More Belly Than You Need To See and Eli

A girlfriend took some photos of my growing belly and some great mommy/baby shots. I'm officially in the home stretch as the third trimester has begun. I'm sure I'll be expanding.

Minnesota Lakes

Eli and I are in ND visiting Grandma and Grandpa. We went to Detroit Lakes to take a ride on Great Uncle Ron's new pontoon. Eli loved being on the water and he did really well on the whole 2 hour trip except towards the end he really started to hate the life jacket.

Dipping our toes.


Enjoying the view.


Yea! I love boat rides.


We also went to Bemidji. Eli took a dip in the shallow water and was swimming up a storm. He loves to dunk his head, blow bubbles, and drink the water.

Taking a ride.


Eli says, "I love this."


Drinking the delicious water.

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.

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.