Our House!

I still haven't taken a front of the house picture, but this is part of it. Once we get landscaping in and grass I'll post again
Our escape artists bedroom (AKA Eli).Lydia's Bedroom
Family room (please ignore the box on the ground)
Dining room (still no pictures up... but soon I hope).
Part of the kitchen... I REALLY want an island in the middle for more counter space!This is where all the magic happens ;)

Bithday party!

The birthday boy himself!Eli and his Cookie Tray :)

Lydia trying out Eli's new bike... really, she just needed to make sure it was safe.Lydia wasn't left out either. Papaw Mike (Michael's father) and Mamaw Barbara gave Lydia a computer!

Lydia getting some much needed Grammy time.

Michael and his grandmother Vivian, It's like pulling teeth to get a smile!

To celebrate Eli's second birthday we wanted to throw him a birthday party. We weren't sure how the turn out would be since we had just moved to Chattanooga, but thankfully Knoxville isn't that far away and many people were willing to make the trip for our special boy. Everyone may know that Michael can put the cookie monster to shame... well Eli has the same genes apparently. After attending recent friends birthday parties it became apparent that Eli was not a cake guy (I know... hard to believe). So, what better to give Cookie monster junior than a "cookie" cake. So after mingling, Lydia opening Eli's presents (Eli wasn't very into the unwrapping, more about the playing part, so he was more than happy to have Lydia do the honors), we did his birthday "cake". The party was a hit and Eli ran himself silly that night. Happy Birthday sweet boy, we all love you very much.

Happy Birthday Elijah!

Today our little boy turned 2! To celebrate I want to tell everyone all about our sweet little boy. He is the sweetest, most docile little boy. He plays hard, sleeps hard, and gets so dirty all the time. It is a running joke on how long he can wear a shirt without getting it dirty. Everyone says that its just boys, but I really think its just Eli. He is so "boy", Michael and I are fascinated in how boy and manly he is. Michael jokes that he is more manly than him. He is automatically driven to cars, trains, tucks, lawnmowers, and all "ball" sports. If you flip through the channels and happen upon a game, any game, then Eli will scream and throw a fit until he gets to watch an appropriate amount. He loves to eat! Eli's favorites are cookies (he's my little cookie monster, while Michael is my big one), but he also loves fruit. Eli has grown VERY attached to his blanket and insists on having it with him almost all the time in the house. However, he has very strict rules that all of us must abide by. For example, we are only allowed to touch the blanket when holding him, Lydia is almost never allowed to touch the blanket, and as soon as Eli sees the blanket, his thumb goes into his mouth. I could go on for hours gushing over our sweet boy. Happy Birthday Eli, we love you dearly.

Beach Time!

We just got back from a great vacation where we went to mom's house. There was only one requirement of the visit, Lydia HAD to go to the "Big Beach". Nana didn't want to disappoint, so on the second day there, we took off for the beach.



Uncle Michael with his buddy EliI got to meet my niece Taylor

Very brave to be photographed in my bathing suit!
Eli was a Beach baby... while Lydia couldn't get enough of the water.

I can't remember if Eli did this to himself, or if Lydia helped.
Lydia had her fair share of beach time too.
Lydia's first look at the "Big Beach"

Bunny Time!

As many of you know, Lydia has taken up dance. (This may not come to a surprise to those of you that witnessed her "Yo Gabba Gabba" days) Today was Lydia very first recital. The theme of the 3 hour (Yes 3 hours) long show was "Under the big tent". Lydia and all her classmates were bunnies (pulled out of a hat... get it?!?!). I must have lost my mind because I volunteered to be the class mom for Lydia class, so I have lots of back stage pictures. I did get the DVD of her performance, so hopefully I can edit it down to get just Lydia performance on here for those of you that can't wait to see Lydia perform... err I mean stand on stage. There may have been some stage fright during her performance, but I am so proud of her, and can't wait to show the DVD to her daddy, who is away doing his military training.

Lydia, you were such a great bunny and all of us are very proud of you! LOVE you.

One happy bunny on her way to the recital.
Snack time... the whole time we were there
Lydia's classmates enjoying some twister. Lydia was too busy making Michael a fathers day card to participate.
Lydia's whole class (well those that did the recital). Starting with Lydia on the far Left, next is Leilee (CRUZE... must be a distant cousin), Dossie, and SummerlynnAt this point I think everyone had torn through all the snacks, we were about 2 hours 45 minutes into the show and everyone was going stir crazy. So Lydia is licking play doe. (I don't know...)

Lydia is at it again

Lydia just can't seem to get the concept of going to sleep. Instead she sneaks out of her bedroom ALL the time and in this case, went into my bathroom and decided she needed some face lotion. She may look adorable, but that is a WHOLE container of my face cream on her face and hands. Seriously, I had opened it that morning. Oh well, at least I got it on sale ;)

Memorial Day... yes I know I am WAY late posting

So for Memorial Day we went to the "beach" that is out in Farragut. Really its just a teeny tiny little area that they put down sand where the land meet the water... but since Grammy went to the beach, Lydia has been going crazy to see the beach and couldn't wait for our trip to Florida. Everyone had a great time! We had a great picnic after some water play, then when it was time to go I had to all but drag Lydia out of the water. Eli didn't embrace the water like I thought he would have, but by the end of our trip, he too had to be dragged from the water.

Eli enjoying the "beach"

As you can tell, people must be feeding the ducks... and they knew the weak link of our picnic.

On an up side, Eli and Lydia LOVED getting so close to the ducks.