The Tales of Eli & Maddux

neliason@gmail.com (Nicole) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:26:00 +0000

Glimpse of the Future

neliason@gmail.com (Nicole) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:18:00 +0000

STOP!!! Seriously, can time stop for just a little while!?!?!?

Today I was hit in the face with the fact that my babies are SO not babies anymore. And we are closer than ever to the school years. I know, 'don't get ahead of yourself, Nicole. They are only 2 and 4!' But just yesterday they were infants. So I know how this time thing works....

This morning I dropped both kids off for their short day of pre-school. Maddie sits behind me in the car, so when I pull up to the carpool, I have to get out of my seat belt to unlatch her seat belt. (That is one thing she hasn't figure out YET, thank goodness!) I got back in my seat and then pulled forward. When the teacher came to the car, she opened Eli's side and let him out. I didn't see Maddux move over and exit also, so I said, "Have a great day, Maddie...love you!", as I turned around to make eye contact with her. She was standing right behind my seat, holding the head rest. When I turned she moved her face to the side so she could give me a silent, but wet kiss good-bye. Then she went right out with the teacher. It was like she was waiting for her 'good-bye kiss', like elementary kids do when their parents drop them off. TOTALLY made my day, but also made me think too much about what is to come...

Tiger

neliason@gmail.com (Nicole) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:13:00 +0000

At school, Eli has a class pet. The stuffed dog, "Tiger", travels from house to house for a few days each week, spending one-on-one time with the students. Along with the dog comes a photo album book where there are pictures of Tiger and his hosts and little stories about what Tiger did while visiting each home. Eli was SOO excited to be only the second student to be able to take Tiger home. As soon as he got home from school yesterday, Eli got all of his other dogs (Clifford, Sam, Memphis, and Snoopy) and lined them up with Tiger, so they could meet. And he was sure to tuck him in when he left his room, so he wouldn't get cold. As much as we are trying to fight it, I think Eli is going to put the hard sell on us in future years for a REAL dog.

First Test

neliason@gmail.com (Nicole) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:02:00 +0000

Eli had a diagnostic 'test' at school first thing this week, to determine where he was in letter recognition. This was supposed to test his visual recognition as well as audio. During the test, he teacher read a word and Eli had to circle the letter that the word started with (out of four letter choices). The words were: leaf, moon, astronaut, elephant, duck, penguin, boy, jack-o-lantern, and flower. He got all of them correct. It was so cute to see his little circles around the letters. It's so funny to me to see him do so well on a test like that when he can barely make the circle, which was not at all the skill set being tested.

neliason@gmail.com (Nicole) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:26:00 +0000

**Added the link to complete photo shoot in each picture. Click on the large picture to view.**

Lehr has suggested that I post a good pic here and there when I capture it, to break up the monotony of Eli and Maddux stories. (OK...so maybe the last part isn't entirely true!) No text...just pictures. For once, I'm taking his advice.

"O" Boys

neliason@gmail.com (Nicole) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:36:00 +0000

Joy

neliason@gmail.com (Nicole) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 02:15:00 +0000

Can't help but love love love this picture....even 6 months later. In fact, reliving that amazing trip as we speak. (Full set of pictures here.)

Hill

neliason@gmail.com (Nicole) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:25:00 +0000

Baseball Fever Finally Broke

neliason@gmail.com (Nicole) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:33:00 +0000

What a crazy two weeks. For that matter, what a crazy season! Eli and the Knights have played 1-2 games each week for the last several months and had more rain delays than the Cubs. This really took its toll on us in the last ten days. The Knights won their first few games in the playoffs and then lost one sometime last week. The tournament was double-elimination, so they still had a shot. But each day a game was planned, it would be cancelled at the last minute due to rain and/or wet fields. They were finally able to play Sunday night (after 4 cancellations in three days). They won! This put them in the position to play for a spot in the final game. Monday night Lehr came home a little early so he could take Eli to the game. The boys played great, but once Maddux and I showed up in the third inning, things went downhill for the Knights. They were playing the best they could, but it wasn't enough. The other team won, putting us in third place. No worries since that is way better than anyone expected our team to finish. I can't begin to tell you how far the team as a whole (and Eli as a team-player) came this season. As much as I want to sign him up for the spring session, I know he wants to play soccer also, so it will probably be next fall before he plays baseball again.

Love My Boy

neliason@gmail.com (Nicole) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:29:00 +0000

Wow. Out of the mouths of babes, for sure. Eli and I were in the kitchen this morning....I think I was helping him tie his shoes.

Eli - "Mommy, you and I are BOTH wearing jeans today."
Me - "Yes, we are."
Eli - "Mommy, mine are looser and yours are tight."
Me - "You are right, Eli."
Eli (with the cutest head cock-to-the-side and grin EVER) - "Mommy, you're getting so big."

I love that he is picking up on the positive stuff we pour into him and his sister. I love that he was trying to be sweet. I apologize to any future girlfriends. I will work on social graces.

Happy Halloween!

neliason@gmail.com (Nicole) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 01:27:00 +0000

Halloween seems so routine now...it's hard to believe that we ONLY have five fall celebrations under our belts. This year, despite my efforts to get them to think beyond what we already had in our closets, both kids opted for costumes they've worn for quite some time now: Eli was a dragon and Maddux was a monkey.

Rain threatened to shut down our neighborhood block party, but the skies were clear enough for us to have our parade and costume contest before the first drops fell. Even then, it was short-lived, so the kids were able to trick-or-treat as long as they wanted. Eli woke up from his nap (he actually took one today) in a SOUR mood, so the first hour or so he was pretty quiet and uninvolved. Maddie was Mad Dog. Their friends, Cooper and Finley, joined us for the fun. After the parade, pizza, and the costume contest, we trick-or-treated the mile route back to our house. Maddux got brave towards the end, going up to a few houses on her own (without me OR Eli). One house in particular found her completely independent, making friends as she often does. She walked up the big hill to the couple standing with candy and started up some conversation with them. I wasn't wearing my glasses, but I could still see that the couple was quite amused with Maddie and her audacious self.

When we finally arrived back at the house, we made some popcorn and let the kids watch "The Great Pumpkin". I think it's safe to say they had a good time.

Little Mommy

neliason@gmail.com (Nicole) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 23:05:00 +0000

Mad Dog. As rough and tough as she is, she is a such a caring little girl. Even though she strikes Eli (and maybe others??) at times, she is quick to apologize and give BIG hugs. And she gets very concerned when she thinks someone is hurt or sick. Several times in the last month this has presented itself in very cute ways.

Whenever I cough or sneeze, Maddux asks, "You OK, Mommy? Bess you." Or if I bump my head or arm or foot on something, she asks if I'm OK and then offers to get ice. Too sweet.

Early last week we were outside in the driveway and Eli took a big tumble. He was fine, but it was at the end of a long day, so the impression he gave was that a serious injury had occurred. Maddux ran over to him right away and got very serious. "You OK, Eli? E-i...are you OK? Did you hu-hrt?" He continued to cry a little and she said, " I get you ice...be right back." She ran inside and got the ice pack for him immediately. Adorable.

The other night we were at Eli's baseball game. Maddie and I were on the third base side, standing next to the fence. The top of the chain-link went well above our heads; ten feet tall or so. At one point Maddux asked me to lift her up to see over the fence. I told her that it was too tall and Mommy could not reach. She looked at me and said, "Mommy not big enough? Mommy not see?" Then she grabbed my leg above my knee and made an 'uhhhhh!!!' noise as she tried her hardest to lift me. Precious.

Smile Maker

neliason@gmail.com (Nicole) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:09:00 +0000

I put Maddux to bed tonight. A few minutes later, Lehr went in to give her a kiss. She and he exchanged kisses and then he gave her one last 'special kiss' in her hand. He told her to put it in her pocket to keep it safe. When Lehr got to the door, Maddie shouted out, "I NOT HAVE A POCKET!!!" That girl doesn't miss a thing....

Scarecrows

neliason@gmail.com (Nicole) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:12:00 +0000

Each year I go to the Botanical Gardens during October to see the scarecrows. (2008, 2007, 2006, 2005) The kids and I almost missed it this year due to our crazy schedules though! Last week I made an executive decision to keep Eli out of school sometime this week so that we could all go and get in the spirit of Halloween. Eli was sad to miss school, but excited to see the 'care-crows' or 'sare-crows'. (He never seems to say both the 's' and the 'c'.)

We met Cooper and Finley just after the gardens opened and from then on out it was a sprint :) The kids were excited and hopped up on sunshine (we've had a LOT of rain recently and it was nice just to be outside). We traveled through several scarecrow sections before arriving at the Children's Gardens, at which time the kids really took off. We spent a little time at a few playgrounds, but it was like they had a busy schedule ahead of them and they needed to just check this off of their list. (On top of that, Eli was doing some things that were so out of character, and so annoying, that Mommy was beyond frustrated. No huge disobedience, but lots and lots of little things that we normally don't see with him.)

Our trip ended on a nice green area (with a mud pit created by rain - of course the kids found that) where we set up for lunch. We stopped by to see Daddy at his office, and then we were home to nap. Mommy included!

Weekend With Daddy

neliason@gmail.com (Nicole) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:30:00 +0000

I participated in the Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk this past weekend, so Lehr was on full-time Daddy Duty. The kids had great time, of course. Friday he had to work, but Miss Marina kept them entertained, despite the rain. Saturday morning found them at their preschool's Fall Festival. The kids got to jump in the jumpy castle, play some games, and hang out with friends from school. That night they had dinner with neighbors and afterwards Lehr gave them an extra special treat. He took them to their first theater movie! I was hoping to take Eli to the 'cinema' sometime soon for a date night, but Lehr beat me to the punch :) Apparently Maddux was done as soon as the previews were over. No big shocker there! They ended up staying for about 3o minutes of Ice Age before heading home to bed.

The next morning (Sunday), the three of them met me at cheering station for the walk. My three cuties showed up with "Go, Mommy, GO!" signs and bagels. Just the thing I needed for the last morning! From there, they went to church and lunch. After naps, they met me down at Turner field to pick me up at closing ceremonies. We tried to coordinate dinner with friends, but ended up at a pizza place on our own. Eli wanted to sit next to me because he 'missed me':)

Today, Eli was SO well behaved. Offering to help all of the time, obeying the FIRST time, every time. He also told me, "Mommy, I missed you when you were gone. I love you." Maddie's response to my absence has been different. LOTS of disobedience and ignoring directions. She has been snuggly with me though. Regardless of their behavior, I'm glad to be back. Two close-together trips away from my kids proved to be too much for me.

The kids were really sweet to each other today also. We were playing baseball in the driveway and Maddux fell on her knees. She cried for a second, to make sure I noticed. Eli then said, "I'm going to see if she's OK and kiss her." He walked over to her and kissed her knee (where she fell). She happily thanked him and we all returned to playing. This was BY FAR the best moment of today.

Zion Trip Video

neliason@gmail.com (Nicole) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:42:00 +0000

2009 Zion Trip from Nicole Eliason on Vimeo.

You Can't Handle The Truth

neliason@gmail.com (Nicole) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:47:00 +0000

I can't. I'm very aware of that. And the truth is, these kids hear EVERYTHING I say. I'm not worried that they'll hear me swear or use grossly inappropriate language, as I'm actually pretty good about being "PC" when they're in earshot, but as far as general conversational skills go, I'm horrible. I have a hard time articulating what I want to say, and I often start a sentence, or paragraph, and wander off somewhere in the middle. Not so good for two sets of ears that absorb all they see and hear from Mommy. The good news is, they also pick up some of the semi-good words and phrases I use with them. (I don't use the word 'hate', and I try my best to never say 'be good', instead asking them to make 'good choices'.)

Today this 'truth' was pointed out to me by Eli's recap of an event that happened the other night after Lehr and I got home. The kids were in the laundry room with Lehr, playing drums. Apparently Maddux used a drum stick to hit Eli in the head. Nothing new there. Of course that meant she lost her drumming privileges. This morning Eli told me, "Last night Maddux lost the opportunity to play drums." So funny coming from his little mouth. I've used that phrase a few times with them recently though. When Eli loses the opportunity to make a choice about what to wear, or when Maddux loses the opportunity to walk in the parking lot while holding my hand (instead of me carrying her). I guess the moral of the story is, think about what you say before you say it!

Maddux's Gymnastics

neliason@gmail.com (Nicole) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:54:00 +0000

Maddie started gymnastics this morning. As a dancer, all I want to do is introduce my kids to the wonderful world of dance. However, Eli is more interested in baseball and drums right now (tap lessons will come though!). And Maddux....well, she's just Mad Dog. We'll get there, but she's so young right now that any ballet lessons would be in vain. Gymnastics, however, will hopefully help her to use her crazy amounts of energy in a positive way. (And she'll no doubt have the tree-trunk quads Mommy has, so leg strength is on her side.)

I got her dressed in her leotard and leggings so we'd be ready to go after we dropped Eli off at school. Maddie was so excited, asking me over and over again, "Go to 'nastics' now, Mommy?" For kids under three, a mommy-and-me class is the only option. That is mainly for safety, as many other classes and lessons are going on simultaneously in this large gym. This includes college aged 'kids', which tumble and jump with a lot of force. I can just see Maddux running around on the floor in the middle of one of their routines....yikes!

We started with a quick warm up and stretch and moved right on to the balance beam. Maddie did pretty well with the sideways walking, but she was iffy on the forward walk. It was almost like she was afraid...I know that can't be since she's....well....Maddux! The instructor brought us to the foam pit after that and all of the kids jumped around in the big vat of foam squares. The only time Maddie complained was when she got stuck and couldn't get herself out. It made me kinda claustrophobic too.... The obstacle course was next (which Maddux liked the best): crawling under a few mats, tip-toeing on stars, forward rolling down a mat, walking on a balance beam, weaving in and out of cones, and jumping on a trampoline. I think Maddie is going to like this class!!

Painted Toes

neliason@gmail.com (Nicole) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 19:54:00 +0000

While Lehr and I were in Utah, Grandma Cathie and Grandpa Jim stayed with the kids. Before I left I painted Maddie's toe nails for the first time. I hinted to Grandma that nail-painting may be a fun activity to do again with her. She took that idea and ran with it. When we returned there were two brand new bottles of nail polish on the counter and every one's toes had been painted. Everyone. My mom let Maddie paint her toes (Grandma's toes), and she did surprisingly well. There was polish on Grandma's skin, but not as much as you might think. Then Grandma Cathie painted Maddux's toes: alternating colors. Of course Eli saw this and wanted in on the action, so he got an 'every other' pedicure as well. But it didn't stop there. Eli insisted on painting even Grandpa Jim's toes. I hear he has one pink big toe and one sparkly one. Life is good.

Tales of Cole & Lehr

neliason@gmail.com (Nicole) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 19:03:00 +0000

While the blog sat idly, Lehr and I were on our first sans-kids trip. We went to Zion National Park in Utah where we hiked and mountain biked for five days. The three most amazing parts of our trip were hiking Angel's Landing (Lehr completed the last .5 miles of insanity; I only did about .15 of that), biking Gooseberry Mesa (unbelievable views and SO much fun!) and hiking the Narrows (a must-do for EVERYone). Here are some random videos of other people doing what we did; Lehr and I didn't take much video and I'm still editing pictures. Enjoy!

Angel's Landing:

Gooseberry Mesa:

Super G TV episode 9 Gooseberry Mesa from Super G TV on Vimeo.

Narrows:

Zion Narrows from brent fortune on Vimeo.

Thumbkin

neliason@gmail.com (Nicole) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:20:00 +0000

Ahh, Thumbkin. Who doesn't love that song from their childhood? Eli's music teacher reminded him of that tune this week and he has been enamoured. We used to do it when he was younger, but he didn't have nearly the dexterity with his digits that he does now, so it never really stuck. He got into the car one day this week and gave Maddie and I a show. He does only three fingers (thumbkin, pointer and pinky) before moving to 'everybody' or 'whole hand'. Maddux, of course, has picked up on it also. Except she sings "Ree See Punkin". Quite cute, as expected.

Maddux, The Sing-Songstress

neliason@gmail.com (Nicole) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:16:00 +0000

Maddux loves to sing. She also loves to talk. And yell. And shout. And anything else that allows her, and EVERYONE, to hear her voice. As of late, she's taken to singing more than anything else. She will sing the ABC's in the car. She will sing "Twinkle Twinkle" in her crib after we've left the room. She will sing, "Baa Baa, Black Sheep" 329 times during the day.... The list goes on and on.

This week in particular, she has been singing, "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" a lot. Quite randomly, in fact. I will be helping her with lotion after her bath and I'll ask her to put hte lotion on her knees. She'll respond with the song (and motions). Or she'll hear the word "head" come up in coversation and the same reply will follow. No video yet, but I'm working on it!

Another Amazing Memory!

neliason@gmail.com (Nicole) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:54:00 +0000

Maddux is reading. Yes, I know she's only two, but to hear her flip through books, you'd think she could really read. She loves loves LOVES books and will 'read' them even if I'm not there to add the wording. But when we do read, which is before naps and bed, at a minimum, she obviously memorizes every word. We have a set of four board books that she loves: there are pictures on each page and no story. (Example: one page has a picture of a dog and it reads, "Dog". Another has a picture of a boat and it reads, "Boat".) Maddie can easily read these, but since there are serious context clues, that isn't too impressive to me. A few weeks back I realized she was reading the more involved books by memorization also. We were reading "Through and Through" when she started filling in the blanks for me before I even paused. She basically read the whole book. (At one point I would seriously just say the first word: "I...." and she would fill in "...wuv your top siyyyddd. aaaaahnd bottum siyyyddd." She can also do this with "Knuffle Bunny" because we rarely go a day without reading that book. And on pages where the characters have expressive faces, she LOVES to demonstrate4 said face for you. Reading with her is a blast these days! And I love that she is a little book worm like her brother was at this age!

Painting The Town

neliason@gmail.com (Nicole) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:26:00 +0000

I finally broke down and did something 'girlie' with Mad Dog. While Eli was at school this morning, Maddux and I were attempting to spend some quality (read: not errand-running) time together. After several puzzles and books and wrestling sessions, I brought her up to my bathroom to introduce her to the world of nail polish. Quickly put a coat on my toes to show her what I was about to do to her feet. This ended up being a very messy coat; I may as well have let her paint my toes for the amount of bumps and mis-paints caused by the little missy. Nevertheless, a few minutes later, she was ready for her pedicure. I had her sit on the step by the bathtub, so she would be a little higher than me, and I'd have a better angle on her toes. Maddux sat remarkably still while I painted a quick few strokes over her tiny toe nails. She moved enough to cause some outside-of-the-lines painting, but all in all, she did great. And she is SO in love with her new pink nails. She called Daddy and Grandma Cathie and told them right away, and she is quick to remove her shoes and show anyone she sees. "Peent my Neeels!!!"

Faith In Action

neliason@gmail.com (Nicole) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 18:16:00 +0000

This morning Eli and Maddux hopped in the car with Daddy to attend Faith In Action. (Mommy was running.) Since Eli is old enough, he stayed with Daddy instead of getting dropped off at the church with Maddux. The boys ended up at Campbell High School, working on landscaping. Eli was SO excited to work with Lehr and Mr. Hathcock. Someone game him (Eli) a pair of small gardening shears and he went to town, weeding and pruning some bushes. From the looks of it, he actually knew what he was doing! When I got there and saw him, wearing big gloves on his hands and a 5/6 shirt of his cousin's, I did a double take. No way was that my BABY boy, working so hard. Wow.