April 25 and 26

I only have cell phone pictures for these days, so I am lumping them together and calling myself caught up on the blog. Plus, Eli is waking up from his nap, so I have to hurry!

On Monday, we visited my friend Sara's Child Development class again. It was great, and she sent me a ton of pictures, but I am not sharing any of them because I am lazy and I want to be done. Then we stopped by my mom's house and played with her for the rest of the morning. We got home, ate lunch, Eli took a short nap, and then he woke up and vomited all over me, at least four times.

It was awful, and he was miserable.

Still, we tried to do some school.

Eli likes the globe, or "ball". Caleb had baseball practice, but Chris was able to leave work a few minutes early and meet us there, so all I had to do was load the kids in the car, drive there, drop Caleb off, and drive home.

Daisy freaked out. She wanted to go to practice, but Chris only has one spare car seat in his car, so it was a no-go. When we got home, I actually laid hands on the girl and prayed for her because she was acting possessed.

Then I wrapped Eli up in the carry of the day and made dinner.

I was terrified that he would vomit down my back, but he didn't. This is Jordan's back carry, which I liked! After Chris and Caleb got home and we ate dinner, I met with Daisy's preschool teacher for parent-teacher conferences. Daisy is doing great, and is ready for kindergarten and beyond. She just told me this week that she is willing to do homeschooling in the fall, so that decision is made for our family: we will homeschool another year. I am mostly excited.

Tuesday was preschool and then speech club. This is Eli waiting in his car seat while Caleb is at speech: 

He was done with the sitting in a car seat thing. Luckily, he was also done puking, so yay?

And Tuesday's carry of the day:

Flipless Symmetrical Half Jordan's Back Carry with a Candy Cane Chest Belt.  I wanted to love it, but found it to be uncomfortable. Not for me.

And then I had book club, and ran off to a Mexican restaurant to chat with my people. My book club has been meeting monthly for over five years now, and they just feel like family to me. I am thankful for them!

April 24

Still playing catch-up!

I was so busy yesterday that I didn't get to do the carry of the day, so I had to do two today. Plus we were in the nursery at church. AND I had to go grocery shopping. AND we had scheduled pictures with my family as a Mother's Day gift for my mom. It was hectic.

But the babywearing pictures:

This is Christina's Ruckless Back Carry. I didn't like it. See how Eli's legs are lopsided? Not a winner.

Now this is one of my favorites. It's Giselle's Back Carry, tied Tibetan. Love it!

My mom went to some garage sales yesterday, and last night she gave me two trash bags full of clothes for the kids. In one of those bags was a fluffy, pink princess dress for Lily. I washed everything last night, which was good because Lily insisted on wearing her new dress to church today.

Princess Lily!

We sent these pictures to Grandma. And doesn't Daisy look pretty in the background? She wore her Easter dress and a bun in her hair.

I won't share the family pictures I took this evening, because they are a gift for my mom, but they turned out really well. The kids were so cooperative that we took them out for frozen custard afterward, at the place my parents always took me to when I was a child.

Eli  has tasted ice cream before, but has never had his very own ice cream cone. 

So, Baby's First Ice Cream Cone! That's a milestone for the baby book, right?

He loved it!

Normally we get the kids cups of ice cream, rather than cones, but somehow I momentarily lost all of my senses and ordered cones all around.

It was a bit messy.

The kids didn't mind, and I had lots of baby wipes in the van. So no big deal?

And Eli kept working on his cone. What a big boy!

April 23

Shew. Today was busy.

Caleb had swim lessons again today, so Chris took the little ones swimming while I worked out and Caleb did his lessons.

Eli practiced his walking in the pool again.

He is getting closer! Maybe another month or two?

We got home from lessons, and Chris decided he wanted to go rollerblading and let Caleb ride his bike alongside him. Except that the girls would want to come too, and Eli was due for a nap. His solution? He pushed the girls in the BOB while he rollerbladed and Caleb biked. That husband of mine is something.

While Eli napped, I struggled with a giant reflector my dad gave me. We have had it for over a month, and I haven't been able to figure out how to collapse it. It is HUGE! Finally, he sent me a YouTube video and I figured it out. 

Success!

Chris and the kids got home in time for me to head out to take pictures of my oldest nephew before his first prom. It was really special, and I was so glad to get to be a part of it!

Aren't they cute? My mom and sister were there, too, and Mom agreed to chauffeur the kids to dinner and then the dance, so we tagged along and shared a carafe of sangria while Ryan and Dani ate (at a separate table, of course. We aren't that obnoxious.).  Then I went to Target on the way home, and got back just in time to put Eli to bed.  Perfect!

April 22

I'm still playing catch-up here. 

We had our once-monthly gymnastics class today, which was exciting. This month, they added a new feature: a toddler area! I eagerly paid for Lily to participate, because she is so ready for gymnastics. When she turns 3, she will be all about it! I wasn't so sure about Eli; I mean, he can't even walk yet! They let me bring him in for free, though, so I was happy.

After today, I will gladly pay for him to participate, too. He loved it!

His very favorite part was the parallel bars. The teacher put a mat under them so that he could stand and hold on, but I didn't think he would be able to do anything. 

I was so wrong. 

Apparently the kid has a really strong grip, and he was able to hold on and hang from the bars. Then I tried putting his feet up on the other bar, and he thought it was the funniest thing ever! He giggled and giggled, and it was just the sweetest moment. Happily, my friend Amber was there and had her camera at the ready, and she was able to capture these images of Eli playing on the parallel bars:

I have no explanation for my hair. But look at the happy baby playing on the parallel bars!

This was when he really started laughing, and it was so cute! Also, you can see Amber's youngest in the foreground. She is only two months older than Eli, but so wildly different from him when it comes to gross motor skills. Isn't it funny how all babies are so different?

Happy Eli, working those bars like a pro.

Seriously: he was strong enough to hang there on his own. I had no idea. This kid is full of surprises! And look at how happy he is!

Thank you so much for the pictures, Amber!

Then we headed home for lunch, naps, and some school.

When we started homeschooling Caleb, I paid for a membership to Starfall. I quickly realized that it wasn't really appropriate for Caleb; while they do offer first-grade level resources and he used it in his first grade classroom, it wasn't at all challenging for him. I was disappointed, until I realized that Daisy was totally ready for it. Now she is obsessed with playing Starfall, and I have to limit her time each day. Eli also likes to watch Daisy play Starfall. He also likes to press keyboard buttons and mess things up. Luckily, I have ancient keyboard that we modified to use as a toy for Caleb years ago. I put that up on the desk for Eli, and he was quite happy!

Then somehow it was dinner time, so up Eli went so I could get dinner prepared.

Today's carry was Double Rebozo Shoulder to Shoulder. All I can tell you from this photo is that I love my new wrap. I just think the color and the pattern is so beautiful. Love it!

April 21

I know, I know. I'm almost a week behind on blogging. I had several non-blog-related photography projects going, and I had to choose to ignore the blog. Sorry. 

But I'm back, and I'm making up for lost time!

Dinner tonight was salmon, which I make extra-tasty by searing in bacon fat and serving with a lemon slice. Eli was "helping" me with dinner, and once he saw the yellow "balls", he wouldn't take no for an answer. He had to have one.

Sure, kid. Play with the "ball".

This is his wind-up before he throws. He has a pretty good arm! Also, do you see the little iPod and the hair clip? There is nothing on my counter, but Eli still manages to find things to get into.

I know. Too many pictures of the same thing, but he's just so cute that I can't resist. Also, this is the first time he has worn that plaid shirt, and I have such fond memories of Caleb wearing that shirt. I think he wore it at least twice a week the August after he turned one.

This is one of my favorite memories of Baby Caleb in that shirt.

We also tried out the carry of the day while I made dinner: Double Rebozo with shoulder flips. It was fine. Whatever.

And our new cup of caterpillars arrived today! There are actually three more that you can't see because they are climbing under the lid, for five total. Let's hope none of them go rogue like the last batch did!

And a training run! Daisy ran the last block or so with us, and did great. We had a fabulous run, and Caleb is pretty ready for his 5k!

April 20

Oh, Eli.

It's a good thing you're so cute and sweet 75% of the time, because the other 25%...

Yep. He has learned how to climb up onto our kitchen bench, and now nothing is safe - not even Lily's abandoned breakfast cereal, which had turned into mush in her bowl.

Apparently Eli takes after his Daddy, and can't stand to see food go to waste.

Or maybe he's just a stinker.

Or maybe his Mommy doesn't supervise him well enough.

Or maybe he is a perfect little almost-fifteen-month-old, who is curious about his surroundings and learning new things every day.

I'll go with the last option.

And really, I was glad to see the cereal get eaten, too.

Luckily, he didn't get any of it on his jammies. Just all over his face. Later, this happened:

Eli wants to climb up onto every chair now, and be anywhere other people are. Lily was reading in his chair, and he had to be there, too.

 The carry of the day was Shepherd's Carry.

I did a mediocre job with it, but I liked it enough that I think I'll try it again, with a different wrap. This one is just so thick that it's challenging to work with.

Chris stopped by the store for me and got home late, and I got dinner started late because I was chatting with Grace and Gayle. We were just sitting down to eat a late dinner at 5:45 when my phone chimed at me: Caleb had swim lessons at 6:20, and to make it on time we had to leave the house by 6:05 at the very latest. 

Whoops!

Luckily, it was taco night, and most of us ate our dinner quickly. (The lone exception was someone who is working to get rid of her daily nap before her fifth birthday, and who has been particularly grouchy during the afternoon and evening lately.) We managed to get to the Y just in time, and Caleb enjoyed his swim lesson while Chris played with the little ones and I worked out. 

I finished my workout and joined my family at the pool and saw this:

Eli was proudly practicing his walking! I didn't get a picture of it, but he was even walking holding on to just one of Chris' hands. Some days I wonder if he will ever walk, but clearly he is making progress.

In due time, Little Man. You will walk on your own in due time.

Yay, Eli!

April 19

I'm writing this a day late, and I don't even remember what happened yesterday.

My pictures tell me that this happened, though:

The kids did school at the dining room table while I cooked dinner and wore Eli in the carry of the day (Day 19!), which was Double Hammock Rebozo.

Also, Eli has become a climber. Now, tooth brushing before bed looks like this:

Really, this happens anytime someone leaves the bathroom door open. But teeth brushing is his favorite.

(That's not his toothbrush.)

Caleb would be devastated and burst into dramatic sobs if he saw this.

Eli doesn't care.

Lily knows he's up to no good, and always yells for me to stop him. 

But hey - it's their bathroom. It's their job to shut the door and keep them out.

(Or maybe that new step stool that is four inches taller than the last one is a bad idea.)

Yep. Even Daisy is peeved by Eli being on the stool. Whatever, man. The kid is developing serious gross motor and problem solving skills.