Hocking Hills Weekend

We went hiking at Hocking Hills to see some of the waterfalls with some friends. Eli liked the water and the hike. Actually, I'm guessing on both of those. The water was cold and he took a nap during the hike so your guess is as good as mine! We also did a practice run in the tent. We slept in our tent at our friend's house in their yard just to make sure Eli could handle it. Turns out, Eli slept better than Dennis and I did. He slept all night, hardly moved, and woke up with a gigantic smile on his face. He's a natural camper. YES!!!!! So, we're going to do the real thing this week. Check back for pictures.

There just aren't enough pictures of me and Eli.


There's plenty of pictures of Dennis and Eli. But, this one's at Cedar Falls.


Charlie, Eli and Max. Charlie and Max showed Eli how to catch bugs, fish, and tadpoles in nets. Eli loves hanging out with the boys, plus they have a lot of great toys.


Not a good picture of either of us, but for those of you who want to see a 20 week pregnant Sharleen, here it is. Not too big yet, but those are maternity pants (not that I need to wear them).


Dennis and Eli at Ash Cave.

Helping and More From the Zoo

Eli is such a great helper. Taking his diapers out of the dryer is so much fun. His help will be much appreciated when his little sister comes along and there are twice as many diapers to wash. Yes, you read that right, we found out yesterday that Eli is going to have a sister to tease, cut her hair and all the other fun things that brothers do to sisters.


We made another trip to the zoo. Eli took his first ride on the carousel. He didn't know what to think. He didn't cry, but he didn't smile either, which is a sign of botherment for Eli. Maybe he was just too hot and tired to enjoy it. Or the up and down and round and round was making him queasy.


Eli clapping. By the way, Eli had his doctors appointment today and when they sat him down on the scale and read his weight, he got excited and clapped. I think he must be one of the few people around who claps when he gets on a scale. He's just a little over 19 pounds now. Oh, and he didn't cry for his shot or finger prick.

Backyard Swimming

It's been hot and sunny here so we borrowed the neighbor's baby pool and put Eli in to cool off. I don't know if he liked the pool or if he just enjoyed the cup and ball that he seems to love so much. (See other posts for proof! And he has lots of cups and balls, but these two are his favorite.)

Splashing, Hiking and Wrestling

We had a busy, busy weekend here and it was a HOT one. It got into the 90s and was very humid. On Saturday, we went to a parade with some friends, which Eli enjoyed very much. Mostly, he liked the dog we were sitting next too, but he liked the crazy motorcycle guy and the screaming kids. We also went to the Asian festival which had performers, food, and vendors. Eli particularly liked the drummers. He clapped along the best he could.

Here's Eli staying cool in his water table. He likes the green cup and the turkey baster the best.


Sunday was spent at John Bryan State Park and Clifton Gorge. We took the scenic route to get there which took us past some lovely old farm homes and some nice great big new ones too. Eli loved the cool water on his toes. He liked the hike, all of the green leaves to touch and water to look at. We had a nice picnic lunch and finished off with some icecream. (OK. Only mom and dad got the icecream because Eli was sleeping in the backseat.)



Eli got this bunny from grandma and grandpa for Easter. But, it has just recently become a favorite play thing. We wrestles the bunny. Here it looks like the bunny is winning.

Hanging Out Some More

He likes the tupperware so much he crawled right inside the cupboard.



Too cute.


Eli's new skill: waving!

Hanging Out 2

Eli enjoys climbing in his laundry basket. He is also holding a ball and there's a spatula too. Fun, Fun, Fun!!!


Eli loves garage sales too. Especially when he gets a brand new picnic table.


I can't sit at the computer without Eli wanting to join in and help type. He can open windows that I didn't know existed.


Eli is very good at taking the tupperware out of the cabinet, but has not learned how to put it all away.


Eli loves looking out the window. He climbed up there all by himself. Ha, ha, ha!

Eli's Nose

Eli whacked his nose pretty good yesterday. It sounds silly, but he was crawling and fell face first into a stackable cup. I took him to the doctor because I thought it sounded like he was having a hard time breathing, but everything turned out ok. He also had his 9 month pictures taken yesterday. I was tempted to cancel with his big bruise, but then I realized that he's had a bruise somewhere on his face or head for the past month. It's just that age, I guess. So, his pictures show his bruise very prominently. It's quite charming.

Mother's Day

It was my first Mother's Day and I think it was a very lovely day. Eli woke me up wearing this lovely shirt. Although, it's a lie; he really is daddy's boy. He didn't make me breakfast which is probably a good thing. Actually, we went out to my favorite Greek restaurant on Saturday for lunch. (Eli's not good with suppers and we didn't want to deal with all the people on Sunday.)Eli had pita bread and tzatziki for the first time. He's actually turning into quite an international eater, but Cheerios and bananas remain his favorite.
We spent the rest of mother's day getting groceries, which isn't his favorite but I let him ride Sandy the mechanical horse and because its only a penny, he gets to ride twice. And we went swimming at the OSU rec. center. Eli is quite the swimmer and splasher and water drinker.

Brushing and Standing and Other Stuff

Now that Eli has 5! teeth, he needs to learn how to take care of them by brushing everyday. He loves the scratchy sound it makes and how good it feels to bite the bristles. He actually does quite well.



Wearing dad's silly bike helmet.


Getting into things he's not supposed to. He pulls himself up and stands by everything. It's his new favorite thing to do.


A big laugh. Notice those top teeth.

The Guilt Got To Me

After a crazy morning of hitting garage sales, we relaxed with a picnic at the park. Eli, even with his cold, was pretty content. He got lots of new toys and books and got to play outside.

Eli loves to swing.


"More, daddy!"


Going down the slide with mom. He was more interested in the puppy dog that was running around.


At the end of it all, he was tuckered out. Doesn't that look comfortable?

Sick Eli

Allright, I'm feeling a little guilty. I did not take one picture of Eli this week. But, to my defense, he's sick and he's not looking too cute right now. He constantly has snot running down his nose, which is now very chapped underneath. His eyes are red and watery. He coughs like a smoker and is just generally miserable. Its been a long week for all of us. Luckily, he's still been sleeping pretty well, but when he's awake he wants to be held all the time. Our fingers are crossed for a speedy recovery.

Springtime Fun

Eli has been spending a lot of time outside. He loves it. Yesterday, he ate his first dirt clump and I'm pretty sure he'll be eating a lot more of it as he seemed to like it.

Crawling on the lush green grass in the backyard. He chases that ball everywhere.


Helping dad fix up his new bike.


I'm such a good helper!!!


Eli loves pickles.


Eli used to be an every-other-day bather, but now that he's playing outside he's getting much dirtier and now gets a bath every night.

Eli's Going To Be a BIG Brother

Yes, it's true. Eli is a brother-in-training. We are expecting the new addition to arrive in late October. We are all very excited! We've had several ultra-sounds to determine the due date and have heard the baby's heartbeat. Now that the first trimester is coming to an end, I'm starting to get my energy back and can actually make it through the day without taking a nap and without going to bed minutes after Eli.

Spring has already come and gone in Ohio. It's been so warm and its already getting muggy. The grass is a vibrant green already and almost to my knees. The flowers are popping up everywhere and the trees are full of leaves. Eli LOVES being outside. He loves the sandbox, playing with the ball in the grass, going for long walks in the stroller, and swinging at the park.

Here's what Eli has been up to.

A cute picture with proud grandma and grandpa.


Another one of Eli's favorite things: watching the clothes in the washing machine.


Eli can now pull himself to standing. He's even stood by himself for a few seconds!


As I've mentioned before, Eli loves the garbage. Luckily, the one he gets into the most only has paper in it. Here he is having a grand ol' time.

Pictures From Grandma

Grandma and Grandpa Zeman were here visiting last week. Eli had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa. They spoiled everyone rotten and now we are sad that they are gone. I'll post some pictures of Eli with Grandma and Grandpa later. Here are a few of Grandma's favorites.

We made a special trip to the zoo. The only thing Eli really pays any attention to are the fish in the aquarium. He could spend all day watching the fish swim by.


Grandma and Grandpa bought Eli a really cool turtle sandbox. He really likes holding the sand in his hand and squeezing it as hard as he can. He hasn't tried to eat any sand yet, but I'm sure he will. (This is also a good picture of his bottom teeth. He just got a top one in and the one next to it is close behind.)


Oooo... I love my sandbox.

Eli's Favorite Past Time

Eli loves to take the CDs off of the shelf. He can spend a good amount of time removing them one by one. Unfortunately, he's not very good at cleaning up after himself and the cds are no longer in ABC order.


He also likes to put each CD in his mouth. Yummy!


Here he is leaving the scene of the crime.


Eli does not discriminate between his vegetables. He ate this carrot the whole time we were in Philadelphia. It sounds disgusting, but it was actually a life saver and much, much cleaner than cookies or crackers.