14 Months

Eli~ You are 14 months old today!!

*You are in constant motion ALL day long. You continue to play hard & sleep hard.
*You follow me around the house and watch every single thing that I do. On cranky days, I clean the house with you attached to my leg or hip.
*You absolutely love for someone to chase you up and down the halls for hours on end. I’m glad that the dog will now take over when mommy gets tired!
*You love your play days with Brinley, and mommy gets much more done around the house when you have a playmate.

*Eating is still a favorite pastime of yours, even though you’ve seemed to slow down a bit in the past week. Blueberry muffins are currently on the top of your list.
*You don't eat many meals without making crazy faces in between bites
*You would drink milk ALL day long if we let you.
*You love to push things. You rearrange our furniture in every room on a daily basis. And prefer to push your stroller rather than ride in it.
*You threw your first public temper tantrum at the outlet mall last week, and I wanted to crawl into a hole.
*You are starting to throw more fits when you don’t get your way, especially when you are overtired. Thankfully, they don’t last long, and we’re working on the meaning of the word NO.
*You still love to show off for anyone that will pay attention.
*You have started sleeping in past 7 on a regular basis.
*You will now sign for ‘more’ and ‘please’ without being prompted. And you are always ‘All Done’ even when you’re not.
*You were recently 'all done' with me taking pictures of you, so you decided to take a rest.

I’m more thankful than ever for your health. Other than your salmonella scare, you still haven’t had a sick visit to the doctor. We’re counting our blessings and praying that your second year is just as good. You bring SO much laughter to our house, and you continue to amaze us with your sense of humor. Thank you for being such a sweet sweet boy!

For surely there is a hereafter, and your hope will not be cut off. Hear, my son, and be wise; and guide your heart in the way.
Proverbs 23:18-19

Toes in the Sand

We've got a true beach bum on our hands. I'm so glad that Eli loves the beach, and can't think of many other ways that I'd rather spend summer days. I always really enjoy it until it's time to leave, and then its about 10 minutes of pure torture trying to get everything back to the car & hose everyone down. It's more than worth it, and we seem to bring more 'stuff' everytime we go now. We were so excited to take Nana with us to the beach this week, and Eli showed her just how far his little legs could carry him in a short 2 hour trip. We had lunch together, played for hours, and cooled off with a big snowcone!

We tried out the Beach Club in Sea Pines this week, and I think we'll continue going there for the rest of the summer. It's a little bit farther from our house, but definitely worth it.
I love the expression on his face as Nana splashes him :)
'Cooling off' in the not so 'cool' water. By the time we left, this little tidal pool felt more like a hot tub. Not even the slightest bit refreshing on an extra hot day.

We hold onto him for dear life, and never take our eyes off of him. He's just a little too fearless around water for my liking. I'm pretty sure he'd be swimming with the dolphins if it were up to him.
Waiting for another 'big' wave!

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It's so amazing to call this place home. A place where most vacation! If Eli knew what a vacation was, he'd probably feel like we took one once a week :) And what's the very best part about our weekly trip to the beach? Everyone sleeps for hours when we return! We really can't wait for our best beach buddies to get back from Columbia. We've got some major catching up to do!!

Nothin's sweeter than summertime ;)

Saying Goodbye

We are so very sad to be saying goodbye to some dear friends this week. Trevor, Karissa, Corrine, and Zach will be missed terribly, and our beach days will never be the same without them. They are making the move to Pennsylvania as we speak, and I can't even think about it! Trevor and Danny coached baseball together for the past few years, we went to church together every Sunday, and Karissa and I were 'baseball widows' together from January-May every year. It's hard for me to even think about what next baseball season will be like without her.
This past Saturday we had a little going away dinner for them at our house. The kids all had a blast together. If it were up to Neely and I we would have thrown a huge going away party, but we honored Karissa's wishes and kept it small and quiet. Goodbyes are just never easy.

I wish that I had some better pictures from the night, but the kids were playing too hard to stop and pose for pictures.





I pray that the Langhals family never leaves the area, because these two guys have a lot of playing left to do! Eli and Kres are so stinkin' cute together. They chased each other up and down our hallway for hours, and then sat on the steps to rest in between. I just love that these two boys are getting old enough to actually play together.

Zach and Eli shot a lot of hoops together, but only when encouraged by their over competitive fathers!

Creeden Family - We pray that your transition is easy, that you will find a renter for your house in Bluffton, and that things will be all settled in time for your new baby girl to arrive in September. Praying that you find great friends in your new hometown, but that you never forget about us in Hilton Head! We miss you already!

Happy Fathers Day!

I must start by saying that Eli is totally convinced that he has the best daddy in the entire world, as he should be :) There are some things in life that will never get old, and watching my boys together is definitely one of them. I'm so very thankful to have such a kind, loving and devoted husband and father to our sweet boy. We had a really special day today celebrating our extra special daddy! We went to church, then packed a picnic lunch for afterwards. We 'enjoyed' a hot & sweaty lunch in the shade, and let Eli run around for a while. He did a lot of playing and very little eating, but the boy had some new territory to explore!


The heat didn't seem to slow him down one bit!
He was NOT excited when it came time to head home. He was filthy, tired, and probably hungry, but he would have gladly stayed and played for hours.

We came home and re-fueled, and then headed back out to Nana and Pop-Pop's house for dinner. Nana was so kind to feed us a delicious dinner, and Eli loved his special play time with Nana & Pop-pop as always.



We had one tired boy tonight! He had a full day of fun, and thinks that everyday is Father's Day anyways. I can't wait until he grows up and his truly able to appreciate what it means to have such an amazing father.

Father's day is always such a hard day for me, as I want nothing more than to spend it with my dad, or even be able to call him up and tell him how much I love and appreciate him. I'm thankful for the 21 wonderful Father's Days that I was able to spend with him, and always use these harder days to reflect on the great memories that we had together. I will forever be blessed by the legacy that he left.

Bare Bottoms & Baby Pools

We've been so busy recently that I feel like we've done enough to fill an entire summer! Our trip to Virginia was so much fun, and just what we needed. We played hard, relaxed, and spent some amazing quality time with family. My family can't get over how much he changes each visit, and they just love him to pieces. He made us laugh hysterically, he slept unbelievably well, and he learned so many new things. And most importantly, he was SO good in the car that it just blew me away. I was really anxious about making that drive alone, but he certainly made me one proud mama!

This weekend has been full of college baseball. We had some of Danny's senior baseball guys over on Saturday to watch the Coastal/South Carolina game, and then we went out to watch the Clemson game that night. We've also been spending a lot of time outside, but have been getting creative with ways to stay cool. We tried out the sprinkler one day, and that night decided to get our boy a baby pool. It was the best $10 ever spent! We went with a smaller pool that way we could bring it inside in between uses. It's made for a lot of fun inside & outside!

Daddy blew it up before church yesterday morning, and we couldn't keep him out of it!
Yesterday after church he took a dip in his new pool. It was so hot that Danny & I would have been in there with him if we could have fit.
He talked to the ducks, and watched his bouncy ball float around in the lake after he threw it down the hill. Lesson learned!
We don't have any pool toys yet, but our beach toys work just as well.
And what's the best part about getting out of the pool? Running around in his birthday suit after! Yes, I'm aware that he'll hate me for this someday. But it was too cute to pass up!

This picture just about sums him up these days. I wish I could just hit freeze and have him stay this age for a few more years!

We had a fun church picnic last night at a beautiful Rec center on the water. Lots of good food and fellowship.
Poor Eli couldn't get in the pool, but he still had a lot of fun watching and walking with his daddy.
Had to show off his new monster truck!

We're gearing up for a long week this week, and I'm just praying that Friday comes quickly! Danny has 4 night games this week, 2 of wich are in Charleston. We're just trying to make it through the next 2 weeks, and then we'll have a much needed break from baseball for a while. At least I think we will :) Then we can really focus on getting ready for the biggest wedding of the year! July 10th is my best friend's big day, and Eli will be making his first wedding debut. We're hoping that he'll just make it down the aisle, and not cause too much of a disturbance! I'm dieing to see him in his tuxedo.

Virginia Zoo

Eli and I are in Virginia this week, and have really been making the most of our time here! We were very sad to come without Dan this time, but he is super busy with legion ball this week and weekend. When I found out that he would be in Charleston all this weekend, I figured that I would brave the 8 hour trip and come spend some quality time with family. My best friend Danielle is getting married next month, and it worked out that she has a big shower this weekend that I could make. It's been a huge adjustment getting use to being home and my mom not being here. It's just not the same and we all really miss them being here! I now know what my mom felt after my move to South Carolina.

We've really enjoyed taking Eli to do some fun 'new' things. We spent the afternoon at the amazing VA Zoo yesterday, and I think Eli absolutely loved it. Other than the fact that it was 95 degrees and as humid as ever. He really didn't seem to mind the heat, and never made even the slightest fuss the entire time. It was cute to see his little mind working as he took in all of the animals that he already 'knew' from his books at home. He practiced all of his animal sounds, and even learned a few new ones. I just wish we had a zoo even half as nice as this one close to us, or even a zoo at all for that matter! I can't wait to go back in the fall when it's not quite as hot.
Taking a water break with the Elephants
Crazy monkeys!


It didn't take him long to get brave and wet!

Riding home in his birthday suit. I wasn't prepared for the water play, but he didn't seem to mind.

We just can't wait to get back to the zoo again soon!