I Never Would Have Thought...

I've never liked bugs. Okay, that's definitely and understatement. I've been scared of bugs since I can remember. I don't mean that I just don't like bugs, I mean scared! This fear is something I definitely don't want to pass along to my children. Being conscious of this fact, I have tried to be mindful of not screaming when a bug comes flying toward my face or when I see a huge spider crawling up the wall in the bathroom. There have been a few times when I've let out a scream when I encountered a bug, but for the most part, I have done a good job of not letting Eli know how terrified I am of bugs. I do have to say that since Stephen has been gone, I have had to kill a few spiders.

Lately, there have been these huge beetles outside, mostly around the playground. Bella walks after them saying, "Bu, bu," and pointing her cute little finger at them. Last week, Eli found a couple of these beetles on the sidewalk, right outside the playground. He was talking to them and asking one if it wanted to play soccer. He then put his soccer ball in front of the beetle. It was quite comical.

Yesterday after walking Kim, Kate, and Jack to their car, we were on our way inside when Eli spied a beetle crawling along our sidewalk, right outside the front door.

He decided to touch it. Please note that I did not try to stop him from doing this.


After examining the bug closely, he decided that he wanted to pick it up!! How much more of this can I take?


He was so excited to be holding it in his hand. "Mommy, do you like to touch beetles?" "No, Eli I just like to look at them." It crawled around in his hand for a while, and he laughed, saying it tickled. Look how huge that thing is!


He put the beetle down on his back, watched him kick his legs, and then picked him back up again. I finally told him it was time to go inside all the while thinking, "Okay, be sure he doesn't put his hands in his mouth, straight to the sink to scrub those things!" Eli had to find the perfect spot to release the beetle. He was going to put him in the box with his plants, which by the way, have really grown. I think I need to put them in the ground maybe?


Anyway, he finally decided that he would put the beetle in the mulch. Bella and I started walking toward the door, Eli followed, and then he started screaming like he was in pain. I kept asking him what was wrong. He finally told me all about what happened. I was able to record some of what he was telling me.

Sweet boy! He's such a loving little boy. If he doesn't want to touch bugs anymore, it won't be because I made him scared of them.

Whose Bed Is This Anyway?

Most children have a favorite teddy bear or other animal they like to sleep with at night. Eli has always liked sleeping with Eddie, a Build A Bear he received from Mommy and Daddy for his first Easter. Since Christmas, when Santa got him a Mickey Mouse, he's been sleeping with him, too. Maybe I should rephrase that. We have been sleeping with him, too. Eli sleeps with me every night. That's a different post all together. I'll try to stay focused on this one. The other night he asked me where Daddy was going to sleep. After I informed him that both Mommy and Daddy were going to sleep in the bed, I asked him where he was going to sleep. He informed me that he was going to sleep in the middle. Even if he does sleep with us, I don't think we are going to have room for all of the things Eli has began to add to his collection of bedtime sleep objects. It started out a few weeks ago with him wanting to sleep in those ear muff/warmer things.
No big deal. Last week, Eli decided that he needed to sleep like this...
Then last night, he wanted to sleep with his guitar, so I let him. Tonight, this is what our bed looked like...


I think it's safe to say that Mommy and Daddy's bed has turned into Eli's bed. What a funny little boy. There isn't a day that passes that he doesn't make me laugh.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Baby Girl

I still cannot believe my baby girl is ONE! Where did this year go? It seems like just yesterday Stephen and I were sitting at the hospital waiting for our little girl to arrive. When this beautiful angel arrived, I never dreamed her first year of life would pass as quickly as it has.

March 2009

March 2010

It is amazing to think about how much Bella has changed in a year. She has the most adorable personality, such a happy little thing. She is now walking all over the place, sometimes so quickly it seems as if she's trying to run. She loves taking things out. What do I mean by this? Just what it says. Bella loves to take anything and everything out... She pulls things out of my purse, the cabinets, toy buckets, book baskets, linen closets, makeup organizers, sock drawers, etc. She never seems to want to put anything back, though. She is such a sweet baby; she loves to give hugs. She has finally started kissing with a closed mouth. The way she puckers her lips is just adorable. I love the way her bottom lip kind of covers her top lip when she puckers up for a kiss. She squeals and laughs when Eli chases her around the house. It's very entertaining to watch them play together. Bella's vocabulary seems to be growing each day. Some of the words she says: Mama, Dada, Eli, bath, na-na (food), Max, hat, sock, book, baby, ball, bat, bye-bye, and I think her favorite word is hi. She says hi all the time. It's really cute when we're walking through a store and she's saying, "Hi," to everyone we pass. She will pretty much try to say anything you ask her to say.

I think our little princess enjoyed her day...

The Spread

Scrapbook page made by Grandma

The tutu looked so, so cute on her!

Papaw and Mamaw came to celebrate with us.

Bella's First Birthday Cake- made by Mommy


Happy Birthday To You

Bella liked her cake after she actually tasted it.

Bella liked her cake after she actually tasted it.

Everyone else had cupcakes.

Bella playing peek-a-boo with Aunt Kathy, hiding in the stool Grandma and Grandpa got her.

Bella and Mommy opening presents. Thank you, Aunt Jackie, for Bella's first bikini- too cute!

It was hard for Stephen to have to miss Bella's first birthday. This is it, though, Stephen. You'll never have to miss a birthday or holiday again. You'll be home soon!!

Shark Attack!

Eli had his second soccer practice tonight. He had to wear shorts to show off his shin guards. He would not let me fold his socks down over his shin guards, so the socks covered his entire leg! I think he's beginning to understand that he has to do what the coach tells him to do. You certainly have to have a lot of patience to work with a group of kids this age. It's so much fun watching him play.

All of the little kids look so cute running around the field kicking the soccer ball around. When Coach Cooper had them dribbling their balls around orange cones, Eli was very deliberate when kicking the ball. I say deliberate, but gosh the way he was kicking was so s l o w. But, when it was time to dribble the ball down the field and kick the ball into the goal, he took off...

Guess we'll have to work on that you don't use your hands in soccer thing. For some reason, Eli really likes to fall down on the soccer field. This seems to be great fun for him. He did it several times tonight. It didn't help that he was getting laughs when he would do it. There's no falling down in soccer!

The other day I asked him, "What do you do when someone takes the ball from you?" He answered with excitement, "Fall down!" "No, Eli you don't fall down in soccer unless you trip and fall." Today, I showed him some You Tube videos of different soccer games. One clip we watched showed two players fall to the ground in celebration after a goal. Eli looked so excited to see this. He said to me, "See Mommy, they fall down." He was right; they did fall down.

We have a team name! It was decided that we would be called the Sharks! Here is Eli's very first team huddle. Shark Attack!!

When we got home, I asked him if he heard me cheering for him. With a cute little smile on his face, he said he did. I'm sure he doesn't know this yet, but I will always be his biggest fan! Go Sharks!

I Don't Sew

I can sew on a button on a shirt, and I can even make a pillow. Once, many years ago Angel and I made clubbing dress that probably could have passed for lingerie. I think I'm pretty crafty, but when it comes to sewing, I just don't have the patience. I bought a sewing machine when we lived in St. Louis. I don't know what I was trying to make, but I ended up taking it back because the thread just kept getting raveled in the bobbin. Momma gave me her sewing machine a couple of years ago, and I finally used it for the first time just the other day. Mom and I had been talking about making pillow case dresses for Bella. I read about how to make them, and it seemed simple enough. WRONG! Ugh. I wanted to throw the sewing machine in the trash after this happened several times.


I was trying to load the bobbin (I guess that's what you call it), and the thread kept ending up under the bobbin spool. After that was fixed, I practiced sewing straight lines only to have the hem of the dress come out looking like this...

Look at that! It looks horrible. At this point, I wanted to trash the sewing machine and the dress. But... Mom came to the rescue.

We decided to make a ruffle to hide the horrible hem of the dress. Mom showed me how to make a ruffle... finally something was easy to do. After Sewing 101, I was well on my way.


The dress was made out of one of Momma old pillow cases. When I ironed it, it even smelled like her house, the smell I remember as a kid, not the musty smell that has invaded her house. The lace we chose for the ruffle was very pretty. We added some lacy ribbon for the ties, and the dress was complete. The big question was- What would this look like on Bella?


Success! The dress fits perfectly, and Bella looks like a little doll in it. Next project- making tutus!

Eli's First Soccer Practice

And so it begins... I have been looking forward to the day Eli would begin playing sports. Not just hitting the ball in the backyard or shooting hoops in the living room, but looking forward to him being on an actual organized sports team. I thought he would probably play tee ball at four or five, so I was surprised to find out that he could start playing sports at the YMCA even though he isn't three yet. It didn't matter that I know absolutely nothing about soccer; he was going to play. Dad made me play soccer when I was around six or seven. After the first couple of practices, I didn't want to play anymore. It seemed like all we did was run up and down the field. Ugh! I would have rather been dancing. Anyway, we got all of the necessary equipment (except for the socks), I emailed Kim and Jenny to find out the appropriate way Eli should wear the shin guards and socks (I am still not sure if the shin guards should go under his pants or on top of his pants- Guess they're getting another email from me today), and for the past couple of days, I guess you could say Eli has been having a dress rehearsal for his soccer practice. He loves wearing his cleats and shin guards!

Tonight Eli had his very first soccer practice. On the way to practice, he asked, "Mommy, who is going to be there to watch me?" After telling him that I was going to be there to watch him, he wanted to know who else was going to be there. Guess it doesn't matter if I'm watching. He wanted to know if Grandma and Grandpa were going to watch him play. I had to explain the difference between practice and a real game. I told him there would be other little boys and girls on his team and that his coach, Coach Cooper, would be there. "What's a coach, Mommy?" he asked. I had not even thought that I may to explain what a coach does. When we got out of the car, with his ball in his hands and his soccer bag on his back, he was ready!

When we got to the field we both realized how cold it was, so I had to put on his big, puffy jacket. He looked so cute running around in that big thing. All of the parents were there cheering on their children and trying to help out. Seeing all of the dad's out there coaching their boys on the field really made me feel sad for Stephen and for Eli. I so wish he was here to do this with Eli.

Before going to practice, I wondered how well he would pay attention and do what was being asked of him. When we got there, I found out that he was the youngest player on the team. He did such a good job! He listened to the coach and did what the coach told him to do most of the time. Look at well he's listening in this picture.
They began by playing sink the ship. I had never heard of this before. One person stood with their legs spread apart and the other person had to try to kick the ball between their legs. Then all of the kids kicked their balls from one end of the field to the other, trying to kick it in the goal. Finally, it was time to take all of the balls away, all except one. The coach wanted them to practice only using one ball. So, Eli got the ball and took off with it. When someone caught up with him, they both just kind of stopped and looked at each other. What happened after that was quite comical as you can see in this video clip.

He was actually quite good, and most importantly, he had fun and wants to go back again. Their first game is March 22. GO ------ !! We don't have a team name yet. I'm not quite sure what will be on their shirts that have already been ordered if we don't have a team name. Just their name and number? Guess we'll find out next week. This is going to be so much fun!

Make Believe

Eli has definitely entered into the stage of make believe. This morning, he asked with great excitement in his voice, "Oh Mommy, do you see all of those little ducklings in the kitchen?" Did he have to ask? Of course I saw them. They were all swimming in the pond, under our dining room table. He went on to tell me that there was snake slithering around in the play area, and that there was a baby moose standing next to the front door. We came to the conclusion that the baby moose was waiting for us to leave so he could go outside. He's been making up things like this for a while, but it has become more frequent and elaborate just this week. I think reading What Would You Do With a Kangaroo? has really made his imagination soar when it comes to animals being in our house.

For some reason, Eli is scared of skunks. On the way home from Mom and Dad's the other night, there was a skunk walking on the side of the road. I, of course, pointed it out to Eli. When we got home, he was almost in tears talking about how the skunk was going to get him. He told me that he didn't want that stinky smell on him. While in his room last night, he said, "Look Mommy. There's a skunk." Playing along, I said, "Oh, I see it over there, and pointed to his open closet." He jumped up, got in my lap, and started to cry. Poor baby! I felt awful for scaring him like that. Guess I can play along as long as it's not a skunk he's talking about.

Nap time has been a problem since Eli stopped sleeping in his crib. Eli thinks of anything and everything he can to get out of bed. After getting out of bed for the third time today, I wasn't even going to listen to what he had to say. I mean he had water because he was thirsty, an extra blanket because he was cold, and he had Eddie and Mickey to sleep with him. What other stall tactic was he going to come up with now? I told him to go back to bed. He kept trying to tell me something, so I finally gave in, "What is it, Eli?" With concern in his eyes, he replied, "Mommy, Eddie keeps sitting up in bed." Eddie. What was that bear thinking disturbing Eli's nap like that? I told him to tell Eddie that Mommy said to lay down and stop getting up. This make-believe stage should be a fun one!