Gettin' It Done!

At the beginning of March, Grant declared the month "Get it done" month. We've had a list of projects that we've been wanting to do but just hadn't found the time to organize it or accomplish it ourselves. But with Spring (and a new baby) approaching, tax returns in the bank, we set off on our mission. Most of my things included decorating projects that hadn't been completed while Grant's revolved around home construction projects. A few of the items had to spill over into April (I will never understand contractors!) but they are finally done!

I bought these cardboard letters almost a year ago and just now covered them using scrapbook paper and Mod Podge. love the way they turned out! Worth the wait!

The completed mantel makeover!

Ever since Grant saw our neighbor's house that had cabinets built into this half wall, its been on our list. Well...they are finally done and we love them! Hooray for extra storage!!!!

And just because I couldn't resist...how cute is our little snuggle bug?!

Other items accomplished:

- New backyard fence

- New door put in from garage to backyard

- Painted letters for Naomi to add to bedroom wall

- I'm up to 10 months in Eli's babybook!!!!!

- Purchased fabric to make bedskirt (still have to sew it though!)

Accident Free Zone

The Tyler household has been

an accident free zone for:

1 day!

Yes, we are on the "potty train" again (2nd times a charm?!), but this time we are going to make it to our final destination! We had been talking to Eli about wearing "big boy underwear" after he turned 3 and when we found out his friend Isaiah started the process, we jumped on the train hoping to use the enthusiasm and keep it going. And so far, so good. It has officially been 4.5 days with minimal accidents, but the best part is, he tells us every time that he needs to go (both pee and poo, sorry if that's too many details for some!). Hooray!!!!!! We've even ventured out of the house a few times and we're getting braver by the day. Costco, Target, Winco, Old Navy....the world is our oyster (as long as it has restrooms!). And because our bathroom has become a candy store/cheering section...a picture of our official "potty station":

It's Official!

We have a 3 year old! We've been celebrating Eli's birthday now for about a week but I think it's finally over. We celebrated at Chuck E. Cheese, at home, at McDonald's and at Nana and Papa's house. This year, Eli was definitely excited about his big day! He even made a birthday wish list a few weeks prior to his birthday with all the Disney Cars characters and Thomas characters he didn't already have. He also recited this list to us, almost on a daily basis, until his birthday arrived! He's a kid who knows what he wants! Here a few pictures that highlight our festivities:

Mr. Speed Racer himself

Ski Ball Champs!

Isaiah and Eli braving the "roller coaster"

My birthday boy

Eli chose McDonald's for lunch on his actual birthday...

and invited his friend Haylie to join us! They had a blast!

Sunshine, Tulips and Snakes!

Grandma is visiting and we lucked out with beautiful weather while she's been here! Much better than the chilly temps in England at the moment! We've been trying to soak up as much sun as possible this week so Eli and Grandma have gone to the park, we went to the zoo and this morning Eli and Grandma had a field trip to Fairytale Town while Grant and I got to go on a date! Double Bonus!!!

Here are a few photos from the zoo. Eli was excited about seeing the animals but got sidetracked by the train the second we went through the gate. After our train tour, his first choice was the reptile house (probably my least favorite part of the zoo). We also saw "snack time" for the Chimps which was very amusing and kept Eli (and me) entertained for quite a while! They also had an amazing planter filled with Tulips and I couldn't stop taking photos!

Just a little extra story....the zoo is not the only place that snakes have been lately. I was putting Eli to bed on Monday evening while Grant went to pick up his Mum. I walked into the kitchen to get Eli some milk and didn't turn the light on. I noticed a shape in the center of the kitchen floor and assumed it was something of Eli's. Thankfully I paused long enough to realize that it was not a toy, but in fact, a snake!!!!!! My heart jumped into my chest and I caught my breath!

I carefully walked around the snake to get Eli's milk and then decided that I was a big girl and could get it out myself. I tried using a big stick to get it wrapped on so I could fling it out the door but that didn't work and the snake started wiggling a bit so I moved on to option two. I put a Tupperware over it and called Grant to warn him that he'd have to remove a snake from the kitchen when he got home! Now that I think of it, I should have taken a picture to include in this blog, but I was a bit too preoccupied to think that far ahead!

"McQueen-isms"

Move over Curious George, Lightning McQueen has come to town. Eli is becoming quite obsessed with the Disney Cars movie and loves to pretend race, talk, eat, sleep, etc. with his toy cars. He knows most of their names and often (almost every day) manages to tell us the long list of cars that "I wish I could have...." and that maybe "we could just go to Walmart and get them!". Scary!

He loves quoting different parts of the movie but doesn't always get it quite right. This makes it even more humorous for us! :) Yesterday he was racing his bike around the backyard saying...

"Ride like a cowboy, stingin' like a beaver"
(the actual saying is "Float like a Cadillac, sting like a Beamer")

And then yesterday morning as we (yes me, on my hands and knees being six months pregnant) were racing our cars around the couch we noticed that one of the cars, Shiny Wax, has a very small mustache. Eli announced that due to that fact, Shiny Wax could now say "Ca-chigga" along with Chick Hicks, who also has a mustache.

"Ca-chow" (originally said by McQueen, but now reserved for all non-mustache people)
"Ca-Chigga" (only allowed by mustache sporting individuals)

Daddy must say Ca-chigga, but mommy and Eli have to say Ca-chow! I don't care who his favorite character is at the moment, he is still a monkey!!!

"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.