Eli's new skill

Eli loves playing with his hands. He seems fascinated by them. He's been playing with them for a while, so I figured it wouldn't be too long before he started to clap. Well...yesterday was the first day I noticed him clapping :) Edgar said he was clapping the day before, but I didn't see it. He doesn't quite get that it's something you do when you're excited or happy-he seems to just concentrate on getting his two hands together...but it's pretty cute!

And here's a video for your enjoyment :)

We've got vegetables people!

I remember rolling my eyes when I would hear people talk about how they had to take a picture of something because it would make a good scrapbook page. How ridiculous! Shouldn't the scrapbook happen because of the picture, not the picture because of the scrapbook?! And then I started my blog...and now I find myself taking pictures of cucumbers...I can no longer roll my eyes.
Just thought I'd do a whole post dedicated to a cucumber. One I am actually munching on while I write :) This is actually the second cucumber from our 'garden'. I wasn't sure if the first one was really ready or not, so I picked it without fanfare...and ate the whole thing.

Not to be left out, the tomatoes are coming along nicely...

I have been pretty impressed by the size of the cucumbers. I didn't expect them to get as big as the ones in the stores, but I was wrong! (Yes, I am a math teacher, and no, I do not own a ruler. Yes, this is Edgar's measuring tape.)

The finished product :) I can honestly say I have never before photographed a vegetable that I have cut up before...I'm sure I'll have a 'first tomato' picture as well.

The good news is that there are MANY more cucumbers to come. The even better news? They taste great!

Good Morning Eli!

Thought you'd enjoy seeing what I see every morning when my baby wakes up :) He's always so excited when I finally come in to get him. He usually wakes up around 7 or 7:30 but I don't get him until 8...so he's ready to get up when I come in! He's always all smiles.

Wednesday was 'naked Wednesday'...for Eli only ;) He had a little rash goin' on on his chest, so Jenny suggested I keep him naked for the day to see if it was a heat rash...he thoroughly enjoyed it. The rash isn't really there, but he has a couple of really dry patches on his chest...Hopefully Aquaphor will take care of it.

He's just so stinkin' cute!

He's really started reaching for things. He loves to grab the frog and bird on his jumparoo.

You still takin' my picture?!

All tuckered out...

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?!