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.

Going For A Bike Ride

Dad really wanted to take Eli on bike rides with him. So, we got him outfitted in a bike seat and gender-neutral bike helmet. Eli just sits back, relaxes and enjoys the ride.

Eli's First Camping Trip

We went to Mohican State Park for Eli's first camping trip. We had a great time, and Eli did pretty well all things considered. It was a tougher night in the tent than we hoped, but it was also colder than we anticipated. I'm sure the other campers were thinking "Shut that kid up" at 5:30 in the morning when he woke up crying and wouldn't stop. So, we went for a nice early morning drive to soothe Eli, see all the wildlife and let everyone else have some peace and quiet. He was a real trooper and we'll probably go out again soon.

Eli all tuckered out from his hike. You'd think he had to walk the whole way the way he sleeps in that carrier.


The river is a canoeing/kayaking/tubing river. It was cold, but that didn't stop the little kids from floating down the river in their inner-tubes. Eli loved watching them float by.


Eli went all the way to the top of the fire tower and he laughed the whole way. I guess he's not afraid of heights.


Eli loves to help whenever he can. Here he's helping us set up the tent for the night.


Sleeping in the tent.


Up and at 'em. Playing with rocks (more like trying to eat the rocks) at 6:30am while we packed up the tent.


Sitting in the middle of the road under the covered bridge. Don't worry, it was too early for anyone else to be awake!


We spent the morning at Malabar Farm State Park. Its a working farm so Eli got to see and help feed the animals. Eli got to drive the tractor and it actually looked like he knew what he was doing. He was trying to shift and everything. It must be in his blood. (His dad once tried to woo me by taking me for a tractor ride while he was hauling manure.)

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.