The heat makes us all a little crazy

California summer heat is in full swing and although we have been hitting the pool to beat the heat, there are some days that just getting the energy to go outside is too much. So, we have spent some lazy afternoons around the house which with two energetic boys leads to some crazy times. Toy bins on heads, crazy faces and even Eli exploring the dishwasher have made some interesting yet fun times.

In other news, Eli is officially on his way to walking. He took his first step two weeks ago and now he is walking short distances about 10-15 steps before he realizes he can still move faster crawling. It is amazing to me how much more confident and better he gets each day.

When the cat is away the mice will play

Lately Bryan has been doing quite a bit of travelling which will mostly likely continue in the upcoming months. While it is good that business is starting to pick up requiring Bryan to travel, it is hard for me to be alone with the boys for 5-6 days at a time as well on Bryan to be away so frequently. So, when Bryan is away on these trips I make it my mission to keep the boys as busy and entertained as possible. This past week has been jammed packed. We started off by going to the Long Beach Aquarium with our good friends Cristy, Nolan and Carson. We love the aquarium and had a great time.
Even Eli got a chance to get out of the stroller and get up and personal with the fish. Every time a fish would swim by he would squeal with excitement.

Then Ethan and I had a movie night which has become a fun routine when Bryan is out of town. In fact, whenever Bryan tells Ethan that he is going away, Ethan gets excited because he and I get to have a movie night. He eagerly waits downstairs while I put Eli to bed and then we pop some popcorn and snuggle on the couch. Our trip to the aquarium inspired our movie, "Finding Nemo" which Ethan loved. After the movie I let him sleep in bed with me, a real treat!

Today we went to the Orange County Great Park Anniversary fair, it was fun. There were lots of US Marines there showing off military helicopters, Humvees, cannons and cargo trucks. Ethan was very apprehensive at first and since we haven't really explained the whole concept of military and war, he didn't really get it but still found the helicopter neat.

Eli was not too impressed with anything and hung out in the stroller the best he could, considering it was 90+ degrees out. Poor kid.

After we toured the military exhibits we went over to the other area which was more child-friendly and had a great petting zoo. Ethan was excited to feed the animals and was in awe of the turtle that was there.

All in all it has been a long but fun week. We have all (me included) had our moments the past few days and we are ready for Daddy to come home, but it does force me to be more active and get out and do things that the kids enjoy. I think Bryan just has one more trip the end of July and then it is my turn to go on a trip, albeit with the kids, but we are finally heading back to MA for a long overdue visit. We are so excited and are counting down the days!

Summer has begun!

Summer is in full swing and we have enjoyed doing so much. We started off the month of June going away for the weekend to Lake Arrowhead with some friends. We had been to Big Bear but not to Lake Arrowhead and it was equally beautiful. We stayed in this amazing house which belonged to a friend of one of the people we went with. We enjoyed hanging out, boating and just being in the mountains. Ethan loved riding on the boat and Eli was so wound up he didn't want to go to bed and ended up staying up late to play poker with the grown ups!

The next thing was the end of the year Spring Sing at Ethan's school. It was absolutely adorable. Ethan did great however I think the highlight was seeing his face when he saw that Bryan had come to surprise him. He will continue at school through the summer, though it is more like camp with fun summer activities. He is also moving up to an older classroom and will be getting a new teacher, one that he will have for the next two years until he heads to kindergarten.

Ethan continues to be obsessed with baseball. Like last summer he asks all the time for us to go outside and pitch, play catch or let him throw a tennis ball off the roof and catch it. He has gotten so good hitting with a whiffle ball bat that we got him a youth metal bat. It is much heavier than a wiffle ball bat and took some getting used to, but after a few times out, he is slugging the ball better than ever. We do not allow him to hit with it near the house and he often begs us to take him to a nearby field to play. Not only does he hit the ball, but then he takes off around the bases and slides into home plate. He sits and watches the Red Sox every night before dinner and has started to mimic some of the head and body movements of the players. It is a riot.

Eli has begun walking with a walker and is getting quite fast. It took some practice but within a week or so he is motoring around outside. He can stand alone for a few seconds but is still not completely steady on his feet. He is on his way and although I do not think he will walk as early as Ethan ( 10 1/2 months) I think it won't be too far off. He had his 9 month check up and he weighed in at 18 lbs 14 oz and 28.2 inches. The doctor was very pleased with his weight gain (he has gone from the 7% to the 25%) and Eli will eat just about anything. He is pretty much completely on table food for two reasons: 1) I have grown tired of making tons of baby food and 2) he has started to refuse the purees and wanting more of the real food.

Ethan has also resumed swim lessons this summer. What a difference a year makes. Last year we had to bribe him to get in the water for lessons. Once he was in he was fine but it was getting him to get in the pool. This year, he runs to the edge of the pool waiting for his lesson and can't wait. He is doing great. He can float on his back all by himself for more than 20 seconds and is starting to swim short distances by himself.

Busy, busy, busy

The days are just going by so fast it is incredible. Here are some pictures of the boys from the past two weeks. Eli is a crawling machine, just like his older brother, he started crawling right at 8 months and hasn't slowed down. He is attracted to outlets, cords and just about anything that he shouldn't touch! He has started to pull up on anything that he can get his hands on, which often leads to slipping and therefore he already has a bunch of bumps and bruises on his face. Since Eli was a little baby, Ethan has loved to carry him around and if Eli didn't love it so much I would forbid it but I am not sure who is having more fun, Ethan or Eli!
A few weeks ago Bryan and I went to an 80s themed birthday party which was a blast and the following morning Ethan got a hold of the wig Bryan wore.

For Mother's Day, Ethan's preschool had a very sweet breakfast and sang some songs. It was so cute to see all the kids trying to hard to impress their mommies. Ethan did great and it was so special.

Eli continues to eat everything in sight despite being a peanut. He is such a calm and good natured baby, everything Ethan wasn't! He sleeps great, goes with the flow and just likes to watch the big kids.

It is really so sweet to see Ethan and Eli together. Even though Eli is still little, I can see in the way that the two boys interact that they really enjoy each other and just know that they are going to be really close throughout the years.

Long overdue

This is a long overdue update as I can not believe how long since my last post. We enjoyed a nice visit with Meme in the beginning of April. As always we were very busy. We went to the Bubble exhibit at the Discovery Museum, strawberry picking at Tanaka Farms and the SD Zoo Ethan loved Tanaka farms, he was so intrigued about how food was really grown in the ground. He was not a huge fan of tasting all the yummy fresh food that we had the opportunity to sample, except the carrotts. For some reason, all he wanted was to try the carrotts. That and pick the strawberries.

We also had the 2nd annual Red Rail Easter egg hunt which was so much fun. It was bigger and better this year and all the kids were really into it. In fact I think Ethan still wanders around the bushes looking for stray eggs! Ethan also experienced his first Seder, thanks to my mother who cooked it all and helped to start to "pass down" some of her secret recipes.

As any good little brother, Eli tagged along to all of the busy events and festivities. He was a real trooper. Despite getting an ear infection, he has been doing great and now eats everything in sight. He is not officially crawling yet but it really close. Even the little bit he does move gives him a whole new sense of freedom. As excited as I am for him to crawl, I am dreading that next phase of babyproofing and monitoring.

Our little tradition when Meme leaves is to have dinner at the airport on the patio which overlooks the runway. It is a win-win for everyone, Ethan is endlessly entertained by the planes and the adults can actually eat their meals in peace and quiet. Then we say our tearful goodbyes to Meme and the kids fall asleep in the car on the way home.

Priceless

On Friday Ethan's school had a "Breakfast with Daddy" day since the school is closed for vacation in June when it is Father's Day. One of the things the kids did was to answer some questions about their dads. Here are Ethan's answers verbatim.

1. What do you like to do with your dad?
Wrestle

2. What is your dad's favorite food?
Broccoli

3. What does you dad do for work?
Goes on the computer goes potty

4. What color hair does your dad have?
Like my hair

5. What color are your dad's eyes?
Like Eli's

6. How old is your dad?
10

7. What is your dad's name?
Bryan

I laughed out loud when I read this, I think #3 and #6 are my favorite, what a character!!

Six months old, how did that happen?

Somehow, Eli is already 6 months old and I am not sure how the time went by so fast! How is it that our little Eli went from this, here at 1 week old....

to this...now 6 months old and sitting up like a big boy!!

He is such a happy little boy, always has a smile and a giggle for his older brother. Ethan can make him squeal and laugh in a way that no one else can. It is clear these two are going to be quite the team. Ethan continues to be extremely loving and protective of Eli. He loves that Eli is now sitting up and brings him toys to play with, we'll see how long this lasts. Eli is now rolling over back to front and wants to crawl so badly. He gets on his belly and just wriggles and bounces in an attempt to move an inch.

We also attempted to re-enter the world of solid foods. Initially Eli appeared to love oatmeal but then came the RSV and 2 ear infections and his interest immediately waned. Slowly we've worked up to eating Puffs, some oatmeal and water. He is always reaching for food whether it be his or mine but once it reaches his lips he balks at it like it is something poisonous. If he only knew what he was missing out on.

Every week in addition to going to Ethan's gym class, I have been taking the boys to the open gym time. Ethan loves being able to bring Eli down the slide though Eli does not seem too impressed.

I did however put Eli in the swing yesterday and that was a huge hit. He loved it and couldn't stop laughing and smiling. I'm so used to seeing Ethan in the swing it was strange to see such a little baby in the swing, he was so cute.

We meet up with some friends at the open gym as well which is nice for me to get some adult time with my friends, Cathy and Carin. Their daughters love Eli to pieces which is cute. They are always kissing and hugging him. Already a ladies man!!