Eli's World is Changing!



I am VERY, VERY, VERY excited to start potty training with Eli in about two weeks, once school gets out.  Unfortunately, that means we've got to get Eli out of the crib so he can use the potty independently in the middle of the night if he needs to.  Soooooo...The Big Bed Switcheroo Phase I has begun!  We took down the crib (*boo*), took apart Ethan's twin bed, and put it in Eli's room.  Ethan's new QUEEN bed should be here on Tuesday, so he's sleeping on a twin mattress on the floor until then.  Thankfully, Eli did extremely well in his new bed!  He didn't get out of bed once and slept all night.  At nap today, he did get out of bed once, but we sent him back and he did fine after that.  Success!!

Here's the 'before.'  Yes, I did ZERO decorating in Eli's room in the SIX months that we've lived here.  I just did not want to mess with it, knowing we'd be redecorating once we switched beds around.  

 Here he is in his big boy bed!!!  He's so proud!

Mother's Day

Well, I didn't really do a very good job of taking pictures today.  (I guess that should be Lonnie's job on Mother's Day!!!)
But it was an AWESOME day, nonetheless.  Probably my favorite Mother's Day so far!   It all started with breakfast in bed.  Yum!  When Ethan woke up he helped me open up presents.  Lonnie really surprised me this year!!!  He had our blog printed into a book!  It's huge...yearbook size.  It's like a yearbook of our life!  In fact, the page limit is 300 pages, so he only got 2007-2009 in this book.  (I think I know what I'm getting for Mother's Day next year!)  It is so special and I'm thankful for a loving, thoughtful husband that really spoils me everyday, but especially on days like today. 
We went to church and then met the family at Texas Land and Cattle for lunch.  Then naps, church, home, and bed.  Busy day! 
Here are the few pictures I got.

These are Ethan's Mother's Day projects from school.  The one on the left is a flower bouquet made from his handprints.  The card on it says, "If Moms were strawberries, I'd pick you!" 

Here's the incredible book!

 Another project from Ethan.  He told his teacher what he wanted to write.  It says, "I love mommy because she likes to tickle me.  She makes me chocolate cake with chocolate candy on top."  Yep, that's me!  Spot on! 

 At lunch...love these ladies!

Happy Mother's Day to all the great Moms out there!

Silver Dollar City

On Saturday we went to Silver Dollar City with the Grubbs and my parents.  Lonnie and I had been there before, but it was everyone else's first time.  The kids were all sooooo excited! 

Here's Ethan in line for his very first rollercoaster with Rachel and Keira.  He was so excited while he waited in line, and smiled and laughed during the whole ride. 

You can't see the kids, but Ethan and Keira are on the teacup ride with Lonnie, Rachel, and Mom.

Caden and Curt on the 'little kid rollercoaster.'  Can't remember the name...

Poor Eli...there were very few rides that he could actually ride so we had to get creative with how to keep him entertained.  Trees worked well, along with chunks of ice, and Dippin' Dots.

Ethan and I on the Dumbo ride...

 Keira and Mom on the froggy ride...

 Lonnie and the boys.  I think this is the only ride Eli actually rode.  He definitely loved it!!!

 The train! 

 Ummmm....Ethan looks WAY too grown up in this picture!

 A cool little net play area at Half Dollar Hollar...

 The tram ride back to the van...

 I love ending blogs like this with what the van looks like 5 minutes into the drive home...

We had a great time!  Definitely something we'll do every couple of years!

Is This Weird??

We've been really, really busy lately, so we're constantly looking for ways to 'cut corners' and do things a little quicker.  Well, one thing that takes up WAY more time than it should is bath time.  The kids love playing in the tub, and they could do it all night if we let them!  So, when we're in a hurry, the kids get a kitchen sink bath!  They love it, we love it, and we could have it done in less than 5 minutes.  Awesome!  And, boy do they look cute in there!!!



Camping!!

Ethan really impressed us with his climbing skills this weekend.  He kept climbing up this trash pole!

The newest camping tradition...kickball!  Ethan LOVED it and kept asking to play all weekend.

At the playground...

The bridge to the playground went out with a flood last year, so this is how we got across!

Monkey boy climbing trees again...

Playing croquet...

 On our way to a hike...

We got all the kids together except Myra.  Not too bad!  So funny how camping has changed in the last several years.  We've gone from adults only, meaning it was pure relaxing, to babies, meaning pure stress, to preschoolers and toddlers running around, playing together.  Each stage is so fun!

Poor Rachel...her sandals that she's had since seventh grade are finally goners!!  It was a very sad moment.

At the lookout...

 Cousin love!

Another great camping trip in the books!  I love our camping weekends together!