Yummy, yummy!

(For those who don't have toddlers at home, this post's title is stolen from a Wiggles song - The Wiggles (aka "Vigguls") are very popular at our house!) We went to Applebee's for dinner the other night, and though that's not a special event, I thought these photos were pretty cute and wanted to share! Eli got his very own mini cheeseburger...though he wasn't quite sure how to handle it! :)Then he got to share Dada's ice cream...you can tell by the wide open mouth and the big smile that the ice cream was a big hit!

Oh, the snow!

Okay, so I'm long overdue on this post...what's new?! Last week we had our second good snow of the winter. We had so much snow that Ryan got to sleep in and go to work two hours late! Unfortunately, Eli decided to wake up at 6:50, and even though he went back to sleep, I couldn't...so no extra sleep for Mama! :( Anyway, we woke up to a big white blanket over our neighborhood. It was absolutely gorgeous outside, so we got bundled up (including Zoe in her doggy t-shirt) and went for a walk. It was clear and sunny, so everything sparkled in the snow. I know I don't usually post pics that aren't Eli, but these were too pretty to pass up. I wish I were a great photographer with a great camera, because these bright red berries looked amazing in the snow. Zoe had a great time playing...she hates it when we put this shirt on her, but quickly forgives us when she gets outside and starts romping around. Eli had a great time, too...he seems to like getting bundled up for a ride in the stroller. Even asks for his hat and mittens. Unfortunately all of our snow is gone now, and it's just really cold and everything's frozen!

Big shoes to fill

Okay, so Saturday's game was sorely disappointing...but at least we had good entertainment aside from the TV. Eli had a great time playing with Dada's shoes. He tried to walk in them, but couldn't get anywhere, so he just stayed in one spot putting his feet in them, taking them out again, and so on. You may also notice the cheesy smile on his face. It's a trend lately for him to scrunch up his nose and show off his teeth the second he sees the camera. By the way, he's not picking his nose here...I asked him to show me his "scrunchy nose smile," so pointed to his nose, smiled, and said "noh" (that's "nose" for anyone not fluent in Eli-ese). Such a cutie!

Puddlejumper

We may not have had sun or rainbows after the rain, but we had plenty of fun puddles to stomp in. We put on Eli's rainboots and finally got some outside play time...and it sure was fun! Eli found this one long puddle at the end of our neighbor's driveway and just stomped back and forth over and over. As you can see, he was having a great time.

If funnest was a word, this would be the funnest place ever!

We've discovered a new favorite place to play...KidsQuest children's museum in Factoria (for those who aren't local, it's about 20 minutes from home). We decided to get a membership since it was comparatively inexpensive, nearby, and most important - Eli has a blast there! There are so many things to do and explore. Take a look...

A really cool rocking boat with steering wheel,

a xylophone and other instruments,

a "pots and pans" drum set (and a "sole-ful" piano made of sneakers (not shown)), a lawnmower (always the first thing Eli looks for when we go!),
a huge train table with lots of trains,
and maybe best of all...an amazing water play area!

...where Eli gets soaked (despite the smock)!

and that's not even close to everything they have at this place. Fellow moms who live nearby, we definitely recommend it!

Jessica Seinfeld rocks!

For those who haven't heard, the latest rave among moms of toddlers in Jessica Seinfeld's new cookbook Deceptively Delicious. The whole premise is "hiding" vegetables in regular foods. You puree the vegetables and use them in foods that can mask their real flavors. The first receipe I tried was a bust, but tonight was attempt number two, and boy was it a whopping success! I made macaroni and cheese with "hidden" beans and cauliflower, adding tons protein and lots of great vitamins to a common kid-favorite. I wasn't sure Eli would eat it in the first place because he's never really had mac & cheese before. However, our little man sat at the table and ate two bowlfuls of this healthy concoction - grinning ear to ear the entire time! Phenomenal! Thank you, Unkie, for the awesome Christmas gift! And thanks Mrs. Seinfeld for your great innovations. :)

On the sixth day of Christmas...

Alright, at long last...the Christmas post! Sorry it took so long. Now that we're back to "normal" life, it's harder to find time to post...especially a long post like this is bound to be. Besides, Christmas lasted several days due to the start of our celebration on Christmas Eve and the continuous arrival of packages for several days after Christmas! Anyway, we had a great Christmas! We continue to be so blessed by the Lord, and so grateful for the ultimate gift of salvation through Jesus. As far as earthly gifts, we were generously blessed there, too. Eli had a great time opening his presents, particularly ripping the wrapping paper. Obviously we don't often tell him to rip things, so being encouraged to tear paper was quite exciting! In several cases when he reached the gift he would toss it aside and keep ripping the wrapping. It was very amusing! Not to worry, though, gift-givers; Eli is loving all of his new toys! He is having a great time breaking them all in, while (fortunately) not actually breaking them. :) We spent parts of three days in a row at Nana and Pa's house. We had the pleasure of spending a few hours with Andrew and Jill before they headed back to Spokane for Jill to sing in their church's Christmas Eve service. We enjoyed a wonderful Christmas Eve service with our own congregation, too. On Christmas day Eli spent the whole day (including dinner at Nana & Pa's) in his new pajamas - which are his new favorites thanks to the cars, trucks, trains, and helicopters all over them! The day after Christmas we returned for dinner again, and Eli had a grand old time helping Nana make the dinner rolls! Needles to say, we had a wonderful Christmas. Thank you to everyone who sent gifts, we deeply appreciate your generosity. Merry Christmas to everyone, and may God bless you tremendously in the new year!