Eli's Party!

This past weekend my mom & dad came to help celebrate Eli's birthday. It was so nice to see them...I know we have gotten to see them more than 'normal' this year, but it never seems like it's enough!

My mom took all of these pictures, so you won't see much of her. Believe it or not, I hardly took any pictures!

They arrived late Thursday night, so Friday morning Eli and I went over to Ryan & Jennifer's house. You can read about Friday here. (And yes, I DID hug the refrigerator. In fact, I'm pretty sure I'll hug it again once it's in our new house. I LOVE that refrigerator. In fact...I think the freezer is big enough for me to take a nap in...hmmm...might have to try that... BEFORE we plug it in...)

Saturday was busy preparing for Eli's party. We went to Walmart and bought the rest of the supplies that we needed. We had a birthday celebration for Ryan & Dad (no pictures...I KNOW! Can you believe how much of a slacker I was?!) We had blueberry and apple pie instead of cake...since there would be PLENTY of cake at Eli's party.

Jennifer had to work :( So Mom, Carly and I worked on decorating cookies for Eli's goodie bag. Carly did a great job helping us fill them in!

I also made a small cake for Eli to eat. There's a picture of that coming up...oh...and we made a pasta salad. I have to say...if my mom (and Carly!) weren't helping me, I don't think I would have gotten everything done! THANKS!

Sunday morning came, and I had so much to do I wasn't able to go to church. Mom came over and helped me get the goodie bags together, and gather up all the 'stuff' to take to the park. Then we gave Eli a bath.

Ummm...is it just me, or do his eyes match the towel? :)

We loaded everything in the car and headed over to the park.

Dad and Ben helped blow up balloons, which we tied to the shelter...and then had to take down and tie to the tables...apparently we weren't allowed to tie balloons to the shelter...

Krista brought the cake. Didn't she do an AWESOME job?! I loved it! AND, I loved that I didn't have to do it :)

Above are just a few of the decorations we had. The bottom left is the cake that I made for Eli to eat.

And the star of the show. Dad decorated his stroller with balloons :)

We had hot dogs for lunch. Eli wasn't at all interested...I was a little surprised-he usually eats everything!

Come to find out, he wasn't feeling very good. By the time it was time for cake, he was running a pretty good fever :( So when we sang happy birthday, and got our cameras ready to shoot the 'frosting on the face' pictures, Eli wouldn't even try the cake. I tried to put some icing in his mouth to taste, but he really didn't want it...

...even with daddy showing him 'how to eat a cake'...

And that's what Eli thought...

Oh well, I guess. I was a little sad that he didn't eat it, but I was fairly worried about him. He's never been sick before :( He really did good hanging out at the party, even though he didn't feel good. As long as someone was holding him, he was great.

These are the 'kids' that came. I'm pretty sure Ben wasn't thrilled to be included with 'the kids'...so I'm going to say this is the picture of 'the kids' and the one boy who is way older an mature than the rest... :)

Edgar's mom wrote a beautiful blessing for Eli. I'm going to put it at the end of the post. It was very touching.

Grandma & Grandpa! Go Tigers! Notice the one 'non-tiger' fan isn't even showing his shirt... :)

Abuela & Abuelo

Opening presents! Eli sat on my lap perfectly content, while daddy opened all the gifts. He got some REALLY nice stuff!

Grandpa & Grandma got him a seat that goes on the back of a bike. Edgar is really excited to take Eli for a ride!

Edgar's grandfather gave Eli a gift too. I almost started to cry when he got up and walked over and handed Eli his gift. It was very touching to me.

And Abuela & Abuelo got Eli a wagon :) Eli has already gotten a lot of use out of it! It's super cute-and it has little 'seat belts' so he can't climb/fall out if it! (Until he learns how to undo the seat belt...)

The party was wonderful. Even with Eli feeling a bit under the weather. We loaded up and went home. Eli took a nap, and we just relaxed a bit. We went over to Ryan & Jennifer's house for dinner (Chinese...YUM!) and hung out for the evening. Edgar took Eli home at 8 so I could spend a few more hours with my mom and dad. It was SO nice to sit and talk with them. I wish they didn't live so far away!

They went home Monday morning...but I'm SO glad Christmas isn't far away!

I will leave you with the beautiful blessing Ruth wrote for Eli. How beautiful that Eli is surrounded by people that love him and pray for him!

Eli's Blessing

Eli Francisco, your name means 'Uplifted and free'

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul;

In you I trust, O my God. Psalm 25:1

Eli, I bless you in the name of God our Father and Lord Jesus Christ

You are my answer to prayer. A gift fearfully and wonderfully made in His image, sent to us from Heaven. He has given you parents who conceived you in love and welcomed you with much joy.

May God bless you with wisdom and knowledge of His love and acceptance.

Be pure and filled with the Holy Spirit. May He bless you with ears to hear His voice. Be blessed with a heart of love, compassion and mercy. May kindness surround you as you learn to share it with others.

May God bless you with salvation, Eli, as He helps you to understand the reality of the atoning blood of Jesus, His Son. Embrace Him as your Savior and Friend and the blessing of His intimate friendship will be yours all the days of your life.

He has given you parents, grandparents and a family who loves you and will be Godly role models in your live. I will uphold you in prayer and claim the promises of God on your behalf.

God BLESS you my sweet Eli with the fullness of the Godhead and may your life be a blessing to others.

Te Quiero Mucho

Tu Abuelo Ruth

On your 1st Birthday