"Pink Naomi"

Eli's latest nickname for his baby sister is "pink Naomi"...at least it includes her name this time!!! So tonight as I was folding and sorting through a ton of baby girl clothes passed on to me by my bible study circle, Eli says, "Are these clothes for Naomi?" I said, "yes, how could you tell, because they were pink?" and he replies, "no, because they are so little!"

He is starting to see the benefit of having a "little" sister. It means he gets to be the "Big" brother! I think he'll wear that badge proudly.

And this is only the 0-3 months size. Naomi is well stocked already!

P.S. Eli is very verbal (no surprise there!) but he has been cracking me up with his elaborate sentences lately. Tonight he was talking about going to see Daddy play indoor football next week and says, "Do you think they will have Starburst there? I like them a whole many much!" I'd say he likes Starburst, what do you think?

Ole`

Eli keeps Grant and I laughing most days and it makes me sad to think that I have probably already forgotten some of the funny stories. I know I won't be able to write them all down, but here are the latest few:

• Eli is a singing fool and loves to sing real songs as well as made up ones. Lately he loves to sing a football chant (which of course requires us to join in). I wish you could hear it, but it basically involves singing "Ole" over and over again very loudly while clapping! When the mood strikes him he just starts singing and makes sure we aren't left out. I'm sure we've made many passing cars laugh as we all sing and clap as loudly as we can.

• I was eating some mixed nuts in the car and Eli wanted to try one. He hasn't liked nuts in the past, so I explained he could try it but might not like it. I gave him a peanut and his response was, "Mommy, it has peanut butter inside!"

• Almost nightly after Eli has gone to bed he calls out for water. We should learn our lesson, I suppose, and just send him to bed with a cup of water but we don't. Lately, however, he has been asking for water, but not for himself. He makes sure that doggie has water every night, "but not with ice, cause doggie doesn't like ice."

• As most of you know, Eli has affectionately named our little girl "Baby Shruggit". The other day we were asking him to repeat a few girl names back to us. After he said each name he would say, "what? what is it?" and we told him they were names we were thinking of naming our new baby girl. He responded, "Ohhhhh, no, my baby sister's name is Shruggit!" as if we had completely forgotten that the name had already been decided.

2010...Ready Or Not, Here We Come!!!

I have been feeling the Blogger blues as of late. Don't know why, just doesn't feel like there's much to say. However, our life has been going full steam ahead with fun times, silly things and lots of Holiday festivities to keep us busy so I'm not sure where the lull is coming from. Maybe I'm just tired! :)

We had a fantastically mellow Christmas with my family and Eli was definitely in the Christmas spirit this year and loved every minute of it. Today he told me he wished he could have another advent calendar! I'm sure it had more to do with the fact that he got to eat chocolate every morning for 24 days in December, than anything else! The "Scrylerbs" as we affectionately call my immediate family now (Scrantons, Tylers, Herbs...established in that order) had a second year of matching "cozies". I'm wondering if there's a tradition forming...Dad?! Eli thinks this is great, of course, and requests (or rather requires) all of us to have them on at the the same time!

And on to the new year....

We have lots to look forward to this year. Eli will be 3 in March and will become a big brother in June! We have been talking to him more and more about this new baby that will be a part of our family and I'm not sure he's convinced. A few weeks ago I asked him if he was excited to have a new baby soon and he said, "I don't want a baby! I want a little boy that can run around!" I fear we'll have lots of disappointment on our hands when the baby is born...a baby! Tonight we asked him if he'd like a baby brother or baby sister. After assuring us he'd rather have a "boy that can run around" than a baby, he says, "a baby boy...cause that's the rules!" And his choice for names? Shrugget! He often uses this name when he's playing but we're pretty sure that one will get vetoed!

Christmas excitement

Testing out his new wheels

Breeaking in his New Year's Eve dancing shoes!

26.2 !!!!!

Success!!! I guess I can't really say I'm surprised (Grant is extremely competitive in case you didn't know) but I can say that I am super PROUD of my hubby and our friend Rob for not only completing the California International Marathon, but for doing so with great times and finishing strong! My parents, Eli and myself bundled up (was anyone outside this morning...it was FREEZING! When Grant left with Rob the temp was 32 degrees but "felt like 25 degrees" according to weather.com) and met Danielle, Isaiah, Hannah and Rob's parents at the 14 mile marker to cheer them on. They looked awesome and continued on strong even with the icy wind blowing at them head on. With frozen noses, cheeks and fingers we loaded back in the car to make our way to the finish line. It was a bit tricky with all the road closures, but we gathered once again with the rest of the crowd to cheer them to a great finish. It was hard not to feel the buzz and excitement as we watched several runners complete an impressive 26.2 miles! What a feat! I am pretty sure I'll never know what that accomplishment feels like for myself, but my pride swells for Grant and Rob and makes me realize just how amazing these guys are!

6am departure

All Bundled Up

Staying cozy waiting for the Daddies

14 mile mark

Waiting anxiously at the finish

Grant rounding the last corner. Finishing time: 3 hours, 26 min. 30 sec.

26.2 miles and still smiling!

One Little Monkey Jumping on the Bed...

A few months ago, I decided that Eli needed a nice, cozy blanket to sleep with now that he's in a toddler bed (with no real bedding). I finally found the fabric, came up with a design and began sewing. I made the mistake of telling Eli the day we got the fabric (Veteren's Day) what I was doing. He asked about it several times that next week and then gave up I think. Well, its finally done and it turned out sooooooo cute. He was very excited and rubbed his face all over it when I gave it to him this afternoon!

My Life According to George

Someday, either Eli or I will write our memoirs with this title! It is amazing how many times a day I am able to reference Curious George or apply a lesson from Curious George to Eli's little 2.5 year old world. Some might say that's just a result of watching too much George, but really, when it comes right down to it, Curious George just about sums up Eli's personality. He's way too curious for his own good, silly, always wants to be a part of the action and means well most of the time. Here is the perfect example:

Today during nap time - It was very quiet right away (unusual) so I went to listen at his door after about 20 minutes. I could hear rustling and then heard the clank of his mini blinds. I opened the door to find quite the "nap time" scene! He was standing at his window trying to peak out. This was only possible because he had moved his table (its not light) along with the mini Christmas tree on top of it, over to the other side of the room, taken out his night light so he could plug in the Christmas tree lights, placed his night light in the outlet that his tree used to be plugged into and was then trying to look out the window! If I could have taken a photo without undermining my parenting I certainly would have. I had a hard enough time keeping myself from laughing. What a monkey!!!!

Shhhh...Don't Tell Daddy

This morning after Grant went into the office, Eli and I were getting ready for the day. I heard him in his room talking away. When I peaked in, he had taken the ornaments off the Christmas tree in his room, lined them up on the table and said he was doing his "scrapbookin". He's definitely my kid!!!