Happy 1st Birthday Eli!

Eli,

You are one year old today! Your first year of life has been everything that we could have ever dreamed of. You are our precious son, gift, and miracle sent from the Lord. We are so very thankful that we were chosen to be your parents.

Your personality is one of a kind, and your smile will light up any room. You love to cuddle and rock when you’re sleepy. You are always eager to learn something new, and once you do, you never forget it. You love the sound of your own voice, whether it be through singing, shouting, or talking. You learned to walk before we expected, and shortly after decided that running was even better. You are fun, energetic, and keep us laughing all of the time. You love to be around other people, and you've never once cried when we left you with someone else. You are strong-willed, independent, and a momma’s boy. You are mesmerized by details, and love to study things. You’re starting to talk A LOT, and like to copy everything that we do. You are trying harder to say different words, even though they all sound a lot like ‘dada.’ You would be lost without your sidekick Bailey, and she still makes you laugh every single day.

We pray that you will always have this zest for life, and will always have reason to wake up with a smile on your face. Most and foremost, we pray that you will grow up with a deep relationship with your Lord and Savior. We pray that you will always desire to be more like HIM. That your actions and words will bring honor and glory to HIM. And that you will be a Godly example to all that you come in contact with.

We love you so very much! We look forward to watching you grow up, though we pray that it won’t happen too fast!

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
Psalm 139: 13-16
I couldn't resist using all pictures from his first few weeks of life. What precious memories this little boy has brought us!

Island Playground

We had the opportunity to have a little family outing on Friday afternoon. Dan was done with work around lunchtime, and we wanted to take Eli somewhere fun and different. We decided to try Island Playground, which I've been dieing to do since Eli started walking really well. We weren't sure if he'd like it, love it, or hate it. Not only did he love it, but we had the entire place to ourselves for about two hours. We're sure that he would've been overwhelmed if the place was packed full of wild and sweaty older kids.


He still has plenty of kid left in him :)

I couldn't leave this picture out :) We've had plenty of laughs over it! Our first time down the slide, I was NOT expecting to go so fast. Eli doesn't look so sure about it at first either.

He loves horses, and the crazy noises that they make

I love watching my boys together. The simplest things that they do together, could make me cry at any second (no I'm not pregnant!). I just love how Eli already looks up to his daddy, and watches everything that Dan does so carefully.

We had a fairly relaxing weekend, although it was not free from crankiness. Eli hasn't gotten any new teeth since Christmas, so he's none too happy about the two that are coming in this week. I'm just praying that he's not congested and miserable on his birthday weekend. I'm sure that his Mimi and Papa Tom will be a good distraction for him though! We're also very excited about our Columbia family coming in town for the weekend! Eli will be so excited that he can finally run around with his cousins!

Future Golf Pro

Sunday afternoon we were feeling spontaneous and went against one of our 'things we said we'd never do as parents.' We packed up & headed down to the golf tournament...with our toddler! It's almost impossible to find a last minute babysitter, so we figured we'd find out exactly how much Eli likes golf.

waiting for the trolley!

Eli sitting patiently for a brief second

We found the perfect location for Daddy to watch golf, and for Eli to be able to run around. He fell in love with this man's John Deere tractor.

There's no doubt...he is ALL boy

I was a little on edge trying to keep Eli happy and quiet. Paci + pine cone seemed to do the trick! One of the superintendents at the golf course actually offered Eli a job at the course! They couldn't believe how many sticks, leaves, and pine cones he picked up during his short stay. Not surprising at all to us!

We only stayed a few hours, but it was a fun outing overall. After dinner Sunday night, Dan decided to put Eli's golf skills to the test. Their first father/son golf lesson was just too cute!

It took him a little while to accept that daddy was going to help him...he's very much a 'do it all by myself' kind of kid.

I'm sure it won't be too long before he has his own set of custom made clubs! I know that his PaPa will be having those sent straight down from Heaven for him :)


He got a huge kick out of steeling the golf balls from his daddy.

There are certain things that stop me in my tracks, and make me miss my dad more than ever. It hurts so deep to think about him missing out on this sweet little life. It does help to think about him smiling down from Heaven as his grandson holds his first golf club, and chases golf balls around our living room. We miss you PaPa!

Fun with the Grandparents

We've been having a blast with the grandparents & great-grandparents this week. It's so fun to watch Eli interact with them. He learned some really fun things this week too! He now tries to say 'Pop-pop,' but he looks like an old man without his dentures while doing it! He tucks his bottome lip way in, and starts mouthing it...just like his pop-pop taught him! He also started doing several animal sounds this week. He knows what a cow & lamb say, and will do a few others with encouragement.

We spent some time outside checking out the beautiful Azaleas. Could have made for some pretty cute pictures, but we all know that would require him to sit or stand still for a second...not happening!



We celebrated my birthday with everyone last night, and I'm sure that Eli thought the celebration was for him. With our birthdays only being a few weeks apart, he'll always get to practice before his big day! He helped me blow out my candle, and got his first taste of ice cream from his GG. Not only did he love it, but he would do a little dance in front of her everytime he was ready for more.



He sat and read a few books at Nana's table

And sat some more after nearly busting his head half open. He received his worst shiner to date last night. However, I'm sure this one will be topped sometime in the near future.

He's pretty black & blue today...but as always, doesn't seem to care!

Here are a few fun videos from last night! Nana had Eli doing all kinds of hysterical dance moves and he even learned the twist!

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We have a fun weekend planned for my birthday, and couldn't be any more thankful for this beautiful weather! Eli will spend the afternoon and evening at Nana & Pop-pop's so that we can head out to the Heritage. My birthday always falls on the weekend of the Heritage, so I'm thinking that this will become some sort of tradition.

SOOO BIG!!

Eli is back to telling everyone exactly how big he is.

Especially now that he is drinking real milk out of his big boy cup!

He's now down to two bottles a day, and he hasn't even seemed to notice.

I'm the only one in the house that's actually sad about ditching the bottles. I so love that time with him.

We're having a great week, especially since Eli's GG & Goomba are in town!

Easter, No Pants, & a Fun Family Day

I'm a week late, but we really did have a great Easter! We had a really fun Easter egg hunt/Spring festival at our church on Saturday. It was really nice to be able to go as a family, and fellowship with our church family. I heard that over 85 kids showed up, and they all seemed to have a really good time! Eli tried out his first bounce house, and was NOT a fan. He clung to me for dear life, and we quickly made an exit. Maybe next time!



This boy sure does love being outside! He didn't seem to care that his new sandals were no longer brown, but now yellow from the pollen.



Our Easter weekend was packed full with fun activities, and we really enjoyed being able to celebrate with our family and friends. Aside from all of the Easter egg hunts, chocolate bunnies, and really good food, we were able to really reflect on the true meaning of Easter. We can't wait until Eli is old enough to understand what this special holiday is all about.
It's always good to see churches packed full of people on Easter morning, but it also gives me the burning desire to get those same people coming back each and every Sunday morning. Our Pastor delivered a powerful message, that hit home especially hard within Danny and I. We're so thankful that even in our darkest of days, we have our Lord and Savior to turn to for guidance.

One day last week, I came in to find Eli with his 'pants on the ground.' I guess he has a little too much growing room in those shorts! This boy constantly keeps us laughing.


This weekend we were able to catch up on some family time. On Saturday, we headed out to Chaplin park on the island. We did our first picnic lunch of the Spring, and let Eli and Bailey play their little hearts out. The weather was just perfect! We went out to dinner with several good friends Saturday night, and of course have watched just about every single second of the Master's coverage thus far!

Beach day!

This week, Eli added the beach to his list of favorite things to do! This makes for a very happy mommy. We'll be spending as much time as possible there this summer. There's nothing better than playdates at the beach!

Checking out the sights


He was just overcome with excitement everytime he ran for the water :)

Eli and his buddy Kres munching on some sand & sticks before lunch

He really enjoyed being able to run freely, and that he did. He ate way too much sand, threw up the sand, which then made room for more sand. He loved the water at first, but soon learned that it was entirely too cold for his liking. We surprisingly lasted almost 3 hours at the beach, which made for a very quiet and restful afternoon at home.

I have a feeling that the spring and summer will go by way too fast. With so many fun activities to do, the days seem to be over before you know it.