Friends

This month, Eli had two friends over at night -- for playtime, bath and books before bed. Eli absolutely loved taking a bath with his friends Koren and Alex. Michael absolutely loved reading books to two boys at once on the couch. And Mama got the biggest kick out of Eli trying to hug his friends in the bathtub. All in all, they were great evenings!

Beating the 100-degree weather

In an effort to beat the heat on Monday, which reached 101 degrees, Eli ran through the sprinkler with his friend and neighbor Ella, played in the pool with his Daddy, played with his friend Alex shirtless in the living room and ran through a spray park. It still wasn't enough: we had to hose him off just before bed time!

It's hot!

Eli and Daddy ran through the sprinkler this week to beat the heat. Eli and Alex took a dip in the pool, in their clothes. Eli's diaper filled with so much water he could hardly stand up!

July 4th!

The fireworks still haven't started going off in our neighborhood and Eli is already asleep.... so he will miss the nighttime show this year, but he still went to a BBQ to celebrate. He even wore a party hat!

Oh, and the photo of the four boys -- Eli, Dixon, Oscar and Alex (from left to right) -- is an ongoing tradition. They were all born to Statesman Journal employees within 9 months of each other.

Fun filled Friday

Eli and I had a blast today. He played with Alex in the morning again -- and they just love the same things so it is a perfect fit. Eli was SO excited about Alex coming over that he gave Alex huge hugs which quickly turned a bit rough and then he tried to bite Alex. I think he is just so overwhelmed and excited that he doesn't know what to do. I know I have trouble not biting my friends when they come over....

In the afternoon we went to the South Salem track and threw the ball for Wally. Eli helped by picking up the wet, slobbery, muddy ball and putting it into the ball flinger for me :) He also ran through the grass laughing and pointing at an airplane, a crow and other amazing sights.

We made chocolate chip cookies when we got home and Eli helped stir the batter. He only stuck his hand in it once (I swear we had just washed his hands, for anyone reading this who ate those cookies!) He sort of likes to help, but mostly he likes to have access to the counter where all the cool toys are kept: the blender, food processor, crockpot, etc. Parents keep all the best toys for themselves...

A baby fading away

When I put Eli down for a nap today, he was still pretty awake. He started doing his intense smiles (kind of the same way he grabs his blankie and shoves it in his face) and I would laugh and do it back to him. We were totally cracking each other up and trying to do funnier and funnier faces each time. I had never had an interaction like that with him before. It was so fun!

Before nap time, Stef and Alex came over and Eli and Alex really played together -- they are interested in a lot of the same things: opening and closing doors, opening and closing lids, turning water on from the faucet (and only occasionally turning it off) and going up stairs. Alex taught Eli to jump on the bed and they spent a lot of time rolling around on the bed, playing in the shower stall and going up the stairs. They had a blast :)

The other photo is Daddy and Eli feeding the ducks on Saturday afternoon in the beautiful sunshine. Eli had trouble throwing the bread to the ducks. Instead he would let a piece roll down the bank and a brave duck would have to come very close to snatch it up.

Anyway, all of these things remind me how fast he is growing up. He is joking around with me, which seems so kid-like -- not baby-like, he is playing with another boy his age and he is learning to throw. His babyhood is fading away....

Eli and Alex

Stef just e-mailed me photos of Eli and Alex during our trip to Corvallis. Aren't they cute?

Eli cuts two teeth at once

Eli cut two teeth today! I was feeding him some mashed banana on my finger and he bit down and, OUCH, I felt his teeth. They must have just come through because two days ago I saw his gums were swollen. I can't believe he got both of them at the same time. Well, I guess I can -- he has been so upset lately. Mostly I am sad about his teeth because I love his toothless smile. I tried to capture it on film today but no such luck. I still got cute shots of us playing.

We spent some time in the nursery this morning on the quilt I made for us. I gave him a baby massage. We sang songs and shook a rattle. I made him almost giggle by pretending to eat his cheek.

I am on my part-time schedule now so I only had to put in 4 hours today. Eli was an angel and took a 3-hour nap from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Holy cow. I finished my story and made some calls on some other stories and then still had the afternoon free.

We went for a walk with Stefanie and Alex around Bush Park. When Alex got a little fussy in his stroller we sat in the grass and the boys had fun grabbing the grass and trying to eat it. Then we took them swimming. Eli last about twice as long as he did the first time he went, but then he was wailing in the locker room. We'll try again...