Day Lilies

These have GOT to be my new favorite flower... they look so beautiful. The odd thing is that I don't remember having white ones last year?? Guess they just came up on their own. Also, I think the red ones were orange last year, too. Strange, the inner workings of a garden!!!

A Much Needed Update

It has been a little too long since my last post, but the summer just seems to be so busy! The last month or so, Jared has been very busy with not only work, but also preparing to M.C. a fairly large wedding. Which is happening this Saturday, and it's at the Fairmont Hotel McDonald (where the Queen stays when she comes to AB). So, needless to say, Jared has been slightly stressed. I have been doing all I can to help him, I know he is going to be great. We are also very excited to be able to stay the night at the hotel... sans BABY!!! heehee. Not that we don't love and adore Eli, but we are very excited to have our first full night and morning to ourselves. Courtesy of Grandma who is flying into town later today. It's going to be one crazy weekend, but super fun too.

Eli is growing up so fast, 14 months already!! I can't believe it. He is very much in the 'learning stage' of his development, constantly pointing and 'asking' (in his own way) what everything is. His baby signs are becoming more varied as well... along with the classic 'milk', 'eat', 'more', 'daddy', he is now doing 'juice', 'dog' (ALL THE TIME, as we have three very yappy dogs that live next door), 'frog', 'pita', 'banana', 'book', 'all done'... that's all I can think of right now :) He is LOVING books right now, and although he can sign them (kind of, it gets mixed up with 'all done'), he tries to say 'book'. It comes out like: 'Buhh??'. Everything is a question... haha. He also tries to say 'duck', but that also comes out like 'Duhhh??' haha. So cute. The rest of his ramblings sound a lot like 'The Chef' and 'The Aliens' from 'The Muppets' all rolled into one... its really really funny to listen to.
Ok, enough of the chatter, here are the recent pictures of our little fam! Enjoy!!!


Eli and I at the St. Albert Waterpark... cooling off!


He LOVED the water, no fear at all!!!



Looking cute and all dressed for church. He wouldn't hold still for a good picture.


Eli turned on the TV by himself and found Sesame Street. Such a smart kid!


Eli having some crazy meltdowns... just needed to cry and only his little stuffed Ernie understood. And I, the great mother, took pictures of the whole thing!

Gardening = Sunburn!

Here are some pics of our (well, MY garden)... it is SOOOO much work. My aching back. Today I spent a good 3 hours tackling weeds. Thankfully, Eli slept the whole time which made my day. Plus I got a wicked sunburn. Apparently the sun DOES work in Edmonton.
These pics are a couple weeks old, and pretty much everything has doubled in size since.





The infamous shed made out of recycled doors... Jared built it all by himself! Well, with the neighbors help (here and there) and my vacuum. Its a long, painful story.

Farewell

Uncle Jesse left for Japan earlier this month, and Eli(and the rest of us) want to send him a message. Hope you are having the time of your life, Jesse. XOX

Because he is SOOOO cute

Well, it's been a long time since I posted anything... figured it was time. Here are some great pics of Eli from the last month or so. He is growing and changing so much. I can't believe that in a couple weeks he will be 14 months. wow. Time goes too fast. He's not walking yet, which is fine with me. But he definitely gets around by crawling or side stepping around all the furniture. He is fascinated with lights, wanting to turn them on and off... constantly pointing at the ceiling. My neck is starting to hurt :)
Enjoy the pictures :)

Like a Rhinestone Cowboy...


Hanging with Grandma & Mommy in Kelowna...



Smokin' his toy peas...


Smokin' his toy peas and trying to hook up with his gurl Sades...


Being cute with Mommy...

Bday Party #2

Grandma and Grandpa held a little Bday party for Eli on Saturday seeming that they missed the first one. It was just the family and Eli was cranky and tired... but did enjoy ripping the wrapping paper. I also did not have the energy to make him another 'healthy' cake, so we picked up a cream filled pastry.. thinking that it wouldn't be too bad. The kid just ended up throwing it on the floor, totally not interested... guess he doesn't have a sweet tooth.

ps. The only wrapping paper my parents had was from Christmas... hopefully that doesn't confuse me when I look back and can't remember anything.

Sushi Sushi Sushi

We took Eli out for sushi at Momo's (where Jesse works)... and it was fairly eventful. There was lots of food on the floor by the time we left... Eli wasn't too crazy about the selection* but he did enjoy the green tea ice cream. He was definitely the entertainment for the evening.... yelling 'oooooo' at everyone that walked through the door and at Jesse everytime he'd walk by to serve a customer. It was a pretty funny night...




*Just in case you were all wondering... I did not feed my son raw fish :)

Swingin' in the Park

Well, we are officially enjoying ourselves in Kelowna (not that it is hard). The sun has been shining the whole time, and we soaked it all in at the park the other day with Kim and Sades. It was Eli's first time on a swing... a real park swing. He loved it... almost fell out a couple times... but loved it all the same :)

party time!

here's just a few pics of eli's big day... i'll post more soon!

A year ago today....

I was in the middle of intense, hard labour....
So crazy to think that I have been a Mommy for a year, that I have a one year old, that I even have a kid!
Today we are celebrating not only Eli's first year on earth, but also celebrating that Jared and I have made it through the first year of parenting. I know there are MANY more to come, but so far... we've survived!
So cheers to Eli, the best kid in the world... and cheers to us, for being the best parents that we know how to be!


*pictures coming soon!

Can we build it?

So after living in our house for just over a year, we have finally (FINALLY) begun renovations! Not that our house required a whole lot of fixing up, perhaps some new paint here and there, but the basement was unfinished... but soon to be finished :)
Jared, and the help of our framer friend Matt, and Pete our tool-time neighbor... the basement is almost completely framed. Of course this is only the first step, there's still the drywall, taping, electrical, painting etc. But at least its started! When its all finished our house will go from a 3 bedroom , 2 and a half bath... to a 4 bedroom, 3 and a half bath (all the more to clean). Plus we are moving our 'living/rec room' down there, and Jared is busy designing and inset wall to hold our new 52" TV (which we still have to purchase... but build the space for it, and then the incentive to fill it will be there;), DVD player, speakers, and shelves for books, cd's, or dvd's. Plus there will be a little office space, a storage/utility room, plus room under the stairs. It feels so good to finally put all this 'unused' space to use! I'm really excited to see the finished product... Can we build it? Yes we can! lol.. so cheezy, I know ;)

Random Eli Pics

Eli's Dedication -April 8, 2007

Last Sunday (Easter Sunday) we were able to celebrate Eli's dedication at The Canopy, with my family and close friends. It was really great to finally do this, as I have been waiting for the fam to come visit. It was a great weekend over all, really really busy, but oh so satisfying to be with those whom you love the most :)

crooked

On Monday I had a dentist appt, which usually I totally don't mind. I'm not one of those people who fear and dread the dentist... if anything I fall asleep in the chair. But that's usually because I'm getting a clean and check done..and that's really not 'seeing' the dentist.
Monday was 'get fillings' day. OMG. I thought I was going to DIE. Or at least suffocate to death. It was HORRIBLE! I forgot how horrible it was... the needles, the drilling, the stupid rubber dam over my mouth that made me feel like I couldn't breathe. Then to top it all off, the freezing that took over one side of my face, from my mouth to my ear! And it lasted for over 4 HOURS! My own son barely recognized me because I was all crooked. It was an awful day.

This post is dedicated to Juanita for babysitting my cranky, teething baby. And to Kim, who rightfully so endures panic attacks before each and every dentist appt. Never again will I doubt her.

Sleepy Eli

This past week was soooo crazy busy, filled with tons of shopping.... it completely pooped out Eli.

Ladies on the Town

While Becky was here visiting from Vancouver, we had to do a ladies night out! So we hit a great little martini lounge and did some booty shakin' afterwards. It was a fun and memorable night....

Ps. Donloree is not 'inebriated' in these pictures... she just couldn't stop blinking!