Nae-Nae

Nae-Nae came for Christmas this year and she looked forward to coming to our home simply because of Eli. Afterall, she is his pseudo-Grandma. We all had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed the time with her and all our family.

Happy Holidays!

In case we don't get a chance to send out a holiday card this Christmas, I want to wish all my followers (about five) a Merry Christmas. Eli helped decorate the tree this year and he had a fun time doing it. He bouncing off walls before end of it because he thought that if the Christmas tree was up, then he could open his presents. He was so happy, He told me, "Mommy, I love you," and "Mommy, Merry Christmas." However, that soon ended and he became very upset when I gave him presents to put under the tree and wouldn't let him open them. Also, the word "decorate" entered his vocabulary. I saw him "straightening" some decorations and I asked him what he was doing. He responded: "Mommy, I am jus' decorating." This year, Eli met Santa at Harmon's and did very well. He ran right up to Santa and gave him a big hug. It might have been because I told him that Santa would give him a candy cane if he sat on his lap. Unfortunately, I also told him to tell Santa what he wanted and he thought that he would get it right away. He was a little disappointed.

Enjoying his presents.

Eli got these tools for his birthday. Included with the tool kit was the goggles, a jigsaw, screwdriver, flashlight and drill with an exchangeable battery-pack just like Grandpa's. Recently, Grandpa went out to work out in the garage and invited Eli to come with his new tools. Mom and I were inside and all of the sudden, we heard Eli come inside crying. My first thought was, "Oh no, he's hurt!" Then I saw Grandpa laughing and I was relieved. Grandpa told me that Eli was disappointed that the screwdriver didn't make a hole into the wood. We all had a good laugh.

Eli and Riley Koyle

Eli's Birthday was today and it was kind of anti-climatic. During the year, I went shopping for Christmas and Birthday early, while I was pregnant with Riley. He saw me purchase all his toys and I figured he would forget. Well, he didn't and he already knew all his presents. I was kind of disappointed because after every present he wrapped, there was no excitement and some of them he asked for before he opened them. At least he enjoyed the cake. Mom was cleaning out her cupboards getting ready for construction and I inherited the Superman cake pan. He had a great time playing with the faces and wouldn't give them up to make the cake. It was actually a struggle, but once he saw Superman near completion, he was okay with it.

Bless Her Heart!

Riley Mary Koyle was blessed today at our church and after Danna made this beautiful dress, I just had to snap a few (hundred) pictures. Below are some of the favorites.

My How She's Grown!

Riley is now 7 weeks old and I can't believe how the time has flown by. She is just starting to smile and we were able to capture it as well as some other shots of her typical activities during the day.

Grandma Cookie-isms

Every time I give a baby to Grandma Cookie she has a few phrases that she says that I think are worth recording. Such as:
"Aren't they wonderful?"
"Don't you just want ten of them?"
"These kids come smarter these days."
"Aren't they special?"
"These kids are saved for these days."

Caught Red Handed ... Or Black Faced!

Eli usually watches Mommy get ready for church in the mornings and watches her put on make-up. Even though she tells him that boys don't wear make-up, he couldn't resist when her back was turned. He is wearing black eye-shadow in these pictures. Look closely and you can see it on his eyes. When we asked him what he was doing, he responded that he was putting his make-up on for church.

Want Your Fortune Told?

We had Chinese food over the weekend and as a result, we enjoyed the famous fortune cookies. We read Eli's to him and then we all took turns reading ours. He then picked up the paper (as seen in the photo) and "read" his to us. His fortune said "Big boys go potty." We were so impressed that we asked him to read Mommy's. He "read" it and said "Mom goes to work and gets a donut."

Darth Vadar: Friend or Foe?

Eli Has been enjoying Star Wars a little too much. Back in September, he was being noisy in church and he had to be escorted out. On the way out, he was singing Darth Vadar's Theme song. Then, a few weeks later in October, he had a new baby sister (as seen previous blogs) and Grandma took him to see her. He then told Darth Vadar to come along in his space ship. He also told Darth Vadar to wear his seat belt. This month we are potty-training and we have a bank as seen above in the pictures. In order to potty train, we have tried everything to get him ready. We tried stickers, candy, donuts, toys, etc. The only thing that seemed to work was pushing this bank after every time he goes potty. When he pushes it, it quotes the following dialogue from the movie: "Impressive, Most Impressive. But you are not a Jedi Yet." The theme song follows along with his light saber lighting up while swinging it. Eli sure enjoys Darth Vadar, eventhough we tried to tell him that Vadar is a bad guy. We'll let him believe Vadar is a awsome. He sure saved the day for me. If only I would have known that earlier.

Four Generations

I was looking forward to getting a picture of Grandma Sibyl and my mother and new baby, but she died shortly before Riley was born. Fortunately, Grandma Jansen came to visit this weekend and we were able to get one with her, as well as Grandma Cook.

Don't You Feel Like This at the End of the Day?

Eli, Mom and Grandma have all been sick lately and he had an expression on his face that said "I am exhausted and had enough." Also, we have been giving Eli peppermint tea for his throat, hence the tea mug. He looked so cute with the way he was holding it because he looked just like an adult.

Happy Halloween!

Daddy's Girl

I was worried that Jared wouldn't fall in love with Riley. I don't think I will worry about that any more. He fell in love with her the minute he saw her.

Bath Time!

We gave Riley her first bath finally after her cord fell off. Notice the diaper is still on. I wouldn't trust Eli, the camera, and bath water. Therefore, we took the picture before we gave her the actual bath. She loved it and she is totally different than Eli. She loved the bath and even preened after it was done. I love having a girl.

Eli's New Baby Sister

Eli is so excited about his new baby sister, named Riley Mary Koyle. "Wiley" to Eli. The morning she was born, he climbed into her crib and I saw him as such a little child. and when I returned with a new babe, Eli turned into a big boy.
Eli loves his sister and he wants to hold her every five minutes and to rub her head. He is a big help when he helps to burp her. He loves to give her kisses and he shares his toys with her in her crib. We just have to be careful that he doesn't throw too hard of toys in her crib while she is in there.

Where Has Eli Been for the Last Few Months?

The reason we haven't blogged for the past few months is because pictures have ended up similar to this. He is simply done taking pictures for the moment.
SUPERMAN STORIES: That doesn't mean he is any less enjoyable. Notice the TV Screen in the back. He was watching Superman. He is in a HUGE Superman phase and I have watched it over and over again.
For example, there was a screw loose on the screen door and he helped Grandma to tighten it. He then shouted "Superman-Eli saves the day!"
After putting him to bed one night, he wondered upstairs to the playroom. Grandma came to turn off the lights for the night and she asked him what he was doing. He was really tired and wrapped up in his blanket he responded "Superman saves the day." She told him that even Superman has to go to bed sometimes.

Eli loves to help work.

Now that the weather is getting warmer, we can go outside more. I am trying to weed the garden and he is a good snail finder. He is also great at watering the plants. His technique has improved as he used to hold it a foot or two out and make lots of puddles. He now holds it on the nozzle and sprays all over.

Construction!

Grandma and Grandpa are remodeling their kitchen and Eli is a big help. He is filling holes. He responded "Need more holes." After realizing how big a mess a little boy can get, we changed into one of Daddy's old shirts. It looks like a dress, but it is a lot easier to clean up.