Update and Changes

I decided to change the look of Eli's blog because it will soon be Eli's and new baby's blog. I'm not sure if I like it so it might change a few times before it sticks.

Speaking of new baby, she's not here yet. 10 days and counting... I'm 4 cm dilated and patiently waiting for the signs of labor. Dennis will post after she's made her appearance. So, keep checking, you never know when she'll arrive.

Eli can now says 3 words after months of coaxing and waiting: ball (baw), banana (nana) and up (bawwwwp). He does say mama and dada, but he calls everyone dada and mama, so I don't think they count. It's a good thing he does baby sign with us. He does know lots and lots of animal sounds, his elephant is the best!!

The Future of Eli's Little Sister????

Several months ago, we bought Eli a baby doll in preparation for the big day when he has his very own baby sister. We play fun games with the baby like "gentle with the baby," "kiss the baby," "hug the baby," "mommy's feeding the baby," etc. Because of these fun games, Eli thinks the baby belongs to mommy and daddy. Occassionally he'll get the baby out and bring the baby to us like we are somehow neglecting the baby. He'll hug the baby and then hand him off to us and go about his business as if the baby didn't even exist. Today, Eli decided the baby needed to have a little fun and he pushed him around in the truck. The baby flew out and Eli crashed several times. I can't help but wonder if this is what the future has in store for the Sperle family. Oh, the excitement!!

Eli hugging the baby.


Eli pushing the baby in the truck!


He's almost falling out...

Not Much New Going On Here

I don't really have anything to post, but I know that it's been almost 2 weeks since I last posted and that is just too long for some of you to wait. So, here are a few random things that are new with us.

1. Dennis started back to school on Sept. 20. It seems to be going great.

2. Less than one month to go until the arrival of baby #2. All is well. I'm feeling tired but otherwise great. At first, I wanted the baby to come early and now I realize that its much easier to take care of a baby nestled safely inside the womb especially when running after a one year old. So, the baby can take her own sweet time getting here. My mom is coming on October 24, so hopefully she'll wait until then.

3. Eli is now a runner, which is why he has 3 bruises across his forehead.

4. Eli is trying to be a jumper. We went to the zoo and watched the kangaroos and he's been jumping ever since. Granted his feet never leave the ground, but he bends down really low and thrusts his body forward.

5. Ask Eli what the doggies say on a moonlit night and he'll howl. If you ask him what the puppy says he'll just bark once. It's too cute.

6. Eli is passionate about being outside. In fact when he comes in from outside or wants to go outside and we won't let him he throws these fantastic tantrums complete with back arching, head banging and screams like he's going to die. Needless to say, we spend A LOT of time outside.

7. And what does Eli do outside? Plays at the park (he can go up and down the slide by himself), hides under the trees, throws rocks, gets pushed in the car, plays in the mud/water/mulch, watches the trucks at the construction site across the street, plays on the tennis courts chasing balls, looks for animals, and tries to eat poisonous berries, just to name a few.

8. Eli wrestling with dad. Actually, I think this may have been the end of a somersault.


9. Swimming at the OSU rec. center.


10. We broke down and bought a nice, used bike trailer that we can put both kids in. Eli would like it a lot more if he didn't have to wear that darned bike helmet.

A Walk In the Woods

Eventhough Eli's been in the woods many times, this was the first hike we went on where Eli could actually walk by himself for at least some of the hike. It was a pretty short hike, but it took a long time. Eli had to stop and look at everything. He was so curious and so intrigued by everything he saw. And he saw some pretty cool things: butterflies, bumblebees, spiders, flowers, nuts, sticks, leaves, trees, mushrooms, moss, rocks, a praying mantis, and a caterpillar. I think it was a very good day for Eli.

Leading the way...


The butterfly was so into the thistle, he hardly even noticed Eli. Eli was just about to grab it when in flew away. But, he gave Eli plenty of time to look.


Eli loved the caterpillar until we had him hold it. He did not want it crawling on him and tried to shake it off.


The only thing better than throwing rocks is throwing rocks into the water. Eli didn't even notice that the water was freezing cold. All he wanted to do was pick up the biggest rocks he could find and toss them into the water.

At the Rose Garden

The roses are in bloom at the Park of Roses near our local library. Eli really is a flower fan. When we go for a walk, he always stops to check out the flowers. He touches the petals, smells them, and if I'm not quick enough, picks them and tries to put them in his mouth. He usually loves flowers with button-like centers (daisies, coneflowers, black-eyed susans) best, but I think he fell in love with the sweet, sweet smell of the rose. He walked around the park sniffing like a dog, his hint to us that we needed to help him smell the roses. Here are some wonderful pictures of our day.

I should mention that Eli took a pretty good digger today. Here are the pictures to prove it. Poor kid can't get a break. He was sick all week with a fever and the first day he feels good he falls on the sidewalk and tumbles off the curb.


Eli showing us his sniffing.


Leaning in to smell the roses.


Playing with the petals.

Bubbles!

Ky has a "Bubble Generator" that spits out hundreds of bubbles a minute. Eli loves chasing after the bubbles, popping the bubbles, and just looking at the bubbles. Bubbles are such wonderful things!

Eli's Best Friend

Everyday Eli plays with his friend from next door, Ky. When they hear each others voices, they yell each others names "Li, Li" (Ky's name for Eli) and "Da-Da" (Eli's name for everyone). Ky likes to come right up to our window and yell for Eli to come and out and play and Eli always yells something back in his own jibberish that Ky seems to understand. They hug, chase each other, swim together, play with bubbles, wrestle, play catch or kick the ball and, as seen below, play with each others cars. It really is a sweet friendship. Ky, however, will be starting school again on Tuesday so Eli will only see Ky in the evenings. I think Eli will be pretty bummed. I'm pretty sure when they boys are older they'll have a tin-can telephone stretched out the window as their rooms are right next to each other!


Ky pushing Eli.


Then they switch and Eli will push Ky.

Eli's New Birthday Presents

Eli got some fun gifts for his birthday. Here are his favorites.

Dennis and I got him his first pet, a fish. Eli named him Bubba and loves looking at him. Currently, Bubba is off limits as Eli's favorite thing to do with Bubba is hit the side of the bowl so the water splashes out and Bubba rocks in the waves. But, he still loves to sign fish and point to Bubba.


Eli's Aunt Pat gave Eli this fancy Rock, Roll 'N' Ride trike. He likes all of the features and asks numerous times a day to be taken for a ride. Then, he'll decide half-way through to stand up and ride, then he'll want to get off and push, then he'll want to ride, then he'll want to push. It takes about 1/2 an hour to get down the sidewalk. Oh, and he loves to push his best friend, Ky, in it. (I'll show those pictures later.)



Eli has grown out of his baby hooded towels, so we broke down and got him a gigantic puppy hooded towel. He's soooo cute.

The Walker

While visiting ND, Eli became a walker which was fun for grandma and grandpa, but Dennis missed all of the excitement. Once we were back, he would take a few steps here and there, but because our house is so small he couldn't practice all that much. A week ago, he started really walking everywhere, but his balance wasn't so good. Now, he can walk great distances and stand himself back up after he falls. He loves to walk on the cement because it's even, but it's not so good when he falls. He walks on the grass too, but falls a lot more. It's been so much fun watching his new-found independence and now I'm wondering why I really wanted him to walk so badly. Good-bye babyhood, hello toddlerhood.

Look out!


He's so proud of himself.

Eli's First Birthday

Eli's birthday party was a success! He invited friends over for a backyard bbq. We had hamburgers, hotdogs and all the trimmings. It was so much fun watching him walk around in his birthday hat and visiting with all of his friends. A fun time was had by all!

Eli, playing the good host.


Playing with Luke.


All of the party goers. (Its sooo hard getting a good picture of little movers.)


Time for cake.


The thumb test.


More cake, please!


I can't seem to get enough...


Finger lickin' good.


The cake before it was destroyed. I'm so proud of it. It was my first attempt at cake decorating.


Opening gifts this morning. He was way too pooped to do it last night. This gift, a sea animal book, fit our fish-theme birthday party perfectly.

Happy Birthday, Eli!!

A year ago today...


Today...

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.