Beatin' on taters...

I failed to mention that Eli got a Detroit Tiger's Mr. Potato head for Easter. It's pretty cute, and the perfect addition to his room. Here's Eli playing...

'ummm....mom....there's a tater lookin' at me...'

'I think it's trying to sneak up on me...'

'I will show him my super Taekwondo skills (my daddy taught them to me)'

'Hi-yah!'

'I have defeated yet another foe'

Oh yeah...and Eli decided to roll over again today. However, I still have yet to see him actually do it...this is what I saw today. He had rolled over once, but it was on the bed, and he kind of rolled toward Edgar, so today's 'feat' is a little more impressive. He rolled over 4 times today-and I missed every single one of them. It was like he waited for me to leave, and then would roll over. He let daddy see him...hmmm. I carried the camera with me all day, but didn't catch it. I'll keep working on catching him, but he's pretty sneaky...

He Is Risen!

Happy Easter! We had a wonderful day of worship and fellowship. We got to church early because Edgar had to drive the carts, so Eli got ready at church. After church we rode with daddy while he drove everyone back to their car. I thought Eli should match his daddy-glasses, hat and all.

Eli and his cousins. I think Jennifer got some even better pictures. Don't they all look so cute?! I about started to cry when I saw Ben all dressed up. He's SO handsome! I think Eli looks like Ben when he was a baby...so here's hopin' handsome is in the future for Eli too :)

Eli's friend, Olivia (and mommy's friend, Christine). Eli doesn't look too thrilled, but it was the best picture of Christine and I...so, since we have tons of cute Eli pics, I thought I'd put a nice one of someone else :) Who am I kidding? Eli looks cute in this one too! Olivia must know when I am taking her picture...sound asleep in this one. I have such rotten luck getting pictures of her! She looked adorable in her little Easter dress! These two kiddos are sure to be buds growin' up!

I LOVE this picture of Eli with his Abuelo! I thought it was so cute! After church we headed over to Edgar's parent's house. We had a great afternoon hanging out with family and eating...and eating...and eating! Mom made tons of food-all fabulous, of course. There were 16 people there, and we were all stuffed at the end :)

Eli and his daddy

Eli 'discovered' Abuela's chair, and boy did he like spinning in it!

The other day I was going through all of my pictures since Eli's birth (ya know, all 2000 of them...yes, literally) and I realized that I didn't have one of Eric and Eli, so we remedied that today. Unfortunately, Eli was tired, and fairly cranky. We'll get a better one next time!

I thought this was a neat picture. There are four generations in this picture. It was so nice to see Edgar's grandfather. He seems to be doing really well.

She looks like a natural...

This was pretty cute...Katie sat next to Eli, and he immediately reached for her hand and held it. It was adorable.

Yup, Edgar and I are still in luv (awwwww...)

The super happy family

Abuela y Abuelo

Hangin' out with the grandkids :)

Catchin' up to Katie!

What a good way to end the day-on Abuela's lap!

We had such a great Easter. It was so special to celebrate this day as a mother. I am so thankful for our little boy, and so incredibly thankful that he is surrounded by a family that loves him, and loves God. It is so good to know that Eli will grow up knowing about our Saviour, and that Easter won't be about egg hunts or Easter baskets (although he will get one ;) ) but about how God saved us. He continues to give very good gifts to His children!

Sugar cookies...

I have a confession to make...I LOVE sugar cookies :) I love rolling out the dough, I love baking them, (and sneaking one fresh out of the oven...) I love icing them, and, of course, I love eating them (especially with a fresh cup of coffee). It's a ridiculous thing to love, I know, but I do. I use whatever excuse I can to make these yummy snacks. I've decided that this is what I do. This is to me what cards are to Jennifer :) My most recent excuse was Easter. I had 'promised' Jennifer's parents I would make them some when they returned from Israel (of course, that was only after they lied about it being Al's birthday...when will I ever learn?!) We also plan on seeing Edgar's grandfather tomorrow and taking him a few to snack on. We saved a few for ourselves...but there are only 2 left...RATS! Guess I'll have to make more. All that to say, if you ever have a need for sugar cookies, let me know, and I'd love to bake you some!!!

A GOOD Friday

Hey. I'm 5 months old today. Daddy got to stay home from work. The Tigers won. I got a new cousin. It's been a good day.

Passover

Wednesday was an eventful day for us. In addition to going to the mall, we had the opportunity to go to Eric & Leilani's house to celebrate the start of Passover. This was the second year we were able to join them, but each time is very interesting, and such a great learning experience. It is amazing to recount the great lengths our Father goes to show us his love.
(I apologize now for any mistakes in my descriptions of any of this. I missed a lot of it, so if any of this is completely wrong, feel free to correct me :) )

This is a special plate that holds the elements for the Passover Seder. I missed a lot of it because I was feeding Eli and putting him to bed, so I don't remember what each element stands for, but I did make it for the 'bitter herbs'. I will forever remember the tears that rolled down my face-yes, literal tears. We had horseradish for the bitter herbs, and it was SO strong I thought my head was going to explode :) Everyone started coughing and many had tears. That was kind of the point, though. It was suppose to remind you of the bitter years that the Israelites spent in Egypt and how they wept in their suffering.

This was the table set up. Everyone had a booklet to follow along with. The leader would read, and we would read and sing songs.

This plate was for the matza crackers (No leaven at Passover!) The plates that held all of these things were Eric & Leilani's. They bought them while they were in Israel.

The matza crackers on the plate :)

This is the place setting for Elijah. It is set, and no one sits there. At the end of the Seder the children open the door to see if Elijah has come.

Eli's first Seder :) He slept through most of it...

Eric & mom

Eric was the leader of the Seder. He did a really good job with the whole thing.

This is the whole group singing a song at the end.

The whole celebration was really neat. Eric & Leilani did a great job hosting it. Next year in Jerusalem! (That's what you say at the end of a Seder ;) )

Hangin' out at the mall with friends

On Wednesday some of the new moms at church went to the mall to hang out. We had a great time of talking and shopping together. This is Eli, all ready to go. I just realized he fits into his size 2 shoes...oh boy...the fun begins ;) I have a TON of size two shoes that are SO cute, and I have been just itching to put them on him...unfortunately, he's not a big fan of shoes-but he'll put up with them long enough for a picture.

Isn't my baby BEAUTIFUL!!!

We met at the mall and got coffee and lunch. Here's Christine and Olivia. Olivia is getting so big! She's adorable. Unfortunately, I can never seem to take pictures of her that show just HOW CUTE she really is!

And here is Debbie and Levi-I don't know if you can read his shirt or not, but Debbie made sure to put him in 'Levi's' clothing. Adorable...isn't it nice to have an entire name brand named after you?! Levi is really cute too. He's just getting over RSV and Debbie says he's feeling much better.

Levi couldn't even get changed without someone snappin' his picture :)

All snuggled and ready to go.

Jane was also there with us. She had her two boys and Elizabeth with her. I was so determined to take lots of pictures, but I failed miserably, and really only got the camera out after Jane left, so I don't have any pictures of Elizabeth, but she is really cute too. She and Eli are having a contest to see who can be the biggest...I think Elizabeth might just be edging Eli out :)

Poor Eli was ready to go after a couple of hours. He did really good right up until the last few minutes, and then gave the saddest, most pathetic cry :( So we headed right home.

We all had a really good time. I am sure there will be many more posts of this group of kids through the years!

Childhood memories...

Today I sorted through Eli's clothes. We've been so blessed with many hand-me-downs. However, this does mean I must sort through them and organize them by size. Anyway, I spent last night and Eli's nap time today sorting through it all (because yes, he is moving up to 12 month clothes, and I gotta make room!)
Anyway, as I was sitting in the midst of the mess, all I could think about was how my room always looked like this...well...actually, my room was much, much worse. I very distinctly remember clearing a path from my bed to the light switch each night so I wouldn't kill myself after I turned the lights off.
Sadly, this didn't change for me (Ryan & Jennifer can attest to this fact) until I married my wonderful, fabulous, neat freak of a husband. And now, I can honestly say, that the mess in Eli's room drove me crazy, and it HAD TO BE CLEANED UP!!! It's amazing what marriage can do for you...