Bike Ride and Uncle Brian's Birthday

We had a full day and saw lots of both families. First, we went on a bike ride all over Peachtree City with Amber, Ashley, Uncle Jason and Andrea. Riding a bike is a great way to see the area.






We stopped at Chick-Fil-A for lunch; ate, chatted and watched Eli play at the play place.






Then, we rode to Bruester's for some ice cream.




Tonight, we went to Grammie Sallie and Grandpa Paul's house to celebrate Uncle Brian's birthday. Eli and Brian are SO cute together. Eli likes to chase Uncle Brian (whom he calls Bembi), rough house with him and have Uncle Brian read to him. He also likes to play what Scott calls hide-and-go-Bembi where Brian runs away and hides and Eli goes to find him. Tonight they started another new game, Uncle Brian pick up Eli so he can touch all the lights. I think Brian got quite a workout.









Of course we did all the normal birthday dinner stuff too. We had a yummy shish kabob dinner that Grandpa Paul cooked, and a delicious birthday cake that Aunt Seana baked and of course presents. Eli liked modeling Uncle Brian's new shirts on his head. Not only did Seana bake the cake but she bought us all party hats too. All in all, a very nice end to a very nice and busy day.

Park and Pool with Copeland

On our second day with Copeland we went to Picnic Park (a.k.a. Jumping Bridge Park) and our favorite Peachtree City pool, Pebble Pocket. First we went to the park. Copeland and Eli generally explored on their own. Fortunately they were together on the Space Shuttle, or as Eli calls it -- Blastoff, and the swings for some good photo ops.





Then, we went to the pool. We decided that Eli and Copeland have opposite problems. Eli is probably too cautious. He has no interest in getting his face wet and generally doesn't like to be splashed. On the other hand, Copeland probably doesn't have enough fear. She thinks she can swim and seems irritated when you try to hold on to her. But, the second she wriggles out of your grasp she dives in face first, mouth wide open, and tries to swallow half the pool!

Besides watching and playing with the toddlers, Scott, Amber, Ashley and I had a great time chatting. It was fun to compare notes with Amber and try to catch up on the last few years. Too bad all of them don't live closer. :(


*Thanks Grandmas for taking all the pictures! I know it was a hot and rather thankless job, I really appreciate it.











Tonight, Scott and I went out on our second date since Eli was born. I know -- crazy! We were planning on going out with the gang to catch the new Batman, but all the excitement pushed back Eli's nap considerably and we weren't able to make the movie. We'd been talking about how Eli was going to be a big boy and stay at Dendi's with Aunt Lora, Copeland and Dendi while Mommy and Daddy went bye-bye. He seemed interested, so we dropped him off anyway and went out for Five Guys' burgers and Cold Stone Ice Cream. It was fun, but we both missed him, and realized that we'd generally rather be with him than without him.

Eli Meets Copeland

Eli met his second cousin today. Her name is Copeland and she lives in Sacramento, California. Dendi's twin sister Lora, her two daughters Amber and Ashley, and her granddaughter Copeland will be in town through the weekend. I've been preparing Eli for their arrival for a while now, I've been showing him pictures, talking about his cousin and talking about how he'll be sharing his toys (he shakes his head no, I shake my head yes.) I wasn't sure how he'd do with another baby in his turf, playing with his toys and getting some of his attention. He passed my big brother test with flying colors.


Copeland is adorable. She is constantly shreiking with delight at everything around her: her grandma, her auntie, her mom, the dogs, the cats, tomatoes etc. She is full of boundless energy and she doesn't seem to suffer from stranger danger at all.



She was especially enamored with the cat...



and picking and eating tomatoes off Dendi's plant.





The cousins generally did a great job of playing together (or near each other) and sharing.





This football caused the only slight problem of the evening -- one ball, two toddlers, not great odds.





Luckily, Dendi came to the rescue with another yellow ball.

Basket Head, Nudie Boy and Dinner with Aunt Seana

Eli started walking around with a basket on his head. I'm not sure why... Fortunately, he can see through it. He likes to stand in it, and sit on it, too.





This morning while I was in the kitchen, Scott started laughing and told Eli to go show Mommy. Eli came into the kitchen naked, holding his diaper. He said, "Wet." I took the diaper, he giggled and ran into his room talking about how he was a "nudie boy." I'm sure he would've played naked all day, but I don't trust him without a diaper. So, mean Mommy made him put a new one on, but not before I took these pictures.




Aunt Seana came over for dinner tonight. It was really nice to see her. Eli and I used to go to Trader Joe's with her every week, but with gas getting so expensive we try to go about once a month now. Eli always seems to do better with people in smaller groups and on his own turf. They were very cute together. Additionally, I had a great time with her, too. We talk for hours and still could talk more. As you can see from the pictures, I did get a diaper on him today, but not much else. He loves running around as nudie as possible.