Just me...ramblin'

We had a really nice Memorial Day weekend. We had big plans to do nothing, and while we did do some things, we weren't overly busy, so it was good.

Saturday morning we spent looking at houses. The search continues...it was kind of fun seeing houses...I will admit, however, I am not a huge fan of any kind of shopping, so 'house shopping' doesn't thrill me much. I'll be glad when the whole process is over, and we are settled into our new home. Unfortunately, I fear we are only at the beginning of the whole process, and have a long ways to go. Oh well, I suppose.

Saturday afternoon we went over to Eliud & Krista's house. We had a nice time there just hanging out with family. Someone was suppose to come look at our house while we were gone, but called to reschedule for Sunday...then didn't come Sunday either...

Monday Edgar and I took Eli to Ryan and Jennifer's house and we headed to Flatwoods to go biking. I haven't been on my bike since I found out I was pregnant with Eli...so I was a little nervous. We had a really good time, though. I was surprised at how 'familiar' it all was...As my dear, brilliant husband said, 'it's like riding a bike!'. The insight he has! Riding off-road is a bit scarier than road biking, but I didn't fall-and I was even clipped in! We didn't go far-only an hour ride at a rather slow pace, and then headed back to get Eli.

That afternoon we watched Ben and Carly and while Ryan & Jenny went to Star Trek, then we all got together for dinner. It was very fun to be together-the highlight? Watching Eli suck a banana through mesh and giggle at salad tongs.

My big project for Monday was getting Chloe's birthday cookies done. Renae asked me to make them for her birthday party this Saturday. She got 4 dozen instead of the normal 1 dozen normally send to nieces & nephews for their birthday...it pays to ask ahead of time! ha!

Chloe is having a tea party for her birthday, so I made teapots...

...and tea cups.

I thought they turned out pretty cute. Renae had sent pictures of the tea sets she was using, so I tried to match the polka-dot pattern. Hopefully they will arrive on time, and they will still be fresh. They were sent priority mail today!

Eli's new trick

Today I was talking to Jenny and Eli was fussy, so I picked him up and had him sit...and suddenly, I realized he was sitting on his own. I quickly jumped up to grab the camera, and by the time I had it, he was leaning over quite a ways ;) But he was sitting! I have a video to prove it. He has to work on sitting up a little straighter, and I think he will enjoy it more, but he's workin' on it!

I am also putting a video of him rolling from his back to belly...He's been doing that for a while, but I don't think I ever put a video on, so enjoy :)

I put him down for his nap today, and went in to check on him, and he had his legs up, through the bars, just hangin' out. By the time I took the picture he had moved them, but a picture of him sleeping is always good :)

While he was napping today I made some more baby food. I gotta tell you, I LOVE making baby food! I wish I could say I did it because it's cheaper (which it is..but not a lot) or that it is healthier (I have no idea if it is or not...the ingredients on the store bought stuff just says 'peas and water' or 'apples and water', so I'm pretty sure the store stuff is pretty good for Eli), but I really do it because I think it's fun. It's my ridiculous love for being in the kitchen, I think. I get a kick out of making it. Weird, I know...

The only problem I have faced so far is this: When I make the food, I freeze it in ice cube trays. Each cube is about 1 Tbls, so it's easy to measure out how much I'm giving Eli. After they freeze I transfer them over to freezer bags. Well, today I was doing that-so my ice cube trays were full. I had gone out to run errands today, and was going to stop and get an iced coffee from Dunkin' Donuts, but decided I would be a good, frugal wife and make my own. I brewed the coffee, and was about to pour it over ice, when I realized that the closest thing to ice I had was a cube of sweet potatoes...not a coffee flavor I enjoy...I was a little annoyed...but fortunately we had some bottled water frozen in the freezer, so using a meat mallet and a large knife I made due, and have proceeded to drink so much iced coffee that I'm jittery...and it takes a LOT of coffee to make me jittery. Probably not a good idea while I'm still nursing...Eli should have lots of energy this evening!

Itty Bity

I have a confession to make...I am obsessed with a tomato plant...and a cucumber plant, and maybe a little basil and parsley. This summer I decided to plant a 'garden' of sorts. We wanted something we could take with us when we sell our house, so we planted a few plants in pots. It has worked out well so far. Today when I was checking my plants (because I check them at least once a day...) I noticed our first tomato. I'ts pretty little (hence the blog title) but it's there! I'm so excited!!! I've been pretty amazed at how big the plant is actually getting...

The plant is about 4 ft tall...I really didn't think it would get that big! Hopefully we'll have lots of tomatos.

We've also got cucumbers. I am a little worried about these...not because the plants aren't healthy...in fact, they seem QUITE healthy, and I fear we will be eating cucumbers for a while. Good thing I like them!

This is our cucumber plant. I think it is a really pretty plant. The yellow blossoms (all over the plant) are pretty. You can't see them in this picture...not sure why.

Of course, we have another 'itty bity' thing that I 'check-up' on way more than once a day :) Thought I'd try and get a close up of those lashes...It would appear to be his most defining feature.

He's been spending more and more time on his tummy. He likes to get right up into his toys. He rolls over, hangs out on his belly for a while, gets mad that he can't roll back to his back, gets flipped over, and the proceeds to flip RIGHT back over to his belly, and the cycle continues.

He holds his head up really well, and seems to be making steps (though small) towards crawling. He can scoot a little way on his belly to get something he wants, he just hasn't figured out how to put his upper body weight on his arms.

He's pretty happy :) He's getting really close to sitting on his own too. I think he's pretty much sick of being on his back...

So, my itty bity things here are growing fast! Soon I hope to blog about my itty bity waist...but that will probably be a long ways off...

We got a sign!

The sign guy came today and put up our sign :) And yes, I totally took pictures through the blinds in the window of him putting it up...

Anybody wanna buy a house?!

Cookie time again!

Well, tomorrow is Adriana's birthday, so I got out the sugar cookie dough again :) Unfortunately for Edgar, I only made 12 cookies (well...13...I had to test one) so he doesn't get any this time.
I tried something different with these-I decorated them with fondant instead of royal icing. They turned out really cute, and took about half the time. Unfortunately they aren't quite as tasty, but they are still pretty good. I think if I ever use fondant again I will need to roll it out a little thinner-that fondant is SO SWEET! (Yes, sweeter than the icing that is made up of sugar and water...) Hopefully Adriana won't mind the change :) But, if she doesn't like them, let me know Kristi, and I'll send you a different batch!!
Happy Birthday Adriana! (yes...a day early :) )

What did you do today?

Eli's Dedication

On Sunday we had Eli dedicated. Ruth had bought him his outfit-he looked so cute!

We got him all dressed and ready for pictures :) I put the bonnet on him for the pictures, but it was a little small on him, so we kept it at home.

Gotta love the sunglasses.

At the front of the church

My parents, Edgar's parents, and Edgar's grandfather were there...

...along with Ryan, Jenny, and the kids.

The 'star' of the show ;)

Our pastor prayed a beautiful prayer for Eli. It was a very special time.

Eli held my hand during the prayer. He hasn't learned to close his eyes during prayer yet...ha!

After church we all headed over to our house to have a cook-out. We had planned on going to the park, but it was really hot-it reached 94!

Eli's dedication was a big reason my parents came to Florida. It was very special to have them there.

Abuela and Abuelo :)

I was so glad Edgar's grandfather came. It really meant a lot to us to have him there with us.

Eli did really great. He didn't cry during the service at all. Eli was also 6 months old on Sunday. It was pretty neat to realize that 6 months earlier I was holding him for the first time.

We really pray that Eli will grow to love the Lord with all his heart, and that we will be parents that model Christ to him. Having this baby dedication was a really special way of taking time to pray that he will seek after God his whole life. We look forward to seeing what God is going to do in his life!

Our happy family!

Oh yeah...it was also mother's day :) It was great having BOTH moms here with me! It was a really neat first Mother's Day for me!

A Day at the Beach

On Saturday we headed for the beach. We decided to go later in the day so the sun wouldn't be as intense, so we actually didn't leave until about 2:30. Eli slept most of they way, and was ready to eat once we got there. Dad and Ryan helped me set up a beach tent which provided shade for Eli (and me!) while we were on the beach. Jennifer fed Eli while mom and I went to change.

The beach we went to had a big 'pond' of water you had to either walk through or walk around. Dad and Carly headed right over to get to the waves.

Notice the 6-pack?

Mommy and Eli. Unfortunately, Edgar got called in to work. He went in to work at about 1:30 and didn't get home until 3 am! Even though I had lots of help with Eli, Edgar was really missed!

Ben and Carly collected shells along the beach.

Eli and I sat in the water as the waves came up. I wondered if he would like it...and he LOVED it! He sat there and watched the waves come up, and was kicking his feet the whole time.

He was digging quite the hole with his feet-they were moving the entire time.

Grandma & Carly

Here's a little video of Eli enjoying the beach

After we were done sitting, we walked out into the waves to clean the sand off our bottoms. Eli really liked the waves. He was smiling the whole time.

Ben and Carly thought it would be funny to roll in the sand...funny how that only sounds fun to kids...

On the walk back Eli put his head right on my shoulder and sucked his thumb. He was starting to get tired out!

Ryan listened to the Rays game on the beach.

Once we walked back to the other side, Ben, Carly, and Grandma decided to build a sand castle.

Grandma showing the grand kids how it's done.

Carly was digging with her little shovel, and would throw the dirt over her back...or on her back...

The finished product! Now...it their defense, the sand was not good sand...mom said it smelled like seaweed, and didn't pack very good...so considering that, I think it turned out pretty good :)

Eli and I just hung out in our little tent.

After the beach we went to Chick-fil-a for dinner. The lady gave Eli a little cow, and he had fun playing with it. I also put him in one of those high chairs for the first time, and really did pretty good. He was very tired, though, so he didn't last long. I took him out to the car, nursed him, and he fell right asleep. Everyone else headed over to Dairy Queen, but they brought me a sundae, so I didn't miss out on ice cream :)

We had a wonderful time at the beach, and from Eli's reaction to the beach, I have a feeling there will be many more trips!