Who needs a Birthday BASH...

When you can have a BIRTHDAY BATH?! 

 The best thing about having a 1 year old? 

He's perfectly content doing whatever. 

But really, we do have a birthday party planned for this weekend.

Until then...

check out this happy birthday boy in his Birthday suit. :)

MINNESOTA!

 Before I get to our awesome trip to Minnesota here is a picture of our buff little Eli guy.  He just loves to watch us mow the lawn, and he kept begging for a turn to try it out.  He pushed the mower through the grass. He is a strong little fella, probably going to be a linebacker some day.

 We had a splendid time visiting Kreg, Anna, Cecily, and Oliver Wagner in Minnesota.  Here we are visiting Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis. 

 Playing in the water

 Our awesome hosts Kreg and Anna.  They treated us well and we are grateful for their hospitality and sharing their cute kids with us for the week.

 Cecily and Eli got to meet the Blues Clue dog at the Mall of America!

Cecily jumped into this picture with some random kids, so I quickly snapped a picture too.  Ha ha!

Us at the Yankees/Twins game at Target Field. 

 Visiting the Scripture....no no Cecily it is the sculpture gardens.  She kept calling it the scripture gardens.  I like the big spoon and cherry.

 Best buddies playing doctor

Chillin' at the beach at one of the many many lakes in Minnesota.

We really had a great relaxing time hanging out in a new place.  Eli did get sick so we had to take him to the ER, but after a few days he was fine. Eli and Oli had a great time playing together.  I am excited to see them grow up together.  

Highlights from California

While Craig was finishing up finals last month, Eli and I flew out to California to spend time with my family and to earn a little extra money teaching swim lessons. Here are a few pictures from our trip. I stole the pictures from Anna's blog because I NEVER had my camera with me....so sorry if you've already seen them.

 Getting some sweet lovin from the puppy.

 Eli LOVES anything with wheels on it. He will push suitcases, strollers, shopping carts, or bikes. You name it, he'll use anything and everything around. It was a little frustrating for Cecily though...

It was so fun to see Eli and Oliver together! I sure hope this is some sign that they will be great friends to come! 

 Girl's night out to see YES company's HAIRSPRAY. soooo good!

My sweet Eli

I have been so bad about tracking Eli's progress/milestones over the past year. 

Lots of people told me to be careful about how many pictures I take, journal entries I write or blogposts I do because it will set a precedent for my other kids. 

If I do less documentating with the next kids than I do with Eli... uh oh. 

I don't want to forget some of the little things that he does that I LOVE... so here's a chuck-full post of some of my favorite pictures from the past couple of months. (California pictures will come tomorrow and Minnesota the day after that. promise. :))

 He'll sleep anywhere. Craig and I decided to hike R mountain one day and it wore us all out!

 He's allllll boy.

 I love his smile, but the face that he gets when he is concentrating melts my heart too.

 He loves hanging out with dad.

 ...and helping me with laundry.

 When he rides his rocking horse, he makes the cutest little tongue clicking sound.

He is our little helper!

and a picture from his one-year shoot taken in Minnesota. LOVE him!

Road Trip

Eli and I just got back from a short weekend trip to Utah. He slept the entire time down, but the trip back today wasn't as smooth. He cried off and on a lot. Finally, I decided we should stop at a gas station to fill up, change his bum, and let him burn some energy. 

I found him like this:

Oh Eli... wear your seatbelt.

Love love love

When in California, we were able to attend Laleinia and Alastair's wedding. Laleinia was one of my best friends in high school, so it was so fun to be able to see her so happy. She was a GLOWING, beautiful bride!

Eli and Craig outside

 Me with two of the lovely bridesmaids, Breanne and Carly

 A week later, we were able to go down for Craig's sister's wedding. She,too, looked STUNNING! I didn't get very many pictures because Eli was so busy chatting and clapping during the whole ceremony, but it really was beautiful. We are so happy for Kristina, James and Keaton--they make a pretty cute family. :)

 (I know what you are thinking....this is the best picture you have? yes. yes,in all of it's blurry glory, it is.)

The next sequence of pictures is Eli with his Grandpa Fisher who all the grandkids adore.... enjoy. 

love, Love, LOVE! :)

Chores, chores, chores...

Since Eli had started to move around, he's become much more 'helpful' around the house. 

He's always making sure the trash cans are empty...

He cleans out the "puffs" container...

Helps dad with the handy-man jobs around the house that need to be done...

Last, but not least, he helps mama with the laundry.  

Teach them while they're young, right?