your mommy and daddy love you more than words could ever say, ridiculously dirty and all!

Memorial Day in Shreveport

This past weekend, we finally made it over to Shreveport for a visit.  Elijah was glad to see many of his favorite people~ Pops, Mamie, Gimps, Gloria, Nonie, Gimpa, Lolly, and of course, Mr. Dog. :)  Here are a few pictures of Eli with his peeps...

Me, Jamie, Gloria, and the little center of attention.  Elijah loved all of the fun things that Gloria found to entertain him with!

Cuddling up on Gimp's lap

Eli found Nonie's cross necklace most amusing

Most of all he just loved all the attention from all of the Great Grandparents!

Sweet times with Nonie and Gimpa

Just kicking back and relaxing with his great grandpa.  I love his little folded hands and feet.

Four Generations of Cislaghis

Eli had fun making fish face/kissing noises with Mamie!

He took Pops for a long walk around the yard...

...going out for more...

...and heading back again.

I can take it from here Pops.

And finally it's time to head home. 
Thanks for the visit everyone, we look forward to seeing you all again soon.  Love you!

Summer Fun Megapost!

The last few weeks have been filled with a lot of fun activities and times with friends!  Needless to say, I have collected a bunch of pictures that I have not yet posted.  Here is a glimpse of our "summer fun" so far in pictures.

Summer is Here...Last MOPS

Since Elijah is not in school yet, we are counting out summer by his MOPS schedule.  This month we had our last MOPS meeting of the "school" year, so in our minds it is now officially summer break.  Here is a picture of my handsome little man on the way to our MOPS meeting...

...and here he is when we returned back home. :)  Elijah loves being in the nursery with his friends and always plays the whole time.  I always say that he is probably tired and ready for a nap when I drop him off, but thankfully when I pick him up they report that he was happy and played the whole time.  That said, by the time we return home he is usually good and tired and ready for a (hopefully) long nap.  We had a great time doing MOPS this year and look forward to it starting up again this fall!

Mr. Opinionated

These next two pictures do  not necessarily go with our "summer" theme, but you can see that Eli is starting to develop much more of an opinion about things.  Elijah is in a super curious stage and wants to touch everything.  While sitting in his high chair, he points and if it is something safe I will often hand it to him to check out.  His recent obsession, however, is knives (probably because they are off limits).  Needless to say, I do not hand him the sharp knives that I am using to cut up his food.  Here you can see Elijah's best effort to convince me to hand him the knife.  Since I couldn't really give it to him I decided to just take a picture instead.

Very dramatic and mistreated indeed.  Maybe he will go into theater when he grows up.

Indoor Learning Opportunities

Elijah continues to be fascinated with the computer.  One of the reasons that I find myself so behind on my blogging is because I can never do it while he is awake.  Elijah has discovered the power button, and in the rare occasion that I am looking at the computer while he is up, he will come over and push the button and gently remind Mommy to pay attention to him instead.

We got this puzzle at a garage sale and Elijah loves to pull out all pieces and point at the different animals.  Pointing is his favorite thing to do at the moment and from the time he wakes up until he goes to sleep, he is pointing at something it seems. 

Most likely luck, but he grabbed the turtle puzzle piece and got surprisingly close to the right place!  He can't really put them back in yet, but rather likes to pull the pieces out, clap them together, or thrown them across the room.  I, on the other hand, am getting really good at putting all of the animals back in the right spots. :)

First Trip to the Zoo

Elijah and I took our trip to the Fort Worth Zoo with our friends Kimber and Micah.  We had a great time!  Here we are posing in front of the very scary dinosaur.

Failed photo op with the giraffe. :(  But, you can get a feel for how pretty it was there from this picture.  I was a little surprised at how amazed I was by all of the animals...much more so than Elijah.  Kimber and I had a good time "ooohing and aaaaahing" over the giraffes, elephants, monkeys and apes, and even a hippo and a jaguar.

Elijah was much happier when I let him get down and stand by himself.  Such a big boy...

"Why is that dog's neck so long Mom?"

Eli and his buddy Micah

So cute!

Shadowy pic in front of the elephants

Elijah and Micah checking out the little Elephant statue

I love that they are just so small!

I love our boys!  I am so glad that Kimber and I have had the chance to spend some time together when she has been in town.  It is fun with the boys being so close in age, and also always well needed Mommy time! 

Fun in the Sun- First time in the Baby Pool

We got a baby pool for our backyard and filled it up to use for the first time recently.  To avoid the super cold hose water, we filled it up in the afternoon and then got in a few hours later.  Elijah and I went to check the water, but then had to come back inside to put our bathing suits on.  Elijah, however, thought that we were not going to get in the pool and was extremely unhappy.  Here you can see my sad little boy who didn't realize putting up a bathing suit and sunscreen meant we were about to go and get in the pool.

Checking out the hose

Enjoying the water

Still VERY interested in the hose

Elijah is his bathing suit, helping me roll up the hose after we finished playing in the pool.

Backyard Clean-Up

We recently had a huge hail storm here.  While we thankfully didn't have any damage, we had a bunch of leaves to clean up in the backyard.

My little helper raking up the leaves.

Elijah helping Mommy mow the yard with his own special mower!  We got this mower from Uncle Michael and Aunt Jenny for Elijah's birthday.  He enjoyed pushing it around outside while we did yard work! 

"Hey Mom, I don't think I can mow over all of these leaves.  Will you pick them up?"

"I'll go mow this grassy part over here."

Elijah and Avery

One of my favorite people recently came to visit for the weekend!  Karrie, my former college roommate, came up to visit with her little girl Avery, who is just 3 weeks younger than Elijah.  We had so much fun getting to hang out for the weekend and watching Avery and Eli play together was SO SWEET!  They were the perfect age because they played together side by side and really seemed to enjoy each other's company.  Oh how I wish they lived nearby!  That said, I am so thankful for the time they were here and look forward to visiting with them again soon!

Avery and Elijah taking their first communal bath. :)

Avery clapping the cups together; Elijah amazed at this new concept!

Elijah giving Miss Avery a pat on the back for her cool tricks.

Elijah and Avery were also very sweet to share with one another, even when it came to their sippy cups. :)  Initially, Karrie and I tried to deter them from drinking from each other's cups, but later realized this effort was futile and just went with it. 
Eli: "I'm not so sure about drinking out of this pink cup..."

Avery: "Watch, I'll show you.  It is just like yours, only pink.  You drink exactly the same way..."

Avery: "Now you try..."

Eli: "This girl is crazy Mom!  I don't know where she came from, but I sure like having her around!"

Eli, all tired out from friends and summer fun!  Thanks for making it through our long post of pictures.  With Memorial Day just around the corner, more pictures are sure to come soon!