I don't know where he learned it from, because I've never taught him to do this. But now whenever I get out my camera and want to take a picture of Eli, he says (with a big silly grin)

CHEEEEEEEESE!

Love this little guy.

What's more fun than a barrel of monkeys?

....apparently a fireplace of magnetic animals!


I found these great magnetic books at Costco that have a pocket of animals included, with little magnets inside them. I got it for Sundays during church to keep him busy and quiet. But he's found that the animals stick to all sorts of things around the house -- his folding beach chair frame, the fridge, my filing cabinet, and of course, the fireplace! Too cute.

Eli Update

I can't believe it was over two years ago that this picture was taken. Man, he's getting so big now! Eli is finally being really vocal, repeating what we say and imitating our words. He's curious about new words and loves to tell us what each animal says and loves pointing things out to show us. He's really showing his intelligence and I'm loving it!

Eli loves Dora the Explorer. I seriously think he's got a major crush on her. It's too cute. He's got a little backpack that looks like the one in the show, and she's even got him counting to 15 in Spanish! Yay for Dora. Eli also loves it when Dadda comes home, he bounds to the door to open it and let him in. I love seeing that, as I'm sure Nathan does too. So cute. :)

He's also a big Play Doh fan, as witnessed by the multitude of little dried bits of it in my carpet. Oh well, that's the price I pay for a happy toddler, right? I'll take it! :) He loves being outside, running around and playing in the sand at the park. He always finds a little corner to hide in, where I will find him digging in the dirt or sand. He's definitely all boy!

Here are the big changes! LOL. New banner. I want to thank Keri Schueller for her great template, Amanda Sok for her amazing Ponder Collection, and Thao Cosgrove for her Sisterly Collection Mini that has that beautiful flower in it. Yay for a new look for spring! :)

Oh, and my announcement is probably not what you're thinking. :) I'm not preggers! I just have a cool thing coming up with Scrap Girls that I can't quite tell you about yet, but I'm looking forward to sharing soon. So don't get too excited and start knitting me a baby blanket! :)

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

Hi all! Just wanted to let you know that my blog will be going through some renovations in the near future. So do not be alarmed, I'm working on a different format for it, and it will be cool. Sorry about the dust and debris. It will be gone soon.

Oh, and I also have a fun announcement to make soon as well, so be on the lookout for that!

-L

Down Memory Lane...

Ran across this video today and it totally took me back to when I was a kid! I really loved Doug and I was so excited to see this! :)

Just have to give a shout-out to my dear hubby. Yesterday he did the dishes and even some laundry! What a sweetie he is, and so patient with me while I am in my cave working on layouts. Seriously, I married UP! :)

Also, he got me an early birthday present on Saturday -- a Lego Hogwart's Castle from the Order of the Phoenix! :) Only those who know me well will know how cool of a gift this is. I LOVE Lego's. I have since I was little. And I'm so excited that I got to get this one! It was so much fun to put together. Thanks babe! You're the best. :)






Oh, and Eli really had a fun time trying to 'help' me put the Legos together. Needless to say, most of it was finished while he took his nap yesterday. That's why I love lazy Sundays! :)













This castle came with two extra side parts, one of which was the greenhouse where the Mandrakes were being grown. The detail that goes into making these things is just incredible. Love it!

LEGOLAND!

I feel like a little kid again! :) My good friend Tracy and her husband both have passes to Legoland (our kids are free until they turn 3) and she told me one day that she was going out there. She asked if we had ever considered getting passes, and I told her we wanted to, but weren't sure if we would like it, if it would be worth it, how often we'd go, etc. But she convinced me that we'd love it and she said that we were welcome to go with her and David the next time they went.

So I got home that night and proposed the idea to Nathan. It didn't take too much convincing, as I know Nathan loves Lego's as much as I do and I'm sure he was curious to see how fun the park would be. (I mean, if all else fails, there's a huge Lego store there where you can get great pieces and sets, so that would be worth it! Hahahaha.)

I bought my pass that night online, printed out the ticket, and we went the next day with Tracy and her son David. Let me tell you, we had a BLAST! Eli loved it because there were rides that he could go on, I loved it because it is a fun amusement park with lots of little kid stuff to do, but even a few big kid rides too, so Eli won't grow out of it too fast. So needless to say, I'm so excited that we got passes! Yippee, thanks Mom and Dad Lakey! :)

Okay, so I guess I can't post something fun like that and not show you the pictures! Here are some fun ones from the first day we went and also from today (Nathan and I took Eli Saturday morning). Enjoy! :)


This is Eli absolutely loving these water musical instruments. He loved watching them spit water and wanted to hang out at that fountain all day long. :)

Here is the little monkey at their Mini-land place, he's pointing to something cool, I'm sure. :) The little mini towns are really neat, it's amazing to imagine the work that goes into making those things!

This is Tracy and David, our friends who invited us to go with them. I'm so glad we have good friends close by us that we can hang out with! Yay friends! :)

This is Eli's crazy happy face. Don't ask me, I don't know what he was so crazy happy about. :)

Here's me and the King. No explanation needed.


Okay, this is my favorite photo of the entire day. Look at the terror in his face!! BWAHAHAHAHA! Okay, I probably shouldn't laugh at my own child, but this just took me by complete surprise. He enjoyed all of the other rides just fine, going up and down and round and round. But then we got into this airplane ride that did a diagonal dip, and he just wasn't sure about that one. Love this priceless photo, and will definitely be showing it at his wedding, LOL! :)