Ewi's Job, Poop on the Potty and Dinner with Dendi

Eli is a myna bird lately, you have to be very careful what you say around him. He tries to repeat verbatim about a third to a half of the sentences that I say. But, I think the most interesting things are when he has obviously synthesized some information and then uses it in a new context. Lately, one of his favorite things to say is, "Iss Ewi's Job." He says it almost solemnly. He'll say it when we're playing in the closet and he's closing the doors, or when he's dumping Duplo's into his dump truck or when he's finding color matches in his Maisy game. The funny thing is Scott and I have no idea where he picked it up.




Yesterday afternoon, Eli talked about wanting to go to the potty or read his potty books, I can't remember how it started. He started going into the bathroom and didn't want us to come with him. We weren't sure about leaving him in the bathroom by himself, and his potty seat was all put away, as he hasn't shown much interest lately. I waited a few minutes outside the door, then asked him if he needed help, he did. When I opened the door, he had almost set it up all by himself. He had moved his heavy wooden hand washing stool away from the bathroom cupboard, got out his potty seat, put it on the toilet (a little crookedly) and set up his potty stool, and had even pulled out the bottom step. All I had to do was straighten out the potty seat and help him up and he was ready to go. I started reading his potty books to him and he started pooping! I couldn't believe it, I don't think we're ready to potty train yet, he still doesn't seem to be able to identify very often before he has to go. But, it's a step in the right direction.



Tonight we went to Dendi and BaPa's house for dinner. We had a nice time and got to see Dendi, BaPa, NiNi and Ms. Andrea whom we haven't seen since getting back from Disney World. Eli enjoyed driving his car, eating the grape tomatoes that he'd picked off Dendi's vine, doing puzzles with Dendi, trying on Dendi's crocs, stepping on Andrea's feet and going upside down with Daddy.









On the way home, we passed the playground in Dendi's subdivision, and Eli wanted to stop and play. I'm glad we did -- Eli saw his first rainbow. He also played on the playground, emptied the wood chips out of his shoes (he learned how to put his shoes on in Disney World), played in the gazebo and ran through the grass with me, Daddy and Dendi. It was a nice end to a pleasant evening and I think it did the trick -- he fell asleep pretty early tonight.








P.S. Happy Birthday Aunt Seana! We went out to breakfast with Seana and mom this morning, but I forgot my camera. Oh well, more birthday festivity pictures to come as we'll go out to dinner this weekend to celebrate her birthday with the family.

Mommy in Closet!

Eli invented a new game this evening -- shutting his parents in the closet. In this first picture, Scott asked Eli where I was and he said, "Mommy in closet!" with this huge smile -- I was. It started out as hide and seek. But, Eli's version of hide and seek goes like this... Daddy counts to ten, I lead Eli out of the room, find a good hiding place, Daddy yells, "Ready or not, here I come" and within three seconds, Eli is wriggling away from me saying, "Ewi go find Daddy." Then I hear, "Daddy, hee's Ewi, Ewi hides in toset wif Mommy." He's not one for suspense. :)

Then, he decided after our last hiding place was the closet, that it was much more fun just to play in the closet. He would take turns shutting us both in the closet, then just shutting me in and then getting back in with me. Then, when I got too hot in there, it was Daddy's turn. Hours of fun! Except for a few pinched fingers and a little sweat we came out of the game fairly unscathed.







He happily collapsed on the bed after the game and I got this picture when I was asking him about the game...



And, after a zerbert from Daddy he was (almost) ready for bed.

Aunt Seana's B-Day Party and A Typical, Relaxing Summer Day

Last night we went to Pine Lake, Georgia for Seana's birthday party. Martina, Seana's friend threw the party for Seana and another friend Kim whose birthdays are days apart. It was really nice to see Seana with all her friends, finally I could put some names with faces. And, equally as nice to spend an evening with some like minded liberals. Who knew there were so many in the Georgia? I guess I should spend more time in Atlanta!

Since Uncle Brian and Kathryn came too, we had a great excuse to get some sibling pictures. Although it's funny, we probably don't need to do this every time we get together, as we do all live in the same state now. Brian will probably be pleased to hear that...





Then, today we had a wonderfully relaxing and wonderfully typical summer day at home. We are so blessed and spoiled to be able to spend all summer together. We woke up and had a pancake and bacon breakfast. Eli actually helps me mix all the ingredients for the pancakes from his little stool. We spent the rest of the morning reading books and playing Duplos. Then, after his nap we biked to the pool, and after dinner we went to the bookstore. Eli loves to look at counting and alphabet books, because he can READ them! He's very meticulous, and if he makes a mistake he will often very patiently start over from the beginning.

Disney World!

We had a great time in Disney World. In fact, I think I'm suffering from Disney withdrawals at the moment. But, the good news is: the campground, Fort Wilderness is great, and camping makes going to Disney World much more affordable so we'll be able to go back more often than we originally thought.

The big revelation this trip was that we love the campground. It's well-maintained and a peaceful respite to return to after a busy day. We spent a lot of time there. We really enjoyed the pool. They had a large, shallow baby pool that Eli was comfortable in and a huge "regular" pool that we all went in as well. One of Eli's favorite things to do was to walk around the edge of the pool while holding one of our hands. Another great thing about the pool is that it's open 24 hours. We usually have Eli swim in a swim diaper, trunks, swim shirt and hat, but one night we let him go in the pool with just his swim diaper since we didn't have to worry about the sun. He thought that was a treat. Although, one thing about going in the pool at night is that we could hear the fireworks from the pool. Eli wasn't so sure about them and needed a reassuring cuddle.






The pool was also a great place for non-swimming activities too. Thunderstorms hit most of the afternoons that we were there, and when they come, they obviously close the pool. But, since they are Disney lifeguards, they don't just sit around and wait, nap or gossip until the storm clears, they play with the kids! They brought out huge checkers, connect four, tick-tack-toe and Jenga. I think Eli may have had just as much fun if not more "playing" the games than actually swimming at the pool.





Another non-swimming activity that Eli enjoyed at the pool was napping. We realized that napping in the tent in the midday Florida heat wouldn't work, so one day he napped at the pool.



We also had a great time at the campfire, well that is until huge, terrifying Chip and Dale appeared and wanted to meet the children. We actually had to leave. Eli is not into up close and personal with the characters, distant appreciation is great thank you very much! I got this photo, a little blurry but worth it for the expression when we were singing, "When you're happy and you know it" (before Chip and Dale arrived).



The campground had lots of great amenities that we took advantage of besides the campfire and the pool. The bathrooms were clean and obviously recently updated. The bike trails went everywhere within the campground and made everything accessible. The camp stores had everything you could possibly need and run out of while camping, and while the prices were a little inflated, we realized when we braved the local Wal Mart one night that the serenity was worth the cost. They truly had some of the best playgrounds we've seen in a long time. And, of course since it's Disney there were lots of great themed items to play with and pose with.




Another way that we made our most recent trip to Disney more affordable, more toddler friendly and more relaxing was that we only went to a theme park one of our days there. The rest of the time we spent either at the campground or exploring Disney World. Eli thought the free boat rides, monorail rides and bus rides were "real" Mickey rides.





We used our various transportation methods to explore the different resorts and go on sprinkler and speaker hunts.




We also spent some time at the Boardwalk, and two different evenings at Downtown Disney. At Downtown Disney, Eli rode the train, met some characters that weren't so intimidating (they didn't move), and he loved the Lego store area where he played at the little playground and built some Duplo towers that seemed to defy gravity.









We did go to Magic Kingdom one day and had a great time. We had one free ticket left and Magic Kingdom is far and away the best park for toddlers (and my favorite too). Eli's two favorite rides of the day were Buzz Lightyear (which I didn't take any pictures on, I was too busy playing) and The Winnie the Pooh ride. We read Winnie the Pooh to him all the time, and he really seemed to make the connection. I think we rode it at least four times, we kept getting Fast Passes for it.




He has a very serious expression when he's on a ride for the first time. These pictures were taken on the one and only time we rode the Jungle Cruise. But, if he likes it a lot, and we ride it again, he loosens up and smiles, with Winnie the Pooh it was ear to ear. Of course we were never able to catch that on film.





Like the last trip, we decided early on that the stroller was useful only as a locker. We parked it in one spot for most of the day, and went back to it when we needed things. There's just no sense in putting Eli in and out of it between rides because they aren't permitted in lines. So, I ended up carrying Eli most of the day and Scott ended up wearing two backpacks; one on the front and one on the back. He said it was great in some ways, because he could access the front one so easily. This photo shows a rare moment when Scott had both backpacks and Eli on his shoulders. He said that he sympathized with a shirt that he saw on a dad that day that read "Half Dad, Half Horse".



That day he took his nap on Tomorrowland's Transit Authority (a.k.a. The People Mover). We knew from our last trip that if you have a sleeping baby they will let you ride indefinitely. Disney has some nice perks.



Another nice perk was while we were eating dinnner an employee had a table set up for coloring. So simple, yet so nice.



And, once again Eli loved Pooh's playground. I never even noticed the playgrounds (or the stroller parking for that matter) until I was a parent and now I realize --they're everywhere.




Two things Eli was not fond of were Mickey's Philharmagic and meeting Mickey and Minnie. I think the Philharmagic's 3D effects, spraying water, and blowing air were just too much, and the poor kid has been exposed to precious little TV -- a giant movie screen would have been sufficient stimulation.



Even though Eli was petrified of Mickey and Minnie and cried when he met them, he was so cute in line while we were waiting. He was flirting with a little girl behind us in line so we got to talking. When the mom asked me his name, I let him answer and he said, "Eli Moore." I didn't even know that he knew his last name!

All in all, Eli was very well behaved through all the line waiting and especially for the fourteen hours driving there and back. He slept for about two hours each way which helped, and I read my weight in books to him. He also played and "read" to himself, especially his flap books. Considering that as a baby he would almost make himself vomit he would cry so hard in the car, he did a great job. Scott even got a few great smiles out of him when he did his funny voice for "Bear Hunt."