Story Book Forest

I know I am still behind on blogging but I wanted to do this one tonight. Eli and I went to Story Book Forest tonight at Arcadia Lake. I wanted to take him last year but I thought he might've been too young. It was really cute! They lined the forest with little scenes from classic story books. They had the gingerbread house, the witch in the oven, the three little pigs, rock-a-bye baby, hey diddle diddle, pinocchio, the little old woman who lived in a shoe, and several others. We had to do a little waiting to get in but Eli did really well. Luckily we were in line with some little boys who were dressed up as Angry Birds and Eli loved that. I put Eli in his train conductor outfit. We went to each story book and collected a piece of candy. Eli pretty much only likes lollypops and M&M's so a lot of it he wasn't interested in (fine by me).







After walking through the forest, we waited in line for the hayride. The weather turned out to be pretty nice. It was supposed to be very windy but it calmed down. It was in the 50's. The hayride was pretty fast. Eli was excited to visit the campfire area. After the hayride, we went and bought some marshmallows to roast. There were still plenty of spots to sit down at and roast them. Eli willingly took a bite of the roasted marshmallow but wasn't crazy about it.







Next year we want to take Daddy with us. He joined a new tennis league and tonight was his first game. I can see bringing our own smores and hotdogs next year to roast. We really had a good time!


Me and my baby on the hayride

Museum of Osteology

We visited the museum while Grandma was here. It was almost in the middle of nowhere so we weren't sure what to expect. But the facility looked almost brand new and was really nice inside. We also had the whole place to ourselves! Only the employees where there. Everything on display (that's not behind glass) you can touch; which was really nice for Eli. It was all in one large room so he just pretty much ran around in circles and looked at all the bones. There was a second level also. That part made me nervous though cause I swear he was skinny enough to where if he fell down, he could have slipped right under the railing and fallen 15 feet to the ground. Eek. So I much preferred the first level. Here's some pictures:


Eli's favorite-the giraffe



A Racoon (how cute)


A Macaw


The cat exhibit

Grandma's Here!

JR's mom came to visit us for Eli's birthday party. Eli was so excited to see her as we had been talking about it for weeks. He was especially excited because a certain trip to Toys R Us was promised so he could pick out some birthday presents. The week leading up to Grandma's visit we had visited Toys R Us more than a few times just to look at the toys and I said we weren't going anymore until Grandma came. She half expected him to mention it as soon as she walked in the door from the airport.

We did some fun activities while she was here. One day we went to breakfast at Cracker Barrel, our favorite breakfast spot. I had gotten a good deal on admission to the Museum of Osteology in Oklahoma City. We had never been before but Eli was excited to visit the "bone museum". He kept asking if Thomas was there. That maybe Thomas was a fossil. Silly boy.


Eli sitting on the elephant at the bone museum with Grandma

We also took a trip to Toys R Us. It was kinda in the middle of nowhere and we weren't even sure that they were open anymore from the looks of the area but it was fine inside. Does Toys R Us ever plan to change their look? They certainly aren't keeping up with the times :)


Opening presents from Grandma

Another morning we went to the pumpkin patch. It was a very nice day. Eli and I were both suffering from allergies that day so we didn't stay too long. Eli seemed to be feeling pretty miserable. We had some fun though. I attempted to swing from a rope tied to a tree. Everything gets harder to do when you're old though. Eli and Daddy tried too. Eli couldn't stay on too long. Maybe next year. He really wanted to see the animals. We went over and feed the goats and sheep. There weren't as many animals as last year it seemed and they weren't hungry when we went.

Eli got to ride the ponies for a little while too. SInce there were only a few other people there, the man guiding the ponies let him ride a while longer. He was having fun! Then we got to ride on the hayride. I love that Parkhurst Pumpkin Patch has become a yearly tradition; I look forward to it despite the allergies.

One of the days she was here, JR and I went to the new Outlet Mall in OKC. It was pretty nice; your typical outlet mall. I found a couple tops and JR found one too. Eli had a nice time with Grandma and I talked to Eli on the phone on our way home. He sounded so adorable. I'd never talked to him on the phone before.

Then Saturday came his birthday party but I will talk more about that later.

Eli loved his time with Grandma (and we did too). He loved making her laugh at all the wise and hilarious things he says. So grownup from when he saw her last. We hope she can come back soon!

Sockey

Since the weather has been nicer we've been getting outside more. JR has been playing racquetball against the house and slapshot with the hockey stick. Eli loves it when JR hits the ball up onto the roof. He kept asking if Daddy could play "Sockey". Not sure how he came up with that word but it's terribly cute.

Let the Party Planning Commense!

Eli said he wanted a Thomas the train party this year for his third birthday. He is in love with Thomas more than ever. I've discovered a new website called Pinterest and it's awesome! That might be an understatement. It's basically a virtual pinboard and allows you to grab pictures from all over the internet and "pin" them to a designated board. I created one for Eli's 3rd birthday, so whenever I saw something I liked, I pinned it, and referenced back to it. It's different from bookmarking because you can see all your pins and they are pictures that link back to the original site. It's really amazing.

So the first thing I made was this adorable birthday chair cover:



I'm not much of a seamstress, so for this first project I cheated. I used Fabric Glue. Actually, I didn't even have a needle when I started this project. So for the next project I knew I needed to get a needle at least. I bought a little sewing kit, felt, and fabric and here's what I came up with next:

Eli's Birthday Crown!


The front view


The side view


The back view. There's a piece of velcro sewn onto the crown and covered with thomas fabric.

This was just something fun I did for Eli. I decoupaged some thomas images onto paper mache letters for decoration:



The last project was really fun. It's a DIY (Do-It-Yourself for all you non-crafters) photo on canvas. Photo on canvas can cost a pretty penny. Especially the 16x20 I wanted to do. I saw this project on Pinterest and it seemed totally doable. Basically you buy whatever size canvas you want and order the same size photo. Use a little Mod Podge to glue it down and seal it up, and some pretty paper on the sides and dab some paint on any spots left open:


I took this photo of Eli at the Oklahoma Railway Museum earlier in the year

It turned out really great. I tested out two other photos on canvas before I attempted this larger one. I love how everything turned out.

Picnic in the Park

I am really behind on blogging. I apologize. The whole month of September was spent crafting and preparing for Eli's birthday party. I'll have more on that later.

The weather is finally cooling down! Last month, Eli and I decided to go to the park and have a picnic. We went to Hafer Park, our favorite. We fed the ducks first and then laid out the blanket to eat our lunch. Eli is finally eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (as long as it's shaped as a train, t-rex, or stegosaurus).

It's Good To Get These Little Leggies Moving

Thursday Morning, Eli and I were on our way to the kitchen to make breakfast. I was about 20 steps behind him when I heard him say "Ouch". When I saw him in the kitchen he was holding his neck and starting to get upset. At first I didn't think he really bumped it too hard. I picked him up and he asked me for a band-aid. I told him that wouldn't help but I would do it if he wanted. I told him the best thing would be an ice pack and he agreed. We sat on the couch with the ice pack and watched an episode of Thomas. After the episode was over (30 mins), I tried to move his neck to check it out and he cried in pain. I could see the muscles in his neck spasming. I was actually worried enough to call the doctor and left a message.

We laid on the couch for awhile and I heard Eli's tummy growling. We still hadn't' eaten breakfast yet so I tried to lay him down on the couch. He cried and cried. I tried to carry him in the kitchen to make the toast with me, but he's so stinkin' heavy it was really hard (unlike when he was a newborn--I could hold him and do anything). So I went back to the couch and laid him down against his will. He cried for a few minutes but then I went to get the toast.


Waiting for his breakfast

He laid on the couch and ate his toast and drank some juice. After a few hours he still didn't want to move. I scooped him up on my lap and he cried for a few minutes before falling to sleep. The doctors office finally called me back and said we should come in. JR was on his way home to help me with Eli since there was no way I could do it on my own. After he woke up, we took him to the doctor.

She examined Eli. It was the most pain I have ever heard him in. It was horrible to see him in so much pain. She moved his neck, felt around on his collarbone, he cried and cried. After a few minutes, he started to get mad. He may never want to see her again. I don't blame him.

She said he had traumatic torticollis. Basically, he twisted his neck (and along with that came muscle spasms). All she said we could do was ice it, advil, and tylenol. After we got home from the doctor, we sat back on the couch. There was a lot of crying anytime he had to move. I just carried him from place to place that night.


Icing his neck after seeing the doctor

Friday morning we woke up and he was still feeling the same. He laid in bed and played games, watched videos, and read stories. We ate some breakfast and did more sitting around. I felt so bad for him cause I knew he was bored, but it was so painful for him to move I don't think he minded. Around lunch time, I tried to get him to sit up some without me helping him and he cried so bad. And, here's the thing about Eli, he doesn't really cry. So I knew it really hurt him.

Daddy brought home a special new toy for Eli on Friday afternoon. Something he's been wanting for quite some time (we knew it would cheer him up and give him something to do on the couch). After dinner I went to the grocery store. I'd kinda been stuck at home and we were running out of essentials. On Eli's way to bed, I decided to try and make him walk. He protested of course, but he wasn't crying nearly as much as he had been the day before, so I thought he was getting better. He held my hand and daddy's hand and we made it all the way to his bedroom. He was saying ouch the whole way but not crying. It was the first steps he had taken in 36 hours. We were so proud he tried.


Playing with Mommy's laptop

On Saturday morning, he didn't want to get out of bed. I gave him breakfast in bed and let him lay there for awhile. Daddy was out cutting the lawn. Finally I told Eli it was time to go to the couch for a change of scenery. I sat him up on the bed and moved to the floor with him. I stood him up and we walked into the living room together. He cried for about the first 5 mins, then just pouted a bit. We looked at Daddy out the window and Eli was happy to see him and daddy was happy to see Eli walking! I asked Eli what he wanted to do and he said go outside and see Daddy. So we walked holding hands. WIthin 15 mins of getting out of bed, he was walking without me. We went inside and Eli wanted to play with his trains. He said ouch a lot for the first half hour but he never cried again. Hooray!


Eating breakfast in bed

His neck is just a tiny bit stiff but he is mostly back to normal. After he finally started walking around he kept saying "It feels good to get these little leggies moving." Or he would say "Look, I'm walking!". Oh it was so great to see him play again.


Eli playing for the first time in two days!

Making Bubbles

We got together with the MOMS Club at Katie's house about a month ago and we made bubbles from scratch. It was a lot of fun, but really messy. Katie's probably still scrubbing bubbles off her patio a month later :)


Making the green bubbles


Mixing the bubble solution


That bowl doesn't go on your head, my dear


Uh, I think he's trying to eat the bubbles


Catching the bubbles in the bubble machine


So much fun!

Flying Kites

Eli's first time flying a kite and he did pretty good! The wind wasn't quite strong enough that day though so I kept having to throw it up in the air. He had fun with his Toy Story kite though.

Dynamo Gym

I take Eli to this cute little place called Dynamo Gym. It's a three story indoor playground. The great thing about it is that parents are allowed to go on it as well. Eli can manage it by himself but sometimes he gets a little stuck pulling himself up to the next level. They have slides too. It's only $5 for two hours of play and it's coming in handy on these hot summer days.


Going down the slide


Hanging from the bars


He loves Dynamo Gym

Toads

We've been seeing some monster toads in our yard lately. Last night we stepped outside on the front porch and there was a huge toad on the door mat.

So this morning JR was getting ready to mow the lawn and he's saying goodbye to Eli. Here goes the story:

Daddy: "Bye Eli, Daddy is going to cut the grass".
Eli: "Okay Daddy, be careful. Watch out for those toads".

Bahahahahahah. My little man cracks me up.

Tracing Letters

Eli has started to trace his letters. The other night I wrote the entire alphabet on the driveway with purple chalk as large as I possibly could stand. After I did that, Eli went over them with yellow chalk. He talks about the alphabet ALL DAY LONG. He sings the alphabet, plays with the alphabet, makes me sing the alphabet, we draw letters in the bathtub with soap, etc. It's no wonder he needs to move on and is starting to read some words, and spell out words with his letters. I think I am going to take his lead and start having little lessons a few times a week. Nothing major. Target sells these activity books in the dollar section for preschoolers.



These are really great books and they are only $1! I scooped up all the variety that they had. Some of them are probably out of his range right now. But they will be fun for him to have in the years to come. I haven't been able to find these anywhere else.

That's Not Right Mom

I was reading Eli his toy story book tonight at bedtime. It's a Toy Story Christmas story and he really likes it. I hate the book because it's a huge collection of stories and it's really heavy. The Toy Story one is the first story in the book so my right hand always starts to hurt before the left one....anyway. I was reading the line "even the green army men looked glum". Instead of saying glum, I replaced it with sad. As soon as I said it, Eli goes, "No mom, glum, they looked glum." Oh. You're right Eli. Smart kid.

WTH?

So Eli picked up a naughty phrase, but we have corrected him and instead he says "What the heck". (Just in case you were wondering, he was saying what the hell). Not sure how I feel about this, but it's not a bad word so I guess it could be worse. He has started to say it a lot the last couple of days and I hope he gets over it soon. This is just a reminder that our little boy is quite a sponge and we need to watch what we say around him. He will say "What the heck", and then look over at me and say "I can say that right, Mommy?". I try to tell him to just say what, or oh no instead but it's no use.

*Update--Thankfully he has stopped saying this over and over.

Auntie Anne's Pretzel Tour

We went on a tour of the pretzel shop at Quail Springs Mall. We all washed our hands and the manager showed us the process of making pretzels. We all put gloves on, even the kids. Eli didn't care for his too much but he kept them on nonetheless. Each kiddo took their turn and the whole time Eli kept saying "Can I make a pretzel now, is it my turn?". He was the last in line, haha. He really had fun when it was his turn. The manager was really nice too, helping all the kids. Mommy is a piggy so Eli got to roll out two pretzels :)



After they were done cooking (only 7 minutes for fresh, hot pretzels), he dipped them in butter and swished them in cinnamon sugar. They were sooo yummy. Eli licked the sugar off of his, maybe he took a bite or two.