Events at Sherlake-March 14, 2006

On Tuesday of this week we met some friends at Events at Sherlake. It is basically a fun world of inflatable toys!! Eli really enjoyed the slides and went down all of them by himself. Yes, even the really big one. He was in toddler heaven because the biggest slide has these little steps you have to climb to get to the top of the slide. He climbed those steps many times!! Thanks Jeanne and Trevor for inviting us!! We had so much fun!!


Here I am climbing away!

Yipee!! My mommy was later told that going down on my belly is very dangerous. So, next time I'm going to learn to go down on my bottom or back!

Going through the tunnel!

Trevor and I loved this super cool car! In fact, we fought over it a little!

Finally...Some More Pictures

I'm sorry it has taken me so long to post some more pictures of Eli. It has been another eventful month. Eli got another ear infection in February which was followed by a stomach bug. Needless to say, we were all taking extra naps during the days. He is doing much better now!! Praise the Lord! We are working on getting him back on his sleeping routine and he is not liking that very much. I think I spoiled him by letting him come to bed with me so much! It is fun, though, waking up next to his cute little face!!

We went to the Zoo for "Field Trip Friday" with some friends. Eli was really enjoying the goats until he threw on all over them. Turns out, he had a yucky stomach bug that lasted, in total, 10 days.

Here's the little man catching some zzzzzzzzzz's with his big sister!!

I thought you might enjoy another spaghetti snapshot!!

Our Latest Trip to Kentucky - February 17th-19th

Resting up for a big day of fun!!!

My first big snow and I had to go to Kentucky to see it!

My cousins help me with my bath!

My Silly Life!

Goofing around with the camera!

Getting some kisses from Gabby!!

Sawing some more logs! This time, in bed with mommy!

Sawing Logs!!

As my Poppy would say, I am sawing some logs!!

Field Trip Fridays

On Fridays, some of us moms like to go and explore Knoxville and its surrounding areas. My friend Jeanne, who recently moved here from California, started this up to get to know her new home! Today we went to the Children's Museum in Oak Ridge and the kids loved it! We would definitely give it a thumbs up!! After the museum we went to lunch at Big Ed's Pizza. I couldn't let my friends leave Oak Ridge without tasting their yummiest pizza!!

Brewing up some stew in an old fashioned pot!!

The space room was our favorite!! Here I am playing with my friends Erin and Trevor!

The Doll House room was so cool! The house was just my size!!

I can't wait to eat some pizza!!

Recent Pictures of the Wee Man!!

Playing with my house!

Chillin' with my daddy!

My favorite pastime...pushing my truck!

Being silly with mommy!

Relaxing before my shots!!

Banner Elk, N.C.-January 27th-29th

This past weekend John and I went to Banner Elk, N.C. for a little anniversary trip. The best part...we were baby free. Now, we love our little man sooooooooooooo much, but it is nice to have a break every now and then! Besides, we would be cruel to keep him from his Poppy and Grame. He spent the weekend with them and they absolutely loved every minute of it!! Thanks so much, Dad and Alana!! We appreciate it more than words can say!!

Here is our room at the Iron Skillet Farmhouse Inn. Don't fall in love. We were actually their last customers. The couple decided to focus more on their family and sold the house.

Here is the old Mast General Store in Valley Crucis. It was founded in the 1880's and still has the original, and still operating, post office. The store is so old and so neat!! On the second floor you feel like you are going down a hill it is so slanted! I loved the creaky noises the floors made! What a neat place!

This is just a beautiful house right across from the Mast General Store.

Here is an old church in Blowing Rock.

Hanging Out with Friends and Family!

Our friends, the Bohannon's, come over for dinner this past weekend and these two crazy kids tormented each other the whole time! I don't know if you can see the breadstick in Eli's hand, but they were sharing it on the couch. Ally's mom eventually took it away because it had gotten, pretty much, inedible.

Here is Eli with his cousins at a family lunch in Maryville. I don't think they like him very much!!

We went to visit my grandmother the week after Christmas. She sure did enjoy getting her hands on Eli!

Charleston, S.C.-December 8th thru 11th

Well, I thought it was time to share about our trip to Charleston in December!! I meant to load these sooner, but life can get pretty crazy. The three of us headed to Charleston (our favorite place to visit!!) the weekend of December 9th and had a wonderful time! Every Saturday, there is a park that has a flea market and these big jumping things for kids. As you can see, Eli had a blast! The next picture of us on the streets of Charleston isn't so good because Eli was ready to pass out. Mommy and Daddy just had to get some last minute pictures before we headed home. Charleston is such a realxing place to visit and was decorated beautifully for Christmas!

Christmas at Home...Literally

We mixed things up a bit this year with my family by having our big celebration on Christmas Eve. Eli sure did have fun playing with all of his new toys! I'm sure you can see how tired he looks. It turns out we had to rush him to an after-hours clinic. Eli had strep-throat. Wow! So, needless to say, we went home and secluded ourselves for a few days. Eli needed to recover and we wanted to make sure we didn't get anyone else sick. We did, however, have a nice Christmas hanging out at home and relaxing, just the three of us! Thank you all for our great gifts and for your care and concern for Eli and us. The food was yummy!!

Christmas in Cincinnati

The weekend before Christmas we headed up to Cincinnati to celebrate with John's family! As you can see, Eli had a great time and received some wonderful gifts! Thank you all very much for your generosity! We appreciate it more than words can say!

December Update

Hello everyone! Here are some recent pictures of John, Eli and I. We had Eli's one-year pictures taken about a week ago. Didn't Shannon Stanfield do a great job! They turned out so good!!

Well, Eli has had an eventful month. As always, he has continued his teething adventures. Poor boy never stops. He did stop for a week or so, but during that time he had his first ear infection. And, of course, when his infection went away another tooth started bothering him. We're hoping that he can get a break from teething soon and we can all catch up on our sleep!! Other than teeth battles, we are gearing up for Christmas and trying to keep Eli away from the Christmas tree!! We find random ornaments all over the house!! I guess Eli is helping decorate for Christmas!! Can't wait to spend Christmas with all of our family and friends and reflect on the joyous birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!%

A Couple of Firsts!

Here is Eli on his first Halloween

as a firefighter! Fresh from a

nap in the car! Doesn't he

look ready to fight fires?

It seems he likes spaghetti!!

Eli is doing great! At his recent one-year check-up he weighed 22 lbs/6 oz and was 30.5 inches long. Can you believe he is actually a little tall for his age? We're not sure how that happened!! He is cutting teeth every other day, it seems. I think he is working on number 14 or 15. Poor guy. Some of his favorite things to do right now are playing outside with his new big red ball and walking around the house holding onto Mason's (our dog) tail! It is so funny, although Mason doesn't think so!! We are so thankful that he loves Mason and isn't afraid of her!! The Lord has blessed us with a beautiful and lively little boy, and we couldn't be more thankful!!