Father's Day

We've just had the best Sunday celebrating all of the wonderful dad's in the family! We've been blessed with an abundance of Godly leaders, and I'm so thankful for the dad, grandad, and great-grandad's that Eli will grow up under. It's so comforting to know that all 7 of the young boys in our family have such wonderful examples to follow.

I couldn't help but think back to the day that my husband became a father! I love talking about the sweet memories from that day. The tears that flowed from his face when he saw his son for the very first time. It was a few minutes before I saw Eli, but Dan had already told me all about him. I just remember him saying over and over, 'Ash, he's perfect!' And then crying some more...:)
Such a proud daddy!
Showing him off to Mimi and Nana.

Danny is such a wonderful dad. I love the way that he cares and provides for us, always gentle & loving, and always quick to be silly. I couldn't have asked for a more hands on husband and father. I sure can't wait to see him with 2!

Exciting News!

We've got some big news that is just too exciting not to share, and much too obvious to hide! We are expecting baby #2!! We couldn't possibly be any more thrilled, and can hardly wait to meet our new & tiny blessing in January. Eli acts very excited about becoming a big brother, and at least pretends to really understand what we're talking about. He talks about the baby in mommy's belly ALL the time, and loves to look at the ultrasound pictures. I pray that he's still just as excited when it comes time to welcome his baby brother/sister! And yes...we can't wait to find out what we're having. I'm already itching to start decorating!
And the ultimate question that I'm asked daily...How are you feeling?! Well...pregnant! And for me, that means sick sick sick. The first trimester is always rough for me. I've got 3 weeks of 24/7 sickness behind me, and I'm just praying that the second trimester will bring some welcome relief. It's been a daily struggle to continue being all that Eli needs and deserves, while feeling aboslutely miserable. We've got some really fun weeks ahead, so I'm praying that I'll be feeling much better by then. As bad as I've felt the past month, I feel SO blessed to be carrying this baby and even appreciate the pregnancy symptoms that come with it. After suffering a devastating loss back in February, we are holding tight and trusting fully in God's plan for our family. We know that the Lord never gives us more than we can handle, and that always brings much needed comfort. We are so very ready to become a family of four!

Our Weekend

Danny was out of town this past weekend for baseball, so it was just me and the little guy. I was not looking forward to the weekend, but it turned out to be so much fun! We spent the day on Saturday at Nana & Pop Pop's house. It was the perfect distraction, and Eli always has a blast with them. The 3 of them swam until they were absolute prunes. When we got there that morning Pop Pop was outside washing Nana's car. Eli loved getting to help out, and he really surprised Pop Pop with his car washing skills :) It's something that he and his daddy do quite often these days. We ended up going out to their church on Sunday morning, which Eli thought was the coolest thing ever! We went out to lunch afterwards, which was such a treat for us! The past few mornings he's been asking to go back to Pop Pop's church. I'm so thankful to have family close by that we can spend such precious time with.

At first, Pop Pop didn't realize that Eli could work the hose by himself. He got a good laugh & a good soaking :)
I think Pop Pop really enjoyed the extra help!

One of my favorite things was listening to both Nana & Pop Pop tell their friends at church the next morning about how much fun they had washing the car together. It really is the little things in life that truly mean the most.
This was such a sweet memory for them both. Eli just adores his Pop Pop.

Eli continued on with hours of hose fun in the pool. He thought it was SO funny to spray Nana and see her reaction! It was seriously cold, but made it that much easier to get right in the pool afterwards.
Eli and Pop Pop cruised around on their 'boat' for a while.
Jump! (Well, kind of)
We found a baby frog in the pool. Eli talked about his little friend for the rest of the day.
We eventually moved him out of the pool, and Eli kept going back to check on him.

We're looking forward to MANY more pool days this summer! It won't be long before that pool is filled with lots of boy cousins!

Biscuit

Eli's been saying some super funny things lately that we want to always remember. He talks non stop, all day, and sometimes all night in his sleep. We love asking him questions just to see what kind of answer he'll come up with. Our absolute favorite ' Eli-ism' is the word 'fix it.' Little boys are always fixing something, or asking for help to fix something. Eli hasn't quite mastered the 'f' sound yet, and all words that begin with an F, he replaces with a B. Therefore, fix it = biscuit. We seriously laugh everytime he comes running in the room saying, 'Daddy biscuit, daddy biscuit!' It's just one of those little things that gets you everytime. He also exclaims, that was 'Bunny!' aka...funny.

Today while driving in the car he was talking about a party. I asked him who was having a party, and he said Bailey. He went on to tell me that it was Bailey's birthday and that she needed to open a present. He tells people Happy Birthday all of the time now. For the last week or so it's been Meme's birthday, so he's enjoyed telling her that on the phone each day. We may need to work on the concept of birthdays.

I just love that we're able to carry on conversations now. If we ask him what he did at church, etc, he tells us who he played with and whatever toys made a lasting impression on him that day. He loves telling funny stories, and comes up with the craziest things on the spot! Most of his stories involve that of Goat's and Horses. He will randomly start talking about how the Goat is flying the airplane, and the 'neigh neigh' is riding on a boat. I just love getting a glimpse into his little imagination, even at such a young age.

He's also really into singing these days. We've added a few songs each night into our bedtime routine, and he likes to pick the songs. His favorites are 'Jesus loves me,' 'the wheels on the bus,' and 'this little light of mine.' He hums along and pipes in when he knows the words. We also usually wake up each morning to a seranade from him via the baby monitor. I can't think of any better way to start your day!

There are so many little things that happen during the day that I don't want to forget. This time is just so precious, and I don't for a second want to rush it.