Quick Trip to Cincinnati

Eli and I are heading to ND for two weeks without Dennis. So, we decided to have a fun family weekend together before we leave. We decided Cincinnati was a great choice because it's close and we've never been. Here are some highlights.

We spent quite a bit of time at the Newport Aquarium. Eli loved it and pointed to everything. Here he is in the shark tube, which was sooooo cool. We even got to pet a shark!!


A big shark!



Pointing (again) at the clown fish.


We enjoyed the ribs at the famous Montgomery Inn. Everytime he took a bite he made a sour face, I think the BBQ sauce was a bit too much for him. And he hated that bib, it only lasted long enough to take the picture. We also ate atCincinnati's own Skyline Chili, which neither of us liked very much. Eli loved the oyster crackers, but that's not a very good reason to go back to a restaurant.


Traveling with a baby, we now notice a lot more parks than we ever have before. It's a great way to give Eli a break and wear him out before we get in the car for a long drive or go to a museum. Eli could spend hours and hours and hours climbing, crawling, and cruising along. We spent a long while at the children's museum which will be great when he's about two. I think Dennis and I liked it more than he did and we were wishing we were six so we could enjoy it a little more without looking so foolish. We also went to the Natural History Museum and Freedom Center. But, Eli could have done without them. He would have been just as happy sitting in his stroller looking at the big buildings and bridges downtown or looking out the window at the hotel. We were on the 17th floor and the windows went all the way down to the floor so Eli was face to glass admiring the view. (I was having visions that the glass would somehow pop out and my baby would plummet to his death.)

Curly Sue, Driving, and Splash Park

I have no idea where Eli got his beautiful hair from as neither Dennis nor I seem to have it. It's so beautiful that I refuse to cut it no matter how many times he's called a girl which happens to be a lot!!!


Eli looks very toddler like in this picture. Sigh. He loves to drive and wave.


It's been hot and humid here in the mid-west so we took Eli to the no-depth splash park to cool off yesterday. I guess this is the next big thing in community parks instead of pools as you don't have to have a life-guard on duty and it's easy to maintain. It's just a bunch of sprinkler-type gizmos that kids run through and the bigger kids looked like they were having a blast! I think the best part is that its free. It definitely cooled us all off.

Abigail's Chair

Since Michelle commented on Eli's personality, I think this picture really shows off his personality as he's such a laid back kid. Every time we're at playgroup at Abigail's house, Eli climbs into this chair, kicks back, puts his feet up, relaxes, and smiles. Last week, Abigail even fed Eli goldfish crackers while Eli lounged in his favorite position. It's quite the life Eli leads.

ETC...

I have a bunch of pictures from June that I have wanted to post, but just haven't gotten around to it. So, here are some random pictures from June and one from July.

Here are Eli and his French girlfriend, Abigail, playing house in her cardboard box. She actually really bosses him around, pushes him, hits him, and he just smiles at her and takes it all. It must be love.


In one of my mom's groups, all of the babies are turning one or turned one sometime between March and September. We decided it would be easier to have one big party instead of worrying about going to 15 parties or planning a party for 45 extra people. Here they all are, they've changed so much from the picture posted in February. There was a lot of cookie bribery going on to get them all to sit still for a minute so we could take the picture and that still didn't work very well.


Well, actually the cookie bribe worked very well for Eli and Daniela. They were still sitting even after all the other babies ran away. Then we started taking a ton of pictures of just them and they just sat and smiled.


Malcolm and Eli having fun in the dragon tunnel at the park.


Columbus has its annual Doo-Dah parade on the 4th of July. Basically, anyone who wants to be in the parade can so there are a lot of strange things not seen in a usual parade and lots of people making political statements. Eli sat in awe, smiled and clapped the whole hour as the parade went by. And he saw it all: Rollergirls, topless women (its legal in Columbus for women to go topless and they do, who would have thought that Ohio was a red state), people on double decker bikes, promoters of Rocky Horror Picture Show, people with skulls painted all over their faces, etc. He loved every minute of it and kept looking down the street for more.

A Visit To Our Nation's Capitol

We just got back from spending a week with Grandma and Grandpa Sperle and Aunt Pat in Washington DC. We had a wonderful time seeing all the sites. Luckily, it only rained one day when we were there, but because of all the rain several Smithsonian Museums were closed. Nevermind that, we had fun anyways. Here's some highlights.

Eli and Grandpa Sperle hanging out in the hotel room. (I can't believe I didn't take any with Grandma and Eli. I must be losing it.)


In the rain at Arlington Cemetary. Eli is showing off his new skill: pointing. He pointed at all the planes that were going by and there were lots!


Eli with mom in front of the WWII Memorial.


In front of another fountain. This time it was the FDR Memorial.


At the botanical gardens with Aunt Pat.


After leaving grandma and grandpa, we took the scenic route home through the BlueRidge Mtns. We stopped at Shanendoah NP and Eli took his first hike on the Appalachian Trail. Here he is pointing to everything. He could have stayed up there all day! Dennis and I fell in love with West Virginia. I think we're going to be spending a lot more vacation time there in the future.


A nice family shot.