We Caved

I don't know if you've noticed, but Eli's hair has finally started to grow...and the curls are glorious. I have to admit that I love getting comments from loved ones, friends, and even strangers about how awesome his hair is. But we need to be honest....it's beem getting a *little* ratty looking.

That curl in the back of his head = a corkscrew. A corkscrew that would rear its ugly head as a "rat tail" when wet. And the "fly backs" on the side of his head....a little too 70's by today's standards.

So we caved...

...we cut.

Not a lot, but we did trim the front, sides, and back. We left all the curls on top completely intact. I think that is the only thing that made me ok about it all. Here, see for yourself:

BEFORE

DURING

and a few AFTER
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Pretty cute, huh? I think he looks a little older. What do you think?

....and yes, we saved the corkscrew.
(That was the reason for the ribbon in the "before" pic.)

Eli's Choice

Needless to say, Matt was really happy to have Eli and I home from our trip. Daddy decided to let Eli choose our weekend activity. Both Thursday and Friday night, Matt told Eli to think about what he'd like to do on Saturday. Daddy would do whatever Eli wanted. It was Eli's choice.

Saturday morning, we woke when Eli woke. Matt went up to get him, and on the way downstairs Eli said,

"I have been thinking about what I want to do today. I want to go to the beach."

Without prompting! It blew our minds! I figure he must have been thinking about it while waiting to fall asleep. But since we had plans in the works to go down to the beach for the L O N G holiday weekend coming up, his idea was shot down. Whoops! Sorry, buddy. He decided on the Jr. Museum instead. Upon our suggestion, he quickly responded, "I LUB that!" So, we braved the heat and headed out.

Look at the new guest animal! He was so fun and friendly...not to mention beautiful.

It's an ocelot.

And although it was hot....it is still a beautiful place.

Eli quickly wanted a ride though he poo-pooed the idea of the stroller.

Thanks, Daddy!

And of course, we ended the circle at the Trail Break Cafe for a treat to cool us off.

Just enough time for a quick jaunt on the playground before heading home for a nap and some reprieve from the heat and humidity.

I think Eli made a great choice for his day. He is growing up on us...making choices and speaking in complete sentences. I guess he's not a baby anymore. Well, he'll always be Mommy's baby, right?

June has slipped away. Summer is almost halfway over. We gotta hurry up and keep making the most of it.

*link to June's pictures*

Delightful Denver

It has been a while since I've been able to blog, and I'm sorry about that. Eli and I got back Thursday night after being gone for over a week. We spent the bulk of that time in Denver meeting Eli's cousin, Asher and visiting with Aunt Theresa, Uncle Ricky, and Aunt Susanna. We had a truly delightful time while in Denver though we missed Daddy lots and he missed us.

And I will go ahead and warn you now...this is a long post with a lot of pictures. Sit back and enjoy!

The adventure started as Eli and I drove to Dunedin to stay with Grandma and Grandpap since we got a non-stop flight to Denver out of Tampa on Frontier. SOOO worth it...but more on that later. We were in Dunedin for less than 24 hours, but we still managed to swim. TWICE!

Eli had a blow out, so we let him skinny dip after that. Cute cheeks, right?

Yes, indeed! Flying direct with a toddler is awesome...as long as he can handle the longer time in the seat. And we had a wonderful experience with Frontier...TV sets at every seat. Our ticket price included the TV (though Eli actually watched more of his DVDs than the programs on the TV.)

What a great way to pass the time. And I successfully navigated the airports with our suitcase, carry-ons, car seat, and Eli in the stroller. I had PLENTY of bruises to show for it too. After many painful approaches, I figured out the best way to carry the massively awkward car seat as to not inflict any more bruises.

As for Denver....we had a great time. Asher is precious!

And Theresa and Ricky are doing wonderfully. They are natural parents; so beautiful to watch and witness my sissy and her hubby in these new roles.

Eli loves babies, so he took to Asher immediately.

We had to remind Eli many times to be gentle. I think Eli thought Asher was his baby doll. Unfortunately, you can't pick real babies up by their necks and carry them around, or play with his paci, or stick it in his mouth randomly, or play with his eyes, or bounce him vigorously like you can a baby doll. One of the best stories happened while we were cooking dinner one night....I guess we weren't paying enough attention to Asher or Eli. I turn around to find:

Eli went into the freezer and decided that Asher would like some ice cream. How thoughtful, right? Needless to say, we all got a kick out of it and laughed for quite some time. Asher didn't seem to mind one bit, but I would think it was a little cold.

We were the last of the string of family visitors out there since Asher was born, and our timing was perfect. Theresa was feeling a little more adventurous with the little dude being one month old. She was ready to get out and about, so we went to a park,

hiked Chautauqua in Boulder,

and checked out the Prehistoric Gardens Exhibit at the Botanic Gardens.

While there, we also got to celebrate Theresa's 30th birthday and Ricky's first Father's Day.

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____________________________________________Eli helped make Father's Day brownies
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We sorely missed celebrating these days with Lindsey and Daddy too.

Happy 30th Birthday, Aunt Z and Happy Father's Day, Daddy!
....and Grandpas too!

Eli was a little out of sorts in Denver...especially towards the end. He did really well considering the time change, the lack of toys, the attention being given to Asher, and helping around the house, etc, etc, etc. Because of this, we tried to find ways to get out of the house a bit on our own in our final days there...to give Aunt T and Asher a bit of a break from us.

We visited a college friend of mine and her children

and hiked in Roxborough Park with Aunt Susanna.

Sadly, our time in delightful Denver came to an end. We were happy to be heading home to Daddy, and luckily the Denver crew is headed to Tallahassee/St. George in less than a month. That is about the only thing that kept me from bawling my eyes out as we hugged our goodbyes.

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It was a pleasure to meet you, Asher! Can't wait to see you, your mom & dad, & Aunt Zanna soon! We love you all!

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How Could I Forget...

Go Penguins!

A silly picture of Eli playing a "violin"--but the only recent one I could find of him in his Penguin jammies.

Stanley Cup Champs!

We got to see the actual Stanley Cup after the Lightning won in 2004

Game 7 was intense! It ended with a spectacular, and maybe even lucky, save by Fleury in the final seconds.

Go Pens!

Go West, Young Man

Eli and I are headed west to Denver on Wednesday to finally meet precious little Asher. Eli is very excited to meet his cousin for the first time...who am I kidding...SO AM I!! We actually met another Asher today in our make-up music class, and Eli got super excited: "Mommy! It's Asher!" I had to clue him in that that little boy was not his cousin. I think he got it...

Anyways, this will be Eli's second plane ride...but my first alone with him. It should be interesting. Today's task...pack us into ONE suitcase and hopefully ONE carry on.....maybe two. This weekend and today, we managed to get all of our "TO DO" list accomplished complete with Fathers' Day shopping and birthday shopping for Aunt Z and T. And because we are sadly leaving Daddy behind to work...I even squeezed in a grocery shopping trip to get him some meals and snacks for while we're gone. Boy are we going to miss him!!

I have been playing out the trip in my head...visualizing how it should go and hopefully will. If I visualize ease and success, it will happen, right? I should be quite a sight to see trudging through the airport with a carseat and toddler in tow. Pray for me, folks! Please! :)

We are actually flying out of Tampa as we were able to get a direct flight...SO worth it! Because of this, we'll get to sneak in a little bit of time with the grandparents....afterall, they did agree to let us sleep over the day before and after our trip...and drive us to the airport. THANK YOU!

This is Eli's "rocket" from Little Einsteins. He climbed in this big box last week and declared it his rocket...then we just had to paint it so. He invited all of his "friends" to go along...and when I asked him where he was going?..."Colorado!"

Indeed. Colorado, here we come!

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Candy Snatcher

Just a funny story to share...

Yesterday, I was doing laundry in preparation for packing. I was transferring it from the washer to the dryer. Our laundry room is directly off our great room...where Eli was playing. When I turned around, Eli was no where to be seen. I called for him, and he answered, as he's been trained to do..."Here I am, Mommy!" The answer came from behind a closed master bedroom door. As I turned the handle to the bedroom to see what he was up to in there, I heard a quick and frantic, "Don't find me!" I look at the wide-eyed guilty little guy as he has just popped a peppermint found on the nightstand into his mouth and crunched down on it. He knows he is not allowed to eat hard candy. I made him spit it out and the drama ensued.

Later that night, Eli is having trouble sleeping, so Daddy goes up to talk to him.

Daddy, I'm sad.

Why, Eli?

Cause I cannot have candy.

Daddy talked to him about maybe breaking the candy up and being able to have some tomorrow after he eats dinner.

After I eat my broccoli. I eat my carrots and my noodles and my chicken. Then I can have some candy?

Yes.

We will have to look all over the house for it. We will have to look on Mommy's side of the bed and everywhere.

That little booger! Gotta love him...and gotta watch him like a hawk!

Signs of Summer

As if the later bedtimes, lazy mornings in jammies, bug bites, and baseball weren't enough....here are more signs that summer is here and we are soaking it all in!

....And the Living is Easy

So far, we love S U M M E R T I M E! Despite the hot weather and stifling humidity, we still love summer.

In our house, summer means:

• lazy mornings around the house in pjs

• the smell of fresh cut grass

• fun Mommy and Eli time

• staying up a little past bedtime

• time for baseball after dinner

• bug bites (I think I'm up to 28!)
  

• catching up on projects

• starting new projects

• finding more time for the things we never have time for

• swimming

• more beach trips

• trips in general

And so many more things, but you get the idea...

One of the projects I'd like to do this summer with some of my extra time is try new dinner recipes. Fun ones, tasty ones, easy ones, and ones perfect for nights when company is over. I don't know about you, but I'm one to get stuck in a cooking rut. I find meals I like, and then I cook them over and over and over again each week. When I get tired of those, I "mix it up" and then get stuck in a new rut. I'm looking to either get out of my rut...or at least get stuck in a new one with new recipes...so....

C A L L I N G _A L L_ R E C I P E S !

Send your faves, go-to's, or quick & easy ones to me! I'd love to try some new things.
**here's the kicker though...we have some dietary restrictions/dislikes: Matt is allergic to all legumes (beans...kidney and black, not string) and I don't really eat red meat or pork. **

Send your recipes to ktcarson@gmail.com

I can't wait to try something new!

And since we're on the topic of cooking, Eli loves to cook too. Or at least, he loves to be in the kitchen with me while I'm cooking. Usually, he is pulling out the pots and pans...not to bang, but so that he can climb into the cupboards and drive his "car." It is a miracle I haven't twisted or broken an ankle while maneuvering around the obstacle course in my kitchen. The other night, it was business as usual, except Eli was playing with the letters on the refrigerator instead of "driving." I turned around to see THIS:

He didn't even know he had done anything special. He found those letters and arranged them all on his own. Needless to say, I flipped out and called Matt to come and see.

Recap: Take 2

OK, Eli is down for his nap and I thought I'd try to get in here to do some more photo editing and blog updating.

Soooooo.....where did I leave off? Oh yeah....

We were all pretty depressed after saying goodbye to the family, but we had a couple more days to make the most of while we were still on vacation. Matt grew up right outside of Toronto while his dad was working for the Blue Jays. He and his sister, Ann decided they'd like to go back to the old neighborhood and look around. To their surprise, everything...even the GIANT hill, seems so much smaller now. And even though the beloved dinosaur jungle gym was gone, there was a cute little playground right behind their old place that we took advantage of for a little bit.

Eli had a blast seesawing alongside Aunt Ann

And there were a lot more dandelions. This time, Eli knew just what to do. I pretty much had to drag him away as he kept hunting for the biggest and fullest puff balls to blow.

Please ignore the schmutz on his mouth...who knows what it was?

That night Eli had a hard time unwinding, so we got him all ready for bed, and then let him watch Curious George to help relax. He was just so into it and so worn out that I couldn't resist snapping a quick pic.

We had a busy day planned for Monday...a train ride and a big tower! Eli loves trains, so with traffic and parking in Toronto being such a hassle, it made perfect sense to take the GO Train into the city. Eli was in awe!

Once we got into the city, we had a short agenda since Eli would need a nap before too long. We wanted to make the most of our visit, so as soon as we exited Union Station, we headed directly for the Hockey Hall of Fame. Matt and I have always loved the bronze statue out front for photo opportunities.

Then it was off to the CN Tower which was once the tallest free-standing structure in the world until 2007.

We took the elevator ride (it travels at 15 miles per hour and only takes 58 seconds...talk about ears popping!) to the lookout level to walk on the glass floor 1,122 ft above the ground. Quite a mind trip for some, but not for Eli. Matt and I can both admit that your knees go a little weak and the tummy does a little flip flop taking that first step out onto the floor. Eli was into it!

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We also went out onto the observation deck to brave the cool temperatures and the wind. It was an awesome 360 degree view of Toronto!

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While Daddy was buying our elevator tickets, Eli spotted an ice cream stand. I promised him some as soon as we came down from the tower. And not suprisingly so....Eli was WAY more into the ice cream cone than he was the trip up the tower.

There were plans to do a little more, but Eli crashed in his stroller. The weather was cooler than expected, so I tucked my sweater around the sweet, sleepy boy, and we made our way back to Union Station for our train ride back to the car. quick trip to the city was well worth it.

And then we sadly made our way to the border as we were flying out of Buffalo in the morning.

But, we couldn't sit around Buffalo all evening with nothing to do, so we found the "Home of the Original Buffalo Chicken Wings" and ate there.

The MOUNTAIN of wings we ordered!
Pap Pap digging-in...Our eyes were bigger than our stomachs, for sure.

WOW! They were amazingly delicious...awesome flavor, good heat, and BIG! We were truly glad we made the effort to find the place. If you are ever in Buffalo for any amount of time, be sure the check out the Anchor Bar. It was well worth it!

The next morning was busy getting our gear together to fly home. The battery on my camera was D E A D, so thankfully, this marathon post is finished. No pictures from the plane ride home or the car ride back to Tally. It was another LONG travel day.

I'm sure I left out some fun details of the week, but this will have to do. Toodle-oo!

***P.S. Oh yeah, I almost forgot...Upon return, there were only 3 days of school left. It was a whirlwind way to end a very long and trying school year, but I MADE IT!!! Eli and I are doing our best to start summer off right this week.***

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