Otto in Eli's Paint....

I had a feeling that this was going to happen... paints are washed and put away every time now. It's just too tempting for the little guy.

Wagon Rides!

I find it so funny how much Eli LOVES to pull Otto in the wagon. Here is a short video of him "at work." The other day he pulled Otto in the wagon all the way to visit Brian at the new Sunergos location. It took us about 30 minutes to get there and 30 minutes to get back. He was pretty tired by the end, but of course still had some energy to stop and play at the park on the way home. 

 

Otto Discovering

Otto is growing more curious everyday. In this video he was playing with a little musical train trying to figure out how it all works. 

Outside Toys!

Birthdays mean new fun toys! and with our boys both having their birthdays this summer we have been given some great gifts. Eli got a trike with all-terrain wheels and Otto got a wagon with the same! We took a walk around the neighborhood  with the wagon and it was almost easier pulling them in the wagon than pushing them in a stroller- those tires kind of glide over all the sidewalk edges and bumps.

Eli Painting Faces

By far Eli's favorite art expression is painting, and just recently we noticed that he started to paint faces. This is a new concept for Eli so I thought I would capture it.

Otto and His Jig

I am learning quickly that Otto loves music and dancing. This is a small glimpse of him doing his very own shimmy shake.

Children Making Music

This video captures these two so well. Eli is drumming away and Otto is singing and doing his little wiggle like dance and of course ends up chewing on the drum.

Otto Chasing Eli

It is so fun now that Otto is getting more active. Eli just loves playing with Otto and daily asks Otto to chase him on Rody, so I thought I would capture a little of their noisy fun for you to see.

Fun with the Washtub

We usually have this washtub filled with wood for small backyard fires, but this day it was empty and Eli and Otto decided to make it their toy of choice for a while. I love the first picture here- Eli is lounging in the washtub talking to Grandma Kay on the cell phone. 

Bubble Fun!

Eli was given some bubbles for his birthday and we have had lots of fun chasing, catching and blowing bubbles- Otto even had some fun with the bubbles too!

Eli's 3rd Birthday!

Eli's 3rd birthday was a very enjoyable day from start to finish! We began with making some cupcakes for a little get together with a couple of Eli's friends, Miles and Isaiah, at the park. Eli loved mixing the blue food coloring into his icing.

I like this picture because you can see Otto peeking out behind my back. 

Eli asks for a balloon every time we go to the grocery store and I always tell him that we will get him one on his birthday, so we made a special stop at the grocery store so Eli could pick out a balloon this day. I think he picked the biggest balloon they had.

Mid-day we took a walk to visit Papa working at the new Sunergos location.

Eli wanted Papa to decorate his cake. This year he asked for a spider on his cake. 

Playing with one of his birthday gifts- hungry hungry hippos!

Outside with the Boys

I love this video for two reasons. The first is you get to see Otto's "On All Fours" crawl- which just shows me that he is that much closer to walking. Second, Eli is in a script making stage and he is seen here doing one of his favorite things- putting words in my mouth. Both things seem to be happening at the same time. Silly boys...

Our Little Cleaner

Otto has taken a liking to carrying around a cloth and wiping things down. It can keep him entertained for quite a while.

Finding a Cicada Killer with Eli

It is always exciting to find something unusual from nature happen right before your eyes and the other day Eli and I got to experience just that. We were out back hanging out and a cicada killer attacked a cicada right next to me. Eli and I watched the wasp carry the cicada up the tree and begin it's seemingly brutal act of laying its eggs in the cicada. I ran in the house to get my camera to capture some of these strange happenings and Eli's thoughts on it.

Some things never change...

As long as I can remember my big brother Steve has had a drawl to hunting down moody kitty cats to "love" on them. This day Otto was wanting to join in the fun. Can you see the cat, Rubes, hiding under the chair? Poor kitty hissed at me and Otto the whole time we were staying with Patty. I never did anything to him, but for some reason he decided he didn't like us. 

Otto checking out Uncle Steve's shave.

Otto on the floor for a closer look.

Remembering with Family

Otto and I traveled up to Minnesota for a brief visit with family to remember and say good-bye my Grandpa Gordy who passed away earlier this month. We had some sweet times of remembering Grandpa and sharing many good stories about him. We also spent plenty of time loving on the babies, enjoying good food, and just being together. Here are a few pictures - the first two are from a Christmas gathering in 2006 and the rest are from the three days we were in MN.

Grandpa Gordy and Eli

Grandpa Gary holding Otto and Grandma Debby holding Addie

Dad and my big brother Steve watching the babies play. Something we did a lot of those three days.

Otto trying to give Addie kisses- which we found out later was really bites and not kisses... poor Addie.

Patty and Steve with Otto.

Steve and Otto and Grandma Gerrie in the background

Grandma Gerrie holding Addie and Mom holding Otto

Patty and Addie

Grandma Debby and Otto

Grandma Gerrie and Otto