Wanting to Crawl

This little guy is definitely on a mission to keep up with his older brother. I can't believe how close he is to crawling! He gets up on all fours, then rocks back and forth. He's even starting to lunge forward, as this video shows.

Sorry, but this video is twice as long as it really needs to be. I kept thinking he'd do something, so I kept videoing, but just ended up getting a bunch of crying.

Sitting Up

Eli learned to sit up over the weekend! It just doesn't seem like he's old enough to do that. He's also very close to crawling!

Boys, Boys, Boys

I feel like I'm getting a tiny little glimpse of what the future holds for my boys. They have become such great playmates already. I'm so surprised that even Eli at 6 months seems to love wrestling with Ethan. When Ethan gets anywhere near Eli, he gets a big grin on his face and reaches his arms out to grab his big brother. I pray that they continue to be great playmates and grow into best friends and support for each other as they grow into young men.

Mr. Serious

Ethan was looking so sharp, as my dad would say, before church last week. I know he's handsome, but man, if I could just get that boy to smile for the camera!!!!

First Bath Together

I've been waiting for when Eli would be big enough to take a bath with Ethan. Even though I wouldn't quite say he's big enough, we gave it a try this evening and they both loved it! (and yes, I know the Bumbo is not meant for the bathtub; it floats! But it gave a little support until Eli can sit up in the water better.)
I can just imagine all the fun they'll have in the upcoming months and years taking baths together.
So sweet! Eli just watched his big brother in awe. Love it!

Fish out of Water

Mother May I?

We have been very adament about teaching manners to Ethan. It started with signing 'please' and 'thank you,' then actually saying the words. Once he was starting to put more words together, we started teaching him to say 'may I...?" Well, I'd say he's got it! (well, kinda) Maybe he OVER-generalizes the use of the phrase.

Common questions these days:

"May I have a hold Eli?"

"May I have a go outside please?"

"May I have a up please?"

"May I have a hold me?"

"May I have a more milk please?"

"May I have a read a book please?"

I know I should probably be correcting him, but it's just too stinkin' cute!


Another random cute thing...
I've had a cold the last week, which has involved lots of sneezing and coughing. Apparently the coughing and sneezing really concerns Ethan. When he's in bed at night and I think he's asleep, if I cough or sneeze, he will call from his room, "OKAY, MOMMA???" Seriously. He doesn't do this during the day - only at night. As I'm typing this, he's been in bed and quiet for 30-45 minutes and he is STILL asking me "OKAY, MOMMA???" every time I cough/sneeze. Too cute.

Family Bike Ride

We have loved the beautiful fall-like weather this weekend. To celebrate our extra day off today, we went to the Bella Vista Trail for a bike ride. It's a two-mile loop, and Ethan made it all the way around by himself! There were a couple of little hills that got too hard for him so he calmly got off and pushed his bike up the hill. I was so impressed! Lonnie rode his bike too, and I rollerbladed while pushing Eli in the stroller.

We had to take a pit stop to throw rocks in the creek...

Putt Putt!!!!

We've been anxiously waiting for it to cool down so we could take Ethan putt putt golfing. He has a plastic golf set at home that he loves, and he pretty much turns anything into a golf club in the house to hit his baseball, soccer balls, or anything else he can find.
Ethan enjoyed it for the most part. Towards the end he got bored of it, but he was still content just to be playing outside.

The Night That Never Was

We were SOOOOO excited to take the boys to the Naturals game on Sunday night. We didn't bother getting tickets ahead of time because anytime we've been to a game, there have been PLENTY of empty seats. Well, no such luck. We get all dressed up, drive all the way there, pull into the parking lot, and the attendant tells us they're all sold out. Oh well. I had gotten cute pictures before we left, and that's all that matters, right? ;) We decided to go to the new putt putt place instead (that's another post).

Playing Catch-up, Again

Man, I feel like all I do is play catch-up with this blog lately! I realize it's mostly because I just don't take as many pictures as I should, so I don't have much to blog about. I'll get better!

Random pictures from the last few weeks:

Ethan has learned to cross his eyes and thinks he's pretty funny doing it...
This little guy's just as cute as ever...

Eli is one rolly polly kid. The second you lay him down, he immediately flips over. We actually have to buckle him into the bouncy seat now, or he'll flip out!

My football fans. I see lots of this in my future. Tune Mommy out, focus on football...

Eli is starting to interact with Ethan more and more. Eli grabs his face and giggles at whatever silly thing Ethan is doing...

Lots of wrestling around here. I love it! We have to constantly remind Ethan though to be gentle with Mommy. (My back is still a little messed up and he likes to jump all over us!)

Ummmm, just too cute not to post...

I just can't believe this is what my two boys look like - they look so different! I thought for sure that Eli would be a little clone of Ethan, but he definitely found his own look! I love that he has a little Willis in him.

Man time in the garage before taking a bike ride...

Ethan likes to line up his cars lately. Today they were going to the park...

Watching the Hogs game with friends. Oh wait, the men were watching the game, the kids watched Bee Movie. Ethan still won't sit for longer than a few minutes during a movie. He was much more interested in all of Peyton's cars and other toys.

Crazy Football Fan

I'd have to say for a two-year old, Ethan is quite the football fan. He knows the lingo and LOVES to watch it, whether on tv or at a live game. We've been talking about the first home Tiger football game for WEEKS. Every night before he goes to sleep, he asks to sing Take Me Out to the Tiger Football Game (an improvised version of Take Me Out to the Ballgame, of course).

We FINALLY got to go on Friday and he loved it, of course! He went to a couple of games last year, but I have a feeling we'll be hitting all the home games this year. Eli even really enjoyed it! He's just happy to be outside.

Horrible picture, and I cut out Shad, but I loved the shot of all the men holding the boys.

Baby Food

Before we had kids, I always said I'd homemake baby food for my kids. But when it came down to it, I just never got around to it with Ethan. But this time around, after hearing several friends say how easy it was, I thought I'd actually give it a try.

I knew I'd love how much money it would save us, but I had no idea that I'd actually enjoy making it! I started with acorn squash and sweet potatoes, which he both loved. Then we moved on to sweet peas. Not a match made in heaven, but as long as it's mixed with either squash or sweet potatoes, Eli tolerates it. I've already made green beans and butternut squash, which we'll be trying in the next week.